16. The Surprised Workers
Matthew 20:1 (ESV) "For the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard."
There is a parable recorded in Matthew’s Gospel that, until recently, I have always misunderstood. It’s the story of the labourers in the vineyard.
In this account, Jesus spoke of a landowner who went to the marketplace at 6 am to hire workers for his vineyard. In doing this, he promised to pay them a denarius, which was the going rate for a day’s work. Later that day, at 9 am, the master returned and hired another group to work for him and pledged to give them whatever was right. Throughout the day, at midday, 3 pm and 5 pm, he also employed additional groups of workers to work for the remainder of the day until 6 pm. And again he agreed to pay them what it was worth.
When evening came, the owner of the property directed his foreman to pay the labourers, beginning with those hired last. To everyone’s surprise, they, having only worked for one hour, received a full denarius. We can imagine what the others were thinking. Those who only worked one hour got a full day’s wage. The others, who had toiled for long hours, now expected to receive more than what had been promised. But to their disappointment, each worker was only given a denarius. They were outraged. They had persevered in the heat all day and received the same amount as those who only worked for one hour.
For many years, I read this parable and thought this was unfair. Why did the workers who worked 12 hours receive the same as those who worked only one hour? I felt the owner of the vineyard had been deceptive and mean to those who served the longest. This was wrong. And to make this worse, Jesus said that this is what the kingdom of heaven is like! This was not my most favourite passage of Scripture.
Then one day, I realised the focus of the parable is not on those who worked all day. They had received one day’s wage for one day’s work. The intended emphasis, instead, is on those who worked fewer hours, some only one, and yet they too received a full day’s wage. Because of the generosity of the owner, they were getting far more than they deserved. They had not earned the denarius. Still, the landowner chose to give them a full day’s wage. That is what the kingdom of heaven is about. Receiving what we don’t deserve!
We, as sinners, deserve judgment for our sin. We have broken God’s moral code and should receive the consequences of our actions. Death. But the Father, in His mercy, has forgiven us and has made this possible by sending Jesus to bear these consequences on our behalf. Jesus has paid the price. Sin has been judged. The standards of right and wrong have been upheld. And now the Father offers forgiveness and grace to all who will accept this sacrifice on their behalf.
There is something within us that feels we need to earn God’s love. We wrongly think that if we can be good enough, we can deserve His love and acceptance. However, we can never be good enough. But the beautiful truth is that, even though we can never be good enough, the Father unreservedly loves and forgives us.
What amazing grace the Father has poured out on us. We, like the workers who only worked for one hour, are undeserving. Yet the Father, in His mercy, has freely forgiven us of every wrongdoing.
This truly is what the kingdom of heaven is like.
Further reading: Matt 20:1-16
Because of the generosity of the owner of the vineyard, they received far more than they deserved.
Spend a few minutes reflecting on the grace of God. Like the workers in the field who only worked for one hour, you too have received what you have not deserved—the Father's pardon and forgiveness.
This is an extract from my free book Knowing God as Father, which is available for download at Knowing God as Father.