In today’s passage, Jesus speaks once again about the kingdom of heaven. This is a theme repeated throughout the gospel of Matthew. It begins with the revelation of Jesus’ kingship. That’s Matthew’s version of the Christmas story. It continues with the proclamation of Jesus’ law. That’s the Sermon the on Mount. And little by little, it illustrates the rest of the story with the creative use of Jesus’ parables. Each of these parables demonstrates vividly something unique about this kingdom. I hope that this sermon series will make these imageries of Jesus memorable for you. In our lives, we are influenced by the messages of this world. They come from the books we read, the videos we watch and the friends with whom we interact. Subconsciously, we may infuse some of these values into our Christian worldview. But the kingdom of heaven operates by its own rules. It has its own set of priorities. It is often surprising and counter-cultural. I hope that with the use of these striking imageries of Jesus, we see the kingdom of heaven for what it is truly. We are not like the crowd who hears the parables but do not comprehend. We are the disciples of Jesus who have had these parables explained clearly to us.
One of the crucial questions when we first encounter the notion of the kingdom of heaven is this: Who can enter the kingdom of heaven? We all, whether rightly or wrongly, have fantastical ideas of the kingdom of heaven. It is perfect. It is wonderful. It is where God is. But no matter how good we imagine it to be, it is pointless if we do not know how to enter this kingdom. That is the fundamental issue of our passage today. That is the underlying background for the purpose of the parable. Who can enter the kingdom of heaven? Thankfully, it is no secret. Jesus has set out his criteria. But the more I listen, the more I am afraid. These are Jesus’ words starting from Chapter 19.
11 Jesus replied, “Not everyone can accept this word (“it is better not to marry”), but only those to whom it has been given. 12 For there are eunuchs who were born that way, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by others—and there are those who choose to live like eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. The one who can accept this should accept it.”
14 Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”
21 Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
23 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly I tell you, it is hard for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. 24 Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”
28 Jesus said to them, “29 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life”
On the surface, it seems like it would take a ridiculous amount of sacrifice to enter into the kingdom of heaven. You have to sacrifice your marriage prospects. You have to sacrifice all your possessions. You have to sacrifice your family and friends. The only ones who need no sacrifice would be little children because they have nothing. (Joking tone) Oh, these little rascals have it so easy while the rest of us have to sacrifice everything. I would have stopped them, but Jesus says “let the little children come and do not hinder them.” Darn. Well, for many of us, I presume the road to enter the kingdom of heaven is extremely narrow. Not only is the road narrow, the gate is also small. I will tell you if you have a tiny bit of chance after I check your offering today. For your own sake, I hope to find some title deeds and cars keys inside. Otherwise, I will have to make some of you eunuchs to squeeze you into the kingdom of heaven. Sorry, I don’t make the rules. Those were Jesus’ words. You heard the man. (Joking tone)
However, though the criteria from Jesus are scary enough, it doesn’t end there. Who can enter into the kingdom of Heaven? Jesus ended with the phrase “But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first” (19:30). This phrase, as a conclusion to all the words of Jesus, is obviously an important one. Yet, what does it mean? It is crucial to take special note of this phrase because it sounds like a reversal of all the previous statements. Unlocking the meaning of this phrase would be the key to the interpretation of all the earlier words of Jesus.
I am reminded of tricky game often used by devious game designers – the “Who is the fastest?” game. They will give each team a list. On the list, you have 20 items to do. The first team or person to complete the entire list is the winner. The first item: 20 jumping jacks. Everybody starts jumping quickly. Second item: run round the entire field. Everybody aims to be the first to finish jumping and start running. Third item: find an earthworm; and everybody starts finding, and so on. However, the last item says: ignore all the previous items and just sit on the floor. So the aim of the game is to see which team is the first to read the entire list properly, notice the last item, and sit on the floor. That is the careful and intelligent winner.
So brothers and sisters, get this final phrase of Jesus right. It could be the crucial key to reinterpreting the near impossible criteria set by Jesus to enter the kingdom of heaven. To help us understand this phrase, Jesus used a parable. And we know this parable is the explanation of this phrase, because it is also at the conclusion of this parable: “So the last will be first, and the first will be last” (20:16).
The parable is a simple one. A landowner needed workers for his vineyard. He got some to start working early in the morning. Some were recruited at noon. Some were recruited late and they only worked for one hour. Yet when it was time to collect their wages, all of them collected the same wage. At the heart of this parable is the unfairness of the landowner. This unfairness is summarised by the grumbling workers “These men who were hired last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day” (20:12). It is unfair. They were obviously not equal. Those who had worked more had sacrificed more. They sacrificed time. And time is money. They sacrificed effort and strength. Their labouring abilities were their possessions which were exchanged for money. They deserved more for their sacrifice.
