Matthew Ch20v1-16 - Entering The Kingdom

If you haven't got a Bible with you, please, you can get one now and you might want to

take some notes as well in the pen there at the table at the back as you came in.

Thank you.

So Matthew's Gospel, Chapter 20.

Last week, Jason, our guest speaker, was talking about greatness in the kingdom.

Today we're going to be thinking about entering the kingdom.

Let's read from Matthew, Chapter 20, verse 1 to verse 16.

Matthew 20:1

Jesus is speaking.

For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers

for his vineyard.

He agreed to pay them a denarius, that's a day's wage, and sent them into his vineyard.

About nine in the morning he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing.

He 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 noon and about three in the afternoon and did the same thing.

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?

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 five in the afternoon 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.

Those 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 of the heat of the day.

But he answered one of them, I am not being unfair to you, friend.

Didn't you agree to work for a denarius?

Take your pay and go.

I want to give the one who is 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.

Well, let's pray.

Father, in your grace and because you are kind and compassionate,

would you pour out your blessing upon us as we gather here,

upon our Sunday school as they meet at the same time.

Father, in your grace,

would you pour out your spirit generously,

so that we may be moved,

captured by your word afresh,

and changed

to see the wonder of who you are

and the life you've called us to live.

So help us all, we pray, in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Amen.

Well, the other day I was driving to Mahon Point.

It was very busy,

so everybody was on the hunt for a parking space.

And being a good boy that I am,

I waited patiently for someone to leave so that I could park.

Eventually, I spotted a car move down one of the aisles.

And as I made my way up that row of cars,

guess what happened?

Another car, who had just arrived,

went in ahead of me.

Couldn't believe it.

I won't tell you what I said or what I thought.

I wonder if that's ever happened to you.

So frustrating,

so annoying.

I was there first.

I deserved that parking space.

They were last in line.

It's not right.

And it's not fair.

Well, Jesus has been teaching about who enters the kingdom of heaven.

But it's not as we expect.

Have a look back with me in chapter 19,

verse 14.

Jesus said,

Let the little children come to me.

Now remember,

children in that society were considered nobodies.

They were the least and the last.

But, says Jesus,

do not hinder them,

for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.

And then in contrast,

have a look at verse 23.

Jesus said to his disciples,

Truly I tell you,

it is hard for someone who is rich

to enter the kingdom.

The rich are the people of power and influence.

They are the best and they are first.

But, says Jesus,

it is hard for someone who is rich

to enter the kingdom of heaven.

You see, this is a reversal of the world's values.

It turns everything upside down.

As Jesus concludes in verse 30,

chapter 19,

But many who are first will be last.

And many who are last will be first.

How can this be?

It seems so unfair,

so unjust.

Well, Jesus tells us a parable

so that we might understand

who enters the kingdom.

Chapter 20, verse 1.

For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner

who went out early in the morning

to hire workers for his vineyard.

A parable,

the story that Jesus is telling,

is a practical story

which highlights a spiritual reality.

In other words,

it's a story with a deeper meaning.

So in this parable,

the vineyard represents the kingdom of heaven.

The landowner represents Jesus.

And the workers represent those

who enter the kingdom.

It's a story that shows us

that entrance into the kingdom

is all by grace.

Grace is that key

that opens the door into the kingdom.

So three things I want us to see this morning

from this story.

We're going to look at the welcome of grace,

the scandal of grace,

and the generosity of grace.

Welcome, scandal, and generosity.

So first, the welcome of grace.

Let's read verse 1 again.

For the kingdom of heaven

is like a landowner

who went out early in the morning

to hire workers for his vineyard.

It's a typical scene.

The landowner goes off to the town

to the unemployment centre.

He goes early in the morning.

It's about 6am at sunrise

when the working day started.

And he finds himself some workers.

An arrangement is made

and everybody's happy.

Verse 2,

he agreed to pay them a denarius.

Which, if you have a note

in the bottom of your Bible there,

says it's a daily wage

for a labourer.

Now that's extremely generous

for somebody who would be unskilled.

So he agreed to pay them

a day's wage

and he sent them into the vineyard.

But it seems the landowner

has more room for workers.

So he goes back down to job seekers

and we're told in the text

that four more times he goes.

He goes back at 9am,

12pm,

3pm,

and then again at 5pm.

Each time he hires more workers.

Now this isn't a story

about how to reduce the unemployment.

It's a story to tell us

about God's heart.

You see, there's an order here.

Because it appears that the ones

who are up early

and who are first in the queue,

well, they're the ones that get hired.

They're fit and healthy.

They're the best of the bunch.

They get employed first.

And as the day goes by,

the standard of employee

begins to drop significantly.

As the best have been taken,

so the dregs are left behind.

