Wages

Wages

Matthew 20:8, NIV

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.”

Setting the Scene

In Jesus’ day, sundown was quitting time and pay time. According to Leviticus 19:13 and Deuteronomy 24:14-15, payment for day labor was to be made at sundown in order to give the poor the best chance to benefit from their labors.

The owner in the parable deliberately organized the payment sequence to reverse the order of hiring. This was the first significant alteration of normal business practices. Staggered hiring throughout the day might have been unusual, but it made some sense if the pressure of harvest was great enough. But the first expected to be paid first. Although not mentioned in the parable itself, this development definitely set the tone for what followed. From a worldly perspective, things were suddenly out of order.

In Jesus’ parables that begin, “The kingdom of heaven is like,” the story line is understandable and familiar. But each contains a point of departure when we suddenly remember that this isn’t a description of earthly events but a reflection of a heavenly pattern. The landowner who did the hiring took control of the order of payment. There was a purposeful tone to this arrangement that will unfold the key lesson of this parable. In the Kingdom of Heaven, people are “hired” throughout the day, and when the work is done, the latecomers will be first in line, because this is not about the kingdom of earth. In the Kingdom of Heaven, the Lord even decides when it’s quitting time!

Getting Personal

When it comes to being a worker for God in the harvest, how would you evaluate your work ethic?

How do you maintain the difference between working out your salvation (Philippians 2:12) and working for salvation (Ephesians 2:8-10)?

Believers may struggle to understand this parable, since it appears to foster salvation by effort. But the original finding and hiring of the workers is always the originating act of grace by the landowner. The work we do as believers is measured by how well it expresses our gratitude for the gift of life we could otherwise never afford or receive.

Talking to God

As you come to the Lord in prayer, remember that you are his child and not a worker who labors to earn his place in God’s family. Thank God for his persistent grace that brought you into the Kingdom.