July 24, Parent's Day

Lesson: Matthew 20.1-16

Sermon Title: Our Daily Wage

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INTRODUCTION:

This morning I feel like a four-year-old child, on a long trip, sitting on the backseat of dad's car saying, "Are we there yet?"

  1. We started with the story of a young man who wanted to be sure of eternal life.

    1. He was told that he needed to give up his possessions

    2. This really meant not giving up possessions, but changing one's orientation from things to people.

    3. For Jesus reminds us that it is difficult and sometimes impossible for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven.

  2. We listened to Peter and the disciples ask Jesus who then can be saved?

    1. Jesus replied that with mortals this was impossible, for God all things are possible.

    2. Peter then asks Jesus, "Look, we have left everything and followed you. What then will we have?"

    3. Jesus assures them that they will have enough and more.

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MAIN BODY:

  1. The learning session is not over, for there is one more point, one vital point, that needs to be made.

    1. It is made in the parable, the story.

    2. What is it that Jesus is seeking to communicate, and may we ferret it out so that it can be understood?

      1. It has been said that the "devil is in the details."

      2. This means that "Even the grandest project depends on the success of the smallest components."

      3. "This version of the proverb often implies that the details might cause failure."

      4. "A more positive version is 'God is in the details,' a saying often attributed to the architect Le Corbusier."

      5. God is in the details.

      6. Examine the details.

  2. The kingdom of heaven is like.

    1. Landowner

    2. Vineyard in need of work.

    3. Laborers are necessary.

      1. Some are hired at 6 am, after some haggling, for a penny, which was the average days wage for a laborer.

      2. Some more laborers are hired at 9 am.

        1. The landowner will pay them what is right.

        2. There is no argument.

        3. The landowner is trusted to do the right thing.

      3. The landowner hires more laborers at 12 Noon, 3 pm and again at 5 pm.

    4. The work day is done at 6 pm and the laborers are paid.

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  1. The unusual feature of this story is that the last hired are paid first.

    1. They have worked only one hour and they are paid a penny.

    2. The laborers hired at 3 pm, 12 noon and at 9 am are also paid a penny.

    3. Just imagine the thoughts of those hired at 6 am.

      1. They conclude that they will get more.

      2. They have withstood the burden and the day and the scorching heat.

      3. They also get what has been agreed upon.

  2. When they received their wage they grumble.

    1. Note the narrative in vs. 10-12.

10Now when the first came, they thought they would receive more; but each of them also received the usual daily wage. 11And when they received it, they grumbled against the landowner, 12saying, 'These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.'

    1. They thought they would bet more than the agreed upon wage.

      1. Why should they get more.

      2. The landowner replied to their complaint.

        1. 'Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage?

        2. Take what belongs to you and go; I choose to give to this last the same as I give to you.

        3. Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me?

        4. Or are you envious because I am generous?'

        5. So the last will be first, and the first will be last,"

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  1. They are under a pervasive illusion.

It is well said by Luis Leon, Transcript of "The Protestant Hour," September 19, 1999 (1) who writes:

"The parable opposes two deep-seated views of human existence, two worlds if you will, between which (we) go back and forth all of our lives. They are the world of merit and the world of grace. The full-day workers lived, or at least worked, in a world of merit. They believed the system was essentially all quid pro quo. They believed in a merit system and like most believers in a merit system, they considered themselves meritorious, deserving of their reward. Now, for some people to feel deserving, others, obviously, have to be undeserving. In this parable, they are the last-hired. So in the eyes of the day-long workers, the owner's graciousness becomes injustice. Instead of seeing themselves as self-absorbed, they see the landowner as unfair, and the tragedy is that they estrange themselves from the source of graciousness."

    1. The world of merit was a world inhabited by the religious establishment of Jesus' day.

    2. This is well-established in a conversation that is recorded in John 8:31-44 (NRSVA).

Then Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, "If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free." They answered him, "We are descendants of Abraham and have never been slaves to anyone. What do you mean by saying, 'You will be made free'?"

Jesus answered them, "Very truly, I tell you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not have a permanent place in the household; the son has a place there forever. So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed. I know that you are descendants of Abraham; yet you look for an opportunity to kill me, because there is no place in you for my word. I declare what I have seen in the Father's presence; as for you, you should do what you have heard from the Father."

They answered him, "Abraham is our father." Jesus said to them, "If you were Abraham's children, you would be doing what Abraham did, but now you are trying to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. This is not what Abraham did. You are indeed doing what your father does." They said to him, "We are not illegitimate children; we have one father, God himself." Jesus said to them, "If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and now I am here. I did not come on my own, but he sent me. Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot accept my word. You are from your father the devil, and you choose to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks according to his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies.

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    1. We have no merit to use in reducing God to providing us with the benefits that we desire.

      1. There are a number of Old Testament and New Testament passages which clearly demonstrate our lack of merit.

Can Ethiopians change their skin
    or leopards their spots?
Then also you can do good
    who are accustomed to do evil, (Jeremiah 13.23, NRSV).

We have all become like one who is unclean,
    and all our righteous deeds are like a filthy cloth.
We all fade like a leaf,
    and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away, (Isaiah 64:6, NRSVA).

What then? Are we any better off? No, not at all; for we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under the power of sin, as it is written:

"There is no one who is righteous, not even one;
    there is no one who has understanding,
    there is no one who seeks God.
All have turned aside, together they have become worthless;
    there is no one who shows kindness,
    there is not even one," (Romans 3:9-12, NRSVA).

Now we know that whatever the law says, it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. For "no human being will be justified in his sight" by deeds prescribed by the law, for through the law comes the knowledge of sin. But now, apart from law, the righteousness of God has been disclosed, and is attested by the law and the prophets, the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction, since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; (Romans 3:19-23, NRSVA).

