Matthew
The Kingdom of God is Like a Landowner
One of the first things siblings learn is “It’s Not Fair”
We learn to make comparisons at a very young age
We complain to our parents, “Johnny got more than me”
We complain whenever we get less than someone else
Parents aren’t fair, Teachers aren’t fair, Employers aren’t fair, Leaders aren’t fair
The courts are not fair, the world is not fair, Life is not fair
You and I are not fair
God is not fair
Jesus says the Kingdom of Heaven is like a Landowner
The Kingdom of God is not about human expectations of fairness
The Kingdom of God is about Generosity, the product of Mercy and Grace
God loves to give us good and perfect gifts
The wages of sin is death
But the Gift of God is eternal life through the Landowner Jesus Christ, our Lord
We should not waste our time being envious of what others have
The Kingdom of Heaven has a generous Landowner
This Landowner has made an agreement to hire you
Your payment may not be seen in this life
But He keeps track with treasures in Heaven
Don’t confuse your works with your rights and fairness
God honors His agreement and is generous beyond that
The Kingdom of God is Like a Landowner
One of the first things siblings learn is…
“It’s Not Fair”
We learn to make comparisons at a very young age.
We complain to our parents…
“Johnny got more than me!”
We complain whenever we get less than someone else.
Parents aren’t fair.
Teachers aren’t fair.
Employers aren’t fair.
Leaders aren’t fair.
The courts are not fair.
The world is not fair.
Life is not fair.
You and I are not fair.
God is not fair.
Jesus says…
The Kingdom of Heaven is like a landowner.
This Landowner made an agreement to pay
a denarius, a Roman silver coin in Jesus’ time valued at 15 cents,
it is said to be a day’s wages.
The Landowner hired in the morning,
the third hour, the sixth hour, the ninth hour,
and the last hiring was at the eleventh hour.
Those hired in the morning were told they would receive 1 denarius.
Those workers hired at the 3rd hour were told…
“I will pay whatever is right.”
It is not clear, but those hired at the 6th, 9th and 11th hours
were told the same as those hired in the 3rd hour.
All agreed and went to work.
The Landowner paid those hired at the 11th hour,
who worked only 1 hour, a denarius.
When those hired in the morning came for their pay…
They expected to receive more than agreed upon
because they worked 12 hours.
They saw those hired at the 11th hour only worked 1 hour
and received 1 denarius.
Let’s break it down.
Was the agreement fair?
Yes, the workers did what they agreed to do.
The Landowner did what he agreed to do.
So where was the problem?
Expectation was the problem.
The morning workers grumbled not over the agreement…
But expectation based on what those
who worked 1 hour received.
"The workers who were hired about the eleventh hour came
and each received a denarius.
So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more.
But each one of them also received a denarius.
When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner.
'These men who were hired last worked only one hour,' they said,
'and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work
and the heat of the day.'
The morning workers complained about equality.
Everyone should be treated the same.
The expectation for equality made the morning workers
ungrateful complainers.
If you are like me,
you can feel the case for the morning workers.
But be careful or you will miss the point of the parable.
Don’t forget the Landowner
kept his agreement…
"But he answered one of them,
'Friend, I am not being unfair to you.
Didn't you agree to work for a denarius?
Take your pay and go.
I want to give the man who was hired last the same as I gave you.
Don't I have the right to do what I want with my own money?
Or are you envious because I am generous?'
The morning workers were crying
for their expectations of what was right in their eyes.
The Landowner asked about his rights
to do with his money whatever he wanted.
What did the Landowner want to do with His money?
He wanted to be generous
and that made the morning workers envious.
Life does not seem fair.
It is unequal the way we are born into this world.
Some born with good parents, and some without.
Some born into wealth, some without.
Some born with health issues,
some born strong and healthy.
Some are born with good looks,
and other not so good looking.
You and I are born into an unfair life.
We could blame God for it, and many do.
But if we go back to the beginning,
we will find God started out with generosity.
He put Adam and Eve in the midst of His garden.
They were required, or you might say hired,
to take care of the garden.
They could eat and enjoy of all God had placed there
except they were not to eat of the Tree of Knowledge.
Adam and Eve thought the agreement
was not fair and broke the agreement.
Instead of a life of blessing and provision…
Adam and Eve were removed from the garden
to do life as they thought was fair.
Adam and Eve could not make a world of fairness
and neither has any of their children.
All have become unfair and
fallen short of the glory of God.
The Kingdom is about agreement.
God keeps His promises.
The Kingdom of God is not about
human expectations of fairness.
The Kingdom of God is about Generosity,…
The produce of Mercy and Grace.
God loves to give us good and perfect gifts.
The wages of sin is death
but the gift of God is eternal life
through the Landowner Jesus Christ, our Lord.
We should not waste our time
being envious of what others have.
We should seek first the Kingdom of God
and all His Righteousness..
And then all the things you need will be added to you.
What is righteousness?
Righteousness took Jesus to the cross to die
for you, so you could have eternal life.
This world is not the end, in fact
your life in it is very short.
So doesn’t it make since to work
not for the things that parish…
But for the things that are eternal.
Store up treasures in Heaven because…
God’s generosity cannot fully be seen
until you die and leave all your earthly treasures behind.
Rejoyce with those who God shows generosity to.
Weep with those who are under
the curse of sin and this world.
The Kingdom of Heaven has a generous Landowner.
This Landowner has made an agreement to hire you.
Your payment may not be seen in this life…
But He keeps track with treasures in Heaven.
Don’t confuse your works with your rights and fairness.
God honors his agreement and is generous beyond that.
Scripture Reading
Matthew 20:1-16 NIV
20 "For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire men to work in his vineyard. 2 He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard.
3 "About the third hour he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. 4 He told them, 'You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.' 5 So they went.
"He went out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour and did the same thing. 6 About the eleventh hour he went out and found still others standing around. He asked them, 'Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?'
7 "'Because no one has hired us,' they answered.
"He said to them, 'You also go and work in my vineyard.'
8 "When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, 'Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired and going on to the first.'
9 "The workers who were hired about the eleventh hour came and each received a denarius. 10 So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius. 11 When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner. 12 'These men who were hired last worked only one hour,' they said, 'and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.'
16 "So the last will be first, and the first will be last."
