It is not this way among you...

Matthew 20:1-28 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

“For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. ² When he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius for the day, he sent them into his vineyard. ³ And he went out about the third hour and saw others standing idle in the market place; ⁴ and to those he said, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right I will give you.’ And so they went. ⁵ Again he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour, and did the same thing. ⁶ And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing around; and he said to them, ‘Why have you been standing here idle all day long?’ ⁷ They said to him, ‘Because no one hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You go into the vineyard too.’

⁸ “When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last group to the first.’ ⁹ When those hired about the eleventh hour came, each one received a denarius. ¹⁰ When those hired first came, they thought that they would receive more; but each of them also received a denarius. ¹¹ When they received it, they grumbled at the landowner, ¹² saying, ‘These last men have worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden and the scorching heat of the day.’ ¹³ But he answered and said to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for a denarius? ¹⁴ Take what is yours and go, but I wish to give to this last man the same as to you. ¹⁵ Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with what is my own? Or is your eye ^[j]envious because I am generous?’¹⁶ So the last shall be first, and the first last.”

¹⁷ As Jesus was about to go up to Jerusalem, He took the twelve disciplesaside by themselves, and on the way He said to them, ¹⁸ “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem; and the Son of Man will be ^[l]delivered to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn Him to death, ¹⁹ and will hand Him over to the Gentiles to mock and scourge and crucify Him, and on the third day He will be raised up.”

²⁰ Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came to Jesus with her sons, bowing down and making a request of Him. ²¹ And He said to her, “What do you wish?” She said to Him, “Command that in Your kingdom these two sons of mine may sit one on Your right and one on Your left.”²² But Jesus answered, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink?” They said to Him, “We are able.” ²³ He said to them, “My cup you shall drink; but to sit on My right and on My left, this is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by My Father.”

²⁴ And hearing this, the ten became indignant with the two brothers.²⁵ But Jesus called them to Himself and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them. ²⁶ It is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant, ²⁷ and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave; ²⁸ just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”

Yesterday’s text from Matthew 19, ended saying:  …many who are first will be last; and the last, first.  Today begins:  “For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. When he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius for the day, he sent them into his vineyard. And he went out about the third hour and saw others standing idle in the market place; and to those he said, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right I will give you.’ And so they went. Again he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour, and did the same thing. And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing around; and he said to them, ‘Why have you been standing here idle all day long?’ ⁷ They said to him, ‘Because no one hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You go into the vineyard too.’  “When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last group to the first.’ When those hired about the eleventh hour came, each one received a denarius. When those hired first came, they thought that they would receive more; but each of them also received a denarius. When they received it, they grumbled at the landowner, saying, ‘These last men have worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden and the scorching heat of the day.’ But he answered and said to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for a denarius? Take what is yours and go, but I wish to give to this last man the same as to you. Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with what is my own? Or is your eye envious because I am generous?’  So the last shall be first, and the first last.”   In the parable, those who worked the longest were envious and angry that those who worked only one hour were treated and compensated equally. I think most of us would have to admit that in a work situation we would feel the same way. We should remember that this is not a parable about social justice, equality in pay or socialism, but rather it is intended to give us better understanding of the spiritual principle of God’s justice. It is to help us to understand that God desires all to receive the reward of being part of his kingdom. The fact that the first shall be last is not about rank or importance, but rather it is that those who come to Christ first have the privilege of working with Him longer; until the harvest is complete. Spiritually we need to understand and believe that to labor with Christ is also part of the reward. Work in the world may seem like striving, but to work with and service the Lord is our reward. We should not be envious then when those who come to Christ after us receive their reward, but rather we should rejoice that we serve a generous and compassionate God.

Again, we need to remember that what Jesus teaches in this parable is a spiritual truth. Jesus taught us to pray that it would be on earth as it is in heaven. So we are not to try to make spiritual truths align with the way of the world, but rather we are supposed to bring the truth and the realities of heaven to earth.  Jesus says:  “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them.  It is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant,  and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave; just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”    The idea, concept or principle that those in authority would be servants of those who they have authority over is a Biblical concept upon which this nation was established. We see today that it, our government, has strayed from and rejected most of the Biblical and Godly foundation upon which it was established. We see politicians coming into power under the pretense of serving the people, but the result is that they are there to serve themselves. A look at the comparative financial standing of most politicians before and after their time in government will clearly indicate who it is they served. If this nation is ever to return to its greatness, it must return to the foundation upon which it was established. We need to make an effort to bring the Godly principles, truths and realities to earth rather than trying to misstate, misrepresent, missapply those truths by trying to align the things of heaven with the brokeness of the world.

It is vital that we who are believers and followers of Christ understand what Jesus says:  “It is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant,  and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave; just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”    We are the ones who must be the example to the world. We cannot expect that that the world will come into alignment with God if we who are His peole are envious of the world. We must be the first so that others can come after us and receive the same full reward we have. In Matthew 5:14-16 Jesus says:   “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”   If we want to see the light of Christ in the world, we must be the light of Christ to the world. We must be those who answer the prayer of Jesus: Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

Thank You heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ and precious Holy Spirit for the privilege of being among the first, of being one who has the privilege of working with You and for You. To labor with You is the greatest reward. May Your kingdom come and Your will be done. May the world come to know, believe and practice the truths of heaven. I rejoice that You are a generous and compassionate God and that You reward all who come to You; both the first and the last.   Amen.