Parables Of Jesus 2: Workers In The Vineyard

In Matthew 20, Jesus tells one of his most confounding parables. How can people who only worked part of a day get paid the same as everyone else? Why would the man who hired them give out these payments deliberately in front of the all-day workers? What point was Jesus trying to make, and to whom?

Post-show thoughts:
Again, some fantastic comments by callers. Here are my own notes on the meaning of the parable:

A. To whom is it addressed, how does this matter?
1. Disciples.
a. Don’t be like this.
b. Beware, because you’ll tend to be.
c. He is preparing them to see the Pharisees in a whole new, and terrible light. Remember, most of these guys have never been to Jerusalem before, and never have seen the religious elites .

B. General observations
1. Notice, particularly the use of "Friend." This is meant to be redemptive.
2. Is your eye evil because I am good? Greed and covetousness are sins of the eye to which we are blind and become blinded by.
3. Everyone is getting paid at the end, and for having done work, not for nothing.

C. How would you have written it differently?
1. He would have hired all the workers at the same time in the morning.
a. Why not do so?
b. Were the early workers shirking? Not likely, or he would have said so at the end.
2. Pay the latecomers the proper amount proportional to their work.
3. Pay the latecomers in order last, so as to keep it a secret. Not to offend the "weaker brother."
4. Even if you can truly agree with everything else, wouldn’t you be angry with them at the end rather than saying, “Friend?” At the very least, he should show frustration with their insult of his generosity, but he doesn't. This is reminiscent of the Prodigal father's response to the elder brother. Tender.

D. Why does the owner do this?
1. The owner deliberately does this to be seen by the others.
2. He is clearly trying to provoke a reaction in them.
3. Their covetousness is stimulated, but pretty easily so.
4. Why would he do this?
5. What point was He trying to make to his hires?
6. Does this seem like a proper thing to say to them?
7. How do we know this isn’t really meant to be a parable about economic matters or workers in the field? Because it’s a really inappropriate thing for him to do and say to them in that context. Unless there is some broader or longer horizon for their relationship, as in the kingdom of heaven.
8. By analogy, is our joy supposed to be from what God gives us or from the mere gift of working in His vineyard?

E. The Early Workers
1. Why are they disappointed?
2. They got what they negotiated for, right?
3. The parable tells us they saw what had been done for the later recruits, and they began to have higher expectations.
4. The same amount of pay can either be seen as a great gift (to someone without regular employment, at the beginning of the day) or as an insult (to that same person seeing someone else get as much for doing less).
5. They went from being grateful for having any work at all to being resentful at not being paid even more than they deserve.

F. What is their sin?
1. Envy, covetousness, discontentment.
a. They aren’t thinking how much better off they are than the guys who didn’t get hired at all.
b. They can’t rejoice at the blessings given to their brothersc. Anyone with children relate to this one?
d. Even though the brothers don’t get more than they do.
2. If you were one of the people out early in the day and you had a chance to pick which group to be in or what to do, would you go early and work hard all day or go late?
3. If the early workers do what is expected of them and are rewarded properly, they should have nothing to complain about.
a. Compare the elder brother in the Prodigal son.
b. But still don’t resent those who do not do and are given grace for their late participation in the game.

G. Applications
1. What are some situations where Christians may be prone to grumble like this?
a. Church growth
b. Ministry size and influence
c. Personal income or prosperity after longtime in the faith.
d. Late in life conversions
2. Was this intended as an economic statement about equality or communism?
a. Why predicated on free enterprise, then? b. It’s certainly not meant to show some mandate about justice, but about generosity.
3. Two ways of relating to God
a. As getting what you are dueb. As receiving gratefully what He generously gives.

H. Modern retellings
1. Employees at a company. Christmas bonus for everyone, including the guy hired in December.
2. Guy comes off the disabled list in October, and the team wins a World Series.
3. The guy who starts every game and is voted MVP gets the same ring and compensation as the guy who sat the bench the whole time and batted once.
4. Some guy gets hired into the union and starts out at the highest pay grade everyone else had to work years to earn.
5. The authors of a movie shop it around and eventually some big name attaches himself to it at the end as one of the co-producers for full credit along with them.