Please turn with me in your Bibles to Matthew chapter 19.
Let me pray for the reading and preaching of God's Word.
Heavenly Father, we confess that we are quick to forget.
And we can so easily lose sight of the preciousness of Christ, the gift you have given us in Christ in your Spirit.
And Lord, we want to be reminded this morning so that the way we live, the way we think, the way we prioritize and make decisions are all shaped by the priceless treasure that Christ is.
And having received that gift, we may never lose that sense of wonder.
And worship before your throne of grace.
So speak to us, God.
Address us as you are.
In Jesus' name we pray.
Amen.
Please stand if you are able to honor God as we listen to his Word as we pray.
It's like in Matthew 19, 27.
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 a 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 laborers for his vineyard.
After agreeing with the laborers 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.
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 laborers 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.
This is God's holy and authoritative word.
Please be seated.
The culture of our respective workplaces
can have a distinct effect on how hard we work.
If you have a laissez-faire boss
who is totally hands-off at our workplace,
you get little to no feedback or guidance about anything.
Or if you're at school,
you can have a PI like that.
Your excellent work goes unnoticed.
And in that kind of environment,
people lose motivation.
Because they rightly conclude
that extra effort makes no difference.
So workers check out,
and that they default to the lowest acceptable standard of work.
In contrast,
some bosses do a great job of rewarding performance,
but in such an overt, graceless manner,
ranking you as you're a top performer
and you're an average performer
and you're a low performer,
that they create this hyper-competitive
and cut-through culture.
In such an environment,
employees constantly compare themselves to each other,
which causes stress and anxiety.
They stop helping each other
because they see each other as rivals.
And they may even seek to undermine each other
to get ahead
because the workplace is competitive
rather than collaborative.
And people also start to optimize their work
for the metrics that are measured,
maximize the numbers that are being measured
rather than going for the underlying goals
that those numbers were meant to represent.
These potential pitfalls can play out
within the Christian life as well.
Some Christians live without any thought
of heavenly reward,
as if they've already received
everything that has been promised,
as if there's nothing to look forward to.
And as a result,
their lives are marked by
this worldliness and lukewarmness.
They don't think that their obedience
matters very much.
They're not willing, for that reason,
to make radical sacrifices for God.
And sometimes also,
even within the church,
we can find selfish ambition
and rival rather than humility
and unity,
which is why passages like
Philippians 1-2 and James 3,
14-16 exist.
But is there a way to avoid
these pitfalls?
Jesus tells us that there is.
Only a gospel culture
infused with the grace of God
can motivate us to work hard
in selfless,
self-effacing ways,
rather than in a selfish
and self-advancing way.
And I think this is the main point
of our passage.
We serve a generous king
who does not pay us
according to our deserves,
according to what we deserve,
but according to His grace.
So we're going to talk about
twin realities that are related
to each other,
maybe seemingly paradoxical at first.
God generously rewards us
according to our works
on the one hand,
but on the other hand,
God mercifully repays us
according to His grace
and not according to what we deserve.
So chapter 19,
verse 27,
you may have,
if you weren't here last week,
you may have been no surprised
at where we began,
but it kicks off exactly
where we left off last week
after Jesus' interaction
with the rich young man.
Jesus said in 19,
13 to 15,
that the kingdom of heaven
belongs to people
who become like children.
Children who occupy
the lowest place in society,
the last place in society,
and because they don't yet
contribute to society
in any way,
they are overlooked
by people around them.
And yet Jesus says,
if you come to God
with empty hands
and neediness
and with a humble faith
like a child,
then the kingdom of heaven
belongs to you.
Then in 19,
16 to 26,
He tells a rich young man
who had great possessions
that he cannot enter
the kingdom of heaven.
Here is a man
who had everything
by the world's standards.
He's the first
in human society,
unlike his children
who are the last
and the least,
he is the great one,
the rich one,
but ironically,
he's the one
who lacks
what is necessary
to possess
the kingdom of heaven.
The child
who has no status
gets into the VIP lounge
and this man
who has everything
is left out
and killed.
This young man
idolizes
his great possessions
and that's why
he's not willing
to give it up
to follow Christ.
He tells,
Jesus tells him
to sell all that he has,
give it away to the poor
and they come
and follow him
and then the man
walks away sorrowful.
But as this happens,
you know,
Peter,
the representative
and leader
of the 12 apostles,
pipes up with the question
in verse 27.
See,
we have left everything
and followed you.
What then will we have?
The pronoun we
in the Greek construction
in the original language
is not necessary,
so this is an emphatic.
It's saying,
we ourselves,
look,
see,
we ourselves
have left everything
and followed you.
Unlike that rich man,
but you just promised
that rich man,
hey,
you sell everything
you have
and then come
and follow me,
he will have
treasures in heaven.
That newbie,
that rookie,
you just told me
you're going to have
treasures in heaven?
Whoa, whoa, whoa,
what about us?
You see,
we have left everything
to follow you.
What then will we have?
So Peter's sensing
an opportunity.
He knows he's been
following Jesus
from the very beginning.
He knows that he
and the apostles
are the ones
who have been with him
all along.
We have seniority.
We've done more for you.
We've cast out demons
in your name.
We've preached for you.
We've gone with you.
What do we get?
Peter's question,
if we understand it rightly,
is prideful
and entitled.
He thinks
that he and the apostles
are so much better
than the rich young man.
Look at how much
we've done for you.
Surely the best
heavenly treasures
are reserved for us.
It's the kind
of selfish question
that we expect
Jesus to rebuke.
And Jesus does
check
and caution
the twelve apostles
in chapter 19,
verse 30,
going up to chapter 20,
verse 16.
But he begins
with an exceedingly
kind response
in verse 28.
