Kingdom of heaven – Tawa Baptist

May 3, 2026 Tawa Baptist

The weeds among the wheat

Scripture: Matthew 13:24-30 & 36-43

Video Link: https://youtu.be/_0WKCa2_7so

Audio Link: Stream Sermon – 3 May 2026 – The weeds among the wheat by tawabaptist | Listen online for free on SoundCloud

Structure:

Introduction
Heaven on earth
Evil tolerated
Creative judgement
Conclusion

Introduction:

Good morning everyone.

You may have heard of the Glycemic Index. The Glycemic Index (or GI for short) is a scale from 1 to 100 that ranks food based on how quickly it raises blood sugar levels after being eaten.

Food with a low GI is generally better for you because it is digested slower, providing a more gradual, sustained release of energy. Examples of low GI foods include things like quinoa, lentils and non-starchy vegetables.

By contrast, high GI foods like white bread, potatoes and lollies tend to spike blood sugar levels, giving you a quick energy hit before dumping you again.

For the last three months we have been exploring some of Jesus’ parables in the gospels. In many ways, the parables of Jesus are like low GI spiritual food. The meaning doesn’t come quickly. The parables digest slowly, providing a sustained nourishment for our faith.

Today we conclude our series by focusing on the parable of the weeds among the wheat, in Matthew 13. In verses 24-30 Jesus tells this parable to the crowds then later, in private, the disciples ask Jesus to explain the meaning, which he does in verses 36-43. From Matthew 13, verse 24 we read…

²⁴Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. ²⁵But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. ²⁶When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared. ²⁷“The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’ ²⁸“‘An enemy did this,’ he replied. “The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’ ²⁹“‘No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them. ³⁰Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.’”

(Jumping ahead to verse 36…)

³⁶Then he left the crowd and went into the house. His disciples came to him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.” ³⁷He answered,

“The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. ³⁸The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the people of the kingdom. The weeds are the people of the evil one, ³⁹and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels. ⁴⁰“As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. ⁴¹The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. ⁴²They will throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. ⁴³Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears, let them hear.

May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate God’s word for us.

Heaven on earth:

This parable is about the kingdom of heaven, also known as the kingdom of God. The kingdom of heaven and the kingdom of God are interchangeable terms. They are different ways of saying the same thing.

God’s kingdom is not like any earthly political system we may be familiar with. Nor can it be equated to a geographic location. On a basic level the kingdom of heaven is God’s government or God’s reign. Said another way, the kingdom of heaven is life with God in charge. Life when God’s will is done. The kingdom of heaven is God’s way of operating.

In Matthew 13, Jesus compares God’s kingdom to a field of wheat. Jesus begins his parable by saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field.”

We know from the interpretation Jesus gives later, that the man in this parable is the Son of Man, which is code for the Messiah; Jesus’ himself. The seed that Jesus plants represents those people who belong to God’s kingdom. While the field represents the world in which we live. Ponder that for a moment.

Often times people think of the kingdom of heaven as some place in the sky or somewhere else not on this earth. A place we hope to go to in the future after we die. And while there is a heaven separate from this earth, Jesus’ purpose is to bring God’s reign, his way of operating to this world.

We sometimes sing a worship song by Brooke Fraser, ‘What a beautiful name’. There’s a line in that song which reads: ‘You didn’t want heaven without us, so Jesus you brought heaven down’. That line captures something of Jesus’ meaning in this parable. Jesus came to establish the kingdom of heaven on earth.

But notice the way Jesus establishes God’s reign on earth. God’s kingdom does not come by military force, nor by political manoeuvring. God’s kingdom comes organically, gently, gradually, invisibly at first, like seed sown in the ground.

The wheat Jesus sows is low GI.

In the same mysterious way a seed grows by itself, so too the kingdom of heaven grows by itself (no one knows how). Indeed, the growth of God’s kingdom is inevitable. It cannot be stopped.

When the world seems in chaos and our hope is threatened, we need not despair. God’s kingdom will be realised in its fullness one day. The establishment of God’s reign on earth does not depend on us.

In all of this we are to see the obvious; that this world rightfully belongs to God. And God is redeeming it in his own way through Jesus.

Evil tolerated:

Now at this point you might be thinking, what about all the wars, all the suffering, all the injustice and every other bad thing we observe and experience in this world? If Jesus came to establish the kingdom of heaven on earth, 2000 years ago, then heaven falls a long way short of the paradise we might have expected.

