Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard
The Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard is found in Matthew 20:1-16 as Jesus describes how all servants or workers in the vineyard will be rewarded with the same pay for their work regardless of when they committed to the work. Each worker will receive a denarius or silver coin regardless of when they began working. Every worker agreed to work in the vineyard for a denarius and therefore everyone received the same pay for their work. Those workers who committed to work in the vineyard late were rewarded equal to those who committed earlier.
The Parable as follows:
For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. 2 He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard. 3 “About nine in the morning he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. 4 He told them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.’ 5 So they went.
“He went out again about noon and about three in the afternoon and did the same thing. 6 About five in the afternoon he went out and found still others standing around. He asked them, ‘Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?’ 7 “‘Because no one has hired us,’ they answered. “He said to them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard.’ 8 “When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired and going on to the first.’
9 “The workers who were hired about five in the afternoon came and each received a denarius. 10 So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius. 11 When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner. 12 ‘These who were hired last worked only one hour,’ they said, ‘and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.’ 13 “But he answered one of them, ‘I am not being unfair to you, friend. Didn’t you agree to work for a denarius? 14 Take your pay and go. I want to give the one who was hired last the same as I gave you. 15 Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?’ 16 “So the last will be first, and the first will be last.” "So the last will be first, and the first will be last.” Matthew 20:1-16.
The vineyard and the workers represent the Kingdom of Heaven and those who believe and follow the landowner of the vineyard: Jesus Christ. Jesus is calling all of those who are willing to work in his vineyard and all will receive one denarius, which represents eternal salvation. All followers of Jesus will receive eternal salvation regardless of when they committed to follow. Some commit early and some commit late but all will receive one denarius. Some do not understand why Jesus rewards the late commits equal to the early commits but the vineyard belongs to Him and He chooses to reward all equally. We cannot question the ways of God and therefore we can only submit and follow. However, the parable can also represent God's grace, as salvation cannot be earned by working longer hours but only as a gift from God freely given to those who seek it. Some also believe that the early and late commits in the parable refer to Jews and Gentiles, however this classification should be irrelevant to the parable as all are required to seek salvation through Jesus Christ, regardless of ethnicity. Anyone who rejects the salvation through Jesus Christ cannot enter the Kingdom of Heaven, regardless of being Jewish or non-Jewish. In the parable the landowner notices some who are not working and apon asking why they are not working, they reply "no one has hired us yet." So the landowner hires them and they begin working, just as new converts are continually committing to "the Kingdom" and following Jesus Christ everyday in the world today.
The Parable as follows:
For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. 2 He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard. 3 “About nine in the morning he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. 4 He told them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.’ 5 So they went.
“He went out again about noon and about three in the afternoon and did the same thing. 6 About five in the afternoon he went out and found still others standing around. He asked them, ‘Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?’ 7 “‘Because no one has hired us,’ they answered. “He said to them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard.’ 8 “When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired and going on to the first.’
9 “The workers who were hired about five in the afternoon came and each received a denarius. 10 So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius. 11 When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner. 12 ‘These who were hired last worked only one hour,’ they said, ‘and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.’ 13 “But he answered one of them, ‘I am not being unfair to you, friend. Didn’t you agree to work for a denarius? 14 Take your pay and go. I want to give the one who was hired last the same as I gave you. 15 Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?’ 16 “So the last will be first, and the first will be last.” "So the last will be first, and the first will be last.” Matthew 20:1-16.
The vineyard and the workers represent the Kingdom of Heaven and those who believe and follow the landowner of the vineyard: Jesus Christ. Jesus is calling all of those who are willing to work in his vineyard and all will receive one denarius, which represents eternal salvation. All followers of Jesus will receive eternal salvation regardless of when they committed to follow. Some commit early and some commit late but all will receive one denarius. Some do not understand why Jesus rewards the late commits equal to the early commits but the vineyard belongs to Him and He chooses to reward all equally. We cannot question the ways of God and therefore we can only submit and follow. However, the parable can also represent God's grace, as salvation cannot be earned by working longer hours but only as a gift from God freely given to those who seek it. Some also believe that the early and late commits in the parable refer to Jews and Gentiles, however this classification should be irrelevant to the parable as all are required to seek salvation through Jesus Christ, regardless of ethnicity. Anyone who rejects the salvation through Jesus Christ cannot enter the Kingdom of Heaven, regardless of being Jewish or non-Jewish. In the parable the landowner notices some who are not working and apon asking why they are not working, they reply "no one has hired us yet." So the landowner hires them and they begin working, just as new converts are continually committing to "the Kingdom" and following Jesus Christ everyday in the world today.
