Sermon Tone Analysis

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*TITLE:  *Win~/win
*SERMON IN A SENTENCE: *  Jesus invites us to the win~/win world of God's grace.
*SCRIPTURE: *   Matthew 20:1-16
*EXEGESIS: *
* *
*CHAPTERS 19-20:*   THE CONTEXT
 
The second half of chapter 19 provides the context necessary to understand the first half of chapter 20.
Both stress that the rules by which kingdom of heaven operates are very different from those of this world.
Both have to do with rewards for sacrificial discipleship.
In 19:16-22, a rich young man comes to Jesus asking, "Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?"
When Jesus tells him to sell his possessions and give them to the poor, the man goes away sorrowfully, because he has many possessions.
"Look, we have left everything and followed you.
What then will we have?"
(19:27).
Peter, observing this exchange between the rich young man and Jesus, notes that the disciples have already given up everything to follow Jesus.
What will their reward be?  Jesus' answer is quite generous -- the Twelve will sit on twelve thrones and judge the twelve tribes of Israel.
But rewards will not be limited to the Twelve.
"And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields, for my name's sake, will receive a hundredfold, and will inherit eternal life."
This does not diminish rewards for the Twelve, but it extends them to other deserving people.
It must come as a surprise to the Twelve to hear that so many others will share in the rewards.
Jesus says, "But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first" (19:30).
He then gives the Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard, concluding, "So the last will be first, and the first will be last" (20:16).
He thus brackets the parable with this paradox that explains the parable's meaning.
"What then will we have?"
(19:27).
This is not the last that we will hear of the disciples' ambition.
Shortly after the Parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard, the mother of James and John comes to Jesus to request a special place in the kingdom for her sons, a request that Jesus says is not his to give (20:20-23).
And, of course, the request of the mother of James and John was not the end of ecclesiastical ambition.
Is there a clergyperson whose heart beats so faintly that he~/she does not long for a larger church or promotion to the next ecclesiastical office?
How many laypeople hope to be known as chairperson or deacon -- to control congregational policy and practice -- to have their name emblazoned above the door.
Personal ambition is still the name of the game in too many Christian hearts.
Jesus turns such ambitions topsy-turvy.
After reading the Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard, we will not dare to look down our noses at those who have no ecclesiastical titles -- or those more recently come to Christ -- or those whose understanding is less refined -- or those whose denominations are less influential -- or those whose congregations are smaller -- or those whose music is less inspired -- or those who give less money.
Have we achieved high position or accomplished much for Christ?
Do we have good reason for a bit of pride?
Jesus warns, "The last will be first, and the first will be last."
*VERSES 1-16:  *THE PARABLE OF THE WORKERS IN THE VINEYARD
 
This parable "serves as a corrective to the concept of rewards that governs the preceding verses.
The parable is offensive to us; it challenges our sense of justice" (Hare, 231).
"In a vivid and even abrasive story, the radical and offensive nature of grace is depicted, inevitably leaving the reader with the questions, Was the owner really fair?  Don't the laborers who worked all day have a legitimate beef?" (Brueggemann, 494).
This parable is similar to the Parable of the Prodigal Son~/ Elder Brother (Luke 15).
In both parables, the grace shown to the undeserving person offends those who think of themselves as deserving.
However, the prodigal son is so winsome that he steals our hearts.
When we read that parable, we are glad for the mercy shown to the returned prodigal and are offended at the elder brother's outrage.
Not so with the Parable of the Workers.
We share the offense of the all-day workers.
"Divine grace is a great equalizer which rips away presumed privilege and puts all recipients on a par" (Brueggemann, 495).
We don't want to be on a par!
We want to be on top!
We don't want mercy (what God gives freely) but justice (what we have earned) PLUS mercy.
If God distributes mercy evenly, we who worked all day will get ahead of those who arrived at the last hour.
We will receive what we have earned plus a generous bonus.
The irony, of course, is that the little bit that we have earned is of no consequence when compared to God's grace-bonus.
* *
* *
*VERSES 1-7:*  FOR THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS LIKE...
 