Well, Jesus addresses this question in verse 25 saying: But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away.

Jesus later explains to his disciples that the enemy here is the devil, and the weeds are those people who belong to the evil one.

In the 1995 film, The Usual Suspects, the main character, Roger Kint famously says: “The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist.”

This line goes back to 1864, with the French writer Charles Baudelaire who coined a similar phrase. The quote suggests the devil’s most effective strategy is making people doubt his existence, thus making it easier for evil to go unnoticed.

Charles Baudelaire may have got his inspiration from Jesus, for the weeds sown by the devil do go unnoticed at first. Verse 26 tells us, it was only when the wheat sprouted and formed heads, that the weeds also appeared.

The word translated as weeds is not weeds in a generic sense but refers to a specific kind of plant commonly known as darnel. The fruit of the darnel plant will make you sick if you eat it.

Darnel looks a lot like wheat when it is young. It is only as the wheat and the darnel reach maturity that you can tell them apart. By that stage it is too late to pull the darnel out because the roots have become entwined with the wheat.

This is why, when the servants ask the owner of the field if he wants them to pull out the weeds, the owner says, ‘No, because while you are pulling the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them. ³⁰Let both grow together until the harvest.’

This is the most challenging part of the parable, I think. Remember the weeds (the darnel) represent those people who belong to the evil one. In practical terms, pulling out the weeds would mean first identifying and then killing certain bad people with the aim of trying to make the world a better place.

William Shakespeare, the famous playwright, explored this theme in his tragedy, Hamlet. Hamlet was the prince of Denmark. When his father died, Hamlet returned home to discover his uncle, Claudius, was married to his mother, Gertrude, and Claudius had taken the throne.

It turns out Hamlet’s father, the king of Denmark, had been murdered by his brother Claudius. Claudius was having an affair with Gertrude and he wanted the throne for himself.

In thinking of Jesus’ parable, Claudius was what we might call a weed.

He looked like wheat, but really he was poisonous darnel. ‘There was something rotten in Denmark.’ Hamlet took it upon himself to avenge his father’s death and weed out Claudius by killing him.

Tragically, it all went wrong. In the process of trying to kill Claudius, Hamlet accidently killed the wrong man, Polinius. As the play goes on the body count mounts. By the end Ophilia, Claudius, Gertrude and Hamlet himself are all dead. That’s what happens when you try to weed out the darnel.

Hamlet is a work of fiction but tragedies like this play out in real life all the time. History is littered with assassination attempts and plots of revenge. Human beings playing God, trying to make the world a better place by weeding out certain individuals or groups.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the famous Christian theologian, wrestled with this very question (about whether or not to pull out the weeds) and he became embroiled in a plot to kill Hitler. He failed and was imprisoned for a while before being executed.

Most people these days view Bonhoeffer as a hero of the faith. Was Bonhoeffer right to try and weed out Hitler or would he have been better to leave well alone? I don’t know. That is for God to judge. I pray we never have to face a decision like that.

The point is, in God’s kingdom on earth, evil is tolerated for a while. Evil is allowed to grow alongside the good, until the harvest. The implication here is that God permits suffering in this life. Which means we are called to practice the unpopular virtues of patient faith, forgiveness and perseverance.

In God’s kingdom, judgement about who belongs to Jesus and who belongs to the evil one is left to God. We are not to judge. We don’t have all the facts and we are a bit biased anyway.

Letting the weeds be, fits with Jesus’ teaching about how to treat our enemies. In verse 39 of Matthew 5, Jesus says: Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.

Then in verse 44 the Lord goes on to say: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.

In other words, God waters the weeds as well as the wheat. This is challenging stuff. We cannot love our enemies in our own strength. We need special grace from the Lord to do this. May God deliver us from the time of trial.

Creative judgement:

God will not permit evil and the suffering it causes to remain in the world indefinitely. At the end of the age there will be a final judgement, a day of reckoning, when all evil will be weeded out, not by us, but by the angels of God.

Just as weeds (in ancient times) were burned in the fire, so too everything that causes sin and all who do evil will be destroyed. Scary stuff if you are on the side of evil. But it’s good news if you are in Christ. Those who hunger and thirst for righteousness will be satisfied.

