The Sixteenth Sunday after Trinity is September 24, 2023.

Readings for Year A can be found here, used for the Fifteenth Sunday after Trinity in 2020.

The Gospel reading is as follows (emphases mine):

Matthew 20:1-16

20:1 “For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his Vineyard.

20:2 After agreeing with the laborers for the usual daily wage, he sent them into his vineyard.

20:3 When he went out about nine o’clock, he saw others standing idle in the marketplace;

20:4 and he said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.’ So they went.

20:5 When he went out again about noon and about three o’clock, he did the same.

20:6 And about five o’clock he went out and found others standing around; and he said to them, ‘Why are you standing here idle all day?’

20:7 They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard.’

20:8 When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his manager, ‘Call the laborers and give them their pay, beginning with the last and then going to the first.’

20:9 When those hired about five o’clock came, each of them received the usual daily wage.

20:10 Now when the first came, they thought they would receive more; but each of them also received the usual daily wage.

20:11 And when they received it, they grumbled against the landowner,

20:12 saying, ‘These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.’

20:13 But he replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage?

20:14 Take what belongs to you and go; I choose to give to this last the same as I give to you.

20:15 Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or are you envious because I am generous?’

20:16 So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”

Commentary comes from Matthew Henry and John MacArthur.

Before going into the exegesis, it is worth noting that two of the other readings point to the Gospel passage. We have the Israelites complaining that God was not doing enough for them (Exodus 16:2-15). Then Jonah is angry — so angry that he wants to die — because God sent him to save the Gentiles of Nineveh (Jonah 3:10-4:11).

Now on to the Gospel.

John MacArthur puts the Parable of the Labourers in the Vineyard into context for us:

… let me show you how the context leads into this parable. Now go back to chapter 19 for a minute. You remember the rich young ruler; and the rich young ruler had come to find out about how to get eternal life. Jesus told him. He didn’t want it, because it meant sacrifice he wasn’t willing to make, so he left.

In response to that, Peter speaks on behalf of the twelve in Verse 27. This is interesting. Peter says, “Behold, we have forsaken all to follow Thee. We did what he wouldn’t do. I mean we have forsaken all and followed Thee. Hey, we are the 6 a.m. group.” I mean they were the first guys in, right? Really. When He began His ministry, He went along and called those twelve guys. They were the first ones. They were the 6 a.m. group. This parable is primarily directed to them …

You see, they really thought that they were going to get something really special. And I guess some of the other folks who came along later just weren’t going to be able to get what they got. Now I believe they loved Christ, and I also am confident that they believed that He was the Messiah. They struggled with that, but I think they were genuine.

And I don’t want to discount that; but at the same time, connected with their genuineness was sort of a cluttered up idea that they were going to inherit the kingdom, and that really excited them; and that the kingdom was going to come here and now. It was going to be political, and earthly, and rich; and they were going to get in on it; they really were. They were excited about it. I mean they thought, boy, they’re going to be in the first group; and when the kingdom comes, they’re going to be right up there right arm, left arm for the Messiah, calling the shots. That excited them. They thought any minute Jesus was going to bring the kingdom; and that’s why they were so continuously confused when it didn’t happen.

Matthew Henry’s commentary says that this parable has two meanings. One was that the Jews were the 6 a.m. group, because God had singled them out early in Old Testament times. Yet, later on, the Gentiles were welcomed into the same group and given the same reward. The second meaning is that people today who come to a belief in Christ late in their lives are given the same reward that those who grew up with faith — the 6 a.m. group — receive.

Henry explains:

Nothing was more a mystery in the gospel dispensation than the rejection of the Jews and the calling in of the Gentiles; so the apostle speaks of it (Eph 3 3-6); that the Gentiles should be fellow-heirs: nor was any thing more provoking to the Jews than the intimation of it. Now this seems to be the principal scope of this parable, to show that the Jews should be first called into the vineyard, and many of them should come at the call; but, at length, the gospel should be preached to the Gentiles, and they should receive it, and be admitted to equal privileges and advantages with the Jews; should be fellow-citizens with the saints, which the Jews, even those of them that believed, would be very much disgusted at, but without reason.

