Red Letter Bible Study--Matthew 20:1-16 (Jesus and the parable of the vineyard workers)

 Matthew 20:1-16

Jesus has just explained to the disciples that their sacrifices will be rewarded. (Matthew 19:28:30)  He continues the thought by explaining the kingdom of heaven through a parable.  A landowner goes early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard.  They come to an agreement on price (it was a fair price, a denarius is the going rate for a day of labor).  They go to work in the field and after about three hours, the owner goes back to the marketplace to hire more workers.  He does the same in the 6th, 9th hours, and 11th hours.    At the end of the 12 hour shift, his manager calls the workers in and gives them their paychecks.  The first workers are miffed that they made the same amount as those who only worked 1 hour.  They were grumbling over a wage that they had agreed on at the beginning of the day.  Jesus closes out the parable by repeating the same line "The last will be first, and the first will be last."

The parable is pretty easy to understand.  God is the landowner, or master in some versions.  The first workers are the eyewitnesses to the ministry of Jesus--the disciples.  At the beginning, they were given a choice to follow Jesus and were encouraged to count the cost.  Those who weighed the cost of being a follower of Jesus against the reward of following Him and chose to follow Him were in it for the long haul.  As Jesus ministers to others and they respond to His call, they are also put to work.  And on and on, until now and beyond.  The cost and reward remain the same.  

Well, it's interesting to note that the phrase "That's not fair!!" did not originate with us.  It's human nature.  But that is far from an acceptable excuse.  The disciples may have a 2,000 year head start on us, but the same Jesus who called them calls us.  We also have to count the cost of following Jesus.  It seems as if it costs us less than the disciples then and since.  But no matter how long we serve and how much it costs, the reward is the same.  Eternal life. When I consider the brothers and sisters who are paying an enormous price even today, I want to say "You're right.  It's NOT fair." Living on the other side of the coin, a fairly cushy Christian life where I can worship Jesus as loud as I want with no repercussions--it doesn't seem fair that I would receive the same reward.  And that changes me.  No matter where we are in the timeline of the world, whether in the 1st hour or the 11th, there is work to do.  May we be faithful.