THE PARABLE OF THE GENEROUS EMPLOYER
(Matthew 19:27, 30; 20:1-16)

(Or, The Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard)

27 Peter answered him, "We have left everything to follow you!  What then will there be for us?"
30 But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first.

20:1 For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire men to work in his vineyard.
2 He agreed to pay them a denarius[1] for the day and sent them into his vineyard.
3 About the third hour he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing.
4 He told them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.[2]’
5 So they went.  He went out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour and did the same thing.
6 About the eleventh hour he went out and found still others standing around.  He asked them, ‘Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?’
7 ‘Because no one has hired us,’ they answered.  He said to them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard.’

8 When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired and going on to the first.’
9 The workers who were hired about the eleventh hour came and each received a denarius.
10 So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more.  But each one of them also received a denarius.
11 Then they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner.
12 ‘These men who were hired last worked only one hour,’ they said, ‘and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.’
13 But he answered one of them, ‘Friend, I am not being unfair to you.  Didn't you agree to work for a denarius?
14 Take your pay and go.  I want to give the man who was hired last the same as I gave you.
15 Don't I have the right to do what I want with my own money?  Or are you envious because I am generous?’
16 So the last will be first, and the first will be last.

A STORY ABOUT THE SOVEREIGN GRACE OF GOD NOT ECONOMICS

This simple yet insightful parable, found only in Matthew, is difficult to interpret.  The generous employer (who represents God) is the main character, not the workers in the vineyard.  The meaning of the story is related to Peter’s earlier question, “What then will there be for us?”  Jesus is primarily speaking to his disciples about grace, generosity, reward and justice.  The story is an illustration of the cryptic saying, “the last will be first and the first will be last” (19:30; 20:16) that frames the parable.  The key aspect of the story features farm labourers who have worked different lengths of time during the same day, yet they all received the same payment.  By this story Jesus affirmed God’s generous love and his extravagant grace to undeserving sinners. 

On the surface this looks like a story about a “just wage” but Jesus is not recommending a way of solving arguments between employers and their employees.  Rather, the story illustrates that the kingdom of God is based on mercy and not merit.  The different lengths of time served by the workers may represent any standard of comparative merit that we may apply to our own or another’s service for God.  The parable does not teach that all persons are equal before God or that all work for God is equal.  Instead, the parable makes the point that the rewards God gives depend on his sovereign grace. 

A JUST AND GENEROUS EMPLOYER

With the autumn rains at hand, a landowner decided that it was time for the grape harvest.  So at sunrise he gave temporary work to some labourers at the agreed rate of one denarius a day.  Again at 9 a.m., noon, and 3 p.m. he employed more workers from the market place for an unspecified amount (“whatever is right”).  Finally, about one hour before sunset, he gave work to more of the unemployed. 

As darkness ended all work, the estate owner asked his foreman to pay the men their wages beginning with those last to be hired so that those hired first might see what was done.  Some of the workers would expect less than a full day’s wage.  In a surprise twist to the story, all the workers, including those hired for the last hour, received a full day’s pay.  The emphasis in the story is on the generosity of the employer, not the worthiness of the workers.  The fact that any of the workers were employed was entirely due to the landowner’s goodwill.

The employer justified his actions by reasons of agreement, ownership and generosity.  He explained that he had treated the first workers with justice, “I am not being unfair to you.  Didn't you agree to work for a denarius?” (Verse 13) and that he had behaved toward the last workers with generosity, “Are you envious because I am generous?” (Verse 15).  God the Owner of all has the sovereign right to freely give whatever he likes to whomsoever he likes: “May I not do what I like with what belongs to me?” (Verse 15 Phillips)  God distributes his gifts as he pleases and believers should not be jealous of how he blesses others.  God is not answerable to anyone for the distribution of his gifts of grace. 

GOD IS JUST AND GENEROUS

The landowner would have been better off if he had paid the workers the exact amount they had earned.  He represents God and his immeasurable generosity to undeserving humanity.  No one was underpaid since the landowner had agreed with each group of workers to pay “whatever is right”.  Just as some workers were treated with ‘unfair’ generosity, so God’s grace is not limited by human ideas of fairness and legal requirements.  His gifts, including the gift of eternal life, are always undeserved. 

