PRAYER: No matter what the problem is LORD, You will fix it. You are the only One who can. Because of You my name is victory and I will make it through every situation victorious- and while I'm going through it I have You to lean on, trust, cry to-the entire way through. Thank You LORD, for just being here with me. Thank You LORD, for having me on Your mind at all times. I don't know how You do anything You do, but I'm glad You're more than willing to do it all for me. Praise Your Holy Name, and in Your name I continue to pray, Jesus, Amen.
MATTHEW 20:1-16 part 2
THE PARABLE OF THE WORKERS IN THE VINEYARD:
(Jesus Speaking to His disciples) 1"For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire men to work in his vineyard. 2He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard. 3About the third hour he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing.
4He told them, 'You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.' 5So they went. He went out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour and did the same thing. 6About 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?'
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.' 9The workers who were hired about the eleventh hour came and each received a denarius. 10So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius. 11When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner. 12'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.'
13But he answered one of them, 'Friend, I am not being unfair to you. Didn't you agree to work for a denarius? 14Take your pay and go. I want to give the man who was hired last the same as I gave you. 15Don't I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?' 16So the last will be first, and the first will be last."
Today, let's explain the above parable: Jesus further clarified the "membership" rules of the Kingdom of Heaven. Entrance is by God's grace alone. In this parable, God is the owner of the estates, and believers are the workers. This parable speaks especially to those who feel superior because of heritage or position, to those who feel superior because they have spent so much time with Christ, and to new believers as reassurance of God's grace.
This parable is not about rewards but about salvation. It is a strong teaching about grace (as we discussed yesterday), God's generosity. Again, we should begrudge those who turn to God in their last moments of life, because, in reality, no one deserves eternal life. In opposition, we should encourage them to call on Jesus, so they don't leave this earth without knowing Him.
Many people we don't expect to see in the Kingdom will be there. The criminal who repented as he was dying on the cross with Jesus, will be there along with people who believed and served God as soon as they were called to. Do you resent God's gracious acceptance of the despised, the outcast, and the sinners who have turned to Him for forgiveness? Have you ever been jealous of what God has given to another person? I know, I have had some jealousy in the past, but as I mature I'm encouraged instead. "If God did all this for you, I can trust that He will handle my situation with goodness and grace as well." He loves all of us and attends to our situations how He sees fit, focus on God's gracious benefits to you, and be thankful for what you have.
WHERE DOES JEALOUSY LIVE IN YOUR LIFE?
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