Septuagesima + Matthew 20:1-16 + February 12, 2017
Order of Holy Communion - Pg. 15
Hymn # 276 Come Unto Me Ye WearyThe Sorrows of Sheol surrounded me; The snares of death confronted me.
In my distress I called upon the Lord, He
heard my voice from His temple. (Psalm 18:5–6a, c)
I will love You, O Lord, my strength. The
Lord is my rock and my fortress.
For You will save the humble people, But
will bring down haughty looks.
It is God who arms me with strength, And
makes my way perfect.
Therefore I will give thanks to You, O Lord, And
sing praises to Your mame. (Psalm 18:1b–2a, 27, 32, 49)
Collect for Septuagesima
O
Lord, we beseech Thee favorably to hear the prayers of Thy people that
we, who are justly punished for our offenses, may be mercifully
delivered by Thy goodness, for the glory of Thy Name; through Jesus
Christ, Thy Son, our Savior, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the
Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end. Amen.
Readings
Jeremiah 1:4-10
1 Corinthians 9:24-10:5
Matthew 20:1-16
Sermon on Matthew 20:1-16
Grace
and Peace be unto you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
1) The
parable that Christ tells us this morning is filled to the brim with wonderful
gospel.. “A landowner went out early in
the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. Now when he had agreed with the
laborers for a denarius a day, he send them into his vineyard.” Jesus is
speaking about the Jews, for they are the ones whom the Lord called early in
the morning of history. While the world was young the Lord made Israel His own
people and called them to work in His vineyard. He gave them the Law of Moses.
He gave them the Ten Commandments with which to busy themselves. He gave them
ceremonial law, all the sacrifices, the festivals, the food and clothing
requirements and more. The Lord called Israel to work in His vineyard, His
church, and He gave them plenty to do. The calling of Israel to work in the
Lord’s vineyard was one of sheer grace. When the Lord called Abraham he was an
idol worshipper. When Lord called Israel from Egypt they were slaves. Abraham,
Isaac, Jacob, and all the sons of Israel had nothing to offer God to make Him
choose them. He chose them out of sheer grace and mercy, with no merit or
worthiness on their part whatsoever. He tells Israel this in Deuteronomy 7:7-8. He says, “The LORD did not set His love on
you nor choose you because you were more in number than any other people, for
you were the least of all peoples; but because the LORD loves you, and because
He would keep the oath which He swore to your fathers.” So it is in the parable. The first workers are chosen by grace and the
Lord agrees to give them a denarius. The Lord chose Israel, brought them out of
Egypt, through the Red Sea, promised them forgiveness of their sins and
everlasting salvation, and they rejoiced at His good promise.
2) But the parable goes on. The Lord goes out at other times
of the day, later in history, to call more workers for His vineyard. Throughout
the Old Testament we see the Lord calling Gentiles to labor in the vineyard.
Rahab is called to join the workers in the vineyard. The Gibeonites are
assimilated into the people of Israel. Ruth the Moabitess, the widow at
Zaraphath, and countless others who are not of the line of Abraham are
graciously called to labor in the vineyard. Finally, in the eleventh hour of
human history, God the Father sends forth His Only-Begotten Son into the world
to bear the sins of the worlds and make the atonement long promised. He goes
out then through His apostles and heralds into the world, calling more and more
to come work in the vineyard. Those called at the eleventh hour do not have to
bear the heat of the day. They have do not have to bear the burden of the
Mosaic Law, for Christ fulfilled the entire Law, so that for those who believe,
He is the end of the Law. These Gentiles He calls, including you and I, do not
bear the burden and heat of the day as Israel did. It was this that led the
first workers called, the Jews, to look differently at the whole arrangement.
At the beginning they had been content to labor in the vineyard for a denarius.
They rejoiced at God’s mercy. But now that they saw the Lord bringing in
Gentiles by the droves and not requiring nearly as much work from them, they
become presumptuous. They forget that they too were graciously called to work
in the vineyard. They forget that it was sheer mercy that caused the landowner
to give them the vineyard. As they come to the end of the day they no longer
want what the landowner promised. They want to be rewarded according to their
works.
3) Then their presumption is cast to the ground. “When those who were hired about the
eleventh hour came, they each received a denarius.” The workers called
first assume that if these “Johnny-come-latelies” get paid the original amount,
then they, who have worked much longer and endured so much more under the Law
must reap an even greater reward. Since they want to be judged on their works
at this point, in their minds this would be the only fair thing. “But when the first came, they supposed that
they would receive more; and they likewise received each a denarius.” This
is, after all, what they had agreed upon. But something changed during the day,
and it wasn’t the rules. They had hardened their hearts towards the landowner’s
generosity. They began to think they should get more, that they deserved more. They
began to presume that this whole arrangement had nothing to do with grace and
everything to with the amount of time put in and the amount of labor accomplished.
