20:1 “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. 2 After
agreeing with the laborers for a denarius [1] a day, he sent them into his
vineyard. 3 And going out about the third hour he saw others standing idle in
the marketplace, 4 and to them he said, ‘You go into the vineyard too, and
whatever is right I will give you.’ 5 So they went. Going out again about the
sixth hour and the ninth hour, he did the same. 6 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?’ 7 They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said
to them, ‘You go into the vineyard too.’ 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.’ 9 And when those hired about the
eleventh hour came, each of them received a denarius. 10 Now when those hired
first came, they thought they would receive more, but each of them also
received a denarius. 11 And on receiving it they grumbled at the master of the
house, 12 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.’ 13
But he replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not
agree with me for a denarius? 14 Take what belongs to you and go. I choose to
give to this last worker as I give to you. 15 Am I not allowed to do what I
choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity?’ [2] 16 So
the last will be first, and the first last.”
(Matthew 20:1-16 (ESV)
“You go into the vineyard too, and whatever is right I will
give you.” Right, the word has the connotation of righteous, and just. It’s a
peculiar point in the parable of the vineyard. The hiring practices of this man
are strange. In fact, the man doesn’t seem to be hiring anyone at all. It is as
if he doesn’t care about the work, near as much as he cares about these people
looking for work. He tells them to go into the vineyard, I’ll give you whatever
is right. So they went. They don’t ask about payment, they just go, taking the
man at his word. They trust him. Same with all the people he hires after.
But the first people, the ones up in the town square ready
to work at six A.M. He agrees with them for a denarius. I mean, it’s fun to
speculate who these different groups are, what’s motivating them. The bills that need to be paid, the mouths
that need to be fed. Perhaps they are saving to buy their wives a special
present for an upcoming anniversary. Maybe they are hoping to earn enough to
buy a lamb to sacrifice in the temple as a dedication for a new born son, as
Mary and Joseph did with Jesus, being poor and settled on turtle doves instead.
A sacrifice foreshadowing his own death, the sacrifice with which he gives you
righteousness, that which is right.
I mean, why is it that you work? What are your motivations?
How much more real have those become when you were out of work? When the bills
start coming in and you start wondering what you can afford or not afford. And
sleepless nights tossing and turning, wondering when you might find a job to
help get you out of the hole. Then you begin to realize what a privilege it is
to work, especially if you love your job. The peace of mind a paycheck offers
helps to keep your sanity in a world where it isn’t hard to see others with no
job, poor and destitute.
A denarius, today would be a couple hundred dollars. The
kind of pay that puts a smile on a teenager’s face as he contemplates Friday
night with friends, or perhaps dinner with a date. Not bad pay for an adult
either if it is steady. The kind of pay that keeps a man sane.
And perhaps now we see what a privilege it was for these men
to be working, to be hired so early for a denarius. One wonders what the others
thought. They showed up late to the market place. The chances of being hired
slim, those looking for labor show up in the morning and look for those eager
to work, disciplined to take advantage of the early morning day light, get
things done before the heat of the sun slows the progress. When the vineyard
owner comes looking for reinforcements at the third hour, they washed with
relief. Any pay is better than no pay. At least they don’t have to show up in
the empty handed at the end of the day. They understand what they are being
given with a sigh of relief when the vineyard owner tells them, “Whatever is
right I will give to you.” Those hired at the eleventh hour go to work without
hesitation, glad to have the work, trusting that what is right will be given to
them.
“What is right I will give you.” The work, the pay, the
peace of mind, all was gift, and they went to work with joy. This is the
kingdom of God. All of it gift. None of it deserved. We are given the work and
with it righteousness. We are benefactors of the Lord’s generosity, the
forgiveness of sins. The work itself given to us as gift, from a generous,
loving and benevolent employer, and the righteousness he gives is more than we
could ever earn, the righteousness of his Son, who died to give you his
inheritance, crucified to make you coheirs of heaven. Such is the generosity of
God.
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