The Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard

Listen to Pastor Sara's Message

Sermon Text: Matthew 20:1-16

¹⁶So those who are last now will be first then, and those who are first will be last. (NLT)

“It is simply a fact that people regularly understand and appreciate God’s strange calculus of grace as applied to themselves but fear and resent seeing it applied to others.” Robert Smith (Matthew, Augsburg Commentary)

Why do the first worker’s complain?

1. “They assumed they would receive more”  (v. 10)
   • The desire for more is usually considered greed, leading them to desire more than had been promised.
2. “You have made them equal to us.”  (v. 12a)
   • They assumed a hierarchy based on time worked, which should have been reflected in a difference in their wages.  They make a distinction between “us” and “them” and that “we” are better than “they.”  “We deserve more than “they.”  
3. “[we] have born the burden of the day and the heat” (v. 12b)
   • They do not see their invitation to work (and wages earned) as a sign of grace, but as a burden to be borne.  When living the Christian life is seen as a burden, some faulty “seeing” is at work.

“Grace is always amazing grace.  Grace that can be calculated and ‘expected’ (v.10) is no longer grace.”  Eugene Boring (Matthew, New Interpreter’s Bible)

Will you respond with Envy or Generosity?

The Landowner asked:  “Are you envious because I am generous?”  (v. 15b)

We are left with two responses:

1. We can grumble with envy and a spirit of comparison, thereby attacking the goodness of God.
2. OR, we can be grateful for the love that gave us the kingdom of heaven as a free gift, thus engaging life with a spirit of generosity.