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.
Jesus acknowledges
that his disciples
have made
real sacrifices,
that they have made
drastic life changes
in order to
honor him
and follow him.
And think about
what these apostles
had done
for a moment.
Remember the contempt
that the townspeople
of Nazareth,
Jesus' hometown,
treated Jesus with
earlier on
in Matthew chapter 13,
verse 53 to 58.
The townspeople
said of Jesus,
He's not this,
the carpenter's son?
He's not his mother
called Mary?
And are not his brothers
James and Joseph
and Simon and Judas
and are not all
his sisters with us?
Where then did this man
get all these things?
And they took offense
at him.
Nazareth was such a
small, obscure village
that it doesn't get
mentioned even once
in the Old Testament
or in the Apocrypha
or in any rabbinic
literature.
Jesus comes from
the middle of nowhere
and he was
the carpenter's son.
He's an adopted,
earthly,
human father.
Joseph was a tradesman.
He was an honest,
respectable job
to be sure,
but he was a
blue-collar job.
Jesus was not
the son of a rabbi.
He was the son
of a carpenter.
This raises
the question
that the Pharisees
ask in John 7, 15,
how is it that this
man has learned
when he has never
studied?
Is not his mother
called Mary?
That ordinary Mary,
that plain old Mary
from down the block?
That's his mother.
What can possibly
be so special
about this Jesus
of Nazareth?
And all his brothers
are with us.
We play catch
with them growing up.
All his sisters
are among us.
Some of us
are married to them.
What can be possibly
so special
about this man
who has no pedigree,
who is so ordinary,
and yet these disciples
have left everything
to follow Jesus?
Try to imagine that
in a modern context.
Let me bring it home
for you.
Imagine
that some rando
from a small town
you've never heard of
rolls into town.
He has no impressive
degree from
respectable institutions.
And he comes
claiming that
he's a prophesied
Messiah,
the Savior of the world.
You Google him,
which is what
any sensible person
does at this point,
right?
You check him,
you stalk him
on Facebook
and LinkedIn.
Don't laugh
when you walk down.
And then you find,
whoa,
we have some
mutual connections,
some shared friends.
And you track down
his family members.
And oh look,
they're about as
ordinary as they can get.
His dad's a plumber.
But this man
keeps gaining followers
and to your shock
and dismay,
your friends
start believing in him
and following him.
And then you look up
YouTube videos
of this man speaking
and he says
crazy things.
Matthew 10,
37 to 39,
and whoever loves
father or mother
more than me
is not worthy of me.
And whoever loves
son or daughter
more than me
is not worthy of me.
And whoever does not
take his cross
and follow me
is not worthy of me.
Whoever finds his life
will lose it
and whoever loses his life
for my sake
will find it.
He tells his followers
that they must
deny themselves,
that they must renounce
their own plans
and desires,
that he could die
to themselves
and give up everything
and follow him.
He demands
exclusive allegiance.
He tells them
that they must love him
even more
than they love
their own family members.
And you listen to this
and you think to yourself,
well, this guy's
another case.
My friends will soon
come to their senses,
they're not going
to follow him.
But no,
they leave their money
and their property
behind.
They leave their professions,
their careers behind.
They leave even
their families behind
to follow this guy.
Would you not be
deeply alarmed?
Would you not try
to dissuade your friends?
Oh man,
I think my friends
got enmeshed
in some kind
of pyramid scheme
Or a cult!
Or both!
Please help!
Imagine
how foolish
these disciples
would have looked
to many around them.
But it turns out
these twelve apostles
were right.
Jesus is killed
as he predicted
and he is raised
from the dead
as he predicted
in any other situation
with any other person.
The disciples
would have been fools.
But if Jesus
really is
the man
he said he is,
if he really is
the Son of God,
if he really is
the Lamb of God
who takes away
the sin of the world,
if he really is
the crucified,
risen Messiah,
then he is
worth forsaking
everything.
Good Father,
say hi.
And that is precisely
what Jesus calls us
to today.
Jesus told the rich
John and to sell
everything he has
and give it away
to come and follow him
because that was
the one thing,
the property,
the possessions
that he had
was the one thing
that he was not
willing to relinquish
to God.
It was his idol,
his money and possessions
occupied the center,
the ruling place
of his heart
and you can't
serve God that way.
God must be
God.
God,
he must be
the center.
He must occupy
not the outskirts
of our hearts
but the center
of our hearts,
the throne
of our hearts.
If you are not
yet a follower of Christ
and you are here
this morning,
this is what it takes
to be saved.
This is what it takes
to become a follower
of Christ.
It takes
everything.
Everything.
If there is
something in your life
of which you say,
I can give you
all those other things,
I can give you
a part of this thing,
but not all of it.
That's not enough.
You can't
have two masters.
That's called
treachery.
you can't
have two
lovers.
That's called
adultery.
My Christian
brothers and sisters,
aren't we all
fools
who have
left everything
to follow Jesus?
Where are
my fellow
fools
who give away
tens of thousands
of dollars
in tithes
and offerings
for the edification
of the church
body
and the advancement
of the gospel
year after year?
Many.
Who would
rather give away
their wealth
than to keep it
for themselves?
Where are my
fellow fools
who embrace
chastity
in singleness
or faithfulness
in marriage
and will not
indulge in the
lusts of the
flesh
for the sake
of Jesus?
Who will gladly
live like eunuchs
for the rest
of their lives
if that is indeed
what God
calls them to?
Where are
my fellow
fools
who after
getting slapped
on the right
cheek
turn to them
the other?
Who forgive,
who love
and pray
for their enemies
and forgive
people not
seven times
but 77 times
who extend
God's mercy
even to repeat
offenders?
