Today’s reading is Matthew 20.
What do the workers called into the vineyard at different hours of the day all have in common? One very simple thing. They all responded to the call of the same master.
They came in at different times. They accomplished different amounts of work. They likely had differing success on the job for the time that they worked. But they all entered the vineyard of the same generous and gracious master.
That is the issue we need to see. Please, don’t draw lessons from this parable Jesus never intended. Jesus was not saying it is better to wait until the eleventh hour to get to work in his vineyard. Jesus was not teaching us to procrastinate getting into the vineyard.
Certainly, we can do all kinds of historical research to discover how this daily hiring worked and fill in blanks in the story to try to draw different conclusions. Or we can recognize Jesus is constructing the story as He wants it constructed. The eleventh hour guys were waiting in the marketplace because no one hired them. It’s as simple as that. What does the master do? He hires them.
The point behind this parable is when this master invites you to work in his vineyard, you want to respond. And that is the point for us. If you aren’t working in Jesus’s vineyard yet, I don’t have to know all the reasons why. You don’t have to explain to me. But know this, Jesus is inviting you in right now. I don’t know what hour of the day it is for you. You don’t know what hour of the day it is for you. I know this: laborers in His vineyard get an amazing reward. The reward isn’t based on how long they’ve worked. It isn’t based on how their work compares to the work of others in the vineyard. The reward is based on the generosity of this Master.
At the end of the day, there aren’t four, five, or six kinds of people in the world. There are only two. There are those at work in the Master’s vineyard and there are those who aren’t. That’s the key. Those who work in the gracious Master’s vineyard get the reward, those who don’t work in His vineyard don’t.
Are you working in Jesus’s vineyard? If not, He’s calling you. The reward is amazing. Start now.
Tomorrow’s reading is Matthew 20.
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Discuss the Following Questions with Your Family
- What are your initial reactions to the chapter and the written devo above?
- What kind of work do we do in Jesus’s vineyard?
- What keeps people from entering Jesus’s vineyard when He calls?
- What would you say to encourage people to get to work in Jesus’s vineyard right now?
- What do you think we should pray for and about in light of this chapter and today’s post?
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