He Gave Up His Divine Privileges

February 29, 2016

He Gave Up His Divine Privileges

“So those who are last now will be first then,

and those who are first will be last.”

Matthew 20:16

Jesus’ parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard is the easiest parable to understand; and at the same time the most misunderstood of all of Jesus’ parables! (Matthew 20:1-16) It is the most misunderstood because almost invariably listeners try to fit it into our culture. The parable is most certainly not a practical illustration on how to operate a vineyard, or any business. Look again at the very first words in the parable: “For the Kingdom of Heaven is like . . .” Jesus isn’t illustrating a common vineyard; he is showing us the Kingdom of God.

The parable becomes relatively easy to understand when we realize the landowner is an illustration of the character of God. Let’s read the parable again to discover the characteristics about God that are revealed in the parable. The one thing that jumps out at me is that the landowner is never concerned about his own interests: the size of his harvest, his profit margin etc. The landowner is completely focused on the needs of the laborers. It is clear that he hires additional workers because they need the work, not because he needs more workers in that particular field.

Jesus had previously told his disciples that they were going to be completely astonished with the sharp contrast between the ways of the world and the values in the Kingdom of God. He proves his case with this parable. Whatever else you may draw from this parable, and there are many nuances in Jesus’ telling of his story, be sure you grasp this: God’s nature puts your needs ahead of His own!

“For this is how God loved the world:

He gave his one and only Son,

so that everyone who believes in him will not perish

but have eternal life.

    John 3:16

Christ Jesus, though he was God,

    he did not think of equality with God

    as something to cling to.

Instead, he gave up his divine privileges;

Philippians 2:6-7

Sē’lah

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(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com. The BLOG is also available on Amazon Kindle, by subscription.

Publications by Alex M. Knight:

·        Seeking the Life in Christ, Meditations on the New Testament and Psalms has been published and is now available at Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle.

·        The second edition of First Think – Then Pray is available on Amazon Kindle.

·        Meditations on The Story of My Life as told by Jesus Christ has been released as an e-book on Amazon Kindle.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright© 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.