Exodus 17:1-7; 1 Corinthians 9:24-10:5; St Matthew 20:1-16
In the Name + of JESUS. Amen.
We talk about the point of Christ’s parables because they have something specific to say. A parable is a poetic story, but its always more than a story. The basic material is often taken from real life - vineyards, workers, pay day - and parables are told in such a fashion that they portray something that actually happened in just that way. A Sower went out to sow His Seed. A Man sowed good Seed in a field. A Man took a grain of mustard Seed and sowed it in His field. Not fairy tales or fables. Not just-so stories, but real. Agricultural. Simple and straight forward. Accessible.
However, Jesus’ parables almost always involve a twist, something unexpected. This is because His parables are about the kingdom of heaven. The kingdom of heaven is like a Sower who went out to sow His Seed. The kingdom of heaven is like a Man who sowed good Seed in a field. The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a Man took and sowed in His field. Now when we hear “kingdom of heaven,” we tend to think of castles and moats and banners. It might better be translated “reign.” The reign of heaven is an action. It verbal. Someone is doing something. A master of a house is going out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard.
This actually fits better with the Second Petition of the Lord’s Prayer: Thy kingdom come. How does God’s kingdom come? God’s kingdom comes when our heavenly Father gives us His holy Spirit, so that by His grace we believe His holy Word. And that’s the point of this parable. Entrance into the kingdom, the reign and rule of God, comes by grace. Workers are rewarded for work they didn’t do.
I’m always a little tempted after we sing great Reformation chorales like “Salvation unto Us Has Come,” by Paul Speratus, to get up in the pulpit and simply say, “Amen.” You just sang the sermon! Its an incredible hymn and it drives home the point of the parable: Salvation unto us has come, by God’s free grace and favor. An employer gives all his employees the same pay whether they worked one hour or twelve. This is how the kingdom of heaven operates; the gracious reign and rule of God as seen in the person and work of Jesus Christ. He doesn’t ration blessing.
If you belong to Christ, He shares everything He has to give with you. This is true right here on earth. Thy kingdom come. And it does! He gives it to you right here and now. His entire kingdom for free! By grace through faith. The forgiveness of sins is yours through the Word read and preached. And where there is the forgiveness of sins, there is life and salvation. The right to be called children of God is yours by water and the Spirit in Holy Baptism. If you believe in Christ Jesus, who did for all the world atone, these gifts are yours without restraint. Christians may be strong or weak, but they have all been completely and totally forgiven. They are equally close to God’s heart. Salvation unto us has come by God’s free grace and favor.
Salvation unto us has come, by God’s free grace and favor and we rejoice and are glad but what about to other people? What about to those people? The ones who don’t “deserve” it? You’ve been following the horrifying story of Larry Nassar, the Michigan State doctor who used his position and power to sexually abuse hundreds of young girls. One girl, Rachel Denhollander, now a married mother of three and a lawyer, gave a powerful and moving victim’s incident statement before Dr Nassar was sentenced to 175 years in prison. She recounted his systematic abuse and manipulation of even his own daughters to further his perversions. And how for years no one believed her or other victims. She was articulate and precise. Its really moving testimony. And at the end of her statement she said this:
In our early hearings. you brought your Bible into the courtroom and you have spoken of praying for forgiveness. And so it is on that basis that I appeal to you. If you have read the Bible you carry, you know the definition of sacrificial love portrayed is of God himself loving so sacrificially that he gave up everything to pay a penalty for the sin he did not commit. By his grace, I, too, choose to love this way.
You spoke of praying for forgiveness. But Larry, if you have read the Bible you carry, you know forgiveness does not come from doing good things, as if good deeds can erase what you have done. It comes from repentance which requires facing and acknowledging the truth about what you have done in all of its utter depravity and horror without mitigation, without excuse, without acting as if good deeds can erase what you have seen this courtroom today.
The Bible you carry says it is better for a stone to be thrown around your neck and you to be thrown into a lake than for you to make even one child stumble. And you have damaged hundreds.
The Bible you carry speaks of a final judgment where all of God's wrath and eternal terror is poured out on men like you. Should you ever reach the point of truly facing what you have done, the guilt will be crushing. And that is what makes the gospel of Christ so sweet. Because it extends grace and hope and mercy where none should be found. And it will be there for you.”
That is the grace of the kingdom; the action of His reign! The undeserved, unmerited kindness of the Master of the House who left His heavenly vineyard and came down into the world’s marketplace where we were lost in sin, calling us into His Church, gathering us under His gracious reign and rule. Some were called early, from infancy at the font and have been here all along. Others were called at 9a or 12noon or 3p, from high school or college or as young adults. Some don’t come until the sun is setting upon their lives and only an hour of daylight is left to work. But no matter when they came or who they were they are all equal in the eyes of Master. In His boundless love He will not show partiality or favoritism.
And this angers some. They don’t like being made equal to pedophiles and perverts. These last only worked one hour and You have made them equal to us! We are legalistic, self-righteous snobs. Repent. God doesn’t operate on your myopic sense of fairness. God isn’t fair. But He is just. And He is merciful.
