“For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard. “About nine in the morning he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. He told them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.’ So they went.
“He went out again about noon and about three in the afternoon and did the same thing. About five in the afternoon he went out and found still others standing around. He asked them, ‘Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?’ “‘Because no one has hired us,’ they answered. “He said to them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard.’
“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.’ “The workers who were hired about five in the afternoon came and each received a denarius. So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius. When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner. ‘These 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.’
“But he answered one of them, ‘I am not being unfair to you, friend. Didn’t you agree to work for a denarius? Take your pay and go. I want to give the one who was hired last the same as I gave you. Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?’
“So the last will be first, and the first will be last.” Matthew 20:1-16
“Some of us are “doing better” than others. Some live in better neighborhoods, have better jobs, and earn more money. It seems that some people get better rewarded than others. Is this fair? Why should the economy not be prosperous for everyone? Of course, maybe we are just envious? The Bible tells us that God has provided for us all but challenges our generosity and pride…
We are like those hired laborers, and God is like the owner of the vineyard. Jesus is telling us not to be like the resentful laborers. He reverses the understanding of how things work. His kingdom works differently than our world. He is not proposing this as the way to organize our labor practices. These contrasts underlie the different between the two realms. Jesus concludes bu pointing out that this is what the kingdom of heaven is like, not by saying, “And this is how you run a vineyard”!
The lesson we learn is that those that come late to faith are not at a disadvantage. Likewise, those who are involved in the church from birth are not advantaged. No one gets an automatic front seat in heaven. This is a hard teaching from Jesus. What He is telling us is that God rewards us with unexpected goodness. We are being warned and encouraged at the same time. It is a warning that we should not think we are above those outside of faith. To the contrary, we have a service to perform by brining them to faith in Christ. It is encouraging because God is so generous in His offer of grace.”
David Cowan in Economic Parables: The Monetary Teachings of Jesus Christ (Downers Grove: IVP, 2006) 51-56.
After prayer in a quiet corner at San Francisco en route to Seoul and Manila to speak in various settings and to teach at Asian Theological Seminary over the next three weeks, I feel led to quote from great books that I expose to my students in my Faith and Finances course.
Cowan richly points us to the unexpected goodness of God. That’s what God’s generosity and our generosity should look like. It should not follow the norms of this realm but the patterns of the kingdom. In that sense, it should humble the proud while lifting up the lowly.
Shortly I depart for Seoul. A hundred years ago, that nation was poor and oppressed. Thanks to missionaries who sacrificed their lives, the gospel spread and was widely received. Many in Korea would attribute their current material prosperity to the obedience of many in following Christ.
What I love about the Korean Church is the “unexpected goodness” they extend to others. Per capita, they are the #1 missionary sending nation in the world. They want everyone, especially the most disadvantaged, to know about Jesus. Their generosity shines through their unmatched missionary zeal.
What about you? When you read the parable do you cry foul with the workers? Or do you look beyond the earthly message to find the eternal lesson? Since the first are last and last are first, that puts everyone on the same plane. It’s rather humbling isn’t it. In response, we get to dispense the same shocking grace to others.
And I will remind my students that when we intentionally extend “unexpected goodness” to the least deserving, we show the world what the kingdom is like. These are not random acts of kindness, but subversive (countercultural) distinctly Christian efforts to make known the generosity of God.