Matthew 20:1–16
[Jesus said:] “For the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. After agreeing with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard.
“And going out about the third hour he saw others standing idle in the marketplace, and to them he said, ‘You go into the vineyard too, and whatever is right I will give you.’ So they went.
“Going out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour, he did the same. And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing. And he said to them, ‘Why do you stand here idle all day?’
“They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You go into the vineyard too.’
“And when evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last, up to the first.’ And when those hired about the eleventh hour came, each of them received a denarius. Now when those hired first came, they thought they would receive more, but each of them also received a denarius. And on receiving it they grumbled at the master of the house, saying, ‘These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.’
“But he replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? Take what belongs to you and go. I choose to give to this last worker as I give to you. Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity?’
“So the last will be first, and the first last.” (ESV)
Prayer: Lord God, heavenly Father, who has called us into your vineyard through your holy Word: we pray that you would send the Holy Spirit into our hearts so that we may faithfully labor in your vineyard, shun evil and all offense, keep your word and do your will, and put our whole and only trust in your grace, which you have abundantly given us through your Son Jesus Christ, so that we may obtain eternal salvation through him, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one true God, world without end. Amen!
It Doesn’t Make Sense!
I. Those Hired First
II. Those Hired Last
Dear friends in Christ!
“It doesn’t make sense!” I said. “Who said it’s supposed to make sense?” my seminary professor replied. I can’t even remember what didn’t make sense to me at the time, but this conversation and response from my professor as we were on our way to chapel has been imprinted in my mind ever since. “It doesn’t make sense.” You could say this about a lot of things when it comes to God. When we approach God, who he is and what he teaches, many things are a mystery. They defy human reason. It doesn’t make sense to us, but that doesn’t mean it is untrue.
One of the teachings that defy our human reason is the teaching that we are justified, that is, declared righteous and innocent, by God’s grace alone through faith in Christ. This is the article upon which the church stands or falls. If we lose this teaching, we lose everything. Martin Luther said, “Because if this article [of justification] stands, the church stands; if this article collapses, the church collapses” (LW 40:352). The teaching of grace alone matters because it is the truth and it is the difference between certainty of heaven and despair.
“It doesn’t make sense,” says the man who is honest about his past, his terrible blunders, unfaithfulness, and sin. “How could God let me into heaven after all that? I am beyond hope. I don’t deserve it” he says with tears running down his cheeks. But the Pastor replies, “You’re right. You don’t deserve it, but the truth is that none of us do. All have fallen short of the glory God and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus which is received by faith. It’s impossible for any of us to be saved on our own, but with God all things are possible” (Matthew 19:26).
The teaching of grace alone is one of the most comforting teachings of Scripture! But it can be hard for us to understand. It is human nature to think that we must play a part—no matter how small—when it comes to our salvation. Quid pro quo—this for that. I must do this for God or not do that, in order for him to let me into heaven. That’s how we think. But thankfully, that is not the way God operates.
This is why our Lord Jesus must teach us about grace alone. Today in our lesson, Jesus as the master teacher, uses a parable about work to teach us about grace. Quite the irony! Yet, through this parable, he seeks to free us from any work-righteous attitudes to which our sinful hearts so easily cling.
The parable itself is quite straightforward. There was a man who owned a vineyard. He must have been a wealthy man because he had a master of his house who managed the daily affairs in his vineyard which included hiring day laborers. During Jesus’ day they did not have automated machines. It was all manual labor. And so, the master of the house hires laborers to work in his vineyard—at the going rate of a denarius for a day’s work. A fair wage. So far, so good.
At the third hour of the day, the master of the house sees others standing idle in the marketplace where able workers would be and charges them to go work in his vineyard promising that he will pay them what is right. Then the master of the house does the same thing at the sixth and ninth hour, and then even at the eleventh hour of the day, but with the eleventh hour he makes no promises. So far, so good.
Finally, the twelve-hour working day is over, and the owner of the vineyard says to the foreman to bring in the laborers so that they might be paid, beginning with the last, up to the first. So far, so good.
Now I want you to imagine yourself as one of the workers who was hired first. You have been up from dawn to dusk. You were glad to be hired so that you could support yourself and your family. You depend on these wages. And you have now worked a long and full day in the scorching hot sun. You saw each of these laborers come one by one, adding to the help throughout the day. You were probably glad for the extra hands. You’re tired and hungry, but its finally closing time and even better, it’s time to be paid.
