Several you asked about notes for this sermon today. Here you go!
Matthew 20:1-16
Contract with God.
Who here has ever signed a contract of some type before? What type of contract did you sign and why? Maybe it was to buy a house, take a job, or sell a car. What all did it involve? Lawyers, Notary Republic, witnesses. Cashier checks? I’ve had contracts as informal as a handshake and then there was the first house I bought where I signed papers for roughly an hour with a lawyer, a notary and 2 witnesses present.
Regardless of what kind of contract we agreed to they all function the same. They outline what we are going to do and what the other side is going to do. Otherwise you can be found in breach of contract and then more lawyers get involved. If you follow any kind of sports you’ll see this in the pre-season of every major sport where some overpaid athlete wants to even more overpaid so they aren’t going to play until they get a new contract. Contracts are a part of life. What I want you to ask yourself is do I have a contract with God? Do I want one?
“For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. 2 Now when he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard.
When I worked in Greensboro one of the areas I supported was Downtown near the baseball stadium. This was close to the Potter's House Community Kitchen. They served a homeless shelter and provided free meals twice a day. Day laborers would gather in the parking lot early in the morning to get picked up for work for that day. You could see the guys drive up in vans/pick up trucks and people hop in having found work that day. You still see this in bigger cities and all over SE Asia as a pretty common thing. So, in our parable this landowner shows up. Hires a group of guys for the day, negotiates a fair rate everyone agrees to. They follow him back to his vineyard.
3 And he went out about the third hour and saw others standing idle in the marketplace, 4 and said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right I will give you.’ So they went. 5 Again he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour, and did likewise. 6 And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing [a]idle, and said to them, ‘Why have you been standing here idle all day?’ 7 They said to him, ‘Because no one hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, [b]and whatever is right you will receive.’
Now, a little bit about ancient Jewish time keeping. This is back before watches, and clocks as we know them. You based your time off of the position of the sun in the sky. At best you had a sun dial. So the early morning was dawn. Usually around 6AM. The third hours is 9AM. The 6th Hour is Noon. The 9th hour was 3PM. Then at 6PM you had sunset and the work day was over.
This landowner goes out and hires people at 9AM, Noon, and 3PM. Then he does something crazy. He goes back at 5PM. There’s only an hour left in the day. He hires whomever is left. Says c’mon at least you’ll have worked a little. The guys that were still there at 5PM had pretty much given hope on finding work that day. No doubt many who weren’t picked at 3 went on home. Which also meant they weren’t going to eat that day.
What’s different from the guys that were hired first thing and the guys that were hired later? They worked different hours for sure. It’s likely the first guys hired were more skilled/capable than those hired last. Also, the first group, was the only group that negotiated a wage. They agreed upon a denarius. That was a standard days wage in that time. So they had a contract. Guaranteed money!
The other groups not so much. They just have the owner’s word. Each subsequent group he tells them, hey if you want to work go to my vineyard and I’ll pay you what’s right. They had no guarantee, just a promise. They all trusted in the master’s goodness.
8 “So when evening had come, the owner of the vineyard said to his steward, ‘Call the laborers and give them their wages, beginning with the last to the first.’ 9 And when those came who were hired about the eleventh hour, they each received a denarius. 10 But when the first came, they supposed that they would receive more; and they likewise received each a denarius. 11 And when they had received it, they [c]complained against the landowner, 12 saying, ‘These last men have worked only one hour, and you made them equal to us who have borne the burden and the heat of the day.’ 13 But he answered one of them and said, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius?14 Take what is yours and go your way. I wish to give to this last man the same as to you. 15 Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with my own things? Or is your eye evil because I am good?’ 16 So the last will be first, and the first last. For[d] many are called, but few chosen.”
So the day is over. It’s time to get paid. He lines everyone up from the guys that just got started first to the guys that worked all day in the back. These 1 hour guys show up and they haven’t really done much of anything. Clothes are still fresh. They aren’t that tired. Hands still look clean. The master says. “I told you I would take care of you right?” Keep in mind at this point, literally anything he pays them is better than the nothing they were expecting up until an hour ago. He pulls out his big pouch of coins and plunks a denarius in the first guys hands. Imagine the surprise of that guy. Imagine the joy he skipped home from work with. The story he told his family. There I was, it was 5PM, I wasn’t even sure why I was still out there I just didn’t want to face you guys again with nothing. Yet, this guy shows up and hires me. Says He’ll pay me something. I show up, I work about an hour and then he gives me a whole days wage! I’ll work for that guy anytime!