Where are
my fellow
fools
who would
rather pray
and depend
on God
than to be
anxious
and take
things into
your own
hands?
Where are
my fellow
fools
who would
rather be
associated
with the
crucified
Messiah
and with
these vilified
churches
and Christians
than with
the rich
and the
powerful
and the
famous?
Where are
the fellow
fools
who have
subordinated
all other
loyalties?
Loyalty to
kid and
kin,
loyalty to
country,
subordinated
all of them
to your
loyalty to
Christ?
Where are
my brothers
and sisters
who would
rather die
for Christ
than live
without it?
All of
these things
seem foolish
and crazy
to the
watching world
because,
he says
in 1 Corinthians
2.18,
the word
of the
cross is
folly to
those who
are perishing,
but to
us who are
being saved,
it is the
power of
God.
1 Corinthians
2.14,
that natural
person does
not accept the
things of the
Spirit of God,
for they are
folly to
them,
and he's not
able to
understand them
because they
are spiritually
discerned.
But as
Jim
Elliot,
who was
killed like
a fool
at the
age of
22 by
the
Guarani
tribe in
the Amazon
in Ecuador,
while trying
to tell them
about the
good news,
the saving
news of
Jesus Christ,
he once
said before
he died,
he is no
fool who
gives what
he cannot
keep to
gain what
he cannot
lose.
He is no
fool who
gives what
he cannot
keep in
order to
gain what
he cannot
lose.
The world
is passing
away along
with its
desires,
but whoever
does the
will of
God abides
forever.
Is it
not wise
to give
up what
is passing
away in
exchange for
what lasts
forever?
For what
will it
profit a
man if
he gains
the whole
world and
forfeits
his soul?
What shall
a man give
in return for
his soul?
Isn't it
better to
forfeit the
world that
is passing
away,
this temporal
world to
gain our
eternal
soul?
We are
no
fools.
For
here is
what we
have to
gain.
Jesus said
in verses
28 to
29,
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
throes,
judging
the twelve
tribes of
Israel.
If you're
using the
English
standard version
of the
Bible,
you might
have a
footnote
after the
word new
world.
And if you
look at that
footnote,
it will tell
you that the
word literally
means regeneration
in Greek,
which means new
birth or
renewal.
When exactly
is that time?
Jesus tells us
when the
son of man
will sit
on his
glorious
throne.
Jesus will
mention this
time again
later in
Matthew 25,
31 to 32.
he says,
when the
son of
man comes
in his
glory and
all the
angels with
him,
then he
will sit
on his
glorious
throne.
Before him
will be
gathered all
the nations
and he
will separate
people one
from another
as a shepherd
separates the
sheep from
the goats.
It's the
time of
final judgment
after Christ's
return.
At that
time,
Jesus
promises
the twelve
apostles,
you who
have followed
me will
also sit
on twelve
thrones,
judging the
twelve
tribes of
Israel.
I think
there is a
particular
reference
here to
the twelve
apostles,
that's why
there's
twelve
thrones.
In Luke
22,
28 to 30,
Jesus says
to the
twelve,
you are
those who
have stayed
with me
in my
trials,
and I
have
signed
to you
as my
father
assigned
to me
a
kingdom,
that you
may eat
and drink
at my
table
in my
kingdom
and sit
on
thrones
judging
the twelve
tribes
of Israel.
So that
the twelve
who ministered
alongside
Jesus
during his
earthly life
and ministry
laid the
foundation for
the church
and as
such they
occupy a
special place
in the
age to
come.
That's why
I think
in Revelation
21,
14,
the new
Jerusalem
that comes
down from
heaven,
which represents
the people
of God,
has twelve
foundations
and on
them were
the twelve
names of
the twelve
apostles of
the land.
In Revelation
20,
verse 4,
it says that
after Christ's
return and
during his
millennial
reign,
there will
be
thrones
and
see
it
on
those
to
whom
the
authority
to
judge
was
committed.
So I
think this
reign and
rule extends
from the
millennial
kingdom to
eternity
beyond.
And there
is a
particular
special place
for these
twelve
apostles.
But I
don't think
that this
is the
exclusive
privilege
of the
twelve
apostles.
Yes,
they occupy
a unique
place in
redemptive
history and
within the
kingdom of
God,
but the
apostles are
the
foundation
of the
church.
And we
are part
of the
same
spiritual
house that
God is
building as
a dwelling
place for
himself.
The
apostles
represent
all of
us,
the people
of God.
And this
is why
scripture
elsewhere
anticipates
that all
the saints
and the
whole church
will partake
in this
reign of
Christ and
in the
judgment
of Christ.
It says
in 1 Corinthians
6,
2-3,
do you
not know
that the
saints will
judge the
world?
Do you
not know
that we
are to
judge
angels?
This
lofty,
glorious
task that
our
heavenly
father
sees
fit
to
entrust
to us
in this
new age
the
judgment.
Daniel
7-22
prophesies
of a
time when
the
ancient
of
age
comes,
the
judgment
is
given
for
the
saints
of
the
most
high.
And
the
time
comes
when
the
saints
possess
the
kingdom.
Revelation
3-21,
Jesus
promises
that those
who
conquer
as
he
conquered,
that he
will give
them to
sit with
him on
his throne.
This is
supposed to
be an
encouraging
promise to
those who
are downtrodden
and weak
and
disenfranchised
here in
life.
Are you
downtrodden
now?
Are you
reviled and
persecuted
now?
Are you
weak and
powerless
now?
You
can
wait
with
hope
because
Christ
has
prepared
for
you
a
throne
and a
kingdom.
But does
God have
something good
for us
only in
this next
life?
What about
here and
now?
Do we
have anything
to look
forward to
in this
life?
