Matthew 20:1-16: “That’s not fair!” The Parable of the Landowner

Rembrandt's "Parable of the Landowner."

“Is your eye envious because I am generous?”  The landowner says to a complaining worker in Matthew 20:15

“I'm not all that much of a praying person, and I'm definitely not a religious person, but I do consider myself a Christian. I guess I might be a C-minus Christian, but I am one."  (Johnny Cash, from liner notes of Cash Unearthed)

“The work of Jesus brings about many reversals and the Day of Judgment will be full of surprises.” (F.F. Bruce, Hard Sayings of Jesus, p.201)

In this passage Jesus is answering a question from Peter about His dialogue with the rich young ruler (Matthew 19:16-22).   Peter asked, “We have left everything and have followed You; what then will there be for us?”  (Matthew 19:27).   Jesus answers Peter in two parts, the first part ends with, “many who are first will be last; and the last, first” (Matthew 19:30).  In His second part (explored here; the parable of the landowner), Jesus flips the metaphorical coin over. He swaps the order of the wording but still using the same phrase: “the last shall be first, and the first, last” (v. 16).

Matthew, Mark and Luke all write about Jesus’ first answer to Peter regarding rewards (Mark 10:28-31; Luke 18:28-30).  But Matthew is the only one to include Jesus’ second part, the parable given in 20:1-16.   Matthew was a tax collector.   He was familiar with financial matters, record keeping and the tenuous relationship between boss and wage earner, tax enforcer and tax payer.  It is no wonder that the Holy Spirit calls on Matthew to include this parable in his gospel.  

A few verses earlier Jesus put the wealthy on notice by saying, “it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of the needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God” (Matthew 19:24).   But Jesus is an equal opportunity offender.   Now He turns the tables and challenges the claims that maybe today’s union worker has on the kingdom of God.    Using a story about a landowner and laborers, Jesus continues to confront our assumptions and shift our paradigms.  

The landowner early in the morning hires a group of workers at a set wage and sends them off to work his vineyard (vv. 1-2).  At intervals throughout the day the landowner hires more (vv. 3-7).  When the landowner pays up, he pays first those hired last, those who worked the shortest (v.8).  And he pays them the same wage he promised those who worked all day.  When he pays those he hired first, they thought they would receive more (v.10), yet the landowner pays them the same earlier agreed upon amount.    Then the workers grumbled at the landowner (v. 11).  “Hey!  That’s not fair!  We worked all day” the laborers seem to say, “these jokers just got here.  We’ve been working in the hot sun all day!” (v.12)

I understand this grumbling.  I admit a surge of pride when I read the previous verses (Matthew 19:29) and began to think about my “reward.”   In my pride I reason, “Why should those that have death bed conversions or who fail to sacrifice as much as *I have* experience the same salvation I will?”  In one way I’m right.  It’s not fair.  But the twist is that it’s not fair ANYONE receives salvation.    It’s not fair ANY sinful human experiences the glory of His holy heaven.  

NO ONE deserves salvation; there is none righteous, not one, (Psalm 14:3).   Because all of us have sinned against infinitely holy Almighty God, our deserved wage is death. But this same infinitely holy God is also infinitely loving.  He freely offers eternal life through Jesus Christ (Romans 6:23).  Anyone who receives salvation receives it by faith through grace, not as a reward of human effort.    Yes, we serve Him.  And we serve Him with great joy.   But we dare not make God our debtor and say, “He owes me salvation.”    His love is the reason for our labor, never the result of our labor. 

We are all equal before the cross.   All who call upon the Lord will be saved (Romans 10:13), whether it is the young child who walks with the Lord for generations, or whether it is the murderer who calls upon the Lord in his final hour.   The Lord can say, “I am doing you no wrong” (v.13) when He equally saves, whether it is those who serve Him faithfully and passionately or those whose walk with Him is a constant struggle and battle.   

Our Master is wonderfully, beautifully and eternally generous.  From a human perspective, that generosity is not fair.  And undeserving!  Scripture says this: the least deserving will be fully paid; the last will be first and the first last (v.16).  Instead of begrudging His generosity, may we rejoice and prepare for an eternity of fellowship with and worship of the great generous God of the universe!

