Judgment Day: Scandalous Grace

The Workers in the Vineyard

Matthew 20:1-16

 

Opening Words: The date is December 21, 2012. That is the date the Mayan calendar ends. Many believe that is also the date that the world will end. Recently, Hollywood has released a disaster movie, named 2012, to profit from the fears of these individuals. Many have asked me if I have seen the movie. More have asked me, “What the Bible says about judgment day?”

 

The Bible tells us no one knows when the end will come. Jesus, himself, didn’t know when the end would come. Matthew 14:36 says, “No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.” For this reason I am still saving for retirement and encourage young people to get an education to prepare for the future. However, that does not mean that Jesus didn’t speak about the end of time. Jesus did admit the end was coming and there are certain things you need to know.

 

In the next four weeks we are going to be looking at four different judgment parables. These are divine teachings about the end. Each one holds a truth that Jesus wanted you to know as we wait for judgment day. We begin this sermons series in the first sixteen verses of the twentieth chapter of Matthew. Those sacred verses hold the parable of the vineyard workers. As with all parables there is only one point. This is the point. We have all benefited from grace. Our only hope of salvation is grace. Let me call this message Scandalous Grace. May God give you ears to hear.

 

Matthew 20:1-16 1"For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire men to work in his vineyard. 2He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard. 3"About the third hour he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. 4He told them, 'You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.' 5So they went. "He went out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour and did the same thing. 6About the eleventh hour he went out and found still others standing around. He asked them, 'Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?' 7" 'Because no one has hired us,' they answered. "He said to them, 'You also go and work in my vineyard.' 8"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.' 9"The workers who were hired about the eleventh hour came and each received a denarius. 10So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius. 11When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner. 12'These men who were hired last worked only one hour,' they said, 'and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.' 13"But he answered one of them, 'Friend, I am not being unfair to you. Didn't you agree to work for a denarius? 14Take your pay and go. I want to give the man who was hired last the same as I gave you. 15Don't I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?'

16"So the last will be first, and the first will be last."

 

We begin our new sermon series in the twentieth chapter of Matthew. Jesus is telling us a parable or story that is easily understood to his generation and to ours. According to the text a landowner went out early in the morning to hire men to work in his vineyard. It was time to harvest the grapes. It is important that you know the harvest season was short. The rain would soon come and destroy the fruit. No workers were turned away, there would be a job for everyone! The employment office in that generation was the local marketplace. Each one of the workers would be paid one denarius. You would never get rich on such a wage but you would survive. The first of the labors were hired at 6:00 a.m. More were hired about 9:00 in the morning. Others were hired at 12:00 noon. Still others were hired at 3:00 p.m. The final group was hired with one hour of sun light left, 5:00. According to Old Testament law, Leviticus 19:13, each one of the labors had to be paid at the end of the day. The land owner decides to pay those that were hired first last and those that were hired last first. Ever church pastor knows it is true. If you want to get everyone excited then talk about money. The labors got more then a little excited. To the joy of those who labored one hour and the dismay of those who labored eleven hours everyone is paid the same, one denarius! The twelve hour workers protested. They assumed they would get more but to no avail. Everyone is paid the same, one denarius. What is the point that Jesus is trying to make? As the landowners spent his money as he wished, so does the father dispense his love. No matter how you turn this ancient story, it is a story of grace. C. G. Montefiore called the parable of the workers in the vineyard, “One of the greatest and most glorious of them all.” It goes right to the very heart of the faith, itself.

 

It is my experience in the ministry that people intellectually understand the parable of the vineyard workers with their minds but they have failed to accept this parable into their hearts. Understanding and accepting are two different things. Many do not accept this parable because it runs contrary to one of the great influences in our society today, the Protestant worth ethic. Generally, we believe anything worth having is worth working for. We are uncomfortable accepting gifts for doing nothing and we refuse to just give things away. Things of value must be earned. It is as true of salvation as anything else. I came across a fact that underscore this point: 88% of active American Catholics and Protestants believe they can earn their salvation! Our national theology is at an all time low. The parable of the vineyard workers is easy to understand but difficult to accept. It is a story of scandalous grace.

