Welcome to the Vineyard of the Lord :: Matthew 20:1-16
WELCOME TO THE VINEYARD OF THE LORD.
This is our theme.
I.
It might not look like much, but in this vineyard, our Lord produces the finest fruit ... Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Gentleness, Faith, and Self-Control (Gal 5:24). Now I’ve heard that Missouri produces wonderful fruit in its vineyards, too, but those are nothing like this. This vineyard always produces fruit ... It’s never lacking ... It’s never idle ... It never stops producing (vv 3, 6). Life in the vineyard isn’t always easy here, but man, is it good!
Here, we learn God is just. He gives what he promises (v 13).
Here, we learn God is good. He is generous with the gifts he delivers (vv 14-15).
Whether you’ve been here through all generations (v 1) or for less than an hour (v 6), you will discover that the fruit here is always perfect. So welcome to the vineyard of the Lord. Enjoy the fruit of the Lord’s labor for you. This is one message at the root of today’s parable from Matthew 20, which is the basis for our meditation.
Like all of our Lord’s parables, we will wrestle and struggle with this one, because like all parables, it’s hard to understand. However, we won’t let it go until it gives us a blessing (Gen 32:26). And indeed it will because it will finally teach us of the grace of God in Christ Jesus.
Since parables are so hard to understand ... they were written so that only a few (literally) will know the mysteries of the faith (Lk 8:10) ... I should first remind you ... remember the importance of context. The context here is that Jesus is telling this parable to answer two questions: the first one from a rich young man who wanted to know how to inherit the kingdom of God (19:16), and the second from the disciples who then wondered how anyone could be saved (19:25), which we know is impossible with man, but that nothing is impossible with God. Then Jesus said ... Everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands for my name’s sake will ... inherit eternal life. But many who are first will be last and the last first (19:29-30) ... for the kingdom of the heavens is like a house master who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard (v 1).
II.
That is, the Lord welcomed the first and last to bear fruit in his vineyard.
From the very beginning, we are struck by the fact that the kingdom of the heavens is described in terms of an action. In this case, the action is that of the Lord seeking people who will go to work for him. He desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth (1 Tm 2:4). We can’t help but see this in the first sentence of the parable.
The Lord is the one who initiates the kingdom of the heavens. He is the one responsible for its inception. He is the one who created the vineyard, which is a picture of the garden of Eden. He planted his vineyard. He cares for his vineyard. He is generous with his vineyard. And the reason that anyone besides God Almighty is involved in his vineyard is because he is always the one calling, gathering, and enlightening the whole Christian church on earth (SC III 3).
We certainly like to think we’re the ones who made the decision to be here this morning. We like to think the Divine Service is about what we are doing. But we don’t see even one person in this parable knocking on the doors of the vineyard pleading with the owner to let them in. We don’t see one person actually looking for God or longing to do his work. ... No, not even one!
After he called the first workers early in the morning and gave them a promise of a denarius for the day, the Lord went looking for everyone, too. Everyone the Lord called had been “idle,” a word that is frankly better translated as useless, careless, or ineffective. That is, they were wasting time ... bearing no fruit at all ... they were busy with themselves. First, the master went out early in the morning, then at the third, sixth and ninth hours (which is 9 am, noon, and 3 pm). And he gave all of them a promise (vv 3-5). Finally, he went out at the 11th hour ... one hour before quitting time, and called to still more people ... Why have you stood here useless all day. ... To which we replied, Because no one hired us. ... Well, then, I have work for you.
We didn’t even know that God had prepared work beforehand for us to do (Eph 2:8-10). We all think only about our bottom line. As Isaiah will remind us, all of our good works are actually nothing but filthy rags ... useless, careless, ineffective (Is 64:5-7).
Sinful human nature is constantly deluding itself in this way. It tells us we should put ourselves first. It tells us that it’s OK to live together outside of marriage. It tells us that I don’t need to avoid every kind of sin. It tells us I should put myself first. It tells us that I am not manipulative in my relationships with others. It tells us that just because I am baptized I must be forgiven. It tells us that just because I do my home devotions, I don’t need the Divine Service.
I know you like to think you are good people. But no one is righteous; no, not one. No one understands (Rm 3:10-18). You need God to serve you. When you despise your authorities ... when you fail to help and support your neighbor in need ... when couples dishonor each other ... when you fail to help your neighbors improve their property ... when we fail to defend each other ... we’re living in sin.
What therefore are we to do? In the name of Jesus, repent ... that is ... confess your sin, and then believe the Gospel, resting in the faith of our Lord, knowing you will be saved.
III.
God welcomes us into his kingdom, which is a perfect vineyard!
Jesus has come calling. He entered our world in order to find us sitting around Appleton City all day ... and now he is ushering you into his vineyard ... a paradise on earth ... where he meets all our needs, delivering first, and most importantly, the forgiveness of sins, which comes with eternal life and salvation.
This reality is an accomplished fact on account of the birth, life, death, rest, resurrection, and ascension of our Lord Jesus. Everything Jesus did on earth ... all of his work ... delivers salvation to all men. He was born without sin. He lived his life without sin. And because of that he was able to die for all your sin. He is the perfect fruit of salvation.
He is the one who bore the heat of God’s wrath in the vineyard on the Lord’s Day for you. He is the one who died on the cross for you so that your sin will never be heard from again! And more importantly, thanks be to God, he rose again from the grave in the garden, proclaiming victory over sin, death, and the devil.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, the fruit of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection is now yours. You who died and were raised with Jesus in baptism have new life. He has given you the robes of righteousness that you now wear as a welcomed guest to the Lord’s supper.
IV.
So welcome to the vineyard of the Lord. Here you will receive the finest fruit of salvation: the Sacraments of Holy Baptism and the Holy Supper. All who are called to work here will be cared for with an immeasurable amount of his grace, and receive these gifts in abundance. And for that we should all be thankful, instead of resentful like the workers in the parable who grumbled at the Lord.
Comrade, he says, I’m not unjust to you. ... I desire to give to this last worker as I give to you (vv 13-14). That is how generous he is. Salvation is a gift of this grace ... it’s not something we earn. God is just: He gives to everyone without our prayers, even to all evil people (SC, 4th Petition). God is good. He loves to give what belongs to him.
And now that he has ... you, who have received the Lord’s gifts, can and should now share that with your brothers and sisters. You can and should help your brother and sister improve their possessions and income (SC 7th Commandment). Don’t allow yourself to make sinful comparisons between you and your fellow workers in Christ, and so lose focus upon your relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ who graciously called all of us and promises to reward all of us.
The point, then, of our text is that one enters the kingdom of the heavens only because of God’s gift of grace in Jesus Christ. When God calls us into the kingdom of the heavens through the Gospel, we will put away the thoughts that turn God’s good into evil (v 15).
In the kingdom, we are there by his grace. When the reign of God in Christ comes to us on the last day, all who have been called into the vineyard will receive from the Lord what is just, in accordance with his promise. Remarkably, all those who have left anything behind for the sake of Jesus’ name will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life (19:29) ... welcomed into the kingdom of the heavens ... in Jesus’ name. Amen.