Quit Standing Around Get To Work! Matthew 20:1-7

Matthew 20 “For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. 

Jesus once again teaches in parables.  He starts with the familiar phrase "the kingdom of heaven is like"  Basically he is saying, "This is what heaven would be like here on earth if God were fully in control."  

"To hire laborers for his vineyard: The landowner went to the marketplace, which was the gathering place for day laborers. A man who wanted to work came there first thing in the morning, carrying his tools, and waited until someone hired him. Early in the morning: This is literally “at dawn,” usually reckoned to be about 6:00 in the morning. (Guzik)

2 He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard.

"These workers hired at the very beginning of the working day agreed to work for a denarius a day, the common daily wage for a workingman. This was an entirely normal arrangement." Guzik 

3 “About nine in the morning he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. 

About three hours later, the owner went out to look for any other workers who might be willing to work.  There must have been more work that needed to be done, or the owner wanted to give as many people as possible the opportunity to work.  Since this is a parable explaining the kingdom of heaven both reasons are probably equally applicable.  

Note they had stood around for three hours doing nothing.  I.e. They were passive. 

4 He told them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.’ 

These men were hired as well with the caveat, "I will pay you whatever is right!" This will important for the interpretation of the parable later.  He only promised to pay them what was fair at the end of the day.  A very reasonable agreement and since they were looking for work, they went! 

5 So they went. “He went out again about noon and about three in the afternoon and did the same thing. 

The fact that they went also shows that they trusted the landowner to be equitable. 

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?’

Three hours later he goes out again and sure enough there were more people "standing around".  He offers a mild rebuke, asking why they have been idle all day.  Though they may have been somewhat passive in not getting work, at least they were still around and hadn't given up and gone home.  They were in some respect still willing to work. 

"The working day, which did not commonly extend beyond twelve hours (John 11:9), was all but over, and yet there was still work to be done in the vineyard, all the more urgent because of the lateness of the hour. The labourers who had been first hired were not enough. Is there not an implied suggestion that they were not labouring as zealously as they might have done? They were working on their contract for the day’s wages. Those who were called last of all had the joy of feeling that their day was not lost; and that joy and their faith in the justice of their employer gave a fresh energy to their toil." (Ellicott)

7 “‘Because no one has hired us,’ they answered. “He said to them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard.’

"The picture is that the landowner had an inexhaustible supply of work for those who wanted to work. The impression is that the landowner was surprised to find people idle, because he had plenty of work to give them. Spurgeon applied this to us spiritually: “Why is any one of us remaining idle towards God? Has nothing yet had power to engage us to sacred service? Can we dare to say, ‘No man hath hired us?”

As we look to make interpretation and application from this parable, it is pretty clear that it relates to the relationship between God's call to Jews and Gentiles.  Though God first offered salvation and his covenant to his chose people, Israel, the Gospel was not being offered to those who were willing to receive it.  Israel was often called the "vineyard of God" in the Old Testament (Isaiah 5) There is a popular church today called "The Vineyard Christian Fellowship". 

We will see more in the rest of the text other implications of the parable in this regard.  

They bottom line as Jesus says in Luke 10 and Matthew 9, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few!"

What do you think is the main point of this parable? What does it show us about God's offer of salvation?  Which worker would you have been?  The one who went to work right away first thing in the morning, or the one who remained idle until the end of the day? How does this relate to your own calling to be a follower of Jesus and salvation story?  Do you think there are still people standing idly waiting for someone to invite them to follow Jesus?