“So the last will be first, and the first last.” Matthew 20:16
GOD HAS GIVEN US FREEDOM TO DO GOOD OR TO DO BAD. WOULD WE DENY GOD HIS OWN FREEDOM? IN THE PARABLE “WORKERS IN THE VINEYARD,” THE LANDOWNER ANSWERS THE DISGRUNTLED WORKER, “AM I NOT PERMITTED TO DO WHAT I WANT WITH WHAT BELONGS TO ME?”
THE WORKERS WHO WORKED THE WHOLE DAY LONG GOT NO MORE THAN THE ONES WHO WORKED BUT A FEW HOURS. IS JESUS TEACHING THAT GOD TREATS US ALL ALIKE NO MATTER WHAT? NO, WE KNOW BETTER THAN THAT. EACH OF JESUS’ PARABLES HAVE A MAIN MESSAGE. IF WE TRY TO INTERPRET EVERY DETAIL, WE GET OFF THE TRACK AND MISS THE LESSON.
AS I LISTEN TO THIS PARABLE, I SEE TWO KINDS OF WORKERS. THE FIRST HIRED ENTERED INTO AN AGREEMENT WITH THE LANDOWNER FOR SO MUCH MONEY IF THEY GAVE HIM A DAY’S WORK. THE WORKERS HIRED LATER IN THE DAY HAD NOT YET BEEN HIRED BY ANYONE. PERHAPS THEY WERE NOT THE BEST WORKERS, MAYBE THEY DIDN’T LOOK VERY HEALTHY OR INDUSTRIOUS. THEY WERE MORE NEEDY AND HAD LESS ADVANTAGES. BUT THE LANDOWNER HIRED THEM. HE MAY NOT EVEN HAVE NEEDED THEIR WORK. HE ASKED THEM, “WHY ARE YOU STANDING HERE ALL DAY WITHOUT WORK?” THEY ANSWERED, “BECAUSE NO ONE HIRED US.” THE LANDOWNER SAID, “YOU GO WORK IN THE VINEYARD TOO.”
AT THE END OF THE DAY, BOTH GROUPS GOT THE SAME AMOUNT OF MONEY. AS WE READ THE PARABLE, THINKING OF OUR OWN SALVATION, PERHAPS REWARDS FOR OUR SERVICE TO GOD, OUR REACTION TO THE PARABLE MIGHT BE LIKE THE WORKER WHO PUT IN A FULL DAY’S WORK. WE MAY BE THINKING, THAT ISN’T FAIR, I AM WORTH MORE THAN THAT.
THAT IS THE WHOLE POINT OF THE PARABLE. GOD’S GREAT SALVATION HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH HOW MUCH WORK WE CAN GIVE HIM. GOD WANTS MUCH MORE THAN THAT. HE WANTS OUR HEARTS, OUR LOVE AND DEVOTION.
GOD’S GREAT SALVATION IS ABOUT WHAT HE WANTS TO GIVE TO US, AND IT IS SO GREAT THAT WE CAN NEVER EARN IT. WE HAVE TO WANT IT. THEREIN LIES THE RUB! WE MUST GET TO THE PLACE WHERE WE KNOW WE ARE BANKRUPT, A REALIZATION THAT WHAT WE HAVE IS NOT ENOUGH, NOT JUST THAT WE HAVE SINNED BUT THAT WE FALL SHORT OF THE GLORY OF GOD.
JESUS SUMMED IT UP WHEN HE SAID TO NICODEMUS, THAT UNLESS ONE IS BORN FROM ABOVE HE CAN’T EVEN SEE THE KINGDOM OF GOD. “NO ONE HAS ASCENDED INTO HEAVEN EXCEPT THE ONE WHO DESCENDED FROM HEAVEN, THE SON OF MAN.” John 3:13 NOTICE THAT JESUS CALLS HIMSELF THE SON OF MAN. HE LIKED USING THAT NAME. HOW MUCH THAT NAME SPEAKS! GOD HAS BROUGHT FORTH HIS OWN SON IN AND FROM HUMANITY. THIS IS WHAT MANKIND WAS MADE FOR, TO BE UNITED WITH THE LIVING GOD!
BUT THE SINFUL HUMAN HEART SAYS THIS IS TOO MUCH. KING DAVID, A MAN AFTER GOD’S OWN HEART WROTE, “YOU HAVE ENCLOSED ME BEHIND AND BEFORE, AND LAID YOUR HAND UPON ME. SUCH KNOWLEDGE IS TOO WONDERFUL FOR ME; IT IS TOO HIGH, I CANNOT ATTAIN TO IT.” Psalm 139:5-6 JESUS TOLD NICODEMUS, “YOU MUST BE BORN FROM ABOVE.”
GOD WILL BE NOBODY’S DEBTOR, MY GRANDMOTHER HYSLOP USED TO SAY, AND SHE WAS RIGHT. GOD DOES NOT MISS ONE WORD OR ACT OF KINDNESS OR GOODNESS. BUT GOD’S GREAT SALVATION IS SO MUCH MORE THAN PAYMENT. IT IS NO CONTRACT. IT CANNOT BE EARNED. IT IS NOT FOR SALE. GOD’S SALVATION IS HIMSELF!
Rosemary E. Hyslop August 24, 2020