Or is
this life
only suffering
and misery
and loss?
Jesus
says in
verse 29
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.
If you
compare this
verse to
the parallel
verses in
Mark
chapter 10
28-30
and Luke
chapter 18
28-30
we can see
clearly that
the promise
that we
will receive
a hundredfold
applies not
to the
afterlife
but to
the present
life.
Jesus
says in
Mark
10-30
that we
will receive
a hundredfold
now in
this time
houses
and brothers
and sisters
and mothers
and children
and lands
with persecutions
and in the
age to come
eternal life.
Luke
18-30
says that we
will receive
many times
more in
this time
and in
the age to
come
eternal life.
so then
there are
wonderful
promises
for our
life here
on earth
as well.
For the
early
converts
in Jesus'
day
following
Christ
meant
being
kicked
out
of
the
synagogue
being
disowned
by their
families
being
rejected
and
persecuted
by their
society.
This
has been
the
norm
and not
the exception
throughout
Christian
history.
Many
Christians
throughout
history
and even
today
Christians
in many
parts of
the world
following
Christ
means
rejection
and
persecution
by
family
and
society.
But
Jesus
promises
that to
those who
give him
the
primacy
that he
is due
in their
lives
become part
of the
family of
God.
The
church.
And as the
church
lives out
its calling
as the
family of
God,
as they
share
their
lives
and
possessions
with
each
other,
we may
lose
our
own
homes,
but we
gain
a hundred
more in
the homes
of our
Christian
brothers and
sisters.
We may
lose our
spouses and
siblings and
parents and
children,
but we
gain hundreds
more within
the family of
God.
The church
is not a
mere club
or a show
that you
attend on
Sundays,
or a
non-profit.
It is the
very home
and family
of the
people of
God,
all those
who have
been
orphaned and
disenfranchised
in this
world because
of their
allegiance to
Christ.
As Jesus
said earlier
in Matthew
chapter 12
verses 48
and 50,
stretching out
his hand
toward the
disciples,
here are
my mother
and my
brothers.
For whoever
does the
will of
God,
will of
my Father
in heaven,
that is my
brother and
sister and
mother.
And that's
what many
of you have
been throughout
the history of
our church for
one another.
When you
care for one
another in
sickness by
delivering meals,
cooking for
each other,
when you
watch the
children of
the parents in
the church like
their uncles
and aunties,
when you
take members
into your own
homes when
they don't
have a place
to live,
when you
give away
thousands
anonymously to
help an
unemployed
brother,
when you
fly to a
different part
of the
country to
help a
sister move,
when you
secretly pay
for a
church member's
medical bill
because they
can't afford
it.
We do
this because
we are
family.
And God
has abundantly
fulfilled his
promise in my
life, in my
family, a
hundredfold
and more.
And that's
just the
beginning.
Afterward,
we have
eternal life
to enjoy.
In this
way, God
generously
rewards us
according to
our works
because our
works are
the fruit and
evidence of
the grace that
we have received
from God.
As Jesus
said in
Matthew 10,
42,
whoever
gives one
of these
little ones
even a
cup of
cold water
because he
is a
disciple,
truly I
say to you,
he will
by no
means lose
his reward.
Even the
least of our
good deeds
that we
do in
his name
will be
rewarded,
will not
go unseen.
So take
heart,
my brothers
and sisters.
Verse 30
then concludes
the preceding
passage and
begins the
next.
It's a pivot
point.
But many
who are
first will
be last
and the
last first.
Some people
understand
verse 30
as a positive
statement
affirming
Peter and
the apostles.
the rich
young man
is the
one who
was first
in this
world but
he will
be last.
But you
who left
everything,
you're last
in this
world but
you will
be first.
That is
a true
statement.
It's what
Jesus
essentially
said in
the earlier
verses 28
and 29.
However,
I don't
think that's
the primary
function of
verse 30.
And here's
why.
It begins
with the
conjunction
but,
which indicates
contrast.
Remember
Peter's
plow and
entitled
question in
chapter 19
verse 27.
See,
we have
left everything
in follow
due.
What then
will we
have?
If Jesus
is affirming
Peter's
attitude and
posture here,
you're right,
you're right.
You gave us
so much to
follow me,
you'll be
first,
don't worry.
I don't
think that's
what Jesus
is saying.
If that's
the case,
then we
expect the
coordinated
conjunction
for.
For many
who are
first will
be last
and the
last
first.
But no,
we have
but.
It keeps
a contrast.
And if you
skip ahead to
chapter 20
verse 16,
you will see
that the
same statement
is repeated
in reverse
order.
So the
last will
be first
and the
first
last.
This is
what we
call an
inclusio.
These two
verses serve
as bookends.
the front
and back
covers of
the book
that enclose
its content
together and
bind them
together.
So I
think for
that reason,
chapter 19
verse 30
goes primarily
with the
following
parable.
And it's
intended as
a caution
to the
apostles and
to all
subsequent
followers of
Christ.
Yes,
you will
have great
rewards.
I assure
you of
that.
But don't
you go
importing
selfish
ambition,
sinful
comparison,
and envy,
and worldly
striving for
first place
into your
Christian life.
Because first
will be last
and the
last first.
You guys
following me?
It will be
clear when we
get to the
parable.
God
mercifully
repays us
according to
his grace.
Jesus says
in verse 1,
for the king
of heaven is
like a
master of
a house
who went
out early
in the
morning to
hire neighbors
for his
vineyard.
The
conjunction
for in
verse 1
signals that
Jesus is
commenting on
what he
just said
in verse
30,
chapter 19,
verse 30.
But many
who are
first will
be last
and the
last first
because
for,
Jesus
explaining,
for the
kingdom of
heaven is
like this,
like a
master of
a house
who went
out early
in the
morning to
hire neighbors
for his
king.
