Matthew - Day 26: Understanding the True Comparison to Grace

It is easy to compare ourselves to others, often overestimating our importance and righteousness. Only when we begin to compare ourselves to Jesus and His true righteousness, will we begin to understand the significant cost of his grace.

“In ordinary life we hardly realize that we receive a great deal more than we give, and that it is only with gratitude that life becomes rich. It is very easy to overestimate the importance of our own achievements in comparison with what we owe others.”
-Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1905-1945).

Read Matthew 20:1-16

Q: Who are the main characters in this story? Who do the characters represent?

Q: Why were the workers in the vineyard complaining about the payment scale?

Q: Was the issue based on how much the late workers were being paid or was the issue that the early workers felt they deserved more?

Q: If God is the master in this story, what does this story tell us about His grace? Is grace fair?

Q: Why do we struggle to understand God’s grace when it goes against our human intuition and logic?

Read Matthew 20:17-34

Q: What do you think the disciples were thinking when Jesus predicted His death?

Q: Why is it important that Jesus knew of His own death? How do you think He must have felt as the time came near?

Q: How does it make you feel to know that Jesus knew the pain He would face in death, but also the necessity of His sacrifice for you?

For Further Study: Isaiah 53:1-7, Mark 10:32-34

For more check out: The Bible Recap on Matthew 20-21