The last will be first, and the first last

Our reading this morning is from the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 19, verse 23, to chapter 20, verse 19.

Matthew 19:23

And Jesus said to his disciples,

Truly I say to you, only with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven.

Again, I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.

When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished, saying,

Who then can be saved?

But Jesus looked at them and said,

With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.

Then Peter said in reply,

See, we have left everything and followed you.

What then will we have?

Jesus said to them,

Truly I say to you, in the new world, when the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne,

You who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

And everyone who has left houses, or brothers, or sisters, or father, or mother, or children, or lands, for my name's sake,

will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life.

But many who are first will be last, and the last first.

For the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house who went out early in the morning to hire labourers for his vineyard.

After agreeing with the labourers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard.

And going out about the third hour, he saw others standing idle in the marketplace.

And to them he said,

You go into the vineyard too, and whatever is right, I will give you.

So they went.

And going out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour, he did the same.

And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing.

And he said to them,

Why do you stand here idle all day?

They said to him,

Because no one has hired us.

He said to them,

You go into the vineyard too.

And when evening came,

The owner of the vineyard said to his foreman,

Call the labourers 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.

And on receiving it,

They grumbled at the master of the house,

Saying,

These last worked only one hour,

And you have made them equal to us

Who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.

But he replied to one of them,

Friend, I am doing you no wrong.

Did you not agree with me for a denarius?

Take what belongs to you and go.

I choose to give to this last worker as I give to you.

Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me?

Or do you begrudge my generosity?

So the last will be first,

And the first last.

And as Jesus was going up to Jerusalem,

He took the twelve disciples aside,

And on the way he said to them,

See, we are going up to Jerusalem,

And the Son of Man will be delivered over

To the chief priests and scribes,

And they will condemn him to death,

And deliver him over to the Gentiles

To be mocked and flogged and crucified,

And he will be raised on the third day.

Hear the word of the Lord.

Well, good morning, everyone.

Good to see you.

Hope,

I hope.

It will be good to chat to you after.

Welcome if you're visiting.

My name is Dave.

I'm the pastor here.

Would you please join me in prayer

As we come to God's word.

Father, as we just sang,

I pray that your word would

Compliment that song

And fill our hearts with joy

That you have saved our soul

And that it's all of you,

All of your grace.

And I pray this in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Well, what does this parable mean?

You've got all these workers,

And some come in at the 11th hour.

Is it encouraging people to leave

Their coming to Jesus

Until the 11th hour of their life?

Like, you can just put off

Becoming a Christian

And say a prayer on your deathbed,

And it'll be right.

Is it saying it's not the amount of work

You do for God,

But it's your willingness,

Your willingness to serve God

That's all important.

Is that what it's about?

Is it a bit bigger picture than that?

Is it about the nations,

The Gentiles coming into God's kingdom

As last compared to the Jews

Who were first?

Is that what it's about?

Is it saying all people are equal before God?

Is it saying all servants

Will get the same reward

In God's kingdom?

Is it warning against begrudging someone

Becoming a Christian later in life

When you've spent your whole life

In the church serving?

And what is this parable about?

There's a danger with parables, I think.

We can almost see whatever we want.

There's a bit of a danger with parables.

Or we can be a bit confused by them, I think.

And the very first half reasonable thought we have,

I think we can latch on to it.

That makes sense.

And so we stick with that.

We need to spend just a few minutes

Thinking about and understanding

How these story parables work

If we're going to hear God's word to us today.

In church history, it was really common

To interpret these stories as allegories.

Every detail in the story has some spiritual reality.

So if we take the most famous parable

Of the Good Samaritan

You know the story, I'm sure

But a man is beaten up on the side of the road

Now one church father says

The robbers in that story were the devil and his angels

They stripped him of his immortality

They beat him by persuading him to sin

The donkey, I don't get this one

But the donkey is the flesh of Christ's incarnation

I'm still thinking that one through

The inn where he is taking care of is the church

And the next day is the resurrection

And the innkeeper is the apostle Paul

Now this is a very well respected church father

But which of the details are we meant to find meaning in

And which do we kind of just overlook

It feels a bit arbitrary

Or you've got to find an obscure answer

If you're going to get every detail to mean something

You've got to come up with some pretty obscure answers

My other problem with it

Is how do you know your interpretation is correct?

How do you know the innkeeper is Paul?

How can we be confident that's what God is telling us?

