MATTHEW 20:1-16
BE GRATEFUL THAT GOD IS NOT FAIR.
In
the name + of Jesus.
We often measure God by earthly standards. When we do, we find all kinds of reasons to criticize
God about the way he acts. Why are some people
born with birth defects when most people are born with bodies that are whole? That does not seem fair. Why are some people born in poverty, squalor,
or war when others are not? That does
not seem fair.
God receives similar criticism because he
does not run his kingdom the way we would run a business. We are very calculating about our expenses
and income. We make our decisions based
on cost analysis. And while everyone has
a different idea about what is the fair treatment of employees, we expect that
employees would be treated fairly. We also
expect that the longer you work somewhere, the better you would be compensated.
Now consider the parable that Jesus
told. The master of the vineyard went
out to hire day-laborers. “(He) went out early in the morning to hire
laborers for his vineyard. After
agreeing with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his
vineyard” (Matthew 20:1-2). So far, so
good. A day’s wage for a day’s
work. That is fair. Then “going out about the third hour he
saw others standing idle in the marketplace, and to them he said, ‘You go into
the vineyard too, and whatever is right I will give you.’” (Matthew 20:3-4). We don’t know what the master had in mind
here for a wage. He did not promise any
specific amount, just “whatever is right.”
So, we assume that they will get a reduced wage. If they did not work a full day, it would not
be fair to give them a full day’s wage.
Then the master went out again, at the sixth hour and again at the ninth
hour. He even went with only an hour
left in the day and found other laborers who had not been hired. He sent them to his vineyard, making no
promises about the wage. Nothing seems
out of line here. Workers were hired. Each put in their time, though different time
for different laborers.
At the end of the day, the day-laborers were lined up to receive their
day’s pay. “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.’
And when those hired about the eleventh hour came, each of them received
a denarius. Now when those hired first
came, they thought they would receive more, but each of them also received a
denarius” (Matthew 20:8-10). You can
see the problem. How is someone who only
worked for one hour paid the same as someone who worked for twelve hours? This is patently unfair, and the workers said
so: “They grumbled at the master of the house, 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’” (Matthew 20:11-12).
Remember, however, that this is not a
parable about business practices. This is
about the kingdom of heaven. The
vineyard is not a business; the vineyard is the Church. The laborers are the people who have been
brought into the Church. None of them
were in the vineyard when the day began.
The master had to go out, find them, and bring them in. The master gave them opportunity to be
productive and to have purpose. Without the
master, they had none of that. Without
the master taking the initiative, the people would have no association with the
vineyard. And everyone who was brought
in was given the same promise from the master.
The master would give them all what was right.
But it does not always seem right. The first laborers lodged a complaint which seems
to be valid. “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” (Matthew 20:12). Even in the Church, we get the idea that
those who have been around longer should get greater reward and receive better
treatment. You might feel that it is not
fair that God makes everyone equal. Some
complain and even demand that God would be fair with them. But be grateful that God is not fair; for we
all have a flawed view of what is fair.
So, what’s fair? Fair is that God
would give us what we deserve. Not what we
think we deserve, but what we have actually earned from God. Remember in the parable how none of the workers
were in the vineyard. This is the
reality for all people who come into the world.
No one begins in the kingdom of God.
Psalm 51 reminds us, “Behold, I was brought forth in
iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me” (Psalm 51:5). We all begin in sin. We prove our sinful nature as soon as we
are old enough to do it. No one had to
teach you how to be selfish; you just are.
No one had to teach you to be jealous, to be angry, or to seek revenge;
it just comes out of you. We do not have
an inherent right be in the vineyard or to receive the master’s goods. If the master were to be fair, he would leave
us to self-destruction. Then he would convict
us and condemn us. Fair is that everyone
goes to hell because everyone is a sinner.
Be grateful that God is not fair.
In bringing people into the Church, the Lord is not fair. To secure our place in the kingdom of God,
the Lord became a man to be the way for mankind to enter in. The Lord Jesus is the one man who was born into
this world apart from sin. Having been
conceived by the Holy Spirit, he did not inherit a sinful nature. His nature is pure and innocent. He is the very image of God in the
flesh. For this reason, Jesus is also
the one man who has kept every commandment of God. Every thought, word, action, and motive of
Jesus is in perfect harmony with God’s will.
