Envious vs. Generous - Rev. Billy Kristanto

Today, we will discuss one of Jesus' parables, "Laborers in the Vineyard", from Matthew 20:1-16. We will discuss the parable verse by verse.

Verses 1-2

In this parable, the laborers depict us, while the master of the house depicts the LORD.

In verse 2, the laborers proposed that they were to be paid a denarius for a day of work, and the Lord agreed. Here, the laborers were negotiating in a take-and-give manner with the Lord. Yet, the Lord agreed to the contract and let them work for him.

Verses 3-4

At about the third hour (translated to 09:00 am), we find the Lord going out of his house finding some idle men at the marketplace. Then he asked them to work for him as well, without making any deals with them. The Lord did not say, "work in my vineyard, if you start working at 09:00 am and end at 06:00 pm, you will be paid 75% denarius at the end of the day." But what the Lord told them was, "whatever is right I will give you." In other words, "what I think you deserve, you will receive."

And they did as they were told obediently.

Verses 5-7

Here, we read that the Lord goes out of his vineyard several times to find more workers, showing the LORD's abundant grace for those who are willing to work for His kingdom.

In these verses, the sixth hour means 12:00 pm, the ninth hour means 03:00 pm and the eleventh hour means 05:00 pm.

Despite these men's late start, they were willing to work for him without any negotiation, calculation nor deals with the Lord. They might perhaps think within themselves that they would get one-tenth a denarius at the end of the day (if they begin working at 05:00 pm and ends at 06:00 pm). But they did not speak up to negotiate the deal.

Painting of the Parable, by Jacob Willemszoon de Wet, mid-17th century

Verse 8-10

This part is really important. Why did the Lord pay those who work the latest first? It would make a lot more sense to pay those who work the earliest first.

The question is, what difference would it make if the Lord pays those who work the latest first, versus if the Lord pays those who work the earliest first?
Answer:

1. The Lord wanted the early laborers to witness him paying a denarius to those who work for an hour only, with the mean to teach them a lesson.
2. And/or the Lord wanted to show the severe corruptness of the early laborers' hearts.