February 19, 2025
Hired Help - Part 3
Matthew 20:8-10
02/19/2025
8 And when evening came, the owner of the vineyard
said to his foreman, ``Call the laborers and pay
them their wages, beginning with the last, up to
the first.''
9 And when those hired about the eleventh hour came,
each of them received a denarius.
10 Now when those hired first came, they thought they
would receive more, but each of them also received
a denarius. (ESV)
The master of the house had hired workers to labor in his
vineyard. Some were hired at dawn, some were hired near the end
of the day. Now the work day is over, and it is time to settle
accounts.
And when evening came, the owner of the vineyard said
to his foreman, ``Call the laborers and pay them their
wages, beginning with the last, up to the first.'' And
when those hired about the eleventh hour came, each of
them received a denarius. Now when those hired first
came, they thought they would receive more, but each of
them also received a denarius.
This parable is not about the hiring practices of a
vineyard. This parable is about the kingdom of heaven. Those
who do not reject the call to labor in the vineyard, those who
have faith in God's promises, those who trust in Jesus Christ as
their Redeemer from sin and death, are equal in the kingdom.
After all, you cannot have partial eternal life. Either you are
in God's presence for eternity, or you are removed from His
sight.
Evening was the end of the age. Those who were hired at the
eleventh hour did not earn the gift of God's rich grace and
favor. Those who were hired at the third hour, or the sixth
hour, or the ninth hour did not earn the gift of God's rich love.
Even those who were hired at dawn received more than a just wage,
they also did not deserve the denarius. All people have sinned
and have fallen short of the glory of God. Those who have not
rejected God's invitation, no matter when that invitation was
given, receive the same. God's ways are not our ways.
May our Lord grant that we hear His invitation, that we
enter into the vineyard of His Church to receive His eternal
blessings of life and the forgiveness of our sins. Amen.