Exodus 17:1-7; 1 Corinthians 9:24-10:5; St Matthew 20:1-16
In the Name + of JESUS. Amen.
The topic is grace, but the story is about work. The parable is about laboring in a vineyard. Work. But Jesus told the story to illustrate for us the meaning of grace. Jesus’ parable about laboring in the vineyard teaches the same as St Paul when he writes a little earlier in Romans, To the one who does not work but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness (Rm 4:5).
The parable before us describes true Christians and false Christians. They all work in the vineyard. That is, they all go to Church. Jesus isn’t talking about people who don’t confess the Christian faith, don’t go to church, don’t publicly identify themselves as Christians. He’s talking about people who outwardly confess the Christian faith, attend Church, make use of the Word and Sacraments.
You see, there are two kinds of professing Christians: true Christians and false Christians. True Christians believe that Jesus is their one Redeemer who ransomed them from sin, death, and hell. They believe what God promises them in Christ and through faith they receive what the promises promise.
Since Jesus has already rescued them from the punishment of their sins, they know and believe that they are righteous before God. They don’t have to win over God’s heart. They already have His favor. Already they are saints. They are forgiven of all their sins. They are clothed in the righteousness of Christ. They have the assurance of eternal life. And they do good deeds because God has already made them good by forgiving them all their sins.
False Christians may say that they believe in Jesus. They may confess the Apostles’ Creed, pray the Our Father, kneel at the Altar and eat and drink the Body and Blood of Jesus, given and shed for them for the forgiveness of sins. But they are not Christians. They hold to a false faith. They trust in their own good deeds. They believe that they earn God’s grace by doing good. While they pay lip service to Jesus, calling Him Savior, they don’t trust in His salvation. They are working their way to heaven. Gaining an eternal reward by doing good. They are thereby insulting the suffering of Jesus, trampling His Blood underfoot, and despising the grace of God in Christ.
False Christians are paid by the work they do. They receive the praise of the world But when they re done doing all the work they have don, the Owner of the Vineyard tells them, Take what is yours and go your way. Go your way. Their way is the way of death. Not life. They have no fellowship with God. They are not His children. He never knew them. They knew only their own labor.
Those who trust in their own good deeds are scandalized by God’s grace. They look at religion as a job. They judge religion they way people judge jobs. You put in so many hours and you get so much money per hour. You earn the money you receive. You worked for it. Its yours.
False Christians apply this same standard to the kingdom of heaven. They suppose that if thats how it is in the job market, it must be that way in God’s kingdom as well. They fashion God in their own image. This is how things work. It must be the way God works. All other world religions, except for Christianity operate this way. The false Christian, sadly, applies this to the one, true religion, sadly. And to his own peril.
True Christians know that God doesn’t think they way we think. His kingdom is a reign of grace, not merit. You work, not for pay, but in joy because you are already given a place by His mercy and grace. The false Christians who worked for twelve long hours enduring the burden and heat of the day, they settled up front what their payment would be. They were working for pay.
Those who were hired later, whose work flew by without them breaking a sweat, they didn’t ask for a specific wage. Nor were they promised one. They wanted to work and trusted in the generosity of the Vineyard Owner.
At the end of the Day the Vineyard Owner treats this who did much work the same as those who did little work. This is what God’s grace is like! Those who trust in His grace and those who trust in their own work appear to be doing the same work. But those who trust in His grace don’t feel the burden of the work. Jesus said, Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light (Mt 11:28-30).
When God justifies you He reckons you righteous. He counts unto you, by faith, the obedience and suffering of Christ. This is what makes you righteous. His Word. Christ’s work. Received in faith. Nothing you do makes you righteous. Its the work that Jesus did that declares you righteous. Justified. God reckons this to you by faith for Jesus’ sake. It is as the verse quoted at the bottom of the hymn you just sang says, For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a results of works, so that no one may boast (Eph 2:8-9). It. Faith. Faith is a gift of God which receives the rest of His gifts. Forgiveness. Justification. Righteousness.
