PARABLES OF CHRIST
LABORERS IN THE VINEYARD
DR. JIM DIXON
MATTHEW 20:1-16
JULY 2, 1998
In the 14th century, the Roman Catholic Church, the Roman Catholic Papacy, waged many wars with European monarchies. These were battles between church and state. These were battles for wealth, battles for power. In these battles, there was little concern for the common person, but in that same century, there arose a man whose name was John Wycliffe. He was a Catholic priest He was a brilliant professor at Oxford University in England and perhaps the leading philosopher and theologian of his time
John Wycliffe had a great love for the common person and John Wycliffe had a great love for Jesus Christ. John Wycliffe has been called “The Morning Star of the Reformation.” He predated the European Reformation, but his thoughts and his ideas were almost identical to the thought and the ideas of the reformers who had would come 200 years after him.
Now, John Wycliffe believed that divine authority was not expressed supremely through the church. This got him in trouble with the church. John Wycliffe also believed that divine authority was not expressed supremely through the state, and this got Wycliffe in trouble with the state. John Wycliffe believed that divine authority was expressed supremely through the Bible, through holy scripture. Of course, it was John Wycliffe who first translated the Bible into English and today the Wycliffe Bible Translators take their name from his name. John Wycliffe also believed that salvation was only possible by God’s grace. Salvation could not be earned through good works. I must say that John Wycliffe had a higher view of works and of the importance of good works than most evangelicals have today, but he understood that salvation was only possible through grace—grace appropriated through faith in the Son of God, Jesus Christ
John Wycliffe died of a cerebral hemorrhage on December 31, 1384.He suffered that hemorrhage on a Sunday morning while administering communion. After his death, followers of Wycliffe arose, followers of his teachings, of his writings. They arose in England and throughout Europe. Those followers were called “Lollards.” The Lollards were prototypical of the reformers in the Reformation. They were hated by the Roman Catholic hierarchy. The Roman Catholic Church hated the memory of John Wycliffe, so much so after his death, his body was exhumed, his body was dug up and his bones were burned and incinerated, and the ashes were thrown into a brook called “The Swift.” So, it was said that “the ashes of John Wycliffe went from the Swift to the Avon, from the Avon to the Severn, from the Severn to the sea, and from the sea to the world.”
This morning, I want to talk to you about the subject of grace and I want to talk to you about the subject of works. As we look at this parable called “The Parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard,” we deal with these two subjects, works and grace. First, I want us to examine the subject of works. What place do good works have in the life of the Christian?
In this most recent issue of Time Magazine, the issue dated tomorrow, July 27, there is an article on General Motors. According to Time Magazine, the General Motors Corporation is in a whole lot of trouble. According to Time Magazine, the profits are down, and the market share is shrinking for General Motors. Time Magazine has concluded that this is at least in part because of a labor problem within General Motors. They claim that there are too many laborers. They claim that there are 220,000 workers in General Motors and that is too many workers for their market share. They also claim that the workers are perhaps not working hard enough. According to Time Magazine. the average worker at General Motors takes 5.4 hours to accomplish what workers at Ford and Chrysler accomplish in 3.4 and 2.9 hours, respectively. Of course, I do not know whether that’s true. I do not know whether Time Magazine is right, but I do know this. I know that any organization that has a labor problem is in deep trouble.
You see, the church of Jesus Christ is in deep trouble because the church of Jesus Christ, around the world, has a labor problem. We have a shortage of laborers—not an excess of laborers but a shortage of laborers. That is why Jesus said, “Pray the Lord of the Harvest to send more laborers out into His field.” We have a labor problem in the church of Jesus Christ. Of course, all Christians are called to labor in the Master’s vineyard and this is true of you, all of you who believe in Jesus Christ. You have been called to labor in the Master’s vineyard. Jesus said, “You have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you and I have appointed you to go and bear much fruit.” You have been called to labor in this vineyard. Of course, in the Old Testament, the vine is a symbol of Israel and the New Testament a symbol of the church. To labor in His vineyard is to labor for Him, to labor for church and kingdom. This is the call that all of us have.
