The Last Will be First, and the First Last

Matthew 20:1-16 To understand what Jesus is telling us today and what he wants us to know and believe, the very first words of our text are of critical importance:  The kingdom of heaven is like…  In other words, Jesus is teaching us what our life with God is like.

Jesus is not talking about the economic system of first century Palestine- or equal work for equal pay- or fair labor practices -or really anything about money and work at all-- except as an example. 

Then and now there was an understanding that labor and effort ought to yield reward and payment.  People in every place and time have had a keen sense of justice, that our pay ought to correspond with our work so that the harder and longer we work ought to be reflected in what we are paid.

Jesus knows this and it is a just way for the world to work.  But work and pay is not the way our life with God works. 

Our life with God, from beginning to end, is based upon his grace—not our works.  The blessings of a life with God come to us as a gift—not as a payment we are owed.  And that life begins with his call to us to come and take our place in his kingdom.  Jesus said that:

The kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. After agreeing with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard.  And so it went throughout the day.

            Even though this story is not really about the economy of first century Palestine it is still necessary to know a bit about it.  The vast, vast majority of people lived hand to mouth and so if they and their families were to eat that night it was necessary to labor that day.  And if there was no work—then there was no food.  And so then…

You can imagine what a blessing it was for these men to be called to work in the vineyard.  That call meant “life” for them and for those they loved.  They could not demand a job from the master.  There was no trade union to be their advocate.  There was no labor agreement between the workers and the farmers.  For them to have life—it was necessary for them to be called by the master to come and take their place in his vineyard. 

So it is for us and our place in God’s kingdom.  Since Adam and Eve were barred from Eden, mankind has no natural right to a life with God.  We cannot demand that he take us into his kingdom.  We cannot storm the gates of heaven.  We cannot buy our way in.

But what we cannot do and what we cannot insist upon, God graciously does by calling us to take our place in his kingdom.  Every time and in every place the Good News of Jesus is preached and taught and administered in the sacraments people are being called by God to take their place in his kingdom and receive the gifts of life and salvation and hope for the future. 

Most of us sitting here today heard that call early in our lives.  Others of us have come into the Lord’s kingdom at later stages in our life just like the workers in Jesus’ story.  But whenever we were called, there is a place for us in God’s kingdom. 

And that is the important thing because the time is coming when this day of grace will come to an end.  Jesus said that:   

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

            Can you imagine how grateful these workers were!  They never could have expected that the master would pay them for a full day’s work for just a few hours of labor.  How good he was!  How generous!  And you can bet that the workers standing behind them thought the same.  These last-called were their friends and neighbors.  They didn’t begrudge them the denarius.  They knew that the call of the master meant “life” for these men and their families.

            So it is for us.  We’re thrilled when someone comes to faith late in life and takes their place in the kingdom of God!  We know that for those who never hear that call—there is no life or hope.  And so we’re glad when people come to faith no matter how late in life.

But as we picture this scene in our mind’s eye, with the workers all lined up and the last-called receiving the generosity of the master, we know that there’s something else in the mind of the rest of the workers, isn’t there?  “If the master has been so gracious with these last called, surely there must be more for us who were called first”.  Jesus said that:

When those hired first came, they thought they would receive more, but each of them also received a denarius.  And on receiving it they grumbled at the master of the house

            It’s only natural that those who were called first, who watched as the last called received the denarius, to think that they would be getting more.  “It’s only right!  That is how the world works!  That is what is just and fair!”

But when they were given just exactly what the master promised them, they grumbled.  All their good thoughts about the generosity of the master—all their gladness that their friends were also called into the vineyard—went right out the window.

When they were called that morning how glad they were!  To know the peace of having work to do—to know that your needs and the needs of those you loved would be met—what joy must have filled their hearts as they labored that day.

But here at the end of the day how that had all changed.  There was no more gratitude—but only grumbling.  Their joy at being called-- and the lightness of their labor (knowing that their needs were met)-- all of that was gone. 

What had happened?  What had changed in them from the morning to the evening?  The direction of their gaze moved away from the goodness of the master who called them and provided for them-- to their fellow workers and what they received.  They were embittered and angry at the generosity of the master.  They said to him: 

‘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.’

            When the first called went into the master’s vineyard that morning they knew just exactly what to expect.  The day would be long.  The labor would be difficult.  They didn’t care.  In fact they welcomed it because they were glad to be called and have their needs met.  So it is for us.

            When the Lord calls us into his kingdom how glad we are even though we know it will not be easy.  Jesus told us right up front that we are to take up our cross and follow him—that blessings in his kingdom come when we are persecuted and misused. 

And yet we are glad to answer that call because we know that it is only within the kingdom that life’s deepest needs for forgiveness and peace and hope can be met.

Our entire lives as workers in the Lord’s vineyard ought to be filled with gratitude for having been called there in the first place!  But how easy it is for our gratitude to be changed to grumbling as we look around us at the lives of our fellow servants!

This person has some blessing that we lack and that person was spared some hardship we had to undergo and often times there is no correspondence that we can see between anything in our life of faith and those of others in how those lives of faith are rewarded.  And we begin to measure and compare and grumble.

Jesus forbids these kinds of thoughts because they change our life with God from an incredible gift he gives to us simply because he is good-- into something that is owed to us for the work we do.  Jesus went on:

[The master] replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? Take what belongs to you and go.

            The Lord is just.  He is absolutely just.  No one will ever be short-changed by God.  The master of the vineyard agreed to give these men a denarius and that is exactly what they got.  And so in the same way God will give to us if we demand payment for services rendered.

If we want from God what we deserve—we will get it!  If our life with God is about what we do and what we are owed God, will pay!

We will get the recognition of being counted as a pious person.  We will get the respect that comes from being part of a church.  We will get to surround ourselves with people who are kind and good.  We will get the praise of men for our acts of charity. 

If that is what our life with God is about, if it is a contract for services rendered, God is just and he will pay—but that is all.

Those who were first-called received their pay but they were sent away from the presence of the master.  This was a warning to the Jews who resented sinners coming into the kingdom.  It was a warning to Peter who had just asked Jesus what he and the other disciples were going to get out of their life with Jesus since they had been with him from the beginning. 

It is a warning to all of us to make sure that our gladness at being called into the kingdom does not change over time into grumbling over the contents of a contract we have made for services rendered.  Jesus wants us to understand that our life with God is about his grace and not our works.  The master said:

I choose to give to this last worker as I give to you.  Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? “Or do you begrudge my generosity”. 

            In the kingdom of heaven—when it comes to our relationship with God—God is the one who calls and God is the one who chooses and God is the one who gives because the gifts of salvation belong to him. 

Jesus Christ has earned salvation for us in his death and resurrection.  The Holy Spirit gives it to us in Word and Sacrament.  And our heavenly Father has planned it from eternity.  Salvation belongs to God who gives it to us as a gift of his grace. 

And so then when Jesus says that “the last will be first, and the first last” it is both a warning and a promise. 

It is a warning that when we stand in judgment of:  who is called into the kingdom and when- or who receives some blessing from God and preserved from some hardship- or how God orders our lives and the lives of others--we are standing in judgment of God himself just like the first-called that day in the vineyard who grumbled about the master’s generosity.

But it is also a promise that when we count ourselves last—when we recognize that what we have actually earned is punishment for our sins-- but what we have received is forgiveness and life---and this by God’s grace alone—when we simply trust in the generosity of God, we will not be disappointed.  Amen.