The lazy,

the good for nothing,

the weak.

The ones who always arrive late

and go home early.

You know the type.

Always taking their smoke break

and their tea break.

They're the best of the people

faffing about,

wasting their day.

But that doesn't seem

to bother the landowner.

Verse 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?

They're just hanging about,

idle.

Verse 7.

Because no one has hired us.

I wonder why.

He said to them,

you also go and work

in my vineyard.

You see,

it's not just the best

and the brightest

who get employed,

but it's also the least

and the last.

Because when it comes

to the kingdom of heaven,

no one is outside

the welcome of God's grace.

It's like this.

Perhaps you know someone

who heard the gospel.

Maybe this is you.

You heard the gospel

and you responded straight away.

You repented of your sins.

You turned to faith in Jesus.

You were baptized

as a sign of your desire

to follow him.

You've been committed

to your local church.

You serve and you give

as you're able.

In fact,

your whole life

has been about

putting the kingdom first.

But maybe you know others

who also hear the gospel.

They've heard it

many, many times.

But they ignore it

and they reject it.

They make false commitments

and promises.

Oh yes,

I'll be there.

I'm going to change my life

for real this time.

But living as they please

and they think of no one else

but themselves.

But then late on in life,

they do turn in repentance

and put their faith

in Christ.

What do you think of that?

put yourself into this story.

Think of yourself

as the landowner.

Who would you employ?

Well,

as I thought about it,

I would only employ

the 6am workers.

I might

employ the 9am ones too.

But I'm certainly

not going to employ

anybody after that.

Certainly not the 5pm hangabouts.

But when it comes

to the kingdom of heaven,

no one

is written off.

Those who avail

of the opportunity

and respond straight away

and those who

misuse the opportunity

and respond late,

they're both

welcome.

Now this is

good news

for you and I.

because perhaps

you feel

you've wasted

your life.

Maybe you feel

you've blown it.

Used every opportunity

and chance

you could possibly get.

And everybody else

just writes you off.

But God

writes no one off.

You see,

it doesn't matter

whether you're a 6am-er

or a 5pm-er.

Know this.

Today

is an opportunity

to respond

to the good

and gracious

call of God.

Don't waste it.

The landowner

is looking

to hire

workers

for the vineyard.

and we are

all

welcomed.

So,

the welcome

of grace.

Second,

there's

scandalous

grace.

Read with me

verse 8.

When evening

came,

when the day's

work had been

done,

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.

Now,

that just seems

all out of place,

doesn't it?

Surely,

the ones who

were hired

first

should get

paid first.

But this all

seems to be

round the wrong

way.

The last ones

getting paid

first,

I mean,

that's scandalous.

There's both

a surprise

and a shock.

Look at the

surprise in

verse 9.

The workers

who were hired

about five

in the afternoon

came and

each received

a denarius,

a full day's

wage.

Those who

had started

late,

who had got

hired last,

who only

got to work

one hour,

if even

that,

also get

a full

day's

wage.

Well,

you think,

if the

landowner

is so

generous

to these

guys,

it can

only mean

one thing.

Verse 10.

So,

when those

who were

hired first,

they received,

expected to

receive more.

I mean,

the landowner

is going to

give us a

bonus here

for what

we've done.

but each

one of them

also

received a

denarius.

They're

shocked.

They're

stunned.

It's a

complete reversal

of how

we do

things.

You see,

in the

world's

economy,

it's all

about

performance.

Everything

is measured

by what

I do.

We learn

it from

when we

are small,

don't we?

get your

homework

right and

I'll give

you a

gold star.

Keep your

room tidy

and you'll

get more

pocket money.

Win the

race or

win your

match and

people are

going to

love you.

Gets a

little bit

more sophisticated

but it's

the same

as we get

older.

Work hard

and you'll

get the

promotion.

Look well

and keep

fit and

you will

have the

partner of

your choice.

better

yourself

and you

will have

a better

life.

Performance,

performance,

performance.

Do well

and you

will get

what you

want.

Do badly

and you

will lose

out forever.

That's the

message we've

grown up

with.

And that's

what we

think is

the message

about the

kingdom of

heaven.

Well,

the way

of the

kingdom

is not

the way

of the

world.

world.

It's

never

about

our

performance

but God's

acceptance

of us

in Christ.

You see,

Jesus is

teaching us

that our

performance

counts for

nothing.

If performance

mattered,

then the

ones in

this story

who had

worked

longer and

harder

would have

received

way more.

and if

performance

counted,

then those

who had

worked

shorter

and didn't

even break

a sweat

would have

received

less.

But in

God's

economy,

each one

gets the

same

because it's

all by

grace.

You see,

the only

performance

that counts

is what

Christ has

done for

you.

