All they hear is, "Do as you please." In light of the countrys stagnant federal minimum wage, the network is supporting a Nashville Living Wage certification program to honor employers who pay a more just minimum wage by choice. They are mistaken! Now remain in my love. (1) The need for labourers is great in the continent of Europe. We believe they deserved more. This is a picture of those church members who, despite attending church, never have any manifestation of truth, never have any sign in their lives of that quality of love and forgiveness and understanding and compassion which is born of the Holy Spirit, but are rigid and narrow and hard and harsh and condemning and difficult -- even though they say and do the "right" thing. He will interview perhaps 300 young people and from them select only 30. Many people in Jesus day had a small personal vineyard on their own small plot of land that they worked for themselves. You can raise your family without Christ. Many employees look forward to this day as another paid day off from work. The Diocese of Rochester In America 1868-1993, Catholic social teaching series 3: Human rights and responsibilities: Promoting the common good for all, Catholic social teaching series 3: Rights and responsibilities what we are owned and owe to others in justice, Catholic social teaching series 4: Developing awareness and action for the preferential option for the poor, Franciscan Center of Baltimore exemplifies the preferential option for poor. Notice the workers were called at different times:-. He employs the workers and not the other way around. The denarius represents eternal life. But he will answer your prayers when they grow out of this relationship. We thereby are Then He began to tell the people this parable: A certain man planted a vineyard, leased it to vinedressers, and went into a far country for a long time. [Jesus said to the people:] Listen to another parable. Then the owner of the vineyard said, What shall I do? The invitation has been given, many will accept it and work, many will not. If they can assure him that they love work, love people, and love Jesus, then they have a tremendous opportunity to work at that ranch. In verse three, the householder went out about the third hour into the marketplace and found others standing idly by. Pingback: Laborers in Gods Vineyard (Matthew 20:1-16) | Good Hope Baptist Church. When we think of its size, how few workers there are! 2 And when he had agreed with the labourers for a penny a day, he sent them into his vineyard. And though you are responsible to make the decisions and make the choices, you are not responsible for the power to carry them out. And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my names sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last first.. The fruit is borne by the branches produced by the vine. This is the glory of Christian liberty. We will see more of what that means as we go on in this account. Even though Israel is Gods chosen people, He opened the door for salvation to everyone. One of the delights of life is to spend time in that kind of prayer. What Is a Parable in the Bible? Just come to Him and place your trust in Jesus Christ. The whole plant was the vine. Can we or will we be able to say, I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing (2 Timothy 4:7-8). There are at least four truths this parable teaches us: The first thing we ought to realize about this parable is that the master owns the vineyard. He was with the Lord -- spent three and a half years with him. Again, He is the Master of the vineyard, not us. Jesus must always come first. The Gospel reading was -- and remains -- one of the most incendiary of Jesus' parables: that of the generous landowner As you venture out on that basis you expect him to support you and to carry you through. If you love somebody, and reach out toward them, you can go only so far unless they respond to that love. Jerry Tu. And he included in that vine not only the branches but the stem and root. He says, "Now, it may seem strange to you that I should ask that last question. When our hearts are moved by love it is easy to obey his word, for we obey the one we love. The vineyard is the kingdom, the sphere of Gods rule. This anecdote is not about remunerations, yet it is about salvation. Surely, Pride got in their way. All of this is designed to relate to him -- "Abide in me." But that is only part of it. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. Change), You are commenting using your Twitter account. It becomes a continuing sense and experience of his love for us. Does the Pandemic Still Affect Church Attendance? For permission to use this content, please review A friend of mine passed through Palo Alto this week on his way to Colorado to participate in a very unusual ranch. The traditional site of the Upper Room in Jerusalem is on the western side of the Old City, on the slopes of Mount Zion. Jesus told a couple parables that deals with the heart of those who are called to do Gods work. This is what it means to abide in him. 11I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love." By the third evening the guests are all asking, "Where did you ever get this tremendous crew of young people? It is also a holiday that is observed to celebrate those who labor. In the second parable, Jesus teaches that all are equal in Gods kingdom. We are workers of the eleventh hour! But that was not the end of it; there was to be more as they went on. And in the 80th Psalm, the Psalmist says that God "brought a vine out