Septuagesima Sunday – Pr. Anderson sermon
St. Matthew 20:1-16 “The Choice of God”
February 16, 2025 | Christ Lutheran Church
In Nomine Iesu
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Lord God, heavenly Father, through Your holy Word You have called us into Your vineyard: Send, we beseech You, Your Holy Spirit into our hearts, that we may labor faithfully in Your vineyard, shun sin and all offense, obediently keep Your Word and do Your will, and put our whole and only trust in Your grace, which You have bestowed upon us so abundantly; through Your Son Jesus Christ, that we might obtain eternal salvation through Him; who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one true God, now and forever. Amen. (Evangelical Lutheran Hymnary, by Veit Dietrich, p. 151)
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. (Rom. 1:7, etc.)
The sermon text for today is taken from the 20th chapter of the Gospel according to St. Matthew. We read selected verses in Jesus’ name:
“And when evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last, up to the first.’ And when those hired about the eleventh hour came, each of them received a denarius. Now when those hired first came, they thought they would receive more, but each of them also received a denarius. And on receiving it they grumbled at the master of the house, 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.’
“But he replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? Take what belongs to you and go. I choose to give to this last worker as I give to you. Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity?’
“So the last will be first, and the first last.”
These are Your words, heavenly Father. Sanctify us by Your truth, Your Word is truth. Amen. (Joh. 17:17)
In Christ Jesus, who teaches about the kingdom of Heaven because it is in your midst through His Word, dear fellow redeemed:
In our text for today, we hear a parable about the kingdom of heaven. As a little child you may have wondered or maybe you still wonder, where exactly is heaven? Jesus clarifies where the kingdom of heaven is when He says, “the kingdom of God is in the midst of you” (Luke 17:21b). With the kingdom being here, He tells us who it is for. He says, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 19:14). As Jesus says, this, the next thing He reveals how it will be hard for some to enter which causes a stir with His disciples. “Who then can be saved?” “See, we have left everything and followed you. What then will we have?” (Matthew 19:25). Jesus comforts them, telling them that there are blessings because of their calling. From the disciples, to children, to you, Scripture reveals one thing clearly. Those who are out are out because they want to be out, but those who are in, are in because of the choice of God.
To see how you are brought into the kingdom of heaven by God’s choice is found in this parable. “For the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. After agreeing with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard.” Now we just finished a Bible study about parables. We know the short definition that a parable is a heavenly story with an earthly meaning. As we see God the Father at work, the people would have understood this hiring practice. They would have been very excited to see this master giving out a full day’s wage to the workers He hired. Just like today some jobs pay differently than others, but this master looks to be a very generous man from the beginning, which is great for those looking for a job.
Many workers would have been needed for this job to make sure nothing would be left and spoiled. So, the master, even though He is generous, He is not wasteful with His belongings. He goes back to town to hire more. “And going out about the third hour he saw others standing idle in the marketplace, and to them he said, ‘You go into the vineyard too, and whatever is right I will give you.’ So they went. “Going out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour, he did the same.” The people see a master who is caring as He continues to go out and call them into His vineyard. This is in the parable, and we see in real life it is going about the same. Jesus is continuing to go out among the people, and His numbers will be some of the largest on the day He processes into Jerusalem. As they were graciously called into the group, and as we know the disciples have given up so much, the coming week’s events will turn into something sour. For some, the labor in the vineyard will be a lot to bear in the scorching heat.
As the workday comes to the end and the heat has disappeared, the master still finds laborers sitting without any work. And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing. And he said to them, ‘Why do you stand here idle all day?’ “They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You go into the vineyard too.’ It’s not as much as working the whole day, but a lot of work can be done in an hour. We see the laborers not ignoring the master. They easily could have because of the time of day. While we live in a culture that is very quick to quit early, these workers know they must eat, and that should be on our minds. To eat, you have to work.
While there is incentive to work, and we see there is a possibility to ignore the call, Jesus points out clearly the grace of the master and the ignorance of those who were hired first for a day’s wage. Upon seeing what those who worked only an hour were paid, the earlier workers complained, “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.” Is the master at fault, or more importantly, is God at fault for those who come into the kingdom at the end of their life versus the beginning? Of course not! What does it sound like when we point a finger at God? We hear the echoes of Adam. And here comes God with His response. “But he replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? Take what belongs to you and go. I choose to give to this last worker as I give to you. Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity?’ The world will try to convince us that our work is what is sufficient for God. Our work can’t get us into the kingdom. We are only in the kingdom because God chooses us, and He is generous about it. We don’t deserve any payment let alone a day’s wage.
Yet, we see how generous God is as He calls all of those who have labored to Himself for payment. “And when evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last, up to the first.’ And when those hired about the eleventh hour came, each of them received a denarius.” These men could have ignored the master because of the time. They could have just said it is too late. On hearing the masters call and going willingly into the vineyard, they are given a whole day’s wage. This is an important message for the disciples. Jesus is continuing to teach them how to be a servant. There will be those who will come in the end and receive the greatest blessing, the same blessing they have received even though they had been there since the beginning. They need to see the master care about His workers, and Jesus cares about His disciples, as He knows it is about to get harder.
After Jesus once more teaches His disciples the kingdom of heaven is here with them, He tells them for a third time the hard truth that was coming. And as Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside, and on the way he said to them, “See, we are going up to Jerusalem. And the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death and deliver him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified, and he will be raised on the third day” (Matthew 20:17-19). The Son of Man reveals how a perfect laborer acts. He willingly follows the choice of God, even with knowing how hot the scorching heat will be. It is this truth where the people see the choice of God. His choice is that He would save them from their sins.
His choice is also to choose you. You see this as He doesn’t provide the denarius for only those who worked all day. “I choose to give to this last worker as I give to you.” God does not have to be this generous. He knows the complaints that have been thought of. He knows the excuses that have been made. He reveals to you He is fair. He takes care of you according to your needs. He is generous as He calls you to Himself and His goodness will last forever. There will be some who He called later in life compared to those He called from the very beginning. This is not God playing favorites, God being merciful. He wants you enveloped in His grace and mercy. So, He reveals to you that it isn’t because of the work you do in the vineyard, but His grace comes directly from Him. The denarius is encouragement to continue. The payment is Jesus’ blood shed for you on the cross.
On the cross you see the perfect sacrifice and service for others as Jesus gives up His life for all. It is also on the cross where Jesus reveals just how short notice someone can be called into the vineyard to work when He says to the thief beside Him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43). This happens because the kingdom of heaven truly is in our midst. You see this with the parable, as the choice of God is to call you by the Gospel. For more understanding you can look to the second petition of the Lord’s Prayer where you confess, “The kingdom of God comes when our heavenly Father gives us His Holy Spirit, so that by His grace we believe His holy Word and live godly lives here in time and hereafter in eternity” (The Second Petition). This all happens as you rejoice not in your work but in the death and resurrection of your Savior.
As you get closer to the full season of lent, it is in the death and resurrection the world sees the choice of God. They see He is merciful and gracious. He is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. When there is push back, the push back will be to paint God as not caring or not having your best interest in mind. You know this is not the case as the devil even works on you to ignore the call to work the vineyard. The master is gracious, and He will give you what is fair. He knows what you need and as Jesus explains many times about the kingdom of heaven, it is here. He concludes with the words, “so the last will be first, and the first last,” not to put you down in the scorching heat. He is there to guide you, pointing you to the act of true service. True service you find on the cross as He shows you the image of abundant grace. The choice of God to save you. Amen.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, forevermore. Amen.
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