The
vineyard is
an often
used image,
a metaphor
for the
people of
God in
the Old
Testament.
And
Jesus
used that
image famously
in John
15 to
say,
I am the
true vine
and the
father is a
vine dresser.
I am the
vine and
you are
the
branches.
Whoever
abides in
me and
I in
him,
he it
is that
bears much
fruit.
For apart
from me
you can
do
nothing.
The
people of
God are
God's
vineyard
and God
is the
master who
owns it.
In this
parable,
the master
of the
house goes
out early
in the
morning to
hire
laborers
for his
vineyard.
This is
an allusion
to the
practice of
hiring day
laborers.
The day
laborers
were those
who did
not have
permanent
regular
employment.
They
did not
even enjoy
the
minimum
security
that
slaves
enjoyed
because
at least
slaves
are
guaranteed
housing
and
food
as long
as they
are
working
for their
master.
In the
absence of
welfare
programs
like we
have today,
these day
laborers
were completely
at the
mercy
of their
employer.
If they
did not
find work
for that
day,
then there
would be
no food
on the
table
for their
families
that evening.
most of
us don't
understand
what that
kind of
job
insecurity
looks like.
But there
are people
like this
in our
day and
age also.
People who
rely on
temp
agencies
like
laborfinders.com.
People who
wait early
in the morning
in front of
hardware stores,
parking lots
like Home
Depot.
This happens
for real
in Home
Depot,
South Bay
Boston.
Hoping that
contractors and
homeowners
buying supplies
would hire
them for
the day
so that
they can
get immediate
pay for
their manual
labor.
Some
companies like
People Ready
exist to
help day
laborers like
this.
They have a
location in
Chelsea where
workers typically
show up between
5, 5.30 and
7 a.m.,
hoping to be
dispatched to
job sites for
manual labor,
construction,
event cleanup,
whatever it might
be.
It's not
month to
month for
these kinds
of workers.
workers.
It's day
by day,
hand to
mouth.
A wealthy
landowner with
a vineyard,
who also has a
foreman that
works for him,
could clearly
keep his own
labor force if
he wanted to.
But he is
hiring these
day laborers
as an act of
compassion,
seeking to
relieve the
hardship of
the unemployed.
work.
And that's
why he
hires again
and again,
even after he's
already hired
everybody necessary
in the morning,
the first hours
of the morning.
So the
master of the
house goes
out early in
the morning.
That phrase
usually indicates
the fourth watch
of the night,
meaning between
3 a.m. and
6 a.m.
Really early.
He would
hire workers
during that
time span so
that they
could start
work right
at daybreak
at 6 a.m.
Early bird
gets the worm,
right?
As they say.
So he
finds the
workers that
he needs,
and in
verse 2,
after agreeing
with the
laborers for
a denarius
a day,
he sent
them into
his vineyard.
The
master has
found the
laborers for
his vineyard,
he sends
them to
work,
and now
we expect
the
master to
return home.
But here
the parable
takes an
unexpected
turn.
It says
in verse 3
and 4,
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.
This is the
third hour
since daybreak
at 6 a.m.,
so this is
9 a.m.,
where most of
us for the
work,
and the
master hires
still more
day laborers.
Why does he
hire them?
He says,
because he saw
them standing
idle in the
marketplace.
The word
idle in
English
carries a
pejorative
sense,
like they're
being lazy
or something
and they
don't want
to work,
but that's
not the
meaning here.
The word
used here
that's
translated
idle simply
means that
they're
unemployed.
They're
idle,
they're
standing
with no
work because
they don't
have work,
they have
nothing to
do.
They're
waiting
around,
hoping to
be hired.
And the
master hires
them and
promises them
a fair
wage.
But the
story doesn't
end there.
It says in
verse 5,
going out
again about
the 6th
hour and
the 9th
hour,
he did the
same.
He repeats
the cycle
again at
noon when
the day is
already half
over and
then he
does it
again at
3 p.m.
And it
says in
verses 6
and 7,
and about
the 11th
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
box.
This,
by the way,
is where
we get the
English
expression,
the 11th
hour,
when you
slip in
the last
minute,
the last
possible
hour that
something needs
to be done
and you can
do it,
that's the
11th hour
between 5
and 6
p.m.
in the
biblical
time frame,
the literal
last hour
before sunset.
And think for
a moment about
what kind of
workers are
left behind
until the
11th hour
and not
hired by
anyone.
if you
don't
understand
where I
did it,
think about
those times
when you
were in
school and
you were
getting picked
for teams
in recess.
You're
trying to
divide up
into teams,
you've got
two captains,
who gets
picked first?
Yeah,
the strongest,
most athletic,
and then
the small,
the weak
get picked
last.
So imagine
what kind
of workers
these are.
Maybe
they're old
and infirm,
maybe one
limb is
shorter than
the other
so they
walk with
the limb.
Maybe
they're really
small and
scrum.
And imagine
what's going
through the
minds of
these day
laborers.
It says
that they've
been standing
there all
day because
no one
has hired
them.
Most people
wouldn't wait
that long,
right?
Many people
would despair
of work
long before
the 11th
hour and
would have
left for
home.
But these
workers,
as they
watch the
sun sinking
lower and
lower,
their hope
of work
dims
further and
further.
workers?
Ah,
almost
11th
hour.
No
employer
has come
by in a
little while.
Should I
just call
it home,
call it,
call it the
day and
go home?
But I have a
family to
feed.
I have no
money.
I can't go
home yet.
Got to wait
a little longer.
I must find
work.
I'll
wait.
And at
the last
hour,
the faith
and persistence
of these
day laborers
pay off,
and this
compassionate
master hires
them and
sends them
into the
vineyard.
