Labourers in the Vineyard

The text

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 penny 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 penny. But when the first came, they supposed that they should have received more; and they likewise received every man a penny. 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 penny? 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.

Matthew 20:1–16 KJV

At a glance

Summary of the sermon

The parable is Christ's answer to Peter's question, 'We have forsaken all and followed thee; what shall we have therefore?' — and Lloyd-Jones insists that the little word 'for' at its opening ties the whole story to that bargaining question. It exposes a depression that arises not at conversion but afterwards, when a believer's early gladness hardens into calculation.

The men hired first went wrong at the beginning. They wanted an agreement; they worked with one eye on their own effort; they kept count of hours and of what the others got. The inevitable harvest was murmuring, contempt for the latecomers, jealousy, and at last the ugliest sin of all — the feeling that God Himself had been unjust. Lloyd-Jones is unsparing about how often this spirit appears in Christian workers who have been passed over, or who expected results proportionate to their labour.

The cure is to see that the Kingdom of God does not operate on the principles of the marketplace. Everything in it is of grace, from the call to the reward. Practically this means abandoning any 'penny-in-the-slot' expectation that God owes us results; refusing to keep a record of our own service and leaving the accounts to God, whose bookkeeping delights in surprising reversals; and learning, after the example of Christ who made Himself of no reputation, to rejoice when grace is lavished on someone else.

Key points

• The parable answers Peter's 'what shall we have?' — the bargaining spirit in disguise.
• Treating service as a contract with expected rewards is the wrong attitude from the start.
• It produces murmuring, contempt for others and, finally, accusing God of unfairness.
• The Kingdom is grace from beginning to end, never merit or bargain.
• Stop keeping the books; let God be the accountant, and rejoice at His generosity to others.

Illustrations the preacher uses

• Hugh Redwood's account, in God in the Shadows, of his own backsliding after losing a favoured position.
• The preacher's confession that the size of next Sunday's congregation never matched his feelings in the pulpit.
• Bishop J. C. Ryle on the dying thief — one saved that none should despair, only one that none should presume.
• The elder brother in the parable of the prodigal son.

Related Scripture

• Matthew 19:27–30
• Luke 15:25–32
• Philippians 2:5–8
• Philippians 2:14–16
• 1 Corinthians 3:5–9
• Luke 17:10

For reflection and discussion

1. Have you ever caught yourself expecting a particular reward from God for your service?
2. What would it mean practically to stop keeping accounts of your own spiritual effort?
3. Why does murmuring at God's generosity to others reveal something deeper than ordinary envy?