Gang Warfare from Matthew 20
“Now listen to this story. A man owned a few blocks in an urban area, so he built a set of apartment buildings there, rented them out and then set managers over each building to keep them up and to collect the rent. Month after month, he sent employees to the managers to collect the proceeds, but the managers shut one out, beat up another, and another disappeared and was never heard from again. Then the owner sent groups of employees to collect his proceeds, and this started a gang war, but it didn’t get him a single dime. So then the owner sent his son figuring that the sight of him would cause the managers to reconsider their actions. But seeing the owner’s son at the door, the managers decided quickly that if the son was out of the way, the owner, being old and feeble, there being no one to care for the property after him, would just wither and fade away. So they grabbed the son, took him out of the city and killed him, leaving his body exposed to the elements. So let me ask you, what do you think the owner will do to those managers?”
One answered, “He will call the police?”
Everyone listening to this laughed.
Then another said, “In his fury, he will do to those evil managers exactly what they did to him. He will kill them all and give the management to someone who will give to him what he deserves.”
Jesus replied, “You are correct. So what is your problem? Haven’t you read in the Word, ‘The one whom the leaders rejected as a criminal has been chosen as the king of them all—and this is an amazing thing to see’? God’s nation will be taken away from you and given to a people who will give Him the proceeds he requires.”
Labels: Matthew 20
The Parable of the Labor Ready Workers
God's coming nation is like an employer who had a large field that was ready for harvest. He goes to Labor Ready at 5am and arranges to hire some laborers for the day. They arrive early in the morning, at 7, and he arranges for their wages to be ten dollars an hour, net. They work all day, content with what they would receive.
Then at ten he goes to Labor Ready again and says he needs more workers. They send him some more.
Then at noon he picks up some folks from the street corner. And he does the same at 3pm.
At 4pm, he wandered to a different street and some some unhired workers who had scraped together enough money for a beer each. He saw them sitting and drinking and asked, "What are you guys doing, just sitting there?" They answered, "We couldn't get work today." He looked disbelieving and said, "Look, my land is right over there. Go and work and I'll pay you what's right." They figured a little bit of wages is better than nothing so they all got up and started working.
At 5pm the day was over and he called all the workers together to receive their wages. He called over the last group first, and gave them each a hundred dollars. They stared, wide-eyed at the money. One of them was about to say something, when his friend shut him up with a look and they all ran out of the field, ready to party.
The workers from Labor Ready thought, "Look at how much those lazy bums got! We are sure to get an excellent bonus!" But when they received their receipts for Labor Ready, they received the same as all the rest-- a hundred dollars.
They complained to the employer, "Hey-- we worked hard all day long and had to suffer in the hot sun. We deserve more money than those Mexicans!"
The employer responded, "Look, I'm giving you just what we agreed to. You were content enough with that earlier. Why should you fault me because I am generous?"
Even so, said Jesus, those who are least important will gain the greatest reward, while those who did the most work for God will feel shafted.
Matthew 20
Labels: day labor, Labor Ready, Matthew 20, Parable, parable of the workers, SKV, street workers
