In the Name of the Father and of the X Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Grace and Peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ and may our Lord and Savior sanctify you in the truth, for His word is truth. Amen

Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost (2011)

The Lord Gives What He Will Rev. Toby Byrd

Matthew 20:1-16 (ESV)

"For the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. [2] After agreeing with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard. [3] And going out about the third hour he saw others standing idle in the marketplace, [4] and to them he said, 'You go into the vineyard too, and whatever is right I will give you.' [5] So they went. Going out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour, he did the same. [6] And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing. And he said to them, 'Why do you stand here idle all day?' [7] They said to him, 'Because no one has hired us.' He said to them, 'You go into the vineyard too.' [8] And 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.' [9] And when those hired about the eleventh hour came, each of them received a denarius. [10] Now when those hired first came, they thought they would receive more, but each of them also received a denarius. [11] And on receiving it they grumbled at the master of the house, [12] saying, '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.' [13] But he replied to one of them, 'Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? [14] Take what belongs to you and go. I choose to give to this last worker as I give to you. [15] Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity?'

[16] So the last will be first, and the first last."

“My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord” (Isaiah 55:8 ESV). Oh, how true that statement is from Isaiah! How often God is criticized by the children of men for who He is and what He does! The unbeliever asks, “If there is just one God in heaven, then why are things what they are?” Moreover, even now and again these same thoughts escape even the unguarded lips of Christians, who complain: “I don’t see why” “It doesn’t seem right to me” “It’s just not fair” and so forth. To these and other like complaints God reply’s, “Friend, I am doing you no wrong” (v. 13). “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:9 ESV).

These are the basic facts of our Gospel Reading this morning. In the parable which Jesus tells, He tells us of something which has happened that looks like an injustice. According to the thinking of the world, a wrong has been done. Moreover, this wrong has generated resentfulness and complaint. Then comes the unruffled, even-toned, and definite reply of the accused officeholder and owner of the vineyard: “Friend, I am doing you no wrong” (v. 13). With this parable, then, Jesus teaches that there is no injustice in God.

The disciples heard the Lord’s answer to a young rich man, who had asked what else he should do to have eternal life. Jesus said, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me” (Matthew 19:21 ESV). Then the disciples watched as the young rich man slinked away, sorrowfully, and they had empathy for him. Then, as he oft does, Peter says, “See, we have left everything and followed you. What then will we have?” (Matthew 19:27 ESV). In response to Peter’s question, our Lord gave today’s Gospel Reading which is a warning against the dangers which lurk in the attitude of his question.

In the parable a vineyard owner has need of laborers to work his fields. Early in the morning, he goes into town where he finds men gathered in the town square who are looking to be hired. These fellows were savvy in negotiations and they insisted a man cannot work for nothing; they must have a livable wage, one that will earn a fair profit. After some dickering, they settled on what they considered fair and went to work. Moreover, what they had agreed to, they received, they received their pay at the end of the day. However, they didn’t like what they had received. Seems the owner of the vineyard went out at different times of the day and hired other laborers; some at nine in the morning, some at twelve, some even as late as three and five in the afternoon, and when the day was done, they received the same pay as those who had negotiated at the beginning of the day. This did not seem fair to these earliest laborers. Complaining, they said, “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” (v. 12). These complainers had worked all day, they had put in more time and labor, and didn’t they have a right to expect more money? The owner reply’s, “Friend, I am doing you no wrong.” A moment’s reflection would reveal how altogether right he was. They had agreed to a certain wage. They received what they had asked for. The bargain was fulfilled. Let them take their wages and go their way. Strict justice had been done to them. How others were dealt with was none of their business.

The vineyard owner is God, who never does any wrong. We can count on this truth. If it weren’t so, He couldn’t be God and we would be in big trouble. He is the perfect God, the law of whose holiness is absolute justice. Unfairness is a complete stranger to Him (Ps. 92:15). In all the years no man has ever had the right or reason to say: “God has dealt unjustly with me.” No matter what the complaint or how many have been issued from the hearts of men, God has always answered them in unchangeable truth, “Friend, I am doing you no wrong.”

If, therefore, you desire to bargain with God for wages, you shall have them. If you demand that He deal with you on the basis of merit, He will certainly do it; for He is the Rewarder of good. He points to the unquestioned standard of goodness in His holy law and says, “Do this, and you will live” (Luke 10:28 ESV). Moreover, He means to keep that promise absolutely.

Now, multitudes of men are only too ready to bargain with God on the basis of merit. The reason for such readiness is that they know neither the justice of God and its unqualified demands nor themselves and their abilities. They count themselves good and noble and worthy. They do not base this self-estimate on the standard of God’s Law. Or if they do, they do not recognize the “You shall” of God’s Law as a demand for absolute holiness and perfection. They have changed the “You shall” into the advice, “This do as best you can.” They fail to recognize their failure to comply with the stringent requirements of God’s Law and to realize their shortcomings. Reluctantly they may even agree to call their shortcomings “sin.” As for the justice of God, they expect that He will not be alterable. At least where they are concerned, they expect Him to water things down a bit, to tip the beam in their favor with the finger of His love, to err a little on the side of tenderness and longsuffering. If they knew it, the justice they want is no justice at all, but a miserable caricature. Let them demand what they deserve, and they will get it. However, they will not like it.