I think we can avoid all this guesswork

If we hear these parables in their context

And if we understand how this genre of parables work

So there was a pedestrian

Injured in a hit and run incident

And he was a rough looking, biker looking man

Covered in tattoos, head to toe

Piercings all over

Blood trickling down his face

He was kind of going in and out of consciousness

After being hit by this car

Now the first car to go past after that

Driving in that car was the archbishop

The Anglican archbishop

But he noticed the man

He slowed down

But he was wearing God's holy vestments

And he didn't want the blood to get on God's holy vestments

So he kept driving

And then in the next car

Dave Bott, a local pastor

Was driving by

And he saw the man

But he was running late for a church meeting

To do God's work

And he decided that was

He had to keep driving

But then in the next car was a Muslim man

He was on his way to his evening prayers

At the mosque

And he pulled over

And he called an ambulance

He paid the $415 ambulance fee

Because he didn't have insurance

And he used his turban to bind up his wounds

And then he went with the man to the hospital

To make sure he was cared for

Which of these men loved his neighbour?

Do you feel like

You can disagree on the details

I don't really mind

Do you feel the punch of the parable?

They're meant to kind of get under our skin a bit

They're meant to challenge our assumptions

About God and ourselves and the kingdom

Parables

Led the first century hearers

They were familiar with the details

And we've got to do a bit of work there

To understand those details

But they led them

Jesus told them in such a way

That led them along

And then there's this shocking twist

And it's like

Ooh

It challenges your expectations

So I think that's how the genre works

So as a good rule of thumb

Look for one point

One main punch

From a parable

And let the context be our guide

If I can get a bit of audience participation

At this point

What was the question asked

Before the story of the Good Samaritan?

Does anyone remember?

What question is asked?

Who is my neighbour?

It's the expert in the law

Asking who is my neighbour?

That sets the context

Well, true love

Crosses

Racial

Social

Any prejudice

Even love for enemies

Whoever you think your enemies are

The context

Gives us guidance

What about the parable

A few weeks ago

The unforgiving servant

Do you remember

Anyone remember the question

Peter asks?

How many times

Do I have to forgive my brother

Who sins against

Let the context

Be the guide

For the punch

Of the parable

We don't need to work out

In that parable

What 100 denarii

Represents

We all feel the punch

When

The master forgives a debt

Had no chance of repaying

And then

For a sum of

Like $50

He goes and

Tries to

Get revenge

We all know that feeling

When God has forgiven us

So much

How can we have that attitude

Toward one another?

Dare I say

Allegorising

Distracts

From the punch

Of the parable

So here too

In chapter 20

Let's

Let the context

Be our guide

And

We've got to let

This parable

Get under our skin

So what is

The context?

Well that's why

I thought it would be worth

Well the elders actually

Thought it would be worth

Reading a bit more

Of

Back into the passage

We looked at last week

Just to refresh

Our memory

Here

The chapter division

At this point

Moving into chapter 20

Is really unhelpful

Now that's a man-made invention

The chapter headings

You've got that word

For

Jesus is still speaking

To Peter

There's no change

In audience

There's no change

In scene

Here's the basis

Of what

Jesus has just

Said to Peter

In verse 30

Many who are first

Will be last

And the last

First

Jesus concludes

The parable

And

This should

Guide us

In our interpretation

With that same

Proverb

Just the other way

Around

In verse 16

The last

Will be first

And the first

Last

We should be

Expecting

A reversal

A reversal

Of our

Expectations

He's answering

Peter's question

In verse 27

See

See

We have left

Everything

And followed you

What then

Will we have

It's really hard

To know

What's motivating

Peter

In that question

Like is it

Is it fear

We've left

Everything

Has that been

Enough

Is it pride

We have left

Everything

Is it self

Pity

It's hard

To know

But what is

Clear is that

Peter's focus

Is on what

He and the

Other disciples

Have sacrificed

See

Jesus

Look at the

Cost

We've made

For you

The focus

Is on them

This parable

Is challenging

A wrong

Understanding

Of what it

Means to

Follow Jesus

It challenges

Peter's focus

On his

Sacrifice

I think it

Challenges

Our focus

On what

The service

We offer

To God

The costs

We make

And what

We deserve

So getting

Into it

Then

Verse

One

And two

For the

Kingdom of

Heaven

Is like

A master

Of a

House

Who went

Out early

In the

Morning

To hire

Labourers

For his

Vineyard

And after

Agreeing

With the

Labourers

For a

Denarius

A day

He sent

Them

Into

His

Vineyard

Now

This

This

I understand

Is a

Very

Typical

Scene

In the

First

Century

If

Casual

Workers

Were

Needed

You

Go

To

The

Market

Place

And

If

Anyone

Wants

Work

For the

Day

They

Go

To

The

Market

Place

To

Be

Hired

They

Go

At

Dawn

A

Denarius

Is

A

Day's

Wage

This

Is

A

Very

Fair

Agreement

!