of Egypt" and planted it in a good land, Psalms 80:8). The first social encyclical, Rerum Novarum, written by Pope Leo XIII in 1891, grounds our social tradition in a discussion of labor and worker rights. God sent prophets to Israel to tell them to get right with God, but they were ignored, beaten, and/or killed. So the question arises at this point, "What does this fruit stand for in our life?" We are to each be working to make more disciples of Jesus Christ while we have time. This parable is about the masters generosity His grace. Remember that earlier in the passage our Lord had said, "If you love me, you will keep my commandments," (John 14:15 RSV). On the other hand, he says, "He who abides in me, and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing." He did not abide in Christ, and Christ did not abide in him. No one can gain more favor than another, whether we spend a lifetime serving God or, like the thief on the cross, a person who comes to repentance at the end of ones life will be saved and enter into paradise (see Luke 23:39-43). Many of the leaders were corrupt. For the master of the vineyard, there must have been a lot of work to be done for him to hire so many workers so many times during the day. When we understand ourselves as all workers in Gods vineyard (Mt 20:1-14), we cannot help but join the fight for our fellow workers who are being mistreated. This illustration is particularly for the individuals who might feel privileged due to their heritage or by the alleged position of authority that they may hold. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. 3You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. In between, theres not a lot of work to do. You can be flat on your back in bed, sick, but manifesting a Christ-like spirit, and you are glorifying God by that experience. God is gracious to us, calling us from our idle state and placing us in His vineyard to work for His harvest. As a result he was cut off, and he withered. There he is, back on the subject of that basic relationship which is already established by the coming of the Holy Spirit into an individual's life: "You in me, and I in you." We could see this as people coming to faith in Jesus Christ during different periods of church history or at different ages in life. Israel was that vine. (3) Still others at the sixth hour (verse 5) - the Reformers? This sermon was delivered at Good Hope Baptist Church in Wake Forest, NC. They wanted the power and prestige and didnt want anyone to take that from them. We expect that those who work harder and longer will receive a greater reward than those who do not. No matter how long you have been a member of the church, have served on different committees, been a deacon, a Sunday School teacher, or whatever you have done, you do not deserve Gods grace, and you certainly do not deserve more of it. You can check out his work here. Every Christian, everywhere, should be fully engaged in active service for the Lord in these desperately needy days either by prayer (Matthew 9:38), or by preaching (Acts 5:42) - or by both (Acts 6:4). "Abide in me, and I in you," and you will be fruitful -- without realizing it -- manifesting the characteristics of the Spirit, the fruit of the Spirit, the quality of life which is like Jesus. Some people think the world owes them something a particular standard of living, health care, mobile phones, or other stuff. The land was Gods planting (Psalm 80), Gods vineyard (Isaiah 5). Several times, he found people standing idle in the marketplace, which may just mean that were unemployed, not that they were lazy. He not only does this, but he does it repeatedly. If you do not know the Master of the vineyard, Jesus Christ, you can know Him today. When we read this parable we are probably struck by the perceived unfairness of the master toward those who had worked the longest. But if you share where you are spiritually, what your struggles are, what you are going through, and if you bear one another's burdens and love each other in the Lord, it becomes a delightful, marvelous, strengthening experience. A vineyard is planted not for ornamentation, but to produce grapes, to bear fruit. God owns His vineyard. But many are troubled by those who claim that, unless a Christian is constantly winning others to Christ, he is a fruitless Christian. He may have been eager to make sure people had work. WebMatthew Chapter 20. (John 15:1-2 RSV). Would we really begrudge Gods grace on the latecomers, including ourselves? He did everything possible to cause it to produce grapes. We must, if we would have God answer our prayers, give up any thought that we have any claim upon God. We find that the master of the vineyard has a rather strange way of rewarding his workers. In making claims of unfairness, we forget who the boss isand it is not us! Web8 This is to my Fathers glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. Change). The Father's work is to find a branch which is beginning to bear fruit, beginning to produce the likeness of Christ, and to cut it back, trim off the shoots, so that it may bear more fruit. For many are called, but few chosen.. How could they be otherwise until the Landowner had commissioned them to work? There was a landowner who planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a wine press in it, and built a watchtower. "But the plans of the LORD stand firm for ever, the purposes of his heart through all generations. They mistakenly believe that they own whatever they possess. Another principle to this parable is what people