WAS JESUS A SOCIALIST? Socialism and the Scriptures
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James L. Melton – Facebook WAS JESUS A SOCIALIST?
WAS JESUS A SOCIALIST? – James L. Melton
“My Bible tells me there is nothing wrong with helping other people, that we want to treat others like we want to be treated. That I am my brother’s keeper, and I am my sister’s keeper. I believe that.”
That sparkling exegesis comes from a young female liberal, who, like many, FEELS that the Bible teaches socialism. The “my Bible tells me” lead-in is supposed to make you think this gal is a Bible-believing Christian whose opinion is just as valuable as yours. Nice try, honey, but some of us have still have brains.
Help others and treat others like we want to be treated? Why, most everyone else believes that too, but that has nothing to do with government policy! That’s how one should voluntarily live daily in relation to their fellow man, not how they should vote for forced government policy. Big mistake.
All through the Bible, God gives men the right to own property and to be the producers and distributors of their own goods. Yet, many on the left love running to certain passages in the Gospels (the Sermon on the Mount, for instance) and “proving” to us that Jesus was basically a socialist because He taught us to be good to others.
Well, buckle up, and we will now embark on a brief commentary on Jesus’ parable of the laborers. The parable obviously offers many spiritual lessons, but it is the lessons regarding property and the production and distribution of goods that we are concerned with in this study. We’ll read the parable as a whole, and then comment on a verse or two at a time.
“For the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which went out early in the morning to hire labourers into his vineyard. And when he had agreed with the labourers for a penny a day, he sent them into his vineyard. And he went out about the third hour, and saw others standing idle in the marketplace, And said unto them; Go ye also into the vineyard, and whatsoever is right I will give you. And they went their way. Again he went out about the sixth and ninth hour, and did likewise. And about the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing idle, and saith unto them, Why stand ye here all the day idle? They say unto him, Because no man hath hired us. He saith unto them, Go ye also into the vineyard; and whatsoever is right, that shall ye receive. So when even was come, the lord of the vineyard saith unto his steward, Call the labourers, and give them their hire, beginning from the last unto the first. And when they came that were hired about the eleventh hour, they received every man a penny. But when the first came, they supposed that they should have received more; and they likewise received every man a penny. And when they had received it, they murmured against the goodman of the house, Saying, These last have wrought but one hour, and thou hast made them equal unto us, which have borne the burden and heat of the day. But he answered one of them, and said, Friend, I do thee no wrong: didst not thou agree with me for a penny? Take that thine is, and go thy way: I will give unto this last, even as unto thee. Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? Is thine eye evil, because I am good? So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen.” (Mat. 20:1-16)
Verse 1: “For the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which went out early in the morning to hire labourers into his vineyard.” This man was a “householder,” which means that he, like Abraham, was invested in the production and distribution of goods, and he was also invested in the care of numerous people. The vineyard is said to be “his” vineyard, not the community or state vineyard. It didn’t take a village; it took a property owner.
Verse 2: “And when he had agreed with the labourers for a penny a day, he sent them into his vineyard.” Again, we are reminded that this is “his” vineyard, and “he” agreed “with the labourers” on what the pay would be. There are no government regulations and no labor unions involved. If the workers don’t think a penny a day is enough, they can negotiate with the householder for more pay, or they can look elsewhere for a job. If the householder is being unreasonable, then the free market will eventually force him to offer better wages or go out of business.
Verse 3: “And he went out about the third hour, and saw others standing idle in the marketplace.” Evidently, there were no welfare programs available, else they would have been at home drinking beer and watching television. The absence of socialist policies forced them to go out and make themselves available for work.
Verses 4-5: “And said unto them; Go ye also into the vineyard, and whatsoever is right I will give you. And they went their way. Again he went out about the sixth and ninth hour, and did likewise.” Apparantly, the boss was a fair and trustworthy man beause this group agreed to work for “whatsoever is right.” Unlike modern socialists and communists, they didn’t immediately assume that he was a crook just because he had money. They took him at his word.
Verses 6-7: “And about the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing idle, and saith unto them, Why stand ye here all the day idle? They say unto him, Because no man hath hired us. He saith unto them, Go ye also into the vineyard; and whatsoever is right, that shall ye receive.” Again, notice that being hired was their only hope. They had no socialistic programs to depend on. They had to either work or go hungry. Eventually, they were hired. No one had to have the government step in with a welfare plan.
Verse 8: “So when even was come, the lord of the vineyard saith unto his steward, Call the labourers, and give them their hire, beginning from the last unto the first.” Now, this is where it gets good. The householder knows perfectly well that paying the workers “from the last unto the first” is going to cause a controversy, but he goes ahead with it for the sake of teaching a lesson, namely a lesson about covetousness.
Verse 9: “And when they came that were hired about the eleventh hour, they received every man a penny.” Regardless of what anyone thinks about it, Jesus said this is “right” in verse seven.
Verses 10-12: “But when the first came, they supposed that they should have received more; and they likewise received every man a penny. And when they had received it, they murmured against the goodman of the house, Saying, These last have wrought but one hour, and thou hast made them equal unto us, which have borne the burden and heat of the day.” There’s the old sin creeping in and rocking the system. These first workers would have been content with their pay (since they agreed for a penny a day), but then they saw what the other workers received. Only then did they start expecting more for themselves. This is covetousness, plain and simple, and it led to the sin of murmuring.
Verse 13: “But he answered one of them, and said, Friend, I do thee no wrong: didst not thou agree with me for a penny?” Amen. They lost nothing. They agreed to a penny (a standard day’s pay at that time), and they received a penny.
Verse 14: “Take that thine is, and go thy way: I will give unto this last, even as unto thee.” What they received was their’s, and their duty was to go their way and not worry about anyone else’s pay.
Verses 15-16: “Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? Is thine eye evil, because I am good? So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen.” Their eyes were evil because they were filled with the sin of covetosuness, yet the boss was good for giving extra to some of his workers. He could have saved himself some money by paying the latter workers less, since they only worked a partial day, but he was pleased with the day’s production, so he generously gave everyone the same pay. Though this seemed unfair, he reminded the workers that he had the right to distribute his own possessions as he chose, and Jesus didn’t tell us that any government agency stepped in to render justice. Justice was served when the individual workers received their pay from their good and fair employer. There was not one ounce of socialism in the parable because God’s economic plan for society is moral capitalism driven by a free market. Sure, capitalism has its problems at times, due to the sins of men, but government is NOT the answer . . . and Jesus is NOT a socialist.
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