Beloved, this morning we consider together the parable of our Lord that we find recorded in Matthew 20, the first 16 verses. The parable of the workers in the vineyard, Matthew 20, the first 16 verses. For our reading, we back up though to Matthew 19, verse 16. starting with verse 16 of chapter 19 through verse 16 of chapter 20, as we hear now the Word of God. Now a man came up to Jesus and asked, Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life? Why do you ask me about what is good? Jesus replied. There is only one who is good. If you want to enter life, obey the commandments. Which ones? The man inquired. Jesus replied, Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother, and love your neighbor as yourself. All these I have kept, the young man said, what do I still lack? Jesus answered, If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven, then come, follow me. When the young man heard this, he went away sad because he had great wealth. Then Jesus said to his disciples, I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again, I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, Who then can be saved? Jesus looked at them and said, With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible. Peter answered him, We have left everything to follow you. What then will there be for us? Jesus said to them, I tell you the truth, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on 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 fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first. For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire men to work in his vineyard. He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard. About the third hour he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. he told them, you also go and work in my vineyard and I will pay you whatever is right. So they went. He went out again about the 6th hour and the 9th hour and did the same thing. About the 11th hour, he went out and found still others standing around. He asked them, why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing? Because no one has hired us, they answered. He said to them, you also go and work in my vineyard. 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. 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. 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? So the last will be first, and the first will be last. Dear congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ, if there's one phrase that we're probably all familiar with and probably all have used, each one of us, young and old alike, it's probably the phrase, that's not fair. Do you ever hear that in your families? Boys and girls, do you ever say that? For example, when your brother or sister gets something that you would like and they get it for no apparent reason, at least no reason that you can think of, and you don't get it, or you think that they are rewarded for something more than you are, do you ever complain and say, that's not fair? You see, Paul says in Philippians chapter 2, let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, But in lowliness of mind, let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. In other words, think of others first. Put them before yourself. Yet we must confess that it's awfully hard to put good old number one, me, in second place. We don't like to see others get better treatment than we think they deserve, especially when they get the treatment that we think we deserve. This was the situation in the parable Christ told of the vineyard workers. Now let me say at this point that this is one of a couple of parables that seems to get the widest variety of interpretations, even among Reformed scholars. And after considering this parable, I believe that the context leads us to the main point of this parable, and that's why we read together, beginning with the second half of chapter 19, As you can see, this parable is tucked in the envelope or between the bookends, we might say, of chapter 19, verse 30, and of chapter 20, verse 16, both of which say, but many who are first will be last and many who are last will be first. And then, so the last will be first and the first will be last. But what is Jesus saying with these two verses of Scripture and everything in between? With this parable nestled between these two similar phrases, we are being told, beloved, that there will be some surprises on the day of judgment. No, not surprises to God, but surprises to man. In teaching this parable, Jesus exposes the wrong motive for doing kingdom work. You see, that's what He's talking about here, including the context. He's talking about kingdom work as it is manifested in the life of the church and the reward for kingdom work. And now as we consider in the first place the call to kingdom work, we need to remember the context, the setting of Christ speaking this parable. There is the one we know as the rich young ruler, the rich young man as it's listed in our Bibles. The rich young ruler who came to Jesus, as we read in chapter 19, verse 16, asking how he could get eternal life. Also translated, how can I obtain eternal life? Now first of all, he thought that he could do something to get it. But second, it became obvious that there was too much that stood in the way for him to give complete devotion to God, namely his riches, his wealth. But then Peter, Peter representing the other disciples, picks up on this and says, we have left everything to follow you. Nice confession, Peter. But notice what he adds. What then will there be for us? It's as if after hearing what Jesus told the rich young ruler, Peter says, well, we have done what that guy couldn't do. So what's in it for us? What's in it for me? Now we can't be too harsh on Peter here though, because there's no evidence that his motive was wrong. And Jesus doesn't rebuke him, but in his own wonderful way, he gives Peter and all the disciples three laws for the Christian life and then this parable to illustrate his point. Jesus says in chapter 19, verse 28, I tell you the truth, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. That's the first law or promise that those who truly share in Christ's work will share in his victory. Verse 