Christ

does

everything.

Jesus has

lived the

perfect life

for you.

He never

sinned.

He obeyed

God perfectly

for you

and for

me.

He lives

the life

that we

could never

live.

But more

than that,

Jesus dies

our death

for us.

He was

treated as

sinful for

us.

He was

punished for

our disobedience.

Jesus died

the death

that we

deserve.

But as

we simply

trust him

through faith,

we receive

God's

good and

gracious

free gift,

the forgiveness

of all

our sins.

Maybe

there's sin

that's weighing

you down

today.

He forgives

all your

sin.

God's

presence of

the

transforming

spirit,

God

living within

you.

This is

what we

receive.

The joy

of being

adopted

into God's

family to

talk to the

creator of

the universe

as our

father who

gives good

gifts continually

to his

children,

the support

of his

family,

brothers and

sisters around

us today,

the guarantee

of life in

God's

eternal

kingdom where

everything will

be put

right.

All

freely

given

to you

to receive

because of

what Christ

has done

for you.

Our

performance

counts for

nothing,

zilch,

zero,

nada.

The only

performance that

counts is what

Christ has

done.

God

pays out

to us

what

someone else

has earned

for us.

God

pays out

to you

today

what

Christ has

earned

for you.

That's the

scandal

of grace.

So there's

the welcome,

there's the

scandal,

and there's

generous

grace.

Look at

verse 11.

When those

who had

been hired

first,

when they

received

their pay,

they began

to grumble

against the

landowner.

These who

were hired

last worked

only one

hour,

they said,

people

and you've

made them

equal to

us,

who have

borne the

burden of

the work

and the

heat of

the day.

Time to

get the

unions

involved.

This is

outrageous.

I mean,

who wouldn't

be annoyed?

These guys

have done

little to

nothing,

and they're

getting the

same.

I have

sympathy for

those who

are up at

6am to

go to

work,

these hard

working

people.

If that

were you

and I in

this situation,

we'd be out,

wouldn't

be,

with our

placards,

equal pay,

taking to

social media.

It's

completely

unfair.

Where's the

justice in

any of

this?

Verse 13.

But the

landowner

answered one

of them,

I am not

being unfair

to you,

friend.

Didn't you

agree to

work for

a denarius?

Take your

pay and

go.

You see,

the landowner

has cheated

no one.

He's treated

everyone

fairly.

They got

paid what

was agreed.

In fact,

they've all

got more

than what

they deserved.

You see,

we need to

remember that

what we

receive from

God is

not because

of our

performance,

but because

of his

grace to

us.

You see,

at one

level,

these guys

are right

to grumble.

We associate

with them,

don't we?

We feel

their heartache

and their

pain.

This is

not fair.

But that's

the point.

You see,

think about it.

If God

were to

treat us

fairly,

we would

get nothing.

If God

were to

treat us

justly,

then we

would have

to pay for

our own

sin,

and we

would have

to face

his wrath.

If it's

fairness from

God that

we want,

then hell

is what

we've

earned and

what we

deserve.

You see,

grace by

definition

is never

fair.

Because grace

is receiving

what we

cannot earn

and what we

don't deserve.

That's

not fair.

But are we

going to

grumble

about that?

I don't

think so.

Three things.

to think

about as

we close

that we

must get

to grips

with.

Here's the

first.

God

desires

to give

grace.

Look at

verse 14.

The

landowner,

take

your pay

and go.

I

want to

give the

one who

was hired

last

the same

as I

gave you.

I

want to

give.

God

is not

a mean,

tight-fisted,

vengeful

God

looking to

squash any

unsuspecting

sinner.

No,

God is

generous.

He

longs to

give

grace.

Consider

how God

has revealed

his character

to us.

Just look

with me,

please.

Keep your

finger in

Matthew 20

and just

jump back

to Psalm

103.

Psalm

103.

Psalm

103.

Psalm

103.

And let's

just take in

God's

character,

how he

describes

himself,

how he

reveals his

nature to

us.

The

psalmist is

recording a

terrible event

in Israel's

past,

where they

sinned awfully.

But this was

the response.

Verse 7.

God made

known his

ways to

Moses,

his deeds

to the

people of

Israel.

The

Lord is

compassionate

and gracious,

slow to

anger,

abounding

in love.

He will

not always

accuse.

He will

not harbour

his anger

forever.

He does

not treat

us as our

sins deserve

or repay

us according

to our

iniquities.

For as

high as the

heavens are

above the

earth, so

great is

his love

for those

who fear

him.

As far

as the

east is

from the

west, so

far has

he removed

our

transgressions

from us.

I want to

sing that

song again,

don't you?

Back to

Matthew 20.

God does

not ignore

our sin.