But the parable may be applied more generally, and shows us, 1. That God is debtor to no man; a great truth, which the contents in our Bible give as the scope of this parable. 2. That many who begin last, and promise little in religion, sometimes, by the blessing of God, arrive at greater attainments in knowledge, grace, and usefulness, than others whose entrance was more early, and who promised fairer … John is swifter of foot, and comes first to the sepulchre: but Peter has more courage, and goes first into it. Thus many that are last shall be first … Sometimes those that are converted later in their lives, outstrip those that are converted earlier. Paul was as one born out of due time, yet came not behind the chiefest of the apostles, and outdid those that were in Christ before him. Something of affinity there is between this parable and that of the prodigal son, where he that returned from his wandering, was as dear to his father as he was, that never went astray; first and last alike. 3. That the recompence of reward will be given to the saints, not according to the time of their conversion, but according to the preparations for it by grace in this world; not according to the seniority (Gen 43 33), but according to the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ. Christ had promised the apostles, who followed him in the regeneration, at the beginning of the gospel dispensation, great glory (ch. 19 28); but he now tells them that those who are in like manner faithful to him, even in the latter end of the world, shall have the same reward, shall sit with Christ on his throne, as well as the apostles, Rev 2 26-iii 21. 

Jesus said that the kingdom of God is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire labourers for his vineyard (verse 1).

MacArthur gives us the background on the verse:

We’re in the spiritual dimension, God’s world now; and in order for us to understand that dimension, we really have to have some earthly illustrations don’t we, because we’re so earthly minded. And so the Lord Jesus when commonly, when talking about the spiritual kingdom, gave us physical, earthly illustrations called parables. This is one of them …

… So here is a man who owns a large estate, which incorporates a vineyard. And early in the morning – now this would be prior to 6 o’clock, because the Jewish day began at 6 in the morning and ended at 6 at night. They work from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. basically – a twelve-hour workday.

And so early in the morning, he went into the village, or into the town, to hire laborers to come and work in his vineyard. Now this is not an imaginary scene to a Jew, this is a very real one, a very real one. They were very familiar with vineyards.

The land of Palestine is basically divided into two kinds of land, for the most part, the plains and the mountain slopes. The plains – like the Valley of the Jordan; and the valley of Sharon, Sharon Valley; and the Valley of Esdraelon, which is known also as the plain of Megiddo, or Armageddon – will be centered. Those places are characterized by grain fields.

But Palestine is also marked with mountains everywhere, and the slopes of those mountains were terraced for the planting of vineyards. It was tremendously difficult work, because they had to terrace the mountains; and they supported those terraces with stones that they carried by hand, and put in place by hand. Any soil that had to be taken from the bottom to the top to replace topsoil had to be carried on the shoulders of the men. So it was a great amount of effort; there were very steep slopes.

In the spring, they would plant the crop. In the summer, they would prune it as it grew, and they would tie the branches down to produce the greatest amount of fruit. And then about the end of September, they would come to the time of harvesting the grapes. And it wasn’t long after that that the rainy season came, and it was very important that they get the harvest in before the rain began.

And so harvest time was a hectic time. And it very likely is near the harvest time, and the man who owns the vineyard knows that he’s got to get his crop in. And so beyond the normal servants that he has working for him, he goes into the village to hire some day laborers who can come out and help him harvest his crop. He would have a very large number of men doing this. And they would be gathered in town, perhaps, at a very common meeting place for day laborers in the marketplace – the agora; and there they would be waiting for those who might come and hire them. And this man shows up before 6 a.m. so that he can have them for a full day.

Now what kind of laborers are these? Well, in the society of Israel there were people who owned the land. There were people who were employed by those who owned the land. There were the people who were employed on a long-term basis, like household servants, and household slaves, and household workers, and those who worked the soil, and so forth.

But the lowest folks on the economic ladder were the day laborers. They really had no guarantee of work beyond the moment. They came every day to the marketplace, stood around a special meeting point, and just hoped that someone would come and hire them. And the wages they received were usually very, very low, because they were so desperate, they had to work for whatever they could get.

After the man agreed with the labourers the usual daily wage, he sent them into his vineyard (verse 2).

MacArthur describes the pay scale of that era:

… a Roman soldier was paid a denarius, and he had an honorable job. And those who were well-thought of and respected and maybe lifetime servants were paid a denarius a day. That was a good wage. That was a respectable wage. But a day laborer might be hired for a lot less, because he really wasn’t in a negotiating position. If he didn’t work, he didn’t eat that day, because he could barely eke out subsistence for himself, his wife, and his family …

That’s a very fair wage. That’s an honorable wage, and very likely more than they would normally receive. That was standard pay for a soldier and a respected employee; generally accepted certainly for day work as more than a fair wage. In fact, these men agreed that it was fair, and went to work for that amount – both owner and worker in agreement. “And so he sends them off” – it says in verse 2 – “into his vineyard to begin their work.”