/1"For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard.
2After agreeing with the laborers for the usual daily wage /(Greek: /denariou ten hemeran/ -- a denarius for the day)/, he sent them into his vineyard.
3When he went out about nine o'clock /(Greek: /triten horan/ -- the third hour)/, he saw others standing idle in the marketplace; 4and he said to them, 'You also go into the vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.'
So they went.
5When he went out again about noon and about three o'clock /(Greek: /hekten kai enaten horan/ -- the sixth and ninth hour)/, he did the same.
6And about five o'clock /(Greek: /ten hendekaten/ -- the eleventh) /he went out and found others standing around; and he said to them, 'Why are you standing here idle all day?' 7They said to him, 'Because no one has hired us.'
He said to them, 'You also go into the vineyard.'
/
 
 
This parable starts wonderfully well.
A landowner goes out early in the morning to find laborers for his vineyard (v.
1).
Even though he has a manager (vs.
8), he goes personally to the marketplace.
He hires those who are available for work after securing their agreement to a fair wage (a denarius), and they go to work (v.
2).
As the day progresses, the landowner makes four additional trips to the marketplace to hire workers.
He makes his second trip at nine o'clock (Greek: /peri triten horan/ -- the third hour) (v.
3).
While the Jewish day technically starts at sundown, the working day starts at sunrise and is divided into twelve hours, the length of the hour varying with the seasons.
The third hour corresponds roughly to 9:00 a.m.
our time.
He makes additional trips at the sixth and ninth hours (noon and 3:00 p.m.), and makes his final trip at the eleventh hour (5:00 p.m.).
The landlord's focus seems to be less on the urgency of the harvest than on the need of the laborers.
On his final trip, he asks the out-of-work laborers, "Why are you standing here idle all day?" (v.
6).
When they answer that nobody has hired them, he sends them into his vineyard (v.
7).
Some scholars suggest that he is trying to speed the harvest to prevent spoilage, but there is no mention of that in this text.
Perhaps the landowner intervenes because, in his mind's eye, he sees children who will go without food if their father fails to find employment.
Presumably, the more motivated laborers go to the marketplace early to find employment, and those who go later are less ambitious.
Most employers would avoid latecomers unless desperate.
This landowner, however, hires everyone in sight -- a grace-filled moment.
Those hired early have a clear contract.
They are to be paid a denarius, the usual wage for a day's work (v.
2).
For those hired at nine o'clock, noon and three o'clock, the landowner promises only to pay what is right (v. 4).
For those hired at five o'clock, there is no mention of money (v.
7).
* *
*VERSES 8-12:*  THE FIRST THOUGHT THEY WOULD RECEIVE MORE
 
/8When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his manager, 'Call the laborers and give them their pay, beginning with the last and then going to the first.' "  9When those hired about five o'clock came, each of them received the usual daily wage.
10Now when the first came, they thought they would receive more; but each of them also received the usual daily wage.
11And when they received it, they grumbled against the landowner, 12saying, 'These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.' "  /
 
 
"When evening came" (v.
8).
The Torah (Lev.
19:13 and Deut.
24:15) requires that the laborer be paid at the end of the day.
"Call the laborers and give them their pay, beginning with the last and then going to the first" (v.
8).
Jesus has said that the last will be first (19:30) and will say it again (20:16).
Here, in this parable, we see it happen.
"When those hired about five o'clock came" (v.
9).
The last are given a denarius, a full day's wages, even though they worked only one hour.
"These 'last' ones...are analogous to the tax collectors and the harlots invited into the kingdom by Jesus (see 21:31)"  (Hagner).
We hear no complaint from the other workers.
They smell generosity, and can hardly wait to see their paycheck.
Jesus makes no mention of the wages received by those hired at 9 a.m., noon, and 3 p.m., but presumably each receives a denarius.
If so, they all enjoy a bonus, but the bonus becomes progressively smaller as the manager moves to the earlier groups.
"Now when the first came" (v.
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