More Than Fair Matthew 20:1–16; Isaiah 55:6–9; Philippians 1:12–14, 19–30   

Grace, mercy, and peace to you, from God our Father, and our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, who is more than fair.

More than fair is our theme today.

That’s not fair! Have you ever heard that? Or thought it? Or said it?

There are a lot of things in life that don’t seem fair. It may not seem fair that your neighbor has more worldly possessions than you do, or makes more money, or has better land, or a bigger house.

It may not seem fair that some people are born with gifts and abilities that others don’t have, abilities that, when combined with hard work and education, can lead to a high paying job, and a luxurious life-style. 

To be at peace, you have to come to grips with the fact that some people have more than you, and that’s okay. Good for them, if they use their wealth in a godly way, a manner worthy of the Gospel of Christ, our Epistle says.

To His baptized children who believe in Him, God gives something better than worldly wealth, He gives a life rich in His love; and He gives them an eternity rich in glory and joy. 

And this is because God is more than fair, He’s good and gracious.

In the parable Jesus teaches in today’s Gospel, some people get mad at their fellow workers, and even more so, at their employer, because he’s offending their sense of fair play; they’re expecting him to give them a bonus that never comes, a bonus they thought was owed to them, but their employer didn’t, a bonus he had never promised them.

The owner of a vineyard went to the marketplace early in the morning, probably about 6:00, looking for seasonal help. He saw some men looking for work that day, temps we would call them, and he agreed to pay them a denarius for a day’s work. 

3 hours later, 9:00 am, perhaps needing more help, he went back to the marketplace and hired some more workers. Then 3 hours later, noon, he hired some more, and 3 hours after that, 3:00, he hired yet some more. 

2 hours later, 5:00, 11 hours after he had hired the first workers, he saw some men who hadn’t been able to find work that day, and feeling sorry for them, he hired them, too.

One hour later, 6 pm, the long work day was over. He instructed his foreman to pay the workers, and interestingly, to start with those who were hired last.

They got a whole denarius, the going rate for a full day’s work, even though they had worked for only an hour. Then those who had worked three hours got a denarius, and those who had worked 6 hours, and those who worked 9 hours got a denarius. 

Finally, those who were hired first and had worked a full day, were paid. They thought that if their boss gave a denarius to those who worked less, he would give them more. But to their disappointment, they got the same, 1 denarius.

And they complained: “This isn’t fair!”. The owner said, “Why? Am I breaking our contract? We agreed on 1 denarius, and you received 1.”. Are you mad that I chose to give the others 1 denarius too, so they could take care of their families like you do? 

Is it your money, or mine? Do you get to tell me how to use my money, whether I can be generous with it or not? Instead of being jealous, be happy for them; and be thankful that you, too, have been given enough to take care of your family today.”.

This isn’t a lesson in payroll, or how to treat or pay your employees, it’s lesson in grace. He was applying the mathematics of grace, which we talked about last Sunday, where 1 doesn’t equal 1. 

Last Sunday we said that according to the math of grace, 1=0, and 100=0, and 1000=0, and the highest number you can think of equals 0. 

All your sins equal zero when God forgives them. And that’s how we should forgive those who sin against us.

That was the mathematics of grace, part 1. Today is the mathematics of grace, part 2.

Last Sunday, as a preview of this Sunday, we mentioned that 1 good work, or 100 good works, or 1000, or the most you can think of equal zero, when it comes to earning your salvation.

Nothing we can do can earn the perfect glory of heaven. No good work is good enough. But what Jesus has done is more than enough to earn our glory in heaven.

This is the lesson of grace that Jesus is teaching in our Gospel.

For some context, Jesus told this parable to his disciples, but he was really teaching the Pharisees and scribes who were eavesdropping, hoping to hear Jesus say something they could use against him.

They objected to way that Jesus treated the outcasts of Israel, including those who had been tax-collectors, and criminals and prostitutes; they found it offensive that Jesus welcomed and forgave them, and treated them as first-class citizens in the Kingdom of God, the only kind of citizen there is in God’s Kingdom.

They reasoned, “That’s not fair; we’re better than they are; we’re more moral; we’ve been more moral for a long time. Why should they be saved when they haven’t worked as hard for it as we have?”

And that was their mistake. It doesn’t matter how hard you work at it, you’re not going to win something as perfect and glorious as God’s salvation; it can only be given by grace, and received by faith, and enjoyed with a grateful heart. 

Knowing that we can only be saved by God’s grace takes away any reason to be self-righteous.

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, Romans 3:23 and 24 says, and are justified by His grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.

Romans 3:28 tells us that we are justified by faith alone, apart from the works of the law. 

Thanks be to God that He’s more than fair, He’s gracious and merciful. Otherwise no one would have His blessings, no one would justified and saved.

If God would be fair, and give us as we deserve, we wouldn’t even be here. Life would have ended in Eden when Adam and Eve sinned. It’s only because God is gracious that He allowed human life to go on, and allows us to live. 

It’s only because of Jesus, who would come into the world, and be perfectly good and holy for us, so that the eternal command to love God and love your neighbor, would be kept, and justice would be done, as Jesus suffered and died for our sin. And grace would prevail, as He rose with the sins of the world forgiven.

Now we find our justice, and our righteousness, and our life and salvation in Jesus.

All this gives us a different perception of what’s fair in life. Salvation by grace, which is the only option there is for us, levels the playing field. We’re all in the same boat; we all need the same grace to live by. 

Life doesn’t always seem fair, but God’s grace makes life good. 

You know what doesn’t seem fair? It doesn’t seem fair that my 52 year old wife has advanced Alzheimer’s. It doesn’t seem fair for her, and it doesn’t seem fair for our daughters, who are so young to have to go through this, and see their mom this way. 

But I know God is His grace has given her something better than a healthy body and mind -- a redeemed soul. And she will be given a redeemed body when God raises her in glory. And all traces of that terrible disease will be gone forever.

There are a lot of things in life that don’t seem fair from our limited, partially-informed, earthly perspective. God tells us in our Old Testament, As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.

The Gospel informs us of a higher way, that God is more than fair:  He’s merciful and gracious. Fair gets us what we deserve; grace gets us what Jesus deserves, and He deserves the best.

It doesn’t matter that some people might seem to get more good breaks in life than I do; maybe they do and maybe they don’t. In the end, we all need the same thing, grace to live by. Believing in Jesus, we have an abundance of it. 

An ounce of God’s grace, is better than a mountain of good breaks. They say it’s better to be lucky; I say it’s better to be blessed. God blesses His children with mountains and oceans of grace, so much love.

When we live by His saving grace, rather than by what seems fair, we’re much more content. And we have more peace and joy in our hearts to share with others. 

God gives you the best thing there is to live by, really the only thing to live by, His incredible, wonderful, fulfilling, enriching, empowering, amazing grace.

Live and rejoice in His perfect grace, and as you do, His peace, which passes understanding, will guard your heart and mind, in Christ Jesus our Lord, who in the end will make all things right for us. Amen.