The master goes down the line handing out denarii like Oprah! You get a denarius and you get a denarius and you get a denarius! Everyone gets a denarius!
While all this is going on, the guys from the beginning they are looking at this and thinking man. This guy is crazy. I bet we get even more! Yet, when it comes time for them. They also get a denarius and they get mad about it. Hey, this isn’t fair! We did more than those other guys did! The master says sure it’s fair. You made exactly what we agreed upon. Your just Jealous of the same generosity you enjoyed earlier in the day. There’s a lot to unpack here.
It’s funny. I’ve actually lived this parable. In 2003 I still worked for the bank at the helpdesk. Regardless of the weather you were expected to make your shift (like most places) and if you could not you had to take Vacation time. Usually if it was going to snow/sleet in the forecast they would put several of us in a nearby hotel. They didn’t do that this particular time. So that night not only snow came but a decent amount of ice. Driving in snow is fine. Driving in Ice is how you end up in a ditch. So, with my road being a solid sheet of ice I called out. Once the sun got out good I spent some time clearing my drive way and vehicle of said Ice so I could get to work the next day. I contacted my boss around lunch time and told him I would be in the next day. He tells me if you come on in now and go to the hotel at 5. I’ll pay you for the whole day. I took that deal. I got ready drove in, made it to work around 1. I worked 4 hours and I got paid for 8. The guy in the cubicle next to me had come in right at 8 as he lived nearby. He was new to the department and had been brought in about mid-level. When I got there he was mad. It’s not fair! I’ve been here all day and me and you are getting paid the same amount of hours.
I responded “Oh! It’s just like the parable of the workers” This guy was a Buddhist and was pretty tired of my Bible talk at this point. He goes what? So then I told him this parable. He turned his back on me and didn’t talk to me the rest of the day. He had left for another job come spring time.
Had my co-worker not none I was getting a full days wage he wouldn’t have been upset. He would have been happy for the help. He had been told by my supervisor before I got there. The Master in the Parable could have avoided this argument by paying the angry guys first instead of last and they would have gone on their way.
So a couple of things of what this isn’t teaching. This is not to advocate a Marxist business philosophy of everyone makes the same regardless of how much they worked. This is not about rewards in heaven as we know from multiple scriptures rewards in heaven will be different based on faithfulness.
The key to this parable is the context. Why did Jesus tell this parable? Right before he told this parable the rich young rule approaches Jesus thinking tha this wealth and good works should earn him a spot in heaven. He tells this story to make a point. You don’t want to be in a contract relationship with God. You don’t want to receive what you deserve. You want to be like the 11th hour guy and simply trust in the master’s Goodness and go wherever he has work for you.
Listen, so many of our spiritual problems and so much of our spiritual unrest comes from having a “contract” mentality with God— believing that God owes something to us and we want him to give us what we deserve.
I want to go over 5 signs that you might be stuck in a contract mentality with God.
1) Bitterness: Ask yourself, am I bitter towards God and His people because I believe God is withholding some blessing from me that I think I deserve?
Have you ever told God “You owe me this much?” That’s a contract mentality with God that has led to a root of bitterness in your heart. God owes nothing beloved. It’s a gift. Literally every single breathe you take is a mercy from God.
2) Jealously: Are we Jealous of the good things other people have that we want?
I remember a friend of mine getting a new truck a few years ago. It was a Dodge Ram 1500 extended cab. It was shiny and new. Had that new car smell. Had all the bells and whistles. I was driving a 2004 pontiac sunfire. It had a car seat in the back of it (barely). It had soda stains on the passenger seat. It had scratches and dings all over it from where I slide off the road in an ice storm. The sunroof no longer worked and I looked at his truck and I looked at my car and I was jealous. Then I watched him fill it up at the tank, I wasn’t so jealous anymore. A contract mentality with God has us constantly focusing on the things other people have that we don’t. It’s a miserable way to live your life.
