Matthew 20

¹ “For the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. ² After agreeing with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard. ³ And going out about the third hour he saw others standing idle in the marketplace, ⁴ and to them he said, ‘You go into the vineyard too, and whatever is right I will give you.’ ⁵ So they went. Going out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour, he did the same. ⁶ And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing. And he said to them, ‘Why do you stand here idle all day?’ ⁷ They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You go into the vineyard too.’ ⁸ And when evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last, up to the first.’ ⁹ And when those hired about the eleventh hour came, each of them received a denarius. ¹⁰ Now when those hired first came, they thought they would receive more, but each of them also received a denarius. ¹¹ And on receiving it they grumbled at the master of the house, ¹² saying, ‘These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.’ ¹³ But he replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? ¹⁴ Take what belongs to you and go. I choose to give to this last worker as I give to you. ¹⁵ Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity?’ ¹⁶ So the last will be first, and the first last.”

 

One of my favorite westerns is Clint Eastwood’s “Unforgiven.” In the climactic scene, William Munny (Eastwood) confronts the ruthless sheriff “Little Bill” (Gene Hackman) after “Little Bill” had Munny’s friend Ned (Morgan Freeman) killed and his body publicly displayed. Munny shoots “Little Bill” and then prepares to do so again while standing over the dying sheriff. “Little Bill” says to the looming Munny, “I don’t deserve to die like this.” To which Munny says (as only Clint Eastwood could say it), “Deserves got nothing to do with it.” Then he kills “Little Bill” in an act of vengeance.

It is a memorable and terrifying scene. It is interesting to me that one can find online debates about whether or not that line—“Deserves got nothing to do with it.”—makes sense, coming from Munny. Some argue that it does not make sense since Munny clearly kills “Little Bill” precisely because he deserved to die. Others, however, disagree, noting that Munny doesn’t think he deserves to live either, or that any of them do. Regardless, it is a great line: “Deserves got nothing to do with it.”

I wonder if that line works too in a positive sense? I think it does. In fact, I think it might be a good summary line for Matthew 20:1–16. In this story, Jesus seems to be saying the same thing, though as a note of hope, not of doom. When it comes to salvation and the Kingdom, “Deserves got nothing to do with it.” Rather, it is all of grace and the free gift of God.

The economy of the Kingdom is a gift insofar as it is opened to those outside of it.

Our consideration of the Kingdom must begin with the position of the laborers, or else we will misunderstand one of the major thrusts of this passage. Note the “outside-ness” of the laborers! First, we are told that the master “went out…to hire” workers “for his vineyard.”

¹ “For the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard.

They are not waiting in the vineyard. They are waiting outside. The master goes “out” to them. What is more, their outer location is named.

³ And going out about the third hour he saw others standing idle in the marketplace

They are “in the marketplace.” This is where day laborers waited to be hired to, hopefully, make enough to be able to buy that day’s bread. “The marketplace” and its need stands in contrast to the masters vineyard. Their “outside-ness” is further demonstrated by the question that thee master puts to them.

⁵ So they went. Going out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour, he did the same. ⁶ And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing. And he said to them, ‘Why do you stand here idle all day?’ ⁷ They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You go into the vineyard too.’

They are not in the vineyard. They are in the marketplace. They are outside. Even at these later hours of the workday. And the master asks, “Why do you stand here idle all day?” We must be careful not to misread this question. The phrase “standing idle” may sound like laziness, but as Craig Blomberg points out:

This phrase translates the one word argos, which more literally means without work. These men are not deliberately avoiding labor (cf. v.7). With their families they may well go hungry that evening if they do not find work.[1]

It is not, then, that they are lazy. Yet, they are in need. They do not have work, so they stand in the marketplace. This is important for it establishes a crucial fact: The economy of the Kingdom is a gift insofar as it is opened to those outside of it.

We are not born in the master’s vineyard. The image of “east of Eden” (Genesis 3:24, 4:16). It is hard to resist the interpretive temptation to see in these laborers the plight of all humanity outside of God’s garden, and indeed I do not think we should resist it. We are born as exiles, outside, east of Eden, needing to be invited in. This entire story hinges upon (a) the neediness of humanity and (b) the goodness of the master. We must get this right or we will be tempted to stand with the complainers later in the story and say, “This is not fair.” But to those who are outside the vineyard and who are only granted entry by the goodness of the master, what does a word like “fair” even mean.

Deserves got nothing to do with it.

The compensation of the Kingdom humbles the proud and exalts the lowly.

In Jesus’ story, workers are hired at 6 am, at 9 am, at noon, at 3 pm, and at 5 (“the eleventh hour”), with the day ending at 6 pm. At the end of the day, it is time to settle up. Dramatically, Jesus begins with those hired at 5 pm, those who worked only one hour.

⁹ And when those hired about the eleventh hour came, each of them received a denarius.

