15/07/2009 by John Marsden.

Matthew 20:1-16

“For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire men to work in his vineyard. He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard. “About the third hour he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. He told them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.’ So they went. “He went out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour and did the same thing. 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.’ “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.’ “The workers who were hired about the eleventh hour came and each received a denarius. So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius. When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner. ‘These men 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.’ “But he answered one of them, ‘Friend, I am not being unfair to you. Didn’t you agree to work for a denarius? Take your pay and go. I want to give the man who was hired last the same as I gave you. Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?’“So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”

• In this parable, there is a landowner who hires several groups of workers at various times throughout the day. Some are hired first thing in the morning and work all day until the evening, while others are hired midday, working less time. There is one group who only works one hour.
• Despite the differences in hours, the landowner pays all the workers the same amount, simply because he wants to. He does not jip those who worked longest; instead, he gives those who worked the least the same reward—not because they were extra-special, but simply because He wanted to.

A GENEROUS LANDOWNER 

Hires Generously

He said to them, “You also go and work in my vineyard.”

·         The landowner hired a lot of people. He hired groups of people five different times throughout the day. The story does not explain why he did not just hire enough workers first thing; that is beside the point. We just know he hired many people.

·         How does this relate to the nature of God?

·         The bible says that many people are called into the kingdom of God, but few are chosen. God is generous; He wants everyone to enter His kingdom, and He uses all sorts of means to draw people to Himself. He is not elitist, as He takes anyone who is ready to come and do what He says.

·         This parable seems to focus the laborers, those that have been chosen to enter God’s kingdom. It is their response to God’s generosity that this parable examines.

He Pays Generously

“I want to give the man who was hired last the same as I gave you.”

·         The landowner rebukes the laborers who complained about his generosity. He tells them that he can do whatever he feels like doing with his own money. If he chooses to be generous by blessing those who do not deserve it with extra money, that is his prerogative.

·         This trait of the landowner speaks about God’s generous nature within His own kingdom. He has all the riches of the universe at His disposal, and, being God, He can do with them whatever He pleases. If He wants to bless someone abundantly, even if that person has done little to deserve it, He can do it, because He is God.

·         People come into the kingdom of God at various stages in their lives. Some are born again as young children, some as teenagers, and some are on their deathbeds when they cry out to God for mercy. But all who are born again receive the reward of entering God’s kingdom.
THE WORKERS’ RESPONSE 

Greedy

So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more.

• The landowner made an agreement with the first workers to pay them a denarius for their day’s work. However, upon seeing others who worked less receive what they had expected for a full day’s work, they became greedy and expected to get more.
• Rather than rejoicing in the fortune of their fellow workers, the early bird workers got selfish and greedy, hoping to get more money than that had agreed upon. They became ambitious, thinking that, because they had done more work than everyone else, they would receive more than everyone else.
• How often do we expect greater treatment, reward, or recognition for simply doing what we were told or doing more than those around us?

Grumbling

When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner.

·         When their high expectations for more money did not pan out, the early bird workers blamed the landowner for their disappointment.

·         They became filled with discontent and started complaining, the response of most people who do not get what they want.

·         Grumbling and complaining are the fruits of ungrateful hearts. Instead of this negative response, the workers should have been happy to have been chosen to work for the landowner and receive the payment agreed upon for their day’s work. Thankful hearts do not complain, but selfish or greedy hearts are discontent and looking for more.

A NONCONFORMIST KINGDOM 

The Last are First

So the last will be first…

• Jesus ends His parable by saying, “So the last will be first, and the first will be last.” Those in the story who had been hired first, were paid last with the same amount that everyone else had been paid.
• This is contrary to the ways of the world, which says that those who do the most should get the most. The world expects everyone to perform and earn whatever reward they receive; nothing is free. Those who give generously without reason are suspect.
• But Jesus says the kingdom of God is different. God lifts up the humble and casts down the prideful. Jesus said that the prostitutes and tax collectors would enter the kingdom of heaven before the religious Pharisees. God’s way is different; He does not reward people based on works or merit, but on grace, which cannot be earned.

The First are Last

…and the first will be last.

