About the eleventh hour he went out and found still others standing around. ‘Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?’ he asked.About the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing idle. He said to them, ‘Why do you stand here all day idle?’And about the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing idle, and saith unto them, Why stand ye here all the day idle?And about the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing; and he saith unto them, Why stand ye here all the day idle?
4 sermons cite this verse
… The last will be first, and the first will be last. Matthew chapter 20, verses 1 through 16. It's a symbolic story, and Jesus is showing us that he's well aware of our tendency to compare ourselves to others. He knows that we imagine ourselves in a story of survival, in a race to the top of the food chain. And it's a dog-eat-dog world out there, survival of the fittest, competition for scarce resources, limited attention, diminishing returns. And if you get more for you and your people, then that means I have less for me and mine. And if I want more for me and my tribe, then I have to take it from you and yours or from someone's. And the clock is ticking and time is running out. Jesus understands our default view of the world. But in this parable about this odd vineyard owner, he offers an alternative. Because the owner doesn't see the world through the lens of competition, but participation. Not through the filter of scarcity, but generosity. …
… but God has a plan even when it looks like there are no openings. in Matthew 20 Jesus is sharing a parable to help people understand how the kingdom is set up planting maintaining and harvesting is hard work by all accounts especially in the summer months of the Middle East the owner of the field would go out at 6 a.m. looking for people to handle grunt responsibilities while offering the same wage the government did for those who were enlisted in armed services. Today, the average salary in armed services is roughly between $80,000 and $100,000 with benefits. housing tax credits and insurance and god is saying i'll match that because the government is on my shoulders in case you don't know it god can outdo whatever the world has to offer all. I came to announce to somebody who's under the sound of my voice that your season for having to be a strong soldier is coming to an end. God is getting ready to take some of that weight off of your back. …
… Now look in verse six, and about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing idle and saith unto them, why stand ye here all the day idle? And they came at the eleventh hour. Now, he's not talking here about deathbed repentance. He's not talking about burning the candle of life for yourself and then blowing the smoke in God's face. Now, there is a deathbed repentance. God will save anybody if they're drawing their last breath, if they call upon him to save them. But that's not what he's trying to teach here, or what he is teaching here. Second truth, if you bargain with God, you will cheat yourself. Look now in verse 2. And when he had agreed with the laborers for a penny a day, he sent them into his vineyard. That means an agreement had to be made. That means there was some haggling. And finally they agreed. There's a contract and they go into the vineyard. I was called into the vineyard early. …
… and did likewise. And about the eleventh hour, now they were working a twelve-hour day, about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing idle, and saith unto them, Why stand ye here all the day idle? They saith unto him, Because no man has hired us. He saith unto them, Go ye also into the vineyard, and whatsoever is right, that shall ye receive. And so when even was come, the Lord of the vineyard saith to his steward, Call the laborers and give them their hire, beginning from the last unto the first. And when they that came were hired about the eleventh hour, they received every man a penny, that is a day's labor, wages. But when the first came, they supposed that they should have received more. And they likewise received every man a penny. And when they had received it, they murmured against the good man of the house, saying, These last have wrought but one hour, and thou hast made them equal unto us, which have borne the burden and the heat of the day. …