When we think of judgement our focus is often drawn toward the pyrotechnics, the blazing furnace, the weeping and gnashing of teeth and such like. We can go down all sorts of rabbit holes exploring theories about the conditions of hell. And while the prospect of judgement is understandably concerning, we must not overlook the creative aspect of God’s judgement.

What we notice in this parable, is that God separates the weeds from the wheat at the end of the age. In another judgement day parable, God separates the sheep from the goats. Basically, at the judgement God separates good from evil.

By doing this God is restoring order to his creation, much like he did in Genesis 1 and 2 where we read how the Lord brought order to the chaos by separating things that were mixed together.

For example, the Lord separated the light from the darkness. He separated the dry land from the sea, and he separated the water below from the water above, making the expanse we call ‘sky’. In doing this the Lord made the world functional for human life.

What I’m saying here is that judgement day is also creation day. It’s not all hellfire and brimstone. God’s judgement makes this world new, functional, beautiful again.

Nevertheless, we may still feel some fear and trepidation in listening to Jesus’ parable in Matthew 13. How do we know if we are weeds or wheat? The human heart is deceitful, who can know it? Even when we want to do the right thing, we often end up doing the wrong thing anyway. Are we not all sinners?

Well yes, the Bible tells us all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. That is true. However, God in his grace has atoned for our sin through Jesus’ death on the cross. What separates the wheat from the weeds is a personal relationship with Jesus. We relate with Christ by faith.

Changing metaphors for a moment, Jesus is the good shepherd who goes out of his way to find the lost sheep, but salvation is not automatic. Repentance and faith in Jesus are how we accept God’s salvation.

Two criminals were crucified with Jesus. One on his right and the other on his left. We might think both criminals were weeds, poisonous darnel destined for the furnace. Certainly, one of the criminals hurled insults at Jesus, but the other criminal showed his support for Jesus saying…

“Don’t you fear God, since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our sins deserve. But this man [Jesus] has done nothing wrong.” Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom” And Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise”.

Faith and repentance you see. As human beings we are able to make choices and the choices we make do matter. We cannot be sure who will prove to be wheat until the final judgement; therefore, we cannot judge others.

Conclusion:

Jesus concludes the interpretation of his own parable, in verse 43, by saying… Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father.

You might think the wheat gets ground into flour and eaten after the harvest. No. That would be to take Jesus’ parable in a direction he never intended.

The righteous are more than mere wheat. If we trust and obey Jesus, we are children of God the Father. We may seem pretty ordinary, pretty beige, in this life. But in the age to come we will be golden.

Let us pray…

Lord Jesus Christ, you are God with us. Grant us the grace and strength to persevere in faith, bearing good fruit to the praise of your glory. Amen.

Questions for discussion or reflection:

What stands out for you in reading this Scripture and/or in listening to the sermon? Why do you think this stood out to you?
What proportion of your physical diet is low GI food? What proportion of your spiritual diet is low GI?
What does the parable in Matthew 13:24-30 show us about the way Jesus establishes heaven on earth?
Why does God tolerate evil on earth, at least for a while? What are the implications for us?
Discuss / reflect on what this parable reveals about God’s judgement. In what way is the day of judgement a creative act of God? What notes of hope do we find in this parable?
How do we know if we are weeds or wheat? What separates the weeds from the wheat?
How does Jesus’ parable of the weeds among the wheat make you feel? Why do you feel this way?

Bibliography:

R.V.G. Tasker, ‘TNTC: The Gospel According to St Matthew’, 1963.
William Barclay, ‘Gospel of Matthew Vol. 2’, 1967.
Robert Farrar Capon, ‘The Parables of the Kingdom’, 1985.
Michael Green, ‘BST: The Message of Matthew’, 2000.
Leonard Mann, ‘Green Eyed Monsters and Good Samaritans’, 2006.
R.T. France, ‘NICNT: The Gospel of Matthew’, 2007.
Craig Keener, ‘The Gospel of Matthew – A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary, 2009.

February 22, 2026April 12, 2026 Tawa Baptist

The Gracious Employer

Scripture: Matthew 20:1-16

Video Link: https://youtu.be/ArWz2FkYrds

Structure:

Introduction
God’s kingdom is personal
God’s kingdom is gracious
God’s kingdom is fair
Conclusion

Introduction:

Good morning everyone.

During a British conference on comparative religions, experts from around the world debated what belief was unique to the Christian faith. They began eliminating possibilities. Incarnation? Other religions had different versions of gods appearing in human form. Resurrection? Again, other religions had accounts of return from death.

