The parable of the workers in his vineyard

Matthew 20:1-16

Key Verse 20:16

This passage teaches us the right attitude of a servant called to serve the flock of God in the Lord's vineyard.

This parable is not about salvation (for we do not "work" for salvation; we receive salvation as a gift). It also has nothing to do with the rewards that will be given to the servants serving the Lord. Rather it talks about the right attitude of a servant. Jesus saw a red flag going up in what Peter asked in 19:27. Jesus wanted to address this problem, so he would continue to be faithful in serving the Lord with a grateful attitude. 

1. 1. This parable grew out of Jesus’ teaching on the rich young man.  Consider what Peter asked Jesus in 19:27 and Jesus' answer in 19:28-29.  Then compare what Jesus said in 19:30 with the way the parable developed.  How does the parable reflect Jesus’ words in 19:30?

** The parable begins with a warning (19:30) and ends with a warning (20:16) indicating that we must serve the Lord by faith in the Lord's absolute goodness, that in all of his goodness and faithfulness, he would never let any little sacrifice made for his name's sake go unrewarded. The parable reveals that the level of trust placed in the Lord, trusting the Lord's absolute goodness (called 'generosity' in 20:15) is what determines a servant's value in God's eyes. 

2. Skim through the passage.  How many times did the landowner go out to hire men to work in his vineyard?  Who does the landowner symbolize? (Matthew 9:36-38)  What can we learn from the landowner who keeps on looking for workers?

** 5 times 

1) v. 1 early - 6 a.m., 

2) v. 3 3rd hour - 9 a.m.

3) v. 5 6th hour and 9th hour - noon and 3 p.m.

4) v. 6 11th hour - 6 p.m.

** God the Father who looks for harvest workers. Isa 6:8

** In each generation (and in fact every day) He is looking for shepherds and shepherdesses who will go to look for what is lost and then serve the flock of God in God's name. 

So we too must be responsive to God's desire to save the lost, by our offering ourselves as living sacrifices to the Lord, and working to recruit harvest workers for God's kingdom work. 

3. Verse 3 describes the workers as people “standing in the marketplace doing nothing.”  Who do they refer to? 

  ** They refer to those who work for food that spoils. 

John 6:27 Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. On him God the Father has placed his seal of approval."

Categorically they refer to those who have yet to believe in Jesus, meet him in person,  and know and live for the real purpose of life, for which the Lord God made them. 

Before meeting the risen Jesus in person the Apostle Paul also lived like these people standing in marketplace doing nothing. But after meeting Jesus he found the real work he was to do as Acts 26:18 says. 

To open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.'

The same holds true with Simon Peter. Before meeting Jesus in person he lived an empty life reaping nothing but emptiness. But after meeting Jesus, he received the real mission to serve, as Luke 5:5-10 testify.

Notice that the first question Paul asked on encountering the Risen Lord was, "What shall I do?" indicating that in the past all he did was totally out of God's will. 

4. Compare people who got hired early in the morning with those who were hired at later hours.  In what respect are those who were employed early in the morning a lot luckier than the other workers? 

** Verses 6-7 answer the question, for they read, "About the eleventh hour he went out and found still others standing around. He asked them, 'Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?' "'Because no one has hired us,' they answered. "He said to them, 'You also go and work in my vineyard.'"

The expression "Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing" suggests that these people have been wasting away their lives given by God. But the first workers hired early in the morning were saved from such waste. They had the joy of working in the vineyard, learning of the Lord, God the Father, enjoying the opportunity to grow in character, knowing the Lord better, bearing fruit that lasts forever. 

5. The word “agreed” in verse 2 indicates that the workers who went in early in the morning must have asked the landowner for a sort of contract specifying the wage, whereas the other workers did not.  What does this suggest about the problem of the workers who started working in the vineyard early in the morning?  In what respect is Peter a lot like the first batch of workers described in verse 2? 

** They did not trust in the landowner's integrity. 

** He is a lot like them, in that he demanded to know the contents of his rewards. But we do not need to press demands on Jesus, for Jesus is gracious and generous enough to reward those who need to be rewarded. 

6. Think about the amount of the wages and the order in which the wages were paid to all workers in verses 8-10.  Then consider the complaints the first workers filed with the owner in verses 11-12.  What does the expression “you have made them equal to us” show about their problem?  How can this kind of problem be overcome? (Luke 17:10; 2Sa 7:18; 1Co 15:10)

** Their real problem was their lack of "trust" in the Lord's goodness (or generosity). This automatically made them less useful, if it had not rendered them totally useless. 

** We need to remember God's grace upon us all the time. We must think about what kind of sinners we have been and yet how the Lord God has been graceful. At the same time we must never doubt the riches of his great grace. 

Read Ephesians 2:7 

In order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.

Read also Ephesians 3:8 

Although I am less than the least of all God's people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ,

7. Read verses 13-16 and compare what the landowner said to the workers who came in first in verses 13-15, with Jesus' conclusion in verse 16. What can we learn here as "workers" called to serve the Lord? 

** We should never doubt God's absolute goodness, for in his goodness he will never let any of our labor/sacrifice go unrewarded. Of course we do not serve the Lord in expectation of his rewards. We serve because the Lord gave us Himself. The point is that we should not treat the Lord like one of the worldly masters. 

Read Matthew 10:42 

And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward."

The end.