The Bible Provocateur
The Bible Provocateur
Kingdom Economics: Laborer's in the Vineyard (PART 4 of 5)
Have you ever felt like God was being unfair? When we see others receive the same blessings despite seemingly putting in less effort, a sense of injustice can creep into our hearts. This powerful exploration of Jesus' parable of the vineyard workers confronts our human expectations of fairness with the radical nature of divine grace.
The heart of this conversation centers on a profound truth many Christians struggle to embrace: God has absolute sovereignty over His creation. Through examining the vineyard owner's response to complaints about equal pay for unequal work—"Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with my own?"—we discover how God's freedom to extend grace challenges our merit-based thinking.
We unpack how this principle played out historically when Jesus arrived not as the conquering king the Jews expected, but as a humble carpenter proclaiming God's love for the entire world. This universal invitation to salvation fundamentally threatened those who believed their religious heritage entitled them to special treatment. Their disappointment parallels our own struggles when God doesn't meet our expectations.
The most touching moments come through personal testimonies of how hardships transformed into blessings. One participant shares how seventeen years in prison became the foundation for profound spiritual growth, while others reflect on how their greatest mistakes led to their most significant progress. These stories reveal the counterintuitive nature of God's work in our lives—often using what seems harmful to accomplish what's ultimately good.
Subscribe to join our growing community of believers who are learning to trust God's sovereignty even when His ways seem unfair by our human standards. How might your perspective change if you viewed your current challenges through the lens of God's ultimate goodness?
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He says, friend, I did nothing wrong to you. I did nothing wrong to you, did you? Did not you agree with me for a penny? He goes, did you not agree? And of course they had no argument because they did agree. They are judging what they should get based on what he gave to the other people. So he says, take what is yours, in other words, take what we agree to and go your way, but I will give unto this last, even as I gave unto you. And then he gives a reason why. Then he gives a reason why.
Speaker 2:I think that fits your perspective in tonight's Bible study, in that those are the Israelites yes, right, like, hey, we're following the law, we did the law Right, and you're going to come along and, by grace, basically give this to people who didn't do what we did.
Speaker 1:Yeah, we built. You know, you gave us the design for the temple. We built it. You gave us a law. We you know we followed it. We took the tables of stone, we put it in the Ark of the Covenant. You gave us the Ark of the Covenant. You gave us the 613 ceremonial laws. We went through all of that. We gave of that. We built the temple. All this kind of stuff.
Speaker 3:It almost kind of reminds me of the New Age Israelites today that think that they're the only chosen ones and no one else can be saved but them.
Speaker 1:Well, you know what the problem is. This is the problem that they have with the Lord Jesus Christ himself. And I'll tell you the reason why. Because, answering what you just said is what Jesus gave in John 3.16. When he said God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, he was telling the Jews, you got it wrong in thinking that it was you. So Christ was saying you need to understand that God so loved the entire world that he gave his only begotten son. In other words, he would die on that cross to save not just jews of national israel, but people of every tongue, kindred and ethnic group and from all over the world. And that is what. That is what the jews at that time did not want to hear. Yep, exactly, john 3.16 to them was not good news, it was bad news.
Speaker 4:But okay, I hear what you're saying. Okay, but I don't think they understood John 3.16. They didn't.
Speaker 1:No, no, I take that back. 3.16. They didn't. No, no, I take that back.
Speaker 4:They did, they just didn't understand it coming from the guy who's claiming to be the Messiah, okay, so, okay, I'm looking at Saul. It took a miraculous convention to turn this man around, right. Israel's got all this history from the Old Testament going on into the New Covenant Yep. They have arrived into the New Covenant Yep, and it takes another miracle to turn them around, right? Otherwise they're not going to turn around.
Speaker 3:Yep.
Speaker 4:Even though God had commanded them to turn around?
Speaker 1:Yep, even though God had commanded them to turn around. I mean, you got to like, like, I think that for us there are us looking back, looking back.
