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.

Further explaining the second point above, the Lord paid those who work last first to show the severe corruptness of the early laborers' hearts.

Let us reread verses 9-10. Those who worked the earliest have agreed that they would be paid a denarius for a denarius-worth of work. But when they see the others who have only worked for an hour got a denarius, they thought they would get 10 denarii. Yet, when it was their turn to receive their wage, they still got 1 denarius as initially agreed.

Now, let us reverse the scenario. What if the Lord pay the earliest laborers first?

The Lord would pay them a denarius as agreed and they will immediately leave in gladness because they got what they worked for and agreed to. They would go home pleased with the strict reward and punishment system they held on to.

A slight change of gear. The book of Matthew predominantly emphasizes on the system of reward and punishment, as we have discussed previously on the Deuteronomic Theology (see discussion post: http://look-ing-up.blogspot.com/2019/01/the-deuteronomic-theology-rev-billy.html). One of the key points of the Deuteronomic Theology is the concept of retribution / reward and punishment.

Back to our second scenario, after the early laborers got their wage, they would have received it and left immediately. Or if they don't immediately leave, they would witness the Lord paying the last laborers a denarius also, and they would only say, "why are they paid a denarius and not one-tenth a denarius?"

But this is not the scenario Jesus used in His parable. In the parable's scenario, the corruptness of their hearts are revealed, and their envy and greed were made evident. The comparison is not between a denarius and one-tenth a denarius, but between a denarius and 10 denarii. The early laborers envy and greed over 10 denarii, a deal they never actually made.

If we are to judge others in a reward and punishment system, because we claim ourselves to be just, then we should also use the same scale to judge ourselves. A true scale should judge both others and ourselves.

Verses 11-12

We now see how the early laborers grumbled against the Lord for his decision. This is called the seniority syndrome, and it is commonly found in churches. At times, those of us who have served in the church ministry for a long time grumble upon seeing newcomers who are assigned noble positions in the church, or worse, replace our positions.

We so often forget how when we first began our ministry, we were nobodies. We always consider our positions as our achievements and not God-given. We also often say, "how convenient it is for you, a newcomer, to receive such high position!", "how convenient it is for you to not give your monthly tithe", and so on. If we say these things, it means that we consider giving a monthly tithe and serving in the LORD's church as an inconvenience. Whereas, the LORD's work should be full of joy and love.

At the beginning of the passage, it is said that the early laborers were negotiating in a take-and-give manner with the Lord. Yet, the Lord allowed them to be. So are their behaviors actually acceptable?
No, it is not, but the Lord was being permissive, as God is permissive towards men.
Boyce argued that the love of God alone should be sufficient to drive us, yet God still gives us the promise of reward. This is because He understands that while we are still living in this world, the thought of reward and punishment could not be eliminated.
"My yoke is easy, and My burden is light" (Matthew 11:30), as spoken by Jesus Himself, is true and very real. As Christians, we should question our motivation if we continue to feel the burden we are carrying to be too burdensome and heavy, for His yoke and burden should bring us joy.
Of course, we would still feel the heavy burden, but it should not be prolonged, or worse, eliminate our joy.

Verses 13-14

The phrase, "Take what belongs to you and go", is very subtle, yet dreadful. In the New Testament, one of the most dreadful words were spoken by the chief priests and elders to Judas, when Judas realized his sin and came back to return the silvers back to the temple. The chief priests and elders' response was, "What is that to us? See to it yourself.” (Matthew 27:4, ESV), or "What is that to us? That's your responsibility" (Matthew 27:4, NIV).
Other most dreadful words were spoken by Jesus when He spoke of the Pharisees who boastfully prayed in a loud voice in the streets, "Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward" (Matthew 6:2).
In other words, they have reaped what they wish for in this world, and they fail to invest in the heavenly treasures.
We previously discussed "His yoke is easy and His burden light". We then ask the classic question: why do the righteous suffer? The answer is simple: we must take hold on God's promise, for He will avenge every tear shed and every injustice. Maybe not at this moment, maybe not in this world, as to how the Pharisees would have already received their reward, for our ultimate reward is in heaven. The LORD says, "Do not lay up (invest) for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up (invest) for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal" (Matthew 6:19-20).
Here, the LORD actually teaches us to calculate our treasures by using a term we are so familiar with, to invest.

Verse 15
We are beginning to enter our main topic, Envious vs. Generous.
We do not use the term jealous, because being jealous could be a positive thing, because our God's name is Jealous, and He is a jealous God (Exodus 34:14). If our spouse is sleeping with other people and we are not jealous, there must be something a matter with us. So, it is good to be jealous.
What is not good is to be envious. In this parable, the Lord implies to the early laborers that they have no right to bargain with the Lord the way they did.

Verse 16
In this sentence, there are two lasts and two firsts. The Bible often uses one common term to express two different meanings. For example:

"You will indeed hear but never understand, (physical hearing)
and you will indeed see but never perceive.” (physical seeing)
For this people's heart has grown dull,
and with their ears, they can barely hear, (spiritual hearing)
and their eyes they have closed,
lest they should see with their eyes (spiritual seeing)
and hear with their ears (spiritual hearing)
and understand with their heart
and turn, and I would heal them."
(Matthew 13:14-15)

After Naaman was healed from leprosy, 2 Kings 5:14 says that, "[...] his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean". He was not only cleansed physically but also spiritually. His flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, so did his soul reborn in the Holy Spirit.

In Jesus' parable, "Laborers in the Vineyard", the last laborers (depicting those who serve the LORD's kingdom last), will be first. First to what? If we say the first to receive the wage, then we would once again enter into the reward and punishment system. The correct answer is that they were the first to see the grace of God.
While, the early laborers (depicting those who serve the LORD's kingdom first), will be last—last to see the grace of God.

To close, let us see the previous pericope in Matthew 19:16-30.
In the 27th verse, Jesus' disciples too fell into the reward and punishment, "See, we have left everything and followed you. What then will we have?” And in verse 30, Jesus responded with, "But many who are first will be last, and the last first".
But Jesus being subtle and wise in His disciplinary, did not rebuke His disciples right away. Jesus subtly disciplined His disciples through the parable of the "Laborers in the Vineyard", while He rebuked the Pharisees with the same parable.

January 19th, 2019

Persekutuan Pemuda GRII KG

By Rev. Billy Kristanto Ph.D., Th.D., GRII Kelapa Gading

Written by Alicia Angie Wiranata

This sermon note has not been revised by the preacher.

Alice