You go to the end of the line since you were hired first as the foreman told you. And to your absolute amazement as you’re visiting with your fellow workers, you see those in front get a denarius! They hadn’t even worked an hour! You talk with the laborers next to you, “That’s crazy!” It suddenly starts to go through your mind, “If that guy got a denarius, I wonder what I will get? Maybe I’ll be able to put some extra money towards a new donkey!” Finally, your anticipation ends because you’re now before the foreman. But he gives you a denarius just the same as the rest. You’re dumbfounded. You feel slighted. Almost robbed! You grumble and say, “These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.”
Even with the owner’s reasonable explanation, we still probably feel for those who were paid last. Almost a sense of injustice. But why? Why is it easy for us to commiserate so well with those hired first who were paid the same amount as those who worked barely at all? It’s because we base our worth by comparison. If the other workers would have received only a fraction of what you received—there would be no problem. You would go home happy and content since you were paid what you were promised. The problem—the frustration—was that other people got paid the same as you despite your much greater efforts. The great problem and frustration were that the owner of the vineyard was generous.
“It doesn’t make sense!” God’s grace will never make sense to us if we consider salvation something in which we play a part. God’s grace will never make sense if we hypocritically murmur against God’s goodness. God’s grace will never make sense if we try to determine our worth by comparing ourselves to others or think that we are more deserving than others.
Our lesson is really a warning to all Christians in the church. Unfortunately, it is easy for Christians who have dedicated much of their time, efforts, and money to the church to become proud of their sacrifices. When they see others who have done little to nothing, who have perhaps not sacrificed what they have, and have outwardly seemed to have gotten through life with ease—they get upset. They become judgmental. They consider it unfair that others could receive the same reward despite their greater efforts. “These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.”
We all struggle with pride. We all struggle with comparison. It is sinful nature. This is why Jesus says elsewhere, “When you have done all those things which you are commanded, say, ‘We are unprofitable servants. We have done what was our duty to do’” (Luke 17:10); and “When you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing” (Matthew 6:3). God doesn’t want us to take great note of our good deeds, yet the irony, is that God remembers them as if we had done them to him. As Jesus said, “Inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me” (Matthew 25:40). God wants us to work and serve in his kingdom. But he doesn’t want our work to alienate us from his grace.
So how do we remedy this? It’s easy for us to imagine ourselves as the person hired first, but really, we should all imagine ourselves as those hired last—who did nothing, but received the reward. If we see ourselves as those hired last, we shall be first. When we realize that our salvation is entirely by God’s grace alone, how we did nothing, but Christ did everything—we will be the most joyful people in the world. We will live a life of thanksgiving for the unspeakable gift that we have received from our Lord Jesus Christ who did the work on our behalf, so that we could receive the reward of eternal life.
Jesus Christ, the second person of the Trinity, was born of the Virgin Mary for you. He perfectly obeyed his parents and loved his neighbor. He fasted forty days and forty nights and was tempted by the devil but did not sin. He healed the sick, fed the hungry, raised the dead, and forgave sinners. But then he was lied about and betrayed, mocked, beaten, scourged, and crucified on the cross. He died on the cross to take away your sins and mine. But he rose victorious on the third day to show that he has defeated death and opened wide the gate of heaven for all believers.
If you consider yourself as him who was hired last, as a sinner who rightly deserved hell, but was freed and given eternal salvation, then the teaching of grace alone will be your greatest comfort. Your certainty of heaven is based on Christ’s perfect life, death, and resurrection. He gladly shares with you the salvation he won! Through faith, heaven is yours.
This is why I believe Lutherans should be the most joyful Christians of all. If one thinks that they must cooperate in their salvation, good works become a chore and burden. But for those who realize that salvation is assured, that our Father in heaven loves us and looks on us already with favor for Jesus’ sake, then we can go about our work in his kingdom with joy. If you consider yourself hired last and unworthy of your wages, then work in God’s vineyard is easy and his burden is light. I don’t serve in God’s vineyard to get something—I already have everything. Whatever I do I do out of thankfulness for him who loved me and gave himself for me.
It doesn’t make any sense, but I am glad that it is true. We are saved by God’s grace alone through faith in Christ Jesus. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”
One day, our life in this world will end. One day we will stand before the almighty judge. But our great comfort is that we won’t be standing before God with our resume. We will have our Savior’s resume which we have been given through faith which was delivered to us through the means of grace. We will stand with Mary and Joseph, Peter, James, and Paul, Abraham and David, and all the saints in heaven. We will all have the same reason for being there—Jesus, only Jesus. It doesn’t make any sense that God is so good to us! Amen.