But the
story doesn't
end there.
There's still
one more
twist.
It says in
verse 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.
Interesting.
It's kind
of backwards.
Those guys
were here
first.
It's already
a sign of
things to
come.
Verse 9,
And when
those hired
about the
eleventh
hour came,
each of
them received
a denies.
These guys
were literally
just hired.
They probably
barely broke
a sweat,
working in
the cool
afternoon
breeze,
enjoying
the
twilight.
And
knowing that
they only
worked for
one hour,
they were
probably not
expecting a
full wage.
They were
probably
expecting a
fraction of
a denarius,
crumbs from
the master's
table.
Yet each
of them
received a
denarius,
and they
were probably
ecstatic.
Thank you,
master.
Thank you,
thank you.
This is so
very generous
of you.
You have
no idea
what this
means to
me,
and what
this will
do for
my family.
And they
go home
bounding
with joy,
thinking of
what they
can buy.
Paying the
5 p.m.
workers a
full day's
wage makes
no economic
sense.
It's a quick
way to go
bankrupt.
But it
serves to
highlight the
uncalculating
generosity of
this master.
And then in
verse 10,
we skip
ahead to the
workers who
were hired
first.
Having just
witnessed the
workers who
worked for
one hour and
got paid a
denarius,
they're processing
the shock.
But there's
also murmurs
of excitement.
Did you see
that?
I think he
just gave
them four
denarius.
the
guys.
Wow.
This guy's
bloated.
Imagine what
it's going to
give us once
our turn.
But each
day, we
seek the
denarius.
God's
sacrifice.
Now,
before I go
any further,
a caveat.
I don't
think this
passage means
that there
are no
different levels
of rewards
in heaven.
In the
parable of
minus in
Luke 19,
the servant
who used
the one
minus to
make ten
minus more
is entrusted
with ten
cities.
The one
who made
five minus
more is
entrusted
with five
cities.
It seems
there is
different levels
of rewards.
Also, in
1 Corinthians
3, 12
to 15,
we see that
some will
receive a
reward when
they are
saved for
their
faithfulness,
but others
will suffer
loss.
And even
though they
themselves
will be
saved,
but they
will be
saved only
through fire
with no
rewards to
show for
the work
that they
have done.
These are
all true
and visible
doctrines,
and I
don't think
the parable
of the
vineyard
labels contradicts
any of
that.
And those
things won't
matter in
heaven for
us because
there's no
sin and
there's no
envy.
We'll all
be joyful
and contented.
Well, what
then is the
point of
this parable?
Let's look
at it more
closely.
It says in
verses 11 to
12,
And on
receiving it,
they grumbled
at the
master of
the house,
saying,
These last
words only
warrant one
hour, and
you have
made them
equal to
us who
have borne
the burden
of the day
and the
scorching
heat.
Grumbling
is never a
good sign
when you see
the fire.
In Luke
530, the
same word
is used to
describe the
Pharisees and
the scribes
who grumbled
at Jesus
and his
disciples.
Why?
Because they
saw that
Jesus is
welcoming tax
collectors and
sinners.
They grumbled.
How can you
treat us the
same way you
treated them?
They worked
one hour,
we worked
twelve.
Those guys
were shooting
the breeze for
eleven hours,
and then they
came to the
vineyard one
hour ago.
Look at the
sweat on my
brows.
Look at how
I've been
tanned from
being out in
the scorching
sun.
My back is
aching from
the bearing
the burden
of the day.
It's not
fair to
make them
equal to
us.
But the
master answers
in verses
13, 14.
Friend, 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 worker
as I
give to
you.
The word
friend sounds
intimate and
familiar, but
the Greek
word behind
this is not
the typical
word used
for friend
that's
referring to
like an
intimate
companion.
It's a
word that
refers to
someone who
you're
associated
with, but
not necessarily
at the level
of friendship.
A more
literal translation
might be a
comrade or a
fellow.
It's not
dissimilar to
how every
British person
calls like
every random
person, hey
mate, you
know, or
like, it's
really funny
this week, my
third daughter
has been on
this bro
kick this
week.
She picked
up this bro
language from
somebody in
school and
she called
everyone's
bros.
Like, hey
bro, what's
up with that
bro?
Hey, that's
not a bro,
that's your
sister.
And so
it's kind
of like that.
It's like, hey,
mate, I'm
not doing
you any
wrong.
In fact,
Matthew is
the only New
Testament author
that uses this
Greek word
that's translated
friend here.
And every
time he uses
it, the
association is
not good.
In 1116, it
refers to the
generation that
rejects John the
Baptist and
Jesus.
In chapter 22,
verse 12, in
the parable of
the wedding
feast, it
refers to a
man who
shows up to
the wedding
without a
wedding garment
and is
subsequently thrown
out into the
outer darkness
where there
will be
weeping and
national teeth.
And then
finally, in
Matthew 26,
50, it's
how Jesus
addresses
Judas who
betrays him
and hands him
over to the
Jewish
authorities.
These day
laborers have
agreed to do
a whole day's
work for the
denarius, these
6 a.m.
workers.
So the issue
is not that the
master is cheating
them out of their
wages.
He's delivered on
his promise.
He's given them
what he had
promised.
The real issue
is that these
6 a.m.
workers don't
think that 5
p.m.
workers deserve
their denarii.
And the
master diagnoses
this problem
precisely in
verse 15.
Am I not
allowed to do
what I choose
with what
belongs to
me?
Or do you
begrudge my
generosity?
They are
begrudging the
master's
generosity.
It's fine and
dandy that you
hired me and
gave me the
wages that I
deserve, but
that guy over
there doesn't
deserve it.
