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 marketplace; ⁴ and to those he said, ‘You go into the vineyard also, 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 “Now when evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the laborers and pay them their wages, starting with the last group to the first.’ ⁹ When those hired about the eleventh hour came, each one received a denarius. ¹⁰ And so 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 who were hired last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day’s work and the scorching heat.’ 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 want to give to this last person the same as to you. ¹⁵ Is it not lawful for me to do what I want with what is my own? Or is your eye 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 disciples aside by themselves, and on the road He said to them, ¹⁸ “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn Him to death, ¹⁹ and they will hand Him over to the Gentiles to mock and flog and crucify, 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 desire?” She said to Him, “Say that in Your kingdom these two sons of mine shall sit, one at Your right, and one at Your left.” ²² But Jesus replied, “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 at My right and at My left is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by My Father.”

²⁴ And after hearing this, the other ten disciples became indignant with the two brothers. ²⁵ But Jesus called them to Himself and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles domineer over them, and those in high position exercise authority over them. ²⁶ It is not this way among you, but whoever wants to become prominent among you shall be your servant, ²⁷ and whoever desires 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 as a ransom for many.”

In today’s text Jesus says: “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 marketplace; and to those he said, ‘You go into the vineyard also, 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?’ They said to him, ‘Because no one hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You go into the vineyard too.’  “Now when evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the laborers and pay them their wages, starting with the last group to the first.’ When those hired about the eleventh hour came, each one received a denarius. And so 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 who were hired last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day’s work and the scorching heat.’  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 want to give to this last person the same as to you. Is it not lawful for me to do what I want with what is my own? Or is your eye envious because I am generous?’ So the last shall be first, and the first, last.”

  Like those who were hired first, those who have been in the faith a long time need to guard our hearts against being envious at the generosity of God when He blesses those who have not waited or worked long for Him. We need to remember that unlike those who were hired, we are owed nothing from God. Instead, by His grace we did not receive what we were owed. Romans 6:23 reminds us that:  The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.  We deserved death and we received life. Even more than not being envious at the generosity of God toward others, Philippians 2:3 says: Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility consider one another as more important than yourselves. Romans 12:15 says: Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. Jesus says: “So the last shall be first, and the first, last.”  We should not be concerned about whether we are first or last, only that by His grace we are granted to be in the kingdom of God.

On the flip side though, those who have not yet agreed to enter the Lord’s service should not presume that there will be another hour. Luke 12:16-21 says: He told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man was very productive. And he began thinking to himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no place to store my crops?’ And he said, ‘This is what I will do: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and I will store all my grain and my goods there. And I will say to myself, “You have many goods stored up for many years to come; relax, eat, drink, and enjoy yourself!”’ But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your soul is demanded of you; and as for all that you have prepared, who will own it now?’ Such is the one who stores up treasure for himself, and is not rich in relation to God.”    Indeed, many who are last will be first, but in Matthew 25:1-13 Jesus also says: “Then the kingdom of heaven will be comparable to ten virgins, who took their lamps and went out to meet the groom. Five of them were foolish, and five were prudent. For when the foolish took their lamps, they did not take extra oil with them; but the prudent ones took oil in flasks with their lamps. Now while the groom was delaying, they all became drowsy and began to sleep. But at midnight there finally was a shout: ‘Behold, the groom! Come out to meet him.’ Then all those virgins got up and trimmed their lamps. But the foolish virgins said to the prudent ones, ‘Give us some of your oil, because our lamps are going out.’ However, the prudent ones answered, ‘No, there most certainly would not be enough for us and you too; go instead to the merchants and buy some for yourselves.’ But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the groom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding feast; and the door was shut. Yet later, the other virgins also came, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open up for us.’ But he answered, ‘Truly I say to you, I do not know you.’ Be on the alert then, because you do not know the day nor the hour.”  No one should presume that there will be a tomorrow or even a next hour to say yes to the Lord. None of us know the day or the hour either that Jesus will return or that their soul will be demanded of them.

Jesus says: “Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me.” Yes Lord come in.  Amen