The Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard
A message of hope
Jesus told His disciples a parable or story to help them understand what the kingdom of heaven is like. In the parable, a man needed people to work in his vineyard. So, early one morning, he found some workers who agreed to work all day for one coin. They began to work.
Three hours later, the man hired more workers. He asked them to work in his vineyard for the rest of the day. He promised to pay them fairly.
Three hours after that, the man found even more people who needed work. He asked them to work in his vineyard too.
Finally, near the end of the day, the man saw people who had nothing to do. They said no one had given them any work all day long. The man said they could work the last hour of the day in his vineyard.
At the end of the workday, the man paid the workers. He gave one coin to the people who had worked for one hour. He also gave one coin to each of the other workers. The people who had worked all day became angry. They thought they should get more money than everyone else.
The man reminded those workers that they had agreed to work all day for one coin. He said they shouldn’t be angry if he chose to be kind to others who worked in his vineyard.