You should be
generous to
me, but not
that generous.
The sentence
do you begrudge
my generosity
in Greek is
literally,
is your
I evil
because I
am good?
It's a
voted sentence.
The phrase
bad I or
evil I is
Jewish idiom
for stinginess
and jealousy.
Earlier in
Genesis, I
sorry, Matthew
6, 22, 24,
Jesus said,
the I is the
lamp of the
body, so if
your I is
healthy, your
whole body
will be full
of light, but
if your I is
bad, your
whole body
will be full
of darkness.
If then the
light in you
is darkness,
how great is
the darkness?
No one can
serve two
masters, for
either he will
hate the one
and love the
other, or he
will be devoted
to the one
and despise the
other, but
cannot serve
God and
money.
Someone who
is stingy and
ungenerous with
their money,
someone who
serves money
rather than
God is
described to
have bad
eye or evil
eye.
This bad
eye is
contrasted with
the goodness
of God and
of Jesus.
Is your
eye bad
because I
am good?
And this
harkens back
to what
Jesus said
to the
rich young
man in
chapter 19
verse 17.
There is
only one
who is
good.
In other
words, no
one is
good but
God alone.
As Romans
3, 10, 10
to 12 says
citing Psalm
14, none
is righteous,
no, not
one.
No one
understands,
no one
seeks God.
All have
turned aside,
together they
have become
worthless.
no one
does good,
not even
one.
Here is the
main point
of this
parable.
No
day laborer
is entitled
to the
wage that
the master
generously
gives.
Why?
Because he
was not
obligated to
hire them
in the
first place.
Remember,
these are
day laborers,
unemployed
workers,
the undesirable
workers.
It was the
master's
compassion that
led him to
hire these
laborers in
the first
place,
even at
noon,
and even
at 3pm,
and even
at 5pm.
Fully
knowing that
he wasn't
going to
get full
productivity
out of
them.
Moreover,
when he
hired them,
he didn't
have to
promise them
a specific
wage.
He could
have just
told them,
I'll pay
you what
seems right,
which is
exactly what
he said
in verse
4.
And when
the time
of payment
comes,
he could
have given
them a
fraction of
the denarius,
and there
would not
have been a
thing
that these
workers could
do about
it,
because they
can't find
any other
work.
A fraction
of the denarius
is better
than nothing,
and it's not
like they have
labor unions
that they can
go to.
They have
no recourse.
These day
laborers are
at the
complete mercy
of the
master,
and that's
the point.
The master
emphasizes his
sovereignty in
verse 15,
am I not
allowed to
do what
I choose
with what
belongs to
me.
It's my
vineyard.
It's my
money.
I choose
the workers,
and I
choose the
wages,
and that's
how salvation
works.
Who then
are the
6 a.m.
workers,
and who
are the
5 p.m.
workers?
Is Jesus
contrasting the
12, the
earliest followers
of Jesus,
with the
later followers
of Jesus?
Is Jesus
contrasting the
original Jewish
converts with
the later
Gentile converts?
The parable
doesn't specify
because I think
it's making a
more general
point that
applies to
all of those
situations.
Jesus is
reminding us
that we receive
eternal life
as a gift
and not as
a wage,
as we read
in the
assurance of
pardon from
Romans 4 this
morning.
When it
comes to
our salvation,
God mercifully
repays us,
not according
to our
deserves,
not according
to what we
deserve,
but according
to His
grace.
As it says
in Psalm 103
verse 10,
God does
not deal
with us
according
to our
sins,
nor repay
us according
to our
iniquities.
If God
treated us
according to
what we
deserved,
none of
us would
be hired
none of
us would
make the
cut.
All of
us would
be waiting
until the
end of
day and
the sun
sets and
day after
day,
reaping left
hanging with
no money,
no food.
That's where
we would
be.
God,
He said,
deals with
us according
to His
grace and
according to
His
generosity.
Jesus,
who is in
the form
of God,
the Son
of God,
who is the
very God
of very
God,
emptying
Himself by
taking the
form of a
servant,
being born in
the likeness of
man,
and being found
in human form,
He humbled
Himself and
became obedient,
by becoming
obedient to the
point of death
and death on
the cross.
The first
became the
last.
Jesus,
who according
to Colossians
1, 15, 16,
is the image
of the invisible
God, the
firstborn of
all creation,
the Word of
God by whom
all things
in heaven and
on earth,
visible and
invisible,
were created.
The Word of
God who gave
life to all
of creation
died on the
cross for
our sins.
the first
became the
last.
The master,
the king,
the king who
deserves to be
served by
everybody,
the king who
deserves to be
honored by
everybody,
came not to
be served,
but to serve
and to give
his life as
a ransom
for men.
The first
became the
last.
The master
became the
slave,
so that the
slaves like
you and I
may go
free.
The Lord
of life died
and rose
again so
that we
who were
dead in
our trespasses
and sins
might be
made alive
in Jesus
Christ.
The first
became the
last so
that the
last and
the least
like you
and I
might become
the first.
That's the
beauty of the
gospel of
Jesus Christ.
And that's
the point of
this parable.
As soon as
you start to
think that
you deserve
more than
these other
Christians,
as soon as
you start to
begrudge God's
grace and
forgiveness
toward fellow
sinners,
Jesus is
warning us,
you need to
check your
heart.
Many who are
first will be
last and the
last first.
I had an
illuminating
conversation
this week
with one of
my neighbors
and I think
God let me
have the
conversation
in preparation
for the
sermon.
I started
talking to
him about
the amazing
grace of
God toward
sinners and
then my
neighbor,
who grew up
Catholic,
stopped me in
my tracks and
said this,
you see,
that's what I
have a problem
with.
