The Generosity of the Lord of the Vineyard
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| "The Workers in the Vineyard" by Rembrandt |
“Take what belongs to you and go. I choose to give to this last worker as I
give to you. Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or
do you begrudge my generosity?” (Matthew 20:14-15).
Grace
and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ!
It’s just not fair what the lord of the vineyard does! Consider
it from the perspective of the workers who are hired at the start of the
day—you’ll sympathize with them pretty quickly. They’re the early birds who get
the worm. The lord of the vineyard comes along and offers them the standard
deal for a twelve-hour shift. They’ll work in his vineyard for a day, and
receive a day’s pay at the end. So, off they go. As they labor and toil, the lord
of the vineyard keeps going back to the marketplace. Each time, he finds more
who are idle and he calls them into his vineyard. He even goes back when
there’s only one hour left in the day.
The day ends and it’s time to collect. The bean counters do
the math: If those who work the whole day get a day’s pay, then it stands to
reason that those who worked one-twelfth of the day will get one-twelfth of a
day’s pay, right? But when those who worked only an hour collect their wages,
they get it all—a full day’s wages. Surely those who worked the whole time are
going to get something extra, aren’t they? It’s only fair. Yet, when it’s time
to collect, they only get what was promised—one day’s pay, the same as everyone
else.
It’s then that the grumbling begins. “It isn’t fair, what
this lord of the vineyard has done. We worked a lot more, so we should get paid
a lot more; but instead, all we got was what we were promised. Look at the guy
who killed all but the last hour of the day before coming to work; he’s walking
around with a whole day’s pay and a smile on his face.” So goes the reasoning
of the grumblers, and you have to agree that the landowner hasn’t acted all
that fairly.
However, consider the same day from the perspective of the lord
of the vineyard. It’s his vineyard. He’s the one who goes to the marketplace
and finds workers who are idle. He could look for others who show more
initiative—he could stick to those who arrive at his gate; but these idle men
need a place, or else all that they have will be taken from them. So he “hires”
laborers. But note the terms: He promises he will give them whatever is right. As
the day wears on he returns to the marketplace; and each time he goes he finds
more idle men. He wants them, too, in his vineyard, where he can provide for
them security and peace. Therefore, he calls them into his vineyard and offers
them what is right. He even goes back at the eleventh hour. The lord has to
realize that he won’t get much work out of them, but he still wants them in his
vineyard anyway.
When the end of the day comes, the workers are gathered for
the time of reckoning, and here’s the surprise: The lord of the vineyard does
not pay them based upon their work. The lord of the vineyard gives to them
based upon his generosity. Whether the worker has labored for twelve hours or one,
he still has the same needs. So, that’s what the lord of the vineyard gives—what
each one needs! Is it fair? Not at all. And thank God it isn’t. Focused so much
on their own efforts, the full-day workers miss the most important point. The
only reason that they are even in the vineyard is because the lord has given
them a place.
You see, this parable isn’t about life in the world; it is
about the kingdom of heaven. And the kingdom of heaven isn’t about getting what
you deserve; it’s about the generosity of the Lord. Don’t look for the world’s justice in
the kingdom of heaven; it doesn’t apply. What passes for justice in this world
just doesn’t fit the kingdom of heaven. As God says in the Old Testament
reading for today: “My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My
ways… For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than
your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:8-9).
The Lord is simply
not fair in the way that the world measures fairness. And thank God He isn’t! The
world wants an eye for an eye, a life for a life; but the Lord takes the nails
and lays down His life for the forgiveness of our sins. The world wants the
punishment to fit the crime; but the Lord, who has committed no crime, bears
your punishment in His body on the cross. The world demands retribution and
revenge; but Christ prays for His enemies and takes on all of God’s wrath for
our sin. The Lord is generous, forgiving, and kind. He repays evil with good. He
does not seek the death of a sinner; instead, your Lord desires to show mercy. That
mercy was accomplished by the Father’s just punishment of His Son on the cross.
Justice for Jesus means mercy for you. Christ has atoned for all your sins by
His innocent suffering and death, and in heaven you will live for all eternity
in your Savior’s love. There is no worldly justice beyond the pearly gates. Heaven
is filled with the Lord’s mercy and grace.
But there is a place
where perfect worldly justice will reign forever. There is a place that is
filled with all the pain and misery that our sins truly deserve. In that place
each person will receive in his or her body the just reward for every lie
they’ve ever uttered, every lustful or covetous thought, every idol they’ve
secretly worshiped, every vain work they’ve ever done, every hurtful word
they’ve ever spoken, every act of love they’ve failed to do. In that place the
fire is never quenched and the worm never dies. In that place eternal pain and
torment are each man’s portion. In that place each sin is punished eternally. That
place is hell!
But our generous Lord
would not have anyone go to hell. That place was prepared for Satan and his
evil angels who rebelled against the Lord. God never intended it for man. But
those who stubbornly reject His mercy and grace—those who choose their own standards
of justice over God’s—will be condemned to hell. God takes no pleasure in the
death of sinners. God does not want anyone to suffer the torments of hell. But
Satan does!
