The Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard - Matthew 20
The Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard
20 “For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. 2 He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard. 3 “About nine in the morning he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. 4 He told them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.’ 5 So they went. “He went out again about noon and about three in the afternoon and did the same thing. 6 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?’7 “‘Because no one has hired us,’ they answered.
“He said to them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard.’ 8 “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.’
9 “The workers who were hired about five in the afternoon came and each received a denarius. 10 So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius. 11 When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner. 12 ‘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.’13 “But he answered one of them, ‘I am not being unfair to you, friend. Didn’t you agree to work for a denarius? 14 Take your pay and go. I want to give the one who was hired last the same as I gave you. 15 Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?’ 16 “So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”
Reflection: Today Jesus continues teaching about what the kingdom of heaven is like using his favorite method, parables. Today's parable is about a landowner who hires various workers at various parts of the day, all under the presupposition that they would receive a denarius, which was commonly paid out for one day's worth of work. When the guys hired first received their wage after only working a few hours, the guys hired at the beginning of the day had an expectation that they would get more. When they received the same wage, they were disappointed and grumbled on something about fairness.
So what do you think Jesus wants to teach us today? Expectations can very tricky, especially when our expectations are related to others and how they are treated. In one sense the other employees really had no business even knowing what the other guys received. The owner made a deal and he honored it with each person as he saw fit. Fairness doesn't always mean equal pay for everyone. The owner, who represents God, deals with each person in the story according to what He deems is appropriate. After all, it is His right isn't it?
This parable is similar to the parable of the prodigal son, when the prodigal gets home and is rewarded with a feast, the son who has never strayed is indignant, thinking he has been dutiful his whole and hasn't had many parties thrown his way. The danger for us is when we start thinking we know better than God. Or, when we start thinking we deserve special treatment for all the good stuff we have done. When we serve, we are simply doing what God has told us to do. But we get in trouble when we start setting expectations about what God should do for us, for what we have done for him. After all what really deserve God hasn't given us, but everything we get is due to His mercy, which He has freely given to us through His Son.
A good question to ask yourself is do I serve with an expectation of something other then the simple commendation, "Well done good and faithful servant!" Do I serve to get noticed by others? When I am not recognized do I get indignant? Do I get resentful when others are publicly uplifted for doing less than I do? Jesus speaks of this in the Sermon on the Mount, when he tells us to do our service in secret so that our Heavenly Father who sees what is done in secret can reward us. After all God has done for us in Christ, the proper response is gratitude which fuels all we do.
Jesus, thank you that you set an example for us not to be served, but to serve and give your life as a ransom for many. Help us to not set expectations as we serve, but to freely give as we have been freely given. Amen.
20 “For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. 2 He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard. 3 “About nine in the morning he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. 4 He told them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.’ 5 So they went. “He went out again about noon and about three in the afternoon and did the same thing. 6 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?’7 “‘Because no one has hired us,’ they answered.
“He said to them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard.’ 8 “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.’
9 “The workers who were hired about five in the afternoon came and each received a denarius. 10 So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius. 11 When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner. 12 ‘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.’13 “But he answered one of them, ‘I am not being unfair to you, friend. Didn’t you agree to work for a denarius? 14 Take your pay and go. I want to give the one who was hired last the same as I gave you. 15 Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?’ 16 “So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”
Reflection: Today Jesus continues teaching about what the kingdom of heaven is like using his favorite method, parables. Today's parable is about a landowner who hires various workers at various parts of the day, all under the presupposition that they would receive a denarius, which was commonly paid out for one day's worth of work. When the guys hired first received their wage after only working a few hours, the guys hired at the beginning of the day had an expectation that they would get more. When they received the same wage, they were disappointed and grumbled on something about fairness.
So what do you think Jesus wants to teach us today? Expectations can very tricky, especially when our expectations are related to others and how they are treated. In one sense the other employees really had no business even knowing what the other guys received. The owner made a deal and he honored it with each person as he saw fit. Fairness doesn't always mean equal pay for everyone. The owner, who represents God, deals with each person in the story according to what He deems is appropriate. After all, it is His right isn't it?
This parable is similar to the parable of the prodigal son, when the prodigal gets home and is rewarded with a feast, the son who has never strayed is indignant, thinking he has been dutiful his whole and hasn't had many parties thrown his way. The danger for us is when we start thinking we know better than God. Or, when we start thinking we deserve special treatment for all the good stuff we have done. When we serve, we are simply doing what God has told us to do. But we get in trouble when we start setting expectations about what God should do for us, for what we have done for him. After all what really deserve God hasn't given us, but everything we get is due to His mercy, which He has freely given to us through His Son.
A good question to ask yourself is do I serve with an expectation of something other then the simple commendation, "Well done good and faithful servant!" Do I serve to get noticed by others? When I am not recognized do I get indignant? Do I get resentful when others are publicly uplifted for doing less than I do? Jesus speaks of this in the Sermon on the Mount, when he tells us to do our service in secret so that our Heavenly Father who sees what is done in secret can reward us. After all God has done for us in Christ, the proper response is gratitude which fuels all we do.
Jesus, thank you that you set an example for us not to be served, but to serve and give your life as a ransom for many. Help us to not set expectations as we serve, but to freely give as we have been freely given. Amen.
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