Laboring in the Kingdom
Mathew 19:27‑20:16
Having heard Jesus' discussion with the rich young ruler, Peter may
have been made to wonder about his reward.
He commented that he and the rest of the twelve had left all
to follow Christ and wondered what reward they would receive. Jesus'
immediate response was to speak of the time of the new birth, or
regeneration, when he would be on his throne.
He said the twelve would also rule at that time over the
twelve tribes, or spiritual Israel.
Of course, they reigned with Christ in the sense of reporting his
will to men. They even
now rule in the writings they left behind.
Also, all men who sacrifice for Jesus will be rewarded.
Those who have sacrificed family will gain a greater
spiritual family. In
fact, on one occasion when they told Jesus his mother and brothers
were outside he responded in a surprising fashion.
"And he stretched out His hand toward His disciples and said,
'Here are My mother and My brothers!'" (Matthew 12:49).
The Christian views life in terms of a temporary time on
earth followed by eternity (1 Timothy 4:8).
The Invitation to Work in God's Vineyard
At the start of the day, the owner of a vineyard went out to find
workers for his vineyard.
Those he hired bargained with him for one small coin worth
about twenty cents. At
the third hour of the workday, or about 9 a.m., he went out and
hired more laborers who trusted him to pay them a fair wage for a
partial day's work.
Then, he hired again at noon, 3 p.m. and even 5 p.m.!
Each of these latter went trusting the owner to give them a
fair wage.
It should be noted that the landowner went out repeatedly to seek
laborers. The work of
the kingdom is ongoing.
Laborers are always needed to carry out the works of God.
In fact, in this parable, the landowner was still hiring
workers at the eleventh hour of a twelve hour work day.
Payment at the End of the Day
The law required payment to be made to each worker at the end of the
day. "You shall not
defraud your neighbor, nor rob him.
The wages of him who is hired shall not remain with you all
night until morning," was the instruction of Moses' law as found in
Leviticus 19:13.
Deuteronomy 24:15 states it even more clearly, when it says, "Each
day you shall give him his wages, and not let the sun go down on it,
for he is poor and has set his heart on it; lest he cry out against
you to the Lord, and it be sin to you."
When the day was over, the owner called all the workers together and
lined them up with the last hired being first paid and the first
hired last paid. Not
one complaint was heard from those who went trusting the master to
pay a fair price.
Actually, each received a day's wage for less than a day's work.
Only those who worked the whole day, having bargained for a
specific sum, were upset.
They felt they deserved more, especially than those hired at
the eleventh hour!
Beware of the Evil Eye
Despite having worked longer than those hired later in the day,
those who worked all day were paid according to their bargain.
No one had any justification in complaining.
After all, the lord's money was his to dispense as he
pleased. Yet, some
seemed to have been stirred to jealousy.
As Lightfoot says, "They simply begrudged the owner's
generosity. They
murmured not because the lord had deprived them, but because he had
been so merciful to the others."
The evil eye, or jealousy, is a sin of the heart.
It can corrupt him from within (Mark 7:15‑23).
"A man with an evil eye hastens after riches, and does not
consider that poverty will come upon him" (Proverbs 28:22).
Under the law of Moses, the seventh year was one for
forgiving debts. Some
might have been jealous of the money they would lose by loaning
money to a poor man in the sixth or seventh years, knowing they
would have to forgive whatever remained unpaid.
God told them not to be jealous and promised to bless them
for the good they did (Deuteronomy 15:7‑11).
The First Will Be Last and the Last First
This expression is used immediately before and at the end of the
parable. Jesus seemed
to be stressing the importance of the heart in working for God.
There are two types of workers depicted in the parable.
Some worked for the landowner to get what they deserved.
The rest labored knowing they would not work a full day and
trusting in the one who hired them to give them a fair wage.
Notice, the men hired at the eleventh hour, when questioned
as to why they had been standing idle all day, said, "Because no one
hired us." Clearly,
they had a willingness to work, but no opportunity.
There is no encouragement here to continually delay accepting
the Lord's invitation.
At a different time, Jesus asked his disciples if a master thanked his servants for doing what they were commanded. Then he said, "So likewise you, when you have done all those things which you are commanded, say, 'We are unprofitable servants. We have done what was our duty to do'" (Luke 17:7‑10). Jews who followed Christ early on, the apostles and even some today need to keep this in mind. We are merely doing our duty in serving God. Not one of us can truthfully demand eternal life when we stand at the judgment bar. Instead, we need to exhibit a willingness to work and trust in the Lord to give us a reward far better than we deserve (Matthew 7:21; Romans 6:23).
1.
Relate Peter's question and tell how it fit in with the
parable Jesus told.
2. Name some things
people sacrifice to be Christians.
What do they gain?
3. What significance do
you see in the landowner getting workers throughout the day?
4. Why were some
satisfied with their pay?
Why were others not satisfied?