“Life is never fair, and perhaps it is a good thing for most of us that it is not” says Oscar Wilde. Jesus told many parables (a short fictitious story that highlights a moral or spiritual principle) during his earthly ministry but of all his parables there is one parable that bothered me a lot since I was a young Christian. Just like most of Jesus’ parables this story captures the attention of the listeners with changing scenes and details, but with an unexpected twist in the story almost all the listeners are shocked and probably tempted to scream aloud “That’s not fair”.
The parable of the laborers in the vineyard is found only in the gospel of Matthew chapter 20. The context of this parable helps us understand why Jesus used this parable here. In Chapter 19 Jesus was talking about those who belong to God’s kingdom. While the disciples were hindering the children from coming to Jesus in vs 14 he says the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these (children). In a world where people assumed that the rich people have all the advantages and can go wherever they like, Jesus says in vs 23 it is hard for the rich people to enter the kingdom of heaven and in vs 24 he implies it’s almost impossible for those who trust in their riches to enter the kingdom.
Peter asks the question in vs 27: “We have left everything to follow you! What then will there be for us?” Maybe Peter was expecting that the reward system in heaven will be based on the length of ministry (seniority) and the amount of sacrifice here on earth. Jesus in response to this tells this parable that is sandwiched between two verses (19:30 and 20:16) that say the exact same thing “The last will be first and the first will be last”.
The parable is about the owner of a vineyard who went out to hire day laborers at different times of the same day. He hired some men at 6 am, some at 9 am, some at 12 noon, some at 3 pm and finally a few others at 5 pm. When the day’s work is finished around 6 pm he paid the workers who came at 5 pm a full day’s pay. Those who worked since morning suddenly got excited because they reasoned if the master is so generous with those who worked for one hour, how much more should we receive for working almost 12 hours? To their utter shock he paid them the same amount as others who came in late. They complained that this was not fair because they worked harder and longer.
“The boss’s action contradicted everything known about employee motivation and fair compensation…Jesus was giving us a parable about grace, which cannot be calculated like a day’s wages. Grace is not about finishing last or first; it is about not counting. We receive grace as a gift from God, not as something we toil to earn…the employer did not cheat the full day workers, they got what they were promised. Their discontent arose from the scandalous mathematics of grace…None of us gets paid according to merit, for none of us comes close to satisfying God’s requirements for a perfect life. If paid on the basis of fairness, we will all end up in hell” writes Philip Yancey in his book what’s so amazing about grace?
Pastor John MacArthur Jr explains “All who come into Christ’s kingdom to serve him, no matter how long, no matter how short, no matter how hard, no matter how easy the circumstance, will in the end equally receive the same full reward. What is that reward? Eternal life, eternal glory, eternal Christlikeness. Those who come first to God will receive no more than those who come last. Those who come last will receive no less than those who come first….The same eternal life will be given to that sinner who near death turns from a life of wickedness to embrace Christ as is given to that missionary who spent 50 years in a jungle in deprivation and difficult labor. The person who receives Christ on a deathbed after a life of wickedness will receive the same glorious eternity as one who all his life served Christ and died a martyr. It’s a tremendous truth.”
This parable is not talking about our salvation, we can never work for our salvation or earn our salvation. It deals with God rewarding our service as his children, the reward is a gift God graciously gives us, it is not something we earn; it is something he gives according to his sovereign grace. The problem with the laborers who came early is that they felt they deserved a bigger reward because they worked harder and longer, they felt entitled.
I believe none of us deserve to be picked for God’s work in His vineyard. It is an absolute privilege and honor to be picked by this master for his work. Once we know this master personally and understand his heart we will never complain about our reward or wages. I remember when I was in college we had the opportunity to volunteer to do some set up and clean up job on the cricket stadium where some national players practiced. We used to beg to be on the list, so that we can have a closer look at these super stars. None of us were paid, we did not even get travel or free snacks, but we felt like we won the lottery when selected for this voluntary job.
I have a few golfing friends who volunteer for big golf tournaments, many of them pay their own travel, hotel and food, yet they are so thrilled to be working four days for free, just for the privilege of a closer view of these top golfers in the world. Working in God’s vineyard is not a burden, we don’t do it to earn something, we do it because it is a privilege to be in this vineyard as long as possible irrespective of the future reward. Being part of the Kingdom of God and serving him, working with him and watching him change lives (including mine) is priceless, I wouldn’t trade it for any other offer. I am just grateful for the opportunity to be part of this work, whether it is for one hour or ten hours.
Rev. Dr.Francis Burgula