Tragically, we live in a world where many Christians view Christianity doctrinally. They think that as long as they affirm the correct theology, that they are all right with Christ, but Christianity is far more than theology. We live in a world where tragically many Christians view Christianity morally and they think as long as they avoid certain immoral acts that Christ will be pleased, but Christianity is far more than morality. Christianity is far more than theology and morality and certainly theology and morality are very important. But, you see, theology and morality are not enough. Christians have been called into ministry. Christians have been called into action. Christians have been called to labor in the vineyard. There is no Christian in this world who is not called to labor in the vineyard.
Now, in this little parable, every person who comes to the Master, every person who the Master calls, is sent into the vineyard to labor. Some come early in the morning, some late in the day. Some go into the vineyard at 6:00 AM, some 5:00 PM, just as in this world some people are called by Christ and hear the call of Christ early in their life, other people late in their life, but whenever you come to Christ, you are called to go into the vineyard. You are called to labor.
Most of you have heard of the Protestant Reformation and, of course, some of you know that it was October 31,1517, when Martin Luther nailed his protest to the church door at Wittenberg and the Protestant Reformation began in Europe. What Martin Luther did in Germany, Zwingli and the Anabaptists did in Switzerland, John Calvin and the Huguenots did not only in Switzerland but also in France as the Reformation swept across Europe. There came out of the Reformation something called the Protestant Work Ethic. Most of you have heard of the Protestant Work Ethic and you are somewhat influenced by it.
The Protestant Work Ethic was based primarily on the teachings of John Calvin. Those teachings have been popularized by Max Vaber, the German economist who, in 1904, published his famous paper called “The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism.” Vaber argued that it was the Protestant Work Ethic that founded capitalism and it is the Protestant Work Ethic that sustains capitalism. Vaber was probably right.
If you look at the Protestant Work Ethic, particularly as it was espoused by John Calvin, it teaches that all jobs, whatever your job, whatever your career, whether you are a butcher or a baker or a candlestick maker, whatever your job, it is a divine call. This teaching was meant to rectify the gap, to heal the gap that existed between clergy and laity. The Reformation wanted people to understand, the Reformers wanted people to understand that biblically, laity and clergy are all precious and equal in the sight of God and that is good. So, the first foundational principle of the Protestant Work Ethic is that your job, your career, is a calling from God. Then the Protestant Work Ethic teaches us that you cannot work too hard at your job. You cannot work too hard at your career because you are working out the fall. You are working out sin by the sweat of your brow as reflected in the curse of Genesis, chapter 3.
Then in summation, the Protestant Work Ethic teaches us that if we work hard and if we go to church and if we keep our nose clean, the Master is going to be pleased with us when we stand before Him. There is a lot of virtue in that Protestant Work Ethic but, you see, it is just not entirely biblical. It is led some people to work far too long in the office. It ultimately led to the necessity of child labor laws as work was elevated beyond its proper place biblically. Certainly work, certainly your job, certainly your career is noble. I mean God wants us to earn a living, but it is not substitute. Your job, your career, is no substitute for working in the vineyard. Your job, your career, however important it is, is no substitute for labor in the vineyard. Somehow, many of the Reformers forgot this and they seem to just kind of skip over biblical teachings regarding the importance of every Christian laboring in the vineyard. It is not enough to just do your job and keep your nose clean and attend church on a Sunday morning.
You see, every Christian is called to labor in the vineyard. We have this teaching again and again in holy scripture and that is why we are constantly again and again inviting you to serve in the vineyard of Christ. We are constantly inviting you to teach Sunday School or to be a small group leader or to be an inner-city tutor for Christ, helping impoverished children in the inner city. We are constantly inviting you because, you see, to be a Christian means to labor in His vineyard. Why do we not have enough Sunday School teachers? Why do we not have enough small group leaders? Why do we not have enough inner-city tutors? Because there are too few laborers. So, we have been called to labor in the vineyard with our money, putting our money to work for Christ. We have been called to labor in the vineyard with our time. We have been called to labor in the vineyard with our talent, putting our abilities and skills to work for Christ, that His kingdom might be served, and His kingdom might grow.
Many years ago, people traveled by stagecoach here in this nation. In some parts of this nation, you could travel by stagecoach first class, second class or third class. The amazing thing was all the seats were the same. I mean it did not matter whether you went first class, second class or third class because you had exactly the same kind of seat in the stagecoach. You might think, “Well, why did they have first class, second class and third class?” Well, it had to do with what happened on the way. It had to do with the journey. When you came to a real steep hill, those who were traveling first class got to remain seated. They were able to remain seated in the stagecoach. Those who were traveling second class had to get out and walk and those who were traveling third class had to get out and push.
