To listen to the full unabridged message: The Scandal fo Generous Grace
As we begin the season of Lent, we enter a specific rhythm in the Christian calendar. It is a season of lament—a time to acknowledge that the world we inhabit is imperfect. It is often sad, hard, and weary. It is a world in desperate need of resurrection.
The beauty of Lent is that it points us toward Easter. We know that in a few weeks, we will celebrate the moment history was transformed by the resurrection of Christ. But we shouldn’t rush there. As Westerners, our culture encourages us to skip the “hard” and jump straight to the “fun.” But this season, we aren’t going to skip the hardness. We are going to work through it together by looking at the parables of Jesus.
Twisting the Prism
Jesus used parables to flip our expectations upside down. If the Kingdom of Heaven is a prism, Jesus is constantly twisting it so we see the light differently. This week, we’re jumping into the deep end with one of his most challenging stories: The Workers in the Vineyard (Matthew 20:1-16).
The Story
The parable describes a landowner who hires laborers at different points throughout the day:
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6:00 AM: The first group is hired for a standard day’s wage (a denarius).
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9:00 AM, Noon, & 3:00 PM: More workers are hired.
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5:00 PM: With only one hour of light left, the landowner hires the final group.
When it comes time to pay, the “twist” happens. The workers hired last are paid first—and they receive a full day’s wage. Naturally, those who worked twelve hours in the heat expected more. But they, too, received a single denarius.
They grumbled, saying, “You have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work!"
The landowner’s response is the punchline of the parable: “I am not being unfair to you… Are you envious because I am generous?"
Fairness vs. Righteousness
If we’re honest, most of us identify with the first group of workers. It feels like “righteous indignation.” It feels unfair. But we have to recognize that fairness and grace are different categories.
If we treat this story like a literal lesson in economics, it’s a mess. Why didn’t the owner hire everyone at once? Why pay the one-hour workers the same? But Jesus isn’t giving a business lecture; he’s landing a punch. He is describing the radical, “gobsmacking” generosity of God.
The Struggle of the “Lifelong” Christian
For those of us who grew up in the church—who have known Jesus since before we left the womb—this parable is a mirror.
We can become callous to grace. We start to think we’ve earned it because we’ve been “good” our whole lives. Then, we see someone who lived “the fast life” turn to God on their deathbed, and we get bent out of shape. We hear a dramatic testimony of someone saved from addiction and think, “What about my story? My life was boring because I followed the rules. Where are my kudos?"
But we are forgetting the grace of being hired first.
Two Kinds of Grace
Grace redeems both stories, just in different ways:
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The Early Workers: If you’ve known God your whole life, you were shielded. You were protected from the 5:00 PM anxiety—the agonizing worry of “How will I feed my family tonight?” You had the hope of the Master all day long. That is an overwhelming grace.
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The Late Workers: For those who catch grace at the end, they receive unmitigated relief. They are rescued from the pain and struggle of a life lived without hope.
Whether you were hired at dawn or at dusk, the result is the same: The Master provided what you needed.
A Lenten Reflection
As we walk through Lent, let’s keep this overwhelming generosity in front of us. Whether you have followed Jesus for eighty years or eight minutes, we all stand on the same level ground at the foot of the Cross.
Let’s not look at the grace given to others with envy, but with rejoicing. We serve a God who is far more generous than we deserve.