The kingdom of heaven is like a landowner. When Jesus begins in this way, it means He’s telling a parable. A parable is a story that teaches us a lesson. It’s not necessarily a moral lesson, and in the case of Jesus’ parables, it’s almost never a moral lesson. Jesus tells us what His parable is about: the kingdom of heaven.
The parables in the Bible have acquired titles over the years: The Parable of the Good Samaritan, the Parable of the Prodigal Son, etc. Today’s Gospel reading is usually called “The Parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard.” But that title is not just misleading; it actually misses the point. The parable really isn’t about the laborers in the vineyard; it’s about the owner of the vineyard! The landowner in the parable represents God. The parable’s focus is God and His character. Keep that in mind as we work through the parable. What is this landowner like? If we answer that question, we will learn what God is like.
The landowner went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. He wants people in his vineyard, meaning, his mission, purpose, desire is to gather people into His kingdom. And he agreed with them for a denarius a day – about a typical day’s wages.
But then, He went out about the third hour and saw others standing idle in the marketplace. There are others who have not been hired, i.e., others who have not been invited to the kingdom. And now we are seeing the story of the world unfold. From the beginning, there have always been faithful worshipers of God: Abel, Seth, Enoch, Noah, and Abraham; on and on the story of the world unfolded, and as it did, the people of God were gathered into a nation: Israel, the Jews, the children of Abraham, led by Moses and then Joshua to the land of promise.
But when Jesus began His ministry, He did not limit His preaching and works of mercy to Jews. He declared and showed the love of God to the Gentiles as well. These, as it were, came later in the day. Where had they been? Standing idle in the marketplace. “Idle” here means useless, fruitless, accomplishing nothing. And such is life without God. It is idle foolishness. We buy and sell, tear down and build, watch movies, read books, take trips, and work work work, but what does any of it accomplish before God? Nothing—it all is dust and ashes, perishing and futile.
Standing idle is also a danger for those already in the vineyard, i.e., those who are already Christians. Being a Christian is not a static thing. Our life as disciples of Jesus is one of continuous growth, continuous following of Jesus. Daily prayer, daily reading the Word, daily confession of sin, daily struggling against sin, daily living not in service to self but in serving God by serving our neighbors – that is the life every one of us is called to.
And then, notice these startling words: Whatever is right I will give you. Would you accept a job without knowing the wages? When the landowner hires them, he declares to them that he will treat them fairly. Does he? As we see from the parable’s conclusion, he does not give them what is right; he gives them far more than that. In fact, as the day goes on—as the world spins on toward the end of its time, towards the last hour of the day—as all this time passes, the landowner becomes more and more generous. God becomes, as though it were possible, more loving, more generous.
Again he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour, and did likewise. And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing idle, and said to them, ‘Why have you been standing here idle all day?’ The landowner continues to gather others into his vineyard; the LORD continues to invite people into His kingdom. He persists in this; there is nothing that He wants more than to gather all into His kingdom. Which means particularly, He wants you in His kingdom.
When those came who were hired about the eleventh hour, they each received a denarius. What ecstasy they must have felt! They would have expected a fraction of this. But the lord was more than true to his word. He did not just give them what was right; he gave them far more than they ever anticipated.
But when the first care, they supposed that they would receive more; and they likewise received each a denarius. The landowner had agreed with them for a denarius; but seeing the generosity of the landowner to others, they imagined they would receive more; they felt they deserved more. Isn’t it easy to relate to these workers? Perhaps you’ve been in a situation where you worked harder than others, but your work was not acknowledged. Someone else got the credit, or you were not rewarded for your hard work.
At the time Jesus was telling this parable, the ministry of John the Baptist, and then Jesus, must have seemed profoundly unfair. Here they were, these faithful Jews, all their lives going to the temple faithfully every year for Passover. They had been saying their prayers, giving tithes and offerings, keeping Sabbath, obeying the laws. And here come these renegades, John the Baptist and Jesus, and suddenly prostitutes and tax collectors are getting baptized! Sinners are being forgiven, but they don’t deserve it! Gentiles, despicable heathen, are coming in to the kingdom. “They don’t look like us, and they certainly haven’t been acting like us. What have they done? We’ve been faithful. We’ve always done what is right. We’ve worked at this, put in our time. Are you making them equal to us?”
And so, They complained against the landowner. He is not fair! We know how they feel. We want what’s coming to us, and can’t stand to be shown injustice, to not get credit. But remember, the story is not about the workers, it’s about the landowner. The story is about God. He is not interested in being fair; he is interested in being generous. He gave to those first workers exactly what they had agreed to. But since they were so unhappy with that—since they were unhappy with his generosity—he says, Take what is yours and go your way. I wish to give to this last man the same as to you.
And that is the worst thing we can hear from God: The worst thing to hear from the LORD is “go your way.” God loves all men, and is generous and kind; and so the worst punishment is to be dismissed from the LORD’s presence. Conversely, joy is to be in the presence of the LORD.
Is your eye evil because I am good?, He says. “I am good” – that is who God is; and that is what the murmuring worker doesn’t see; life will be joyous under the care of the One who is good and generous to all.
So Many are called, but few chosen. From this we must understand the Bible’s teaching on election, or predestination. God does not determine from eternity that this man is to be damned; God does not wish for anyone to be damned; He desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. Even now in this life, He gives daily bread to everyone, even to the wicked; He makes the rain to fall on the just and the unjust alike. God is good to everyone, and chooses no one for damnation. The man sent away is called not “chosen” because he has decided to reject the landowner and his generosity.
So, what should we take away from this parable? First of all, do not ask for God to be fair to you. If God were fair and just in His dealing with you, He would send you straight to Hell. Make no mistake: you are not a good person; Hell, eternal punishment and suffering is what you deserve.
So do not ask God to be fair. Ask Him to be who He is: good, loving, kind, merciful. The Lord wants you in His kingdom, wants you in His vineyard. Being in His vineyard, living as a Christian, following Jesus, will require trust. The way seems hard and risky, and He is very imprecise in what is coming for us. When He says to you, “Whatever is right, you will receive,” He is asking you to trust Him. And from this parable, you know that He will give you better than what is right, far more than you could deserve. So serve Him in your vocation; follow Jesus, knowing that your salvation is already accomplished by the goodness of the Landowner. In and through His Son Jesus, on account of His perfect life and sacrificial death, on the day of reckoning you will not get what you deserve. You will get what you could never earn or deserve, and the Lord in His generosity will make you heirs of His kingdom.
Now come, and let me place into your hands the coin, the denarius of salvation, the wages that Christ Jesus has earned and parcels out to you.
Pastor, Immanuel Evangelical-Lutheran Church, Alexandria, Virginia