Do you ever make the mistake of believing God is a “comparison shopper,” looking for the Christian most “worthy” of His grace, overlooking those other Christians who do not seem to “do” quite as much for Him? I know I fall in to this trap often; I ashamedly find myself thinking “well, I may not be praying every night, but at least I am not doing as badly as “so and so.” Or I will wonder why one person seems to have everything I desire even though they haven’t lived such a “good” life. It’s easy to have these selfish and envious thoughts, but it’s also sinful and displeasing to God. We often forget that, even though we may not completely understand it, our God is just and loving and graceful—to ALL who accept him.

The parable of the vineyard owner in Matthew 20 illustrates these characteristics of God in a concrete way.

For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire men to work in his vineyard. He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard.

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.” So they went.

He went out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour and did the same thing. About 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?”

“Because no one has hired us,” they answered.
He said to them, “You also go and work in my vineyard.”

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.”

The workers who were hired about the eleventh hour came and each received a denarius. So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius. When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner. “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.”

But he answered one of them, “Friend, I am not being unfair to you. Didn’t you agree to work for a denarius? Take your pay and go. I want to give the man who was hired last the same as I gave you. Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?’

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

Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary gives helpful insight into Jesus’s purpose in this parable, especially to his contemporaries. The Jews, “God’s chosen people,” had a difficult time accepting that the coming of Christ also meant that they were no longer more important to God than the Gentiles, even though these Gentiles were only recent believers in their God. God loved both Jew and Gentile equally and blessed them equally as well. Many Jews were angered. Many were jealous. Many were confused. Jesus used this story to help them understand that God makes no distinction as long as individuals believe, accept, and love him.

Currently, the differences between Jew and Gentile are not so prevalent in our culture, but this parable is still applicable, for we are often just as selfish, jealous, and confused as those Jewish people trying to figure out Jesus. This illustration, therefore, is relevant in our contemporary lives for many reasons:

1. God is in charge. Matthew Henry points out that Jesus’s parable reminds us that “God is debtor to no man.” In other words, he is the ultimate boss, the one decision maker, the supreme leader. We must submit to his power, as the laborers did to the owner, regardless of our own desires.

2. God is forgiving. Though it’s sometimes hard to give up our selfish wishes to follow God’s commands, he rewards our obedience with blessings. He also, however, forgives us when we are not as quick to obey as He would hope. In many ways, this parable offers such relief. For it does not matter when you convert to believing in God, or what you were like before the conversion; what matters, to God, is the change. After that, we are all blessed and loved equally.

3. God expects compassion. Since our purpose in life is to reflect Christ, one of the most important traits Christians should possess is compassion. The laborers who had worked the hardest and the longest found it difficult to find compassion for those who had only worked an hour and reaped the same benefits. God, however, expects us to celebrate blessings for all and to avoid wishing negative consequences for a fellow believer. How many times, though, do you find yourself thinking like those laborers: “well, that sure isn’t fair!” Instead, God expects us to remember that He is sovereign, has been merciful to us, and anticipates our love for one another.

I will admit, I was confused after my first reading of this passage in Matthew. And then I realized, my inability to comprehend the meaning of the parable was due to my sympathy with the all-day workers. I exhibit the same self-centered thinking, thinking, that after careful reading and studying, I realize must change. I should no longer compare myself and my Christian walk to those around me because God never does. Whew, what a relief!