And His justice and mercy meet in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, who in a labor of love bore the burden of your sin and the scorching heat of His Father’s wrath, poured out upon His flesh and soul in His Passion. He ran the race. He finished the course. He laid down His life for sinners who rejected and killed Him.
But you, and here is the sweetness of the Gospel dear ones, you receive the reward, the imperishable wreath of eternal life, the denarius of the full and free forgiveness of all of your sins. The father gives the insolent younger son a share of the inheritance and then unconditionally welcomes him home after he squanders it. The shepherd leaves the 99 sheep on the hillside and searches for the lost one. The vineyard owner pays bums who only work one hour a whole day’s wage. This is the gracious reign of Christ, who bestows not what you deserve or earn, but chooses to give freely what belongs to Him.
One last word. And it goes to the proper distinction of the ninth stanza. What of good works and love? What does laboring in the vineyard of the Lord mean? You may have noticed I left of the last half of the explanation to the Second Petition: Thy kingdom come? How does God’s kingdom come? God’s kingdom comes when He gives us His Holy Spirit, so that by His grace we believe His holy Word and lead godly lives here in time and there in eternity. Laboring in the vineyard is nothing other than doing your duty in faith toward God and love toward your neighbor according to your vocation.
You have been graciously called into the vineyard of the Lord. He has established the tower of His Church and the proclamation of the holy Gospel for the forgiveness of your sins. He has set up the well of Holy Baptism to cleanse you from all unrighteousness. And He even places a hedge around His vineyard for your protection. And that hedge is the Ten Commandments, His holy Word and will for every station in your life.
They are for your instruction and good, not that you may earn your place in the vineyard by doing and keeping them. Rather, as you have been graciously called to His vineyard, you desire to love what Jesus loves, to love His law and rejoice in His Gospel. Notice the ones who didn’t grumble against the goodness of the Master weren’t sent away, but remained with Him. They continually receive from His goodness and mercy. They neither boast nor complain about their vocations, for they bear the cross laid upon them in patience trust, receiving grace from the nail-pierced hand of the One who bore their eternal burden and gave them everlasting life.
Come, then, dear brothers and sisters, and receive the choicest wine of the vineyard, the very Blood which was shed for you for the forgiveness of all of your sins. You are not worthy according to your works, but by the gracious working of the Holy Spirit in the Word you believe the word of the Master: “Take and eat, take and drink, this is My Body and My Blood, given and shed for you, for the forgiveness of your sins.”
In the Name of the Father and + of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
In the Name + of JESUS. Amen.
We talk about the point of Christ’s parables because they have something specific to say. A parable is a poetic story, but its always more than a story. The basic material is often taken from real life - vineyards, workers, pay day - and parables are told in such a fashion that they portray something that actually happened in just that way. A Sower went out to sow His Seed. A Man sowed good Seed in a field. A Man took a grain of mustard Seed and sowed it in His field. Not fairy tales or fables. Not just-so stories, but real. Agricultural. Simple and straight forward. Accessible.
However, Jesus’ parables almost always involve a twist, something unexpected. This is because His parables are about the kingdom of heaven. The kingdom of heaven is like a Sower who went out to sow His Seed. The kingdom of heaven is like a Man who sowed good Seed in a field. The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a Man took and sowed in His field. Now when we hear “kingdom of heaven,” we tend to think of castles and moats and banners. It might better be translated “reign.” The reign of heaven is an action. It verbal. Someone is doing something. A master of a house is going out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard.
This actually fits better with the Second Petition of the Lord’s Prayer: Thy kingdom come. How does God’s kingdom come? God’s kingdom comes when our heavenly Father gives us His holy Spirit, so that by His grace we believe His holy Word. And that’s the point of this parable. Entrance into the kingdom, the reign and rule of God, comes by grace. Workers are rewarded for work they didn’t do.
I’m always a little tempted after we sing great Reformation chorales like “Salvation unto Us Has Come,” by Paul Speratus, to get up in the pulpit and simply say, “Amen.” You just sang the sermon! Its an incredible hymn and it drives home the point of the parable: Salvation unto us has come, by God’s free grace and favor. An employer gives all his employees the same pay whether they worked one hour or twelve. This is how the kingdom of heaven operates; the gracious reign and rule of God as seen in the person and work of Jesus Christ. He doesn’t ration blessing.
If you belong to Christ, He shares everything He has to give with you. This is true right here on earth. Thy kingdom come. And it does! He gives it to you right here and now. His entire kingdom for free! By grace through faith. The forgiveness of sins is yours through the Word read and preached. And where there is the forgiveness of sins, there is life and salvation. The right to be called children of God is yours by water and the Spirit in Holy Baptism. If you believe in Christ Jesus, who did for all the world atone, these gifts are yours without restraint. Christians may be strong or weak, but they have all been completely and totally forgiven. They are equally close to God’s heart. Salvation unto us has come by God’s free grace and favor.
