Back to the Bible: Matthew 20:1-19
Continuing from chapter 19, Jesus described the kingdom of heaven in a parable. A vineyard owner went to hire workers. He hired some at the beginning of the day for a denarius (a normal day’s wage). He went and hired more workers at 9 a.m., more at 12 p.m., more at 3 p.m., and more at 5 p.m., an hour before the close of the work day. At the end of the day, the owner paid their wages. He paid them in reverse order of when he hired them. He paid the latest hires a denarius, even though they had only worked an hour. Then, as the hires through the day came up, he paid them a denarius too. The ones that were hired early were sure he’d pay them more. But, they paid him what they had agreed to. They complained. This wasn’t fair. The latest workers only worked for an hour. They had worked all day in the hard and hot parts of the day. The owner said that there was nothing unjust about what he did. He paid them what they had agreed to. They needed to take it and move on. He could do what he wanted with the money he had and they didn’t need to grumble at the owner’s generosity.
This illustrates what Jesus meant by the last being first and the first being last. Those who thought they deserved more needed to recognize that they were all receiving a gift of grace.
Jesus was headed toward Jerusalem. He again explained what was going to happen to Him. It’s in view now, because they are going to the city where it is going to happen. He would be condemned to death by the Jewish leaders, handed over to the Gentiles. By them, He would be mocked, flogged, and crucified. But, He would be raised from the dead on the third day.
Lessons to Learn:
We are all dependent on grace. Of course, the parable shows that we are called to work in the vineyard. But, the reward is from the goodness of the Lord. Some of the religious leaders considered themself first. Maybe the rich young ruler thought of himself in that position too. It seemed that the apostles may consider themself in priority given their sacrifice and early commitment to Jesus. Jesus wants them to see that salvation was a gift. When God grants salvation to those who are not first in worldly terms, do not have anything visible to contribute to the cause, or don’t bear the same weight in the work, Jesus reminds us that the reward is always by grace.
Jesus knew His death was coming and went anyway. That was true when He took on humanity. This is the first place Jesus mentions crucifixion which was for the worst and lowest criminals. He was humbly obedient to the will of the Father. Of course, He pointed toward the resurrection on the third day.
We are thankful to share considerations of God’s word. It’s best if you have a Bible close at hand and evaluate what we say. We always want to go “back to the Bible” for what we teach. To reach us with your questions and comments or to request a personal Bible study email us at info@backtothebiblepodcast.com.
