Monday, October 21, 2024
“He replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I’m doing you no wrong. Didn’t you agree with me on a denarius? Take what’s yours and go. I want to give this last man the same as I gave you. Don’t I have the right to do what I want with what is mine? Are you jealous because I’m generous?’ Matthew 20:13-15
The Goodness of God
In Matthew chapter 20 we find the Parable of the Laborers. Jesus uses this parable to answer a question Peter asks Him at the end of chapter 19. Peter asks the question, "We have left everything to follow you. What then will there be for us?" Peter wanted to know what reward would be given to those who give up everything to follow Jesus. Jesus answers His question with this parable that explains the truth about the kingdom of Heaven, and ultimately the goodness of God.
The parable is the story of a man who owned a vineyard. He went out very early in the morning to find workers for his vineyard and he offered a very generous amount, a denarius, for a day’s work. A denarius was equal to a Roman soldier’s pay for a day. The owner found some workers and went back out throughout the day finding more workers for the day as needed. He did not promise a denarius to the other workers he hired but promised to do “whatever is right.” At the end of the day, the landowner paid all the workers exactly the same. The workers that were hired very early and had been working all day saw the owner pay the last workers hired the same amount as they had been paid. They were furious because they felt that the workers who had only worked a short amount of the day should not get paid the same amount as the workers who were they all day. But the owner acted out of goodness and mercy, doing exactly what he believed was right. He reminded the angry workers that he had done exactly as he said he would do.
The owner of the vineyard represents God, who in His goodness offers the same salvation and eternal life to all believers, no matter how long or how hard a believer works during his lifetime. The same reward of eternal life will be the given to all—an eternity in heaven in the presence of God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. This may seem hard for some to understand. In our human perspective, we decide what people deserve based on what they have given or done, how long they have done it, and how good they are at it. But God deals with us according to who He is, not according to who we are. This is the beauty of His goodness. He gives grace and mercy instead of what we deserve, and He adds to that eternal life as His child – His heir to the Kingdom of God. Whether you have been saved 1 day or 89 years, the gift is the same for all.
God is wholly and completely good. In Mark 10:18 Jesus says, "Why do you call me good?" Jesus asked him. "No one is good except God alone.” Because we know that He is truly good, we can trust Him. We can know that He always wants the best for us. We can also know that He is always working for our good.
As believers walking with Jesus and being transformed by Him to bear the fruit of the Spirit in our lives, we learn to live and love like Jesus. As we begin to live and love like Him, others will see His goodness in what we say and do. God alone is the source of goodness, and without Him there is nothing good in us. It is His goodness in us that spurs us on to do the good works He has for us to do. His goodness inside us wells up and overflows to others.
Do you believe God has been good to you? Can you look at your life and see the ways He has been good? Are you committed to showing that goodness to others?
