Word of Salvation – Vol. 36 No. 30 – August 1991

 

The Workers In The Vineyard

 

Sermon by Rev. H. O. Berends on Matthew 20:1-16

 

Brothers and sisters,

Anyone who has ever had children will know the reaction.  One of them happened to be in the right place at the right time, and got something the others didn’t.

Perhaps it was a lolly or an ice cream, or a little toy, or even an extra spoonful of dessert.

But somehow the others found out about it.

And as soon as they do so the cry goes up, ‘It isn’t fair!’

It isn’t fair!  That’s also very much the reaction of those workers in our parable this morning.

There was a landowner, said Jesus, who went out early in the morning to hire men to work in his vineyard.

In those days that was the normal thing to do.  In fact this parable describes the kind of thing that frequently happened at certain times in Palestine.  The grape harvest would ripen towards the end of September.

Very soon after, the rains would normally come, and so the harvest would quickly have to be gathered.

And so the owner of the vineyard would go to the market place of the nearest village or town, which was equivalent to the local labour exchange, to hire his workers.

He would hire them for the day; a denarius a day was the normal rate of pay.  The fact that he went there a number of times during the day would also have been normal.

Perhaps he hired only a certain number of men at 6 o’clock in the morning.

That was the usual time to start but then, as the day wears on, and the landowner looks at the sky, he sees the rain clouds threatening in the distance.  And so at the third hour, 9 am, he goes and hires some more.

Again he goes, at 12 o’clock and again at 3, because if the rains come down before the harvest is in, it will be worth nothing.

Finally, at 5 o’clock, the first drops begin to fall and the man rushes out and finds all the people he can gather.

Together they manage to finish the work just in time and the owner is happy.

In his happiness he is also willing to be generous.

All the labourers will get the same amount of pay.  The ones who worked all day will get the normal wage.

The ones who worked shorter hours, however, are lucky.  After all, the landowner knows that they too need that denarius because otherwise their families will go hungry.  And so he also gives them a full day’s wage even though they don’t, strictly speaking, deserve it.  But the others, when they hear about it, are jealous and angry.

‘Why should they get as a gift what we have earned?  It isn’t fair!’

‘It isn’t fair!’  But: was it unfair?  No, it was not, for that is just the point of the story.

And that was also what Jesus was trying to say to the disciples.

It is important that we note the setting of this story.  You know, sometimes the people who divided the Bible into chapter and verse did so at unfortunate places.  Our text is a case in point.  This parable has very strong connections with the previous chapter.  It has connections with other parts of the Bible as well.  Most commentators would agree that this figure of speech about the vineyard may well have been partly based on that passage which we read from Isaiah, but I won’t go into that this morning.

I just want to point out the relation to Matthew 19.  There we read first of all of the incident of the rich young ruler and the disciples’ reaction.

And as a result of that, in verse 27 we read:
            ‘Peter answered him, ‘We have left everything to follow you.’
            ‘What then will there be for us?’
            ‘Lord, what will be our reward?’ asks Peter.

And first Jesus answers, ‘I tell you the truth, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.’  You will have your reward, says Jesus.

But then, immediately after, he also tells them this parable, to remind them that they have no right to that reward and that they should not complain if those who come after get the same rewards even though they came into God’s kingdom later.

You see, the Jews thought that they were God’s chosen, special people.

They thought they had a right to God’s greatest reward; that they had earned his biggest favour.

The disciples had the same sort of idea with regard to Jesus.

Look, Lord, how good we are, ‘we have left everything and followed you’.  ‘Yes,’ says Christ, ‘you will get your reward, but remember that in God’s kingdom all are equal.  And if I want to give similar rewards to others that is no business of yours?’

That is the first application of this parable; it was told to teach a lesson and to give a warning to Christ’s own disciples.

But, of course, it teaches a lot more than just that and not just to them, but also to us this morning.

And so I would like us to look now at what we can learn from this story.

The first thing we can see here is that, no matter when we enter the kingdom of God, we are precious to God.  All his children are equally precious to God; that surely is also a lesson from this story.

For the landowner represents God; the labourers are those who are called into his kingdom.

Some he calls at an early age.

These are people who grow up to know and love the Lord.  They are nurtured in Christian homes.

