The Last and the First: A Meditation on Matthew 20

For the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, 

which went out early in the morning to hire labourers into his vineyard.

And when he had agreed with the labourers for a [denarius] a day, 

he sent them into his vineyard.

And he went out about the third hour, 

and saw others standing idle in the marketplace,

And said unto them; Go ye also into the vineyard, 

and whatsoever is right I will give you. And they went their way.

Again he went out about the sixth and ninth hour, and did likewise.

And about the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing idle, 

and saith unto them, Why stand ye here all the day idle?

They say unto him, Because no man hath hired us. 

He saith unto them, Go ye also into the vineyard; 

and whatsoever is right, that shall ye receive.

So when even was come, the lord of the vineyard saith unto his steward, 

Call the labourers, and give them their hire, 

beginning from the last unto the first.

And when they came that were hired about the eleventh hour, 

they received every man a [denarius].

But when the first came, they supposed that they should have received more; 

and they likewise received every man a [denarius].

And when they had received it, 

they murmured against the goodman of the house, saying, 

These last have wrought but one hour, 

and thou hast made them equal unto us, 

which have borne the burden and heat of the day.

But he answered one of them, and said, 

Friend, I do thee no wrong: 

didst not thou agree with me for a [denarius]?

Take that thine is, and go thy way: 

I will give unto this last, even as unto thee.

Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? 

Is thine eye evil, because I am good?

So the last shall be first, and the first last: 

for many be called, but few chosen.

It should be no surprise that the greatest teacher of Law and Gospel, perfectly distinguishing between Justice and Grace, would be the One in whom these principles both emerge and are united— the very Person of our Lord Jesus Christ who is Himself the incarnate Word of the Father.  The parable from Matthew 20 wraps up a series of teaching Jesus offered His disciples when they began asking questions such as who would be greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven, how often should they forgive their neighbor, and what extra was in it for them since they were the first ones to be called?  Part of the trouble revealed in the disciples’ previous questions was that they continued to appeal to God’s justice for their rewards, failing to recognize that God owed them nothing but judgment according to the Law.  Into these hearts Jesus continued to pour the Gospel of grace and mercy, after demonstrating to them just how they stood before God according to the Law.

In the parable above, it’s worth noting that the land owner had no obligation to hire workers for his vineyard.  He could have satisfied the harvest in any number of ways, but instead, by grace, he went into the marketplace and found people willing to receive His gift of employment and wages.  For those who were willing to receive it, it was the promise of a good day’s pay, upon which they were motivated to work for the master of the vineyard.  Later in the day, the land owner went out and found other laborers still idle, and invited them to the same work, saying, “Whatever is right, I’ll give you.”  This pattern continued until the end of the work day, with the master of the vineyard inviting workers into His fields until the last workable hour.

As was customary, the land owner called all the workers together at the end of the day to give them the wage He offered them, and which none of them was really entitled to except by the promise they received.  Beginning with those called near the end of the day, he gave to each one the same daily wage.  As we might imagine, the ire of the first workers was roused when they had worked all day to receive the same that those who worked only an hour had also received.  The land owner told the first laborers that he was free to do whatever good he desired, and that his desire was to give the same good gift to those who came late in the day, as he had offered those who came early… and that if those first laborers’ hearts turned evil because of the owner’s generosity, preferring to live by the justice of the Law rather than the grace of the Gospel, they were free to take their day’s wages and leave.

Jesus was uncovering the bizarre condition of the human heart when it encounters the grace of God.  Twisted in our own sense of self righteousness and pride, people often encounter the gifts of God as something God owes to them, and something they deserve.  Like the laborers in the parable who without work and wages could not feed themselves or their families, every person needs the goodness and grace of God to live, both in this world and the next.  No one is entitled to demand of God that which is authentically His according to the Law, and to make our situation worse, what God actually does owe us according to the Law of justice is condemnation, both now and forever.  Jesus was helping His disciples to see that their calling, their work, and their gift of forgiveness, life, and salvation was not on the basis of the Law, but rather on the Gospel He would offer them through His sacrifice on Calvary.  The disciples, like the laborers of the field in the parable, or like us today, could never work enough to merit God’s favor, or even to pay for the debt of evil we have incurred by own wicked thoughts, words, and deeds— the things we have done, and the things should have done, every moment of our lives.

Of course, like the disciples, everyone is free to receive this good and gracious gift of God.  He continues to go out by His Word and Spirit into every time and place, calling to everyone of every situation and circumstance to enter into His Kingdom by grace through faith in Jesus.  Some hearts are young when they heed His call, and others are older; some have been brought up in the fellowship of the Church, and others have languished in darkness and despair; some are washed in the waters of Holy Baptism from just days after birth, and some are finally brought in even as their sight and breath are failing them.  Like the laborers of the field, those who are saved by God’s grace can be tempted to think of their gifts as something owed to them, to judge other laborers based upon the comparative length or ardor of their work, rather than giving thanks to God for the unfathomable divine love which comes to seek and to save us all.

What then can we say, regarding those who were first, and those who will be last?  First, that no one saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ has the right to judge by the Law their neighbor who stands by the same grace, and in the same faith.  Like every soul who receives the call of our gracious Lord by faith, we will each stand before our God to gift an account of our lives and service, not to be judged according to the Law which Jesus has satisfied in our stead, but by the Gospel of Jesus’ love, forgiveness, and grace.  Secondly, that those who respond earlier in their lives, who bear the heat of the day’s persecution and tribulation for the service of their neighbors and the proclamation of God’s Eternal Word, have the inestimable gift of time spent in the gracious fellowship of our saving Lord.  Those who may come later have the sadness of knowing how many days were spent apart from Him and His grace, whose sufferings under the demonic lash of our age were wasted and unnecessary pain.  Like the Holy Angels, all the saints are called to rejoice over every sinner brought to repentance, whether that occurs early or later in this short temporal life, because the grace of God seeks to save each and every soul for eternity.  While a few years or decades may seem long to us now, how brief will they seem when we look back on them 10,000 years hence, gathered around the Lord’s banquet table in His Kingdom, basking in the love and fellowship of every creature who abides in His grace?

To you this call comes today.  No matter if you’re young or old, sick or well, rich or poor, the Word and Spirit of the living God calls you to His fellowship this day, and all the saints and angels wait to rejoice in your welcome return to the Author of Life.  Hear Him today, repent, believe, and live forever.  Amen.