GOD’S WORD FOR FEBRUARY 2 ~ ~ Colossians 3:23-24 ~ ~ “And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ.”

YOUR PERSONAL PROMISE:

He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him;

I will be with him in trouble;

I will deliver him and honor him.

Psalm 91:15

Yesterday John MacArthur introduced the parable of the landowner, which he will discuss more today, in his book, “Parables”

“THE PARABLE”

The parable of the vineyard introduces us to a “landowner.”  The word in the Greek text means “house” or “ruler”.   When this mater of the house asks, “is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with my own things?” He indicates that the money paid to the laborers belongs to him (Matthew 20:15).  Verse 8 calls him “the owner of the vineyard” – and it was a sizable estate to require so many workers to help with the harvest.  So this was a man of great influence and wealth.

The multitudes listening to Jesus were very familiar with vineyards.  Vast parts of Israel were covered with neatly arranged grapevines growing in terraced vineyards.  The land of Israel has two kinds of agricultural land:  plains and mountain slopes.  The plateaus and flat, expansive areas were used for farming grain and grazing livestock, and the steeper mountainsides were skillfully terraced for the planting of vineyards.  This was difficult work because the terraces had to be supported with stones, which were carried up and put in place by hand.  Any topsoil that was required also had to be carried up the steep slopes on men’s shoulders or with beasts of burden.

Grapes were planted in the spring and pruned during the summer.  Harvest was a very short season near the end of September.  The rainy season began immediately after that.  So harvest time was hectic, because the crop had to be brought in before the rains came.  The owner needed extra help during the harvest.  Therefore he went to the marketplace to hire day laborers.  That was the most public place in the village, and it served as a gathering place for workers whose only hope for employment was temporary unskilled labor.

Verse 1 says the landowner went out early in the morning – no doubt prior to 6:00 a.m., when the twelve-hour workday began.

Wages for day laborers were notoriously lower than the standard pay for a full-time employee or household servant, which was about a denarius a day.  The denarius was a silver roman coin containing just under four grams of silver.  It was a typical day’s pay for a soldier serving in the roman army, and it was a respectable living wage.   The name “denarius” derives from a Latin word signifying “ten,” because the original value of the coin was equivalent to the worth of ten donkeys.

A common, unskilled day laborer could of course be hired for a small fraction of that, because he wasn’t in any position to negotiate.  If he didn’t work, he might not eat that day.  Plus, competition for temporary jobs was fierce.

The landowner in Jesus’ parable was unusually generous to offer day laborers a full denarius for a day’s work.  It was an honorable wage, much more than temporary workers would normally receive for menial labor.

Naturally, the early-morning crew heartily agreed to those terms and went to work.

At the third hour (9:00 a.m.) the landowner went back to the marketplace.  The parable portrays him as a kind and generous man, not abusive nor a profit-monger.  So perhaps he didn’t need these extra workers to much as he felt compassion for them because of their extreme need.  There were still many in the marketplace who were out of work.  They were standing idle – not because they didn’t want to work, but because no one had hired them yet.

This time he negotiated no specific amount before hiring workers and sending them into his vineyard.  All he said was, “whatever is right I will give you”  (Matthew 20:4).

“So they went.”  They must have known him to be an honorable man, and they took him at his word, even though the terms were vague.  These hours into the workday with no job prospects yet, they weren’t in a negotiating position.  They needed to take whatever they could get.

“Again, he went out about the sixth and ninth hour, and did likewise” (20:5).  He continued to go back at regular intervals – noon and 3:00 – gathering all he could to work in his vineyard.

(Tomorrow we’ll see what happens at the end of the day.)

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Ps 37:23

The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord and He delights in his way.”

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