Our reading this morning is from the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 19, verse 23, to chapter 20, verse 19.
And Jesus said to his disciples,
Truly I say to you, only with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven.
Again, I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.
When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished, saying,
Who then can be saved?
But Jesus looked at them and said,
With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.
Then Peter said in reply,
See, we have left everything and followed you.
What then will we have?
Jesus said to them,
Truly I say to you, in the new world, when the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne,
You who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
And everyone who has left houses, or brothers, or sisters, or father, or mother, or children, or lands, for my name's sake,
will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life.
But many who are first will be last, and the last first.
For the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house who went out early in the morning to hire labourers for his vineyard.
After agreeing with the labourers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard.
And going out about the third hour, he saw others standing idle in the marketplace.
And to them he said,
You go into the vineyard too, and whatever is right, I will give you.
So they went.
And going out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour, he did the same.
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?
They said to him,
Because no one has hired us.
He said to them,
You go into the vineyard too.
And when evening came,
The owner of the vineyard said to his foreman,
Call the labourers and pay them their wages,
Beginning with the last up to the first.
And when those hired about the eleventh hour came,
Each of them received a denarius.
Now when those hired first came,
They thought they would receive more.
But each of them also received a denarius.
And on receiving it,
They grumbled at the master of the house,
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 a denarius?
Take what belongs to you and go.
I choose to give to this last worker as I give to you.
Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me?
Or do you begrudge my generosity?
So the last will be first,
And the first last.
And as Jesus was going up to Jerusalem,
He took the twelve disciples aside,
And on the way he said to them,
See, we are going up to Jerusalem,
And the Son of Man will be delivered over
To the chief priests and scribes,
And they will condemn him to death,
And deliver him over to the Gentiles
To be mocked and flogged and crucified,
And he will be raised on the third day.
Hear the word of the Lord.
Well, good morning, everyone.
Good to see you.
Hope,
I hope.
It will be good to chat to you after.
Welcome if you're visiting.
My name is Dave.
I'm the pastor here.
Would you please join me in prayer
As we come to God's word.
Father, as we just sang,
I pray that your word would
Compliment that song
And fill our hearts with joy
That you have saved our soul
And that it's all of you,
All of your grace.
And I pray this in Jesus' name.
Amen.
Well, what does this parable mean?
You've got all these workers,
And some come in at the 11th hour.
Is it encouraging people to leave
Their coming to Jesus
Until the 11th hour of their life?
Like, you can just put off
Becoming a Christian
And say a prayer on your deathbed,
And it'll be right.
Is it saying it's not the amount of work
You do for God,
But it's your willingness,
Your willingness to serve God
That's all important.
Is that what it's about?
Is it a bit bigger picture than that?
Is it about the nations,
The Gentiles coming into God's kingdom
As last compared to the Jews
Who were first?
Is that what it's about?
Is it saying all people are equal before God?
Is it saying all servants
Will get the same reward
In God's kingdom?
Is it warning against begrudging someone
Becoming a Christian later in life
When you've spent your whole life
In the church serving?
And what is this parable about?
There's a danger with parables, I think.
We can almost see whatever we want.
There's a bit of a danger with parables.
Or we can be a bit confused by them, I think.
And the very first half reasonable thought we have,
I think we can latch on to it.
That makes sense.
And so we stick with that.
We need to spend just a few minutes
Thinking about and understanding
How these story parables work
If we're going to hear God's word to us today.
In church history, it was really common
To interpret these stories as allegories.
Every detail in the story has some spiritual reality.
So if we take the most famous parable
Of the Good Samaritan
You know the story, I'm sure
But a man is beaten up on the side of the road
Now one church father says
The robbers in that story were the devil and his angels
They stripped him of his immortality
They beat him by persuading him to sin
The donkey, I don't get this one
But the donkey is the flesh of Christ's incarnation
I'm still thinking that one through
The inn where he is taking care of is the church
And the next day is the resurrection
And the innkeeper is the apostle Paul
Now this is a very well respected church father
But which of the details are we meant to find meaning in
And which do we kind of just overlook
It feels a bit arbitrary
Or you've got to find an obscure answer
If you're going to get every detail to mean something
You've got to come up with some pretty obscure answers
My other problem with it
Is how do you know your interpretation is correct?
How do you know the innkeeper is Paul?
How can we be confident that's what God is telling us?