Matthew 19:27-30: the first will be last

 "But many who are first will be last; and the last, first.”  Jesus in Matthew 19:30

“I believe that is going to be one of the most revealing things when we come into the presence of God to find out that all of these that are mentioned as Christian leaders you won’t even hear from them in that day; the ones you will hear of are unknown saints of God.”     (J. Vernon McGee’s audio commentary on this passage)

“Farewell…I go now to the halls of waiting to sit beside my fathers, until the world is renewed.  Since I leave now all gold and silver, and go where it is of little worth, I wish to part in friendship with you…” (Thorin Oakenshield to Bilbo Baggins in the book The Hobbit)

               

Peter is hearing what he thinks are conflicting messages.  On one hand, Peter hears Jesus tell the rich young ruler, “go and sell your possessions and give to the poor… and come, follow Me” (Matthew 19:21).   Then Peter hears Jesus say, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible” (Matthew 19:26).   Peter is now confused and blurts out likely what the other disciples are thinking, “Behold, we have left everything and followed You; what then will there be for us?” (v.27).

Jesus must have shocked the disciples as He answers Peter’s question by talking about the end times. The first thing that Jesus mentions is the regeneration (v.28).  Our current world is broken.  There is death, sin, corruption and evil.  And mosquitos. But the Lord will regenerate creation.   There will be a new heaven, a new earth and even a new Jerusalem (see Revelation 21:1-22:5).  It will be glorious beyond human comprehension.  Death will be no more and He will wipe every tear from our eyes. 

The Son of Man will sit on His glorious throne (v. 28; Matthew 25:31) and the twelve will also sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel (v. 28).  Revelation 4 gives us a detailed picture of the throne room of God.  There are 24 thrones for 24 elders that surround the one glorious throne of God (Revelation 4:4).   Most commentators agree the twelve disciples will occupy half of those thrones as a fulfillment of the promise here in Matthew 19:28.  (But there are different opinions about who will sit on the other 12 thrones as well as the throne never taken by Judas; the Bible is silent as to who are the 24 elders of Revelation 4.)

Jesus not only promises reward for His disciples in the regeneration but also in this current life.  And He speaks of reward for everyone who has left houses or brothers, or sisters or father or mother or children or farms for My name’s sake (v.29).   I believe in one sense Jesus was speaking directly to Peter, his brother Andrew and the two Zebedee brothers, James and John; all of whom are counted among the twelve disciples.   We are told in Matthew 4:18-22 that these four left their nets and even the family business (Matthew 4:21-22).  As Peter said, they left everything to follow Him.  The same can be said for Matthew (see Luke 5:27-28). 

However, in another sense Jesus was speaking to *everyone* who has left houses and family to follow Him.  When we contemplated Christ’s call to move from America to Eastern Europe as missionaries, it was a difficult decision.  We did not want to leave behind our country, our home, family and friends.   Yet it was this very promise in Matthew 19:29 that made our decision easier. Not easy, but easier, knowing there will be a reward “at this time” and “in the age to come,” (Luke’s version of this story in Luke 18:30).   

This promise of reward from Jesus’ is not just for disciples or missionaries but for everyone who has followed Him.  In many parts of the world, believers are often cut off from family, friends, education and jobs because of their faith (Matthew 10:34-36).   I received an email recently asking for prayer for a young Chinese Christian student who is being cut off relationally and financially by his own atheistic father.  Similar circumstances happen daily around the world.  Christ has not forgotten these and He will reward them. 

The faithful, not necessarily the famous, will be rewarded crowns (1 Corinthians 9:25; 2 Timothy 4:8; 1 Peter 5:4; James 1:12).  And Revelation 4:10 says that the 24 elders seated on their thrones will then cast their crowns before His throne.   And those of us who are part of the great multitude (Revelation 5:13) will follow their example, I believe, and will cast our crowns before the throne of the Lamb.  For we will consider the treasure of worshipping Christ to be greater than anything this world or our own faithfulness can generate. 

Will you be there with the multitude casting your crown?  Or will you leave your crown on this side of the grave?   The rich young ruler had wealth, looks and power.  If alive today he may be on magazine covers or considered as a judge on the next season of “Idol.” But he wanted Christ on his own terms, not on Christ’s terms.  Christ would not compromise and the man walked away rejected.   Likewise the famous by God’s standards are probably unknown to most men.  They labor and love faithfully without worldly applause.  But they will be rewarded in heaven.  For Jesus said, “But many who are first will be last and the last, first” (v.30). 