focus on as being unfair. No matter how long or how much you have served God, you do not deserve His grace. That is, "This pruning has gone on in your life already." For example, the Lord needs: To all of us the Lord says - Revelation 3:8! Eventually these branches are to be gathered and burned. What is the instrument he uses? But where love is responded to, it grows deeper and richer and truer, and eventually becomes a glorious experience. Probably at the time Jesus spoke this parable, the latecomers to Gods vineyard, to Gods Kingdom, were the tax collectors and sinners. In a broader context the Gentiles would be the eleventh hour workers who heard Gods Word later than Jews. At the close of Chapter14 our Lord said to his disciples, "Rise, let us go hence." Notice that Jesus says here to the disciples, "You are already made clean." Secondly, there is the demonstration of discipleship, Verse8: "By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be my disciples." Somebody might vocally protest that "those individuals did not function or work as hard as I did." We must decide to do things which expose ourselves to him and keep ourselves in contact with him. If in relating to others you merely get together and have coffee and talk about the weather, you will find it useless. The evening is eternity. That is abiding in him. Some of you may have been there and seen it. I have been praying for a long time for something that I am confident is according to Gods will, but I do not get it. Joy, that sense of gladness of relationship with him, will increase as we go. He has served as a Sunday School teacher, a youth director along with his wife, a music director, an associate pastor, and an interim pastor. You might expect a greater reward than those who did not make the same sacrifice. None of us get to dictate to God what we will receive. If you are called to lead, be the shepherd God has called you to be and follow what the Holy Spirit tells you. Look up Matthew 9:37; John 4:35. Rather, they were to ask God for additional helpers. What a wonderful relationship our Lord taught us here by this lesson of the vine! The life which is in the vine produces fruit which Paul describes in Galatians5 as: love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, self-control. 53). If we focus on the material reward of working in the vineyard, we miss the masters generosity to the majority of his workers. There was no fruit. You suddenly were confronted with what you were doing to yourself and to others -- you felt it and heard it and saw it. The marketplace represents the world, furthermore, it is from there that the Gospel of Christ has called us. In the parable that Jesus tells, the master of the vineyard called many, You too go and work in my vineyard!. And since they grow right where the branch joins the stem, creating a tight cluster where dirt, leaves, and other debris collect, the pruning is therefore a cleansing process. The Jews would grumble when salvation is provided to gentiles as well. The parable is about a master calling people to work for Him. 07/15/2018. WebJesus, by the parable of the laborers in the vineyard, shows that God is debtor unto no man; 17. foretells his passion; 20. by answering the mother of Zebedee's children, teaches his disciples to be humble; 29. and gives two blind men their sight. Catholic social teaching upholds the dignity of work and the rights of workers. When he said, "I am the true vine," he did not mean, "true in contrast with something false, fake, counterfeit," but rather "real, genuine, as opposed to the mere copy or symbol." We are only stewards of what God has graciously allowed us to use. We can look at this as a progression from the calling of the Jews to the calling of the Gentiles (Mark 16:15; Luke 14:23). All rights reserved. Do you love people? Vineyards were especially evocative as they produced wine, to gladden their hearts (Ps 104:15). These disciples, familiar with the Old Testament, would immediately think of several places where it was used. Your heart may go out to those workers who labored the whole day only to receive the same wage as those who worked for only one hour. Israel rejected God and were disobedient. If we did, then it would not be grace. The person might have never addressed hundreds or thousands of individuals like some ministers and evangelists do, yet they loyally brought up their youngsters, and possibly those kids became teachers who served God on unfamiliar soil or someplace within their own country. It might be something seemingly insignificant that may be behind the scenes or a small task or it might be something that will impact many others. -It involves sowing seed, and watering and cultivating, and maintaining and protecting the vineyard, and reaping the harvest. Their diversity of thought has a common theme, service to God and neighbor as a reflection of our faith in him and our acceptance of his salvation. This fact leaves us all without excuse, because there is some valuable job of work we can all do. On the way they undoubtedly passed through the vineyards which surrounded the city. That person may not have done anything of importance within the church but look at the rewards he or she may have. There might be those that were offered the gospel at the third hour, the sixth hour, and the ninth hour yet denied the call. God graciously gives according to His will, as He so chooses. The fruit here is not others won to Christ. However, the illustration might be applied all the more by and large to show us that God is not in debt