Speaker 4:Yes.
Speaker 1:We can understand. We as Christians today, we should be able to understand how difficult it must have been for them, because you have to think about it. That's because they expect. Here's what they expected. Somehow they walked away. They walked away from their understanding of the scriptures, and I mean the Old Testament scriptures.
Speaker 1:They walked away understanding that the Messiah was going to come in the future, that they knew, but they also, in their minds, believed that he would come and he would be a another david, a earthly king, to conquer earthly enemies and to subdue the earth, the physical, worldly earth, and be this earthly king. You know what I mean. And so their whole idea was that when he did come because they knew when he was coming they knew Daniel 9. They knew when he was coming, they knew when he was supposed to go, but they didn't have a timeline. So when he comes, and he's like this gentle, meek, humble, carpenter of no, you know, from Nazareth, of all places, from Nazareth they're like, and he's talking about the meek shall inherit the earth and the poor in spirit and everything that we read in Matthew 5 through 7, on the Sermon on the Mount, he came to be a different type of a king, and so this is why Herod and Agrippa and Pilate they had a problem with the Jews. They're going like, wait a minute, you're saying that he wants to do all these things, but we're not getting that. We're not getting that.
Speaker 1:And the only reason why they took Christ and led him to the cross was because the Jews of that day, they by their law. They had no authority to subject anyone to capital punishment in their law. So they also knew that the Romans wouldn't do it, because all of them Herod, pilate, none of them believed that he was guilty of anything, but they did it anyway out of political expediency to the Jews, because the Jews came to him and said, hey, listen, he said he's a king and that means that he's going to overthrow you. So Christ was accused, basically by the Jews, of insurrection. They accused him of starting a rebellion and setting up an insurrection, and so that was his accusation. That's what insurrection is what put him on the cross you know what I love about this whole story.
Speaker 3:It's a beautiful plan of salvation, absolutely. And to me, the way that God went about this, about blinding their eyes and hardening their hearts, like he did Pharaoh, he did the same thing to his children To save the whole world, right, you know what I mean? And still, to this day, the Jews are blind and until the Gentiles come in to the full, then they'll open their eyes. Right, it's so beautiful of a picture. It makes me have a lot of faith in God, because when he said something and it comes to your sight and it's set in your spirit and your heart, it just gives you a boost of faith, like my Lord.
Speaker 2:God, you are so awesome. Absolutely, and that goes with the second coming of Christ. For us is like their first coming. You know what I mean.
Speaker 1:In a lot of ways, a lot of ways it will be, but the fearful thing is, you know who it is that may come along at some point that they believe is the Messiah, who's not? Yeah, you know.
Speaker 4:Yeah, there's volcano rumblings now, my friend.
Speaker 1:Yeah, well, you know that volcano, it rumbles every so often. You know what I mean.
Speaker 4:Yeah, but this one is at least in my lifetime.
Speaker 1:Well, that's what I mean. But if you think about it, if you go back from the day of Calvary, there's not an age. Because, remember, when Paul wrote Thessalonians, he was trying to give coverage to people who were told Jesus already came and they missed him and they were like what, what? So Paul writes Thessalonians to calm them down. He says there's a lot more things to happen, but see, right now, right now and some of you guys may disagree, but right now I don't see anything that holds Christ from coming back. I don't see nothing that makes his return not imminent.
Speaker 4:Today, oh yeah, I get that yeah.
Speaker 3:Yep.
Speaker 2:It's like the days of Noah they didn't know it was coming.
Speaker 1:Until he walked into that. Ark brother, You're right.
Speaker 2:Shut the door.
Speaker 4:What is that? Saying that you can hear a lie a thousand times and somebody tell you the truth for one time and you believe that that truth they're telling you is the lie. It's amazing. That's what happened in Noah's age.
