1. Jesus already knows what is in their hearts
1.1. Mat 20:20-28
1.1.1. Matthew 20:21 (NLT) 21 “What is your request?” he asked. She replied, “In your Kingdom, please let my two sons sit in places of honor next to you, one on your right and the other on your left.”
1.1.2. Matthew 20:24 (NLT) 24 When the ten other disciples heard what James and John had asked, they were indignant.
1.1.3. Matthew 20:25 (NLT) 25 But Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers in this world lord it over their people, and officials flaunt their authority over those under them.
1.1.4. Matthew 20:26 (NLT) 26 But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant,
1.1.5. Matthew 20:27 (NLT) 27 and whoever wants to be first among you must become your slave.
1.1.6. Matthew 20:28 (NLT) 28 For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
1.1.7. Jesus then goes into detail what is about to happen to him.
2. Dodo Bird verdict Alice in Wonderland, “Everybody has won, and all must have prizes.”
2.1. It's commonly believed that the dodo went extinct because Dutch sailors ate the beast to extinction after finding that the bird was incredibly easy to catch due to the fact it had no fear of humans, (why it didn't fear the creature many times its size is a mystery for another day)
2.2. The Last Dodo
2.3. Ice Age Dodo birds
2.4. How offensive to us that someone would work harder and get less!
2.5. This is a tough parable because we tend to agree that the landowner is taking advantage.
2.5.1. Even in the early Church (300 AD) people struggled with God being the land owner.
2.5.2. The reason we object to equal treatment for all is precisely the objection of the workers in this parable—it doesn’t seem fair. But we are fools if we appeal to God for justice rather than grace, for in that case we’d all be damned.
3. The trouble with grace is that people get what they don't deserve.
3.1. Worse yet, Jesus is asking us to do the same.
3.2. When love is involved, fairness takes a back seat to grace.
3.2.1. Relationships prosper on love, not on fairness.
3.2.2. Ephesians 5:25 (NLT) 25 For husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her
3.2.2.1. Ephesians 5:25 (NASB95) 25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her,
3.2.3. παραδίδωμιa: to hand over to or to convey something to someone, particularly a right or an authority—‘to give over, to hand over.
3.2.3.1. Pronounce
3.2.3.2. Giving up your rights is harder than dying for someone.
4. Message Video
5. Open video
6. Matthew 20:1-16
6.1. The Analogy
6.1.1. Matthew 20:1 (NLT) 1 “For the Kingdom of Heaven is like the landowner...
6.1.1.1. This could be grouped with a Kingdom terrible but we are going to view it as a discipleship care of it.
6.1.2. Matthew 20:1 (NLT) ... who went out early one morning to hire workers for his vineyard.
6.1.3. The work wages
6.1.3.1. Matthew 20:2 (NLT) 2 He agreed to pay the normal daily wage and sent them out to work.
6.1.3.1.1. Denarius
6.1.4. The Schedule
6.1.4.1. Some work from 6:00 A.M. to 6:00 P.M.
6.1.4.1.1. Matthew 20:1 (NLT) 1 “For the Kingdom of Heaven is like the landowner who went out early one morning to hire workers for his vineyard.
6.1.4.2. Some work from 9:00 A.M. to 6:00 P.M
6.1.4.2.1. Matthew 20:3 (NLT) 3 “At nine o’clock in the morning he was passing through the marketplace and saw some people standing around doing nothing.
6.1.4.2.2. Matthew 20:4 (NLT) 4 So he hired them, telling them he would pay them whatever was right at the end of the day.
6.1.4.3. Some work from noon to 6:00 P.M.
6.1.4.3.1. Matthew 20:5 (NLT) 5 So they went to work in the vineyard. At noon ....
6.1.4.4. Some work from 3:00 to 6:00 P.M.
6.1.4.4.1. Matthew 20:5 (NLT) 5 ... and again at three o’clock he did the same thing.
6.1.4.5. Some work from 5:00 P.M. to 6:00 P.M
6.1.4.5.1. Matthew 20:6 (NLT) 6 “At five o’clock that afternoon he was in town again and saw some more people standing around. He asked them, ‘Why haven’t you been working today?’
6.1.4.5.2. Matthew 20:7 (NLT) 7 “They replied, ‘Because no one hired us.’ “The landowner told them, ‘Then go out and join the others in my vineyard.’
6.1.5. The Argument
6.1.5.1. Payoff
6.1.5.1.1. Matthew 20:8 (NLT) 8 “That evening he told the foreman to call the workers in and pay them, beginning with the last workers first.
6.1.5.2. Pay
6.1.5.2.1. Matthew 20:9 (NLT) 9 When those hired at five o’clock were paid, each received a full day’s wage.
6.1.5.2.2. Matthew 20:10 (NLT) 10 When those hired first came to get their pay, they assumed they would receive more. But they, too, were paid a day’s wage.
6.1.5.3. Protest
6.1.5.3.1. Matthew 20:11 (NLT) 11 When they received their pay, they protested to the owner,
6.1.5.3.2. Matthew 20:12 (NLT) 12 ‘Those people worked only one hour, and yet you’ve paid them just as much as you paid us who worked all day in the scorching heat.’
6.1.5.4. Pronouncement
6.1.5.4.1. Matthew 20:13 (NLT) 13 “He answered one of them, ‘Friend, I haven’t been unfair! Didn’t you agree to work all day for the usual wage?
6.1.5.4.2. Matthew 20:14 (NLT) 14 Take your money and go. I wanted to pay this last worker the same as you.
6.1.5.4.3. Matthew 20:15 (NLT) 15 Is it against the law for me to do what I want with my money? Should you be jealous because I am kind to others?’
6.1.6. The Application
6.1.6.1. Matthew 20:16 (NLT) 16 “So those who are last now will be first then, and those who are first will be last.”
6.1.6.2. In its original historical setting, the latecomers to the kingdom were the “tax collectors and sinners.”