So, the only person who can claim to have earned God’s favor and a place
in eternal glory is Jesus. But that is not
what he got.
St. Peter wrote, “Christ…suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous,
that he might bring us to God” (1 Peter 3:18). It
is not fair that the righteous one should suffer and die. He deserved better. And it is not fair that the unrighteous
should be set free and be praised by God.
The unrighteous deserve death and judgment. Be grateful that God is not fair.
Jesus Christ
willingly gave up his life to rescue you.
The innocent one was condemned so that the guilty would be pardoned. He who has the words of eternal life was put
to death so that we, who deserve death, will receive eternal life. Jesus died under the curse of his Father so
that we now receive the Father’s blessing and good will. None of this is fair. Jesus was cast out of the Holy City so that
we could be brought in. Be grateful that
God is not fair.
You and I have
been sought by the Lord and brought into the vineyard, the Church. We have been set apart for good works so that
our lives honor God and benefit our neighbor.
And our prayer is that more and more be brought into God’s vineyard to
have the same blessings and benefits we have.
Still, we struggle
with wicked jealousy. Beware that you do
not fall into the same temptation as the one laborer who rebuked the master. “On receiving (the denarius)
they grumbled at the master of the house, 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.’
But he replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius’”
(Matthew 20:11-13). Then he spoke these
chilling words: “Take what belongs to you and go.” (Matthew 20:14). The man did not want to benefit from the
grace of his master; he wanted what was fair.
And the master answered his prayer.
He was expelled from the vineyard.
Be grateful that the Lord is not fair, and do not become jealous when he
is not. Many Christians have been in the
Church their whole life long—born in Christian homes and baptized as infants,
attending services on Sundays and striving for godly living all week. But others have been brought into the Church
later in life—at the third hour, the sixth hour, the ninth hour, or even the eleventh
hour, perhaps on one’s death bed or on death row. Those, by the way, are rare. Why would Christians be upset that laborers
were brought into the vineyard later?
And what is there to envy about those who are outside the kingdom? For many, life is all about wine, women, and
song. The worst that they think can happen
to them is to lose the whole world.
Eventually, they will. This world
will pass away. How could we resent anyone
who is delivered from such a dismal future and whose life now is empty? Would you envy people who go through life
without comfort, peace, and hope? Would
you envy people who face death with no assurance? But for you, the worst that can happen is to
lose your soul. In Christ, we can’t. Not even death can take us away from
Jesus. Therefore, we long to be with
Jesus.
Be grateful that God is not fair.
Everyone brought into the kingdom of God did not deserve to be brought in. Everyone in the kingdom of God receives the same
denarius—forgiveness of sins, new life, and salvation. Everyone in the kingdom of God is a child of
God and an heir of eternal glory. Whether
you have been a Christian your whole life long or your conversion occurred since
the beginning of this sermon, you are all equally loved and redeemed. There is no Christian with an asterisk. There is no child of God on probation. We are all clothed in the same garments of
salvation—not because it is fair, but because we all have the same gracious God. Be grateful that God is not fair.
The blessings that we receive in life are often not distributed
evenly. You may look at the way God
blesses various people and conclude that God has not been fair. It may not look fair to you, but God blesses
us according to his wisdom, knowing what is best for us. If God has you bearing the burden of pain or
sorrow, he still comforts you with the promise that all your pains and sorrows
will have an end. If you have to endure
the scorching heat of persecution, the Lord Jesus is still with you. God never forsakes his beloved redeemed. And if your labor in the vineyard gets
difficult, your fellow workers in the vineyard are here to encourage you.
“The kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house who went out early in
the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard” (Matthew 20:1). We
are the laborers in his vineyard, the Church.
In his grace, God has brought us in.
In his grace, God has promised us great reward. In his grace, God desires us to be with him
and he with us. The gracious master
gives us all we need for this life and the next. Be grateful that God is not fair, and rejoice
that God is so gracious.
In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
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