Even sanctification. For the same text continues, For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them (Eph 2:10). God justified you by grace alone. He forgives you by grace alone. And He changes you by grace alone. To love what He loves. To do what He commands. You love God. So you work. The work you do is not a burden, but a joy. You love God by loving your neighbor. By serving them. By forgiving them. This is not a burden, but a privilege, a joy.
For this is what Christ has done. For the joy that was set before Him, He endured the Cross, despising them shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God (Heb 12:2). He bore the burden of the sins of the world and endured the scorching heat of the Father’s wrath. He did not wrong, yet was cast out of the Vineyard of Jerusalem, forsaken by God and afflicted. He took what belonged to you and went. He went the way of the Cross for you. He who is First and Last, the Alpha and Omega, for your sake, became Last. Weak, despised, rejected, buried in a tomb. He did it not to earn a crown for Himself, but for you. To rise from the dead and bestow on you a kingdom and a name. He is your Rock and Salvation and He give generously to you and to all.
But for those who don’t trust in God’s grace in Christ Jesus, they look at their work as a burden. That’s because it is a burden. When you are trying to make yourself righteous before God by doing righteous things, you will never succeed. If you consult God’s law to see how well you’re doing you won’t be happy with what you see. So instead of judging yourself by God’s standards, you’ll become your own standard and compare yourself to people who haven’t done as many good things as you have. That’s irony for you. Standing in judgment of others is a sin, and now this sin has become your claim to righteousness!
But that’s the way is must be for those who are working their way to heaven, earning God’s approval, relying on their hard labor to get whatever God has got to give. To which our Lord Jesus says, So the last will be first and the first last. For many are called, but few are chosen. Put yourself first and you’ll be made last. Exalt yourself and you will be humbled. Stand on your pride and you will be abased. Elevate yourself at the expense of your neighbor and God will see to it that your neighbor stands above you. Even the ancient pagan knew that pride goes before the fall.
Treating those who worked just one hour the same as those who worked twelve seems unfair. God’s grace seems unfair. But its only unfair to those who despise it. It doesn’t trouble those who trust in it. Jesus explains, Many are called, but few chosen. The Gospel call goes out everywhere, to everyone. God so loved the world (Jn 3:16). Christ died for all (2 Cor 5:15). Jesus commands that all nations everywhere be taught the Gospel, baptized, instructed in the Christian faith and life. Young and old, black and white, male and female, rich and poor, all people everywhere. Many are called. Many means everyone everywhere.
But few are chosen. Few believe. Its not that God doesn’t want everyone to believe. He does. But there are so many things that come between sinners and God’s grace to prevent them from trusting in it. So many things prevent people from trusting in God’s grace that none of them, not a single one, actually comes to God. He extends His grace to them. His love encompasses the whole world. But they go their own way. What stands between God’s grace and the sinner is always the sinner’s fault.
Many are called. Few chosen. “Salvation unto us has come by God’s free grace and favor.” Not my decision, my will, my work, my prayers, my piety, my religious pedigree, or my association with good, descent, holy people. If I am to be rescued from the sin that would tear me away from God and destroy me, God must rescue me. Without any help from me. If I begin to trust in what I have don for God I lose my trust in Christ alone for my salvation. And if I begin to try to sort out the true Christians from the false one here on earth, I am guilty of the very thing I am condemning in others - looking at, trusting in, my own works.
People loved by God, do you fret whether you have been chosen? Fear not. Trust in Jesus for your salvation. In His blood and righteousness. Not in your own strength, merits, works, or intellect. This is God’s gracious work. He has called you by His Word. And by that same Word He keeps you in the true faith. Cling to His Gospel of the full and free forgiveness of all your sins. Confess your sins to God every day and take to heart Jesus’ absolution. He who died for you and rose again has baptized you, absolves you, gives you His Body and Blood to eat and to drink, preaches to you that He has rescued you from all your sins and prepared a place for you in heaven. And He gives it to you all by grace. He is your Savior. It is His salvation. He gives it freely to you.
