Matthew 20:1-16
The Workers in the Vineyard
READ MATTHEW 20:1-16 Read the passage together, and discuss the questions that follow.
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This parable is thick with symbolism. Jesus often compared His Kingdom to a vineyard and frequently spoke of the harvest. How would you describe the landowner, from his actions in the story?
This week we are focusing on the parable of the workers in the vineyard. In his commentary on the Gospel of Matthew, William Barclay writes:
There are many applications to draw from this parable, given the wages paid. Who do you think had the hardest day, those who worked or those who were only recruited at the last minute? How aware does the landowner seem to be of each situation?
“This parable may sound to us as if it described a purely imaginary situation, but that is far from being the case. Apart from the method of payment, the parable describes the kind of thing that frequently happened at certain times in Palestine. The grape harvest ripened towards the end of September, and then close on it sheels the rains came. If the harvest was not ingathered before the rains broke, then it was ruined; and so to get the harvest in was a frantic race against time. Any worker was welcome, even if he could give only an hour to the work. “The men who were standing in the marketplace were not street-corner idlers, lazing away their time. The marketplace was the equivalent of the labour exchange. A man came there first thing in the morning, carrying his tools, and waited until someone hired him. The men who stood in the marketplace were waiting for work, and the fact that some of them stood on until even five o’clock in the evening is the proof of how desperately they wanted it. These men were hired labourers; they were the lowest class of workers, and life for them was always desperately precarious.… They were not attached to any group; they were entirely at the mercy of chance employment; they were always living on the semi-starvation line. As we have seen, the pay was a denarius a day; and, if they were unemployed for one day, the children would go hungry at home, for no man ever saved much out of a denarius a day. With them, to be unemployed for a day was distaster.”
Share Your Story Think about the world’s workforce. What jobs do you see as being easiest and hardest? Is the pay for those positions equitable? Why/why not?
WATCH THE VIDEO
NorthlandChurch.net/ParablesOfJesus Afterward have someone read the discussion questions in the “Hear God’s Story” section and start the conversation.
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Hear God’s Story
Many Bible scholars agree that the main message here was for the Pharisees. How does it present their feelings of entitlement when it comes to serving God?
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The Parables of Jesus
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The Workers in the Vineyard
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There are also significant applications to draw from the landowner’s determination to bring in the harvest. How would you describe his commitment to bringing in the harvest before it is too late?
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Find Your Story in God’s Story
Now talk about how you will apply the wisdom you’ve obtained from the teaching and Bible study. Then think about practical steps you can take in the coming week to live out what you’ve learned. How is this parable a picture of God’s grace and the Kingdom of Heaven?
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When and how were you called as a worker in the vineyard? Notice the times the landowner returned to the marketplace. For the Jews, the day began and ended at sunrise, or 6 a.m. So the third hour, when the landowner returned to conscript more workers, is 9 a.m. The sixth hour is noon, and the 11th hour is 5 p.m. What time do you think it is for us right now? What does this tell you about the harvest before us? How can your group participate in the harvest?
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JULY 1-3, 2017
DIGGING DEEPER
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