Sermon Tone Analysis

Prayer

Lord God, bless Your Word wherever it is proclaimed.

Make it a Word of power and peace to convert those not yet Your own and to confirm those who have come to saving faith.

May Your Word pass from the ear to the heart, from the heart to the lip, and from the lip to the life that, as You have promised, Your Word may achieve the purpose for which You send it, through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen

Why I am Called to Gary, IN

Dr. Harry Ironside told of a man who gave his testimony, telling how God had sought him and found him.

How God had loved him, called him, saved him, delivered him, cleansed him, and healed him.

It was a tremendous testimony to the glory of God.

After the meeting, one rather legalistic brother took him aside and said, “You know, I appreciate all that you said about what God did for you, but you didn’t mention anything about your part in it.

Salvation is really part us and part God, and you should have mentioned something about your part.”

“Oh,” the man said, “I apologize.

I’m sorry.

I really should have mentioned that.

My part was running away, and God’s part was running after me until he found me.”

Setting the Scene

Matt 20:1

To fully understand the parable of the Workers in the Vineyard, you must go back, not in time, but in the text.

The Parable begins with the word, “For,” or, in the Greek text that lies behind our ESV,

To fully understand the parable of the Workers in the Vineyard, you must go back, not in time, but in the text.

The Parable begins with the word, “For,” or, in the Greek text that lies behind our ESV,

“γάρ (Hom.+)

conj.

used to express cause, clarification, or inference.”

conj.

used to express cause, clarification, or inference.”

Arndt, W., Danker, F. W., Bauer, W., & Gingrich, F. W. (2000).

A Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament and other early Christian literature (3rd ed., p. 189).

Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

“For” works similar to “because” in that it begins to explain something to us.

In this case, the explanation lies in .

Jesus had just finished blessing some children, while correcting His disciples for their overzealous efforts to guard His space.

If you don’t know what that’s like, try approaching one of these megachurch superstar pastors, and watch how fast their so-called “armor-bearers” will interfere.

But we’ll save that sermon for next time.

Anyway, this man comes up and asks Jesus an interesting question.

The text tells us:

Now, this is not the first time that Jesus gets asked this kind of question.

In , a scribe overhears a dispute about the Resurrection and marriage that some Sadducees try to get into with Jesus, and after Jesus puts them to shame, he tries to get in a round of Bible Trivial with the Lord of his own regarding “most important of all” the Commandments.

Jesus shuts him down, and, Mark said, “after that, no one dared to ask Him any more questions.”

Now, this is not the first time that Jesus gets asked this kind of question.

In , a lawyer asks Jesus a question that is very similar to the man in , but in his case, Jesus turns the question back to the Lawyer, and acknowledges his answer, telling him to “do this, and you will live.”

That leads us into the parable of the Good Samaritan, which we’ll get into on another day.

Back to our passage for today; Jesus answers the man, “If you would enter life, keep the Commandments.”

I’m thinking that this guy is serious, because he keeps on going.

He says to Jesus, “Which ones?”

So Jesus gives him some to work with: “And Jesus said, “You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, 19 Honor your father and mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version.

(2016).

().

Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.

Ok. that might have stopped some of you dead in your tracks… You might not have wanted to push that envelope.

This guy, though, he’s good - he’s one of those nice guys that always does the right thing, and he says so.

Yet, he still feel that he’s not quite there yet.

Something’s STILL out of place for him.

“All these I have kept.

What do I still lack?”

().

So Jesus puts it to him, right where no one else can see it, right in the sweet spot: “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me” ().

After that, everybody got humble, except one guy - Peter!

How many of you all know somebody like Peter - I mean, beside yourself?

(I’m just playing with you).

Somebody that is pretty sure that they REALLY have it all together, somebody that, quiet as it is kept, KNOWS that God should be thanking him for accepting His offer of salvation, for joining the church, for helping out in God’s Mission.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version.

(2016).

().

Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version.

(2016).

().

Yes, that’s the background to this parable.

The reason why, “with God, all things are possible” when it comes to the saving of souls is because God watches over His Word to perform it () ().

In this case, in describing the Kingdom of Heaven, Jesus likens it, not to the laborers, but to the Master of the House (οἰκοδεσπότῃ).

The point of view from which we understand this is not that of the workers, but of the Master.

He goes out to hire workers for His vineyard to work for the day.

He hires in the morning, about 6 am, then at 9 am, 12 noon, and 3 pm.

Finally, at 5 pm, he goes out one last time, and finds that there are still men who are available, and after asking about their circumstances, hires them as well.

The differences between each of these trips to the marketplace lies in the compensation.

The first group agrees to go into the vineyard at the standard rate of a day’s wages.

The second group is promised a fair, but unspecified wage.

Finally, the third group goes into the vineyard with nothing more than a direction of “you all also go into the vineyard.”

When evening comes, the Master directs His steward to call the workers to receive their wages, “beginning from the last until the first.”

Those who were hired an hour before the end of the work day receive, to their joy, a day’s wage (δηνάριον, ου, τό: a worker’s average daily wage).

Those who agreed, back at the beginning of the day, for that same amount, assumed that they would get more, based upon their hours worked.

They also received, to their shock, a day’s wages, and in response they grumble against the Master.

Is it all about justice?

That seems to be the argument.

Yet, the Master was nothing if not just.

He paid the first workers exactly what he promised and they agreed to accept.

The fact that other workers received the same reward for helping out is a function of the Master’s choice regarding what He does with what He owns.

“Thus, the first shall be last and the last first” (this explains Jesus’ initial use of these words in response to Peter ()).

Dr. Luther used these words as well in his “Disputation for Clarifying the Power of Indulgences,” also known as “The 95 Theses” (1517).

Beginning with Thesis 62, Luther wrote the following:

62.

The true treasure of the church is the most holy gospel of the glory and grace of God.

63.

But this treasure is deservedly the most hated, because it makes “the first last.”

64.

In contrast, the treasure of indulgences is deservedly the most acceptable, because it makes “the last first.”

65.

Therefore, the treasures of the gospel are nets with which they formerly fished for men of wealth.

66.

The treasures of indulgences are nets with which they now fish for the wealth of men.

Wengert, T. J. (2015).

[The 95 Theses or] Disputation for Clarifying the Power of Indulgences.

In H. J. Hillerbrand, K. I. Stjerna, & T. J. Wengert (Eds.),

The Roots of Reform (Vol. 1, p. 42).

Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press.

In , God says something that we, perhaps, don’t take as seriously as we should.

Thinking that the measure of life is the end of our noses, many take moral or justice positions based upon their feelings of fairness rather than upon God’s clear declarations in Scripture.

While well-meaning, these positions usually do little to establish justice, and much to bring about confusion, because, as says,

Don’t get me wrong, the Bible has something very clear to say about sin and righteousness.

tells us:

We are instructed in the Small Catechism, concerning “The Fourth Commandment: