Matthew 20:1 "For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. 2 He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard. 3 "About nine in the morning he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. 4 He told them, 'You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.' 5 So they went. "He went out again about noon and about three in the afternoon and did the same thing. 6 About five in the afternoon he went out and found still others standing around. He asked them, 'Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?' 7 " 'Because no one has hired us,' they answered. "He said to them, 'You also go and work in my vineyard.' 8 "When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his supervisor, 'Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired and going on to the first.' 9 "The workers who were hired about five in the afternoon came and each received a denarius. 10 So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius. 11 When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner. 12 '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.' 13 "But he answered one of them, 'Friend, I am not being unfair to you. Didn't you agree to work for a denarius? 14 Take your pay and go. I want to give the one who was hired last the same as I gave you. 15 Don't I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?' 16 "So the last will be first, and the first will be last."
KEY THOUGHTS/PHRASES:
Kingdom of heaven (think...God's rule of grace & mercy instituted by Jesus)
He agreed to pay them a denarius (it's the usual day's wage for labor)
Pay the wages beginning with the last ones hired
The ones hired first **expected to receive more
You have made them equal to us
Friend, I am not being unfair to you
Are you envious because I am generous (note: "good" is a better rendition of the Greek "agathos.")
I think the main question that dominates as one approaches this text is....WHY is the kingdom of heaven so UNFAIR? Most of us have suffered the injustice of unfairness in the workplace: employers who take advantage of us; managers who use their position of power to abuse the workers they dislike; who preach a hollow message of company loyalty, even though the company is anything but loyal to its workers; who institute a system of rules and benefits that's grossly tilted in the favor of the management class vs the average worker (think about the pay/benefits package of a Walmart district president vs that of the average store clerk). And ALL of this is happening in our "enlightened" 21st century America....the so-called "greatest" nation on earth; the so-called "land of the free."
And just think....to whatever degree UNFAIRNESS in the workplace is a reality for us in 21st century America, such was most certainly the case in the culture that produced this parable of Jesus. Barbara Reid does a good job of pointing this out in her commentary on the Parables. She says:
Day laborers are at the opposite end of the economic spectrum [from the rich land-owner]. When they are not employed they are reduced to begging. They are in a most vulnerable position, since their work is sporadic and they have no ongoing relationship with a patron or employer. Even slaves are 'better off' since it is in their owner's interest to feed and care for them to make them profitable. When there is a surplus of day laborers they have little bargaining power. [here's a real gotch'ya, real life-in-that-culture issue] Some may see in the face of the vineyard owner one who had stripped them of their own small peasant farm, a wealthy landowner foreclosing on a debt. [Martin Goodman & others have done a good job of cataloging the economic woes of the 1st c. peasant of Jesus' time, and the willingness of rich landowners to make 'bad loans' purposely with the expectation of foreclosing on a peasant's farm & thus enriching themselves even more. Sounds kinda familiar!!]
All of this is to say.....by our standards, or at least by any standard of decency & fairness, the complaint of the 1st-hired workers is **VALID**:
11 When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner. 12 '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.
This goes to show that Jesus has no intention of being an enlightened ‘before-his-time’ labor leader. The very thing that makes the worker’s point a VALID COMPLAINT in this kingdom is what gives the parable its cutting edge for the KINGDOM OF HEAVEN.
At every point and at every turn, Jesus tells us parables to illustrate that the Kingdom of Heaven is NOT like this world and the powers that govern here. And we need to remember that this is ALWAYS a good thing. Because in this case, the complaint of the workers that they’ve received UNFAIR treatment & UNJUST treatment is—unbeknownst to them—the greatest gospel message possible.
When it comes to God, the LAST thing in the world that we [should] want is FAIRNESS & JUSTICE. Fairness and justice would measure our merits against God’s perfect standard. FAIRNESS & JUSTICE within the narrative of that parable would measure just how well each of those guys worked, not just whether they showed up; FAIRNESS & JUSTICE would’ve measured how much their heart was in their work, and whether or not they had the proper attitude toward the owner and toward their fellow workers. FAIRNESS & JUSTICE from God would always result in JUDGMENT AGAINST US.
Instead, Jesus introduces the Kingdom of God as a kingdom of grace and mercy; a place where everyone gets the same thing; a place where no one gets what they TRULY have coming to them…. And that’s a good thing.
Cheers,
TM
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