Sermon Notes--"It's Not Fair"
Matthew
20:1-15
Introduction:
Parents, grandparents, teachers, how many of you have heard the following
phrase more than once? “That’s not fair.”
“It’s Not
Fair” Children’s Book-The book I just read was full of examples of
childlike unfairness. We can see the
book’s silliness (sharing, hair (curly or straight), parenting, teams, legs,
eggs, eyes, rings, wings, books that end too soon). Yet, we as adults also
engage in similar silliness. Think about
how you react when a co-worker gets a promotion that you worked hard for and
deserved. Think about the classmate who
jumps from job to job and is always involved in some form of recreation and you
work hard and don’t have the time and/or money to do the things they do. Or
even what about our reaction when someone who has done “bad things” chooses to
follow Christ at the end of their life?
Do we too grumble, “it’s not fair”?
In
this parable (earthly story with a heavenly meaning), what
does Jesus want us to understand about His kingdom? We get a hint by what verses sandwich this
parable-19:30 & 20:16- last will be first, and the first will be last. Jesus
is about to share something very different than what they expected. Let’s look at the parable-Read Matthew 20:1-15
What
(Vs. 1-12)
·
Vs. 1-Landowner hired men to work in his
vineyard
o
Workers-They depended for their livelihood
on being hired each day[1]
·
Vs. 3-5-Hired more at third hour (9 a.m.), sixth hour
(noon), 9th hour (3 p.m.)
o
but said that he would give whatever is right-They probably
understood him to mean that he would pay the right proportion of a denarius.[3]
o
Notice something—Does he need more
workers? We don’t know for sure, but it
seems the focus is on “needs of the workers rather than the needs of the
landowner [4]
·
Vs. 6-7-11th Hour (5 p.m.)-He
asked “Why have you been standing here doing nothing?”
o
“Because
no one hired us”-not laziness or lack of trying, but no offers
·
Vs. 8-9-When evening came, owner called
foreman to pay wages-last ones hired first
o
All received a denarius
§ pleasantly
surprised at getting a full day’s wage.
§ Vs.
10-11-Those hired first grumbled “It’s Not Fair”
§ Do
they have a right to complain? If I were them, I would be complaining too.
o
Vs. 11-to grumble v. — to make complaining remarks or noises under
one’s breath. The verb is the imperfect tense, which indicates continuing
process; the grumbling went on.15[5]
o
Vs. 12-“equal to us”-dignity, worth,
honor, like, same
o
Vs. 12-They felt that they had not been
treated fairly-- they had borne the
burden of the day and the burning
heat.18 The thrust of the complaint is thus twofold: the
latecomers did very little work, and what they did they did under the best
conditions in the cool of the day[6]
Who
(Vs. 13-15)
·
Vs. 13-Friend, I am not being unfair.
o
On his side there was no malice or hard
feeling; the man who had worked for him all day was his friend. Then he pointed
out that there was no injustice: “I do
you no wrong.”[7]
o
It could not be denied that he had acted
within the law. Some translations say “what is lawful” the owner explains that
he treated them with justice (v. 13), appeal to the Pharisees
·
Vs. 14-I want to give…
o
the
story celebrates his incalculable goodness to his children. Just as surely as
they do not deserve it, he has the right to freely bestow it (vv. 14–15).[8]
·
Vs. 15-Generous
o
begrudging heart ⇔ evil eye n. — a covetous or
envious heart; conceived of as a glance…that wreaks various degrees of harm on
its object.
o
How is God generous to us? Mercy, wisdom,
power, kindness, patience, provision, goodness, faithfulness, salvation, grace,
love
o
This
parable is similar to parable of Prodigal God I preached on- perspective
towards what God is now doing is chiefly in focus; what he is doing is good and
to be rejoiced in.[9]
Why
(Vs. 1)
·
Vs. 1-For the kingdom of heaven is like…
o
Kingdom- (domain) n. — the domain ruled by a king or queen.
·
This story scarcely models good
management-labor practices but does disclose profound truths about the nature
of God[10]
§ Merit-All
human merit shrivels before his burning, self-giving love. There are no
rankings in the kingdom of God. Nobody can claim deserved membership of the
kingdom.[11]
no degrees of reward in heaven.[12]
·
all
blessings are gifts and that we have no claim to them by our own merit[13]
·
Not my merit but Jesus’ merit-One’s
standing in the kingdom of God does not depend on human merit in any way
whatsoever. It depends on the sheer unmerited favour of the only one who is
ultimately good and who accepts those who could never be good, in order that
this free grace may produce in them genuinely good works. These good works are
not meritorious deeds for life: they are responsive, grateful behaviour
springing from the life that God in his generosity has given them.[14]
§ Salvation-There
is a tendency in the human race to think of salvation in legal terms…It is
natural for us to think that we can earn our salvation…. Or we can think of
salvation is mathematical terms: adding up the good deeds and the bad ones and
coming out with salvation or loss according to whether the balance is on the
credit or debit side. Salvation is always a work of grace.[15]
Closing:
The
reason we object to equal treatment for all--it doesn’t seem fair. But we are
fools if we appeal to God for justice rather than grace…[16]
Karma
is fair. You get what you deserve.
Grace is not fair. Not
only do you not get what you deserve (judgment, wrath, death), but you receive
what you don’t deserve (Mercy, wisdom, power, kindness, patience, provision,
goodness, faithfulness, salvation, grace, love). Grace is not fair but it is definitely
good news. God acts toward you and me in sheer grace. Grace, amazing grace, is
the burden of this story…[17]
[1]
Morris, L. (1992). The Gospel
according to Matthew (p. 499). Grand Rapids, MI; Leicester,
England: W.B. Eerdmans; Inter-Varsity Press.
[2]
Morris, L. (1992). The Gospel
according to Matthew (p. 500). Grand Rapids, MI; Leicester,
England: W.B. Eerdmans; Inter-Varsity Press.
[3]
Morris, L. (1992). The Gospel according
to Matthew (p. 500). Grand Rapids, MI; Leicester, England: W.B.
Eerdmans; Inter-Varsity Press.
[5]
Morris, L. (1992). The Gospel
according to Matthew (p. 502). Grand Rapids, MI; Leicester,
England: W.B. Eerdmans; Inter-Varsity Press.
[6]
Morris, L. (1992). The Gospel
according to Matthew (p. 502). Grand Rapids, MI; Leicester,
England: W.B. Eerdmans; Inter-Varsity Press.
[7]
Morris, L. (1992). The Gospel
according to Matthew (p. 503). Grand Rapids, MI; Leicester,
England: W.B. Eerdmans; Inter-Varsity Press.
[11]
Green, M. (2001). The message of
Matthew: the kingdom of heaven (p. 212). Leicester, England;
Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.
[13]
Spurgeon, C. H. (1856). Divine Sovereignty. In The New Park Street Pulpit Sermons (Vol. 2, p. 185). London:
Passmore & Alabaster.
[14]
Green, M. (2001). The message of
Matthew: the kingdom of heaven (pp. 212–213). Leicester,
England; Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.
[15]
Morris, L. (1992). The Gospel
according to Matthew (pp. 504–505). Grand Rapids, MI; Leicester,
England: W.B. Eerdmans; Inter-Varsity Press.
[17]
Morris, L. (1992). The Gospel
according to Matthew (p. 499). Grand Rapids, MI; Leicester,
England: W.B. Eerdmans; Inter-Varsity Press.
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