You see, in the church of Jesus Christ, there’s really no first and second-class people. In the church of Jesus Christ, we are all third class, and we are all called to push. We are all called to work. We are all called to labor and the church of Jesus Christ will never have the power and the anointing that it is meant to have in this generation or any other unless the laity is mobilized into action. So, we have this first teaching that we are all called to be laborers in the Master’s vineyard.
There is a second teaching, and, of course, it concerns grace and what an important doctrine the doctrine of grace is. I think most of you have heard of Napoleon I who was, of course, a tremendous military leader who conquered much of Europe and crowned himself Emperor. You know that he was a brilliant military strategist and he loved war. He loved the strategy of war but there is one thing Napoleon loved more than war and that was Josephine. If you have read anything of the life of Napoleon, you know that his one true love was Josephine. Josephine was beautiful and she was regal, and she was highly intelligent. Napoleon married her in 1796 in a lavish and beautiful ceremony and he loved her.
In 1805, he gave her a crown. He crowned her Empress. It was a tiara that he gave her. It was so beautiful. It was made of gold and silver and incredibly laden with 880 diamonds. That tiara still exists and recently was exhibited in New York City. According to the newspapers, the tiara is just as beautiful today, 193 years after Napoleon first put it on Josephine’s head, just as beautiful today as ever it was. But, of course, Josephine is no more. She has long ago passed from this earth and her beauty has perished. Dust to dust, ashes to ashes. It is a fact of history that when Napoleon first gave that tiara to Josephine, he said to her, “I would gladly give you eternal youth if it were in my power to give.” Despite all the power that he had; he did not have the power to give another human being eternal youth. If you had the power to give eternal youth, you would give it to many, that is for sure, but you have not that power.
The Bible says there is only one who has the power to give eternal youth and that one is Jesus Christ. To all who believe in Him, the promise is given like the freshness of the morning dew. Your youth will return to you. Our commonwealth is in heaven and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will change our lowly bodies to be like His glorious body by the power which enables Him to subject all things unto Himself If you believe in Christ, there is a new body coming to you. The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 15, it is a heavenly body, epouranois, which means “fit for the heavens.” The Bible says it is indestructible. The Greek word is “aptharsia” which means “no longer subject to decay.” The Bible says that that new body will be powerful. The Greek word is “dunamis” from which we get the word dynamite. The Bible says that new body will be spiritual. The Greek word is “pneumatikos” which means “governed by the spirit.” So often these bodies are governed by the flesh. The Bible says that new body will be “doxa,” the Greek word which means “glorious, worthy of praise.”
All of this is part of salvation. All of this is part of heaven. How can we attain to it? How can we attain salvation? How can we attain heaven? How can we attain the resurrection body? Do our good works earn it? If we labor in the vineyard well enough? No. I mean the Bible’s message is so clear. It’s all grace. It is grace. By grace we are saved through faith. It is a gift of God, not of works lest anyone should boast, Ephesians 2:8 and 9. And so, the Bible tells us salvation comes by grace. So, in this little parable, you see some entering the vineyard early in the morning at 6:00 AM and working all day long and you see the last entering the vineyard at the eleventh hour, at 5:00 PM when the day is late and there is only an hour left in it. But they all receive a denarius because the denarius represents salvation. It represents salvation and salvation is a gift. It’s grace. If you came to Christ when you were five years old like I did and you have labored in the vineyard for many years, or if you have just recently come to Christ, in a sense it does not matter. We are all going to get a denarius. By His grace we will be saved.
The Apostle John came to Christ when he was very young. He was probably a teenager when Christ first called him by the Sea of Galilee. He served Christ throughout a long life and most Christian historians believe that John lived into his nineties. The thief on the cross came to Christ as he drew his final breath. The thief on the cross came to Christ in his final moments. Both John and the thief received a denarius because salvation is grace. Do you understand that? Salvation is grace.
