MATTHEW 20:1-16

Our textual study this month has to do with what we have commonly come to know as the "Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard," or variations thereof. It is true that many good lessons may be derived from these words, even as is the case in all the parables that Jesus spoke. Our purpose in this study is not so much to study the parable, per se, but to pose the question and hopefully to answer it: "Why did Jesus speak this parable?"

It really grows out of an incident that took place in Matthew chapter 19. It is the account of the meeting between Jesus and the rich, young ruler (Matt. 19:16ff). Among the things discussed there was one of great importance to the young man - it had to do with the possessions he had. Jesus told him, in effect, that those possessions stood between him and his desired goal - "eternal life" (v. 16). Whereupon Jesus told him he must divest himself of those possessions because they were a barrier to his attaining eternal life.

The disciples themselves did not fully understand the matter, and so Jesus turns to them (v. 23) and further elucidates on these things. Peter's searching question was, "See, we have left all and followed You. Therefore what shall we have" (v. 27). Jesus then told him that their first order of business was their obligation to him; an obligation that even superceded that to family (v. 29). Such a demand may have seemed heavy to them, putting them in a position that most men would have difficulty in accepting. Yet note then what Jesus said: "But many who are first will be last, and the last first" (v. 30). Now, what did Jesus mean by this statement; how are we to understand it? The disciples did not "get it" at that point, so Jesus had to "draw them a picture" as we would say, to bring it into focus in their minds. He then goes into the parable, wherein he sets before them the owner of the vineyard and his relationship with those who would work for him. Notice that the concept of the "first being last" and the "last being first" (19:30) has not been abandoned in this parable. In the parable the steward was to give the workers their wages, "beginning with the last to the first" (20:8). As the parable drew to a close he said, "so the last will be first, and the first last. For many are called, but few chosen" (v. 16). And so Jesus ended the parable in the identical way in which he ended his point to the disciples in 19:30. The purpose of the parable then is to explain or set forth what Jesus meant by his statement in 19:30. Certainly there are other principles that may be learned from the parable, but this is Jesus' main purpose.

This of course is a drawback to having our New Testaments divided into chapters and verses. Over all, that is a good thing, but if we are not careful we can come to the end of a chapter and conclude that it must be all that is to be said about what that chapter is speaking of. Herein is a good example of that. If we ignore the chapter break between Matthew 19 and 20, we then get a full flowing account of a matter that had its beginning at least as far back as 19:16.

When men enter into the kingdom of heaven, there are certain "investments" they are called upon to make. Some of these investments are things such as time, talents, money, sacrifices and more. When all is said and done, these may be said to be "the first," just as the "early morning" workers (20:1) would have put more into the master's vineyard than the "11th hour" workers (20:6). On the other hand these later workers would not have "invested" as much in the master's work as the earlier ones. Yet one thing is apparent - the reward for both will be the same (20:14)!