I think we can avoid all this guesswork
If we hear these parables in their context
And if we understand how this genre of parables work
So there was a pedestrian
Injured in a hit and run incident
And he was a rough looking, biker looking man
Covered in tattoos, head to toe
Piercings all over
Blood trickling down his face
He was kind of going in and out of consciousness
After being hit by this car
Now the first car to go past after that
Driving in that car was the archbishop
The Anglican archbishop
But he noticed the man
He slowed down
But he was wearing God's holy vestments
And he didn't want the blood to get on God's holy vestments
So he kept driving
And then in the next car
Dave Bott, a local pastor
Was driving by
And he saw the man
But he was running late for a church meeting
To do God's work
And he decided that was
He had to keep driving
But then in the next car was a Muslim man
He was on his way to his evening prayers
At the mosque
And he pulled over
And he called an ambulance
He paid the $415 ambulance fee
Because he didn't have insurance
And he used his turban to bind up his wounds
And then he went with the man to the hospital
To make sure he was cared for
Which of these men loved his neighbour?
Do you feel like
You can disagree on the details
I don't really mind
Do you feel the punch of the parable?
They're meant to kind of get under our skin a bit
They're meant to challenge our assumptions
About God and ourselves and the kingdom
Parables
Led the first century hearers
They were familiar with the details
And we've got to do a bit of work there
To understand those details
But they led them
Jesus told them in such a way
That led them along
And then there's this shocking twist
And it's like
Ooh
It challenges your expectations
So I think that's how the genre works
So as a good rule of thumb
Look for one point
One main punch
From a parable
And let the context be our guide
If I can get a bit of audience participation
At this point
What was the question asked
Before the story of the Good Samaritan?
Does anyone remember?
What question is asked?
Who is my neighbour?
It's the expert in the law
Asking who is my neighbour?
That sets the context
Well, true love
Crosses
Racial
Social
Any prejudice
Even love for enemies
Whoever you think your enemies are
The context
Gives us guidance
What about the parable
A few weeks ago
The unforgiving servant
Do you remember
Anyone remember the question
Peter asks?
How many times
Do I have to forgive my brother
Who sins against
Let the context
Be the guide
For the punch
Of the parable
We don't need to work out
In that parable
What 100 denarii
Represents
We all feel the punch
When
The master forgives a debt
Had no chance of repaying
And then
For a sum of
Like $50
He goes and
Tries to
Get revenge
We all know that feeling
When God has forgiven us
So much
How can we have that attitude
Toward one another?
Dare I say
Allegorising
Distracts
From the punch
Of the parable
So here too
In chapter 20
Let's
Let the context
Be our guide
And
We've got to let
This parable
Get under our skin
So what is
The context?
Well that's why
I thought it would be worth
Well the elders actually
Thought it would be worth
Reading a bit more
Of
Back into the passage
We looked at last week
Just to refresh
Our memory
Here
The chapter division
At this point
Moving into chapter 20
Is really unhelpful
Now that's a man-made invention
The chapter headings
You've got that word
For
Jesus is still speaking
To Peter
There's no change
In audience
There's no change
In scene
Here's the basis
Of what
Jesus has just
Said to Peter
In verse 30
Many who are first
Will be last
And the last
First
Jesus concludes
The parable
And
This should
Guide us
In our interpretation
With that same
Proverb
Just the other way
Around
In verse 16
The last
Will be first
And the first
Last
We should be
Expecting
A reversal
Of our
Expectations
He's answering
Peter's question
In verse 27
See
We have left
Everything
And followed you
What then
Will we have
It's really hard
To know
What's motivating
Peter
In that question
Like is it
Is it fear
We've left
Everything
Has that been
Enough
Is it pride
We have left
Everything
Is it self
Pity
It's hard
To know
But what is
Clear is that
Peter's focus
Is on what
He and the
Other disciples
Have sacrificed
See
Jesus
Look at the
Cost
We've made
For you
The focus
Is on them
This parable
Is challenging
A wrong
Understanding
Of what it
Means to
Follow Jesus
It challenges
Peter's focus
On his
Sacrifice
I think it
Challenges
Our focus
On what
The service
We offer
To God
The costs
We make
And what
We deserve
So getting
Into it
Then
Verse
One
And two
For the
Kingdom of
Heaven
Is like
A master
Of a
House
Who went
Out early
In the
Morning
To hire
Labourers
For his
Vineyard
And after
Agreeing
With the
Labourers
For a
Denarius
A day
He sent
Them
Into
His
Vineyard
Now
This
I understand
Is a
Very
Typical
Scene
In the
First
Century
If
Casual
Workers
Were
Needed
You
Go
To
The
Market
Place
And
If
Anyone
Wants
Work
For the
Day
They
Go
To
The
Market
Place
To
Be
Hired
They
Go
At
Dawn
A
Denarius
Is
A
Day's
Wage
This
Is
A
Very
Fair
Agreement
!
