The Parables of Jesus: A Parable You Probably Won’t Like
Gettysburg Presbyterian Church
David C. Wright
Matt. 9:30 - 20:16
September 20, 2009

         We begin this morning with a review.  What was the central theme of Jesus’ teaching?  That’s right.  The Kingdom of God- a kingdom without geographic or political boundaries.  The Kingdom of God exists wherever God is honored as king, wherever God’s will is done.  It is most fully realized in heaven, but Jesus taught that God’s kingdom is breaking into our present world right now, whenever God’s will is done.  Last week’s parables reminded us that the kingdom of God grows, that it has tremendous influence, and that it is of supreme value.
          A couple years ago I did a children’s sermon in which I set up a board game and asked a kid named Tyler to play it with me.  We played along fine for five or six moves, and he was winning.  But then I decided to change the rules and hopscotched my piece past his and over the finish line, loudly announcing, “I won!”  Tyler wasn’t pleased!  His pastor had cheated at “Candyland!”  He may still be in therapy over that incident for all I know!  I did that children’s message to demonstrate the importance of rules in our world.  And they are important.  But this morning’s parable reminds us that the Kingdom of God operates by different rules than worldly kingdoms. 
          Listen as I read it.  But let me warn you-  you probably won’t like it!  (Read Matt. 19:30- 20:16)
          30  But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.
          Matthew 20
          1  "For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard.
          2  After agreeing with the laborers for the usual daily wage, he sent them into his vineyard.
          3  When he went out about nine o'clock, he saw others standing idle in the marketplace;
          4  and he said to them, "You also go into the vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.' So they went.
          5  When he went out again about noon and about three o'clock, he did the same.
          6  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?'
          7  They said to him, "Because no one has hired us.' He said to them, "You also go into the vineyard.'
          8  When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his manager, "Call the laborers and give them their pay, beginning with the last and then going to the first.'
          9  When those hired about five o'clock came, each of them received the usual daily wage.
          10  Now when the first came, they thought they would receive more; but each of them also received the usual daily wage.
          11  And when they received it, they grumbled against the landowner,
          12  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.'
          13  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?
          14  Take what belongs to you and go; I choose to give to this last the same as I give to you.
          15  Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or are you envious because I am generous?'
          16  So the last will be first, and the first will be last."
          Hmmm.  Here we have a common situation in rural Galilee.  It took place about this time of year when it was time to harvest the grapes.  The landowner is involved in a race against time to get the crop in before the rains begin.  Beginning at dawn, he hires day-laborers who congregate each morning in the marketplace.  The deal?  Twelve hours of labor for one denarius- the usual wage for a day’s work.  After a few hours it becomes clear that he needs more workers, so he returns to the marketplace at 9AM, then at noon, 3PM, and even at 5PM to hire more workers.  He promises to pay these workers “whatever is right.”  They probably expect to receive a portion of a usual day’s wage.
          Darkness falls.  The work ceases.  It’s pay time!  Imagine yourself as one of the workers who began working at dawn.  You are bone-tired and dehydrated from laboring all day in the scorching sun.  The workers hired last are paid first.  And they receive a full day’s wage!  Wow!  What a generous landowner.  You do some quick calculations.  If this rate holds, you’ll be receiving 12 denari- 12 times the usual daily wage!  But then the 3PM workers are paid the same one denarius.  So are the noon workers and the 9AM workers.  These workers worked much longer than those hired late in the day, but they are paid the same amount!  This doesn’t seem right.  When your turn comes, you and the other 12-hour workers receive the same measly one denarius, the usual day’s wage.  You begin grumbling about this to the other workers, about the unfairness of the situation.
          The landowner overhears and responds.  “I have done you no wrong,” he says.  “You were paid exactly what we agreed upon.  If I choose to be generous to the others, what concern is that to you?  Are you envious because of my generosity to the others?”  Hmmm…
          I told you that you might not like this parable!  One commentator called it “The Parable of the Eccentric Employer” with good reason!  Most of us empathize with those employees who labored all day long.  It just doesn’t seem fair, does it?  So, what is Jesus trying to teach us about the Kingdom of God with this odd, provocative story?  I think the key to understanding the parable is found in what comes before and after it.  Just prior to the parable Matthew tells us about the encounter between Jesus and the rich young man, the one who was unwilling to give up his wealth in order to follow Jesus.  Jesus comments about how hard it is for the rich to enter God’s kingdom.  The disciples are shocked, because, like all Jews in ancient times, they believe that riches are a sign of blessing from God.  Peter responds by saying that unlike the rich young man, he and the other disciples have left everything to follow Jesus.  “What then will we get?” he asks. (Matt. 19:27) Jesus tells him that they will be rewarded with places of honor in heaven, but then says “But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.”  He then tells this parable concluding with that same saying, “So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”  The Kingdom of God uses different values and rules than this worldly kingdom.
