I.
Today, we have two more examples of God’s forgiveness.
Nineveh is spared because they repent and those who work only one hour are paid the same as those who work a full twelve.
Is there any hint of deserving here? Is repentance enough to forestall judgment? Does working one hour deserve the same wage as working for twelve?
Jonah did not think so. He is so upset that God has spared Nineveh:
“But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was very angry.”1
Likewise, those who bore the heat of the day complain when those hired at the last hour are paid the same wages. They grumble:
“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.”
II.
Jesus tells this story to his disciples, who He is training to go and speak in His name. Likewise, Jonah has been commissioned to speak in God’s name.
Elsewhere, we are told that those who speak for God must be true to the words that God actually says.
This is why the Bible — the written scriptures — are so important. They are the record of what God has said. Anyone who purports to speak for God but who speaks contrary to God’s word written is a false preacher.
But today’s lesson tells us that those who speak for God should not expect to come first. In fact, the whole purpose of their ministry is to gain an equal share of God’s love, mercy, and forgiveness with all of God’s children.
III.
You might think this lesson does not apply to you, since you are not a preacher. In fact, it might seem like a good deal to try to arrange to get hired at the end of the day, knowing you will be paid the same.
This has led to a lot of people thinking they can put off taking their faith seriously until the end of their lives.
Now, the point of both the story of Nineveh and the story of those hired last is that God has mercy on whomever He chooses, without regard to individual merit.
Working twelve hours is indeed harder than working for only one. In fair labor practices, more work should equal more pay.
But we do not work for our salvation. We do not work to obtain God’s mercy. These are gifts that are freely given.
So, if the gift of faith is given to you in your youth, and you put off opening that gift until the end of your life, do not expect it to be what it might have been.
In fact, do not expect the gift to be there at all.
You see, these are stories about what we do with the gifts that God gives us, not who deserves to get what.
It is in this way that your gift is just like mine, something neither of us deserved, and yet we received it anyway.
Because you are not a preacher does not mean you are missing something that I have, neither does it mean that I am more deserving than you.
People often make one of two mistakes when it comes to God’s gifts. They either think God owes them something more, or they hold what God has given them in contempt.
IV.
When Jesus tells His disciples the “last will be first, and the first will be last,” He is warning them against seeking to profit in this life by their association with Him.
(He does promise they will be rewarded in the kingdom of God.2)
He is telling them that they will not always anticipate, let alone understand, the effect of their ministries.
This becomes clear later on to Peter especially when he learns that the church must make accommodation for its non-Jewish members.
Israel was called by God first, has born the yoke of the law and the punishment of its own national unfaithfulness. Now, they must stand aside as a heretofore unworthy people are welcomed into God’s family.
They are made worthy because God choses to make them worthy, even as He chose Abraham centuries before.
But Christ asked nothing of Peter, the disciples, and the Jewish church that He didn’t undertake Himself, that is, to let the last go first.
Jesus as the last Adam changes places with the first Adam and takes first Adam’s place on the cross. (Adam here means our sinful human nature.)
This makes Jesus the first and only perfect sacrifice and the last sacrifice that will ever be necessary.
Having voluntarily made Himself last, God then raises His Son on the third day, and Jesus again becomes the first to know the power of the resurrection, the “the firstborn of all creation.”3
The Bible is full of such stories of reversals, of sinners who become saints, and of those like Jonah, saints by birth, but who lose their standing because they cannot comprehend why cities like Nineveh or men who only work for an hour should gain the love of God.
V.
Jesus tells us many stories that reinforce the hard truth of these reversals of fortune. Many, many people will go to their graves with a fool’s confidence in a benign afterlife — or no afterlife at all — yet utterly ignorant of their sins.
Such as these will rise from their graves to face the final reversal and hear Christ speak these dreadful words:
“I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.”4
To keep us from self-justifying pride in our own good works the Bible reminds us in today’s lessons that some of those who may appear to us to be the very worst members of the church make it to heaven before we do while warning us that others who seem the very best are cast out entirely.
So, how are we to be sure that we have God’s forgiveness and friendship?
Here’s how I answer that question and find comfort.
Paul writes in 2 Cor. 1:20:
“For all the promises of God find their Yes in Jesus Christ.”
If God has called anyone, He called Jesus Christ first. If the Father chooses anyone, it is because He chose His Son first. If the first Adam failed, then the last Adam will succeed.
The promise of the first and the promise of the last are both “yes” in Jesus Christ.
Therefore, when we say “yes” to Christ, we find that God has already said “yes” to us through His Son. Amen.
Preached on September 24, 2023 at St. Peter’s Lithgow, Millbrook, New York.
Proper 20
Jonah 3:10-4:11; Matthew 20:1-16
Questions for reflection and discussion:
1. Today’s lessons offer two examples of ____________.
2. True or False: the lessons prove that God forgives only those of us who deserve it.
3. Anyone who purports to speak for God but who speaks contrary to God’s word ____________ is a false preacher.
4. True or False: those who speak faithfully for God (prophets, preachers, etc.) should expect to be treated well.
5. God has mercy on whomever He chooses, without regard to individual ____________.
6. We do not work for our salvation. We do not work to obtain God’s mercy. These are ____________ that are freely given.
7. Describe two mistakes people can make with God’s gifts.
8. Jesus warns His disciples against seeking to ____________ in this life by their association with Him.
9. Jesus as the ____________ Adam changes places with the ____________ Adam on the cross.
10. Having voluntarily made Himself last, Jesus becomes the first to know the power of ____________.
11. The Bible is full of stories of ____________.
12. The promise of the first and the promise of the last are both “____________” in Jesus Christ.
Parents and Grandparents, you are responsible to apply God’s Word to your children’s lives. Here is some help. Young Children – draw a picture about something you hear during the sermon. Explain your picture(s) to your parents or the minister after church. Older Children – Do one or more of the following: 1) Count how many times “first” and “last” are mentioned. 2) Discuss with your parents how to respond to someone who cuts you in line.
(1) forgiveness; (2) false; (3) written; (4) false; (5) merit; (6) gifts; (7) (a) thinking God owes them more, (b) holding what God has given them in contempt; (8) profit; (9) last, first; (10) resurrection; (11) reversals; (12) yes
Just Say Yes