Michael Wilkins points out that “a denarius was the equivalent of a day’s wage for a common laborer.”[2] And, indeed, this is the amount that the master and the laborers hired in the early morning had agreed to. Even so, those hired early became very excited initially when those hired later received a denarius because, regardless of the agreed-upon amount, common sense and fairness and justice would certainly dictate that those who worked twelve hours would make more than those who worked one. In other words, they thought, “Oh, well, if they got a denarius then perhaps this master is very generous and will give each of us twelve!” Yes, that is what they thought, but soon euphoria gives way to outrage.

¹⁰ Now when those hired first came, they thought they would receive more, but each of them also received a denarius. ¹¹ And on receiving it they grumbled at the master of the house, ¹² saying, ‘These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.’

We must understand their outrage. In the economy of the world compensation is based on earning, on merit, on hours worked. What Jesus is doing here is, in the view of the world, absurd. It was also absurd specifically in the view of the Jews. Writing of this story, Craig Keener observes:

Jewish teachers employed a similar folk story about the day of judgment, but they used it to make the opposite point. Israel, who had worked hard, would receive high wages; the Gentiles, who had labored little, would receive little.[3]

What this means, then, is that these laborers were conditioned not only by their own sense of economic justice but also by their understanding of God’s economy to be shocked by this. This was not how either the world or God was supposed to work! Craig Blomberg writes, “Little seems more unequal than the equal treatment of unequals!”[4]

And yet, there it stands: those hired at the eleventh hour were paid just as much as those hired at the first hour.

Notice what this did: it humbled the proud and simultaneously exalted the lowly! Such is the Kingdom!

In her “Magnificat” in Luke 1, Mary had sung of this divine reality.

⁵¹ He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts; ⁵² he has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate; ⁵³ he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty.

Or as Jesus will say at the end of this story, “So the last will be first, and the first last.”

Such is the Kingdom of God!

The terms of the economy of the Kingdom are grounded in the grace of God and as such “more” and “less” lose their meaning.

It is also important to see and understand where the terms of payment are situated in the Kingdom of God. In the story, the terms are clearly not defined by merit or hours of service. Where, then, are they situated and by what are they defined? Let us hear Jesus’ response to the complaint of the laborers hired early in the day.

¹³ But he replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? ¹⁴ Take what belongs to you and go. I choose to give to this last worker as I give to you. ¹⁵ Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity?’ ¹⁶ So the last will be first, and the first last.”

Jesus’ response is illuminating. Here, Jesus highlights:

• that He gives to those who have not;
• that he gives freely to those who have not;
• that he gives generously to those who have not.

That is to say, the terms of the economy of the Kingdom are grounded in the grace of God and as such “more” and “less” lose their meaning.

You cannot complain of less or demand more when you begin with nothing and are given everything you have!

The compensation of the Kingdom arises out of the beautiful heart of Jesus which will not show partiality. As such, those hired in the first hour and those hired in the eleventh hour necessarily receive the same since Christ lavishes all alike! What is more, once human merit and effort are removed from the picture any thought of “more” or “less” becomes silly. Human effort may conjure images of “more” or “less” in our minds, but the grace of God is an ocean of extravagant love that we simply could not have more of and will not have less of!

This, among whatever other points Jesus is making, is one of the most important: in Christ and His Kingdom the door of the vault of the blessings of God is thrown up with lavish love to those who have come early to it and those who have come late! Their scandal is not in the fact that both are paid the same. No, the glorious scandal is in the fact that any of us receive anything at all…and then in the fact that what we receive is so extraordinary and overwhelming!

This is the economy of the Kingdom! Jesus’ “generosity!” Jesus’ grace! Jesus’ mercy!

When I was a little boy I spent a lot of time in cemeteries with my dad and my grandad. My granddaddy was a tombstone man and a preacher and they would let me “help” with putting up the stones. My job was helping to clean the stones and also helping to roll the compound that held the headstone to the base of the stone.

I recall when I got a little bit older going out to a job and my grandad paid me afterwards. He paid me obviously too much! And so I said, “Granddaddy, this is too much. I have only been here so many hours…” He responded, “Yes, but what time did you get up this morning?” And he smiled and told me he was paying me from the time I woke up.

That is a small thing…but a very big thing! A glimpse of kindness from a follower of Jesus. A little wink from one of Jesus’ followers, saying, “This is what the Kingdom is like.” Now take that and multiply it times infinity. That is what the Kingdom is like! Our master and King and Lord, Jesus the Christ, has blessed us with all blessings! It is an honor to be invited into the vineyard and to receive the compensation of the Kingdom: life and peace and joy, now and forevermore!

 

[1] Blomberg, Craig L. Matthew: An Exegetical and Theological Exposition of Holy Scripture (The New American Commentary) (p. 302). B&H Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.

[2] Michael J. Wilkins, “Matthew.”  Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary. Gen. Ed., Clinton E. Arnold. Vol.1 (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2002), p.11-12.

[3] Craig S. Keener, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament. (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1993), p.54.

[4] Blomberg, Craig L. Matthew: An Exegetical and Theological Exposition of Holy Scripture (The New American Commentary) (p. 303). B&H Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.