8am

To

Get

More

Workers

And

Then

12

And

3

And

5

We're

Not

Told

That's

Not

The

Focus

All

We

Know

Is

That

The

Other

Workers

Rely

On

His

Integrity

I'll

Pay

You

Whatever

Is

Right

He's

Fair

I'll

Pay

You

Whatever

Is

Right

He

Even

Comes

Back

After

Coming

At

6am

Then

9am

Then

Midday

Then

3pm

He

Even

Comes

With

Just

An

Hour

Left

Of

Daylight

5pm

So

Verses

6

And

7

He

Said

To

Those

Why

Do

You

Stand

Here

Idle

All

Day

They

Said

To

Him

Because

No

One

Has

Hired

Us

And

He

Said

To

Them

You

Go

Into

The

Vineyard

Too

These

Last

Workers

Are

They

Less

Trustworthy

Why

Aren't

They

Hired

Are

They

Less

Productive

Other

People

Have

Overlooked

Them

Going

Don't

Want

Them

Again

We're

Not

Really

Told

But

What

We

Do

See

Here

Is

Just

With

An

Hour

Left

He

Freely

Chooses

To

Hire

Them

Now

Verses

8 to

12

And

When

Evening

Came

The

Owner

Of

The

Vineyard

Said

To

His

Foreman

Call

The

Labourers

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

And

On

Receiving

It

They

Grumbled

At

The

Master

Of

The

House

Saying

These

Last

Worked

Only

One

Hour

And

You

Have

Made

Them

Equal

To

Us

Who

Have

Born

The

Burden

Of

The

Day

And

The

Scorching

Heat

How

Is

That

Fair

Where

They're

Just

Covered

In

Sweat

And

Exhausted

And

These

Guys

In

The

Cool

Of

The

Day

Do

An

Hour

!

Maybe

Max

And

They

Get

The

Same

Amount

How

Is

That

Fair

These

Workers

Are

Really

Focused

On

What

They've

Had

To

Endure

And

They're

Comparing

Themselves

To

Others

They

Deserve

More

I

Think

They're

Meant

To

Sound

Like

Peter's

Focus

Look

What

We

Have

Endured

What

We

Have

Left

For

You

What

We

Deserve

Do

You

See

This

Master

In

This

Story

As

Short

Changing

Those

Who

Worked

Hard

Do

You

Feel

The

Unfairness

Or

Do

You

See

This

Master

As

Incredibly

Generous

Verse

13

To

16

Friends

I'm

Doing

You

No

Wrong

Did

You

Not

Agree

With

Me

For

A

Denarius

Take

What

Belongs

To

You

And

Go

I

Choose

To

Give

To

This

Last

Work

As

I

Give

To

You

Am

I

Not

Allowed

To

Do

What

I

Choose

With

What

Belongs

To

Me

Or

Do

You

Begrudge

My

Generosity

They

Have

No

Right

To

Feel

Hard

Done

By

They

Agreed

For

A

Day's

Wage

He's

Been

Fair

He

Didn't

Pay

Them

Half

A

Day

He

Was

Fair

He

Met

The

Agreement

He

Paid

What

Was

Right

They

Are

Comparing

Themselves

To

The

Others

And

Feeling

Jealousy

Contempt

Because

They're

Focused

On

What

They've

Done

What

They've

Endured

In

Comparison

To

Them

But

Here's

The

Thing

Generosity

Can't

Be

Earned

You

Can't

Earn

Generosity

It's

A

Contradiction

In

Terms

This

Master

Is

Totally

Free

From

Any

External

Obligation

Am

I

Not

Allowed

To

Do

What

I

Choose

With

What

Belongs

To

Me

It's

Not

That

This

Master

Is

Unfair

He

Can

Do

What

He

Wants

He

Is

Free

To

Give

Because

It all

Belongs

To

Him

The

Kingdom

The

Kingdom

Of

Heaven

Doesn't

Operate

On

Merit

At

All

Is

The

Point

Of

This

Parable

God's

Gifts

Of

Salvation

!

God's

Blessings!

God's

Rewards!

Are

All

His

Free

Gift!

It's

They're

His!

They belong

To

Him!