Satan is not like the
Lord. The Lord finds His joy in mercy; but the devil delights in what the world
passes for justice. The evil one wants a chance for you to reap the rewards of
your evil. Satan is s a liar and a murderer, and has been from the beginning. Satan
knows no mercy. He knows nothing of grace. He knows only God’s perfectly just
wrath against him and wants you to share the same.
But the kingdom of
heaven does not operate under the world’s system of justice. The kingdom of
heaven comes under God’s grace. It comes to us in God’s means of grace. And so,
when the Lord sends His Church out into the world, He does not send it to
dispense the world’s justice. He sends it to share His mercy and grace. There’s
no firing range at the seminary. Pastors are not police officers or prosecuting
attorneys. The Church does not train us to enforce the laws of men. Instead, we
are called to be heralds of God’s mercy and grace in Christ.
The justice of the
world is tit for tat. Crimes are punished, and good deeds are rewarded. But the
Lord doesn’t want to punish you at all. Christ has already suffered every bit
of God’s wrath and eternity in hell that you deserved for your sins. There are
no scales in heaven that the Lord uses to weigh your good deeds against your
evil ones. There are no lists of when you’ve been naughty or nice. The Lord has
sent His Son to destroy the scales of worldly justice. The Lord sent His Son to
live a perfect righteous life and exchange it for your sin. The Lord has
blotted out all of your iniquities from the ledger of your sins. Jesus has won
forgiveness for all your sins, and freely gives you life and salvation by His
grace.
Many turn Jesus’
parables into moral lessons. They try to draw lessons for stewardship or
outreach, how to live a purpose driven life, or how to live your best life now.
But there is no worldly wisdom in our Lord’s parables. They do not even speak
of what goes on in heaven. They were designed to tell us what goes on here,
among men, when God is busy reestablishing Himself as our King and Lord. They
tell us of Christ’s work on our behalf to win our salvation and make us His
own.
No earthly king could
ever afford to be as generous as your Savior is. The ways of Wall Street and
Main Street are ignored in the kingdom of heaven. Jesus didn’t follow a
business model or practice the latest management techniques. Jesus never
learned the art of buying low and selling high. In fact, Jesus was so careless
with accounting that He picked a thief named Judas to keep the disciples’ books.
The parables show
that the kingdom of heaven is not at all like the kingdoms of the world because
the King of heaven is not at all like the kings of this evil age. The Lord is
ridiculously reckless with His gifts. In today’s parable the Lord gives just
what He promises. He pays no one according to their deeds, but rather, gives to
them abundantly according to their needs. Oh, the generosity of the Lord!
Some of you were
baptized as infants. You entered the vineyard when you were just a few days
old, and there the Lord promised you eternal life and salvation. You have never
known a day outside of your Savior’s forgiving love. You’ve always known the
comfort of the Gospel. What a blessing!
Others of you may
have come into the vineyard a little later, at the third hour, the sixth hour,
or the ninth hour. He found you in the marketplace. You heard the saving Word
of the Gospel from a friend, a family member, or a co-worker and came into the
vineyard. And a few of you may have come at the eleventh hour of your life,
when you don’t have many years left. And to each of you, God has said the same
Word: “Come, work in My vineyard! I will give you what is right.”
It is worth noting
that the Lord does not say that He pays the vineyard workers; He gives
to them. He gives to them according to His promises. The Lord does not keep
a time card for you. There are no annual reviews or performance bonuses or
commissions. No bookkeeping is allowed in the kingdom of heaven. The Lord of
Life keeps one book, and in the Book of Life there are entries only in the
credit column. Nothing is ever counted against you because Christ’s blood has
blotted away all the debt of your sin.
The Lord is not a
worldly landowner, and He’s not paying any attention to His bottom line. He
doesn’t want you in the vineyard because of what you bring to the table.
He wants you in the vineyard because of what He brings to the Table—His
body and blood for the forgiveness of your sins and the strengthening of your
faith. He wants you in the vineyard because that is where all the good stuff is.
What is good in this
world is not even worth comparing to what the Lord has in store for you in His
kingdom. Here and now, He gives you faith, forgiveness, salvation, and eternal
life. When His kingdom of heaven reaches its fulfillment, the Lord will raise
you and all the dead. He will bring you to Paradise and give you every good
gift He has won for you on the cross.
Hear of the
generosity of the Lord! His mercy knows no bounds, and His love never ceases. He
gives to the last even as He gives to the first. He loves you. He keeps His
promises to you now, and He will keep them to you for eternity. What good news!
You never need to worry whether you have done enough to earn God’s mercy, or
whether you deserve it. God’s grace is a gift. He gives wonderful things to
you, not because you have earned them, but because of His mercy and grace. And
among the very best of His gifts is this Good News you hear week after week: For
Jesus’ sake, you are forgiven of all of your sins.
In the name of the
Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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