The vineyard owner returned to the marketplace at 9 a.m. and saw others standing idle in the marketplace (verse 3). In other words, they were waiting to be hired.

The man told them to go to the vineyard and he would pay whatever was right — a fair day’s wage — so they went (verse 4).

Henry tells us of the spiritual significance in these verses:

[1.] Who hires them? A man that is a householder. God is the great Householder, whose we are, and whom we serve; as a householder, he has work that he will have to be done, and servants that he will have to be doing; he has a great family in heaven and earth, which is named from Jesus Christ (Eph 3 15), which he is Owner and Ruler of. God hires labourers, not because he needs them or their services (for, if we be righteous, what do we unto him?), but as some charitable generous householders keep poor men to work, in kindness to them, to save them from idleness and poverty, and pay them for working for themselves.

[2.] Whence they are hired? Out of the market-place, where, till they are hired into God’s service, they stand idle (v. 3), all the day idle (v. 6). Note, First, The soul of man stands ready to be hired into some service or other; it was (as all the creatures were) created to work, and is either a servant to iniquity, or a servant to righteousness, Rom 6 19. The devil, by his temptations, is hiring labourers into his field, to feed swine. God, by his gospel, is hiring labourers into his vineyard, to dress it, and keep it, paradise-work. We are put to our choice; for hired we must be (Josh 24 15); Choose ye this day whom ye will serve. Secondly, Till we are hired into the service of God, we are standing all the day idle; a sinful state, though a state of drudgery to Satan, may really be called a state of idleness; sinners are doing nothing, nothing to the purpose, nothing of the great work they were sent into the world about, nothing that will pass well in the account. Thirdly, The gospel call is given to those that stand idle in the market-place. The market-place is a place of concourse, and there Wisdom cries (Prov 1 20, 21); it is a place of sport, there the children are playing (ch. 11 16); and the gospel calls us from vanity to seriousness; it is a place of business, of noise and hurry; and from that we are called to retire. “Come, come from this market-place.”

[3.] What are they hired to do? To labour in his vineyard. Note, First, The church is God’s vineyard; it is of his planting, watering, and fencing; and the fruits of it must be to his honour and praise. Secondly, We are all called upon to be labourers in this vineyard. The work of religion is vineyard-work, pruning, dressing, digging, watering, fencing, weeding. We have each of us our own vineyard to keep, our own soul; and it is God’s and to be kept and dressed for him. In this work we must not be slothful, not loiterers, but labourers, working, and working out our own salvation. Work for God will not admit of trifling. A man may go idle to hell; but he that will go to heaven, must be busy.

[4.] What shall be their wages? He promises, First, A penny, v. 2. The Roman penny was, in our money, of the value of a sevenpence half-penny, a day’s wages for a day’s work, and the wages sufficient for a day’s maintenance. This doth not prove that the reward of our obedience to God is of works, or of debt (no, it is of grace, free grace, Rom 4 4), or that there is any proportion between our services and heaven’s glories; no, when we have done all, we are unprofitable servants; but it is to signify that there is a reward set before us, and a sufficient one. Secondly, Whatsoever is right, v. 4-7. Note, God will be sure not to be behind-hand with any for the service they do him: never any lost by working for God. The crown set before us is a crown of righteousness, which the righteous Judge shall give.

[5.] For what term are they hired? For a day. It is but a day’s work that is here done. The time of life is the day, in which we must work the works of him that sent us into the world. It is a short time; the reward is for eternity, the work is but for a day; man is said to accomplish, as a hireling, his day, Job 14 6. This should quicken us to expedition and diligence in our work, that we have but a little time to work in, and the night is hastening on, when no man can work; and if our great work be undone when our day is done, we are undone for ever. It should also encourage us in reference to the hardships and difficulties of our work, that it is but for a day; the approaching shadow, which the servant earnestly desireth, will bring with it both rest, and the reward of our work, Job 7 2. Hold out, faith, and patience, yet a little while.

The man went out again at around noon and three o’clock (verse 5) to hire more labourers.

He returned again at 5 o’clock — one hour before work stopped — and found others in the marketplace; he asked them why they were standing idle (verse 6) and when they replied that no one had hired them, he told them to go to his vineyard (verse 7).

