Matthew 20:1-7
“In the Masters Vineyard”
Vs. 1-7 Let’s identify the key parts of the story:
You have a landowner: This represents the Lord; He owns the vineyard. It seems that it was harvest time, and when the grapes get ripe, you get to pick them before the rains. So he goes out and hires migrant workers.
Next you have day laborers: They would work from sunrise to sunset and were given food plus a day’s wage.
Now notice verse 2 carefully; it says that the landowner agreed with the laborers for the wage. This was done normally because the landowner would rip off the workers so they would set a wage ahead of time. Now remember that the landowner here is the Lord. Simply put, they enter into a contract together. “A denarius” was a silver coin used by the Romans.
Now look at the other workers who were called at 3-hour intervals starting at 9 a.m., then noon, then 3 p.m., and lastly, the final group was called to work at 5 p.m., one hour before they shut down for the day.
Notice at 5 p.m. the landowner asks, “Why, have you been standing here idle all day?” The answer was back, “No one hired us!” So what this tells us is that each of those hired after the original group was not just standing around goofing off and wasting time.
They wanted work but weren’t called. You cannot work for the kingdom unless you are called. But once you are called, you better be ready to work! This helps clarify what I said before: these workers were not idle because they were slothful; they were idle because they had not been called. Each of us has been called, so we cannot use that as an excuse.
Now notice their wage: “Whatever is right, I will give you.” These later workers went to work in the same vineyard on the goodness of the landowner.
Vs. 8-16 How Do You Want To Get Rewarded?
Vs.8-10 Now it comes time to settle up. So they bring them together, starting with the ones hired at 5 pm, and they get a day’s wage and right down the line. I bet that those hired at 3 pm said, “Hey, they got a day’s wage for one hour; we ought to get 4 days worth.” And right on down the line. So when the next group got the same day’s wage, they were thinking, Well, it’s not quite what I thought, but he said he would pay whatever was right, and after all, we got a day’s wage for 4 hours of work.
Vs. 11-15 Now when the first guys that had been out there in the heat of the day working got the same amount, they were mad and complained. “They got the same pay we did and only worked 1 hour.” I kind of think that all those except those who worked only one hour were there grumbling.
So what is the point of the story?
- It is better to trust in the Lord’s goodness than to try to earn his favor.
- It is always a sign of pride to “suppose” that we should get something based upon deserving it. Peter said, “What shall we have?” “Peter, more than you deserve!”
Don’t measure yourself by others’ work. God rewards based upon being faithful to what He has called us to do! You may not have been called to circle the world preaching the gospel, but that does not mean that He is not going to reward you greatly!
Heaven is going to be really interesting when the rewards are passed out. There are going to be some big surprises. How do you feel when others are blessed more than you? Do you rejoice? Quit your complaining and start enjoying His goodness towards us, for none of it do we deserve!
Matthew 20:17-34
“The Master Slave”
Vs. 17-19 The Mind of Christ
Vs. 20-28 The Mind of the Disciples
Vs. 29-34 The Mind of the Multitude
Intro
Last week Jesus spoke to us about rewards. Rewards in our lives usually accompany accomplishments. Yet Jesus taught in the parable that being faithful to what He has called you to do is the basis of heavenly rewards. I was talking on the phone the other day to a Christian musician who was telling me how the Christian music business has become just like the world; all that matters is how popular you are, not where your heart is towards service.
It seems to me that the church has gone the same way; all that matters most is how big a church is or how popular the speaker is. How tragic this is when we evaluate success and greatness upon the world’s standards, not Jesus’.
A mother was fixing pancakes for her two boys when the two began to fight over who would get the first pancake. The mother thought it was a good time for a spiritual lesson. “Boy’s, if Jesus were one of you, He would say, “Let my brother have the first pancake. I can wait!”
There was a pause in the commotion until the oldest boy turned to the younger brother and said, “Hey Ryan, why don’t you be Jesus?” All too often, this is the attitude of those in the church. D. L. Moody said, “The measure of a man is not how many servants he has, but how many men he serves.”