Regrettably, we are all like these first-hired workers who complained, and like the elder brother of the prodigal son in Luke chapter 15.  We find it hard to accept the liberality of God towards those we regard as undeserving and not good enough.  With our human theology of merit and good works, we struggle to understand God’s generosity.  The good employer’s rebuke to the complaining first-comers is applicable to all of us: “Are you going to be mean because I am generous?” (Barclay).  Or, “Do you begrudge my generosity?” (RSV)  Or, “Should you be angry because I am kind?” (NLT)

LEGALISM VERSUS GRACE

The parable is one of Christ’s answers to the legalistic Pharisees and scribes who criticized his friendship with social outcasts like prostitutes and tax collectors, and who believed that their self-righteousness gave them a special claim to be rewarded by God.  The point of the story is that God rewards people according to what they need, not according to what they have earned.  Some of the workers did not deserve a day’s pay, but in order to live, they needed a day’s pay.  The grace of God allowed some who were last to be first.

The story is a picture of God’s kingdom where reward is based on divine grace rather than on human merit or achievement.  By God’s assessment the last can become first and the first last.  It is the issue of legalism versus grace.  God does not accept the legalist who seeks salvation through man-made rules and regulations.  God’s grace is not based on merit.

We may favour justice based on legal requirements, or a moral contract, but grace is so much superior.  In God’s kingdom we receive grace because of the nature of the Giver, not because of our own worthiness.  The grace of God is free to everyone who comes to God by faith in Christ.  Religious people who try to bargain their “goodness” for God’s favour do not understand grace or the joy of service motivated by love.

ISRAEL AND THE GENTILES

The story may refer to the later acceptance by God of the Gentiles into the kingdom of God.  The Pharisees believed that they, who had worked hard in God’s vineyard, would be well paid, while others like the Gentiles, who had worked less, would receive very little.  Israel had been working for God for over 20 centuries and it did not seem right to them that God would allow the Gentiles late entry to the kingdom of God and give them the same blessings.  The attitude of some in Israel was that they had earned all the blessings of the kingdom by keeping God’s law for many centuries.

The New Testament teaches that Jewish believers could claim no advantage over the recent Gentile believers who now had equal status with the children of Abraham (Galatians 3:26-29; Ephesians 3:6).  This parable is a rebuke to all, particularly spiritual leaders like the Pharisees, who think they have a superior position with God through heritage or past spiritual privilege or approval.  We cannot earn preferential treatment from God.

REWARDS ARE A GIFT FROM A GRACIOUS GOD

While salvation is based on grace and faith in Christ, it might seem that rewards are based on human merit, or the quality and amount of Christian service.  However, rewards from God are not a payment for service but rather a gift from a generous God.  God is no one’s debtor; instead, we are all in debt to God.  In this parable those who had worked one hour received the same pay as those who worked the entire day.  This story emphasizes the grace and generosity of God; it does not negate the idea that there are no rewards.[3]  Any good works of ours are done by God through us, so that the credit belongs to God, not to us.

H. W. Hoehner comments:

“Any good work done through Christ in the power of the Spirit is an act of grace; any reward given by God at the judgment seat of Christ is also an act of grace.  On the other hand, any work that is performed in the power of the flesh, even though good, will be considered worthless and will lead to loss of reward.  Rewards, like salvation, are God’s gracious gifts.” ^[4]

CONCLUSION

The parable of the Good Employer teaches that our service for Christ will be rewarded, and that equal faithfulness to one's opportunity will be equally rewarded.  However, only God can correctly assess our faithfulness and opportunities, and therefore human judgments may be reversed: “So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”

 

FOR REFLECTION

 

·        How does this story put our Christian service in perspective?

·        Did the disciples understand the teaching Jesus in this parable?  Read verses 20 to 28 in the same chapter of Matthew!

·        Sometimes we think that God is obligated to us by our service and by our obedience, but God’s allocation of rewards may reverse our hopes.

·        Am I envious of the prominence, status, and spiritual blessings of others in the Church?

·        Remember, “the last” may be those unknown believers who are thought to be unimportant in the Church.  Those who are prominent, “the first”, may someday find themselves demoted.

·        Can you rejoice in those whom God has commissioned and rewarded in his vineyard?

·        The dying thief (Luke 23:40-43), the prostitute and the despised tax collector who have turned to God for mercy, are just as welcome in the kingdom of God as the apostle Paul.

·        All believers receive the gift of eternal life by God’s grace on the basis of Christ’s death for them. 

 

PRAYER

 

Father, we thank you for your many gracious blessings to us.  May we serve you in the true spirit of Christian service and make the best use of our gifts and opportunities, for your glory, whatever the future holds.  Amen.

 

Jim Peacock MA (Hons), Diploma of Teaching.