Matthew 20:1-16
‘For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire labourers for his vineyard. After agreeing with the labourers for the usual daily wage, he sent them into his vineyard. When he went out about nine o’clock, he saw others standing idle in the market-place; and he said to them, “You also go into the vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.” So they went. When he went out again about noon and about three o’clock, he did the same. And about five o’clock he went out and found others standing around; and he said to them, “Why are you standing here idle all day?” They said to him, “Because no one has hired us.” He said to them, “You also go into the vineyard.” When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his manager, “Call the labourers and give them their pay, beginning with the last and then going to the first.” When those hired about five o’clock came, each of them received the usual daily wage. Now when the first came, they thought they would receive more; but each of them also received the usual daily wage. And when they received it, they grumbled against the landowner, 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 the usual daily wage? Take what belongs to you and go; I choose to give to this last the same as I give to you. Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or are you envious because I am generous?” So the last will be first, and the first will be last.’
Blog Discussion Question: The owner said he would pay "whatever is right". What is "right"?
There's been some great comments to these parables. Thanks for all the comments.
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9 comments:
This is such a humbling parable for us all! My husband this morning brought up the words from ReliantK's song after he read through it: "the beauty of grace is that it makes life not fair". He stated, "The workers that started first in the vineyard failed to see the generosity and were some people fail to see the beauty of a generous God." So many times in life we find ourselves looking at what we don't have and what God has not 'blessed' us with that we fail to see what he has so generously poured upon us! That doesn't mean that we should stop praying necessarily for those "big things" in our lives because our God is a Big God and can do great things, but we need to first humble ourselves and remember His over powering Love and Generosity that He has already bestowed on us. RJQ ~ So yeah that was a pretty good thought yesterday! Have a great day everyone!
This parable certainly makes it on my list of "favorites". KevKat, you are right...it is all about His grace. And the parable is about HIS vineyard. This is not how I would have written the parable. I have difficulty seeing Mother Teresa and Jeffrey Dahmer (who reportedly repented and became a Christian a few months before another inmate murdered him) coming to the same well of Grace. It is hard for me to see Billy Graham (who may have said an unkind word to Ruth at some time) and Tiger Woods (confessing having morals of a tom cat) side by side getting the same reward after working in His vineyard. Maybe Jeffrey and Tiger (and me) realized like the laborers hired late in the day...they had no where else to go.
It is blessd assurance for me to know that is does not matter whether you cut your teeth on a church pew or are a death bed convert we will receive a RIGHT(EOUS) reward.
To me this parable underlines our smallness and God's greatness. Read some choice chapters in Job to get this parable in perspective. First read ch. 29 where Job talks about how his life once was. Then in ch. 30 he says but now even the lowliest of lowlies mock and insult him (whom he befriended, of course). Then in ch. 31 he declares before God his innocence. Now skip to ch. 38 and God begins with the question, "Who is this that darkens counsel by words without KNOWLEDGE"? Then follows with, "where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?"; "have you ever in your life commanded the morning, and caused the dawn to know its place"; "have you entered the storehouses of the snow, or have you seen the storehouses of the hail"? When I begin feeling sorry for myself or think that life isn't fair, I read this.
God is sovereign. God is omnipotent. We have nothing to say back to God about anything. He is maker and owner of all. OF ALL.
We own nothing; everything we are and have is a gift! Isn't it time we start acknowledging that in the way we live, think, and act.
How can we, the workers in the field, question anything the master, God, says or decides? Hence, my interpretation of what this parable is ultimately saying.
I hope what I have to say may make some sense...but in the real world of today, if I were an employee who put in a full day's work every day; and then someone comes in at 5:00 and works part time for several hours and get the same pay, I think that I would probably not like that at all. However, I think this parable might be saying that if someone was born and raised to worship Christ and to live his life according to God's Word; while another person did not get to know Christ and to accept Him until much later in life, then they both should receive the same "right" reward of eternal life. I, too, appreciate everyone's comments. I print them out daily so that I can refer back to them whenever I like.