Vs. 17-19 The Mind of Christ
Vs. 17 This is the third time Jesus is sharing with His disciples about His death. He started just stating it as a fact, and Peter took him aside and rebuked him. Then again Jesus shared with them, and this time He revealed that one of them was to betray Him, and they were bummed out. Now this time here he reveals that not only will He be delivered over to the ruler, but that He is going to be mocked, scourged, and crucified.
Now think about this for a minute! Jesus had clear knowledge of what lay before Him. So what? You ask!
Well, there are those who say that Jesus was just this guy that got caught up in some political intrigue and that His death was just an accident, kind of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Can’t be! Jesus knew what was about to happen, and He was very specific as He spoke of it. Now not many Jews would get crucified; that was a Roman form of execution, not Jewish. This can only further prove that He is God, for only God can know what is going to happen before it happens.
Then there is the fact that He takes aside His disciples to tell them again what is about to happen in around a week. He has been with these guys for three years, and he is preparing them. Notice that unlike a lot of predictions, he is not general. He is very specific; more than that, notice Jesus does not say “perhaps or maybe.” No, what He is telling them is certain. Jesus wants His disciples to know that this is not speculation or opinion.
Notice the details closely:
Going up to Jerusalem: That is the place where Abraham’s sacrifice for Isaac took place, some believe at the very spot.
Betrayal to the chief priest & scribes: Again, the fact that Jesus would be betrayed is His own and condemned to death by His own people. The apostle John would later write in John 1:11, “Even in his own land and among his own people, he was not accepted.”
Did you ever think of the fact that Jesus was scourged? It was an extremely painful experience. The prisoner would be tied to a post and whipped with a leather whip that was embedded with bits of glass and metal. Many died from the whipping alone. Do you know the purpose of the whipping? It was so that the prisoner would confess their crimes against Rome—a kind of third degree.
If the person confessed, then the strokes would get lighter and lighter, but if they were silent, then the strokes would get heavier and heavier until confession was made. Now Jesus was whipped, and of course he had nothing to confess. The prophet Isaiah says that He was like a sheep before its sheerers and did not open His mouth.
The Bible further tells us that by His stripes we are healed. Folks, those lashes were meant for us; He took upon Himself our crimes. This is why it is important that we confess our sins. Jesus has been whipped for them; all we need to do is confess them before Him.
One last thing. Did you ever notice that Jesus never mentions His own death apart from speaking of the resurrection? He never one time saw His death anything more than ultimate victory! Now I know a lot of sad-sack Christians who walk around all puckered up in life, and if you ask them how they are doing, they say, “Well, I’m just bearing my cross man. Just walking through one trial after another. Just dying man, that is what I’m doing; praise God!”
That’s not the way Jesus spoke of His life. Oh sure, there is sacrifice and suffering, but man, there is resurrection! Sometimes I listen to myself, and I hear how I portray Christianity. It’s no wonder people say forget it. Folks, there is a resurrection; don’t forget to mention that every time you are talking about your particular trial!
Vs. 20-28 The Mind of the Disciples
Vs. 20 Now before we look at the negative aspects of this passage, I want to point out something positive. Jesus had just spoken on the fact of His death, something that they had been more than just in denial over, yet here this Jewish mom at the urging of her two sons requests for seats of honor in Jesus’ future kingdom.
So what? What this shows is that they still believed that Jesus was coming into His kingdom. Oh, they did not know how it was going to work out, but they had not abandoned their hope. Folks, you don’t celebrate your team’s championship when you’re in last place with one game remaining. Yet these guys are doing just that. I love it! Man, if we all just could be a bit more optimistic in our Christian faith. Folks,
With that said, I also find something very convicting about this passage. The mother of James and John, at the urging of her two boys, comes to ask a favor from Jesus, but you know what? Look at what she does first; she kneels down. The word used here means to prostrate oneself like a dog licking her master’s hand. It is the word used for worship.
