https://app.dropwave.io/episode/f2389018-db4c-43bf-aee5-e14bd6cc6e22/septuagesima-ad-2026.mp3

++ JESU JUVA ++

In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

How do proud and sanctimonious people view God’s mercy and love? Outwardly they behave as Christians. But inwardly, they have a very different disposition. Today’s Gospel parable teaches us how the self-righteous see the grace of God.

This parable is important for us, because the sin of self-righteousness and pride is always creeping into our hearts. It happens in the way Jesus describes here — where those who came into His Kingdom early despise those who came late. Maybe it seems like those who have been in church the longest have borne most of the work. And the people who show up now just get the benefits without any of the cost.

That’s how it was between the Jews and the Greeks in the early church. The “new guys” didn’t have to be circumcised. They didn’t have to follow the Old Testament ceremonial and dietary laws and keep the fasts. And now, because Christ has fulfilled all this, the new guys don’t have to do any of it. In the Church and according to salvation, they have full equality. This made the Jews angry. They were resentful toward the Gentiles. More than that, they were upset with God. They despised His grace.

This is how it works. We think the comparison is between us and the people who came after us. But ultimately it’s a complaint against God. It’s the temptation to be upset with God because He gives grace to others — to look at God with an evil eye. To think that there’s something wrong with God’s kindness. To grumble and complain about what God does with His grace and mercy.

So whenever you find yourself thinking this way, it’s an indication that you believe wrongly about God’s grace. It means you don’t love His grace like you think you do. That you think more highly of yourself than you ought. But the very fact that you see this sin and are troubled by it is evidence that God’s Word is at work in you. So hear His gracious call. And as we consider the attitude and thinking of the first workers, look at your own heart. See if you think the way they do and repent. Look toward the abundant grace of God for you in Christ.

Those hired first are, at heart, transactional. It’s not because they work and receive a day’s wage for a day’s work. It’s because they see life with God primarily in terms of exchange—work rendered, reward earned. They believed their value was found in what they could earn — and especially something to measure against others. They have confused productivity and wealth for righteousness. They could not understand that God had given them a holy vocation and duty within His Kingdom. They had life with the Lord. But they couldn’t see how they had been given a share in something meaningful.

If the church was run by these men, they would measure its success not by the giving out of God’s grace, nor by Godly piety or virtue. They would use a human measure of results. Most especially, they would be happy so long as the church was making money for them. They had forgotten the Lord’s mercy. Had the Lord never called them into the Vineyard, they would’ve been standing idle in the marketplace all day. They would’ve lacked everything good. But now, they have everything. And what do they have that they did not receive? (1 Corinthians 4:7).

Even so, they are conceited. To them the Vineyard Owner was merely a resource they could abuse to exalt themselves. Even though they were in the Vineyard only by the Owner’s invitation, they have convinced themselves that it was their own reason and strength that had brought them in.

Now they look back on their accomplishments. They worked longer. They worked harder. They suffered more. Therefore, they deserved more. They could not see the Owner’s kindness and mercy. They do not see Him as a gracious Giver, but merely a cruel Taskmaster. Their only consolation was the big payday at the end.

When they do see His kindness and mercy, it makes them angry. His gracious use of His own wealth defies their expectations. To them, grace appears evil. They call mercy wicked. The generosity of the Owner makes no sense to them. Resentment becomes contempt. They despise Him. They reject His authority.

The Vineyard Owner owns the Vineyard. He has charge of His own stuff. He can do with it as He wishes. He doesn’t have to follow their rules. But they begrudge His authority. He speaks to one of them. ”Friend, I am doing you no wrong” (Matthew 20:13).

The term translated ‘friend’ isn’t really a term of friendship. It’s formal. It’s courteous. It acknowledges a relationship. But it’s also distancing. It lacks attachment. It lacks affection and warmth. It’s a respectful way to acknowledge the other person’s claim while also asserting the honor of the speaker. It’s how an employer might seek to address an employee who’s not meeting expectation in a respectful way.

In broader Greek usage, this term never expresses love, and the early church never takes up this term in referring to Christians. Used only in Matthew, it describes people who participate in God’s Kingdom merely externally. Besides its use here, it’s how Jesus speaks to His betrayer in the Garden of Gethsemane: “Friend, why have you come?” (Matthew 26:50). Jesus is rebuking Judas. And He is calling him to repentance. Judas rejects the Word of the Lord and goes to “his own place” (Acts 1:25). This term is also used in the parable of the wedding garment when the King addresses the improperly dressed guest. After speaking to him formally and respectfully, the King orders the man bound hand and foot and to be cast into outer darkness, the place of weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matthew 22:13). That is, he sends him to hell.

In each case it’s used in Matthew, the person addressed has presumed to act as part of God’s Kingdom — but under false pretenses. The hypocrisy is exposed. Then comes a word of judgment or exclusion.

So in the parable before us, this isn’t the Vineyard Owner being ironic or sarcastic. He’s speaking in a formal way to indicate the gravity of the offense against Him. I think in our context, we might better say it, “My associate,” or “My dear sir, I am doing you no wrong…”

The worker He speaks against has despised the Lord’s gifts. So long as this man continues to reject the Owner’s authority, there is no place for him in the Vineyard. The Owner is not the one at fault. Rather, the worker refuses to receive the Owner's mercy as a gift. He must take what is his and, like Judas, go his own way. Without repentance, he is sent away. It’s a warning for us to hear, lest we become like him.

These men hired first didn’t want a gracious Master. They wanted one like themselves: a transactional Master. They are merely selfish mercenaries. They work for the money alone — and, in the end, this is all they receive. So if you want to be paid according to what you have earned, you must go. I don't run my Vineyard that way. Take what is yours and go. Life in the vineyard isn’t for you.