 

Let me say something I have said a million times. We are saved by grace and we are saved by grace alone. This is not something I have generated in my own mind. It is a divine truth that comes right out of the pages of your Bible. If you just memorize just one Bible verse, memorize this one, Titus 3:7, “having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.” My goal today is to correct your theology. Accepting the fact that we are saved by grace changes everything. The good works in our lives only show God you appreciate His great gift. I want to make two statements about grace that will change the way that you look at your life. So if you are ready to look at God’s scandalous grace say, “Amen!”

 

Grace should never be taken for granted.

Grace should never be taken for granted. Look at the parable with me. In the story the early morning workers agreed to work for a set wage, one denarius. They would have been happy with their wage, if it wasn’t for the fact that the workers who followed and worked less received the same wage. When they saw the later workers get paid the same wage they assumed they would get more. They were wrong! The point is this: never take grace for granted. Never take anything that God has given you for granted.

 

During the last two weeks I have watched countless stories about the earthquake in Haiti. They are now saying up to 200,000 may have died. Those that are left behind have been left with nothing! They are living in the streets. They are afraid to walk into buildings because they may fall down. Another earthquake may hit. The worst stories are the people buried in unmarked graves or the people who are loosing limps because of compound fractures.

I will be the first one to admit it. I watch those stories with a certain amount of guilt. I am watching those reports from the comfort of my favorite chair in my safe and warm home. I hear about people looking for their loved ones and I am surrounded by people that care about me. I hear about children that have no future but I have a future. I hear about people who are hungry and I could lose a few pounds. I feel like I should do something but what is there to do? Money is only part of the equation. When you compare our lives with the people of Haiti, it really isn’t much of a comparison. If I have learned anything from this earthquake, it is to never take for granted all blessings God has given to me. I hope you have learned the same thing. Are you thankful for all the things God has given you? Are you thankful that you don’t have to earn your salvation because we are benefiting from God’s scandalous grace. And all of God’s people said, “Amen!”

 

Grace levels the playing field.

Grace levels the playing field. Look at the parable with me. It was common in those days for the most productive workers to get hired first. It made sound business sense. The younger stronger individuals went first. The older weaker labors went last. For this reason, the younger stronger individuals usually made more money. There were no laws against age discrimination. When do you think you would be picked? Would you be one of the first or would you be one of the last? You know it is true. Those that were picked first were proud of their position. That that were picked later weren’t so proud. In the story there is no difference between young and old, strong or weak. They are all the same. It didn’t matter if you worked one hour or twelve hour hours. Everyone got paid the same, one denarius. It may not be fair but it is true. Everyone in the Kingdom of God is an equal. You can take this story as a warning.

 

The original audience took this story as a warning. Jesus was telling them everything had changed. Everyone in that original audience was a Jew and the Jews believed they were God’s Chosen People. For generation they were told they were God’s Chosen People. That fact united them into a nation. It was us verses them. It made them better then the Gentiles. The Gentiles were nothing more then kindling for the fires of hell. But this parable and this theme of Jesus’ preaching changed everything. They were no longer the elite, the were just one of the crowd. You can look at it either way. Either the Jews got a demotion or the Gentiles got a promotion. It really doesn’t matter. The only thing that matters is that everyone is the same because we have all benefited from God scandalous grace. But it is not just true of racial tension from a different generations. It is also true today.

 

For decades the churches have been in decline. The United Methodist Church is no exception. Every year at Lakeside during Annual Conference the treasurer stands up and admits that our church is smaller and older. These are historic days. There is a sense of desperateness in the system. You don’t need 20/20 vision to see the end is coming. Countless congregation in our area have change in my time here at Western Reserve. How many full time appointments in 1994 are now part time? How many part time appointments in 1994 are now yoked with another church or closed. The world of United Methodism. It is true of every mainline Protestant denomination and the Roman Catholic Church in the Mahoning Valley. Churches are staggering, churches are closing. The problem is not the Gospel message. It still speaks to every generation. The problem is our churches are existing in a cast society. It is not a cast system of Jew verses Gentile. It is a cast system of long time member verses new members. In the past sixteen years I have a cycle in our churches that can’t be ignored. Maybe you have observed this pattern too?

