I have been assigned the Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard from Matthew 20:1-16...
I love this passage, it has been fun to wrestle with it in preparation for teaching.
Here is how you can help me:
Read the parable below for yourself.
Then post 2-3 questions you have about the text.
Your questions will help me get an idea of how to teach this passage clearly!
Matthew 20- The Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard
1"For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire men to work in his vineyard. 2He 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. 4He told them, 'You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.' 5So they went.
"He went out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour and did the same thing. 6About 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. 10So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius. 11When 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? 14Take your pay and go. I want to give the man who was hired last the same as I gave you. 15Don'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."
3"About the third hour he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. 4He told them, 'You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.' 5So they went.
"He went out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour and did the same thing. 6About 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. 10So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius. 11When 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? 14Take your pay and go. I want to give the man who was hired last the same as I gave you. 15Don'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."
Okay, go to the comments and post me some questions,
I need your help!
I think this a cool passage to talk about coming to faith in Christ, and sometimes we who have served the longest expect to be rewared more and we will be to an extent what with a crown in heaven, but I think alot this is something to be addressed, how is it relevant if it is.
ReplyDeleteAlso all of Jesus parables were proving a point or teaching a point, so whats the point who might be the people He is referring to?
Is it suppose to be for our day or just to make a point, is that too much of a stretch?
i thought the bible says stuff about receiving crowns in heaven and some crowns will be more than others. doesn't that, for lack of a better word, contradict what this parable is saying? yes/no. Why/why not?
ReplyDeleteMatt,
ReplyDeleteI love what you are doing here...here are my questions (This may be too many...sorry):
1. What is this parable saying about the Kingdom of Heaven? (is this about life in the Kingdom or is it about God or Jesus? Is there a difference?...like in the Kingdom of Heaven wehre God is reigning there is grace for allwho repsond to the invitation)
2. Who do you see yourself as in the parable? What do you expect God to give you and others?
3. What is up with Jesus' question at the end of verse 6 "WHy have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?"
4. How do we understand v. 16?
5. Do we have difficulty accepting God's generosity to all people? Evne those who don't work as hard as we did?
Praying for you...Ryan Whieldon
what would chuck norris do?
ReplyDeleteHow ought this passage be interpreted in light of the end of Chapter 19, namely, the story of the rich young ruler. Peter asks Jesus a question, He answers it, then He tells this parable. What is the correlation between the two?
ReplyDeleteI wanted to ask you if you could help me out, I'm giving an hour long seminar to Middle School students with the title Opposite Way: Being a Christian in a Non Christian World. Could you help me out with any ideas or verses I could look on to look over? Thanks,
ReplyDeleteNoah
noah, here's an interesting link talking about going against the flow and be reawrded for it in the end. http://www.economist.com/obituary/displaystory.cfm?story_id=11745591
ReplyDeleteNathanial -Great point on asking who is the audience of this parable!
ReplyDeleteAnonymous #1 - Ah ya...I will need to address the crowns in heaven paradox of this passage
Ryan - You are the man...I am going to use all of these questions!!! Thank you bro...
Anonymous #2 - Chuck Norris would roundhouse the entire audience into submission in order for them to "understand" this passage
Mastering Divinity - Good point. Matthew 19 seems to flow right into this Parable...Was this a sequential series of talks by Jesus or did Matthew simply place them side by side because of the topic? I am trying to figure this out.
Noah,
ReplyDeleteHey, wait a minute, I am the one getting help for my sermon here!
No, thanks for asking for input into your talk. My first thought was...1 hour to Junior High Students? Wow.
My second thought was...The first 6Chapters of Daniel. Talk about living a powerful, God following life. Daniel was the man. I would start here in your prep for yor talk. Let us know how it goes!
Thanks Matt,
ReplyDeleteYeah sorry for asking for help on your post that you were looking for help.
I am doing a seminar for the BGCT (Baptist General Convention of Texas), each year they have a conference called Congreso which is primarily geared for small hispanic churches. And this year they asked me to do a seminar which is a huge honor.
I know an hour for Middle School kids is along time but I was going to do an icebreaker at the beginning of class to hopefully knock some time out because I know the attention span of Middle Schoolers is small.
Thanks.