Matthew 19:23-30: With God all things are possible

“With people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” Jesus in Matthew 19:26

It is impossible to keep our moral practices sound and our inward attitudes right while our idea of God is erroneous or inadequate. If we would bring back spiritual power to our lives, we must begin to think of God more nearly as He is.  (A.W. Tozer, Knowledge of the Holy, preface)

Jesus to the rich young ruler: You lack one thing. Treasuring me more than money.   (John Piper’s tweet, January 22, 2011)

The rich young ruler has just turned away grieving, rejecting the Master’s call to come and follow Him (Matthew 19:22).   Jesus had a special love for this young man (Mark 10:21) and His gaze on the rich young ruler lingers as he walks away (Luke 18:24).   Jesus, turning to His disciples (Mark 10: 23), says, “Truly I say to you, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven (v.23).

Jesus is not categorically condemning rich people.   Jesus is not saying that you must be materially poor in order to be spiritually wealthy.   There is a school of thought here in Eastern Europe that says money is evil.  Therefore those who wish to be spiritual give little thought to money. Even with the little money they have, they don’t plan, save, budget, avoid debt or give generously.   They are poor stewards and put themselves and their families in a lot of hurt because they wrongly neglect money in the name of God. 

Some of Jesus followers were wealthy men.  Joseph of Arimathea was a rich man and a disciple of Jesus and who buried Jesus after His crucifixion (Matthew 27:58).   Assisting Joseph of Arimathea in Jesus’ burial was Nicodemus (John 19:39).  We have good reason to believe that Nicodemus, to whom Jesus said, “You must be born again” (John 3:3), was also a very wealthy man.

The go to the other extreme is also wrong: the love of money.   Money then becomes an idol, something we pursue with a greater vigor than God.  Wealth is the idol of choice for us humans.   By it we think we gain security that only God can give.  This is why the solution to the problem of the love of money is given as the promise that God will never leave us nor forsake us (Hebrews 13:5).

The tendency to make money an idol is not an affliction for only those outside the church.   Those in the church also have a strong leaning toward the idol of money.  A study quoted by World Magazine (Oct 22, 2005)  as well as a 2001 study by Barna both revealed that the average Christian American gives back 3% of their income to Christian causes.  Three percent!  What does this communicate about our hearts?  Most Christians spend more of their money promoting Starbucks than they do promoting Christ. 

Randy Alcorn, in his book The Treasure Principle (p. 8) says this:  “Jesus made many references to money and possessions.  In fact 15 percent of everything Christ said relates to this topic – more than His teachings on heaven and hell combined.   Why did Jesus put such an emphasis on money and possessions?   Because there is a fundamental connection between our spiritual lives and how we think about and how we handle money.”

Next Jesus says, “Again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God” (v. 24).  The past several chapters of Matthew’s gospel have been rich with similes and metaphors from Jesus’ teaching: Moving mountains (17:20), cutting off feet (18:8), plucking out eyes (18:9) and forgiving 490 times (18:22).   And when Jesus speaks of the eye of a needle, it is yet another metaphor.  In Jesus day there was no hole in the Jerusalem wall called the Eye of the Needle.  Whereas removing one’s treasures and proceeding humbly is Scriptural, however in this verse, Jesus is speaking metaphorically.    For one whose riches are in this world, it is very difficult indeed to shed that affection and treasure Christ alone.

To this the disciples were very astonished and said, “Then who can be saved?”  (v. 25).  This is the exact the point Jesus wanted to make.  Jesus wanted to raise the bar so high that His hearers realize it is impossible for human effort to obtain the holiness of God needed for salvation.   Even in the Sermon on the Mount Jesus raised the bar to a humanly impossible height.  “Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48; see also Matthew 5:20).  The rich young ruler realized this and turned away dejected.  The disciples now understand and are astonished.  Consequently, Jesus fixes His gaze directly on His disciples and speaks the primary teaching point of this passage: “With people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible” (v.26).

Salvation is not a result of man’s good efforts and best intentions.  Salvation is not a reward for those whose good outweigh their bad.  This grotesquely exalts the goodness of man and greatly undervalues the holiness of the Almighty.   Even those who embrace Christ yet want to add a work of man to salvation have greatly over-valued man’s righteousness in light of the supreme, awesome, terrifying holiness of Almighty God.  We cannot in our own strength reconcile ourselves with God Almighty. 

We need a Savior.   We need the Lamb of God to cloak us with His righteousness.    That is precisely what all-holy, all-righteous, all-loving God has done.  “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5: 21).  May we cry out with the same wonder that 3^rd century church father Athanasius cried out, ““What kind of person must He have been to bring us the salvation that He alone could have and did bring to us?”