But many that are first shall be last; and the last shall be first.
(Matthew 19:30)
The Parables Of Jesus – The Laborers In The Vineyard (Mt 20:1-16)
(a) In this parable which Jesus taught, the ‘landowner’ is God, the vineyard is the
world, and the laborers whom were sent out into the vineyard are God’s people whom He has called to salvation. From this parable, we see that all whom the Lord has called to salvation are called to come and to labor in His Kingdom. Each of us is given tasks and responsibilities and expected to be faithful to the tasks that the landowner has given us to accomplish. In Jesus’ day it was typical that a laborer might go and wait each day in the market place for someone to come and to hire him, and one laborer might potentially work for one person for part of a day and then work for someone else for another part of the day. According to the
Law of Moses, a laborer was to be paid at the end of each day of work, and thus we see that portrayed here in these verses.
“At his day thou shalt give him his
hire, neither shall the sun go down upon it; for he is poor, and setteth his heart upon it: lest he cry against thee unto the LORD, and it be sin unto thee.”
(Deuteronomy 24:15).
We see here that the landowner chose to hand out pay to the ones who were hired based upon the opposite order of the time of their having gone out into his vineyard to labor. We need to learn from this that the Lord is going to reward
people the way in which He wishes to reward them, and what we may think in our own minds and understanding is best, may not be what the Lord with His infinite
wisdom, knowledge, and understanding decides is the best. Since we are living under the rule of grace as Christians we ought to be grateful for any and all blessings which the Lord chooses to give us, regardless of what others may
receive or be blessed by the Lord with.
The time of payment.
The wages are paid at the end of the same day (verse. 8), in accordance with Lev 19:13b, “Do not hold back the wages of a hired man overnight”. The rationale is given in Deut 24:14-15, “Do not take advantage of a hired man who is poor and needy, whether he is a brother Israelite or an alien living in one of your towns. Pay him his wages each day before sunset, because
he is poor and is counting on it.”
The amount of payment.
Every worker receives the same wage, a denarius.
Responding to the protestations of the first group, the landowner explains that he has paid them according to his fairness and justice (verse. 13), and the last group according to His goodness and generosity (verse. 15).
So be ready for surprises from Lord and never complain about the fairness of His rewards. Never boast about the duration of your salvation because the one who gave it and sustained it is He only. Do the responsibilities, specially the ones you are supposed to do in the Army of Jesus faithfully and receive the wages as per His riches.God bless you
Sol.Paulose