For what is it that men deserve? Does not God tells us, “Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins” (Eccles. 7:20 ESV) “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23 ESV). All the supposed good men do cannot counterbalance their sins. For “all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment” (Isaiah 64:6 ESV). What do men earn for themselves by their sinning? St. Paul tells us, “Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them” (Galatians 3:10 ESV). With such a curse as their rightful lot, can men complain of injustice or unfairness when adversity, sickness, suffering, and calamity come their way? Should they not, then, hear the voice from heaven which says, “Take what belongs to you and go” (v. 14). Have they a right to expect a blessed place in God’s Kingdom, in His love? Moreover, ultimately, what can they expect when the time comes for the heavenly vineyard Owner to pay in full? What have men deserved of God by their sins? They deserve His wrath and displeasure, temporal death and eternal damnation! The final and terrible “'Friend, I am doing you no wrong” “Take what belongs to you and go” will be heard when there resounds through all that is left of time and throughout all eternity the voice of the Judge, who says, “Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels” (Matthew 25:41 ESV).

Bargain with God, if you insist, on the basis of your own merit. Ask Him to give you what you deserve. Demand of Him your wages. However, be sure you know what you are asking for; “For the wages of sin is death” (Rom. 6:23 ESV).

Now, without question, none of us want that. However, what shall we do in our dealing with a God of absolute justice? Strange as it may seem to the human way of thinking, the just God is a merciful God.

St. Peter asked: “See, we have left everything and followed you. What then will we have?” This was a bad question to ask and it revealed a flawed and dangerous attitude. However, Jesus assured him that those who follow Him, at whatever the cost, will not come up short (Matt. 19:28-29). He illustrates that in the parable with the case of the laborers who had come into the vineyard at later hours. Now, it was characteristic of these men that they had not asked, “How much will you pay us?” They had not dickered or bargained for wages. They had been content to go to work upon the plain promise: “whatever is right I will give you” (v. 4). They trusted in the generosity and the faithfulness of the vineyard owner to whom they were giving their time and labor. Therefore, in the evening hour they received—not wages, but a very generous gift, a gift the vineyard owner justified with the question, “Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me” (v. 15).

We have here a characterization of God who gives us hope and courage, a hope and courage that draws us to Him to cast ourselves upon His mercy. In this parable we are taught that if we come to Him, divested of every shred of self-righteousness, with no vain claim of merit, no request for imagined earnings, we shall find Him a good, benevolent God; that if we plead for mercy, we shall enjoy the abundant gifts of His grace.

Grace is the great governing principle in the Kingdom of God. God’s children live on it entirely, and we look to God for every good without any merit or worthiness on our part. We say of all our material blessings, “I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies and truth which God has showered on me.” The children of God confess that their membership in His blessed family and the spiritual joys, possessions, abilities, and accomplishments come only through the grace of God. It is by His grace that we are what we are. As we look to heaven, we confess, it is by grace we are saved, through faith, not because of our works. Furthermore, we are reminded by St. Paul, it is God, “who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light” (Col. 1:12 ESV) while “the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23 (ESV).

Knowing all this, we still cannot help but ask, how can a just God be that way? Are not we, His children, who look to His mercy also sinners with the rest? Have we not also deserved nothing but punishment? Truth is, yes, indeed, this is what we deserve. However, we do not ask for what we deserve. Instead, we have been blessed to receive His offer of mercy. We confess and praise our Lord because, “He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities” (Psalm 103:10 ESV). Moreover, here also, God does no wrong. He has promised us, “Whatever is right I will give you” (Matthew 20:4 ESV). To those who think that this isn’t right He says, “Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me” (v. 15). The grace He offers and gives is truly His own. He has acquired it at tremendous cost, with the great purchase price of the labors, sorrows, sufferings, blood, and death of His only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ. At Calvary justice and mercy met. There a just and holy God makes final and full satisfaction to the demands of His own Justice, that “he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus” (Romans 3:26 ESV). There His holy Son pays in His own body and soul the penalty that sin has incurred, He pays the penalty that men might be free from that penalty and find forgiveness. There we see the just retribution which a holy and righteous God must mete out to the Savior of our race. On the basis of the merit of Christ, God can by grace, without violating justice and righteousness, pronounce the sinner just and holy in His sight, forgive His sins, and shower him with blessings temporal, spiritual, and eternal. Yes, God can be “good,” gracious to sinners and bestow upon them His very heaven as a pure gift and thus be true to His promise: “whatever is right I will give you” (v. 4). God’s grace is right. It rests on the righteousness of Calvary. Moreover, that’s the only way it could ever be right for God to receive men to Himself in His kingdom here and for eternity.

What then shall we do? Insist on our right or on His righteousness? Demand the deserts of our merit or the gifts of His grace on the basis of Christ’s merit? Grant, we pray, that our Lord would grant us the gift of the Holy Spirit to receive the gift of God’s grace for the sake of His one and only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ. Through the blessed gift of faith we will receive the wages His Son earned on the Altar of the Cross for the free and full forgiveness of our sins. Thus when affliction and sorrow come calling in our lives, we can be assured that He is doing us no wrong, neither has He brought back our sins with which to vex us. Instead, in such times we know we can call on a gracious and loving God to deal with us according to His grace and mercy. Filled with the gift of faith, we can then give thanks instead of complaining and murmuring, “Why does this have to happen to me?” “It isn’t fair.” Instead, we will sing, “Whatever God ordains is good” and remember, our God says to us, “Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me.” Amen.

May the peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Amen.