The final verse of the parable (Matthew 20:16) is key to its interpretation. It connects what Jesus said here to what he said in Matthew 19:30. In fact, if one reads Matthew 19:30, “But many that are first shall be last; and the last shall be first” and continues to Matthew 20:1, “FOR, the Kingdom of God is like unto a man…” the connection seems proved. In other words the Parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard presents Jesus’ audience/reader with the reason why Matthew 19:30 is true. ? Moreover, verse-30 is there, because the disciples had just learned that it would be very difficult for a righteous man to enter the Kingdom of Heaven, if that man were wealthy (Matthew 19:23-24). Hearing this, Jesus’ disciples wondered, if that’s true, how could anyone be saved[1] (Matthew 19:25)? Peter went a step further, protesting in verse-27, “we have forsaken everything for you, what can we receive” if even the righteous wealthy have such difficulty?
So, this whole episode of who gets to be in the Kingdom of Heaven, and who is first and who is last (Matthew 19:30; 20:16) is driven by the rich young ruler’s question (Matthew 19:16; cp. Luke 18:18), asking how he might inherit eternal life (cp. Mark 10:17; Luke 18:18). In other words, “what good thing” could he do in order to secure eternal life for himself (Matthew 19:16).
Notice what Jesus told the young man, “…keep the commandments!” (Matthew 19:17). This is what Moses said to do (Leviticus 18:5), which was later confirmed by the prophets (Ezekiel 20:11, 13, 21). In fact, Jesus was tempted by a lawyer with the same question: “What shall I do to inherit eternal life?” (Luke 10:25), and Jesus gave the same reply that he offered the rich young ruler: keep the commandments (Luke 10: 26-28). Jesus wasn’t being facetious; he was serious. Many Christian authorities try to make out that Jesus was being flippant, here, turning the serious nature of the question into a humorous façade, because everyone knows that no one could ever keep the Law perfectly. While that’s true, God wasn’t demanding perfection. Hence, Jesus’ reply was correct. God **promised** eternal life to those who would obey the Law, which he gave to Moses. Obedience didn’t **earn** anyone eternal life, but the Lord **promised** eternal life to those who would obey from the heart.
Notice what the parable tells us. The householder hired the first group of laborers to work in his vineyard for the agreed wage of a denarius (Matthew 20:2). What does the denarius symbolize in the parable? Well, if the parable was given to offer a picture of the rich young man’s request, the denarius is eternal life. That’s what everything turns on that Jesus and the disciples discussed, vis-à-vis, if we can agree that living in the Kingdom of Heaven is eternal life. Everything turns on who gets into the Kingdom of Heaven, or who gets eternal life.
[1] Jesus’ disciples didn’t have the concept of salvation that we have. They looked to be “delivered” by the Messiah, who would lead them into the Kingdom of God, which they believed to be something similar to David’s kingdom. All their enemies, including Rome, would be defeated and made to serve the new Kingdom of Israel/Heaven. This is what they assumed to be “life” – living out their lives in peace and safety with abundant blessings from God. They had no concept of spiritual life, until after the coming of the Holy Spirit in Acts 2. Prior to this they still looked for Jesus to set up another Davidic kingdom (cp. Acts 1:6).
Leave a comment