Maybe no other words Jesus spoke cause as much offense to most people as His Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard AMY (Matt. 20:1-16). He likens “the kingdom of heaven,” or the way things are when God sets the standards, to a situation in which hardworking, reliable people get unequally treated. Or do they? “For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. He agreed to pay them a denarius (days wage) for the day and sent them into his vineyard.” (Matt. 20:1-2)
He hires additional people at 9 a.m., noon, 3 p.m. and again at 5 p.m., telling each of these groups that he will give them “whatever is right.” When the hot workday ends, he first pays the folks who labored only a single hour the standard daily wage, the same amount he pledged to those who worked nearly sunup to sundown. When the members of that full-day crew get to the front of the line AMY, they receive the same amount, EXACTLY WHAT THEY WERE PROMISED.
The full-day workers are understandably resentful. We aren’t told how the one-hour shift responds. Maybe they had ran back to their homes thinking the landowner might have a change of heart. So, they complained to the land owner. ‘Those people worked only one hour, and yet you’ve paid them just as much as you paid us who worked all day in the scorching heat.’ “He answered one of them, ‘Friend, I haven’t been unfair! Didn’t you agree to work all day for the usual wage?” (Matt. 20:12-13)
God chooses only those who are willing to walk the hard road AMY. “Is it against the law for me to do what I want with my money? Should you be jealous because I AM KIND TO OTHERS?’ “So those who are last now will be first then, and those who are first will be last.” (Matt. 20:15-16) Jesus is saying that it is we who are upside down and backwards, and if we let Him, He will TURN OUR WORLD RIGHT WAY AROUND for us so that we can see THE TRUTH AND BEAUTY that is God’s Kingdom. Being kind and loving TO ALL…
Your Personal Pastor -Bill Stockham