Generosity

Living the Parables
-Part XIII-

#27 The Workers Paid Equally
Matthew 20:1-15

1 For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire men to work in his vineyard. 2 He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard.

3 About the third hour he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. 4 He told them, 'You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.' 5 So they went.

He went out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour and did the same thing. 6 About the eleventh hour he went out and found still others standing around. He asked them, 'Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?'

7 'Because no one has hired us,' they answered.

He said to them, 'You also go and work in my vineyard.'

8 When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, 'Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired and going on to the first.'

9 The workers who were hired about the eleventh hour came and each received a denarius. 10 So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius. 11 When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner. 12 'These men who were hired last worked only one hour,' they said, 'and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.'

13 But he answered one of them, 'Friend, I am not being unfair to you. Didn't you agree to work for a denarius? 14 Take your pay and go. I want to give the man who was hired last the same as I gave you. 15 Don't I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?'

16 So the last will be first and the first will be last

At first glance, this parable may appear to contradict the parable of the talents (and the parable of the minas/pounds), but we must determine what aspect of the kingdom each parable is talking about. To accomplish this, let us first look at what God's Word says about Judgment Day.

We will all be judged by our works
1. Matthew 16:27, 25:31-43
2. Romans 2:5-8
3. 1 Peter 1:17
4. Revelation 20:12-13

We are saved...
BY GRACE
Acts 15:11
Ephesians 2:5
2 Timothy 1:9

THROUGH FAITH
Luke 7:50
1 Timothy 2:15
Ephesians 2:8

THAT WORKS
James 2:14-19
James 2:20-24
Galatians 5:6

If we are saved by GRACE through FAITH that WORKS then why are we only judged by works?
1. We aren't judged by grace, for that wouldn't involve us at all
2. We aren't judged by a faith, b/c faith by itself is invisible. A statement of faith can be faked.
3. We are judged by works, b/c they are the evidence of genuine faith

In interpreting this parable, we must determine whether it is focused on the GRACE, FAITH or WORKS component of our Christian lives. I believe the parable's of the talents/minas/pounds are focused on our works. Their theme is the activity (or inactivity) of the workers. This parable, in contrast, is focused on the generosity of the landowner. Therefore, I believe this parable is about grace. This theory accounts for why the workers in the former parables are given different rewards (since their levels of work were different) whereas the workers in the latter parable were all given the same pay (since they were all equally dependant on the giver's generosity).

The point of the parable, to me, proves that there is ZERO amount of 'deservedness' when it comes to obtaining what is necessary to make it beyond Judgment Day. We all are bankrupt. We all need a generous master. We all need Him equally.

Here are 13 truths from this parable:
1. Until we begin working for Christ, we are without a worthy purpose (1)
2. There is a lot of work to do in the kingdom (1)
3. The work is harvest focused (1)
4. We live in harvest day (2)
5. We receive enough for 1 day (2)
6. Jesus is always looking for more workers (3-6)
7. Some of those that Jesus finds will have little opportunity to work for Him on earth (6)
8. A late comer must be the kind of worker that would have worked hard if time permitted (6-7)
9. Jesus wants us to learn the lesson that we are all equals in the kingdom of God (8)
10. We don’t fully understand the generosity of God (9-10)
11. A comparing Christian always finds something to grumble about (9-12)
12. We need to learn God’s kind of generosity (13-16)
13. Our view of grace naturally dissolves with time (15)