This presumption turned their eyes evil, so that when the Landowner put a
denarius into each of their hands as well, they couldn’t help but despise what
was originally promised. “These last men
have worked only one hour, and you made them equal to us who have borne the
burden and the head of the day!” They no longer cared for what was
promised. They wanted their works to be recognized and rewarded. But that is
the point of the parable. God is not a respecter of persons or their works. God’s
gracious call is the same to all, no matter when they are called. God, in His
mercy, gives the same gifts and blessings to all whom He calls. Those who
labored under the Law in the Old Testament were given the same blessings as the
tax collectors and sinners which Jesus called during His ministry. You and I
are given the same blessings as they, and we are not even expected to work the
works required of the Jews through Moses. In this, Jesus shows the generosity
of the Triune God toward all sinners, that He calls them into His vineyard and
promises them each the same forgiveness, the same salvation, the same
everlasting life.
4) We see this as well
in our own lives. There are some who are called to the faith as infants in the
waters of Holy Baptism. They grow up in the church and do the work of the vineyard.
This is not the Mosaic Law. Rather, they work they do is in prayer and study of
the Word. Through the means of grace God cultivates their hearts like soil year
after year and He plants His Word in their hearts so that faith grows strong
and bold and good works spontaneously grow. There are others who do not come to
the faith until adulthood, and when they do, they rejoice at the gospel because
they knew life without the promise of the gospel and the forgiveness of their
sins. They too go to work in the vineyard, cultivating their hearts through the
Word and doing good works of love for their neighbor. Others the Lord calls in
the sixth or ninth hour of their lives. Still others He calls at the eleventh
hour, as they languish and inch closer to death. The ones whom Christ calls
later in life receive the same baptism, the same Lord’s Supper, the same
absolution and the same Word of God, and they are to cultivate the same good
works of love for neighbor, though there may not be as many of these fruits of
faith as those who were called in the early days of life. The person who is
called on their deathbed had no time for good works. But this shows the graciousness
of God. Whether you were called as an infant in the waters of Holy Baptism, or
as a young adult or fully grown adult, or even in your retirement years, it
matters not. There is only one promise of the Gospel and it is what the Lord
gives to everyone whom He calls. We are commanded to do good works, but not
with thought of reward. Our good works are to be done out of thanksgiving for
the Lord’s gifts and out of love for our neighbor.
5) We must not, as the
workers called earliest, grow to despise the Lord’s mercy as the Jews did. Nor
should we fall to the sin of presumption so that we think that if we’ve been
longer in the church or if we’ve done more good works, that God owes us more
than He has already promised. To put it another way: we should not look to our
works at all, let alone a reward for our works. Too many people want their good
works, whether real or imagined, to count for something in God’s vineyard. Too
many people want their piety to set them apart so that they imagine God has a
special reward for them because of their extra service. Still others are
tempted to turn their sufferings into something that should merit something
from God. But anytime we want our works to mean anything at all before God, we are
despising the grace of God and thinking little of it. Presumption is such a
difficult sin to see in us because we it hides behind good works, real good
works or imagined ones. If we expect to get more from God because of our
financial contributions, we are despising His grace. If we expect to gain God’s
favor by acts of service we do for the church or our neighbor, we are not doing
it out of love but out of a mercenary hope for reward. If we insert any work,
God-ordained or man-made, into our salvation, our call into the vineyard, then
our salvation in no longer by grace alone, but by works. The Jews wanted to add
their work to Jesus. Jesus plus circumcision. Jesus plus dietary laws. Jesus
plus the Law of Moses. Many do that still today, except with man-made works
never commanded by God. “Jesus plus my decision to accept Him into my heart,”
or “Jesus plus my new personal holiness.” Those sound pious, just like circumcision
and dietary laws sounded pious to the Jews. But if you want anything you do to
get you your reward, then you have become presumptuous and despise grace.
6) So this text is also
a stern warning to all whom Christ has called to labor in His vineyard. Your
calling, whenever you received it, was purely by the grace of God, “For by grace you have been saved through
faith, and that not of yourselves; it
is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9). He has called you by His
Word preached and His Word combined with water in Holy Baptism, for those are
His means for working faith in your heart and strengthening that faith. He has called you to a glorious vineyard, His
Church, in which sins are daily forgiven and the Gospel is daily bestowed upon
you. He desires you work in His vineyard, that you stay close to His Word and
Sacrament and bear fruits of good works. But take care so that you eye does not
become evil, so that you come to expect reward for the fruits of your God-given
faith. Rather rejoice in His mercy and take heart that you have been called
into the vineyard of the church for your forgiveness and salvation. Amen.
May the peace of God which passes human understanding guard your hearts and
minds through faith in Christ Jesus. Amen.