Speaker 4:He kept talking over and over and over and they didn't move until that drop of rain hit them in the forehead and it was too late then. He had the door creaking and over and they didn't move until that drop of rain hit them in the forehead and it was too late then, because you get a door creaking and closing.
Speaker 1:So now I'm in verse 15. Now, after he tells the first group "'Take what is yours and go your way'" and he says and here's the first group take what is yours and go your way. And he says and here's the thing is, he says take what is yours and go your way. And he says I will give unto the last, even as unto thee. So the clue here is that he gave them what he promised them. Anyway, you know, I think that what we're dealing with here is this Do you remember what Christ said, what he said about those who are forgiven much and those who are forgiven little? Does anybody remember what I'm talking about? Yes, what did Jesus say?
Speaker 4:The one who was forgiven much is the one who felt most. I don't know how to say it.
Speaker 1:He said that those who are forgiven much will love much.
Speaker 4:Yes.
Speaker 1:Those who are forgiven little will love little. But love directed at God, the reward is the same. You get him. So I believe, and I won't fight somebody who says something different, but I believe that we see this gradation in this parable, you know so. You see that the first group they agree to a penny. You see the last group, who worked only one hour and received the same penny, and they both got the same reward. But the appreciation and the thankfulness and the gratitude is varying in degree and I think this is sort of like we're talking about. There are degrees of appreciation and love in terms of those whom God pardons.
Speaker 1:Some people can't understand. How many times have you gone through a hardship and asked yourself why is God doing this to me Then? Why does that other person always seem to just get the best of everything? This is what's happening here. These guys were the first group. They're not looking at the householder at first, they're looking at what he gave to the other group, Then going back to him and going like it's not fair for you to do that. It's not fair for you to give them what you gave me. I've been with you all along like the prodigal son somebody brought up for me.
Speaker 4:I was just going there, yeah, and not only that, I go even further than that. It reminds me of Rome, of the 11th chapter, where the warning to the Gentiles being grafted in Right, All right, you arrived, but don't get the big head. That's right.
Speaker 1:Humility is a big part of this whole thing and I think that's also worked in and woven into this whole parable. But see, this is where it gets good. It's getting really good now. And he says in verse 15, notice what he says he says after they complain and go away, after he gave everybody the money. Then he says to the group that complained and murmured, he says is it not lawful for me to do what I will with my own? And then he says is your eye, is your eye evil because I am good? Now listen, this is what he says Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with my own?
Speaker 1:And as I started, when I opened up this whole, this whole message, the message was this. The message was this Christianity today, modern, 21st century Christianity today, doesn't understand that God can do whatever he wants with us, Whatever he wants. We don't understand that. We believe that we're supposed to come to God and determine what is fair and then give him the authority to give us what we believe he should give us. And it's like you have so many Christians that believe that God is supposed to be America, you know, we look at the justice system.
Speaker 1:God says I will do whatsoever it is I please with my creation. If I want to make you a vessel of honor, I will do so. If I want to make you a vessel of dishonor, I will do so. If I want to have compassion on you, I will do so. If I choose not to show you mercy or compassion, it is my prerogative. God is under no obligation to man in any aspect. No obligation. The only obligation that God has ever made himself obligated to do is to keep his promises to those who believe in him. That's it.
Speaker 3:You know what that reminds me of. My greatest blessings came to me from the worst things I've ever done. Amen. You know what I'm saying. My mistakes were my greatest progress.
Speaker 1:Yep man, let me tell you something. I can tell you that what you just said applies to my life. I'm going through right now Things I'm going through right now, business-wise and whatnot. I'm going through right now, business wise and whatnot. I'm going through the same thing.
Speaker 1:But see, trusting in him, we have to come, trusting him, like those two middle groups. Remember, he just said you want to come? You want to come work for me? I will take you in and you can work in my vineyard and I will give you what is right. We can't come to God making demands on what he's going to pay us.
