Day 4 ~ Matthew 20:1-16

As new Christians make the wonderful decision to accept Christ as their Lord and Savior it is an exciting time full of newness and discovery. If you have made that decision, think back on all of the questions, joy, and peace that you felt in that time of your life. As many Christians mature, unfortunately, our human weakness begins to sneak in and we start to wonder if there is a higher or better place in heaven for some. We may ask ourselves “Why should a man who accepts Jesus on his death bed be seen as equal to one who lived his entire life serving the Lord?”


God addresses these thoughts and how he sees such human weakness in a parable in Matthew 20:1-16. God says that the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who hires laborers early in the morning who agree to work for a normal day’s wage. The landowner then hires more laborers later in the day for “What is fair.” The landowner goes out from his home and sees yet more workers idle and offers them work for a “Fair wage.” At the end of the day the landowner instructs his manager to call the laborers and give them their pay, beginning with the last then going to the first. The Manager then pays those hired late in the day a full day’s wage. Now when the first came, they thought they would receive more; but each of them also received the usual daily wage. And when they received it, they grumbled against the landowner. Those that worked in the fields the whole day in the scorching heat expected to be paid more than those who merely worked a few hours. The landowner replies to the unhappy workers, saying that he has done them no wrong and that he has paid them what was agreed to in the beginning. The landowner tells them that it is no business of theirs that he chooses to be generous with what belongs to him in giving the same to those he only worked a few hours. So God says such will be in heaven “The last will be first and the first will be last.”

We are all precious to God and our salvation is the greatest gift that can be given. It is not for us to understand or even question God’s generosity with what belongs to him. We should all remember to be honored that we were given the gift to work in God’s vineyard. Each time another person is hired (accepts Christ into their life), no matter how late in the day, we should be excited that they have made the decision to accept the best gift of all. “The last will be first and the first shall be last.”

Clifton Shearrer