8am
To
Get
More
Workers
And
Then
12
And
3
And
5
We're
Not
Told
That's
Not
The
Focus
All
We
Know
Is
That
The
Other
Workers
Rely
On
His
Integrity
I'll
Pay
You
Whatever
Is
Right
He's
Fair
I'll
Pay
You
Whatever
Is
Right
He
Even
Comes
Back
After
Coming
At
6am
Then
9am
Then
Midday
Then
3pm
He
Even
Comes
With
Just
An
Hour
Left
Of
Daylight
5pm
So
Verses
6
And
7
He
Said
To
Those
Why
Do
You
Stand
Here
Idle
All
Day
They
Said
To
Him
Because
No
One
Has
Hired
Us
And
He
Said
To
Them
You
Go
Into
The
Vineyard
Too
These
Last
Workers
Are
They
Less
Trustworthy
Why
Aren't
They
Hired
Are
They
Less
Productive
Other
People
Have
Overlooked
Them
Going
Don't
Want
Them
Again
We're
Not
Really
Told
But
What
We
Do
See
Here
Is
Just
With
An
Hour
Left
He
Freely
Chooses
To
Hire
Them
Now
Verses
8 to
12
And
When
Evening
Came
The
Owner
Of
The
Vineyard
Said
To
His
Foreman
Call
The
Labourers
And
Pay
Them
Their
Wages
Beginning
With
The
Last
Up
To
The
First
And
When
Those
Hired
About
The
Eleventh
hour
Came
Each
Of
Them
Received
A
Denarius
Now
When
Those
Hired
First
Came
They
Thought
They
Would
Receive
More
But
Each
!
Of
Them
Also
!
Received
A
Denarius
And
On
Receiving
It
They
Grumbled
At
The
Master
Of
The
House
Saying
These
Last
Worked
Only
One
Hour
And
You
Have
Made
Them
Equal
To
Us
Who
Have
Born
The
Burden
Of
The
Day
And
The
Scorching
Heat
How
Is
That
Fair
Where
They're
Just
Covered
In
Sweat
And
Exhausted
And
These
Guys
In
The
Cool
Of
The
Day
Do
An
Hour
!
Maybe
Max
And
They
Get
The
Same
Amount
How
Is
That
Fair
These
Workers
Are
Really
Focused
On
What
They've
Had
To
Endure
And
They're
Comparing
Themselves
To
Others
They
Deserve
More
I
Think
They're
Meant
To
Sound
Like
Peter's
Focus
Look
What
We
Have
Endured
What
We
Have
Left
For
You
What
We
Deserve
Do
You
See
This
Master
In
This
Story
As
Short
Changing
Those
Who
Worked
Hard
Do
You
Feel
The
Unfairness
Or
Do
You
See
This
Master
As
Incredibly
Generous
Verse
13
To
16
Friends
I'm
Doing
You
No
Wrong
Did
You
Not
Agree
With
Me
For
A
Denarius
Take
What
Belongs
To
You
And
Go
I
Choose
To
Give
To
This
Last
Work
As
I
Give
To
You
Am
I
Not
Allowed
To
Do
What
I
Choose
With
What
Belongs
To
Me
Or
Do
You
Begrudge
My
Generosity
They
Have
No
Right
To
Feel
Hard
Done
By
They
Agreed
For
A
Day's
Wage
He's
Been
Fair
He
Didn't
Pay
Them
Half
A
Day
He
Was
Fair
He
Met
The
Agreement
He
Paid
What
Was
Right
They
Are
Comparing
Themselves
To
The
Others
And
Feeling
Jealousy
Contempt
Because
They're
Focused
On
What
They've
Done
What
They've
Endured
In
Comparison
To
Them
But
Here's
The
Thing
Generosity
Can't
Be
Earned
You
Can't
Earn
Generosity
It's
A
Contradiction
In
Terms
This
Master
Is
Totally
Free
From
Any
External
Obligation
Am
I
Not
Allowed
To
Do
What
I
Choose
With
What
Belongs
To
Me
It's
Not
That
This
Master
Is
Unfair
He
Can
Do
What
He
Wants
He
Is
Free
To
Give
Because
It all
Belongs
To
Him
The
Kingdom
The
Kingdom
Of
Heaven
Doesn't
Operate
On
Merit
At
All
Is
The
Point
Of
This
Parable
God's
Gifts
Of
Salvation
!
God's
Blessings!
God's
Rewards!
