Jump Start # 806

Matthew 20:6-7 “And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing around; and he said to them, ‘why have you been standing here idle all day long?’ They said to him, ‘Because no one hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You go into the vineyard too.’”

Our passage today comes from one of my favorite parables of Jesus. I have taught his parable often in many places. It is a wonderful story that is layered with many fascinating details and lessons. For the next few Jump Starts, I want to look at this parable and to see many of the great lessons.

The understanding of the physical story behind this parable is difficult for us because of a difference in culture and work settings. There are two essential things to grasp in this story. First, is the reference to time. A man is hired to work in the vineyard. Later, at the third hour (3) more are hired. Again at the sixth hour (5) and the ninth hour (5) more are hired. Finally, at the eleventh hour (6) the final group is hired. We don’t talk that way. We don’t refer to the first hour, second hour and so forth. The Jews did. Their working day went from 6 A.M. until 6 P.M., a 12 hour day. At 6 P.M. the day changed to the next day

So workers are hired at 6 A.M, 9 A.M, Noon, 3 P.M. and finally at 5 P.M. The men hired at  6 A.M. worked all day, 12 hours. Those hired at 9 A.M. work 9 hours. Those hired at noon worked 6 hours. Those hired at 3 P.M. worked 3 hours and the men hired last, at 5 P.M worked only 1 hour.

The second aspect to this story is understanding these laborers. They don’t have any steady jobs. Every morning, they gather at the market place. The masters from the farms would come into town and hire the workers for the day. One day you may pick grapes. Another day you may haul manure. If you didn’t get picked, you didn’t work and you didn’t get paid. Your family went hungry that day. There would be a real competition among these laborers to be noticed and to be chosen to work. They needed to work and they wanted to work. Like a game of pick up basketball, generally the strongest and the best are chosen first. That’s what the masters would want.

This parable is often thought to teach a form of death bed repentance. It goes something like this: a man never went to church services. He was invited but showed no interests. One day the doctor tells him that he has stage 4 cancer. He won’t be here much longer. That scares the man. One Sunday evening he shows us at the church building and decides to commit his life to Christ. All rejoice. Someone reads our passage today and proclaims that he made it at the eleventh hour. A few weeks later the man dies.

The trouble with that concept is that Jesus is not talking about death bed repentance. No one in this story dies. No one “awoke” to his spiritual condition after he was discovered to have a deadly disease. As we will see later in the week as we talk about this, the thought of this passage is the generosity of God. The master proclaims, “…Is your eye envious because I am generous?” (15). God is generous and this passage shows that.

But for now, let us think about the man hired at the eleventh hour, 5 P.M. He is only going to work one hour. The day ends at 6 P.M. He isn’t going to make much money working only one hour.

There is something I like about this eleventh hour guy.

First, he has tasted the bitter feeling of not being wanted. The context implies that he was in the crowd at the very beginning, at 6 A.M. The masters came into the market place and chose the workers for the day. He wasn’t chosen. Maybe he’s frail or sickly. Maybe he’s not tall. Maybe he’s not built strong. Maybe he’s simply not varsity material. He would love to be picked first. He would love to work all day. He would love to bring home a nice paycheck to his family. That would be wonderful. But he’s not chosen. He’s not lazy, he’s simply not picked. Have you been there before? You know the feeling. Some may have experienced it even in your family. You may have had a talented brother or sister who just shined in high school. They were picked first. They were varsity, honor roll, leading role in the play, first chair in the orchestra, top dog. You were not only in their shadows, you were not like them. When it was your turn, you were not picked. You were left standing when the workers left with the masters. Hopes crushed. You wonder what it is about you. It’s hard to see others picked first and you are overlooked. That stings the ego. That crushes the esteem. Not good enough. Too young. Too old. Not what we are looking for. It happens after job interviews. It happens in dating. Rejected. Not wanted. Not needed.

Second, what is so interesting to me, is that the eleventh hour guy didn’t go home. He hung around. There were others, like him, that were not picked. I think I’d go home. But there was nothing at home. The only hope for work was to stay and wait. Maybe later on there would be more work. So they wait. Three hours pass. That’s a long time when you are standing around doing nothing. Three hours. Then a master returns. He needs more workers. The best of what is left is chosen. Again, the eleventh hour guy is not picked. More hurt. More defeats. More questions.

He doesn’t go home. He hangs around and waits. Another three hours pass. It has now been over 6 hours since the first workers were picked. A master returns. More workers are needed. The best of what is left is picked. Again, the eleventh hour guy is not chosen. He doesn’t go home. He hangs around. The day has been spent hoping and waiting. Another three hours. It has now been 9 hours since he first showed up. The day is nearly spent. Few would be hired now. The work was nearly over. Yet he waits. He hopes. A master shows up. It’s 3 P.M and more workers are needed. Again, the eleventh hour guy is not chosen. There aren’t that many workers left. Yet he is overlooked again. This is the fourth time he has not been chosen. He must be thinking by now that no one wants him. What will he tell his family? Is he that bad of a worker? No one wants him. Yet he waits. Surely no one will come now. But he hopes. Eleven hours pass. Waiting for eleven hours. Hoping for eleven hours. Finally, at 5 P.M., a master shows up. More workers are need. The master must have wondered if he would find any still hanging around. It was late in the day.

There at 5 P.M, our man is hired.  Only one hour to work. He expects to make very little that day. He must wonder if what he makes is even worth the eleven hours that he has been waiting, standing around, doing nothing. The master wonders. He asks a pointed question, “Why are you standing idle all day long?” That question cuts. He might as well ask, “Why aren’t you good enough to be chosen before?” Or, “What’s wrong with you?” The man needs work. He tells the truth. “No one,” he says, “hired us.” We are willing, but we have not been chosen. We want to work, but no one gives us a chance.

Two quick thoughts here:

First, God does not want any of us to be idle. There are things for all of us to do. The work is great. The workers are needed. Idleness is a virtue of Satan. God wants you busy in the kingdom. Are you? What can you do? Can you send a card? Send it. Can you invite a friend? Invite. Can you share the story of Jesus? Share it. Can you teach a class? Teach. Can you cheer up a lonely soul? Cheer them up. Can you encourage? Encourage. Can you preach? Preach. Don’t be idle in God’s kingdom. Don’t allow your family, your job, your hobbies to keep you idle in the kingdom. Saying, “I don’t have time,” really means, I’m too busy doing my thing to help you God in your kingdom. This parable shows that everyone wanted to work. Do you?

Second, our eleventh hour guy never gave up hope. He waited and waited and was finally chosen. Giving up is always the easy way out. Our eleventh hour guy hoped. How about you? Have you given up on yourself getting over temptation? Have you given up on a family member ever becoming a Christian? Have you given up? To give up, means to go home broke. To give up is to be disappointed. Our guy in this parable never gave up. He was rewarded beyond his dreams. He would have missed all that if he had given up.

Some of us are eleventh hour people. Don’t give up. Hope is an anchor. God wants you.

Roger