• The early bird workers expected more because they were hired first and had done the most work, so they were disappointed when their time came to be paid and they received the same as everyone else.

·         Their disappointment arose because they were more focused on getting what they thought they deserved because they had esteemed themselves in their own eyes. It was their own pride and ambition that caused their disappointment, yet they blamed the landowner because he was generous.

·         This parable is not exalting a form of communism by saying that everyone should receive exactly the same wages or by saying that everyone should always be equal in everything. Instead, it is demonstrating how nonconformist God’s kingdom is; it is reversed from the world’s norm.

·         Those who are last, weak, lowly, and humble shall be esteemed in God’s eyes, but those who esteem themselves and expect to be first shall be last. We should not compete for the best place in heaven or the biggest reward, but we should fix our eyes on God and set our hearts on obeying Him without comparing ourselves to anyone else.

Have a great day and rejoice today that our God is a generous God and that His

wonderful GRACE is still amazing.

John

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15/07/2009 by John Marsden.

Matthew 18:21-35

Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?” Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times. “Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants.  As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him.  Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.  “The servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go. “But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii. He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded. “His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.’ “But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt.  When the other servants saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed and went and told their master everything that had happened. “Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to.  Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.  “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart.”

• In this parable, the “hundred denarii” was a lot of money, an amount that the servant would never have been able to pay back on his own, even though he said he would as he begged the king for mercy.
• Instead of just giving the servant a little mercy by granting him more time to pay off the debt, which was a huge amount of money, the king completely canceled the debt and let the man, his children, and his wife go free. He showed abundant mercy on the man.
• Instead of responding with joyous gratitude at the king’s mercy, the servant left and went to demand a small amount of money from a fellow servant and had zero mercy on him when he pleaded with him—just as he had pleaded with the king.

WE SERVE A MERCIFUL KING 

Undeserved Kindness

The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.

·         In this story we see a king, who probably was very wealthy and had many servants, being responsible and just as he wishes to settle all his accounts—collecting from those who owe him and paying back those whom he owes.

·         When one particular servant comes before him, owing the equivalent of millions of pounds in today’s society—something that could not easily, if at all, be paid back—he exhibits mercy and compassion at the sight of this servant pleading before him with all his heart for more time.

·         Instead of simply giving him just more time to pay, the king completely forgives this man’s debt. This is no small kindness, considering the amount of money owed.

·         In the same way that this servant threw himself at the mercy of his master, we cry out to God for mercy when we realize for the first time that we are sinners in need of forgiveness. God sees that there is no possible way we could repay the debt we owe Him because of our great offense of rebelling against Him, and in complete kindness, He completely forgives all of our sins, not expecting us to owe Him anything in return. We are set free from bondage and debtor’s prison.

·         Even after we first come to know Jesus and have our sins wiped away, if we sin again, we can come to Him with a repentant heart and He will forgive us freely, telling us to sin no more.

Unlimited Grace…a man who owed him ten thousand talents…

·         As we read before, the servant owed the king a huge sum of money, no petty amount that the king could have easily overlooked. But the amount was not so large that the kind, compassionate king would not forgive the one who pleaded with him for mercy.

·         God’s grace is enough for anyone who comes to Him, truly repentant for his sins and offenses against Him, for anyone who wants his “account” settled and made right with God. It does not matter how badly we have sinned against God, His grace is enough to cover it by the blood of His Son Jesus.

·         Likewise, no sin is too small to be overlooked by God. When the time comes to settle His accounts with people, any that have not been made right with Him will not be allowed into His kingdom and His forgiveness.

KEEPING A GRATEFUL HEART 

For His Great Forgiveness

I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to.

• The king forgave the man’s entire debt, simply because the man asked him to with all his heart. He cared for his life and the lives of his wife and children, and wanted to be made right with his king, not being enslaved because of his debt.
• All we need to do to receive God’s forgiveness is ask and believe that we have received. Then we walk free from the bondage of sin and in the freedom of those who belong to the Lord.
• If that man had not received kindness, mercy, and forgiveness of his debt from his king, then his whole life would have been ruined and everything taken from him and placed into bondage.
• In the same way, if we who know Jesus had not received the great forgiveness of the Father, our lives would still be stuck in bondage to sin, fear, and death, and all would be taken from us when the time of judgment comes. For this, we are utterly thankful to God, the One who grants us freedom and forgiveness.