Are
All
His
Free
Gift!
It's
They're
His!
They belong
To
Him!
The
Christian
Life
Is
All
God's
Free
Generosity
All
He's
Free
To
Give
It
To
Whoever
He
Chooses
He's
Gracious
To
Whomever
He
Wills
All
Of
It
I
Think
Whether
We
See
That
Or
Not
Whether
We
Appreciate
That
Or
Not
Depends
On
Whose
Sacrifice
We're
Focused
On
Well
That's
My
Experience
In
My
Own
Heart
At
Least
Are
We
Focused
On
Your
Sacrifice
Or
His
I
Think
This
Parable
Was
Even
Framed
It's
Bracketed
With
Peter's
Focus
On
His
Sacrifice
And
Then
We
Come
To
Jesus
Sacrifice
We
Heard
Last
Week
That
It
Is
Impossible
To
Enter
The
Kingdom
Of
Heaven
With
Man
This
Is
Impossible
The
Kingdom
Of
Heaven
I
Like
Martin's
Phrase
It's
Not
For
Decent
People
It's
For
Perfect
People
Who
Share
The
Character
Of
God
It
Is
Impossible
To
Serve
Enough
To
Sacrifice
It's
Impossible
We've
Got
To
Come
As
Utterly
Dependent
Children
Peter
Is
Saying
See
Lord
What
We've
Done
For
You
And
Then
Chapter
20
Verse
18
Jesus
Says
!
See!
We
Are
Going
Up
To
Jerusalem
And
The
Son
Of
Man
That
Figure
Is
In
Daniel
All
Authority
In
Heaven
On
Earth
He
Is
The
First
The
Son
Of
Man
Will
Be
Delivered
Over
To
The
Chief
Priests
And
Scribes
And
They
Will
Condem
Him
To
Death
And
Deliver
Him
Over
To
The
Gentiles
To
Be
Mocked
And
Flogged
And
Crucified
And
He
Will
Be
Raised
On
The
Third
!
Day
See
That
Don't
Focus
On
What
You've
Given
Up
For
God
Look
What
God
Has
Given
Up
For
You
The
Christian
Life
Is
All
God's
Generous
Grace
He
Is
Free
In
Giving
It
Am
I
Not
Allowed
To
Do
What
I
Choose
With
What
Belongs
To
Me
I
Want
To
Focus
On
Three
Implications
If
Jesus
Kingdom
If
None
Of
It
Operates
Off
Merit
If
It's
Only
Generosity
I
Want
To
I
Think
There's
Lots
Of
Implications
Of
That
But
I
Want
To
Focus
On
Three
Things
He
Is
Free
To
Give
Eternal
Life
To
Who
He
Will
Even
At
Last
Grumbling
Is
An
Ugly
Sin
What
We
Should
Be
Saying
In
All
Our
Christian
Service
And
Sacrifice
Is
I
Never
Made
!
A
Sacrifice
So
Can
We
Go
Through
These
He
Is
Free
To
Give
Eternal
Life
To
The
Very
Last
There's
A
Guy
Listened
To
An
Interview
Of
Michael
Franz
Franzese
I
Hope
I
Said
That
Right
Michael
Franzese
He
Was
High
Up
In
The
Mafia
In
New
York
In
The
80s
A
Violent
Life
As
You
Could
Imagine
Some
Of
The
Deeds
He's
Done
I
Don't
Want
To
Imagine
He
Said
One
Of
The
Horrors
Of
That
Life
Is
If
You
Make
A
Mistake
Your
Best
Friend
Walks
You
Into
A
Room
And
You
Don't
Walk
Out
Again
At
One
Stage
He
Had
A
Scheme
That
He
Was
Stealing
8
Million
And
That
Was
Back
In
The
80s
8
Million
!
A
Week
Not
Bad
Now
And the prison guard saw that he wasn't looking good.
And he came back and he pushed a Bible through the slot.
And he spends that solitary confinement mainly just reading the Bible.
He said he started in the book of Proverbs and he's just amazed by the wisdom there.
And then he reads the Gospels and Jesus is this leader.
He's obviously impressed by Jesus as we are.
And something he pointed out was in Jesus, he doesn't demand loyalty out of fear like his life in the mafia.
Not loyalty out of fear but loyalty out of love.
A greater loyalty out of love.
And that really got to him.
There's going to be a great reversal when Jesus comes again to judge.
There's going to be decent church going people, maybe in this room, who will be shut out of the kingdom.
And Jesus, who are self-reliant.
And friend, I'm doing you no wrong.
And mafia bosses are coming in.
There's going to be this reversal.