In the Name of the Father and + of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
In the Name + of JESUS. Amen.
The topic is grace, but the story is about work. The parable is about laboring in a vineyard. Work. But Jesus told the story to illustrate for us the meaning of grace. Jesus’ parable about laboring in the vineyard teaches the same as St Paul when he writes a little earlier in Romans, To the one who does not work but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness (Rm 4:5).
The parable before us describes true Christians and false Christians. They all work in the vineyard. That is, they all go to Church. Jesus isn’t talking about people who don’t confess the Christian faith, don’t go to church, don’t publicly identify themselves as Christians. He’s talking about people who outwardly confess the Christian faith, attend Church, make use of the Word and Sacraments.
You see, there are two kinds of professing Christians: true Christians and false Christians. True Christians believe that Jesus is their one Redeemer who ransomed them from sin, death, and hell. They believe what God promises them in Christ and through faith they receive what the promises promise.
Since Jesus has already rescued them from the punishment of their sins, they know and believe that they are righteous before God. They don’t have to win over God’s heart. They already have His favor. Already they are saints. They are forgiven of all their sins. They are clothed in the righteousness of Christ. They have the assurance of eternal life. And they do good deeds because God has already made them good by forgiving them all their sins.
False Christians may say that they believe in Jesus. They may confess the Apostles’ Creed, pray the Our Father, kneel at the Altar and eat and drink the Body and Blood of Jesus, given and shed for them for the forgiveness of sins. But they are not Christians. They hold to a false faith. They trust in their own good deeds. They believe that they earn God’s grace by doing good. While they pay lip service to Jesus, calling Him Savior, they don’t trust in His salvation. They are working their way to heaven. Gaining an eternal reward by doing good. They are thereby insulting the suffering of Jesus, trampling His Blood underfoot, and despising the grace of God in Christ.
False Christians are paid by the work they do. They receive the praise of the world But when they re done doing all the work they have don, the Owner of the Vineyard tells them, Take what is yours and go your way. Go your way. Their way is the way of death. Not life. They have no fellowship with God. They are not His children. He never knew them. They knew only their own labor.
Those who trust in their own good deeds are scandalized by God’s grace. They look at religion as a job. They judge religion they way people judge jobs. You put in so many hours and you get so much money per hour. You earn the money you receive. You worked for it. Its yours.
False Christians apply this same standard to the kingdom of heaven. They suppose that if thats how it is in the job market, it must be that way in God’s kingdom as well. They fashion God in their own image. This is how things work. It must be the way God works. All other world religions, except for Christianity operate this way. The false Christian, sadly, applies this to the one, true religion, sadly. And to his own peril.
True Christians know that God doesn’t think they way we think. His kingdom is a reign of grace, not merit. You work, not for pay, but in joy because you are already given a place by His mercy and grace. The false Christians who worked for twelve long hours enduring the burden and heat of the day, they settled up front what their payment would be. They were working for pay.
Those who were hired later, whose work flew by without them breaking a sweat, they didn’t ask for a specific wage. Nor were they promised one. They wanted to work and trusted in the generosity of the Vineyard Owner.
At the end of the Day the Vineyard Owner treats this who did much work the same as those who did little work. This is what God’s grace is like! Those who trust in His grace and those who trust in their own work appear to be doing the same work. But those who trust in His grace don’t feel the burden of the work. Jesus said, Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light (Mt 11:28-30).
When God justifies you He reckons you righteous. He counts unto you, by faith, the obedience and suffering of Christ. This is what makes you righteous. His Word. Christ’s work. Received in faith. Nothing you do makes you righteous. Its the work that Jesus did that declares you righteous. Justified. God reckons this to you by faith for Jesus’ sake. It is as the verse quoted at the bottom of the hymn you just sang says, For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a results of works, so that no one may boast (Eph 2:8-9). It. Faith. Faith is a gift of God which receives the rest of His gifts. Forgiveness. Justification. Righteousness.