3) Anger: Do I get angry when God doesn’t answer my prayers the way I think He should?
I have a bad habit of telling God how things should pan out. How I see them happening. What would be best for me, my family and others. If He would only get with the program. I find myself frustrated when things I’ve prayed for turn out the exact opposite of what I asked. After all am I not a Pastor? Don’t I serve His people? Haven’t I’ve done this faithfully for 12 years? Then God reminds me that when I ask for stuff based on what I’ve done. I’m praying in my name not Jesus name.
4) Insecurity: Do I feel insecure/uncertain about where I stand with God? Or what tomorrow holds for me? When we live in a contract mentality with God we constantly are looking for the next work to accomplish. If bad things happen then we think God is punishing us. We can’t find rest for our weary souls because we are so terrified about what tomorrow might bring. Beloved, this should describe life WITHOUT Jesus, not WITH Jesus. 'Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus, Just to take Him at His Word Just to rest upon His promise, Just to know, "Thus saith the Lord!"
5) Indifference: Am I moved to action by the suffering or others? Or I am to focused on my issues to care? A contract mentality with God is all about us. We want God to behave like Aladdin’s Genie. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. We don’t struggle with choosing between what is right and what is wrong. We struggle with choosing between what is right and what is easy. It’s easy to sit on the couch. It’s easy to focus on me. It’s easy to see all the injustice in the world and wring our hands. It’s easy to post grandiose comments on websites and social media. We put our personal opinion on facebook with a clever #hashtag and think we have accomplished something. We haven’t. It’s hard to love your neighbor as yourself.
You see, when we understand and accept that we DON’T deserve salvation and blessing, that Jesus did all the work and we got the blessing, it will produce in us a generous spirit towards others and redefine our concept of justice. We must get rid of our contract. In humility, we should all embrace the grace of God and trust in the goodness of the Master who has called us to follow him.
When we do this bitterness will be replaced with gratitude. Jealously with contentment, Anger with peace, insecurity with assurance, and indifference with compassion!
For some of you this could be a game changer. You came here today with a contract with God. You can leave here with trust in the hope and grace of Jesus!
Matthew 20:1-16
Contract with God.
Who here has ever signed a contract of some type before? What type of contract did you sign and why? Maybe it was to buy a house, take a job, or sell a car. What all did it involve? Lawyers, Notary Republic, witnesses. Cashier checks? I’ve had contracts as informal as a handshake and then there was the first house I bought where I signed papers for roughly an hour with a lawyer, a notary and 2 witnesses present.
Regardless of what kind of contract we agreed to they all function the same. They outline what we are going to do and what the other side is going to do. Otherwise you can be found in breach of contract and then more lawyers get involved. If you follow any kind of sports you’ll see this in the pre-season of every major sport where some overpaid athlete wants to even more overpaid so they aren’t going to play until they get a new contract. Contracts are a part of life. What I want you to ask yourself is do I have a contract with God? Do I want one?
“For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. 2 Now when he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard.
When I worked in Greensboro one of the areas I supported was Downtown near the baseball stadium. This was close to the Potter's House Community Kitchen. They served a homeless shelter and provided free meals twice a day. Day laborers would gather in the parking lot early in the morning to get picked up for work for that day. You could see the guys drive up in vans/pick up trucks and people hop in having found work that day. You still see this in bigger cities and all over SE Asia as a pretty common thing. So, in our parable this landowner shows up. Hires a group of guys for the day, negotiates a fair rate everyone agrees to. They follow him back to his vineyard.
3 And he went out about the third hour and saw others standing idle in the marketplace, 4 and said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right I will give you.’ So they went. 5 Again he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour, and did likewise. 6 And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing [a]idle, and said to them, ‘Why have you been standing here idle all day?’ 7 They said to him, ‘Because no one hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, [b]and whatever is right you will receive.’
Now, a little bit about ancient Jewish time keeping. This is back before watches, and clocks as we know them. You based your time off of the position of the sun in the sky. At best you had a sun dial. So the early morning was dawn. Usually around 6AM. The third hours is 9AM. The 6th Hour is Noon. The 9th hour was 3PM. Then at 6PM you had sunset and the work day was over.
