The Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard

The parable of the workers in the vineyard, as told in Matthew 20:1-16, is one of my favorite parables in the Bible.  For those that don’t know, Jesus often spoke in parables to help his disciples better understand, and remember, what he was teaching them.  I find this true even today, as most of my life I have used analogies and parables when explaining things.

This parable is about a landowner hiring workers for his vineyard.  The landowner hired workers throughout the day, at different times.  However, no matter when they were hired, he told them how much they would earn (which turned out to be the same amount.)  Some had worked all day and some had worked for only an hour.  But at the end of the day, they all received the same payment.

The vineyard represents the Kingdom of Heaven, and we, all of us, represent the workers.  It does not matter whether you grew up knowing the Lord or whether you just met him yesterday;  You still will go to Heaven when you die and be with the Lord.  The workers that came in and only worked for one hour are often referred to as ’11th hour workers’, hence the name of my blog.  Your rewards in Heaven might be different from those that have been serving the Lord all their lives.  But whether you just accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior today, or have known Him all your life, you will still go to Heaven when you die.

I see myself as an ’11th hour worker’ because I was nearly 40 years old before I found the Lord.  My parents did not go to church, nor have any Christian background to teach my sister and me.  I was a teenager when my mother decided to join a Catholic church, so I grew up with very little understanding of who God and Jesus were and what the Bible was all about.  I always worried that people who had a strong Christian upbringing would be held in higher esteem by the Lord.  But through this parable, Jesus was very clear that was not the case!  What a wonderful message from the Lord!