Even sanctification. For the same text continues, For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them (Eph 2:10). God justified you by grace alone. He forgives you by grace alone. And He changes you by grace alone. To love what He loves. To do what He commands. You love God. So you work. The work you do is not a burden, but a joy. You love God by loving your neighbor. By serving them. By forgiving them. This is not a burden, but a privilege, a joy.
For this is what Christ has done. For the joy that was set before Him, He endured the Cross, despising them shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God (Heb 12:2). He bore the burden of the sins of the world and endured the scorching heat of the Father’s wrath. He did not wrong, yet was cast out of the Vineyard of Jerusalem, forsaken by God and afflicted. He took what belonged to you and went. He went the way of the Cross for you. He who is First and Last, the Alpha and Omega, for your sake, became Last. Weak, despised, rejected, buried in a tomb. He did it not to earn a crown for Himself, but for you. To rise from the dead and bestow on you a kingdom and a name. He is your Rock and Salvation and He give generously to you and to all.
But for those who don’t trust in God’s grace in Christ Jesus, they look at their work as a burden. That’s because it is a burden. When you are trying to make yourself righteous before God by doing righteous things, you will never succeed. If you consult God’s law to see how well you’re doing you won’t be happy with what you see. So instead of judging yourself by God’s standards, you’ll become your own standard and compare yourself to people who haven’t done as many good things as you have. That’s irony for you. Standing in judgment of others is a sin, and now this sin has become your claim to righteousness!
But that’s the way is must be for those who are working their way to heaven, earning God’s approval, relying on their hard labor to get whatever God has got to give. To which our Lord Jesus says, So the last will be first and the first last. For many are called, but few are chosen. Put yourself first and you’ll be made last. Exalt yourself and you will be humbled. Stand on your pride and you will be abased. Elevate yourself at the expense of your neighbor and God will see to it that your neighbor stands above you. Even the ancient pagan knew that pride goes before the fall.
Treating those who worked just one hour the same as those who worked twelve seems unfair. God’s grace seems unfair. But its only unfair to those who despise it. It doesn’t trouble those who trust in it. Jesus explains, Many are called, but few chosen. The Gospel call goes out everywhere, to everyone. God so loved the world (Jn 3:16). Christ died for all (2 Cor 5:15). Jesus commands that all nations everywhere be taught the Gospel, baptized, instructed in the Christian faith and life. Young and old, black and white, male and female, rich and poor, all people everywhere. Many are called. Many means everyone everywhere.
But few are chosen. Few believe. Its not that God doesn’t want everyone to believe. He does. But there are so many things that come between sinners and God’s grace to prevent them from trusting in it. So many things prevent people from trusting in God’s grace that none of them, not a single one, actually comes to God. He extends His grace to them. His love encompasses the whole world. But they go their own way. What stands between God’s grace and the sinner is always the sinner’s fault.
Many are called. Few chosen. “Salvation unto us has come by God’s free grace and favor.” Not my decision, my will, my work, my prayers, my piety, my religious pedigree, or my association with good, descent, holy people. If I am to be rescued from the sin that would tear me away from God and destroy me, God must rescue me. Without any help from me. If I begin to trust in what I have don for God I lose my trust in Christ alone for my salvation. And if I begin to try to sort out the true Christians from the false one here on earth, I am guilty of the very thing I am condemning in others - looking at, trusting in, my own works.
People loved by God, do you fret whether you have been chosen? Fear not. Trust in Jesus for your salvation. In His blood and righteousness. Not in your own strength, merits, works, or intellect. This is God’s gracious work. He has called you by His Word. And by that same Word He keeps you in the true faith. Cling to His Gospel of the full and free forgiveness of all your sins. Confess your sins to God every day and take to heart Jesus’ absolution. He who died for you and rose again has baptized you, absolves you, gives you His Body and Blood to eat and to drink, preaches to you that He has rescued you from all your sins and prepared a place for you in heaven. And He gives it to you all by grace. He is your Savior. It is His salvation. He gives it freely to you.
In the Name of the Father and + of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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