Now, perhaps you are thinking, “Well, why labor then? Why labor in the vineyard? I mean, if salvation is grace, if heaven is grace, if the resurrection body is grace, if it is just unmerited favor and it’s a gift, why labor in the vineyard?” Of course, before I give the answer to that, I do want to say that if we do not labor in the vineyard, it brings into question whether or not we have faith itself If you do not labor in the vineyard, it puts in doubt your commitment to Christ as Lord and Savior. I mean if you have really come to Christ in faith and you’ve appropriated His grace, then you believe in Him as Savior and as Lord and surely, you’re going to be willing to work in His vineyard if you really believe.
Of course, as we look at the whole subject of labor and good works, we realize biblically that there are rewards for faithful service. There might be some of you here who think that there are no rewards for faithful service. I know some people who have misunderstood this parable of laborers in the vineyard, and they think that this parable teaches that there are no varying rewards in heaven. They are wrong. There are varying rewards in heaven and this little parable is not about rewards. This parable is about salvation which comes entirely by grace, but this parable is not about rewards. The Bible makes it clear that our rewards will vary in heaven. Everyone who believe truly is going to heaven and is bound for heaven, but rewards will vary once there, and they will vary based on our faithfulness on earth. This is clearly taught in other parables that we are going to be going to in subsequent weeks. It is clearly taught in 1 Corinthians, chapter 3, where we’re told that some Christians are going to “suffer loss of rewards though they themselves will be saved but only as through fire.” I know that each of you want fullness of reward.
Many of you have heard of Czar Nicholas I. Czar Nicholas I ruled Russia for thirty years, from 1825 to 1855. Czar Nicholas I was called “The Defender of the Orthodox Church” and indeed he defended the faith. Czar Nicholas I was called the “policeman of Europe” because much of the geographical land space of Europe was under his control, and he was sometimes stem but he was also a man of compassion. It was Czar Nicholas I who elevated the lower classes in Russia, enacting legislation that gave the lower classes more comfort. Historians tell us that Czar Nicholas I sometimes went out amongst his people incognito. He went out amongst his people dressed in rags. He would knock on the doors of houses begging for food, asking for clothing, asking for a night’s shelter.
There is a story that is told of Czar Nicholas I that he came to one house which belonged to a peasant couple who were very poor, and he stood there in rags asking for food and they invited him in, and they fed him. They gave him what they had, and they gave him clothing. They gave him a night’s lodging. The next morning the peasant couple woke up and the beggar was gone. It was only a little while later that they heard noise in the street. They came out of their little house and saw a royal carriage coming down the street with a vast army of soldiers in full regalia. The royal carriage stopped in front of the peasants’ home, and Czar Nicholas I stepped out. He gave them gifts, wealth beyond their comprehension.
I tell you; Jesus Christ is moving amongst His people in the world today. He comes to your house and mine. He looks at your actions and mine. He examines your thoughts and mine and one day we will stand before Him, and He will reward His own. He wants to say to each of you, “I was hungry, and you gave Me to eat. I was thirsty and you gave Me to drink. I was naked and you clothed Me. I was sick and in prison and you visited Me. I was a stranger and you welcomed Me.” He wants us to enter into this labor of love. He wants us to know that He’s going to reward our labor. Of course, I think most of us who love Him are not that concerned with the reward.
As we close, I am mindful of the story of the Victoria Cross. The Victoria Cross is the highest commendation that the British Commonwealth can bestow for valor and courage in battle. The first giving of the Victoria Cross took place in 1857 at Hyde Park in London, England. That’s when the Victoria Cross was first given by Queen Victoria herself There stood before her a man who was badly maimed, a soldier who had fought for his country and he was greatly wounded. He could barely stand. When Queen Victoria looked at him, tears came to her eyes and tears rolled down her face. For Queen Victoria, that was not common.
This man looked at her and said, “If I had my life to live over, I would serve you again.” The queen gave him a hug which again, for Queen 1 Victoria, was extremely rare. She whispered something in his ear. To this day, no one knows what she said but she gave him the Victoria Cross. Later this man was interviewed, and he was asked how it felt to receive the Victoria Cross and he said, “You know, the award was not that important. What meant everything to me was my life had pleased the queen. My life had pleased the queen.”
If you are a Christian and you believe in Jesus, you understand that. The rewards are not so important. You just want to please Christ. Do not you long to stand before the one who has saved you by His grace and hear Him say, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” Do not you long to stand before the one who has saved you by His grace and hear Him say, “Come oh blessed of My Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from before the foundation of the world.” Let us close with a word of prayer.