Henry explains:

[6.] Notice is taken of the several hours of the day, at which the labourers were hired. The apostles were sent forth at the first and third hour of the gospel day; they had a first and a second mission, while Christ was on earth, and their business was to call in the Jews; after Christ’s ascension, about the sixth and ninth hour, they went out again on the same errand, preaching the gospel to the Jews only, to them in Judea first, and afterward to them of the dispersion; but, at length, as it were about the eleventh hour, they called the Gentiles to the same work and privilege with the Jews, and told them that in Christ Jesus there should be no difference made between Jew and Greek.

But this may be, and commonly is, applied to the several ages of life, in which souls are converted to Christ. The common call is … to come and work in the vineyard; but the effectual call is particular, and it is then effectual when we come at the call.

First, Some are effectually called, and begin to work in the vineyard when they are very young; are sent in early in the morning, whose tender years are seasoned with grace, and the remembrance of their Creator. John the Baptist was sanctified from the womb, and therefore great (Luke 1 15); Timothy from a child (2 Tim 3 15); Obadiah feared the Lord from his youth. Those that have such a journey to go, had need set out betimes, the sooner the better.

Secondly, Others are savingly wrought upon in middle age; Go work in the vineyard, at the third, sixth, or ninth hour. The power of divine grace is magnified in the conversion of some, when they are in the midst of their pleasures and worldly pursuits, as Paul. God has work for all ages; no time amiss to turn to God; none can say, “It is all in good time;” for, whatever hour of the day it is with us, the time past of our life may suffice that we have served sin; Go ye also into the vineyard. God turns away none that are willing to be hired, for yet there is room.

Thirdly, Others are hired into the vineyard in old age, at the eleventh hour, when the day of life is far spent, and there is but one hour of the twelve remaining. None are hired at the twelfth hour; when life is done, opportunity is done; but “while there is life, there is hope.” 1. There is hope for old sinners; for if, in sincerity, they turn to God, they shall doubtless be accepted; true repentance is never too late. And, 2. There is hope of old sinners, that they may be brought to true repentance; nothing is too hard for Almighty grace to do, it can change the Ethiopian’s skin, and the leopard’s spots; can set those to work, who have contracted a habit of idleness. Nicodemus may be born again when he is old, and the old man may be put off, which is corrupt.

Yet let none, upon this presumption, put off their repentance till they are old. These were sent into the vineyard, it is true, at the eleventh hour; but nobody had hired them, or offered to hire them, before. The Gentiles came in at the eleventh hour, but it was because the gospel had not been before preached to them. Those that have had gospel offers made them at the third, or sixth hour, and have resisted and refused them, will not have that to say for themselves at the eleventh hour, that these had; No man has hired us; nor can they be sure that any man will hire them at the ninth or eleventh hour; and therefore not to discourage any, but to awaken all, be it remembered, that now is the accepted time; if we will hear his voice, it must be to-day.

When evening came, the vineyard owner instructed his manager to call the labourers to receive their pay, beginning with the last and ending with the first (verse 8).

MacArthur tells us of the importance of paying a poor labourer at the end of the day:

… in Leviticus chapter 19, verse 13, the Bible says, “The wages of the hired servant shall not remain with you all night until the morning.” In other words, God says, “When you hire a man for a day, you pay him at the end of that day.” And in Deuteronomy, it also says, in chapter 24 and verse 15, “You shall give him his hire on the day he earns it before the sun goes down; for he is poor, and sets his heart on it; lest he cry against you to the Lord, and it be sin in you.”

So these people were on the bottom rung of the ladder economically, and the Lord put that in the Levitical law in order that they might be cared for properly, so that when they worked a day they were paid a day; because if they didn’t get paid, they couldn’t eat the next day. They weren’t the kind that were stockpiling it up, and having sufficiency apart from their daily labor.

MacArthur also points out:

… then he says this most interesting thing – “beginning from the last unto the first.” And now all of a sudden we’ve intersected with our proverb, haven’t we? “The first shall be last, and the last shall be first.” And this in the parable is that. The ones who came to work last were paid – what? – first, and the ones that came to work first were paid last. So it’s obvious that that’s what the proverb is saying, and that’s what the parable intends to illustrate.

When those that were hired at five o’clock came, each received the usual daily wage (verse 9), which was one denarius, as explained above.

