A Most Generous Reward

THE MOST GENEROUS REWARD
MATTHEW 20:1-16

“For the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. 2 After agreeing with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard. 3 And going out about the third hour he saw others standing idle in the marketplace, 4 and to them he said, ‘You go into the vineyard too, and whatever is right I will give you.’ 5 So they went. Going out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour, he did the same. 6 And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing. And he said to them, ‘Why do you stand here idle all day?’ 7 They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You go into the vineyard too.’ 8 And when evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last, up to the first.’ 9 And when those hired about the eleventh hour came, each of them received a denarius. 10 Now when those hired first came, they thought they would receive more, but each of them also received a denarius. 11 And on receiving it they grumbled at the master of the house, 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 a denarius? 14 Take what belongs to you and go. I choose to give to this last worker as I give to you. 15 Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity?’ 16 So the last will be first, and the first last.”

In the name of Jesus:
In the Australian newspaper "The Melbourne Age," there was an interesting article research done at the from the University of Atlanta. The article was titled called: "Monkeys want to see justice done."
At the University of Atlanta, researchers tested capuchin monkeys. They gave them the task of picking up a small granite stone and bringing it to the researcher within one minute. If they were successful, they were rewarded with the wage of a slice of cucumber. The scheme worked well. It was happy lab situation as long as each monkey received the same wage. This turned sour when the researchers varied the pattern. They tried giving one monkey a grape for its reward. Indignation broke out. First the others withheld their labor, and later they even took to throwing away the cucumber and the granite stone.
Their sense of justice had been offended. Our sense of justice is also offended when we are happy with our station in life, only to get upset when we see someone in a similar situation that is better off. Then we cry foul! We want to go on strike and demand an end to such monkey business.
This sense of justice is a worldly sense of justice. And that sense of justice, in part, forms the framework for the parable for today. It is the parable about the householder who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. He agreed with them on the usual wage, one denarius for a full day’s work. Soon after, he hired others, some worked nine hours, others six, still others three, and then those who worked for only an hour. In the evening, when it comes time to pay up, the householder begins to pay that which he owes. To the first ones hired, he pays the full day wage. But to those who worked fewer hours, he pays the same wage. Everyone gets the same, no matter when the started, the paycheck was the same.
Now, it is obvious that this wouldn’t fly in today’s marketplace. It wouldn’t be acceptable back then either. In ordinary labor relations, it wouldn’t be deemed as fair. For in our world, and in our understanding, if you work more you get paid more. The one who labors hard gets higher wages. The one who works less gains less. In principle, the sense of justice is that it is not right to pay equal wages for unequal work.
But the Lord tells this parable, not for labor relations, but to illustrate the stark difference between His Kingdom and our worldly realm. His Kingdom operates on a different level of understanding, on a different plane than our worldly life. From a worldly point of view, there is no equality because people are so different. That is why the general rule is that if you work more you get paid more. And if you get something as an inheritance, as a gift, then someone else cannot claim that gift. But in Christ’s Kingdom, the free gift is for all.
This is why it is important for us to distinguish between God’s Kingdom and the worldly kingdom in which we live. Farmers, doctors, educators, do different work and are all paid differently according to their labor. Each is vitally important in his or her own way in the work they do. Their pay is different, one will earn more than another, and there is an inequality that exists. And this is good! A parent is different than a child. A farmer is different than a doctor. Each has different but important roles, different vocations or callings in life. But in God’s scheme of things, in His Kingdom, it is different.
How is it different? Because of who we are in God’s sight. God’s declaration is damning: All have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory. There is none of us, which is perfect. God demands holiness. We revel in sin. God desires contentment; we envy those who have more than us. God rejoices in good, we rejoice in getting even. Instead of seeing life and receiving God’s good gifts, we grumble and complain, thinking and reasoning that we do not have enough. Do you know what we really don’t have enough us? Righteousness. God says that in order to enter heaven our righteousness must EXCEED the Pharisees, however our righteousness is like filthy garments. When we err, we try to justify our actions, take back our words, or even strike out at those who have wronged us. We have continually failed to show love to our neighbor and to do unto others in a way in which we would want done to us.