29, And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life. The second law or promise is that the Christian will receive far more from God than God ever asked him to give up. for the Lord, for the sake of Jesus. And finally, again, verse 30, but many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first. There will be surprises on the day of judgment. And then he speaks this parable to illustrate these surprises and to teach Peter and the disciples that Peter's question was the wrong question. Again, his question, what then will there be for us? Put their relationship to the Lord on the wrong footing. The tendency, the wrong tendency, was to use their obedience in such a way to calculate so much work for so much reward. And the right question, though, would be, Lord, why have you chosen me? Jesus teaches in this parable about the proper motive for kingdom work and the truth about the rewards given. And in the parable, which is intimately connected to the previous context with that little word for, in this parable, Jesus teaches what is to be expected of the landowner. The owner of the vineyard himself, he himself goes to hire workers for the day. He's the boss, you see, boys and girls. No one is above him. The buck stops with him. And this one is so interested in the care and keeping of his vineyard that he himself gets involved with those who work for him. He doesn't simply send his foreman to do the work. He himself goes to the marketplace. In those days of recession and depression, people were anxious for any kind of work and they would gather together in the marketplace or in the town square where business was transacted with the hope of getting hired for the day to do some work. Many of us here know where to go here in Escondido if you want a day laborer. They're available. And at the beginning of the day, the landowner makes an agreement with the first set of workers at 6 a.m. A denarius, which was about 17 to 20 cents in our money today, was the common fair wage for a day of labor. And these first workers kind of remind us of Peter's question. If we work for you for the day, what then will there be for us? After all, if they worked all day, then certainly they would deserve something. These first laborers were clearly working for a wage. And nothing more. They wanted what they earned. But at 9 a.m., 12 noon, 3 p.m., and finally at 5 p.m., the landowner goes out and secures more workers. He would not have them stand idle in the marketplace, but even if he would only get one hour of work from them, he hires them. And notice that with those laborers hired throughout the day, there is no set agreement in wage. the landowner simply says, whatever is right, I will give you. And they go to work with joy. They go to work happy to have been called to work, trusting in faith the goodness of the one who hired them. And here we see the graciousness of the landowner. Not only is he concerned about his harvest, but he's also concerned about the workers. We see this as He hires throughout the day, but especially those who were hired at 5 p.m. Of course, that was nearing the end of the day and all hope must have seemed gone. Besides, they would be worth virtually nothing. Only supplying one hour of work. We're probably surprised they were still there because in our day, they wouldn't be there at 5 o'clock yet. They would have been gone maybe by 9 or 10 in the morning. And beloved, we must see here first of all that it is God represented by the landowner who calls people to tend and care for his kingdom represented by the vineyard and of those who are called to work in God's kingdom and church it's true that there are different levels of significance that is to our human way of thinking to man there are different levels of significance to the work being accomplished And that is what I believe to be the significance of the different times of hiring throughout the day in the parable. I'm sure that many of us have understood this to mean and heard this preach that God calls His people to repentance and faith at different times in life. Some from the womb, some in childhood, some on their deathbed. The criminal on the cross we might call an 11th hour convert. And I'm not saying at all that this is wrong. It's very true that God calls at different times in this life. And the beauty is that even those called on their deathbed receive the very same prize as those called from the womb. Eternal life. And I believe that that indeed has its place here in this parable. It's included, but it's much more than that. And it's included possibly in a different way than we might have thought. Now remember the context. Peter makes the claim that they had given up everything to follow Christ. And in this parable, the work of those who worked for only one hour looked insignificant compared to the work of those who worked for three, six, nine, especially twelve hours. And in the church, we know that the work of some seems to be much more significant than the work of others. And yes, this may be true because some have been Christians all or most of their life, whereas others may not have come to faith until later in life. But it is also true that there are different degrees of labor and different stations of call within the church and kingdom. Some are in high and critical and important positions of leadership. Others occupy what may appear to be not as critical positions as they participate in the life of the church. And still others may seem insignificant by just filling in the gaps. There are those who lead Bible studies. There are those who attend. Those who take care of the children in the nursery. Those who teach seminary students. Those who preach. Those who pour coffee. Those who pray in the privacy of their homes on behalf of you and me. Those who give. All different. Some occupy very high profile or very visible positions in God's kingdom, whereas what others do in and for the kingdom of God is done out of sight, and therefore to the human eye, is out of mind. And shame on us, beloved, that so often we try to determine who is and who isn't making a difference. Beloved, those who participate in the work of God's kingdom may participate in different ways and to different degrees. But the