The debate went on for some time until C.S. Lewis wandered into the room. “What’s the commotion about?” he asked. “We were discussing Christianity’s unique contribution among world religions. Lewis responded, “Oh, that’s easy. It’s grace”. [1]

Today we continue our series on the parables of Jesus. Last week we heard about the parable of the lost sheep. This week we focus on the parable of the gracious employer, in Matthew 20. The main point of this parable is that God’s kingdom operates by grace. From verse 1 of Matthew 20 we read…

“For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. ²He agreed to pay them a denariusfor the day and sent them into his vineyard. ³“About nine in the morning he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. ⁴He told them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.’ ⁵So they went. “He went out again about noon and about three in the afternoon and did the same thing. ⁶About five in the afternoon he went out and found still others standing around. He asked them, ‘Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?’ ⁷“‘Because no one has hired us,’ they answered. “He said to them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard.’ ⁸“When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired and going on to the first.’ ⁹“The workers who were hired about five in the afternoon came and each received a denarius. ¹⁰So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius. ¹¹When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner. ¹²‘These who were hired last worked only one hour,’ they said, ‘and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.’ ¹³“But he answered one of them, ‘I am not being unfair to you, friend. Didn’t you agree to work for a denarius? ¹⁴Take your pay and go. I want to give the one who was hired last the same as I gave you. ¹⁵Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?’ ¹⁶“So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”

May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate God’s word for us.

Some people, when they hear this parable, think Jesus is promoting socialism. No. This parable is not about socialism. God’s kingdom is not like any earthly political system we may be familiar with. Nor can it be equated to a geographic location.

On a basic level the kingdom of heaven is God’s government or God’s reign.

Said another way, the kingdom of heaven is life with God in charge. Life when God’s will is done. The kingdom of heaven is God’s way of operating.

Three things this parable tells us about God’s kingdom: It is personal, it is gracious and it is fair. What then do we mean when we say God’s kingdom is personal? Brian McLaren tells a story which helps to illustrate this idea that’s God’s kingdom is personal.

God’s kingdom is personal:

Once upon a time, there was a good and kind king who had a great kingdom with many cities. In one distant city, some people took advantage of the freedom the king gave them and started doing evil.

They profited by their injustice and began to hate the king. They convinced everyone the city would be better off without the king and declared their independence from the kingdom. Soon, with everyone doing whatever they wanted, violence, corruption and fear reigned.

The king thought about what he should do. ‘If I take my army and conquer the city by force, the people will fight against me. I will have to kill so many of them and the rest will only submit through fear, which will make them hate me even more. But if I leave them alone, they will destroy each other. It breaks my heart to think of the pain they are causing one another.’

So the king considered a third way. He took off his robes and dressed in regular clothes. Incognito, he entered the city and began living in an abandoned building. He took up a trade fixing broken furniture.

Whenever people came to him, his kindness and respect were so striking they would linger a little longer, just to be in his presence. They told him their problems and asked his advice. He told them the rebels had fooled them and the true king had a better way to live, which he exemplified and taught.

One by one people began to put their confidence in him and live his way. Eventually, the city regretted its rebellion and wanted to submit to the king’s reign again. But they were afraid to approach the king. What if he took revenge for their rebellion?

It was then the king-in-disguise revealed his true identity: he, the furniture fixer, was their king and he forgave them. The city was restored to the kingdom once more. All those who loved the king remained in the city, while those who still refused to accept the king’s authority were sent away.

By his gracious presence and personal touch, the king saved the city and most of its citizens, something that could never have been accomplished through brute force. [2]

God’s kingdom is personal. It operates at the level of the human heart and inter-personal relationships.

In Matthew 20, Jesus compares the kingdom of heaven to a human person, more specifically a vineyard owner. Verse 1 reads: “For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard…”

Employing casual day labourers was a common practice in the Palestine of Jesus’ day. Workers would go out early in the morning (around 6am) to the marketplace and wait for someone to come and offer them work.

Day labourers tended to be quite poor. If they didn’t get work, they (and their families) didn’t eat. These workers were near the bottom of the heap.

Somewhat surprisingly the wealthy landowner goes out of his way to do the hiring himself, personally. The landowner has a foreman. It is normally the foreman’s job to hire and manage the workers. Why doesn’t the landowner send his foreman to do this job? Because he prefers a personal approach.