    1. If we have no merit, then we will retreat to good works.

      1. Now works are necessary, but works need to be kept in strict relationship to faith.

        1. Paul writes in Romans 3:21-30 (NRSVA)

But now, apart from law, the righteousness of God has been disclosed, and is attested by the law and the prophets, the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction, since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; they are now justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a sacrifice of atonement by his blood, effective through faith. He did this to show his righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over the sins previously committed; it was to prove at the present time that he himself is righteous and that he justifies the one who has faith in Jesus.

Then what becomes of boasting? It is excluded. By what law? By that of works? No, but by the law of faith. For we hold that a person is justified by faith apart from works prescribed by the law. Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, since God is one; and he will justify the circumcised on the ground of faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith.

        1. James writes in James 2:14-17, NRSVA.

"What good is it, my brothers and sisters if you say you have faith but do not have works? Can faith save you? If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food, and one of you says to them, 'Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill,' and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that? So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead.

    1. The laborers have no valid argument because the landowner through his steward has been ultimately fairminded and generous.

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  1. The story of the laborers in the vineyard well-illustrates the grace of God.

"In the Bible there are three distinctive meanings of grace; it means the mercy and active love of God; it means the winsome attractiveness of God; it means the strength of God to overcome." -Charles L. Allen (2)

"Grace is God himself, his loving energy at work within his church and within our souls." --Evelyn Underhill (3)

G5485: Üñéò, charis (khar'-ece): From G5463; graciousness (as gratifying), of manner or act (abstract or concrete; literal, figurative or spiritual; especially the divine influence upon the heart, and its reflection in the life; including gratitude):--acceptable, benefit, favour, gift, grace (-ious), joy liberality, pleasure, thank (-s, -worthy). (4)

    1. It makes no difference when you become a laborer.

      1. The same reward is available to all.

      2. There is no caste system in heaven.

      3. There are no different levels of reward.

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CONCLUSION

  1. We need to concentrate on our daily wages when it comes to employment and living in the secular world.

  2. By contrast, in the world of grace, we pray for mercy.

    1. We know we don't earn or deserve what God has given us.

    2. "We don't worry about someone, getting away with something for we ourselves are getting away with something and, oh, how joyful life becomes when you understand that in this world salvation is a gift, not a reward for work well done." (5)

  3. To help us comprehend, Ira Sankey tells a story about the use of the hymn, "Jesus Paid It All." (6)

On New Year's night, 1886, some missionaries were holding open-air services in order to attract passers-by to a near-by mission, where meetings were to be held later. "All to Christ I owe" was sung, and after a gentleman had given a short address he hastened away to the mission. He soon heard footsteps close behind him and a young woman caught up with him and said:

"I heard you addressing the open-air meeting just now; do you think, sir, that Jesus could save a sinner like me?"

The gentleman replied that there was no doubt about that, if she was anxious to be saved. She told him that she was a servant girl, and had left her place that morning after a disagreement with her mistress. As she had been wandering about the streets in the dark, wondering where she was to spend the night, the sweet melodies of this hymn had attracted her, and she drew near and listened attentively.

As the different verses were being sung, she felt that the words surely had something to do with her. Through the whole service she seemed to hear what met her oppressed soul's need at that moment. God's Spirit had showed her what a poor, sinful and wretched creature she was, and had led her to ask what she must do.

On hearing her experience, the gentleman took her back to the mission and left her with the ladies in charge. The young, wayward woman was brought to Christ that night. A situation was secured for her in a minister's family. There she became ill and had to be taken to a hospital. She rapidly failed and it became evident that she would not be long on earth.

One day the gentleman whom she had met on New Year's night was visiting her in the ward. After quoting a few suitable verses of Scripture, he repeated her favorite hymn, "All to Christ I owe"...and she seemed overwhelmed with the thought of coming to glory...Two hours afterward she passed away.

I hear the Savior say,
"Thy strength indeed is small;
Child of weakness, watch and pray,
Find in Me thine all in all."

Refrain

For nothing good have I
Whereby Thy grace to claim,
I'll wash my garments white
In the blood of Calv'ry's Lamb.

Refrain

And now complete in Him
My robe His righteousness,
Close sheltered 'neath His side,
I am divinely blest.

Refrain

Lord, now indeed I find
Thy power and Thine alone,
Can change the leper's spots
And melt the heart of stone.

Refrain

When from my dying bed
My ransomed soul shall rise,
"Jesus died my soul to save,"
Shall rend the vaulted skies.

Refrain

And when before the throne
I stand in Him complete,
I'll lay my trophies down
All down at Jesus' feet.

Refrain

Jesus paid it all,
All to Him I owe;
Sin had left a crimson stain,
He washed it white as snow.

1. Luis Leon, Transcript of "The Protestant Hour," September 19, 1999, search.protestanthour.com/1999/ph-1999-38.html.

2. Number 5227, Draper's Book of Quotations for the Christian World Copyright © 1992 by Edythe Draper Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. Wheaton, Illinois

3. Number 5219, Draper's Book of Quotations for the Christian World Copyright © 1992 by Edythe Draper Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. Wheaton, Illinois

4. Strongs Hebrew and Greek Dictionaries Electronic Edition STEP Files Copyright © 1998, Parsons Technology, Inc. Parsons Technology, Inc. Cedar Rapids, Iowa

5. Luis Leon, Transcript of "The Protestant Hour," September 19, 1999, search.protestanthour.com/1999/ph-1999-38.html.

6. Sankey, Ira David. My Life and the Story of the Gospel Hymns. Harper & Brothers, 1906, pp. 110-1

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