Matthew 19:30

Reward Under The New Kingly Rule - God Will Reward Men As He Wills Not Accoding To Their Deserts (19:30-20:16).

All this is now applied in parabolic form to all the servants in God's vineyard. None who heard the story would doubt that God's vineyard was Israel, for Israel is regularly pictured as God's vineyard in the Old Testament (Isaiah 5:1; Isaiah 27:2 compare Matthew 21:33). Thus it includes those who will serve as judges and overseers over the twelve tribes of Israel (Matthew 19:28), and those who for His sake will forsake land and loved ones in His service (Matthew 19:29). It includes all who are called to work as labourers in His vineyard (Matthew 9:37). And here Jesus emphasises the need for none to be presumptious. While He will reward them they should not be looking for rewards. They should be looking for God to deal graciously with His own. For the owner of the vineyard of Israel (Matthew 20:1; Matthew 21:33) will pay all His workers equally, whatever their labours, as long as they have laboured faithfully once called upon to do so. And that is because the reward is not of deserving, but is of grace. Thus none has any right to more than any other.

But we may ask, if all are to be paid equally, what about Jesus warning elsewhere concerning grades of reward (Matthew 5:19; Matthew 6:1; Matthew 18:4; Matthew 25:14)? The answer probably lies in the type of reward in mind. The denarius was what each man required for his family to live on. It represented a day's wage. It indicated equal sufficiency and provision for the daily needs of all. The idea in the end is that all the ‘saved' will eat at His table. All will have sufficiency. All will enjoy the light of His presence (Revelation 21:22; Revelation 22:5). The extra ‘rewards' are really rewards which result from our dedication and obedience, and these will result in the production of a more fulfilled person, resulting in our being the ‘great' and the ‘least' (Matthew 5:19). Our reward will be in what we have become in ourselves through the working of the grace of God as a result of our continual responsiveness, even though this is often depicted in earthly terms for our appreciation and as our incentive. In fact the reward is often depicted in terms of being put into a position where greater service can be offered. We will have been made more like Him the more we have responded (1 John 3:2). And yet all will be presented holy, unblameable and unreproveable before Him (Colossians 1:22). Here is the divine paradox. All will be wholly satisfied, but some will have a greater capacity for satisfaction than others.

We should note here that in fact Matthew has only one parable which speaks of differences of reward, and that is found in Matthew 25:14, and even then it is not the main lesson of the parable. Thus while we must certainly take heed to that message we should not refine on it too much in Matthew. (In fact the majority of such parables come in Luke). To Matthew rewards are only a small part of the larger picture (although unquestionably there). It is the power of God at work and man's final destiny which is his greatest emphasis (see chapter 13; Matthew 18:23; Matthew 21:33; Matthew 22:1; Matthew 25:1).

Analysis.

a “But many will be last who are first, and first who are last” (Matthew 19:30).

b “For the kingly rule of heaven is like to a man who was a householder, who went out early in the morning to hire labourers into his vineyard” (Matthew 20:1).

c “And when he had agreed with the labourers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard” (Matthew 20:2).

d “And he went out about the third hour, and saw others standing in the marketplace idle, and to them he said, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right I will give you.' And they went their way. Again he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour, and did the same'. And about the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing, and he says to them, “Why do you stand here all the day idle?” (Matthew 20:3).

e They say to him, “Because no man has hired us.” He says to them, “You also go into the vineyard” (Matthew 20:7).

f ‘And when evening was come, the lord of the vineyard says to his steward, “Call the labourers, and pay them their hire, beginning from the last to the first” (Matthew 20:8).

e And when those came who were hired about the eleventh hour, they received every man a denarius (Matthew 20:9).

d And when the first came, they supposed that they would receive more, and they likewise received every man a denarius. And when they received it, they murmured against the householder, saying, “These last have spent but one hour, and you have made them equal to us, who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat” (Matthew 20:10).

c But he answered and said to one of them, “Friend, I do you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius?” (Matthew 20:13).

b “Take up what is yours and go your way. It is my will to give to this last, even as to you. Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with my own? Or is your eye evil, because I am good?” (Matthew 20:14).

a So the last will be first, and the first last (Matthew 20:16).

Note that in ‘a' many will be last who are first, and first who are last, and in the parallel the last will be first, and the first last (Note the reversal of the order). In ‘b' we have the man who owns the vineyard and seeks labourers, and in the parallel the description of Him as the One Who does His own will and is good, with the right to do what He wants with what belongs to Him. In ‘c' is the agreement to work for a denarius, and in the parallel the statement that they had agreed to work for a denarius. In ‘d' we have the description of the passing of the day, with all its ramifications, from the owner's viewpoint, and in the parallel the complaint of the original workers concerning that passing of the day from their viewpoint. In ‘e' the workers said no man had hired them, and in the parallel they were hired. Centrally in ‘f' is the call to account of all the workers in the vineyard.

“But many will be last who are first, and first who are last.”

After referring to the blessings that His disciples will enjoy as they labour for Him Jesus adds a warning to make all beware of presumption. Presumption is to be avoided because all will be rewarded equally, and God will deal with each one as He wills. This statement would sit very strangely if He had already just promised thrones to the Apostles as a guaranteed future blessing after they had performed their labours, and especially so as one of whom would certainly not receive one. But it does sit very well if those thrones signified their time of working in the vineyard.

Jesus' point is that their walk in the Spirit (Matthew 12:28; Matthew 3:11) must be maintained. For many who get in early, and develop quickly, but find the going hard, will finish up last, because their attitude is poor. While many who start slowly and develop more gradually will end up first. For each of us progress must thus be continuous if we are to receive the fullest blessing, whether we commence at the first hour or the eleventh hour. This is what the ensuing parable is now all about as Matthew 19:16 makes clear.

But it is also about something else, and that is the pure goodness of the owner of the vineyard. It make quite clear that he represents God. Only God would show such goodness in such a fashion. For His concern was not only to get the harvest in, or the work done, but also to give full satisfaction even to those who did not deserve it.