Matthew 20:1-16
In this passage known as The Parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard, Jesus is revealing something mysterious and magnificent about the heart and the ways of God. Peter had just asked Jesus one of those “what’s in it for us?” questions. One of Peter’s great attributes was that he often said what everybody else was thinking but was afraid to ask. This trait is of great worth since the right question can set the stage for Jesus to address things we are all likely dealing with. I think Peter is great. We visited Rome in 2013. You should see how great they think he is! I wonder if Peter blushes when he looks down on the basilica built in his name.
I never cease to be awed by Jesus. He is the genesis of all knowledge. Every brilliant idea that man ever had was because Jesus, the Word of God spoke that truth into the DNA of creation and, at the right moment, permitted man to discover it. Yet, in our passage, this timeless Person is bridging eternity and time with stories about farmers and laborers. From His store of knowledge He could have revealed something like germ theory and spared mankind the tragedy of infections and amputations but He didn’t. No doubt there is someone out there upset with God about this; Why would a good God would conceal knowledge beneficial to man?
There were people upset in this story as well. They were grousing because of what they considered to be the upside down judgement of the owner of the vineyard. They had observed that he paid a denarius to people who had only put in one hour compared to their 12. To them, this was unjust! Jesus is trying to tell us that it is our judgement that is upside down. While we are told that the fear (I prefer awe and wonder) of God is the beginning of wisdom; an awareness that our judgement can be upside down is a good starting point for the kind of wisdom that lives in humility and dependency on God’s words. Wisdom begins by acknowledging the sizable chasm between His ways and ours.
My Dad, the late Robert (Bob) Cummins was an awesome man. He was the real deal. I could go on and on about his exploits. But my Dad, in the context of this story, would have been the source of great offense to those who had put in their 12 hours, bearing their burden in the scorching heat. In the context of this story, my Dad may not have even put in a quarter of an hour. I would like to tell you the story of my Dad’s encounter with the Man who owns the vineyard. In 2002, he was loosing a battle with bladder cancer. He had fought valiantly but he suffered a downturn while taking alternative cancer treatments. He was flown back to our home town from Florida and admitted into the hospital. He was lucid and able to communicate but his physical strength was nearly gone.
After one of my visits I was exiting an elevator and ran into the pastor of a local church. In our exchange he discovered that my Dad was terminal and that he in all probability did not have a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. The pastor shifted gears and the next thing I knew, we were back upstairs where he asked my Mom if he could speak to my Dad. Mom and Dad had been hurt by organized Christianity in two of the city’s most prominent churches so she had not called the clergy. Men of the cloth, including a fanatical and unfaithful grandfather, had been a profound disappointment to her. Yet, a bit to my surprise, she graciously consented to the pastor’s request.
He spent a good 45 minutes with Dad, one-on-one, and came out of the room to give us an update. He explained that Dad had struggled to understand God’s grace and the free gift of salvation (one denarius in our story). My Dad just couldn’t quite grasp the idea that salvation was a free gift. How could that be! Dad protested that he had lived most all his days outside of the organized church and had given little thought to it or God for that matter. The pastor asked if he could read this passage. My Dad was quite open and I think I know why (at least in part). This preacher was known to hang out with sinners. Dad’s line of reasoning was likely that any pastor who would hobnob, as this man had, with the rabble at the golf course, like himself, must have at least some decency in him.
Just prior to telling this story, Jesus had said, (to all the Bob Cummins of the world);
But many who are first will be last; and the last first.
Dad believed that he was the least qualified and the last person God would consider for eternity because, plain and simple, he hadn’t earned it. But Jesus, the only mediator between God and man, was the one making payroll on this day. The grace of God was permitting something of the right-side up heart of God to connect with the upside down heart of my father. My Dad got it! The pastor came back out and reported that my Dad had lost his wage dispute but had gained eternal life through his professed acceptance of Jesus as God’s Son and his personal Savior.
This passage reveals the counterintuitive nature of God’s heart – something that keeps me in awe of Him. Even though bed ridden, Dad went out into the Vineyard for a few days before he left his earthly body behind. Although he was about done, I saw the new light in his eyes. I heard my Dad, with clarity, voluntarily profess Jesus Christ as his Savior. His last gift to our family was holding hands with my sister, myself and my Mom and leading us in a surprisingly eloquent prayer. Utterly amazing!
My father, and I believe my mother, await my sister and I in heaven. A God such as this is not the byproduct of wishful thinking. He is the God of revelation. Because of His radically contrary nature, He had to come down and reveal Himself in simple stories to convey his heart. He had to become a human so that he could fulfill the role of a sacrificial lamb. Jesus who was tempted in every way that we have been, yet lived blamelessly, absorbed the wrath of God in our stead, making it possible for Him to be generous, giving away His life to all who will believe and trust in Him. Really, it’s quite astonishing how good He is!
Father, may the stories of Your goodness, Your power, Your kindness, Your patience, Your wisdom, flood this earth. May the the Word be made flesh in our lives for the glory of Your name. May You succeed gloriously as Mediator. May You succeed wildly in conveying your right side up heart to Your upside down children. Oh Lord, You are so, so good!
Note; This was originally written on April 1, 2013 and edited today, April 6, 2015.