“You made them equal to us!”

“YOU MADE THEM EQUAL TO US!” 

Bible Verse for Devotion: Matthew 20:11,12

 And when they had received it, they complained against the landowner, saying, ‘These last men have worked only one hour, and you made them equal to us who have borne the burden and the heat of the day.’

This devotion is based on Jesus Christ’s parable of the “Workers in the Vineyard” (Matthew 20: 1-16)

THE PARABLE – WORKERS IN THE VINEYARD:

Jesus Christ said that the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard (The hours here are measured starting at about 6:00 AM, so early morning would have been around 5 am). The workers were poor men working as temporary farm workers during the harvest season. The landowner found some workers and agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard.

About nine in the morning (3^rd hour) he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. He told them, "You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right." So they went. He went out again about noon (6^th hour) and about three in the afternoon (9^th hour) and did the same thing. About five in the afternoon (eleventh hour) he went out and found still others standing around. He asked them, "Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?" "Because no one has hired us," they answered. He said to them, "You also go and work in my vineyard”.

Pay for the Day:

At the end of the day, the land owner told the manager to call the laborers and give them their pay, beginning with the last and then going to the first. Those hired at the eleventh hour were given an entire day's wage of one denarius, even though they only worked for few hours. Likewise, those hired at 3 o'clock in the afternoon, noon, and 9 o'clock in the morning were all given the full daily wage for a worker, even though none of them worked the entire day. Finally, those hired at the beginning of the day were also given the same amount as their daily wage, which they had agreed to at the beginning of the day.

The Generous Landlord: 

However, the early workers who had worked the whole day were upset because they thought they should get more since the other workers didn't work the whole day and still received the full daily wage. The landowner replied to them, saying, "Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage? Take what belongs to you and go; I choose to give to this last the same as I give to you. Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or are you envious because I am generous?" (Matthew 20:13-15)

LESSONS FROM THE PARABLE

There are many lessons that could be learnt from this parable but I want to focus on patience and what we could learn from these workers

 Lessons from the Eleventh-Hour Workers:

The eleventh-hour workers were the last to be employed but the ones to receive maximum pay when compared to their amount of work. Though it seems unjust and unfair at the outset we could learn many lessons from them

Lesson 1 – They were not lazy. They also had got up early, got ready for work, left their home early in the morning along with other workers (some of whom were employed at the first instance). We could understand this because of the question asked by the land owner in verse 6.

Lesson 2 – They were persistent. Even though they were not employed at the first, second, third or the fourth time still they did not go back home.

Lesson 3 – They endured hardship. They endured both physical hardship and mental agony. They stood under the scorching desert sun even without any assurance that they will be chosen for work. Waiting without having work till the eleventh hour would have caused them mental agony because most of the daily wage earners depended on it to feed their family.

Lesson 4 – They were humble and did not complain. The question asked by the landowner to those workers was surprising. He had seen them standing there all day. He did not take them for work along with others. He was a landowner; he would have definitely known that they were not standing there idle. They were desperate for work. Yet he asked them a provocative question, “Why have you been standing here idle all day?” Their answer was neither a complaint nor an accusation. But just the statement of fact "Because no one hired us”.

Lesson 5- They did not demand. When the land owner told them to go with him for work, they did not bargain. They went trusting in the land-owner who said “whatever is right you will receive”. They could have been denied what was promised, they could have ended up getting more or less than promised, but they went believing his word. 

Lessons from the Early Workers:

The early workers left their homes along with the eleventh-hour workers but were the first to be employed.

Lesson 1 – They refused to acknowledge others’ hardship. They would have seen the eleventh hour workers leaving their homes early in the morning or they would have met them on their way to the waiting station or at the waiting station or at least they would have known that these people would have been waiting for a long time to get some work to earn money for their livelihood. The early workers highlighted their own suffering “us who have borne the burden and the heat of the day” but failed to acknowledge the suffering of others. Our God is not influenced by exaggerations or convincing words. Sometimes people think of getting God to work for them by telling "their story". God knew "their story" and God knew "the other story" too!

Lesson 2- They were not concerned about others. If those labourers who got the work at the eleventh hour did not get their full day’s wage, they may not have been able to meet their family’s needs. But those who got the work early were more concerned about their selfish interests than the needs of others.

Lesson 3 – They had bargained their pay. They had bargained with the land owner, made a deal, settled their pay and went to work. They went to work with the land owner because they thought they had made a fair deal with the land owner. Fair bargains may not always lead to advantageous position.

The Reward for Patience:

The workers who arrived at the eleventh hour, received their reward because of their patience and persistence. The time of their waiting was not a wasted time, it was also considered equal to work. The workers who were employed at the eleventh hour was made equal to the ones who arrived early for work. They may not have received their wage if they had retreated and returned home. Because of their endurance they received their reward just as mentioned in Hebrews 10: 36, “For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise”.

God is not a hard task-master. He is generous with his riches and gifts. But while we are waiting patience does its perfect work in us. James 1:3,4 says “Knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing”.