MacArthur tells us what the 6 a.m. group were thinking as they looked on:

The guys in the front had worked one hour; the guys at the end of the line, twelve. “And when they came that were hired about the eleventh hour, they received every man a denarius.” That’s a whole day’s wage, and a generous one at that, a respectable one at that. Well, you can imagine as he started at that point, that the guys at the end of the line are saying, “Did you see that? Twelve times one denarius, he’s paying a denarius an hour.” And they started to get this silent expectation that, “By the time we get there, guys, we’re going to get twelve days’ wages.”

When the 6 a.m. group came to receive their wages, they thought they would receive more, but each of them also received one denarius (verse 10).

Henry explains:

The giving of a whole day’s wages to those that had not done the tenth part of a day’s work, is designed to show that God distributes his rewards by grace and sovereignty, and not of debt ... we are under grace, and not under the law, even such defective services, done in sincerity, shall not only be accepted, but by free grace richly rewarded. Compare Luke 17 7, 8, with Luke 12 37.

The first group — as the Israelites did — grumbled, or complained, against the landowner (verse 11).

They told the landowner, ‘These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat’ (verse 12).

Henry reminds us that the same thing happened in the Parable of the Prodigal Son and mentions Peter’s boasting at the end of Matthew 19:

As the elder brother, in the parable of the prodigal, repined at the reception of his younger brother, and complained of his father’s generosity to him; so these labourers quarrelled with their master, and found fault, not because they had not enough, so much as because others were made equal with them. They boast, as the prodigal’s elder brother did, of their good services; We have borne the burthen and heat of the day; that was the most they could make of it … Very apt we all are to undervalue the deserts of others, and to overvalue our own. Perhaps, Christ here gives an intimation to Peter, not to boast too much, as he seemed to do, of his having left all to follow Christ; as if, because he and the rest of them had borne the burthen and heat of the day thus, they must have a heaven by themselves. It is hard for those that do or suffer more than ordinary for God, not to be elevated too much with the thought of it, and to expect to merit by it. Blessed Paul guarded against this, when, though the chief of the apostles, he owned himself to be nothing, to be less than the least of all saints.

The landowner said to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage?’ (verse 13) and ‘Take what belongs to you and go; I choose to give to this last the same as I give to you’ (verse 14).

MacArthur objects to the use of the word ‘friend’ in that verse and says it is actually a more neutral term, ‘fellow’:

… that’s hetairos the Greek, it means fellow, this is sort of a non-descript term. Friend is not a good translation of that. It’s sort of a rebuking term.

The landowner rightly asked if he was not allowed to do what he chose with what belonged to him, then asked if that labourer was perhaps jealous of him (verse 15).

Henry addresses the first part of the verse:

Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with my own? Note, [1.] God is the Owner of all good; his propriety in it is absolute, sovereign, and unlimited. [2.] He may therefore give or withhold his blessings, as he pleases. What we have, is not our own, and therefore it is not lawful for us to do what we will with it; but what God has, is his own; and this will justify him, First, In all the disposals of his providence; when God takes from us that which was dear to us, and which we could ill spare, we must silence our discontents with this; May he not do what he will with his own? Abstulit, sed et dedit—He hath taken away; but he originally gave. It is not for such depending creatures as we are to quarrel with our Sovereign. Secondly, In all the dispensations of his grace, God gives or withholds the means of grace, and the Spirit of grace, as he pleases. Not but that there is a counsel in every will of God, and what seems to us to be done arbitrarily, will appear at length to have been done wisely, and for holy ends. But this is enough to silence all murmurs and objectors, that God is sovereign Lord of all, and may do what he will with his own. We are in his hand, as clay in the hands of a potter; and it is not for us to prescribe to him, or strive with him.

In older translations, the second half of the verse about jealousy, is worded as follows:

Is thine eye evil, because I am good?

Henry explains the expression ‘evil eye’ in this context:

See here,

[1.] The nature of envy; It is an evil eye. The eye is often both the inlet and the outlet of this sin. Saul saw that David prospered, and he eyed him, 1 Sam 18 9, 15. It is an evil eye, which is displeased at the good of others, and desires their hurt. What can have more evil in it? It is grief to ourselves, anger to God, and ill-will to our neighbour; and it is a sin that has neither pleasure, profit, nor honour, in it; it is an evil, an only evil.