Well, what’s wrong with that? Nothing accepts that she is coming to worship in order to get something. She is not worshiping Him for who He is. How many times have we become real spiritual and committed because we want something from the Lord? Folks worship is not about getting; it is about giving!
Vs. 21 Now again, I am amazed by Jesus. I mean, doesn’t He see through this? As soon as this old lady kneeled down, I would have said, “Forget it; don’t even bother asking!” May I just encourage you to be straight with the Lord? You don’t have to trick him into your scam. How about just coming to Him and saying, “Lord, I know this may not be what you want, but it’s what I want! Yet Lord, not my will, your will!”
A young man just got his driving permit when he came to his father about getting a car. The dad took him aside and talked about responsibility. So the dad said, “I’ll tell you to pull up your grades, read your Bible more, and get your haircut. A few months passed, and the boy again came to his father to discuss getting a car.
The dad said, “Son, I’m really proud of you; your grades are improved, and I’ve seen you studying your Bible, but you have not yet cut your hair. “ I know, dad,” replied the son, “but I’ve been thinking about all of this hair stuff, and the bible speaks of the fact that Samson had long hair and Moses had long hair; even Jesus has long hair. “Yes,” the father said, “and they walked everywhere they went!”
Vs. 22-24 I love the fact that Jesus does not rebuke these guys. Instead, he tells them that they do not know what they are asking for. They are looking at the position as a place where others serve you. That is why He says, “Can you suffer as I am about to as your servant?” Jesus is not saying that there aren’t positions but that those positions await those who are servants here and now.
May I just say that God does not prepare the office for a man; He prepares the man for the office! They wanted position and power, but they did not understand that greatness and rewards in His kingdom come from service.
My son may come up to the coach of the Sacramento Kings and say, “I want to start tomorrow’s game.” But the coach is not going to put him in. Only through years of sacrifice and hard work could he ever be ready to play on that level. Nothing wrong with the desire to be great, but you must realize that just like in the physical realm, so too in the spiritual realm.
Growing in the grace and knowledge of Jesus is work. With that said, I think too few Christians even try. I heard of a woman the other day who had spent $75,000 trying to win the sweepstakes and had won nothing at all.
Now when the ten heard it, they were mad. They were mad because these guys had beat them to it. Sometimes we get mad at folks because they are doing the same things we are; only they just beat us to it, so we ought to check our hearts and ask ourselves why we are upset!
Vs. 25-28 Here Jesus tells us the keys to success in His kingdom, so pay attention. This is how to get ahead in the race for greatness.
Vs. 25 It’s not like the world. Position and power in the world mean that you are the one that gets waited on and served. Jesus says, “Not so!” So what does that tell us? Well, it ought to tell us that if there is a person who is in authority in the church, they ought not to be being waited on. Man does that change our perspectives.
Vs. 26 Here Jesus uses the word that means a waiter. If you want to be great, then be a waiter. Serve and pick up after people. Make sure that their needs are met. Clear off their tables for them. Man, is this a lost art? Ever go to a restaurant and have great service? I mean, it is hard. Someone who goes out of their way to make you feel at home even when you are not. That’s what it takes to be great at seeking service. Service is just an action.
Vs. 27 Now Jesus uses the word slave. That is permanent! If you want to be first, then always serve people all the time, not just when you have to, not just when it’s convenient, but always. You see, a servant is just an action, but a slave, well, he is that all the time.
Vs. 28 Here Jesus uses His own reason for coming as an illustration of servanthood. Jesus, the creator of everything, says that He came to wait tables, and as a slave, He died as a ransom for many. There it is, folks, how to be great and first for His kingdom. Any takers?
Vs. 29-34 The Mind of the Multitude
Vs. 29-34 This last story serves as a great illustration of what it looks like to be a servant. These two blind guys are crying out like women at childbirth.
Jesus is heading to His death, being pushed and shoved by the multitude who want these beggars to just shut up. Yet He stops and asks them what they want. Look at verse 34. “Jesus had compassion.” Are you too busy to be bothered by the blindness of others?