You see,
these criminals
on death
row,
they lived
their whole
life either
on death
row,
and then
all of a
sudden,
they find
religion.
And you
tell me
that God
forgives
them?
I told
them,
yeah,
that is
literally
what Jesus
tells the
thief on
the cross.
Here's the
thief on
death row,
he's not
on death
row,
he's literally
being executed
for some
capital
crime,
he has
committed
no life
or history
of good
works to
show for
himself,
nothing he
can claim
to justify
himself,
no catechesis,
no discipleship,
no doctrine in
his head that
he can pop up
and say,
here,
I know this,
I know this
truth,
all he knows
that Jesus
is who he
says he
is,
the Messiah,
the Savior,
he tells
him,
he asks
him,
Jesus,
remember me
when you
come into
your kingdom
because I
think you're
the king.
And then
Jesus tells
him,
today you
will be
with me
in paradise.
if you
begrudge
death,
if you
begrudge
death,
you're
becoming
like the
older
brother.
In the
parable of
the two
sons,
do you
remember
that story?
Their
two sons,
the younger
son demands
early his
inheritance
money,
give me
what's mine
because you're
not dying
soon enough,
takes all
the money
and then
squanders
it with
prostitutes,
has nothing
left for
himself and
he has to
be enslaved
by another
and he's
got nothing
to eat
and he's
eating the
pods of
the pigs
and as
eating the
pods of
the pigs
he comes
to his
senses and
thinks,
you know
what,
I could
just go
back to
my father,
ask him
to hire
me as
a servant.
Even
his servants
eat better
than me.
And then
the father
receives him
back as a
son,
puts the
best robe
on him,
puts the
signet ring
on him,
slaughters the
fattened calf
for him,
throws a
party,
for what
was lost
was found,
my son
was lost,
has been
found,
and then
the older
brother who
should be
rejoicing at
the return of
his younger
brother is
not happy.
Father,
this son of
yours who
squandered his,
your wealth,
with prostitutes,
comes back and
you slaughter a
fattened calf for
him.
Where's my
fattened calf?
And the
father calls
him,
son,
literally
everything I
have is
yours.
What do you
mean where's
your fattened
calf?
You could have
slaughtered all
the calves.
It's not that he
doesn't have a
calf, that's
what he's
crying out
about.
No, he
doesn't like
that his
younger brother
who he
thinks doesn't
deserve the
calf is
getting the
calf.
When you,
when we
find, see, I
think this
happens to
every Christian
that we go
through this
page, the
disciples,
you've been
walking with
the Lord for
some time,
maybe you've
read through
the Bible a
couple of
times,
you know,
you're becoming
more obedient,
you sin less
and less,
and you
think, oh
man, I'm
so much more
righteous than
so many of
these people
around me.
You know,
like, oh,
I go to
church, I've
been going to
church for
years now and
I know some
doctrine, I've
read some books,
I've read some
books on theology,
you know, maybe
I've gone on a
couple of mission
trips and now
you know, oh,
I'm really,
really on a
road here, I'm
doing really
well for myself
and then you
start to get
entitled and you
start to get
self-righteous and
you start to
think, oh,
you know, I
think I deserve
this status I
have with God.
And when you
start to think
that way, you
begrudge the
generosity of the
master to sinners
who don't deserve
it because we
have forgotten
that we are
that sinner
who don't
deserve it.
so that's the
point.
I don't think I
can press the
details of this
parable so far
as to argue that
you know, these
guys are not
saved at all.
We don't know
what happens to
them.
We don't know
if they hit the
denarius or not.
but I can tell
you that there
are people who
think they are
saved and who
have the status
of God but who
are not saved
in the end.
Isn't that what
Jesus said in
Matthew 7, 21
to 23?
Not everyone
will say to me,
Lord, Lord,
will enter the
kingdom of heaven
but the one who
does the will of
my Father who
is in heaven.
On that day
many will say to
me, Lord, Lord,
do we not
prophesy in your
name and cast out
demons in your
name and do many
mighty words in
your name?
To translate
that, we
deserve it.
We did all
this.
We deserve it.
And then
Jesus says, I
will declare
to him, I
never knew you.
Depart from me,
you workers of
lawlessness.
In the parallel
passage to our
passage this morning
in Luke 13, 26
to 30, Jesus
says, and you
will begin to
say, we ate
and drank in
your presence
and you taught
in our streets.
But he will
say, I tell
you, I do
not know where
you come from.
Depart from me,
all you workers
of evil.
And behold,
some are last
who will be
first and some
are first who
will be last.
It's a parallel
passage by
passage.
There will be
people who say,
I know you.
I ate and drank
in your presence
and you taught
in our streets.
I've been to
your church
services.
I've been to
your church
services.
So what
matters is
your posture
and your
heart before
God.
Is the
grace of God,
is the mercy
of God still
wondrous to you?
Do you know
that you are
a sinner saved
by God's grace
and grace alone?
Do you know
that you have
no wages
that you can
bring to save
and you can
demand of God
and say, I
deserve it.
I earned it.
I worked for it.
If you know
that you have
no such claim
and no such
right, then we
will not be
crushed the
generosity of
our master.
We will
rejoice in the
generosity of
our master.
Let's pray
that we'll be
people like that.
Heavenly
Father,
please help
us.
We can so
easily forget
your grace
and mercy.
Remind us
of how lost
we were,
what sinners
we were,
like those
day laborers
without hope,
left to the
very end.
Not so that
we can mope
in our guilt
and shame,
but so
that we
can relish
the grace
that abounds
all the
more
in you
forgiving us
and saving
us.
And make us
a people who
freely dispense
that grace
and share
that goodness
of Jesus
Christ with
others.
In Jesus' name
we pray.
Amen.
Thank you.