Speaker 1:And one thing that I'll say is this is that when I used to, when I used to work in my previous business, in my previous business, which was in the software industry, making video games for the movie studios Now people would come in and they would apply for a job. So I can understand this a little bit. They would apply for a job with me and they knew it's a good job and something they wanted to do. But here's what I would always do, because I know, I know what's on most people's mind when they come to an interview. Number one what do you think? The number one, the number one concern that most people have when they come in for a job interview how much I'm gonna get paid that's exactly it, exactly it.
Speaker 1:That's the whole time that people are in that office they're going through my whole spiel, asking them the questions and all this kind of stuff. All they want to get to is how much do I get paid? And you know what I used to do Because I'm the one that's hiring, so I know the pay range for the job, I know the floor and I know the ceiling. So you job, I know the floor and I know the ceiling. Do you know what? I would ask them all the time Anybody that knows me, that worked for me before if any of them hear me now, they will know this is true what do you want, I would ask them? I would ask them how much do you, how much? How much do you do you expect to make? How much do you expect to make? Or, and or.
Speaker 1:I would ask him what were you making at the last job doing the job you're applying for here? And they would tell me well, you know, I don't want to tell you what that was, I don't want to negotiate against myself, right? They would tell me. So I would say here's the thing you can choose to do, one of two things. You can negotiate with me. You can negotiate with me. You can negotiate with me on your salary. You can negotiate or you can take what I give you is your choice. You can take what I give you or you can negotiate, and I would offer everybody that I hired that option. And guess how many times somebody said they wanted to negotiate? You want to take a guess? Probably none. Not one single person wanted to negotiate. Nope, that's a real life experience. Not one person wanted to negotiate. That's a real life experience. Not one person wanted to negotiate, not once.
Speaker 4:Give me your motive for doing that.
Speaker 1:My motive for this is this I knew what I had in mind for the job. I also knew that, if they trusted me, I knew what I had in mind for the job, for the job. And I also knew that if they trusted me, I would be given See, there's no way, because, see what you can't do as an employer. You can't go in there and say, okay, here's the range, it's here to here.
Speaker 4:If I told them that what are?
Speaker 1:they going to think they're worth Well, highest rank. They're all going to say I'm worth that. They're all going to say that, every single one of them. So now for me to be effective at negotiating. If I start negotiating and throwing out salary prices, they already got me, because the first person who mentions a number always loses. Always, yep, you might make more money than you were making before, but you're still going to walk away thinking that you lost.
Speaker 1:Well, but as an employer, I had to figure out how do I effectively negotiate on my side if I want to win, and that is giving them the choice to negotiate with me or to take what I give them, because if they negotiate, if I offer that out, they're automatically going to assume that if I make that negotiation, and if I make the negotiation, they're going to automatically assume, by me asking, giving them that option, that they're going to lose if they negotiate. So they are having to trust me to believe that I'm going to give them better than what they were expecting. Yep, and that's that's. That's what. That's what it came down to. And and I'll tell you, in 30 years, not one single person, not one, chose to negotiate, chose to negotiate, not one. You know.
Speaker 1:So in this situation here, when it comes to this parable, you know I'd like that group. It's good for us to be in that group, in that middle, especially who just trust that they're going to receive what is right. You know, there's something to be said about that. But the master here, the householder, he says is it not lawful for me to do what I will with my own? And I think this is the biggest takeaway of this entire parable that God can do what he wills, what he wants, with his own, for his own good pleasure, and he does not have to give an explanation. And he says that it is lawful for him to do so. So he says it's not an issue of fairness. He's saying this is my right to do.
Speaker 3:Got that right.
Speaker 1:You know what I mean, absolutely.
Speaker 2:What do you think, todd? Yeah, I was to be honest with you. David and Bersheba come to mind. The wages of that sin of adultery is to be stoned to death, right, right, he lost a child in that, but he still was blessed, so it's how he wants to do it. It's not for us to say anything, but my son was saying goodbye, so sorry if you heard that.
