Bryan Craddock - Work

In all the political hype leading up to the presidential election, we are hearing quite a bit about taxes. If you listen carefully to all the rhetoric, you’ll find that the candidates’ views on taxes are flow out of some very different ways of thinking about work. The Republicans seem to think of work primarily as a way of earning money. The more responsibility and burden involved in the job, the more you should earn. The Democrats seem to think of work as a way of providing for society.

Both parties claim to value fairness, but they apply it in very different ways. For the Democrats fairness means government stepping in to level out people’s incomes somewhat through taxes. For the Republicans, fairness means letting people decide what to do with what they’ve earned.

I’m not advocating either view this morning. You need to decide which you think is best for the United States. This morning I want to direct our thoughts to a story Jesus told about work—a story that would probably shock both Republicans and Democrats alike. It’s found in Matthew 20:1-16.

A STORY ABOUT WORK

Verse 1 – For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard.

Israel is an excellent place to grow grapes. Vineyards there are often planted on hillsides. Farmers use rocks to build retaining walls, backfilling with soil to create terraced vineyards. Spring rains invigorate the vines and help them blossom, while the warm, dry summers keep the grapes from getting moldy as they mature. When God rescued the Israelites from Egypt, Moses sent spies up into the land where God was leading them. One of the things they came back with was a cluster of grapes so big that two men had to carry it on a pole between them. Even today there are world-class wineries in Israel.

One of the challenges of growing grapes is that they need to be harvested very quickly. To get the best flavor, the grapes must be picked right at their peak. If the weather starts to cool or threaten rain, picking has to start immediately with very little notice. One grower here in the United States explained, “It does take a lot of time but when the fruit is ready, the fruit is ready. We've got to act. We can't wait to put it off. It is long hours, usually 10-12 hour shifts for most of the guys and we're here 7 days a week.” Even today with modern machinery, harvesting grapes is hard work. In ancient times when all harvesting was done by hand, growers needed huge amounts of labor for a very brief period of time.

I believe this story is set during the harvest period. The grapes must have been at their peak, because the landowner is almost frantic to find more laborers. He doesn’t send his manager to town. He goes himself. The work day was from sunrise to sunset, so at the crack of dawn he hurries into the market place in the village to find some day laborers.

Verse 2 – When he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius for the day, he sent them into his vineyard.

The King James Version uses the word “penny,” but that may confuse us. A denarius was fair pay for a hard day’s work for a soldier or a day laborer. This pay wouldn’t make anyone rich, but it was generally enough to provide for the necessities of life.

The landowner finds a group of workers and sends them off to work in the vineyard. As the day moved on, he apparently wasn’t satisfied with the progress. Sometime around 9 in the morning, he heads back to the market place to see if there are any more workers.

Verses 3 & 4 – And he went out about the third hour and saw others standing idle in the market place; and to those he said, 'You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right I will give you.' And so they went.

Here he doesn’t specifically set a wage for these men. He just promises to give them fair compensation. The workers probably knew his reputation as a righteous man, so they agreed and went to work without hesitation.

Even with the extra help, the work just wasn’t getting done fast enough. The landowner goes back to the marketplace three more times throughout the day, noon, three o’clock, and even five o’clock.

Verses 5-7 – Again he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour, and did the same thing. And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing around; and he said to them, “Why have you been standing here idle all day long?” They said to him, “Because no one hired us.” He said to them, “You go into the vineyard too.”

Our first impression might be that these men were lazy, but they weren’t. If they were lazy, they would have gone off and spent their time doing something else. Instead, they stayed in the market place waiting, hoping for some work. I’m sure they were ready to give up and go home when this landowner came and hired them. Some pay would be better than nothing.

By the end of the day, the landowner has assembled quite a workforce. The problem, of course, is that some have worked twelve hours, some nine, some six, some three, and some only one hour. How is this man going to pay his workers?

Verses 8 & 9 – When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, “Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last group to the first.” When those hired about the eleventh hour came, each one received a denarius.

