NOT ARITHMETIC, BUT GRACE
Opening Prayer
Lord, thank You for putting me to work in Your vineyard.
Read MATTHEW 20:1–16
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.”
New International Version (NIV)
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
“’Tis mercy all, immense and free; / for, O my God, it found out me” (Charles Wesley, 1707–1788). Thank God for his mercy to you.
After the interaction between Jesus and the rich young man, Peter asks on behalf of the twelve, “We have left everything and followed you. What then will we have?” (Matt. 19:27). Jesus assures them that they will receive eternal life and a significant place in his kingdom, along with everyone who has left all for his name’s sake.
In today’s Scripture, the landowner and the first set of laborers agree to their payment for the day. Then, as the day progresses and further laborers are employed, each group is promised a fair wage. The last ones are just sent to work with no mention of payment. As in all parables, the emphasis falls on the final scene. The laborers who have endured the heat of the day have their expectations raised as they observe the latecomers receiving very generous wages. So, when they get paid, they naturally expect more. But the landowner pays them according to the original agreement. They bitterly complain that they who have worked all day long get paid the same as the latecomers. The landowner reminds them of their original contractual arrangement. His generosity precludes their bitter reaction. What they originally agreed upon they now receive. In God’s kingdom the first will be last and the last will be first (16; cf. Matt. 19:30).
This parable is for Peter and all followers of Jesus, past, present and future. No one deserves God’s salvation. It is not a matter of arithmetic, but of grace. God is not answerable to humans for his actions. He extends mercy equally to all who come to him. “He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?” (Rom. 8:32). God plays no favorites. All receive salvation, no matter how long they have labored in his vineyard. His grace is limitless and beyond our comprehension.
Apply
As humans and Christians, we might rate ourselves as deserving better or worse than others. But God’s mercy extends equally to all believers, even to the difficult ones!
Closing prayer
Lord, I acknowledge that the vineyard and the laborers all belong to You, and whatever You pay us at evening time is perfectly just.
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