truth is that He is the one who calls all to service in His kingdom by His grace. And it's a privilege to be called by Him. no matter what the task. He is the one who calls us out of idleness into productive service for Him and all of His work, every last bit of it is important and it is significant. But then Jesus pushes forward toward the main point of this parable's teaching as He explains the compensation for kingdom work. It was customary to pay for the labor of the day at the end of the day. In fact, this was to be done according to a law set forth by Moses in Deuteronomy 24, 15, which says, Each day you shall give him his wages, and not let the sun go down on it, for he is poor and has set his heart on it. Here, the evening is referring to the evening of the world and church history, the great day of final judgment, and partially to support what he had said about many who are first being last and the last first, Jesus explains the landowner instructing the foreman to pay the last hired first on down the line so that the first would be paid last. And an obvious reason for this was that if the first hired were paid first, they would have left, they would have gone home, and they would not see how the landowner dealt with the others, but they must see it. There's the lesson, you see. And indeed, they did. And to their surprise, all the others, including the last hired, received a denarius. The same as the first laborers had agreed to. And as they watched this, this could only mean one thing. That they were sure to receive a bonus. After all, they put in a full day. They obviously deserved more. But the second surprise was that they didn't receive more. The last received a glad surprise, but the first an unwelcome disappointment. And that disappointment led to their complaint and their misunderstanding. And we are to understand their grumbling as standing around muttering and murmuring under their breath with the idea, with the goal of being noticed by the landowner that something wasn't right. They wanted him to know. Verse 12 says, 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. And of course, that sounds reasonable to us, doesn't it? Because there's a big difference in the time spent and even in the circumstances such as the heat of the day. In summertime, it's a whole lot hotter at noon here around us than at four o'clock when the ocean breezes come back in. There's a difference. There was no comparison in what was done. And this makes sense to us because in our day we are used to the policy that says that those who produce, they reap the rewards. Those who invest in the education, those who commit the time to training, get the good high-paying jobs. They get the respect and the esteem. People are rewarded according to merit. According to what they earn. Those who do great things before the eyes of men are rewarded by men. And if someone gets what he has not earned, society is quick to cry. That's not fair. And that's what these first laborers were crying. Again, even with kingdom work, there are those who give their lives in service to the Lord. Those who spend countless days and nights working in the name of the Lord. those who suffer intense persecution and even give themselves to death. Many literally forsake all and they give of all their gifts to the poor. Many visibly bear the heat and the toil of the day. While others never seem to accomplish anything significant, nothing by way of persecution and suffering seems to be required of them. They work in the cool of the day. And so often, beloved, we want to compare our burdens and our blessings with others. And we complain that our burdens are greater, of course, and our blessings are less than the next kingdom worker. But you see, we quickly forget that everything we have, be it much or little, everything we have is a gift from God. We have not earned anything. In fact, we have forfeited everything by sin. And God's blessing to another, you see, is no injustice to me. God's blessing to another does not mean He's cheating me. He has not forsaken His promise to save me. Yet so often we want to say with Peter, We have left everything and followed You. What then will there be for us? But Jesus' point here is that it's not what you do and how much you do for the kingdom before the eyes of the world that matters. The point is that you heed God's call for kingdom work and how you do it. It is a blessing to be called by God to work for Him. And it is to be an honor to bear the burden of His kingdom. The laborers hired first revealed that they were both dissatisfied with what they had received and they were envious of what the others received. They clearly had a misunderstanding of what kingdom work is all about and therefore through this landowner we see the correction of misunderstanding kingdom work. In their envy, these grumbling laborers really were beyond reason. Their only concern should have been that they received what was agreed upon, which they did. Beginning at verse 13, 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? Like the rich young ruler and potentially Peter, these laborers thought that they could earn the kingdom reward. They thought that they were placed in a little better position and standing than the rest. They didn't go to work until they agreed upon a wage, and they should not have been disappointed. And neither must we be disappointed, beloved, when you are called upon to bear the heat and the toil of the day in God's kingdom. Because as Paul says in Romans 3, there is no unrighteousness or injustice with God. These laborers also failed to recognize the landowner's rights, that he too had rights, that he had the right to do with his property and his money as he pleased. You see, it was an act of grace that they had been hired in the first place. Many have the wrong conception of who God is and of His rights, especially when He takes from us that which He first gave to us. That's not fair, you see. It was mine. But as Job said, the Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord. But also in their dissatisfaction for themselves and envy against the others, these laborers and those they represent were disobedient to the great commandments, to love God above all