It says

very clearly

he will deal

with it, but

his heart is

one of

compassion.

He is

abounding

in love.

He desires

to give

grace.

And this

is the

God who

comes to

each one

of us

today.

Whoever we

are, whatever

you have

done, he

loves you.

He loves

you.

His heart

is for

you.

God desires

to give

grace.

Second, God

distributes

his grace

as he

pleases.

Look at

verse 15,

Matthew

Matthew 20:15

chapter 20,

verse 15.

Don't I

have the

right to

do what

I want

with

my

own

money?

me?

Or are

you

envious

because I

am

generous?

Again, it's

speaking of

God, isn't

it?

Grace

is God's.

Grace

belongs to

God's.

It's his

property.

Therefore, it's

for God to

give as

he pleases.

I don't

have any

right to

it.

You have

no claim

to it.

So who

are any

of us

to say

God

can't

give

grace to

this

person

or he

can't

give

grace to

that

person?

Who

are we

to tell

God

what to

do

with his

grace?

We need

to understand

that what

God does

is always

right.

He

discerns,

he

decides,

and he

distributes

as he

pleases.

It might

seem

unfair

to us,

but we

can be

sure that

everything

God does

is always

fair and

always

just.

With

God, no

one is

ever

treated

unfairly.

Ever.

So he

desires,

he

distributes,

and

God

demands

grace

from

those

who

receive

grace.

Grace

is always

unearned

and undeserved,

so none

of us

here can

think of

ourselves

as superior

to anyone

else,

and none

of us

need to

feel

inferior

to anyone

else.

Let's

just read

verse 11

and 12

again.

when they

had received

it,

their day's

wage,

they began

to grumble

against the

landowner.

Those 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.

grace

does.

It makes

us all

equal.

It levels

the playing

field.

It doesn't

matter who

you are

or where

you come

from.

It doesn't

matter your

background,

your position,

your status,

the address,

the colour

of your skin.

The only

reason any

of us can

give for

being in

the kingdom

of God

is grace.

I cannot

claim to be

better than

you,

and you

cannot claim

to be

better than

me.

Now,

at one

level,

that's easy

for us

to say,

isn't it?

But it's

sure hard,

very difficult

to live.

Perhaps

you're

thinking about

someone in

particular.

Maybe

someone has

hurt you.

Maybe

somebody has

wronged

you.

Trust has

been broken,

lies have

been told,

repentance

has not

been

forthcoming.

Well,

the last

thing we

want to

do for

that person

is show

them grace,

right?

Let's be

honest.

We want

them to get

what they

deserve,

so I

won't talk

to them.

We want

them to get

what they

earn,

so I will

make sure

they feel

what I

feel.

well,

let's

together

this

morning

look

afresh

into the

mirror of

God's

grace.

And as

we look

into the

mirror of

God's

grace,

what do

we see?

One who

has received

undeserved

grace.

We have

no claim,

we have

no right,

but through

Christ we

have received

his gracious

favour and

blessing.

Look into

the mirror

and we

will see

that we're

all equal.

Because the

evidence that

I have

received

grace,

the evidence

that you

have received

grace,

is that you

will show

grace to

others.

I will

welcome others

just as

Christ has

welcomed me.

I will

be scandalous

in my

dealings with

others,

in my

generosity

towards

them.

How we

treat each

other

will tell

us if

I am a

bitter

grumbler

who angrily

holds on

to grace

or a

generous

giver who

desires to

distribute

his grace.

grace.

What are

you today?

Are you a

bitter grumbler

withholding

grace from

someone?

Or are you a

generous giver

who desires to

distribute that

grace?

grace?

So,

verse 16,

the last

will be

first

and the

first

will be

last.

In God's

economy,

everything is

turned upside

down.

No superiority

and no

inferiority.

All are

equal.

grace is

the key

that will

open the

door to

the kingdom

of heaven.

Let's just

take a moment

to reflect

as we

pray.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Father, thank

you for the

welcome of

your grace

to us.

Thank you

for that

surprising,

shocking

grace

that gives

to us more

than we could

ever expect

or imagine.

Thank you,

Father, for

your generosity

to us.

Undeserving

as we are,

yet you have

made us

rich.

We praise

you, we

thank you.

Help us

to be

changed by

your grace

that we

are no longer

a bitter

grumbler

but a

generous

giver.

Change

your hearts.

Mould

us and

shape us.

Father,

in your

goodness,

pour out

your grace

upon us

afresh.

In

Jesus'

name.

Amen.

Well,

we're going

to sing a

well-known

song.

Amazing

grace,

how sweet

the sound.

It's grace

that begins

the journey,

grace that

will keep

us on

the journey

and grace

that will

see us

through to

our home

with Him.

It's not

because of

us.

Thank you.