Bible stories : The Parable Of The Workers In The Vineyard? They must have been astounded when they received the same pay as everyone else. Naturally, they’re frustrated. They’ve worked all day long, and the landowner has made these latecomers “equal” to them. This is precisely the situation that the first-century Jews find themselves in. They were God’s chosen people. They’ve served Yahweh for generations. They’ve been blessed, and they’ve been disciplined. They’ve been waiting for a Messiah to come to rescue them from Rome and reestablish them as God’s unique, chosen nation.

Jesus often uses parables to reveal what the kingdom of heaven is like. He portrays how one enters the kingdom and who the different characters are. In this Parable of the Laborers or Workers in the Vineyard, there are things that He tells the disciples and us about the grace of God and that God is always more than fair. Here is a discussion on this parable and what Jesus means in giving it.

There is also another angle in this parable. When vineyard laborers enter into the harvest, they are entering into a vineyard looking for those who bear fruit which Jesus says that those who are the children of God will be the only ones bearing fruit, showing those who are truly saved and those who are not (John 15). Jesus says in fact “You will recognize them by their fruits” (Matt 7:16).

Then . . . if the first are last and the last are first, would we not want to be like those late workers, having only to have worked one hour before receiving the same reward? The conclusion of the parable still raises uncomfortable questions. The Christian life is not uncommonly thought of as one confined by rules and restrictions. Are some of us just “unluckily” born into a life where our Christian status prohibits (or “strongly discourages”) pre-marital sex, alcohol consumption, or relationships with non-Christians?

He said to them, “You also go and work in my vineyard” (Matthew 20:1–7). Jesus’s story begins with a landowner hiring day laborers. Early in the day, the landowner heads out to the location where workers-for-hire wait to be employed for the day. He picks up a handful of laborers and promises them a day’s wages. As the morning progresses, the landowner heads back into town to pick up a few more workers. This time he doesn’t make them a specific promise about payment. He tells them that they shall be paid “whatever is right.” Happy for the work, the laborers head to the vineyard. Twice in the heat of the afternoon, the owner heads back into town. Seeing unhired laborers, he puts them to work. He doesn’t discuss pay in either of these instances. Discover more information on the The Parable Of The Workers In The Vineyard video on YouTube.