Jesus Teaches God’s Grace

GOLDEN TEXT: “By grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God.” —Ephesians 2:8

MATTHEW 20:1-16

THE Parable of the Penny has been interpreted in various ways. However, its important point seems to be the one suggested in the title of our lesson—“Jesus Teaches God’s Grace.” This thought is given great emphasis by the fact that regardless of the length of time the workers in the parable serve, they all receive the same wages. This, in turn, might well emphasize that whatever we receive from the Lord in the nature of reward for our services is actually unmerited, and therefore a manifestation of his grace.

In the parable only those hired in the beginning of the day were given an understanding of what their wages would be. Those who were hired at the third, sixth, and ninth hours, were told that whatever was right would be given to them. According to the oldest manuscripts, those hired at the eleventh hour were not told that they would be given “whatsoever is right,” as the Common Version states. However, at the close of the day they all received the same pay, which was a “penny.”

When the first-hour workers complained about this, indicating that since they had worked so much longer and had borne the heat of the day they were entitled to more than the penny, the householder asked them, “Is thine eye evil, because I am good?” Then, by way of explanation, Jesus added, “So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen.”

The householder’s question emphasizes the fact of divine grace in providing any compensation at all for the imperfect service which the Lord’s people are able to render. Our Golden Text seems well in keeping with the general lesson of the parable, for it is “by grace” that we are “saved.” Salvation cannot be earned, no matter how long we might have the privilege of working in the Lord’s vineyard. It is the “gift of God.”

“Many are called, but few chosen,” said Jesus, in applying the lesson of the parable. The “many” are evidently all who had been “hired” throughout the day, including those of the eleventh hour. The “few” who are chosen might well be those who did not complain, or murmur against the householder. Those who actually enter into kingdom glory with the Master are not only “called” and “chosen.” They are also “faithful.”—Rev. 17:14

We should appreciate the fact that whatever God has to offer is a gift. We should enter his service with loving loyalty to the principles of righteousness. If we have the opportunity of serving many years, that should be esteemed, and our interest in the Lord’s cause should make us happy.

From such a standpoint of appreciation of the service, we should be glad to see the Lord’s work carried on, glad to see others enter the service and glad to see them get the same reward that we hope for ourselves. Only those who have such a broad spirit, such an appreciation of the privileges of the vineyard, such a sympathy for “as many as the Lord our God shall call,” only these will be fit for the kingdom proper, and in readiness to receive the special privileges of knowledge and opportunity when the kingdom is ready to be announced.

Indeed, all who are servants, according to the Word of the Lord, should be praying that more laborers be sent into the vineyard, instead of feeling jealous of any others who might come. Let us not complain because of the Lord’s goodness to those who may come into the service even during the eleventh hour. Are they not brethren? Under the terms of the Golden Rule, should we not wish them to have the same blessings which we enjoy?

Any aloofness on the part of those who have been long in the Lord’s service—any feeling on the part of such that they should have a greater manifestation of the Lord’s favor—is, according to the parable, evidently wrong. We should try to emulate the goodness of the householder in the parable, and not be “evil,” as were those who murmured. The proper attitude is expressed by the poet in these words:

Great Husbandman, at thy command,
Saints sowed thy seed with lib’ral hand—
And, mindful of thy heav’nly call,
Onward they went, forsaking all.

On through the sad and weary years
They sowed the precious seed with tears,
And stayed their hearts in faith sublime
With prospects of the harvest time.

No longer saints in sorrow go,
In tears and sadness forth to sow:
For he who bade them sow and weep
Hath called them now in joy to reap.

Now doth the joyful reaper come
Bearing his sheaves in triumph home;
The voice long saddened now doth sing,
And loud their songs of triumph ring.

E’en here, on this side Jordan, stand
The gathered sheaves from every land;
And he that sowed, in joy doth reap,
And harvest home together keep.

QUESTIONS

What is the important lesson taught in the Parable of the Penny?

Are any of the Lord’s people profitable servants in the sense of actually earning what they receive from him?

What should be our attitude toward eleventh hour workers?

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