Speaker 1:Oh, no worry, I didn't hear it, but I hear it. But God, like one brother said in the comments and he's right, and this is what I'm always saying too God is not obligated to save anybody. Would he be unfair if he destroyed us all? He would not be unfair.
Speaker 4:When I was young and reading the Old Testament a lot, it really troubled me when he would write all nations Right. I mean I read over and over and over again, trying to understand. It just wouldn't come to me until I grew in maturity and understood what it means to be all-powerful, all-knowing and that type of thing and being able to see the end of time and the beginning, to be able to put it in a understand.
Speaker 1:The thing about it is like Todd mentioned what happened with David and Bathsheba. Now remember, todd, remember God gave David three options to handle his sin, you remember?
Speaker 2:Yep, yeah. What was it? Banishment or famine? There were three of them, one was famine, I think, right.
Speaker 1:One was famine, yeah, but anyway, do you remember the one he chose?
Speaker 4:I think he chose the famine.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think that's why it's in my head.
Speaker 1:I'm going to blame too, but here's what was important about it, because the important point is what we need to understand. Of the three choices that David had, he chose. He made the choice that left him in God's hands. Oh, the choice that he rejected. Remember, one of the choices was to lose a war, to go into a battle and lose, right, he didn't want that. David said I want to be in your hands, and God ended up taking his child. You know what I mean.
Speaker 4:I got a question about that, brother. What's that? Could you give me the understanding of how that first verse is stated? I got the impression. It says I got the impression it came from David. It didn't come from David. What are you talking about? To do the census thing? That's a whole different subject. Okay, isn't that what got him in that trouble, though?
Speaker 1:No, I'm talking about when, bathsheba, when he had her husband killed. Oh, okay, okay. Yeah, I'm talking about that. I was confused in those two.
Speaker 2:Okay, okay, I was talking about that. I was confusing those two. Sorry about that. I was confusing those two as well.
Speaker 1:When he put her husband first of all, cheated with her, then he put her husband on the front line. You know what I mean Because, remember, nathan came to him and said he was careful. He goes to him and he gives him this story about some other guy you know and that a guy abused and you know, did all these dirty deeds. And then he goes to David and says let me tell you about this guy. This guy did this, this, that and the other. What would you have me do to him? What should be done to this guy? David said we should be off in his head. He went off that way and then Nathan said man, it's you.
Speaker 4:Where do you see David putting himself in God's hands?
Speaker 1:I have to go back to find, I have to go back and look at it. But what happens is God gives him three options for his punishment and he rejects the punishment that he gives him.
Speaker 2:I don't think he gives him three options in that one does he?
Speaker 4:I think we're getting the stories mixed up.
Speaker 2:That's why I was.
Speaker 1:Let me see I could be wrong. Hold on, let me see.
Speaker 4:Because David served unaliving and the reason why that was set aside is because of the promise he had made to Abraham.
Speaker 1:Hold on, let me see, let me look and see. I may be I could be wrong.
Speaker 4:Let me see.
Speaker 1:Hold on, you guys got me digging right now. Yeah, I hear you Hold on one second. Let me find it, because I got a different version. Give me a second Now.
Speaker 1:I'm curious now, all right, so in 2 Samuel, chapter 12, I'm trying to see where the? So I got the chapter, I'm just going to figure out where the punishment is All right. So here we are in 1 Samuel or 2 Samuel, chapter 12.
Speaker 1:And Nathan tells David wherefore have you despised the commandment of the Lord to do evil in his sight? You have killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword and has taken his wife to be your wife, and you slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon. Then he says now, therefore, the sword shall never depart from your house because you have despised me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite. Thus says the Lord behold, I will raise up evil against thee out of your own house. I will take up your wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with thy wife. I got bad eyes, so let me see For this. You did secretly, but I will do this thing before all of Israel. David said it to Nathan I have sinned against the Lord. Now. Nathan said he has put away your sin, so maybe you guys are right, maybe I got.