The landowner, in his reply, changed a complaint about fairness between the different workers into a question of fairness between himself and each individual worker. “Friend, I am not being unfair to you. Didn’t you agree to work for a denarius?” The keywords in his reply are “Friend” and “to you”. On a personal level, there is no unfairness. The landowner paid what was agreed upon with the grumbling workers. The word “friend” stressed on the one-to-one relationship between them. And there is no argument with that since he agreed to that wage and was paid accordingly, there is hence no unfairness.
But fairness on the individual level is not fairness on the corporate level. Workers who have sacrificed differently should not be made equal. By giving the late workers the same wage as the early workers, the landowner was generous to the late workers, but not equally generous to the early workers. That is the unfairness displayed there. You can tell that the early workers expect that kind of fairness because it says in verse 10 “So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more.” If the late workers were generously given a good wage not in proportion to their effort, then the early workers would receive more than the agreed wage if given the same generosity. That is the true reason for their complaint. On the surface, they seem to be saying that the late workers shouldn’t receive the same wage as them. They worked less, and they should receive less. But their real problem is not that the late workers should receive less, but that they should receive more. If you are generous towards them, then you should be equally generous towards me. Or else you are not fair.
The landowner knows their minds. So after reminding them that he is fair on the personal level, he asked them two questions. These two questions are the key to the entire parable. He asked: “Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous? (v.15)” Let’s tackle the questions one by one. Does he have the right? Of course, he has the right. It’s his own money. He can use it whichever way he wants. So the answer lies with the second question. Is the problem an issue of envy? Yes. It is envy. The early workers are envious of the generosity towards the late workers. A generosity they did not receive. They tried to package their complaint into an issue of unfairness, but really the issue is about envy. The early workers who have sacrificed much and worked all day have been paid fairly. But they now want more after seeing what the late workers got. They want more than fairness. They want the same generosity too.
But what is envy? It goes beyond greed. A person can be greedy when he sees something he wants. But envy only arises when in comparison with another. Envy is poisonous to the soul because you cannot be happy with the good fortune that others receive. You can only be happy when you get the good fortune too. In the case of the parable, it is sad because these workers had work to do. They could enjoy the fruits of their labour and find income for their family. Yet it is sad because they could not be happy because of their envy. Because they were blinded by their envy, they failed to appreciate the gracious efforts of the landowner in providing for as many workers as possible. We see the very detailed way the final workers were described “6 About five in the afternoon 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.” These were not lazy workers scheming for an easy way to earn a quick buck. They were poor people who were unemployed and would have to starve if not for the generosity of the landowner. But the early workers who were grumbling did not see this. They only cared about the generosity for themselves. In being poisoned by envy, they failed to see that they too work under the grace of the landowner. They were the first in the field, but they were the last to truly know the heart of the landowner.
How does this parable explain the phrase “The last will be the first, and the first will be the last”? And how does the phrase reinterpret the entire criteria set by Jesus about entering the kingdom of heaven? From the words of Jesus, it is doubtless that sacrifices are necessary to enter the kingdom of heaven. This is especially so in the days of Matthew, where there were persecutions and poverty. But it is one thing to sacrifice for the sake of the kingdom; it is another thing entirely to think that it is your sacrifices that make you deserving to enter into the kingdom of heaven. When you think that your deeds, your efforts and your sacrifices are your security, that they are your assurance that God will favour you over the others, that may be your greatest mistake. You are stumbled by grace. You fail to appreciate that God can be gracious in different ways to others. You want to compare. You want fairness. But on the corporate level, there is never fairness. God will be fair to each individual based on the circumstances of each person. That is the right of God. If you are stumbled by how gracious God can be to others, if you think that your sacrifices rightly deserve more, then that’s when the first will be the last. It’s not by works that we are saved, but by the grace of God.
This parable is a very good reminder to me. If there is one image I can capture from this parable, it is that of a tired, sweaty and exhausted worker. For some of us, maybe you feel this way too. You’ve worked in the field for a long time. You are responsible for a large part of the fruits collected. You were there when the heat was the strongest and when some gave up, you persevered on. Jesus promised the reward is a hundred times for all that you’ve sacrificed. But sometimes, even that is not enough. Out of the corner of my eye, I spot others receiving the same abundant grace of God while sacrificing a lot less. Man! That is so unfair. At these moments, this parable reminds me – my work is a grace from God, not my security for more blessing. If I have sacrificed, let me enjoy my fruits with joy, rather than ending on a sour note. The sourness and bitterness of envy only serve to make me last in the eyes of God. I do not know the circumstances that others face in their dealings with God. I should rejoice and be happy for them if that is the will of God.
As for some of you, if you are a latecomer into the kingdom of heaven, you are welcome to join us in the work. God will be gracious to you. I can testify that it was so when I myself was a latecomer into the field. May the grace of God be upon us.