This is extremely generous. These men only worked one hour, yet he pays them a full day’s wage. It wasn’t that these men worked extra hard in that one hour. There was no minimum daily wage law. This landowner just decides to be generous. Perhaps this was his way of celebrating the completion of the harvest. Of course, the men who worked all day have seen the astonishment and excitement on the faces of these latecomers, so their expecting something extra as well.

Verses 10-12 – When those hired first came, they thought that they would receive more; but each of them also received a denarius. When they received it, they grumbled at the landowner, saying, “These last men have worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden and the scorching heat of the day.”

In a sense they were right. The landowner’s action grates against our sense of fairness. If the one group of men received a denarius for one hour, shouldn’t this group of men receive twelve denarii for a full day’s work? What about the rights of the laborer? The men voiced their grievance and the landowner responded.

Verses 13-15 – But he answered and said to one of them, “Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for a denarius? Take what is yours and go, but I wish to give to this last man the same as to you. Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with what is my own? Or is your eye envious because I am generous?”

He makes a strong argument. First, those workers all agreed to work a whole day for one denarius. That was their contract with the landowner, and the landowner fulfilled his side of the bargain. Second, the landowner had every right to distribute his wealth however he saw fit, whether as wages or as a gift. Third, one denarius for a day’s work was very fair. The complaint of the laborers reveals an envious, covetous heart. They had no grounds for their complaint.

The shocking part of the story is this landowner’s generosity. What businessman would behave this way? Who would be so extravagant? Jesus said this story described what the kingdom of heaven is like. The actions of this landowner show us something about how God relates to people. It’s not what we would expect. It’s shocking.

THE REASON FOR THE PARABLE

Why did Jesus tell this story? Jesus told this parable to his disciples after a discussion about prosperity. A rich young man had come to Jesus and wanted to know how he could inherit eternal life. Jesus told the man to keep the Law. Confident in his own goodness, the man insisted that he had obeyed. Like many people, he was judging himself by his outward behavior not the internal attitudes of the heart. He needed to recognize the sinfulness that lay beneath the surface in his own heart, so Jesus told him to give away everything he owned. The man wasn’t willing to do that, because he valued his possessions above God. His wealth was an idol.

After the rich man went away, Jesus began to explain to his disciples that it’s hard for a rich man to enter God’s kingdom. It’s too easy for the rich man to be convinced of his goodness and to rely upon his wealth to meet all of his needs. It is very difficult for him to humble himself and acknowledge his need of God’s salvation. God has to dramatically change his heart.

Peter, however, missed the point. Matthew 19:27 records his response. “Then Peter said to Him, ‘Behold, we have left everything and followed You; what then will there be for us?’”

Was there a bit of spiritual pride here? It is almost as if Peter is saying, “This rich man wouldn’t give up his possessions, but we have. What are you going to give us for it?” What was Peter looking for?

“And Jesus said to them, "Truly I say to you, that you who have followed Me, in the regeneration when the Son of Man will sit on His glorious throne, you also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or farms for My name's sake, will receive many times as much, and will inherit eternal life. But many who are first will be last; and the last, first” (Matthew 19:28-30).

Jesus tells Peter that he and the other disciples are going to be rewarded. They will have a prominent position in the kingdom as judges. Furthermore, everyone who has sacrificed will be rewarded. That’s what Peter wants to hear. He wants to know that his sacrifice has been worthwhile.

But that last statement must have thrown Peter a curve ball. “Many who are first will be last; and the last, first.” What does that mean?  Jesus explains what it means by telling this parable about the laborers and the generous landowner. When Jesus finishes the story, he says it again: “So the last shall be first, and the first last” (Matt 20:16).

When do those in last place come in first, and those in first place come in last? It happens when everyone crosses the line at the same time. Isn’t that the point of the parable? Some laborers worked all day, some only one hour, but all received the same compensation.

The laborers who worked all day thought they deserved a bonus. Peter thought the same thing. He thought he deserved something extra over other people who didn’t give up as much to follow Jesus Christ. But just like the story, we have to turn our attention to the generosity of the owner.

