Parables of Jesus
The Workers in the Vineyard
Various
Read: Matthew 20:1-16
SeeThe Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard (a.k.a. the Parable of the Generous Employer) is a parable that appears in chapter 20 of the Gospel of Matthew but is not included in the other canonical gospels. It has been described as a difficult parable to interpret.
The parable has often been interpreted to mean that even those who are converted late in life earn equal rewards along with those converted early, and also that people who convert early in life need not feel jealous of those later converts. An alternative interpretation identifies the early laborers as Jews, some of whom resent the late-comers (Gentiles) being welcomed as equals in God's Kingdom.
Another interpretation is that all Christians can be identified with the eleventh-hour workers. While some might identify the eleventh-hour workers with deathbed converts, it is likely best not to do so, as we are all the eleventh-hour workers. The point of the parable most expansively is that God saves by grace, not by our worthiness. This grace is for all who believe.
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"The Workers in the Vineyard"
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