A Story About Workers
So, we have been talking about how there was this Idea in the Old Testament that if you followed the law and lived a good life then you would be blessed and accepted by God. Here in Matthew 20 we start off with a interesting parable about an estate manager who goes out to hire hands to work the field at various points throughout the day, some starting first thing in the morning and some coming in at the last hour of the work day.
““When the day’s work was over, the owner of the vineyard instructed his foreman, ‘Call the workers in and pay them their wages. Start with the last hired and go on to the first.’” Matthew 20:8 MSG
There is that Last First concept, which we see many times in the bible -
Matthew 19:30 - "But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first."
Matthew 20:16 - "So the last will be first, and the first will be last."
Mark 10:31 - "But many who are first will be last, and the last first."
Luke 13:30 - "Indeed there are those who are last who will be first, and first who will be last."
James 2:5 - "Listen, my dear brothers and sisters: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him?"
1 Corinthians 1:28 - "God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are."
Revelation 22:12 - "Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what they have done."
The parable challenges the idea of earning salvation or blessings through works. Just as the workers in the parable were paid the same wage regardless of how many hours they worked, salvation and blessings in God's kingdom are not earned through works or merit.
The parable illustrates that God's grace is available to all, regardless of when they come to faith. The workers who were hired last and only worked for a few hours received the same wage as the workers who were hired first and worked all day. This challenges the idea that some people are more deserving of salvation or blessings based on when they come to faith or how much they have accomplished.
The parable teaches that God's generosity is not based on human standards of fairness, but on his own infinite mercy. The workers who were hired first grumble and complain that they were not treated fairly, but the landowner responds by saying that he is free to do what he wants with his own money. This challenges the idea that God should be fair or that God owes us anything.
In the case of the rich young ruler, he may have believed that his wealth was a sign of God's favor and that he had earned it through his obedience to the law. The parable challenges this idea by showing that God's grace is not earned through works or merit, but is freely given to all who come to faith.
In the case of Job, the parable can be seen as a reminder that God's ways are not always easy to understand and that suffering and prosperity do not always correspond with righteousness or wickedness in this life. Job's friends accuse him of wickedness but the parable reminds us that God's judgments and blessings are not always based on human understanding of righteousness.
Overall, the parable of the workers in the vineyard teaches that God's grace and blessings are freely given to all, regardless of when they come to faith, and are not earned through works or merit. It challenges the idea that God should be fair or that God owes us anything, and it reminds us that God's ways are not always easy to understand and that suffering and prosperity do not always correspond with righteousness or wickedness in this life.
““He replied to the one speaking for the rest, ‘Friend, I haven’t been unfair. We agreed on the wage of a dollar, didn’t we? So take it and go. I decided to give to the one who came last the same as you. Can’t I do what I want with my own money? Are you going to get stingy because I am generous?’”
Matthew 20:13-15 MSG
There is a passage in Isaiah 5: 1-6, it's a story about "looking for a crop of Justice" Lets take a look at it.
Looking for a Crop of Justice
5 1-2 I’ll sing a ballad to the one I love,
a love ballad about his vineyard:
The one I love had a vineyard,
a fine, well-placed vineyard.
He hoed the soil and pulled the weeds,
and planted the very best vines.
He built a lookout, built a winepress,
a vineyard to be proud of.
He looked for a vintage yield of grapes,
but for all his pains he got garbage grapes.
3-4 “Now listen to what I’m telling you,
you who live in Jerusalem and Judah.
What do you think is going on
between me and my vineyard?
Can you think of anything I could have done
to my vineyard that I didn’t do?
When I expected good grapes,
why did I get bitter grapes?
5-6 “Well now, let me tell you
what I’ll do to my vineyard:
I’ll tear down its fence
and let it go to ruin.
I’ll knock down the gate
and let it be trampled.
I’ll turn it into a patch of weeds, untended, uncared for—
thistles and thorns will take over.
I’ll give orders to the clouds:
‘Don’t rain on that vineyard, ever!’”
in both cases, the parable and the verse convey the idea that God expects good fruit from those who have been blessed with resources and opportunity, but when they produce bad fruit, God will take away the blessings and resources that were given.
To Drink from the Cup
“Jesus, now well on the way up to Jerusalem, took the Twelve off to the side of the road and said, “Listen to me carefully. We are on our way up to Jerusalem. When we get there, the Son of Man will be betrayed to the religious leaders and scholars. They will sentence him to death. They will then hand him over to the Romans for mockery and torture and crucifixion. On the third day he will be raised up alive.””
Matthew 20:17-19 MSG
In psychology, the term used to describe a person who is aware that they are about to endure something painful is "anticipatory anxiety". Anticipatory anxiety refers to the emotional state that a person experiences in anticipation of an event or situation that they perceive as threatening or potentially harmful. Jesus was well aware of what was about to go down, this was the entire reason he was here walking amongst us on this earth. I can't image the amount of emotional stress he was enduring as he made that walk into Jerusalem.
The ignorance of man then shows it's face -
“It was about that time that the mother of the Zebedee brothers came with her two sons and knelt before Jesus with a request. “What do you want?” Jesus asked. She said, “Give your word that these two sons of mine will be awarded the highest places of honor in your kingdom, one at your right hand, one at your left hand.” Jesus responded, “You have no idea what you’re asking.” And he said to James and John, “Are you capable of drinking the cup that I’m about to drink?” They said, “Sure, why not?” Jesus said, “Come to think of it, you are going to drink my cup. But as to awarding places of honor, that’s not my business. My Father is taking care of that.””