Prostitutes are entering the kingdom ahead.
Because it's all generosity, he's free to give grace to whoever he chooses.
Those who seem to be important, even in church circles, if they're self-reliant, there's going to be this great reversal.
Even those who seem less important in society, he's free to welcome unborn children.
He's free to welcome the disabled.
Because it's all his generosity.
Isn't that wonderful?
I remember the ministry at Crossroads with the mentally disabled that we used to help out with from time to time.
And there was this one guy who just repeatedly asked, like every time we went,
You go to the pub?
Do you remember?
Darren.
Darryl.
Good on you.
There you go.
After a couple of years, he started asking a different question.
You go to church?
It's like something, I don't know, something seemed to change.
There was this one night where they were singing Amazing Grace.
And to be honest with you, it sounded awful.
But it melted.
I was holding back tears because I'm pretty sure God delights.
The kingdom of God is this reversal.
He is free to give to the least.
People seem unimportant in society.
Even mafia bosses.
He's free to save whoever he wants.
There's going to be a great reversal.
This parable isn't encouraging you to wait to your deathbed to come to Christ.
But whatever you've done, it really does give you hope.
The kingdom of God is based on his generosity.
So come.
Second implication, if the Christian life is all his free generosity from first to last,
is that grumbling is ugly.
It's an ugly attitude.
It's an ugly sin.
I fall into grumbling spirit at least on a weekly basis.
Like, you ask Emma, Mondays are really bad for me.
Like, Mondays and holidays.
Oh, I'm so prone to it.
I've done so much.
I deserve that miserable spirit that doubts God's goodness and his fairness.
It comes from forgetting that all his blessings come from his free generosity.
It's this wrong focus on what I've sacrificed, what I deserve.
We can be miserable in comparing what God blesses one another with.
That spouse, that child, that child who grows up to love God, that better health.
I've done more.
I deserve more.
We can be jealous of someone else's ministry gifts and position and successes.
But if the kingdom is based on his generosity, he's never shortchanged you.
Never.
Everything is just his freeness in giving it.
All our talents, all our successes, whatever blessings we've got.
It's his freeness.
He's never shortchanged any of us.
It's really ugly to think of God that he has.
What a focus on his sacrifice, not my sacrifice.
As Alan's already talked about, we're fundraising for our mission partners.
I was going to transfer funds this week, but I paused because I felt like it was coming from
a place of compulsion.
Like, I better do it.
Like, is God asking us to sacrifice our money?
Well, it depends if you focus on what you're giving up for God or if you focus on what he's
given up for you and all the blessings that come with that.
It depends where your focus is.
David Livingston, he was missionary.
He left the comforts of England to be missionary in the mid-1800s.
His goal was to explore Africa.
It was unexplored at that point.
And his goal was to create access into all the areas of Africa for the sake of the gospel.
And he later said in this, later in life at a speech to students in Cambridge,
people talk of the sacrifice I have made in spending so much of my life in Africa.
Anxiety, sickness, suffering, danger, now and then, with a foregoing of the common conveniences,
may make us pause, cause the spirit to waver and the soul to sink.
But let this only be for a moment.
All these are nothing when compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us and for us.
I never made a sacrifice.
He's famous for that.
I never made a sacrifice.
When you compare it to his generosity and the glory that's coming,
there was, yes, there was real cost, but I never made a sacrifice.
It's all gain.
Peter, leaving his fishing trade to follow Jesus,
look what I've left for you.
That does not deserve one of the 12 thrones in the age to come.
That is his free generosity that Jesus gives that, promises that.
In all our service, whatever cost it is, and some costs are really high.
I'm not trying to downplay that, especially the relational costs.
But when we compare it to the surpassing glory he gives us,
whatever hard service we're called to,
when we compare it to that glory,
we're meant to be like that 11th hour worker.
He goes, I don't deserve.
I don't deserve what you gave me.
I've never made a sacrifice.
Let's rejoice that the kingdom of heaven doesn't operate on merit,
but only ever on our master's free generosity.
Let's pray.
Father, for those of us who haven't grasped just how free your grace is
and that your salvation is on offer simply by what you've done,
and I pray that the penny would drop through your word.
And I pray for us who have been Christians maybe for many years
and our focus has just turned in on ourselves
and we've forgotten all you've done for us
and all you've purchased for us,
that it's all your generosity.
Father, I pray that you would cause our hearts to rejoice in our salvation
and your many and the glory you promise.
Make our hearts rejoice again so that our service to you would be pleasing
and not this murmuring spirit.
Pray this in Jesus' name.
Amen.