The kingdom of heaven is like the landowner. God’s kingdom, his way of operating, is personal. God’s kingdom is not a hard to navigate bureaucratic system. God’s kingdom does not function by AI or recorded message. In God’s kingdom we don’t deal with a machine or even a manager. We deal personally with the Spirit of Jesus.

God’s kingdom is personal and God’s kingdom is gracious. What then is grace?

God’s kingdom is gracious:

The classic definition of grace is unmerited favour. Being treated better than you deserve. Receiving something good without doing anything to earn it and without being entitled to it. God’s grace is what sets Christianity apart from every other religion.

Under New Zealand law, employees are entitled to ten days sick leave per year, payable after six months employment. This can accumulate up to a maximum of 20 days. That’s the letter of the law.

Let’s say you have accumulated 20 days sick leave but, for reasons outside of your control, you need to take 30 days. Your employer then has a choice. They can either abide by the letter of the law and pay you only the 20 days owing, or they can go beyond the letter of the law and pay you the 30 days you need.

Paying you the first 20 days is just and fair. The employer is meeting their obligation to you. But paying the extra 10 days, well that is grace. It is unmerited favour. The employer is under no obligation to pay the extra.

Returning to Matthew 20. The kingdom of heaven is like the landowner in Jesus’ parable. The landowner is gracious and the kingdom of God is gracious. We see this grace operating in a number of ways.

In verses 3-6 we read how the owner comes back to the marketplace in three-hour intervals throughout the day to hire more workers. Normally an employer would get all the workers they needed at the beginning of the day.

But the owner of this vineyard returns personally at 9am, 12 noon, 3pm and then again at the 11^th hour, which is 5pm. And each time he goes back he offers the job seekers work.

Interestingly, the landowner does not stipulate the rate of pay with these later workers, like he did with those he hired at the beginning of the day. To those hired at 9, 12 and 3 he simply says, ‘I will pay you whatever is right’.

And the day labourers trust the gracious employer. They don’t attempt to haggle with him or make him sign a contract. They are keen to work and have faith the landowner will do right by them.

The workers who are employed towards the end of the day are (presumably) less desirable, having been passed over by other employers. By 5pm (one hour before knock off time) this gracious landowner is employing people that no one else will hire.

Those who are last to be offered a job may appear less employable, but you have to admire their tenacity. Most people would have given up and gone home by lunchtime if they hadn’t been offered work. Those who are last are still holding out hope, even when it seems hope-less.

What’s more they agree to work for the landowner, without any promise of payment. The landowner does not say he will pay them anything. He simply tells them to work in his vineyard. The last have shown the greatest faith.

But the real star here is the landowner, who shows us what the kingdom of God is like. The landowner takes a personal interest in making sure everyone gets the opportunity to earn money to feed their family.

This employer wants to give the poor work in a gracious way, so their mana is preserved. The employer doesn’t rob the last of their dignity by offering them a handout. He could have simply given them one denarius and told them to go home. But he doesn’t do that. The employer upholds their self-respect by giving them the opportunity to do meaningful work for pay.

The biggest surprise and the most obvious display of grace, comes in the middle of this parable, when the owner instructs his foreman to pay the workers. Each person gets one denarius, regardless of how long they worked. One denarius is the equivalent of a full day’s living wage.

The owner of the vineyard knows this world is not an even playing field.

He understands that half a day’s pay is not enough to feed a hungry family.

So he pays people based on what they need, not what they have achieved. That is grace.

To show grace we must have the capacity to put ourselves in someone else’s shoes. Grace understands. The landowner is like the kingdom of God.

The landowner shows the grace of understanding. Likewise, in God’s kingdom our need is understood and provided for.

God’s kingdom is fair:

Not everyone understands God’s grace though. When those who were hired first saw the late comers receiving a full day’s wage, they presumed they would be paid more.

The first have a sense of entitlement and a sense of entitlement gets in the way of grace. Those who were hired last know their need for God’s grace and they accept it without question. But those who were hired first are blind to their need. They forget it was by the landowner’s grace they were given the opportunity to work all day in the first place.

When the first receive the same as the last, they don’t think it’s fair and complain saying: ‘These who were hired last worked only one hour and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.’

Now, the vineyard owner could have avoided this confrontation with the grumbling workers. If he had paid them first, they would have gone home happy, none the wiser about what the others were paid. So why does the owner reverse the order? Well, there is no grace without truth.