Speaker 4:I got there David's punishment of the wrong scenario yeah, the one that you were talking about is when David was demanding a census to be taken and his general was saying why do you want to do such a thing? You know.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:I think you're right.
Speaker 2:My apologies.
Speaker 1:No worries.
Speaker 2:In 2 Samuel 12, 13 said that. Then David said to Nathan I have sinned against the Lord.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:And then Nathan replied the Lord has taken away your sin. 're not gonna die, right, but because so? Yeah, okay, yeah, I can play the.
Speaker 1:I can play the two sins of david. I do it all the time. Yeah, no, no, sorry.
Speaker 2:David's life is an epitome of mine.
Speaker 4:It's important to understand why David's life was fair.
Speaker 1:It's crazy, because this is something like what Esco was saying, about how, esco, you know, how you said something earlier about how so much good comes out of when you go through so many bad things sometimes. And David was, you know, we all know the man of the heart, but you look at what he did and you go like wow, but it just goes to show you how God sees things differently than man does. Very, different.
Speaker 3:I'll give you a little example, okay.
Speaker 4:Yep.
Speaker 3:I spent 17 years in prison.
Speaker 4:Okay, that was with the Lord Yep.
Speaker 3:But before that time I was considered to be the person that was no good and all the people that were like superior in the neighborhood and everything else. They kept pointing their finger at me he's no good, he's no good, he's no good, he's no good. But see, god turned that whole thing around. Now every one of them persons that were accusing me are dead today, right, and see, I'm still alive and the things that happened to me for the worst turned out for my best. It's just amazing how God takes the things that we think are such a hardship to us to be the greatest blessings. I didn't see it when I was in there and I said Lord, I don't know why this happened to me, but it all worked out for my good isn't that the way it always works?
Speaker 3:Yeah, it's amazing how God works. I'm just amazed at the way he does things. That's why, judging like, I used to have a real hard time because somebody was black, somebody was white, somebody was Puerto Rican, somebody was the way they looked. I just didn't like them.
Speaker 1:Well, you better love me boy.
Speaker 3:I had a hard time with that. But now I know, don't judge a book by its cover.
Speaker 1:Esco, look, you're my brother now. There's no way out of it.
Speaker 3:No, no, absolutely. I love you man. I love you. I watch you all the time. Every time I see you on here, I stop. I say that's a dynamite brother right there.
Speaker 1:Oh man, I appreciate that, brother, I love you.
Speaker 3:You're the best man. You got a personality that is just so beautiful. Your spirit is so beautiful. Oh man it just attaches right to me. I see God working right through you, bro.
Speaker 1:Man, I tell you I appreciate those kind words and the encouragement and and believe me when I tell you I am really grateful to hear that kind of thing every now and then, because you know it's encouraging and it makes you think that there are people who really care not just about me but about the word of God, the truth and whatever. And, man, I love the fellowship of God's people. I really do.
Speaker 3:The way you put things are so beautifully said, it just it pierces me every time I hear you talk oh man, stop it.
Speaker 1:Man, you're gonna make my head go all big. Now, stop that, I'm serious, I'm serious, you're.
Speaker 3:You're a dynamite brother man.
Speaker 4:You walk on my life anytime you want I actually find myself looking for you every evening.
Speaker 1:Oh, man, man, look, you guys need to stop right now, because I tell you right now I love it and I love you guys. I love the fellowship of the word of God, because you know, it's something. There's something when Christians get together, even in a setting like this, you know when it's legitimate, you know when it's real, you know, and you don't have to be in each other, I don't have to be in your right, in your presence, in order to know we are in each other's presence.
Speaker 3:You know what I mean. I call this God's play because he's playing inside of all of us. He's loving himself, yep, you know but I know it's a real, genuine conversation when, when you feel what you're feeling right now, right. You feel the love.