Pat Retires! What Does the Lord Think?

This was originally written in March 2017, for our church newsletter, upon our dear sister in Christ Pat Earle withdrew from preparing for the Lord’s Supper and doing refreshments at Feltham Evangelical Church

As our sister Pat, draws her faithful service for the church and her Lord on a Sunday to an end (see news) I want to ponder upon how the Lord views what she has done. One passage that can help us with our understanding is Matthew 20:1-16. This is one of the parables which indicates what the kingdom of heaven is like. Its teaching is derived from how a man went out to the market place at different times of the day to recruit workers to come and work in his vineyard. But what is being taught through this parable?

To start to understand what is taught, we need to get the context for the Lord’s teaching here. The latter part of chapter 19 is dealing with the issue of rewards. In the Old Testament, when faith was in its childhood stage of development, God clearly gave tangible rewards for faithful service to Him. There was a clear connection between being devoted to the Lord and getting blessed. With this way of operating in his mind, Peter observes ‘We have left everything to follow you! What then will there be for us?’ (Matt. 19:27b). The Lord graciously accommodates Himself to this thinking when He promises rewards in v28. However, He nudges Peter’s thinking forward in two ways:-

1. They are going to be judging the twelve tribes of Israel, which indicates they are in a position distinct from Israel and superior to Israel. They are moving into another phase (an adult phase).
2. The rewards are given “for my sake” in v29. This suggests a movement away from rewards as an end in themselves to rewards which result from devotion to Him.

The fact that Matthew 20:1-16 is clearly linked into this passage is seen in how 19:30 and 20:16 are the same. As we look at the parable then, we should discern what is being taught regarding the first being last and the last first.

When we come to the parable itself, we notice initially that only one of the the groups of workers actually entered into a contract with the vineyard owner. This group is the first group who agreed their terms and conditions at the beginning of the day (see v.2). Those who started work at the third, sixth, ninth and eleventh hours had no agreements (see vv.5-7). They started to work trusting that the vineyard owner would give appropriate rewards. The third, sixth and ninth hour recruits appear to have had the promise of being paid what was right, but the eleventh hour peoples did not even have this promise. Whatever the arrangement, all except those who started at the beginning of the day enlisted for work trusting that the vineyard owner would reward them appropriately.

When it came time to pay the wages we know only that “the eleventh hour men” and “the early in the morning men” all got a denarius. This made those whom were hired first to start grumbling (see v11). They said that they had worked hard all day and could not understand how those, who had only worked in the cooler evening, had got the same amount. They thought that they should have more and therefore concluded that the outcome was unjust.

Let us ponder upon some things about the contracted labourers:-

1. What they got was a reasonable wage for the day. They agreed a decent wage for the days work. They seem to have been happy to agree that. This reflects the thinking of the religious person. I serve to get.
2. Their whole concern was with their own reward and what they were entitled to. The Lord brings his argument to a head by saying to one of those who were hired first “Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?” (Matt. 20:15). They were not concerned about the rights of the Master.
3. They were concerned about what they got and what blessing they received. They were not concerned with how others were blessed. They were just self-interested. This is what all worldly religion is about. It is about what i can get, not what God gives. True Christianity is about what our generous God gives.
4. They had no joy in respect of how generous the owner was to the eleventh hour men. They did not understand grace. They did not understand how the undeserving could be blessed.

What is this teaching us? It is teaching about:

• those who are working for God as employees of an employer. They think: “I will do this and I will get that.” They operate on the basis of what they perceive they deserve. This attitude looks upon God as a boss who, if you do what you need to do, will give you appropriate wages. It tends towards viewing service in the terms of a hard slog. They have no sense of God being generous.
• those who serve a generous God because they delight to serve in His vineyard. In the kingdom of heaven, the workers in His service serve with a trust that the Master will give them what is appropriate in line with His generosity. Whatever the service they do for Him; they gladly receive their reward knowing He is is a generous giver. There is a sense that “the eleventh hour workers” could have said that it was reward enough to have just been given opportunity to spend sometime profitably rather than just lolling around the market place. But, like God, the master was generous.

So in the kingdom of heaven, we happily serve in the vineyard and look to the Master to give His reward. We believe Him to be a generous master. And in that way, the first becomes last and the last first. The ones who serve for reward expect to be first because of what they have put in to their labour. The ones who serve because they appreciate the Master and want to serve in His vineyard will be first even though they may be last according to their own, and the worlds’, standards. Which leads me to suggest that Pat’s quiet and faithful service, which the world may consider insignificant, is very likely of great value in the Lord’s eyes.

So what about us? Are we those who serve to get what is our due? Or are we those who serve in order to do our best for the Master and leave the matter of any rewards with Him? If we are the latter we do well.

(Taken from Feltham Evangelical Church newsletter of April 2017)