Matthew 20:1-16
"For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire men to work in his vineyard. 2 He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard.
3 "About the third hour 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 the sixth hour and the ninth hour and did the same thing. 6 About the eleventh hour 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 the eleventh hour 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 men 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, "Friend, I am not being unfair to you. Didn't you agree to work for a denarius? 14 Take your pay and go. I want to give the man 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." (NIV)
"For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire men to work in his vineyard. 2 He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard.
3 "About the third hour 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 the sixth hour and the ninth hour and did the same thing. 6 About the eleventh hour 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 the eleventh hour 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 men 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, "Friend, I am not being unfair to you. Didn't you agree to work for a denarius? 14 Take your pay and go. I want to give the man 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." (NIV)
- This is talking about men, but does it apply to women as well?
- Yes.
- No.
- Who is the landowner?
- Any landowner, the idea applies to everyone.
- The leaders in the Church.
- Jesus Christ.
- The leaders of Israel.
- Who are those that are hired?
- Anyone.
- Believers in Jesus Christ.
- Everyone at church.
- The children of Israel.
- What are the denarius symbolic of?
- Good deeds.
- Salvation from death.
- The eternal blessings of God.
- Our "allowance" from God.
- Does this parable mean that the person who works his whole life
for God will not receive any more from God than the person who does almost
nothing?
- Yes.
- No.
- What does Jesus mean when he says that the first will be last and
the last will be first?
- Those people that are the biggest sinners before they repent have the greatest faith, and love God more.
- It doesn't mean anything, it is just the Bible's way of clouding things for the unbeliever.
- The people saved at the end of the church age have greater faith than those that first believed, because they saw Jesus or others that did.
- God's way is the reverse of the world's way.
- Both (a.) and (c.) above.
- What does the vineyard symbolize?
- Your work place.
- The Church.
- Your Christian duty.
- The world.
- What does the day symbolize?
- A person's life time.
- A literal day.
- Two thousand years.
- The Church Age.
- What does the hour symbolize?
- Three and a half years.
- It is not significant.
- A literal hour.
- A person age when they come to believe in the Lord.