Fair Dues
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“For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. 2 He agreed to pay them a denarius[a] for the day and sent them into his vineyard.
3 “About nine in the morning he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. 4 He told them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.’ 5 So they went.
“He went out again about noon and about three in the afternoon and did the same thing. 6 About five in the afternoon he went out and found still others standing around. He asked them, ‘Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?’
7 “‘Because no one has hired us,’ they answered.
“He said to them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard.’
8 “When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired and going on to the first.’
9 “The workers who were hired about five in the afternoon came and each received a denarius. 10 So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius. 11 When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner. 12 ‘These who were hired last worked only one hour,’ they said, ‘and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.’
13 “But he answered one of them, ‘I am not being unfair to you, friend. Didn’t you agree to work for a denarius? 14 Take your pay and go. I want to give the one who was hired last the same as I gave you. 15 Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?’
16 “So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”
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The word of the Lord came to me: 2 “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Woe to you shepherds of Israel who only take care of yourselves! Should not shepherds take care of the flock? 3 You eat the curds, clothe yourselves with the wool and slaughter the choice animals, but you do not take care of the flock. 4 You have not strengthened the weak or healed the sick or bound up the injured. You have not brought back the strays or searched for the lost. You have ruled them harshly and brutally. 5 So they were scattered because there was no shepherd, and when they were scattered they became food for all the wild animals. 6 My sheep wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill. They were scattered over the whole earth, and no one searched or looked for them.
7 “‘Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: 8 As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, because my flock lacks a shepherd and so has been plundered and has become food for all the wild animals, and because my shepherds did not search for my flock but cared for themselves rather than for my flock, 9 therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: 10 This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am against the shepherds and will hold them accountable for my flock. I will remove them from tending the flock so that the shepherds can no longer feed themselves. I will rescue my flock from their mouths, and it will no longer be food for them.
11 “‘For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I myself will search for my sheep and look after them.
Story of equal wages given for unequal work, not normal employment practice, not a good pattern for labour relations! Can’t see it getting past trade unions today!
Jesus frequently used parables to teach about the kingdom of God, the kingdom was at the heart of Jesus’ message Matt 4:17 ‘from that time on Jesus began to preach repent for the kingdom of heaven is near’ Luke 4:43 ‘I must preach the Good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also because that is why I was sent.’ This parable begins, ‘the Kingdom of God is like…’
Two questions arise:
1 What is this Kingdom story about?
2 What did he mean by the Kingdom of God is like…?
What is this Kingdom story about?
*Jesus taught this story because it was their Harvest time (it is our harvest service soon). Jesus taught in parables because they were visual & being visual people would remember the picture (if not the teaching). The stories were from everyday life, and story held people’s attention and being every day, people could relate to the parable and experience it.
*I can imagine the people hearing Jesus teaching about the hired labourers in Galilee, they would have been able to imagine the marketplace, they could visualise acres & acres of vineyards, ripe for picking and they w/h known the picking season was short and extra hands were needed to pick grapes before the September rains started to fall. Illustration: My brothers have about 15 acres of Apple Orchards in County Armagh, Northern Ireland, and each year seasonal workers come from Europe to pick for the season. Backbreaking work in August and Septeptember.
*So today I give you this picture of an employer hiring his emergency pickers at 6am and offering them a decent days wage a denarii at 9am he hired more men, at 12 midday more and at 3pm. then at 5pm, an hour before quitting he hired some more. When the siren sounded for the end of the 12 hr shift, the employer paid the men starting with the last men who worked only 1 hr and he paid them a FULL days wage - in fact, for each group of workers he gave them all the same wage - 1 denarii. As you can imagine the men who worked 12 hrs weren’t too happy about the 1 hr men getting a full day’s wage.
This is a picture of God’s grace, his generosity, whenever a person chooses to turn to God, he welcomes that person as equal to the person who became a Christian at an early age. God gives all the fullness of his promises to each irrespective of when they came… they still get fullness of life in this age and eternal life in the age to come.
What did he mean by the Kingdom of God?
The parable doesn’t explain what the kingdom of God means - it just says, (Matt 20:1), “the Kingdom of God is like” and then Jesus tells the story.
Application: The 1hr worker’s productivity couldn’t possibly match that of the 12 hr. The point of the story is that God is so compassionate, longing that none should be outside the kingdom that his mercy and generosity goes beyond what we humanly consider to be “fair dues.”
Imagine you are on the dual carriageway heading towards Coppins Bridge roundabout, traffic is crawling at ½ mile per hour and you’re coming up the junction and someone comes up your outside lane looking in, does he deserve it (no), will you let him in? Ezekiel 34:2 says ‘Woe to you shepherds who only take care of yourselves.’ Do you side with the gang who worked 12 hrs or 1 hr? Let me ask you this, how many times has God let you in when you didn’t deserve it - that’s the picture of grace and generosity of our God. No one gets less than they deserve but most of us get far more than they deserve.
As we come to the table this morning and say, ‘you are the same Lord whose nature is always to have mercy,’ let us remember 2 things, [1] that none of us here have worked a full shift for the Lord in his vineyard, and he is merciful and forgiving for those who confess their failings and [2] remember and pray for friends and neighbours who are in need of his mercy, in need of Salvation. Commit to do something to make them think about the generosity of God. Christianity Explored presents an outreach opportunity, invite friends and family. Ezekiel 34:2 says Woe to you shepherds who only take care of yourselves.
We’ve had a picture - the kingdom of God is like …You can be active in God’s kingdom, all he is asking is for you to be available to be used by him…..
Cover Photo Jason Swain Photography https://jasonswain.co.uk/