There was once a lady who had a stranger appear at her door and simply handed her a $100 bill. She was dumbfounded! Then the same thing happened the next day.... and the next...and the next. For thirty straight days this stranger gave her $100 without explanation. On the 31st day the lady was waiting at the door when she saw the man coming down the street. But then he passed her house and walked up to her neighbor's house, and gave her a $100 bill! The first lady was indignant and yelled at the guy, "Hey, where's my $100 bill?"
Herein is our problem. Rather than being generous, we cry out in unfairness, Hey, where is mine? It's easy to think that when life is going our way that somehow we deserve it. We come to expect it. We even plan for it. This parable is not so much about the injustice of workers getting paid the same for different amounts of work. It is about God and God's mercy and grace. Sometimes it appears that some people are receiving more of God's grace than others. But as Christians we live, not in a world of justice, but of grace.
And this is the point that Jesus is making in our text for today. We live in a state of God’s grace. Grace is a free gift! We live as recipients of God’s gifts. We totally rely on God for all things. Receiving God’s gifts each and every day marks our lives, grace upon grace. In our physical lives, we have been given life as a gift of God. Not one of us popped out of our mother’s womb and said that we were in of our own choosing. We didn’t have a choice. Neither did we have a choice in making God send His Son Jesus to be our Savior. God so loved the world that HE SENT His only Son. Salvation is a free gift of God. You have been saved by God’s grace through faith in Christ; it isn’t of your own doing. And this faith that you possess, that too is a gift. It is not that you chose God, God chose you, He has given you faith in Christ as a gift for no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the power of the Spirit. It is utterly impossible for man to save himself, so God does the work for sinners, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us! Salvation is impossible with men and possible only with God, for with Him ALL things, even the salvation of the soul, are possible. Your salvation, the salvation of each and every person is solely because of the grace and working of God.
The owner of the vineyard says to the servants: "I treat you most generously." This is how God deals with you, with me, with all of us. He is kind, gracious, and good to sinners, and yet there are those who in their own way of thinking, envious of others. Seeing as God gives us what we do not deserve, we have no right to be envious or even hateful towards others who are received into God’s grace, no matter when they come to faith. We are to bask, not in our own self-righteousness or glory, but to glory in what God has done for us in Jesus Christ. God calls us to be grateful to Him, humble, and to serve Him in thanks for what He has done for us with a child like spirit.
Aesop had a fable about two eagles, one envious of the other because the other could soar higher and more elegantly than he could. So the envious eagle would pluck his strongest feathers from his own body and shoot them as arrows, trying to wound or kill the other eagle. It was his own undoing, however. He could not hit the highflying eagle, and he was eventually grounded by his lack of feathers. Envy destroyed the eagle.
Envy or jealousy, that is nurtured and not repented of, leads to eternal disaster. This is why Jesus warns us: the last will be first and the first shall be last. Those who fall prey to envy, unbelief, hypocrisy, and comparison with others, even when they know better, will be rejected on the Last Day. But to those who rely on the grace of God in Christ are saved.
A man dies and goes to heaven. Of course, St. Peter meets him at the Pearly Gates. St. Peter say's, "Here's how it works. You need 100 points to make it into heaven. You tell me all the good things you've done, and I give you a certain number of points for each item, depending on how good it was. When you reach 100 points, you get in." Okay, " the man says, "I was married to the same women for 50 years and never cheated on her, even in my heart." That's wonderful," says St. Peter, "that's worth three points." Three points?"
He says. "Well, I attended church all my life and supported its ministry with my tithe and service." Terrific!" say's St. Peter. "That's certainly worth a point." "One point? Well I started a soup kitchen in my city and worked in a shelter for homeless veterans." Fantastic, that's good for two more points," he says. "Two points!"
The man cries. "At this rate the only way to get into heaven is by the grace of God!" St. Peter smiled. "There's your 100 points! Come on in!"
By grace you have been saved, through faith in Christ, it is not of your doing, so that when you boast, your boasting will give glory to God.
Amen