This landowner goes out and hires people at 9AM, Noon, and 3PM. Then he does something crazy. He goes back at 5PM. There’s only an hour left in the day. He hires whomever is left. Says c’mon at least you’ll have worked a little. The guys that were still there at 5PM had pretty much given hope on finding work that day. No doubt many who weren’t picked at 3 went on home. Which also meant they weren’t going to eat that day.
What’s different from the guys that were hired first thing and the guys that were hired later? They worked different hours for sure. It’s likely the first guys hired were more skilled/capable than those hired last. Also, the first group, was the only group that negotiated a wage. They agreed upon a denarius. That was a standard days wage in that time. So they had a contract. Guaranteed money!
The other groups not so much. They just have the owner’s word. Each subsequent group he tells them, hey if you want to work go to my vineyard and I’ll pay you what’s right. They had no guarantee, just a promise. They all trusted in the master’s goodness.
8 “So when evening had come, the owner of the vineyard said to his steward, ‘Call the laborers and give them their wages, beginning with the last to the first.’ 9 And when those came who were hired about the eleventh hour, they each received a denarius. 10 But when the first came, they supposed that they would receive more; and they likewise received each a denarius. 11 And when they had received it, they [c]complained against the landowner, 12 saying, ‘These last men have worked only one hour, and you made them equal to us who have borne the burden and the heat of the day.’ 13 But he answered one of them and said, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius?14 Take what is yours and go your way. I wish to give to this last man the same as to you. 15 Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with my own things? Or is your eye evil because I am good?’ 16 So the last will be first, and the first last. For[d] many are called, but few chosen.”
So the day is over. It’s time to get paid. He lines everyone up from the guys that just got started first to the guys that worked all day in the back. These 1 hour guys show up and they haven’t really done much of anything. Clothes are still fresh. They aren’t that tired. Hands still look clean. The master says. “I told you I would take care of you right?” Keep in mind at this point, literally anything he pays them is better than the nothing they were expecting up until an hour ago. He pulls out his big pouch of coins and plunks a denarius in the first guys hands. Imagine the surprise of that guy. Imagine the joy he skipped home from work with. The story he told his family. There I was, it was 5PM, I wasn’t even sure why I was still out there I just didn’t want to face you guys again with nothing. Yet, this guy shows up and hires me. Says He’ll pay me something. I show up, I work about an hour and then he gives me a whole days wage! I’ll work for that guy anytime!
The master goes down the line handing out denarii like Oprah! You get a denarius and you get a denarius and you get a denarius! Everyone gets a denarius!
While all this is going on, the guys from the beginning they are looking at this and thinking man. This guy is crazy. I bet we get even more! Yet, when it comes time for them. They also get a denarius and they get mad about it. Hey, this isn’t fair! We did more than those other guys did! The master says sure it’s fair. You made exactly what we agreed upon. Your just Jealous of the same generosity you enjoyed earlier in the day. There’s a lot to unpack here.
It’s funny. I’ve actually lived this parable. In 2003 I still worked for the bank at the helpdesk. Regardless of the weather you were expected to make your shift (like most places) and if you could not you had to take Vacation time. Usually if it was going to snow/sleet in the forecast they would put several of us in a nearby hotel. They didn’t do that this particular time. So that night not only snow came but a decent amount of ice. Driving in snow is fine. Driving in Ice is how you end up in a ditch. So, with my road being a solid sheet of ice I called out. Once the sun got out good I spent some time clearing my drive way and vehicle of said Ice so I could get to work the next day. I contacted my boss around lunch time and told him I would be in the next day. He tells me if you come on in now and go to the hotel at 5. I’ll pay you for the whole day. I took that deal. I got ready drove in, made it to work around 1. I worked 4 hours and I got paid for 8. The guy in the cubicle next to me had come in right at 8 as he lived nearby. He was new to the department and had been brought in about mid-level. When I got there he was mad. It’s not fair! I’ve been here all day and me and you are getting paid the same amount of hours.
I responded “Oh! It’s just like the parable of the workers” This guy was a Buddhist and was pretty tired of my Bible talk at this point. He goes what? So then I told him this parable. He turned his back on me and didn’t talk to me the rest of the day. He had left for another job come spring time.