Matthew 20:20-23 MSG
Jesus asks a pretty hard question to them, and honestly their answer really makes them sound like they missed the first part of this conversation where Jesus said he was about to be killed. . . and they agree that they would drink the cup. Look at Jesus answer, did they understand this? I bet they questioned Jesus answer after they watched what happened to Him.
“When the ten others heard about this, they lost their tempers, thoroughly disgusted with the two brothers. So Jesus got them together to settle things down. He said, “You’ve observed how godless rulers throw their weight around, how quickly a little power goes to their heads. It’s not going to be that way with you. Whoever wants to be great must become a servant. Whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave. That is what the Son of Man has done: He came to serve, not be served—and then to give away his life in exchange for the many who are held hostage.”
Matthew 20:24-28 MSG
They just don't seem to be getting the concept yet. I can't blame them, i get the whole story and i still have the tendency to strive for being first.
This next scene is so beautiful, so we know that Jesus is probably dealing with anticipatory anxiety, and then on top of that his friends all just acted like toddlers fighting over who is the favorite and now as they walk on this beautiful moment that really shows Jesus character happens.
“As they were leaving Jericho, a huge crowd followed. Suddenly they came upon two blind men sitting alongside the road. When they heard it was Jesus passing, they cried out, “Master, have mercy on us! Mercy, Son of David!” The crowd tried to hush them up, but they got all the louder, crying, “Master, have mercy on us! Mercy, Son of David!””
Matthew 20:29-31 MSG
I love this, the crowd is trying to shut them up, trying to push the ones they deem a low off to the side and to silence them. These blind men know who is there, that he is there somewhere in this crowd, they can't see to just walk up to him, so they start screaming and yelling for Jesus, because they have faith that He will come to their call!
“Jesus stopped and called over, “What do you want from me?” They said, “Master, we want our eyes opened. We want to see!” Deeply moved, Jesus touched their eyes. They had their sight back that very instant, and joined the procession.”
Matthew 20:32-34 MSG
Isaiah 53:10
The Message
10 Still, it’s what God had in mind all along,
to crush him with pain.
The plan was that he give himself as an offering for sin
so that he’d see life come from it—life, life, and more life.
And God’s plan will deeply prosper through him.
Job 20
- - ever wonder why we have Job's? Not the character in the story, I mean the place we go to earn money.
The name "Job" (in Hebrew: אִיּוֹב, ʾIyyōḇ) is derived from the Hebrew word ʾayyōb, which means "persecuted, afflicted". It is also associated with the verb ʾāyab, which means "to be in pain, to be in distress, to be in trouble" . . . anyways.
Right away Sophar lets us know that he is now responding out of spite, not wisdom. His buttons have officially been pushed and now we are going to hear about it
“Zophar from Naamath again took his turn: “I can’t believe what I’m hearing! You’ve put my teeth on edge, my stomach in a knot. How dare you insult my intelligence like this! Well, here’s a piece of my mind!”
Job 20:1-3 MSG
(if someone you know ever gets to this point in a conversation, it's a big red flag that it's time to raise your white flag and just let them calm back down to their rational mind, which takes at least 2-3 hours. If you continue to engage in that conversation it will get nowhere, back out.)
He starts by saying that the wicked may temporarily enjoy prosperity and success, but it will not last because God will not let them escape punishment. He says that the wicked's own desires will lead to their downfall and that they will be punished both in this life and in the afterlife. He also mentions that God stores up the wicked's punishment for them and that it will be fully unleashed in due time.
Zophar also emphasizes the suddenness and completeness of the wicked's destruction, saying that it will come upon them like a storm and that they will be consumed by the fire of God's wrath. He also suggests that the wicked will not have any peace or rest either in this life or in the afterlife.
This is such an interesting story, i love the book of Job, Because yes, there is wisdom in what Jobs friends are saying and it sounds and seems true, and some of it is. But it also leaves out the redemptive Grace of God. And we have to keep in mind that this was ancient wisdom that early humans lived with, what was inscribed on their hearts, but they had not gospel, they had no laws of Moses, only their own personal encounters with God and their eye witness of the world around them.
Job 21
“Job replied: “Now listen to me carefully, please listen, at least do me the favor of listening. Put up with me while I have my say— then you can mock me later to your heart’s content.”
Job 21:1-3 MSG
In our relationships we have today, it's not usually a good idea to inform the other person in the conversation how you believe they will respond, that is a good way to further irritate someone who has already lost control of their emotions in the conversation.
Job points out that the wicked often live long and prosperous lives, while the righteous struggle and suffer. He questions why the wicked are not punished immediately and why they are allowed to prosper. He also accuses his friends of falsely claiming to know the mind of God and not understanding the complexities of the human experience.
He also says that the wicked are not troubled by their conscience and enjoy the fruits of their labors, while the righteous suffer and die young. He laments that the wicked's children also enjoy their wealth and prosperity.
““So how do you expect me to get any comfort from your nonsense? Your so-called comfort is a tissue of lies.””
Job 21:34 MSG
Psalms 20
Psalms 20 was written by King David and likely occurred in 2 Samuel 10
Psalm 20 is a prayer for help, it is a plea for God to intervene on behalf of the king, who is about to go to battle. The psalmist expresses his confidence in God's ability to provide victory and protection for the king. He also acknowledges that the ultimate source of the king's strength and success is God, and that the king and his army will be victorious only if God is on their side.
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