The lesson comes out of Matthew 20:1-16, in which Jesus responds to Peter’s question in Matthew 19:27: “We have left everything to follow you! What then will there be for us?”
And as usual we’re going to try to teach a VERY deep truth to the next generation at a level they can understand, and also provide parents with some guidance as well, through this very weighty topic. It follows from last week’s lesson of the lost and found (sheep coin and son), and essentially answers the older brother’s question in the same way. The answer is: Jesus’ grace is ONE SIZE. There is no matter of degree when it comes to being saved through the cleansing work of Jesus’ death on the cross.
Those who put their faith in Jesus are FULLY saved, and that is the SCANDALOUS message of the good news of Jesus; no one deserves the grace Jesus has poured out, yet He gives it freely for all who are willing to humble themselves and run to Him.
The more I realize that applies to me personally, the more I want to be an agent of grace to others!
Peter sums our reward well: Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade.
Memory verse: the blood of Jesus, God’s Son cleanses us from all sin. 1 John 1:7
Handout: The workers’ reward
Narrative:
Peter had left all of his personal belongings, his job and probably all of his old friends to follow Jesus. And one day Peter asked Him, “We have left everything to follow you! What then will there be for us?”
Jesus responded with a parable that was meant to focus Peter’s heart and attention on the kingdom of heaven, that will be ruled by Jesus.
“For the Kingdom of Heaven is like the landowner,” Jesus said, “ who went out early one morning to hire workers for his vineyard. He agreed to pay the normal daily wage and sent them out to work.
“At nine o’clock in the morning he was passing through the marketplace and saw some people standing around doing nothing. So he hired them, telling them he would pay them whatever was right at the end of the day. So they went to work in the vineyard. At noon and again at three o’clock he did the same thing.
“At five o’clock that afternoon he was in town again and saw some more people standing around. He asked them, ‘Why haven’t you been working today?’
“They replied, ‘Because no one hired us.’
“The landowner told them, ‘Then go out and join the others in my vineyard.’
“That evening he told the foreman to call the workers in and pay them, beginning with the last workers first. When those hired at five o’clock were paid, each received a full day’s wage. When those hired first came to get their pay, they assumed they would receive more. But they, too, were paid a day’s wage. When they received their pay, they protested to the owner, ‘Those people worked only one hour, and yet you’ve paid them just as much as you paid us who worked all day in the scorching heat.’
“He answered one of them, ‘Friend, I haven’t been unfair! Didn’t you agree to work all day for the usual wage? Take your money and go. I wanted to pay this last worker the same as you. Don’t I have the right to do I want with MY money? Should you be jealous of how I am generous to others?’
In saying this, Jesus was telling Peter that the gift of life that He offers is EVERYTHING we need. And that is: the forgiveness of ALL of our sins (not just a some of them), and life of ETERNITY with Him (not just some time). This is VERY GOOD NEWS for Peter, and all put their faith in Jesus!