This is because the Word preached is the power of God for salvation. This is because the Word of God has sacrificed Himself on the cross, having become flesh and dwelling among us. This is because hearing the Word, produces the miracle of Faith within you and saves you.
And for the sake of burdened and troubled consciences, there is only one Word. Just as, today, we hear of only one wage being handed out, as Jesus speaks to you His words saying,
“After agreeing with
the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard.”
In your conversion from dead, blind, deaf, rebellious sinner, to believer there is a sort of agreement made. Not that you are a part of this, but that the Holy Spirit will now give you the power to hear God and believe Him. Thus, your new spirit agrees with Jesus in that, now that you believe, you will believe no matter what.
So Jesus tells you: there is one Word of God. There is one Way to Salvation. There is one Truth. There is one Lord, one Faith, one Baptism and there is one denarius to be given, which now represents all of this.
But now that you have grown up, worked a little bit in the world, gotten your degree, the Word seems small. You know better and are able to make decisions for yourself, so now the Word of God isn’t such a great deal. Now it’s, “Hold on God. This is not right. You go too far here and don’t go here. We need more.”
There is a correct way of reading the Bible and you hate that. Whether its because you don’t understand it or because it means you or someone you love is sinning is besides the point. God’s Word says too much about the sin you have for you to agree.
Just like the workers in the Vineyard, you want more. Jesus on the cross is not enough. You need something to do; to contribute. You want to work out your own salvation with fear and trembling and look good doing it.
Or you have just figured all of Scripture out. Maybe you studied under someone modern or doing self-study and you figured out that, heretofore, everyone else, but you has been wrong. There is no sin. There is no hell. God is love and will adapt and change with the culture. Jesus would never toss out anyone from Church. You must be tolerant and relevant.
However, if the Word of God is the Word of God, then you and these workers have no grounds to object over. However, you are better than those other blokes in this way:
Right now, you all need to imagine your enemy sitting next to you. Not just a monster or something made up, but the sinner you can’t forgive. The one who back-stabbed you. The one who betrayed you. The one who destroyed your family. The one whose face you know.
Even if it is some group you only hear about: the homosexual, the poor or homeless, the “entitled”, or the murderer. What do you do? What sort of evil thoughts are going on in your head, sitting with them in that pew?
Do you grumble and say to Jesus, “We who have worked hard at being good little Christians and have borne the burden of the day do not deserve to be made equal with these sinners in this church”?
Repent. Your neighbor is your neighbor and deserving of your friendship. Jesus didn’t say love those who are loveable or love those who will love you back. He said love your enemies. He said love those for whom you have no regard, because you are just as undeserving of Christ as they are.
Loving someone; caring about their well-being; investing in a friendship with them does not mean you agree or condone their sins. It means that you are loved and you then love in return. It means that while you were yet sinful, immoral, a fornicator, a liar; Christ died for you.
Indeed, God is love and the Love of God was manifested in that He sent His only-begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him. So, it is not that we love God, but that He loved us and sent Jesus to pay for and redeem us from our sins. (I Jn.4)
Jesus befriends the prostitute, the tax collector, and the sinner. He befriends them in order that He might renew them by His Blood. He sits with them. Eats with them. Invests in them and dies for them. Regardless of their time of entry into the Vineyard of the Church, they are loved and given the Gift of the Holy Spirit in Full: that one denarius.
Regardless of your feelings, opinions, or who your enemy is; the agreement of Faith, so to speak, is that there is just one wage: eternal life in Christ, which He gives out for free to everyone. This means, that no matter who you meet, or I should say, no matter who your neighbor is, they have been redeemed.
Should they show up in these pews, they are deserving of the love Christ that Jesus has given to you. Should they show up at any other time in your life, the same rule applies.
Therefore, it appears as if Jesus is the point of this parable, not you. That Jesus is the implied worker not mentioned. The worker who starts at the very beginning, creating the vineyard, causing it to flourish, calling others to enjoy it, handing out gifts with no price, and continuing on in it even when all others disagree and leave.
Jesus has suffered as the true worker in the Vineyard, for you. He worked hardest, taking on everyone’s sin, having none of His own, and dying on the cross. Jesus has caused this Word to be written so that you, and the whole world, may believe. For it is this Word of God made flesh that is given for you, for the forgiveness of sins.
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