They never knew a time when they did not know themselves to be believers.

Some of you would be like that.  Others he calls at the third hour, still reasonably early in the morning.

Perhaps when they are teenagers they make that most important decision, namely, that they will serve the Lord for the rest of their lives.  Others again he calls at noon, in middle age.

Statistics show that most people become Christians in their teens and early twenties, at least in our society.  On the mission field, of course, it may be different.

But at any rate, there are also those who are converted when they are older.

And often these people work all the harder in God’s kingdom.

Others again may even be called in old age perhaps some in the nick of time.  There are such things as deathbed conversions.

The best known case, of course, is the thief on the cross.  Yet God loves them all; they all are equally precious to him and He makes no distinction.

Jesus once said that the angels rejoice over the conversion of one single sinner.

And He makes no distinction as to age or the time this sinner will have left to work in God’s kingdom at all.

Yes, brothers and sisters, we all are precious to God, whenever it was that we entered his kingdom.

And that is something we do well to remember.

Sometimes you find Christians who have been converted at a later age and then they feel sad and sorry.

And perhaps they feel second-rate.  ‘Why did I not listen to God’s call when I was young?  I could have worked so much longer in his kingdom!’

Well, of course that is true, and yes, such people may well feel sad.  But they should also remember that they are not second-rate Christians because of that and that God still loves them just as much.

Sometimes you get people, especially young people, who say, ‘Oh well, I still have many years to go.  First I’ll do my thing and then I’ll come over to God’s side.  He’ll still accept me with open arms’.

‘Youth for pleasure, middle age for business, old age for God,’ as the saying has it.

Of course the problem is: It does not work; tomorrow may be too late.  The story is told of a wise Jewish rabbi.  People used to ask him: ‘When is a good time to be converted?’  He would say: ‘The day before you die.’  ‘But, Rabbi,’ they would answer, ‘We don’t know when we will die; we might die tomorrow!’  ‘Well,’ he would reply, ‘in that case you’d better get converted today!’  A wise answer.

And the Bible says it so clearly: ‘Today is the day of salvation.’

Is there anyone here who has not yet given his life or her life to the Lord?  Don’t use this parable to justify a postponement.  Don’t wait for the 11th hour!

And the day may come when you may have to say, with those people in chapter 8 verse 20 of the book of Jeremiah, “The harvest is past, the summer has ended, and we are not saved.’

The second thing this parable teaches is that, no matter what work we do for God, we are all equally rewarded.

In fact, it is clear that it is not so much the work that is done, but the spirit in which it is done that matters.

That was the problem with those first labourers, wasn’t it?  The original ones were working under contract.

We read it in verse 2: ‘He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard…’

And again in verse 13: ‘Friend, I am not being unfair to you.  Didn’t you agree to work for a denarius?  Take your pay and go…!’  They had nothing to complain about.

They worked under a contract and they got what they deserved but the others had worked without a contract.

They had trusted the landowner to be fair to them and he was and so is the Lord.  He is no man’s debtor.

The Lord does not act like some people do.  I was reading some time ago about the experience of a well-known American black Christian.

John Perkins was his name and he relates how one day, as an 11 year old boy, he had found work for a day with a white farmer.

He had worked hard all day under the blazing sun, gathering in the harvest.  At the end of the day, as he stood on the farmer’s porch, waiting for his pay which should have been at least a dollar or two he was dreaming about what he would be able to do with the money.  But as the farmer finally came out and pressed some coins into his hand he was terribly hurt, and humiliated, and disappointed.  For there, for all his hard work, was a total of fifteen cents and he knew he had been cheated though he could do nothing about it.  The Lord is not like that.  The Lord does not underpay his people.  No, our God is a generous God, and He gives far beyond what his people deserve and we do not need a contract either.

As Christians we should not work to rule for the Lord.  We should serve him with happy hearts, knowing that He will abundantly bless us.  And let us realize too that it doesn’t matter what kind of work we do for him; with God that’s not important.

I mean: sometimes Christians can be so proud of what they do for the Lord.  That is a danger, especially amongst so-called full-time Christian workers, including preachers.  I will never forget the story I once read about a well-known minister in England, who was called from a large to a small congregation.

He sent them a one-line reply, in the form of a question: ‘Does an eagle sit on a chicken’s nest?’  How proud, and how sad, brothers and sisters.

