“For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. After agreeing with the workers on one denarius, he sent them into his vineyard for the day. When he went out about nine in the morning, he saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. He said to them, ‘You also go into my vineyard, and I’ll give you whatever is right.’ So off they went. About noon and about three, he went out again and did the same thing. Then about five he went and found others standing around and said to them, ‘Why have you been standing here all day doing nothing? ’
Matthew 20
“ ‘Because no one hired us,’ they said to him.
“ ‘You also go into my vineyard,’ he told them. When evening came, the owner of the vineyard told his foreman, ‘Call the workers and give them their pay, starting with the last and ending with the first.’
“When those who were hired about five came, they each received one denarius. So when the first ones came, they assumed they would get more, but they also received a denarius each. When they received it, they began to complain to the landowner: ‘These last men put in one hour, and you made them equal to us who bore the burden of the day’s work and the burning heat.’
“He replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I’m doing you no wrong. Didn’t you agree with me on a denarius? Take what’s yours and go. I want to give this last man the same as I gave you. Don’t I have the right to do what I want with what is mine? Are you jealous because I’m generous? ’
“So the last will be first, and the first last.”
While going up to Jerusalem, Jesus took the twelve disciples aside privately and said to them on the way, “See, we are going up to Jerusalem. The Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death. They will hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked, flogged, and crucified, and on the third day he will be raised. ”
Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons approached him with her sons. She knelt down to ask him for something. “What do you want? ” he asked her.
“Promise,” she said to him, “that these two sons of mine may sit, one on your right and the other on your left, in your kingdom.”
Jesus answered, “You don’t know what you’re asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink? ”
“We are able,” they said to him.
He told them, “You will indeed drink my cup, but to sit at my right and left is not mine to give; instead, it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.”
When the ten disciples heard this, they became indignant with the two brothers. Jesus called them over and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those in high positions act as tyrants over them. It must not be like that among you. On the contrary, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave; just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
As they were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed him. There were two blind men sitting by the road. When they heard that Jesus was passing by, they cried out, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David! ” The crowd demanded that they keep quiet, but they cried out all the more, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David! ”
Jesus stopped, called them, and said, “What do you want me to do for you? ”
“Lord,” they said to him, “open our eyes.” Moved with compassion, Jesus touched their eyes. Immediately they could see, and they followed him.
God sent his son into the world to save us. In this parable, which is a retelling of the parable of Isaiah 5, God is the landowner, and his kingdom is the field. It was the job of the ruling Jewish authority (read Pharisees et al) to care for the kingdom and ensure it produced a harvest… they did not. So God sent them, over long generations, over and over again, prophets to show them the way… they still, ultimately, never stayed with the Lord for more than a generation. Ultimately, God sent his son, and they used Rome to kill him. Jesus knew he came to die, he knew what kind of death it would be, and yet he still came. He came so that the kingdom could go into all the world. Following after Jesus means sharing in his suffering. It will not be an easy road, but it is the best one. True healing comes from trusting in him.