 

Let us just be honest. Most churches haven’t had an influx in new members in decades. Those churches are filled with people who have been faithful to their local congregation for generations. They are good people! They have done everything countless times in the life of their church. They have served on all the committees. They have worked all the dinners. They have sat through the long winded sermons from all the preachers that have passed through town. They never miss the plate when it was passed. They have well developed opinions about every thing that happens in the life of the church. They can recall various points of church history at a moments notice. They have influenced some wise decisions in church history. The problem many churches haven’t seen a new member in decades. They same people keep doing the same things and those individuals are getting old and the budgets keep getting bigger. Some of those good people have died and there is no one to replace them. Those who remain become vital to the life of the church because there is no one to replace them. In time, an arrogance develops. They believe they deserve special attention. They try to block any change or program because of their longevity and commitment. They cling to believe that their church can’t survive without them! In some cases they are right! Do you know any churches that sound like that? Stay with me I am not done yet. The cycle continues.

 

Every pastor who has been interviewed in the last twenty years has been asked to build their new church. There are no quick fixes anymore, our churches have many problems. In most cases the pastor fails and is unable to turn the church around. Sometimes it is the fault of the pastor, sometimes it is the fault of the parishioners, sometimes it is the fault of the system, sometime the area has changed.

 

On rare occasions the new pastor is able to welcome some new members. At first everyone seems to be happy. New people come with new money and new energy. The problem is new people also come with new ideas. I said this several weeks ago. Ninety-five per cent of all church decisions are based on things that were done in the past, even if they don’t work. Churches you ever noticed churches don’t like new, they don’t like change. Many see closing as a better option then changing or trying something new. Churches just don’t trust new things, including people. When new members try to do something new a cast system is revealed. (By the way, the new ideas are usually old ideas from their old church. Ninety-five per cent of what churches do is based on the past.) The pastor is caught in the middle of a great civil war. It is the long time members with old ideas verses new members with new ideas. Those are hard days in the life of the church. In most cases the pastor leaves because the stress is too great. A short time later the new people leave because they were never really accepted. Before a new pastor is called charged with rebuilding the church and the cycle starts again. Do you know any churches stuck in that cycle? Where do you think Western Reserve is on that cycle?

 

The only hope for those churches is to break the cycle and apply the parable of the vineyard workers. One of the things grace does is level the playing field. It doesn’t matter if you are young or old. It doesn’t matter if you are week or strong. It doesn’t matter if you have been standing in the marketplace all day or a few minutes. We are all the same. And when you start treating everyone equally everything changes, including our church. And all of God people said, “Amen!” Let me end with this story.

 

One of the best keep secrets here at Western Reserve is the men’s breakfast. They meet on the third Saturday of the month. Each month we eat French toast and sausage. (It is my best breakfast of the month.) Each month there are been a different speaker. Back in November the speaker was Donny Murphy. You may know him as a car salesman but he was here that morning to talk about the Joe Kaluza house. You remember Joe’s story. He was shot making a night deposit for his KFC. The shooting left him a paraplegic. The community stepped forward to help him by giving him a new home. Donny Murphy came here to tell us about how the project started and how many had helped. It was an incredible story filled with incredibly people. One of the saints here at Western Reserve was moved by the story and was impressed by Donny’s leadership. He wanted to express his appreciation and said, “Well, Donny, well have certainly earned your salvation.” His words were sincere but his theology was horrible.

 

On judgment day remember this divine truth because the salvation of your soul depends on it. We are not saved by our works, we are saved by grace. The same scandalous grace that Jesus spoke of so many years ago in his story of the vineyard workers. I hope you don’t just understand the story, I hope that you accept it. For once you do it changes everything! And all of God’s people said, “Amen!”