          For years my family enjoyed the heat of a wood stove during the cold months of winter.  We always cut our own wood and every year we rented a hydraulic log splitter for a day and split a couple cords of wood to get us through the winter.  It was a long, hard day of heavy work.  We needed everyone to help!  When the kids were young, they couldn’t do nearly as much work as we could on splitting day- and the younger one couldn’t do as much as the older.  They might help stack the logs or clean up the debris.  They would take frequent breaks and get distracted at times.  But at the end of the day, when we would go out for a special treat (a meal or some ice cream), everyone would get that same reward.  And no one was upset by this.  Different rules apply in a family than in a business or a court.
          Different rules apply in God’s kingdom, too.  Grace takes priority over justice and fairness.  That’s the key to understanding the parable.  The landowner (who represents God) exercises grace and mercy rather than strict fairness.  Perhaps he knows that those who began work late still needed a full day’s wage if they were to feed their families.  So he generously gave them more than they deserved.  That’s grace.  And it’s the primary value in the kingdom of God.  And that’s a good thing.  As Mark Twain put it, “Heaven goes by favor (grace).  If it went by merit, you would stay out, and your dog would go in.”
          And this grace stuff affects more than our entry into heaven.  It affects our present situation, too.  David Seamands, a well-known Christian counselor, has concluded that a major cause of emotional problems among Christians is the failure to understand and receive God’s grace and forgiveness.
          Grace can be hard to receive.  We want to believe we’ve earned our way, paid the freight.  That’s the American way!  But to accept God’s grace means admitting we can’t make it on our own.  So some refuse to accept it at all.  They choose instead to try and impress God with their own goodness, which just doesn’t work.
          Peter asks Jesus what’s in it for the disciples who have sacrificed so much to follow him. With this parable, Jesus responds in essence, “You will be rewarded, but so will others- in surprising ways.  God’s kingdom uses different standards from the world, and grace and mercy are primary.”  This is the main point of the story.
          There are a couple of secondary points, too, that I also appreciate.    Notice that in the Kingdom of God, latecomers are welcomed.  They are equal in privilege to those who came first.  For the early believers, who were all Jewish, this meant welcoming those late-coming Gentiles who also responded to the Good News of Jesus Christ, and that was a very difficult thing to do.  For us as a church today, the parable means that the most recent new member has the same privileges as the oldest member, and must be treated in the same way- welcomed, respected, included, and nurtured.   For us as individuals, it means that those who come to faith late in life are welcomed into God’s kingdom just like those who come earlier in life.  Some of us have grown up in the faith.  Others come late in life- some very late.  But it is never too late.  God will welcome you today, no matter how long you’ve waited.   Latecomers are welcome in God’s kingdom.
          This parable also undercuts legalistic approaches to religion.  Most religions operate on a merit system of some sort.  If your good stuff outweighs your bad stuff you get into heaven.  Or if you perform certain rituals or meet certain requirements you are rewarded.  This kind of legalistic thinking even spills into the church from time to time.  The parable reminds us that Christian religion is all about God’s grace, not what we’ve done.  Christ has already done all that is necessary to secure our place in heaven.  We just gratefully accept his sacrifice for us.
          Finally, the parable warns us about the acid of envy.  It was envy that prompted the ungrateful response on the part of the 12-hour workers.  Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? asks the landowner.  Or are you envious because I am generous?  There was no injustice done to these workers.  But the introduction of mercy to the others poisoned their ability to be content with what they had. 
          The story is told of a woman who died after a long illness.  As she was waiting at the gates of heaven, she peeked in and saw a beautiful banquet table around which sat her parents, friends, and others who had loved her.  They saw her and greeted her warmly.  When St. Peter came by, she said, “This is a wonderful place.  How do I get in?” 
          “You have to spell a word.”
          “Which word?” she asked.
          “Grace.”  The woman correctly spelled G-R-A-C-E and was welcomed into heaven.
          Some time later, St. Peter came and asked the woman to watch the gates for a while.  She was shocked to see her former husband approaching.  “How have you been?” she asked.
“Actually, I’ve been doing pretty well since you died.  I married the beautiful young nurse who cared for you during your illness.  Then I won the lottery. We sold the little house you and I lived in and bought a big mansion.  My wife and I traveled around the world.  We were on vacation, and I went water skiing today.  I fell and hit my head on a rock and that’s why I’m here.  How do you get into this place?”
          “You have to spell a word,” the woman answered.
          “Which word?”
          “Czechoslovakia,” she replied.
          In the kingdom of God, we’re called to weep with those who weep and rejoice with those who rejoice.  Envy twists our ability to respond as we should.  It makes the kind of community life that God desires for his kingdom impossible.  And it makes us miserable.  In the kingdom of God, envy is rooted out and not allowed to flourish.  The parable is about grace- God’s grace toward us and our grace toward one another.
          Bono Vox of the rock band U2 once said, “The most powerful idea that’s entered the world in the last few thousand years- the idea of grace- is the reason I would like to be a Christian.  Though, I sometimes feel more like a fan, rather than actually in the band.  I can’t live up to it.  But the reason I would like to is the idea of grace.  It’s really powerful.”  Since that interview, Bono has confessed his faith in Jesus Christ and become a Christian.
          And he has it right.  Grace is what Christian faith and life in the kingdom of God is all about.  The main theme of the teaching of Jesus is the kingdom of God.  And grace is the central value of the Kingdom.

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