and their neighbor as themselves. Instead, they desired their neighbor's hurt. Their own interests stood in the way of obedience. And there is much, as you know, that we could say by way of application, and I pray that the Holy Spirit has already begun to apply this in your heart. but I want to focus on a couple of important details. Those who perform kingdom work are to do it for the sake of Jesus Christ alone. That is the proper attitude toward kingdom work. He and His saving grace are to be our motivation for obedience. You've heard me repeat the phrase, only one life will soon be passed, only what's done for Christ will last. And Paul says that whatever you do, even eating and drinking, do it as unto the Lord. Anything not done for the sake of the kingdom of God and for Jesus' sake out of faith and trust is done in vain. Anything done for selfish gain or from a selfish motive is idle and worthless. See, those hired throughout the day They trusted in the righteousness of the landowner and they were no longer idle. But by God's grace, they were contributing toward the advancement of God's kingdom. And on Judgment Day, Jesus Christ will sit on His throne. He will reward every man according to His works. And those who, like the first hired laborers who stand before Christ on their own merits, expecting to receive what they deserve, they will get what they deserve. the bible says that the wages of sin is death apart from jesus christ that is exactly what we have earned that is exactly what we deserve and even those who appeared to be in the kingdom and appeared to be first but worked for selfish gain they will be last and they will hear those terrifying words from the mouth of the judge, depart from me, for I never knew you. But all those who heeded the call to kingdom work by grace through faith, whether little or much, whether for a lifetime or for one hour, together they shall inherit eternal life. But that eternal reward is not of merit. It's not because it was earned by them, but It is a reward of grace earned by the only one who could rightly say that's not fair. Jesus Christ took upon Himself from His people that which He did not deserve in order to give us that which we do not deserve. And as those redeemed by the blood of Jesus, we are called to labor in His kingdom out of thankfulness for and as evidence of God's gracious gift of salvation. Again, not to earn that salvation, but because it has already been earned for us. Indeed, God calls His people to active service in His kingdom. And He gives different people different capacities to perform different tasks. He calls some for a long time and some for a short time. but not one of His people who is called is to be idle. Remember, an idle mind is the devil's workshop. In fact, the true child of God cannot be idle in God's kingdom, but instead applies all of his or her life to the service of God. He will perform true kingdom work by the grace of the Holy Spirit through faith in that saving sacrifice of Christ. We are called to kingdom work, pruning, dressing, digging, watering, fencing, and weeding God's vineyard. Put it another way, trusting, worshiping, praising, teaching, training, witnessing, molding, defending, praying. But not to be seen by men, but as devoted to God. Yes, on the day of judgment, there will be surprises for many, as the last shall be first and the first last, those being the most surprised who come on their own merit instead of trusting only in the saving sacrifice of Christ. For them, the reward is only eternal condemnation. But for those who stand in line because they heeded the Lord's call to work for Him by repenting and believing by grace through faith, there will be no surprise. as they hear those tender words, Well done, my good and faithful servant. All of the work that God commissions for His kingdom, whether great or small, whether visible or unnoticed by you and me, is important in His sight. But those who work for wages when it comes to spiritual matters will receive the wage they have earned, eternal death. But those who work by grace, from grace, in Christ Jesus, will receive eternal life. Beloved as Christians, we are not to compare our work in the kingdom with each other in order to rate our work in God's kingdom. Thinking that some believers who were noticed on earth will be ushered into heaven with some sort of a grand procession while those who are unnoticed and even 11th hour believers will barely sneak through heaven's gate alone. That's a vain and it's a useless exercise. But we are called to rejoice in the grace that allows us to participate in the kingdom and to rejoice for all of those God calls, whether early or whether late. See, any work that we do for or on behalf of God's kingdom has meaning only in Christ. And those who focus their work on Him will not waste their time comparing themselves with others, but instead they will encourage others in their work and together rejoice in such a great salvation and thank God for not being fair, for not giving to us what we deserve. Remember, God doesn't need us. But He has graciously called us to His service. And we must rejoice that God generously showers His grace on all who believe, so that together, one and all, we share in eternal life. As you examine your Christian life, are you working for wages? Or are you working from grace? For by grace you have been saved through faith. And that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. Amen. Shall we pray? Our gracious God and Heavenly Father, as we have considered the truth of Your Word, and as we think upon that truth, We must confess, O Lord, that there are times when we think that we deserve so much. So much more than we think others deserve. We want to pat ourselves on the back for the work that we do for you in your kingdom. Father, we are sorry for that attitude. And instead, Father, we want to praise you and thank you for calling us to your service, whatever that service may be. Thank you for equipping each and every one of us in different ways. to carry out the different tasks and duties to which you have called us. We pray, Father, that our only desire would be that your name be glorified. In the name of Jesus Christ, we pray these things. Amen.