[2.] The aggravation of it; “It is because I am good.” Envy is unlikeness to God, who is good, and doeth good, and delighteth in doing good; nay, it is an opposition and contradiction to God; it is a dislike of his proceedings, and a displeasure at what he does, and is pleased with. It is a direct violation of both the two great commandments at once; both that of love to God, in whose will we should acquiesce, and love to our neighbour, in whose welfare we should rejoice. Thus man’s badness takes occasion from God’s goodness to be more exceedingly sinful.

MacArthur says:

Jealousy is a part of our fallenness, isn’t it? You see, it wasn’t that they didn’t get a fair wage. They got a very fair wage, a generous wage. It’s that they couldn’t stand somebody else getting the same thing without working as hard as they did. Instead of saying to themselves, “Isn’t it wonderful that he’s so generous to those who have the same need we have, but weren’t hired early. Isn’t it wonderful that even though they had to wait all day to be hired, their need wasn’t any less; and he gave them according to their need, not according to their effort, not according to their work.”

Instead of saying that – that’s what the magnanimous heart says: “I rejoice that you received as much as I did, because that’s what you needed, even though you didn’t work as hard as I worked.” That’s the magnanimous heart. Well, that’s the parable. And he says, “I have the right to give whatever I want. Are you going to be jealous if I give it?”

Jesus ended the parable saying, ‘So the last will be first, and the first will be last’ (verse 16).

MacArthur says:

Everybody ends up the same. And that’s exactly what happens in the parable; everybody gets the same wage. The last wound up being first in line to get the wage; the first wound up being last in line to get the same wage. It’s the point of equality. The last shall be first.

… The day, the day of work is lifetime. The evening is eternity. The denarius is eternal life. And maybe you could even say the steward Jesus Christ, to whom has been committed all judgment.

… It’s saying this: No matter how long you worked in the kingdom, no matter how hard or how easy your circumstances were, no matter how difficult the task, when you get to the end, you’re all going to receive the same eternal life. Isn’t that a great truth? That’s really what He’s teaching.

Some people serve Christ their life long, some short …

But in the kingdom … We all get the same. We all enter into the same eternal life. We all inherit the same glories in heaven. That is the essence of what our Lord is saying. No matter how easy or how hard our lot in life, no matter how long or short our service – to put it another way, the penitent thief will inherit the same glories of eternity that are going to belong to the apostles.

Peter, on the one hand, crucified upside-down for the cause of Christ, the penitent thief crucified for his crimes, are both entering into eternal life to receive the same eternal glorious blessings, to be blessed with all spiritual blessings in the heavenlies. You say, “That sounds like it’s inequitable.” No. It’s more than any of them deserve. It’s more than any of them deserve. And it’s God’s good pleasure to give them the fullness of what they need.

So those who come to Christ early in life will receive the same eternal life that those who come to Christ late in life receive. Those who spend their life in an easy place, maybe not serving Christ with a great amount of toil and effort, will receive the same eternal life that a person will receive who has served Christ at the cost of all that he owns and all that he ever has, and even dies a martyrs death; because you see, to begin with, it’s all according to the grace of the one who gives anyway, right?

So the benefits of the kingdom are the same for everybody. Boy, that’s a wonderful thing to think about. Folks, what that does is, it says to me and to you that we’re not trying to earn our way in – right? – and the kingdom is not a merit system. Heaven is not a merit system. Eternity is not based on our merit.

I will close with this anecdote from MacArthur, because a lot of people worry about what happened to loved ones who did not express any Christian belief during their lifetimes. We never know what goes on between them and God in their final moments:

A pastor came to see me, whom I know very closely, and he was telling me that his father recently died, who all his lifelong had been a Christ-rejecter; the very opposite of his son, who has for years preached Christ and loved Christ. And when his father was in the hospital with a stroke and no longer able to communicate, just before he died, he went in and he said, “I presented to him the gospel of Jesus Christ with all my heart, and I just told him how he could embrace Christ, even at this point in his life, even though he had so strongly rejected Him. He said, “I don’t know whether he did or not, because he never communicated again. But I did all I could to give him the message, and I have the confidence to know this: that if he believed, he’ll inherit the same eternal life, who rejected Jesus Christ all his years, that I will who have served Christ.” And that’s really what this parable is saying, because God is a God of grace, and it’s all grace anyway. Wonderful truth.

I hope that our commentators have explained the meaning of the Parable of the Labourers in the Vineyard so that we can all understand and appreciate the free gift of grace and heavenly rewards to come to all who believe in Jesus Christ, even in their eleventh hour.