1 “For the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. 2 After agreeing with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard. 3 And going out about the third hour he saw others standing idle in the marketplace, 4 and to them he said, ‘You go into the vineyard too, and whatever is right I will give you.’ 5 So they went. Going out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour, he did the same. 6 And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing. And he said to them, ‘Why do you stand here idle all day?’ 7 They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You go into the vineyard too.’ 8 And when evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last, up to the first.’ 9 And when those hired about the eleventh hour came, each of them received a denarius. 10 Now when those hired first came, they thought they would receive more, but each of them also received a denarius. 11 And on receiving it they grumbled at the master of the house, 12 saying, ‘These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.’ 13 But he replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? 14 Take what belongs to you and go. I choose to give to this last worker as I give to you. 15 Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity?’ 16 So the last will be first, and the first last.”
(ESV)
STOP! Think a little 🤔 What is God saying to you?
- What is the writer saying?
- How do I apply this to my life?
Jesus tells a parable about a vineyard owner who goes out to hire workers to work in his vineyard. The first group he finds he offers to pay a days wages for a days work and sets them to work. Later in the day he finds others standing around idly and sends them to work promising to pay them “whatever is right.” There is an element of faith on their part that they will be paid what is right at the end of the day. Later in the day he finds more people who are not working because no one had hired them. He sends that group to work and they also work in faith that they will be paid a fair amount. At the end of the day the vineyard owner instructs his foreman to pay the workers beginning with those hired last and ending with those hired first. Each of the workers is paid a denarius (a days wage). Those who were hired first expected to be paid more but they also received a denarius. They grumbled because they felt they had been unfairly treated. They had worked the whole day but been paid the same as those who had only worked for a single hour. The owner points out that he had done them no wrong because he paid them exactly what they had agreed to work for. Did they begrudge him because he was generous with his own money to the other workers?
In the end it is God’s generosity and His decision that will determine rewards. He has promised that those who serve Him in this life will be rewarded but this parable teaches that we will have no place to bargain with Him based on our efforts. God calls for our humble service and complete faith in His sovereign right to reward whom He chooses to reward on the basis He alone decides. Even service for reward is based on faith.
This reminded me to make sure I don’t grumble because this could bring other Christians around me to grumble too. Rather we should be thankful constantly
I knew the meaning of this parable but I’ve never thought about it in those terms, so this passage was extremely encouraging for me.
What stood out to me was verse 12. I think what I understood by this verse was that people who have been Christians their whole lives can’t say that it’s unfair for God to accept new Christians even though they haven’t been Christians for their whole lives.