This blogging sharing is becoming quite addictive to me! I can't wait to read others' insights!
I agree with Sparrow--working all day and some one works part time a couple hours...doesn't seem fair. But as KevKat said in the song he read through..."The beauty of grace is that it makes life not fair" is quite thought provoking! Only if you're on the "winning side" does that statement make most people think that "grace" is beautiful! But when one thinks of "God's most generous GRACE", we need to think of the father that runs out to his Prodigal Son with such open arms--filled with forgiving GRACE! This parable will always be an insult to economists dealing with "bottom line" and "balancing the budget". So, we're GLAD that God doesn't have a "limited supply" of Grace, right? As we think about it, we are all the "five-o'clock" worker that doesn't actually deserve the "full pay"! So, yes, we're thankful that God's Grace ISN'T FAIR!
To me the "fairness" issue is answered in this parable. God eagerly waits for us to come to his presence, and wants us to receive the gift of grace at any time. So it is for those within our faith. Some may be idle in their spiritual journey as others appear to be in the 'KNOW' of the church. Are those any more important in the work of the church? The Bible has called all to serve, each will have different talents and sometimes, those talents are quiet services, sometimes the talents are listening, sometimes the talents are leading, but always the goal is to increase our relationship with Him. He has placed the gift of getting to know him on the table and this parable is like a bow on the gift that entices us to open it up and learn more.
I really dig what kevkit said (everyone else to, no special treatment), the fact that we fail to see the generosity. We should be falling over backwards in gratitude that we have been in God's presence, and jumping over ourselves in joy that others are joining in. It can be very upsetting at work when others get paid for then me, and i have been there since the start. But i also have had the job longer and had something ___ while others had nothing ;-}
Once again....great blogging.
This is one of those perplexing parables, where by our standards it seems to say that God isn't fair...giving as much to the one's who barely broke a sweat as those who bore the heat of the day.
But I tend to think that that is the point. In this parable we see a picture of what God defines as fair or "right".
A denaii was one day's wage, enough to supply the needs of a person for one day. Interestingly enough as the Israelites wandered in the wilderness, they were only supposed to gather enough manna for one day.
We tend to think that "fairness" or "rightness" is determined by what we earn, by what we deserve. In this parable, Jesus seems to say that "fairness" or "rightness" in God's mind is determined by what we need.
Those who worked all day got what they needed. Those who worked one hour also got what they needed. If one treats others out a sense of compassion and love, what one needs is far more important than what one deserves.
The Israelites discovered that God gave them what they needed, in spite of their faithlessness. (As a matter of fact they were only given what they needed for one day so as to learn that they could trust God to give them what they needed the next day.)
God shows his fairness, rightness, to us in that he gives us what we need: his saving grace. That is how it is when one operates out of love. Thank God that God does give us what we need, rather than what we have earned or deserve, for we could never earn or deserve what we need...no matter how long we bore the heat of the day.
Once again....great blogging.
This is one of those perplexing parables, where by our standards it seems to say that God isn't fair...giving as much to the one's who barely broke a sweat as those who bore the heat of the day.
But I tend to think that that is the point. In this parable we see a picture of what God defines as fair or "right".
A denaii was one day's wage, enough to supply the needs of a person for one day. Interestingly enough as the Israelites wandered in the wilderness, they were only supposed to gather enough manna for one day.
We tend to think that "fairness" or "rightness" is determined by what we earn, by what we deserve. In this parable, Jesus seems to say that "fairness" or "rightness" in God's mind is determined by what we need.
Those who worked all day got what they needed. Those who worked one hour also got what they needed. If one treats others out a sense of compassion and love, what one needs is far more important than what one deserves.
The Israelites discovered that God gave them what they needed, in spite of their faithlessness. (As a matter of fact they were only given what they needed for one day so as to learn that they could trust God to give them what they needed the next day.)
God shows his fairness, rightness, to us in that he gives us what we need: his saving grace. That is how it is when one operates out of love. Thank God that God does give us what we need, rather than what we have earned or deserve, for we could never earn or deserve what we need...no matter how long we bore the heat of the day.
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