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3 - The Difficulty of Accepting God’s Grace |
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Matthew 20:1-16
Sunday, December 8, 2002
The Difficulty of Accepting God’s Grace
Introduction:
What was your first paying job and how much did you make an hour?
Take a moment and reflect back over the jobs you have held through your life. Who was the best “boss” you ever had? What made him or her so good?
A Brief Review of the Parable
I. Read the Parable recorded in Matthew 20:1-16.
II. Contextually, you should back up to Mt. 19:22-30. Recognize that Jesus directed these teaching moments to the apostles.
III. In this parable, Jesus tells of a group of workers who felt cheated. A landowner was seeking people to work in his vineyard. During the course of the day, he went out five different times and hired groups of men to work for him. It is important to note that the prospective workers did not come to the landowner looking for work. He went out looking for them.
a. Landowners typically hired day laborers to help at certain times when the demands of the vineyard exceeded the work capacity of their regular servants.
b. What agreement did the landowner make with the original laborers he hired (vv. 1-2)?
i. The first laborers called would not agree to work until they knew how much they were going to be paid. The use of the Greek word “sumphoneo” for “agreed” implies a negotiated contract.
c. How does the agreement made with the first laborers differ from that made with those hired at the third, sixth, ninth, and eleventh hour (vv. 3-7)?
i. The other four groups of laborers obviously made no demands for a set wage. The landowner had reserved the right to pay them “whatever is fair” and they had trusted in his honor and truthfulness to take good care of them.
IV. As evening began to set, the landowner brought all the laborers together and began to pay (vv. 8-12). The Law of Moses stated that a hired man was to be paid at the day’s end (Deut. 24:15; Lev. 19:13).
a. Imagine you were one of the laborers hired early that morning (i.e., 6:00 AM). You have worked tirelessly through the heat of the day. As you stand in line, you notice that the last workers are being paid the same amount for which you agreed to work for the entire day. What thoughts and feelings might you have?
b. Was the landowner unfair to the first group of laborers?
V. In your own words, what was the owner’s response to the grumbling workers (vv. 13-15)?
VI. Why do you suppose Jesus added to this parable these words in v. 16 “So the last will be first, and the first will be last”?
Theological Teachings from the Parable
I. This parable provides us with rich, but challenging insights into the nature of the kingdom. What discoveries does this parable provide with regard to . . .
a. God’s Character?
b. The status of people in the Kingdom?
c. The real basis of reward?
God’s Character
I. From a practical standpoint, this parable runs counter to our sense of fairness, justice, and logic. Is it possible for us to see why God does what he does?
II. Self-giving love is God’s very nature. It is, in fact, the only force that overcomes hate, sin, and death.
III. Salvation is entirely a matter of God’s grace! Man’s work is a response to God’s grace and not the basis of it. Paul sets the relationship between God’s grace and man’s works in proper focus in Eph. 2:8-10.
The Status of People in the Kingdom
I. In the marketplace was a mixed crowd of people – different races, ages, and places of life. We might conclude from this setting that the gospel was ultimately meant for everyone, everywhere, in every age.
II. Although Jesus’ invitation to “take my yoke upon you” in Mt. 11:29 is a universal call, it was not issued to all men at the same time. He told his disciples to “be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” God’s order of priority in preaching the gospel was “first for the Jew, then for the Gentile” (Rom. 1:16). When Jesus sent out the twelve apostles for the first time, he said, “Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans. Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel” (Mt. 10:5,6).
The Real Basis of Reward
I. We have already suggested that the first group of laborers the Lord sent into the vineyard were Jews who had accepted him as the Messiah, and he was emphasizing a problem not peculiar to, but characteristic of, his Jewish followers. The Jews had for centuries looked upon themselves as the elect people of God. They were bound by God to a special covenant relationship. Very early they had entered the Lord’s vineyard. All other nations were latecomers. So according to this view, Jesus is saying that the Jews, like the early laborers, would resent the inclusion of the Gentiles.
II. The Jews believed they had “borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day” (Mt. 20:12). Therefore they thought the Samaritans and the Gentiles should not be offered salvation without first meeting the requirements of the Law. Many Jewish Christians didn’t understand the Gentiles getting “so much for so little” which led to the Jerusalem Conference of Acts 15:1-29.
Conclusion
God’s great gifts are distributed not because they are earned, but because he is gracious.
In the kingdom of God, the principles of merit and ability are set aside so that grace can prevail.
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