For A Clean Slate

…canceled the debt and let him go.

·         The servant had been given a clean slate, a new start in his life. He could have walked away and learned his lesson not to be in debt to his king again and have been truly thankful for the great gift of freedom he’d been given, rejoicing in all that the king had done for him.

·         Instead, the servant, walked away with his mind fixed on his own self and what he deserved—a petty amount of money from a fellow servant. He should have wanted to share his great fortune with others, by wiping clean the slate of the one who owed him, but he quickly forgot what had been given him.

·         After we receive God’s forgiveness for our sins through the blood shed by His Son Jesus and our faith in Him, our hearts are stirred to rejoice in Him, thankful for the great gift He has given us. We never take for granted or forget what He has done and seek to be like Him in all.

·         Should we ever lose sight of what we have been given in Jesus Christ, our hearts lose that joyous thankfulness that keeps us returning to God and doing those things He asks us to do.

NO ROOT OF BITTERNESS 

Freedom From Offense

Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. (Colossians 3:13)

• When God forgives us our sins, He does not hold it against us anymore; He forgets what we have done and wipes it from His memory. When we forgive others who have hurt us—whether the hurt is real or imagined, whether they repent to us or not—we, too, forget the past and treat the person with love.
• If we do not forgive others, we allow bitterness to sink in, and that will ruin us. Unresolved bitterness makes us suspicious, unloving, unkind, angry, selfish, and hateful people. But if we forgive others, we can be free, and bitterness will not wear us down.
• Also, if we are forgiving people who don’t allow bitterness to take root in us, we learn to bear with other’s faults and quirks, not getting so offended every time someone says or does something we don’t like.

Freedom to LoveHatred stirs up dissension, but love covers over all wrongs. (Proverbs 10:12)

·         Bitterness can lead to anger and hatred if it is not dealt with quickly. Hateful people are constantly stirring up arguments and dividing people who should be united.

·         On the other hand, a person who is filled with love will quickly forgive those who annoy or wrong them.

·         We have more freedom to simply love people when we are not weighted down by bitterness and hatred.

RESULTS OF AN UNFORGIVING HEART 

Bitterness

But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt.

• The servant whom the king forgave a debt of millions of pounds should have gone and forgiven his fellow servant who owed only the equivalent of a few pounds. Instead, he did not have a thankful heart and was bitter toward his fellow servant who could not pay him back at the moment.
• Although he could have easily extended the same mercy showed to him, he rather chose to hold the humble fellow servant accountable and had him thrown into prison until he could work off the debt.
• When we refuse to forgive others, bitterness takes root in us and we can become mean and merciless with others. We cannot forget the great kindness we have been shown in Jesus, and it should delight us to show the same to others. If we do not, the bad feelings will destroy us.

Bondage

In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.

·         When the merciful king found out what the bitter servant had done, and how he did not show the same mercy to his fellow servant as had been extended to him, he was angry. He withdrew his forgiveness and made the unforgiving servant accountable for all he owed.

·         God has shown us great mercy by allowing His Son Jesus to take on our punishment, so that we owe God nothing for all the offenses we have committed against Him. However, if we refuse to extend the same sort of mercy to others and give them clean slates in our eyes, then God will hold us accountable for our sins.

·         We will be held in bondage (prison) by bitterness, anxiety, fear, and torment until we deal with the unforgiveness in our hearts. If we repent and forgive, then God will extend His mercy to us and forgive us for the wrongs we have committed against Him.

• James 2:13 says, “because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment!” The king had shown mercy to the servant, but the servant chose to judge his fellow servant without mercy, so the king withdrew his mercy and judged the unforgiving servant.

The parable closes with, “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart.”

The unforgiving servant who had been cleared of all his debt without having to pay any of it, was not sentenced to prison where there was no hope or possibility of ever paying off the debt he owed.

In Mark 11:25-26, Jesus says, “And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins. But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father who is in heaven forgive your sins.”

Have a great day and remember to forgive.

John 

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