Tuesday, December 11, 2012

The Parable of the Vineyard Workers, Part 20 of 28

TEXT: "But many who are first will be last, and the last first. For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. Now when he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard. And he went out about the third hour and saw others standing idle in the marketplace, and said to them, "You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right I will give you." And they went. Again he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour, and did likewise. And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing idle, and said to them, "Why have you been standing here idle all day?" They said to him, "Because no one hired us." He said to them, "You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right you will receive." So when evening had come, the owner of the vineyard said to his steward, "Call the laborers and give them their wages, beginning with the last to the first." And when those came who were hired about the eleventh hour, they each received a denarius. But when the first came, they supposed that they would receive more; and they likewise received each a denarius. And when they had received it, they murmured against the landlord, saying, "These last men have worked only one hour, and you made them equal to us who have borne the burden and the heat of the day." But he answered one of them and said, "Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? Take what is yours and go your way. I wish to give to this last man the same as to you. Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with my own things? Or is your eye evil because I am good?" So the last will be first, and the first last. For many are called, but few chosen." (Matthew 19:30 - 20:16)

IDEA: We will not be rewarded on the basis of how much time we have spent in Christ's service, but the reward lies in having spent time in His vineyard.

PURPOSE: To help listeners have perspective on how God deals with the people converted at different times of life.

Are there advantages for men and women who become Christians and serve God all of their lives over those who come to God late in life and serve Him a short time?

I. There is an implied answer to that question in the story in Matthew 20:1-16 and in the phrase that introduces and concludes it: "So the last will be first, and the first last. "

What does that little saying mean?

In the story, how does the owner of the vineyard pay his workers? What is the order in which the workers are paid? Is that all this phrase is referring to?

There is a deeper principle that lies within this: God's way of rewarding us breaks the rules that we usually think are important in life.

When we get in line, how do lines work?

A friend waiting for a liver transplant is first in line, but at least five people have been given livers before him because their cases are more critical. He handles this with great grace because he has another principle: they need the liver even more than he does. When another principle operates, it can dismiss the normal principles we use in life.

The saying means that the principle upon which God operates is not the same principle we expect in life.

II. How does this apply to the question about people being saved late in life?

We would not expect that the normal order of things will be in operation. The way the vineyard owner pays his help has nothing to do with the amount of work they did.

Do you think that the people who were hired at the end of the day and received a denarius mocked the others for having worked all day? Do you think they would look back at the time they spent standing around doing nothing as good?

The person to be pitied in the story is the person who spent the whole day doing nothing, not the ones who were involved in meaningful labor. The disadvantage of being saved late in life is that a good part of your life was simply wasted, standing around doing nothing as far as God's kingdom is concerned.

Thielicke: "The very thing you do not want is precisely what I do. Anybody who comes at the last hour I will pay in full."