Salvation unto us has come, by God’s free grace and favor and we rejoice and are glad but what about to other people? What about to those people? The ones who don’t “deserve” it? You’ve been following the horrifying story of Larry Nassar, the Michigan State doctor who used his position and power to sexually abuse hundreds of young girls. One girl, Rachel Denhollander, now a married mother of three and a lawyer, gave a powerful and moving victim’s incident statement before Dr Nassar was sentenced to 175 years in prison. She recounted his systematic abuse and manipulation of even his own daughters to further his perversions. And how for years no one believed her or other victims. She was articulate and precise. Its really moving testimony. And at the end of her statement she said this:
In our early hearings. you brought your Bible into the courtroom and you have spoken of praying for forgiveness. And so it is on that basis that I appeal to you. If you have read the Bible you carry, you know the definition of sacrificial love portrayed is of God himself loving so sacrificially that he gave up everything to pay a penalty for the sin he did not commit. By his grace, I, too, choose to love this way.
You spoke of praying for forgiveness. But Larry, if you have read the Bible you carry, you know forgiveness does not come from doing good things, as if good deeds can erase what you have done. It comes from repentance which requires facing and acknowledging the truth about what you have done in all of its utter depravity and horror without mitigation, without excuse, without acting as if good deeds can erase what you have seen this courtroom today.
The Bible you carry says it is better for a stone to be thrown around your neck and you to be thrown into a lake than for you to make even one child stumble. And you have damaged hundreds.
The Bible you carry speaks of a final judgment where all of God's wrath and eternal terror is poured out on men like you. Should you ever reach the point of truly facing what you have done, the guilt will be crushing. And that is what makes the gospel of Christ so sweet. Because it extends grace and hope and mercy where none should be found. And it will be there for you.”
That is the grace of the kingdom; the action of His reign! The undeserved, unmerited kindness of the Master of the House who left His heavenly vineyard and came down into the world’s marketplace where we were lost in sin, calling us into His Church, gathering us under His gracious reign and rule. Some were called early, from infancy at the font and have been here all along. Others were called at 9a or 12noon or 3p, from high school or college or as young adults. Some don’t come until the sun is setting upon their lives and only an hour of daylight is left to work. But no matter when they came or who they were they are all equal in the eyes of Master. In His boundless love He will not show partiality or favoritism.
And this angers some. They don’t like being made equal to pedophiles and perverts. These last only worked one hour and You have made them equal to us! We are legalistic, self-righteous snobs. Repent. God doesn’t operate on your myopic sense of fairness. God isn’t fair. But He is just. And He is merciful.
And His justice and mercy meet in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, who in a labor of love bore the burden of your sin and the scorching heat of His Father’s wrath, poured out upon His flesh and soul in His Passion. He ran the race. He finished the course. He laid down His life for sinners who rejected and killed Him.
But you, and here is the sweetness of the Gospel dear ones, you receive the reward, the imperishable wreath of eternal life, the denarius of the full and free forgiveness of all of your sins. The father gives the insolent younger son a share of the inheritance and then unconditionally welcomes him home after he squanders it. The shepherd leaves the 99 sheep on the hillside and searches for the lost one. The vineyard owner pays bums who only work one hour a whole day’s wage. This is the gracious reign of Christ, who bestows not what you deserve or earn, but chooses to give freely what belongs to Him.
One last word. And it goes to the proper distinction of the ninth stanza. What of good works and love? What does laboring in the vineyard of the Lord mean? You may have noticed I left of the last half of the explanation to the Second Petition: Thy kingdom come? How does God’s kingdom come? God’s kingdom comes when He gives us His Holy Spirit, so that by His grace we believe His holy Word and lead godly lives here in time and there in eternity. Laboring in the vineyard is nothing other than doing your duty in faith toward God and love toward your neighbor according to your vocation.
You have been graciously called into the vineyard of the Lord. He has established the tower of His Church and the proclamation of the holy Gospel for the forgiveness of your sins. He has set up the well of Holy Baptism to cleanse you from all unrighteousness. And He even places a hedge around His vineyard for your protection. And that hedge is the Ten Commandments, His holy Word and will for every station in your life.
They are for your instruction and good, not that you may earn your place in the vineyard by doing and keeping them. Rather, as you have been graciously called to His vineyard, you desire to love what Jesus loves, to love His law and rejoice in His Gospel. Notice the ones who didn’t grumble against the goodness of the Master weren’t sent away, but remained with Him. They continually receive from His goodness and mercy. They neither boast nor complain about their vocations, for they bear the cross laid upon them in patience trust, receiving grace from the nail-pierced hand of the One who bore their eternal burden and gave them everlasting life.
Come, then, dear brothers and sisters, and receive the choicest wine of the vineyard, the very Blood which was shed for you for the forgiveness of all of your sins. You are not worthy according to your works, but by the gracious working of the Holy Spirit in the Word you believe the word of the Master: “Take and eat, take and drink, this is My Body and My Blood, given and shed for you, for the forgiveness of your sins.”
In the Name of the Father and + of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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