to anyone; an extraordinary truth. It is not part of the fruit itself; it is the result of a life which increasingly is becoming Christlike. He was a threat to the religious leaders power and prestige. There is a world to evangelize. He is the vine, we are the branches. If allowed to continue to grow, they would dissipate the life of the vine through so many branches that the vine would produce little or no fruit but would produce leaves instead. In verses four-six, the householder went out each time the workers went out, compelling those to come and work in the vineyard. Well then, manifest fruit in your life by abiding in him, and he in you. Then he leased it to tenants and went to another country.. The Father is at work to cut them off, to prune them back. 6If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. Again he sent another servant; and they beat him also, treated him shamefully, and sent him away empty-handed. This is the point our Lord makes in the story. Gods desire is that we are all saved and that we are all filled with joy. Only believing in Christ and accepting him as Lord and Savior is what prompts a home in heaven. (2) Others at the third hour (verse 3) - the first and second century Christians? Here is the case our Lord mentioned earlier when he said, of one aspect of the Father's work, "every branch of mine that bears no fruit, he takes away." In order to appease the union workers, the government recognized Labor Day. And he went out about the third hour and saw others standing idle in the marketplace, and said to them, You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right I will give you. So they went. In this illustration, God is the householder, and believers are the workers. Web20 For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. We pray in his name, Amen. 7If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. When the guests arrive the crew simply relates to them and gives them the time of their lives. Gods vineyard is a place God puts you to bear good fruit for Him (Isaiah 5:1-2, Luke 13:6-7). But when the first came, they supposed that they would receive more; and they likewise received each a denarius. There is a spiritual principle here. How difficult that would be! Furthermore, it is added to any new believers as a consolation of the grace of God. (1) Idleness (verse 6). Fruitfulness shows that we are in partnership with GOD. Our Father, as you have been walking through your vineyard this morning, you have been looking at various vines growing here. So from this point on we properly should no longer call this passage of Scripture the Upper Room Discourse. He called workers at the beginning of the day agreed with He asks them only three questions: First, "Do you love work?" No, it simply stays in the vine and lets the life of the vine produce the fruit. 5"I am the vine; you are the branches. For those who have accepted Christ and may at times cry foul when life seems unfair, remember that the truly desirable thing is to be called by the Master and work with all our might not for the reward but out of love for the Master. The relationship is not merely to be recognized; it is to be acted upon: "Abide in me, and I in you. We are His Laborers Working for His Harvest. (2) Christian authors and teachers who use the printed word. Fruitfulness gives GOD glory. Perhaps you were manifesting or defending some attitude. On some, Lord, you see sucker shoots which need to be pruned away. No, they are means by which we know him. What a privilege and what a responsibility to be a worker! I want to reassure you that this is not the case. That mother or father had been dependable in the assignment that was given to them by God. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. I struggled for a while with this word prunes because in the Greek it is really "cleanses." Then God the Father sent His only Son. Note in verses 4 and 7 that He sent them out. The remainder, Chapters15 through17, occurred as they were walking on their way to the Garden of Gethsemene. Both of these are absolutely essential, and our Lord develops this fact. Do you love Jesus? The third question is, "Do you love Jesus?". The point is that God owes us nothing. Millions live and die in Europe without a true knowledge of the love of God and of the way of salvation. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. (John 15:9-10 RSV). Who Are the Workers in the Parable of the Vineyard? If we do that we are fulfilling this active, necessary decision of the will to obey his Word, to do what he says, and to stay in touch with him. This is Labor Day weekend. Did you ever see a bunch of grapes struggling to hang onto the vine, trying to grow larger? Both of these are necessary in the Christian experience. In 1 Peter we are told that we shall receive a crown of glory (1 Peter 5:4). Matthew Henrys Commentary tells us that the immediate object of this parable is, to show that the Jews were first called into the vineyard, finally, the gospel should be spread to the Gentiles, and that they are to be conceded to the same advantages and benefits with the Jews. But Jesus explains that salvation is for everyone, Jew and Gentile alike. Do you love God for Who He is, or do you love Him for the benefits He gives you? 