The

Christian

Life

Is

All

God's

Free

Generosity

All

He's

Free

To

Give

It

To

Whoever

He

Chooses

He's

Gracious

To

Whomever

He

Wills

All

Of

It

I

Think

Whether

We

See

That

Or

Not

Whether

We

Appreciate

That

Or

Not

Depends

On

Whose

Sacrifice

We're

Focused

On

Well

That's

My

Experience

In

My

Own

Heart

At

Least

Are

We

Focused

On

Your

Sacrifice

Or

His

I

Think

This

Parable

Was

Even

Framed

It's

Bracketed

With

Peter's

Focus

On

His

Sacrifice

And

Then

We

Come

To

Jesus

Sacrifice

We

Heard

Last

Week

That

It

Is

Impossible

To

Enter

The

Kingdom

Of

Heaven

With

Man

This

Is

Impossible

The

Kingdom

Of

Heaven

I

Like

Martin's

Phrase

It's

Not

For

Decent

People

It's

For

Perfect

People

Who

Share

The

Character

Of

God

It

Is

Impossible

To

To

To

Serve

Enough

To

Sacrifice

It's

Impossible

We've

Got

To

Come

As

Utterly

Dependent

Children

Peter

Is

Saying

See

See

Lord

What

We've

Done

For

You

And

Then

Chapter

20

Verse

18

Jesus

Says

!

See!

See!

We

Are

Going

Up

To

Jerusalem

And

The

Son

Of

Man

That

Figure

Is

In

Daniel

All

Authority

In

Heaven

On

Earth

He

Is

The

First

The

Son

Of

Man

Will

Be

Delivered

Over

To

The

Chief

Priests

And

Scribes

And

They

Will

Condem

Him

To

Death

And

Deliver

Him

Over

To

The

Gentiles

To

Be

Mocked

And

Flogged

And

Crucified

And

He

Will

Be

Raised

On

The

Third

!

Day

See

That

Don't

Don't

Focus

On

What

You've

Given

Up

For

God

Look

What

God

Has

Given

Up

For

You

The

Christian

Life

Is

All

God's

Generous

Grace

He

Is

Free

In

Giving

It

Am

I

Not

Allowed

To

Do

What

I

Choose

With

What

Belongs

To

Me

I

Want

To

Focus

On

Three

Implications

If

Jesus

Kingdom

If

None

Of

It

Operates

Off

Merit

If

It's

Only

Generosity

I

Want

To

I

Think

There's

Lots

Of

Implications

Of

That

But

I

Want

To

Focus

On

Three

Things

He

Is

Free

To

Give

Eternal

Life

To

Who

He

Will

Even

At

Last

Grumbling

Grumbling

Is

An

Ugly

Sin

What

We

Should

Be

Saying

In

All

Our

Christian

Service

And

Sacrifice

Is

I

Never

Made

!

A

Sacrifice

So

Can

We

Go

Through

These

He

Is

Free

To

Give

Eternal

Life

To

The

Very

Last

There's

A

Guy

Listened

To

An

Interview

Of

Michael

Franz

Franzese

I

Hope

I

Said

That

Right

Michael

Franzese

He

Was

High

Up

In

The

Mafia

In

New

York

In

The

80s

A

Violent

Life

As

You

Could

Imagine

Some

Of

The

Deeds

He's

Done

I

Don't

Want

To

Imagine

He

Said

One

Of

The

Horrors

Of

That

Life

Is

If

You

Make

A

Mistake

Your

Best

Friend

Walks

You

Into

A

Room

And

You

Don't

Walk

Out

Again

At

One

Stage

He

Had

A

Scheme

That

He

Was

Stealing

8

Million

And

That

Was

Back

In

The

80s

8

Million

!

A

Week

Not

Bad

Now

And the prison guard saw that he wasn't looking good.

And he came back and he pushed a Bible through the slot.

And he spends that solitary confinement mainly just reading the Bible.

He said he started in the book of Proverbs and he's just amazed by the wisdom there.

And then he reads the Gospels and Jesus is this leader.

He's obviously impressed by Jesus as we are.

And something he pointed out was in Jesus, he doesn't demand loyalty out of fear like his life in the mafia.

Not loyalty out of fear but loyalty out of love.

A greater loyalty out of love.

And that really got to him.

There's going to be a great reversal when Jesus comes again to judge.

There's going to be decent church going people, maybe in this room, who will be shut out of the kingdom.

And Jesus, who are self-reliant.

And friend, I'm doing you no wrong.

And mafia bosses are coming in.

There's going to be this reversal.

Prostitutes are entering the kingdom ahead.