THE LESSON OF THE PARABLE

The main lesson of the parable is that when God grants someone an inheritance in His kingdom, he doesn’t do so on the basis of their work. He does it according to his own generosity.

All of us are like the laborers. When we begin to follow Christ, we are going to work in the vineyard. When we come to the end of our lives, God gives every believer the same reward: eternal life. That gift is extremely generous.

Paul presented the same idea in his writings.  In Titus 3:5 he wrote, “He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy…” In Ephesians 2:8-9 he wrote, “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

What does God’s generosity mean for us?  Let me suggest four ways we should respond.

Response 1 – Give thanks for God’s generosity in salvation.

Eternal life is only fair compensation for someone who has lived an entire life of perfect obedience, but none of us have done that. We have all been unfaithful workers. None of us are good enough to deserve heaven. We’re all like those eleventh hour workers. The fact that God would give us anything at all is amazing, but God offers us the full wages as if we had lived a perfectly righteous life. That is grace.

Sometimes people try to pass judgment on God saying what is or is not fair for him to do. That’s not right. God didn’t have to save anyone. The fact that God saves anyone is an indication of His abundant kindness.

Paul said it well in Ephesians 1:5-6: He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.

Praise God for his grace. If he has opened your heart to understand the truth, be thankful.

Response 2 – It’s never too late to begin following Jesus Christ.

Perhaps your concept of work and fairness keeps you from coming to Christ. You may think it’s too late. Maybe you think you have wandered too far from God, into sins that he could never forgive.

Did you know that if the worst of sinners turns to God on his death bed, he can still be saved? That’s what happened with the criminal crucified next to Jesus. Luke 23:42-43 tells the story. “And he was saying, ‘Jesus, remember me when You come in Your kingdom!’ And He said to him, ‘Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise.’”

No matter what mistakes you have made or sins you have committed, today you can make a change. You can begin to follow Jesus Christ and experience the generous grace of God in salvation.

Response 3 – Don’t serve God in order to get something. Serve God because of what He has already given.

We have seen in previous messages in this series that God does reward us for our obedience. By doing good things we can store up treasure in heaven. We’ll learn more about that next week. For today, we need to note that even though God rewards obedience, you cannot earn your way into heaven.

God’s generosity comes before our service. 1 John 4:19 says, “We love, because He first loved us.” Our commitment to God is a response to his love. He took the initiative. We simply respond with gratitude.

I find this important because it’s easy for us to fall into thinking that obeying God is a burden. It is burdensome if we think we have to earn our salvation, but we don’t. We are saved by God’s grace. Our obedience and commitment then flow out of our gratitude for His generosity. If you have this perspective, you will be able to obey God with joy.

Response 4 – Change the way you view work.

Does this parable really have anything to do with work? Isn’t it just about spiritual life? I think it does have implications for our understanding of work.

Work is not about earning money. It’s good and right for us to profit from our work and to be able to provide for our needs. But that is not the primary reason for working.

Neither is work about bettering society. We should engage in meaningful work that benefits other people. But again, that is not the primary reason for working.

Work is a way to honor and glorify a generous God who has given us life and salvation. Paul develops this thought.

In Titus 2:9-10 he writes, “Urge bondslaves to be subject to their own masters in everything, to be well-pleasing, not argumentative, not pilfering, but showing all good faith so that they will adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in every respect.”

A slave wasn’t even able to earn an income, but Paul wanted his co-worker Titus to encourage those believers who were slaves. As they worked hard and maintained a good attitude, they would adorn or magnify God’s salvation. They would make salvation more attractive to people.

That’s the power of work. Even the most mundane tasks can be done to the glory of God.

In Colossians 3:23 & 24 Paul writes, “Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve.”

CONCLUSION

When we experience the generosity of God’s grace, we should respond in gratitude. That gratitude then shapes everything we do. It certainly shapes your spiritual life. It motivates obedience and commitment, service and evangelism. But it also shapes the way you conduct yourself at your job and with your family. Everything in our lives has the power to show off God’s salvation.