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? They said to him, Because no one hired us. He said to them, You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right you will receive., So when evening had come, the owner of the vineyard said to his steward, Call the laborers and give them their wages, beginning with the last to the first. And when those came who were hired about the eleventh hour, they each received a denarius. The third result is the deeper experience of Christ's love: "As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you; abide in my love. None of us deserve Gods grace. Therefore what will the owner of the vineyard do to them? The good news is that God does bestow grace on us, the eleventh hour workers, and we receive the same reward of forgiveness, salvation, and eternal glory as the They must satisfy him that they love people. The late evangelist pastor, and writer, R. A. Torrey had an interesting perspective on this. What Is the Meaning of Psalm 91 and Why Is it Popular? Gods vineyard is the entire earth, and the workers in the vineyard are all of Gods people, earning our daily bread as co-creators with God, no matter our craft. They mistakenly believe that they have earned whatever they have. The leaders of Israel did not see it that way. If you try to make all the choices and carry all the responsibility yourself, you will lead a fruitless life. (LogOut/ We should never compare ourselves to others. Labor Day was first recognized nationally in the United States in 1894 following a massive railroad strike. Now at vintage-time he sent a servant to the vinedressers, that they might give him some of the fruit of the vineyard. In our churches and Sunday schools, the need for born again, soul-winning workers is very great. In this instance, we should mobilize people to first pray, then gather a band of prayer warriors. Whatever work you do, do it as unto the Lord (because you are!) He is responsible to see that the purpose of the vine is fulfilled. Another way to state this and illustrate the unfairness is that those who worked the whole day received the same compensation that they agreed to receive as those who worked for only one hour. Cultivating the vineyard of the Lord includes cultivating the lives of those who toil in the vineyard. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Laborers in Gods Vineyard (Matthew20:1-16), https://christambassadors.files.wordpress.com/2013/09/laborers-in-gods-vineyard-matthew-201-16.mp3, Laborers in Gods Vineyard (Matthew 20:1-16) | Good Hope Baptist Church, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, God cares more for people than for things, We are His laborers working for His Harvest. Does it seem fair to our standards that this is the case? Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, Rulers of the people and elders of Israel: If we this day are judged for a good deed done to a helpless man, by what means he has been made well, let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole. Needless to say, such behavior doesnt impress God at all. Giving. Here is the process in which the branch is cut off, and then it withers -- grows dry and dull and dead. How discontented we are (Hebrews 13:5)! I love the saying, "Joy is the flag which flies over the castle of the heart when the King is in residence." I have been the superintendent of the Sunday school for twenty-five years, and an elder in the church for twenty years; and yet God does not answer my prayer and I cannot understand it. Do you want to be known as a disciple of Jesus? And our Lord is indicating that the very purpose of the vine is to produce such fruit. (LogOut/ We must think about what is important eternally. There are no Bible studies, no meetings; it is a very low-key approach. Change). I believe this is a reference to other such Scripture passages which say that the angels will be sent out to gather out all which offends in God's kingdom and cast it into the eternal fire where it will be burned. He sovereignly rules over all of creation and none of us have a legitimate claim on it. (5) Discouragement. And from that we saw that obedience grows out of love. The point was not that everyone has to sell all that they have to give to the poor. The result will be, "Ask what you will". The Progression: Chronological - The parable emphasizes the times that the laborers were hired. If you are not feeling the depth of love you would like to experience, one of the reasons may be that you are not responding to the love which is already reaching out to you. Should we not celebrate the grace extended to them? That is, he cuts it off, he eliminates it from the life of the vine. Aside from the first group of workers who were hired at sun up, the master promises to pay the workers what is right. These workers might have expected to receive a fraction of a days wage, but the master of the vineyard never specifies what he will pay. As Isaiah tells us, God cleared out the rocks in his vineyard and hedged it about. Well, that has to do with empowerment, enablement. It appears that this master, however, does not share that expectation. Look up Psalm 126:6; Matthew 25:21; 1 Corinthians 4:2. You can see what a beautiful analogy this is to the Christian experience, for in our lives we have that within us which produces the fruit of the Spirit. Jesus tells us in Verse3: "You are already made clean [pruned] by the word which I have spoken to you." (1) For the kingdom. I am sure you have all had the experience of being confronted with a word of Scripture and learning from it that something you had been doing all your life, and which you thought was right, was actually wrong. We Christians are God's great vineyard. They may have been members of churches for years, but there is no life evident at all. But it is an Photo Credit: iStock/Getty Images Plus/BenGoode.