Because it's all generosity, he's free to give grace to whoever he chooses.

Those who seem to be important, even in church circles, if they're self-reliant, there's going to be this great reversal.

Even those who seem less important in society, he's free to welcome unborn children.

He's free to welcome the disabled.

Because it's all his generosity.

Isn't that wonderful?

I remember the ministry at Crossroads with the mentally disabled that we used to help out with from time to time.

And there was this one guy who just repeatedly asked, like every time we went,

You go to the pub?

You go to the pub?

Do you remember?

Darren.

Darryl.

Darryl.

Good on you.

There you go.

After a couple of years, he started asking a different question.

You go to church?

It's like something, I don't know, something seemed to change.

There was this one night where they were singing Amazing Grace.

And to be honest with you, it sounded awful.

But it melted.

I was holding back tears because I'm pretty sure God delights.

The kingdom of God is this reversal.

He is free to give to the least.

People seem unimportant in society.

Even mafia bosses.

He's free to save whoever he wants.

There's going to be a great reversal.

This parable isn't encouraging you to wait to your deathbed to come to Christ.

But whatever you've done, it really does give you hope.

The kingdom of God is based on his generosity.

So come.

Second implication, if the Christian life is all his free generosity from first to last,

is that grumbling is ugly.

It's an ugly attitude.

It's an ugly sin.

I fall into grumbling spirit at least on a weekly basis.

Like, you ask Emma, Mondays are really bad for me.

Like, Mondays and holidays.

Oh, I'm so prone to it.

I've done so much.

I deserve that miserable spirit that doubts God's goodness and his fairness.

It comes from forgetting that all his blessings come from his free generosity.

It's this wrong focus on what I've sacrificed, what I deserve.

We can be miserable in comparing what God blesses one another with.

That spouse, that child, that child who grows up to love God, that better health.

I've done more.

I deserve more.

We can be jealous of someone else's ministry gifts and position and successes.

But if the kingdom is based on his generosity, he's never shortchanged you.

Never.

Everything is just his freeness in giving it.

All our talents, all our successes, whatever blessings we've got.

It's his freeness.

He's never shortchanged any of us.

It's really ugly to think of God that he has.

What a focus on his sacrifice, not my sacrifice.

As Alan's already talked about, we're fundraising for our mission partners.

I was going to transfer funds this week, but I paused because I felt like it was coming from

a place of compulsion.

Like, I better do it.

Like, is God asking us to sacrifice our money?

Well, it depends if you focus on what you're giving up for God or if you focus on what he's

given up for you and all the blessings that come with that.

It depends where your focus is.

David Livingston, he was missionary.

He left the comforts of England to be missionary in the mid-1800s.

His goal was to explore Africa.

It was unexplored at that point.

And his goal was to create access into all the areas of Africa for the sake of the gospel.

And he later said in this, later in life at a speech to students in Cambridge,

people talk of the sacrifice I have made in spending so much of my life in Africa.

Anxiety, sickness, suffering, danger, now and then, with a foregoing of the common conveniences,

may make us pause, cause the spirit to waver and the soul to sink.

But let this only be for a moment.

All these are nothing when compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us and for us.

I never made a sacrifice.

He's famous for that.

I never made a sacrifice.

When you compare it to his generosity and the glory that's coming,

there was, yes, there was real cost, but I never made a sacrifice.

It's all gain.

Peter, leaving his fishing trade to follow Jesus,

look what I've left for you.

That does not deserve one of the 12 thrones in the age to come.

That is his free generosity that Jesus gives that, promises that.

In all our service, whatever cost it is, and some costs are really high.

I'm not trying to downplay that, especially the relational costs.

But when we compare it to the surpassing glory he gives us,

whatever hard service we're called to,

when we compare it to that glory,

we're meant to be like that 11th hour worker.

He goes, I don't deserve.

I don't deserve what you gave me.

I've never made a sacrifice.

I've never made a sacrifice.

Let's rejoice that the kingdom of heaven doesn't operate on merit,

but only ever on our master's free generosity.

Let's pray.

Father, for those of us who haven't grasped just how free your grace is

and that your salvation is on offer simply by what you've done,

and I pray that the penny would drop through your word.

And I pray for us who have been Christians maybe for many years

and our focus has just turned in on ourselves

and we've forgotten all you've done for us

and all you've purchased for us,

that it's all your generosity.

Father, I pray that you would cause our hearts to rejoice in our salvation

and your many and the glory you promise.

Make our hearts rejoice again so that our service to you would be pleasing

and not this murmuring spirit.

Pray this in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.