Matthew 20:1-16

Matthew 20:1-16

This parable is misinterpreted often because we try to make it too difficult. One question helps us to find a shortcut to the core of the parable. With which group of workers would you identify? The bookends of the story is the phrase about the first being last and the last being first. That phrase is so important that Jesus repeats it twice. This statement means that the tried-and-true system of a greater reward for greater effort does not apply to God's economy. Certainly no one in God's system will get less than they deserve, but a great many will get more. But this is beginning to move wide of the mark.

The contrast in this story is not between Christians who serve the Lord faithfully their whole lives and those who come to Christ late. The point of the story is about our attitude. If our attitude or identification is like those who are hired early it indicates that we do not agree with God's grace and would prefer law. The best question for this parable is, “Do I see myself or other believers as getting more than I deserve?” “Do I feel like I have earned more and in some way God owes me more?” A key word in this whole passage is in verse 11, “Grumbled”. When we complain about our lot in life and our treatment by God believing we deserve more we have become the early hirelings. If we identify with the late men hired we realize that we are not getting what we deserve but the very opposite of what we deserve, we are people of grace. The parable is not about large groups of people, eschatological rewards, or even directly about God's justice. It is a barometer of my attitude. Do I see myself as a recipient of grace or earned merit?

We are very much in favor of grace when it is bestowed upon us. We like grace a lot less when it is given to those we deem undeserving. Every Christian ought to see himself as an 11th-hour employee.

"Lord, keep me deeply aware of my need and dependence on Your mercy and grace. AMEN"