The Parable Of The Workers In The Vineyard video and FREE coloring pages for children? 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).
But what if the parable was not about salvation but about the gospel? The workers in the parable likely worked and lived day to day, as evidenced by the fact that the owner continually found unemployed workers throughout the day. The one work day depicted in the parable can be interpreted to culminate in death and salvation or to mark the beginning of a new, secure life in Christ; both interpretations work. The first workers were lucky – they found work quickly, with a man who promised them the standard wage for common laborers. On the other hand, imagine what it would be like to be one of the last workers, having fruitlessly waited anxiously all day for some work so that you could feed your family. Then, a landowner offers you work and you go, glad to have at least a chance to earn some money.
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. See even more information on the The Parable Of The Workers In The Vineyard video on YouTube.