Had my co-worker not none I was getting a full days wage he wouldn’t have been upset. He would have been happy for the help. He had been told by my supervisor before I got there. The Master in the Parable could have avoided this argument by paying the angry guys first instead of last and they would have gone on their way.
So a couple of things of what this isn’t teaching. This is not to advocate a Marxist business philosophy of everyone makes the same regardless of how much they worked. This is not about rewards in heaven as we know from multiple scriptures rewards in heaven will be different based on faithfulness.
The key to this parable is the context. Why did Jesus tell this parable? Right before he told this parable the rich young rule approaches Jesus thinking tha this wealth and good works should earn him a spot in heaven. He tells this story to make a point. You don’t want to be in a contract relationship with God. You don’t want to receive what you deserve. You want to be like the 11th hour guy and simply trust in the master’s Goodness and go wherever he has work for you.
Listen, so many of our spiritual problems and so much of our spiritual unrest comes from having a “contract” mentality with God— believing that God owes something to us and we want him to give us what we deserve.
I want to go over 5 signs that you might be stuck in a contract mentality with God.
1) Bitterness: Ask yourself, am I bitter towards God and His people because I believe God is withholding some blessing from me that I think I deserve?
Have you ever told God “You owe me this much?” That’s a contract mentality with God that has led to a root of bitterness in your heart. God owes nothing beloved. It’s a gift. Literally every single breathe you take is a mercy from God.
2) Jealously: Are we Jealous of the good things other people have that we want?
I remember a friend of mine getting a new truck a few years ago. It was a Dodge Ram 1500 extended cab. It was shiny and new. Had that new car smell. Had all the bells and whistles. I was driving a 2004 pontiac sunfire. It had a car seat in the back of it (barely). It had soda stains on the passenger seat. It had scratches and dings all over it from where I slide off the road in an ice storm. The sunroof no longer worked and I looked at his truck and I looked at my car and I was jealous. Then I watched him fill it up at the tank, I wasn’t so jealous anymore. A contract mentality with God has us constantly focusing on the things other people have that we don’t. It’s a miserable way to live your life.
3) Anger: Do I get angry when God doesn’t answer my prayers the way I think He should?
I have a bad habit of telling God how things should pan out. How I see them happening. What would be best for me, my family and others. If He would only get with the program. I find myself frustrated when things I’ve prayed for turn out the exact opposite of what I asked. After all am I not a Pastor? Don’t I serve His people? Haven’t I’ve done this faithfully for 12 years? Then God reminds me that when I ask for stuff based on what I’ve done. I’m praying in my name not Jesus name.
4) Insecurity: Do I feel insecure/uncertain about where I stand with God? Or what tomorrow holds for me? When we live in a contract mentality with God we constantly are looking for the next work to accomplish. If bad things happen then we think God is punishing us. We can’t find rest for our weary souls because we are so terrified about what tomorrow might bring. Beloved, this should describe life WITHOUT Jesus, not WITH Jesus. 'Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus, Just to take Him at His Word Just to rest upon His promise, Just to know, "Thus saith the Lord!"
5) Indifference: Am I moved to action by the suffering or others? Or I am to focused on my issues to care? A contract mentality with God is all about us. We want God to behave like Aladdin’s Genie. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. We don’t struggle with choosing between what is right and what is wrong. We struggle with choosing between what is right and what is easy. It’s easy to sit on the couch. It’s easy to focus on me. It’s easy to see all the injustice in the world and wring our hands. It’s easy to post grandiose comments on websites and social media. We put our personal opinion on facebook with a clever #hashtag and think we have accomplished something. We haven’t. It’s hard to love your neighbor as yourself.
You see, when we understand and accept that we DON’T deserve salvation and blessing, that Jesus did all the work and we got the blessing, it will produce in us a generous spirit towards others and redefine our concept of justice. We must get rid of our contract. In humility, we should all embrace the grace of God and trust in the goodness of the Master who has called us to follow him.
When we do this bitterness will be replaced with gratitude. Jealously with contentment, Anger with peace, insecurity with assurance, and indifference with compassion!
For some of you this could be a game changer. You came here today with a contract with God. You can leave here with trust in the hope and grace of Jesus!
