The Coming of the King

Coming of the King: Week 42

Matthew 20:1-16: Generosity of the King

Some have used this passage to say that Jesus was a Socialist - because all the workers were paid the same. The spiritual lesson is that God rewards us for our faithfulness, not the size or length of our ministry. But the parable reflects basic economic principles which we also point out.

19:30 "many who are first will be last, and the last will be first" Envy has no place in the Kingdom.
20:1 "a landowner who went ... to hire workers" - a capitalist. The ideal is for everyone to own means of production, Micah 4:4. But until then, where the means are centralized, there will be employers and employees.
20:2 "agreed to pay a denarius" - each worker negotiated the price of his labor, although there was a prevailing wage to speed the process. There is no official minimum wage, and no collective bargaining.
But the denarius is effectively the minimum to sustain life - else the landowners would soon have no workers. When Baruch feels he deserves an extra reward for his painful toil as Jeremiah's scribe, God says, "I will grant your life as plunder." (Be thankful you will live through it.) Jeremiah 45:5 "If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that." James 4:15
20:5 "3rd...6th and 9th hour" - also the hours of prayer for Christians for more than a millenia. The workers were faithully waiting for "the work He has given them to do".
20:8 "pay them their wages" - the most essential function of a Godly employer. James 5:4 "A man isn't a man until he has to meet a payroll." - Ivan Shaffer
20:12 "worked only one hour" - socialism will not cure envy. We envy those who are paid the same for working less as we envy those who are paid more for working more.
20:14 "give the last man the same" - God rewards us according to our faithfulness, not the size scope of our ministry. Matthew 25:21
20:15 "do I not have the right" - the employer was free to pay whatever the worker was willing to accept. There was no government coercion.
"Are you envious because I am generous?" - do we sometimes envy the former drug addict who becomes a Christian celebrity, while we labor in obscurity? Luke 15:28-30
20:16 "the last will be first, and the first will be last" - envy has no place in the Kingdom.