You know, I think that there are going to be a few surprises in heaven.  Because many who thought they were great on earth will find others go in before them.

Yes, I know, I said before that one thing this parable teaches is that for all Christians the reward will be the same.  We all receive God’s same gift of salvation.

But on the other hand, the Bible also hints at certain different rewards in heaven.

But I wonder… how many obscure Christians, people not well known, not very clever perhaps, people whose most important task was to mow the church lawn, or keep the plants around the property watered and growing, will enter the Kingdom before important people.

Maybe they were housewives who simply brought up and loved and provided for their children; they loved the Lord, and they did it for him and I wonder, how many of such will there be who will take precedence when they get to heaven.

Don’t think that what you are doing, for God is not important.  Never think that you do not count or that you cannot be a worker for the Lord.

On the radio some time ago I heard that it has been estimated that on average every person in our society directly or indirectly influences at least 2 million other people.

You have an effect on people who in turn affect other people and so it goes on, like a ripple in the ocean… and the ripple does not die out until it has affected, to some extent, at least 2 million others.  That’s most of the population of Melbourne!  Isn’t that staggering?  And that applies to just ordinary people.  If you have a job which gives you much contact with others the effect is far greater.  Teachers, for example affect about 3 million others.

So what I am trying to say is: don’t think you are not important.  Don’t think that what you say, the way you live, does not affect others.

I believe that many so called ordinary Christians will be greatly surprised when they find out, and one day in heaven they will find out, how much they have influenced others.  Don’t think you do not count; you do, and perhaps more than some who think they are doing great things for the Lord.  ‘Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last ones and going on to the first,’ said the owner.  And Jesus’ final conclusion, repeated twice, once in chapter 19 verse 30 and again in 20:16 ‘But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first.’

We are all precious to God, and we will all be rewarded.

And then the third thing which this parable teaches is that it is all of grace.  What we receive we receive by God’s grace; none of us deserve it.

It matters not what time we started, however long and hard we work for God, we are only doing our duty.  We are all, in the end, unworthy servants.  And yet the Lord, in his grace, pays us more than we deserve.  He does not pay us wages.  If he did, we would die, for the wages of sin is death, says the Bible.

But He gives us what we do not deserve: eternal life, through the death and the blood of his Son Jesus.

He was the only one who could have laid claim to a justly earned wage yet He did not claim it.

He was God’s Son but he took upon himself the form of a servant.  He humbled himself, yes, even unto death, so that we who all are Johnny-come-latelies who do not deserve anything from God, might yet call him our heavenly Father.

As that great church father Gregory of Nazianzus once put it: ‘He became what we are, that we might become what he is’.

He became what we are, that we might become what he is.  It is all of grace, brothers and sisters, young people.  That is perhaps the greatest lesson of all.  Do you know it?  You know, it is so hard to admit, that none of us deserve God’s wages.

We like to pretend that we are better than we are and that somehow we have deserved God’s favour.

We are so good at trying to hoodwink God.

The other day I read about a man who comes home dead drunk.  His Christian wife helps him up to the bedroom.  She undresses him and puts him to bed, then she kneels by the bedside and whispers: ‘John, do you want me to pray for you?’  He nods, and she begins to pray, ‘Dear Lord, I pray for my husband who lies here drunk…!’

Before she can get any further he says, gruffly, ‘Don’t tell him I’m drunk, tell him I’m sick!’  Oh yes, we may smile and think, what a stupid fellow.

But are we not all like that in some measure?

We don’t want the Lord to know how bad we really are.  We find it so hard to confess that we are sinners.

And yet that’s what we are: sinners, saved by grace.

We receive God’s riches at Christ’s expense.  That’s what grace stands for.

GRACE: God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense.

And the devil cries out, ‘It’s not fair!  They do not deserve it!  But God says, ‘My Son paid the price, and so they may enter.’

Yes, what we receive we receive by God’s grace.  We are all like those labourers who started late.  None of us deserve God’s grace so let us rejoice in that, let us give thanks for that also.

Let us never be jealous of one another.

Let us seek to do the task God sets us to do, and, whatever that task may be, let us do it gladly.

And so let us labour faithfully until the harvest is in.

AMEN