Perhaps the owner intentionally makes the first wait till last because he wants to show the first what grace really looks like. He wants them to understand the truth, that being on the highest level is not the most important thing. What really matters is not leaving others behind, even if it means you come last.

The vineyard owner is gracious, but he is no fool. He won’t be manipulated or controlled by others. The owner speaks to one of the grumblers saying…

¹³‘I am not being unfair to you, friend. Didn’t you agree to work for a denarius? ¹⁴Take your pay and go…

The main thing to note here is the landowner is being fair and generous.

Yes, he has overpaid some of the workers, but he has not shortchanged anyone. One denarius for a day’s work represents a living wage. It is fair pay and those who were hired first agreed to it.

The landowner is honouring his contract. Now those who worked all day are wanting to break the contract, to change it after the fact. Those who were hired first are the ones who are being unfair, not the landowner.

Another thing to note, in verse 13, is the way the landowner addresses one of the complainers as ‘friend’. New Testament Greek has more than one word for friend. There is the positive word, philos, which refers to someone dearly loved and trusted. However, the landowner does not use philos here.

No, the landowner addresses the complainer as hetairos, which was a general form of address to someone whose name one does not know. It is a polite title for a stranger. [3] In Matthew’s gospel, the word hetairos is applied to those who presume upon grace. [4] You don’t want Jesus to address you as hetairos.

That’s like hearing Jesus say, ‘I don’t know you’.

The landowner (who is like the kingdom of God) has the last word. He says to those who had complained: I want to give the one who was hired last the same as I gave you. ¹⁵Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?’

The owner of the vineyard is being fair with the grumblers. He is being honest with them. Indeed, he is showing them the truth about themselves. They don’t care about justice. They are simply greedy and envious.

Kenneth Bailey paraphrases the landowner’s meaning like this: “You want to take more for yourselves. I have chosen to give more of myself. You want to be richer at the end of the day. I have chosen to be poorer at the end of the day. Don’t try to control me. Take your just wage and get out.” [5]

The landowner’s response is personal, gracious and fair. Just as God’s kingdom is personal, gracious and fair.

Conclusion:

The parable concludes with the saying: “So the last will be first, and the first will be last.” In other words, the kingdom of God reverses human expectations. God’s kingdom operates by divine grace, not human achievement. [6] It is not for us to try and control God’s grace. It is not for us to say who can and can’t be saved. We need to let God be God.

Let us pray…

Heavenly Father, we thank you for your grace and compassion in reaching out to us personally. Thank you too for your fairness and generosity in meeting our need for salvation. Forgive us for the times we have tried to control you. Grant us humility to embrace the work and reward you offer. Through Jesus we pray. Amen.

Questions for discussion or reflection:

What stands out for you in reading this Scripture and/or in listening to the sermon? Why do you think this stood out to you?
What is grace? Can you think of a time when you experienced grace? What happened? How did you feel? What was your response?
What is the kingdom of heaven / kingdom of God? How is God’s kingdom different from the kingdoms / governments of this world?
Discuss / reflect on the parable of the gracious employer. Why did Jesus tell this parable? What is the main point? How does this parable make you feel?
What does the landowner teach us about the kingdom of God?
Why does the landowner go looking for workers to employ himself? Why does he not send his foreman?
Why does the landowner pay all the workers the same? Why does the landowner have the foreman pay the last first and the first last? Why do those who worked all day complain against the landowner?
Who do you identify with most in this parable? Why?

Bibliography:

William Barclay, ‘The Gospel of Matthew’, 1967.
R.V.G. Tasker, ‘Tyndale Commentaries: St Matthew’, 1963.
Michael Green, ‘BST: The Message of Matthew’, 2000.
Craig S. Keener, ‘The Gospel of Matthew’, 2009.
R.T. France, ‘New International Commentary on the New Testament: The Gospel of Matthew’, 2007.
Kenneth Bailey, ‘Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes’, 2008.

[1] From Mark Stibbe’s book, ‘A Basket of Gems’, page 67.

[2] Adapted from a story by Brian McLaren found in Mark Stibbe’s book, ‘A Basket of Gems’, page 80.

[3] Refer Bailey, page 361.

[4] Refer Keener, page 482.

[5] Refer Kenneth Bailey, page 361.

[6] Refer R. France, page 746.