A SERIES OF DEVOTIONS BASED ON THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW 

NOT WHAT MY HANDS HAVE DONE     

Matthew 20:13-16 (Read Matthew 20:1-16) “But he answered one of them, ‘I am not being unfair to you, friend. Didn’t you agree to work for a denarius? Take your pay and go. I want to give the one who was hired last the same as I gave you. Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?’ “So the last will be first, and the first will be last.” 

Virtually every Bible study, confirmation class, and Sunday school class has tackled today’s devotional verses. In the parable the workers complain about “fairness.” If those who worked only one hour received a full day’s wage, then surely, those who had worked a full day should receive a greater amount. The underlying driving force in the discussion is the fairness of the owner in paying the workers. 

Instead of discussing the fairness of the owner in the amount of money he paid each worker, what is the real message of the parable? Think of the parable in this way. There are those who have faithfully attended church, studied the Holy Scriptures, and supported the spread of the gospel throughout their entire life. This means they have done so for fifty, sixty, seventy, eighty or more years. There are also those who have done this for less years. Finally, there are those who have done this for only hours, days and weeks prior to their death and standing before Jesus their judge.   

Is it fair that those who came into the Kingdom of God in the last moments of their life should be treated by Him equally to those who have been Christians their entire life? Jesus’ point is it is not the length of time one is a Christian that matters. It is not when one becomes a Christian that determines the out come of their life in eternity. FOR ALL it is the GRACE of God, the generosity of God, that determines their eternity. For the person who was a Christian almost their entire life, they became a believer and remained one because of God’s love for them in Christ Jesus. Likewise, the person that became a believer in the waning minutes or even seconds of their life, became a believer because of the very same grace and mercy of God.   

Thanks be to God for His undeserved love. Thanks be to Jesus for His sacrificial life, death, and resurrection. Thanks be to the Holy Spirit for bringing you to faith in Jesus by which you are saved. You are who you are by the Grace of God. 

Prayer: Thank you, heavenly Father, for bringing me into Your holy, heavenly family. Amen. 

Not what these hands have done Can save this guilty soul;  
Not what this toiling flesh has borne Can make my spirit whole. 

Not what I feel or do Can give me peace with God;  
Not all my prayers and sighs and tears Can bear my awful load. 

Thy work alone, O Christ, Can ease this weight of sin;  
Thy blood alone, O Lamb of God, Can give me peace within. 

Thy love to me, O God, Not mine, O Lord, to Thee,  
Can rid me of this dark unrest And set my spirit free. 

Thy grace alone, O God, To me can pardon speak;  
Thy pow’r alone, O Son of God, Can this sore bondage break. 

I bless the Christ of God, I rest on love divine,  
And with unfalt’ring lip and heart I call this Savior mine.  

Not What These Hands Have Done // LSB 567