Matthew 20,The Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard .Can any one explain this to me?

Question

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."

Answer 1

Meaning that salvation is available to ANYONE, no matter what age they are.

It is available at a young age, middle age, & an old age.

It's NEVER to late-it is available to all.

Answer 2

I'd love to...

The householder, or owner of the vineyard, is God. The vineyard is the nation of Israel. The workers in the vineyard are persons brought into the Law covenant; they are specifically those Jews living in the days of the apostles. It is only with the full-day workers that a wage agreement is made. The wage is a denarius for the day's work. Since the 3rd hour is 9:00 am, those called at the 3rd, 6th, 9th and 11th hours work, respectively, only 9, 6, 3, and 1 hours.
The 12 hour, or full day, workers represent the Jewish leaders who have been occupied continually in religious service. They are unlike Jesus' disciples, who have, for most of their lives, been employed in fishing or other secular occupations. Not until the fall of 29 CE did the "householder" send Jesus to gather these to be his disciples. They thus became "the last", or the 11th hour workers.
Finally, the symbolic workday ends with the death of Jesus, and the time comes to pay the workers. The last were paid first! When the 11th hour men came, they each received a denarius. So, when the first came, they concluded they would receive more; but they received the same! So, they began to murmur against the "householder." And so the householder said, "Take your pay and go."

The receiving of the denarious occurs, not at Jesus' death, but at Pentecost 33 CE, when Christ, the "man in charge" pours out holy spirit on his disciples. These disciples of Jesus are like "the last" workers. The denarius does not represent the gift of the holy spirit itself. The denarius is something for the disciples to use here on earth. It is something that means their livelihood, their everlasting life. It is the privilege of being a spiritual Israelite, anointed to preach about God's kingdom.
Soon, these hired first observe that Jesus' disciples have been paid, and they see them using the symbolic denarius. but they want more than the holy spirit and its associated kingdom privileges. Their murmuring and objections take the form of persecuting Christ's disciples, "the last" workers in the vineyard.

What's happening today is similar.....

Answer 3

I believe its meaning is very simple actually. If you choose salvation (accept Jesus Christ as your savior) early in your life or late in your life you will be receive the same rewards. Thing is do not wait til later as we do not know how long we have. The kingdom of heaven is a reward for serving God. No matter how long you have served your reward will be the same. The work will be seeking salvation, praying for understanding, taking daily spirtual food ,reading Bible, Bible study etc. Recognizing when you've done wrong, asking forgiveness and working really hard to not sin. Forgiving others for any mistake they make. That all fits with accepting Christ as your savior.

Answer 4

This is a message to people who believe that Gods Grace is unfair.

Like many have posted above me...everyone gets the one equal gift of Life, equal opportunity at Salvation no matter when you accept Christ, Sunshine, etc.... (these gifts alone are amazing)

Beyond that GRACE, there is other *Bonus Grace gifts in the form of love, comforts, money, talents, health (Yes health... we live in a fallen world, remember?)...etc.

The first worker is jealous... though he received exactly what God gave him and was agreed upon. He was demanding more *Bonus Grace gifts from God.

But it is not through work, but through the Grace of God that we receive everything that is good, and we should be thankful for what we have, not envious of what we don't.

Answer 5

Probably something along the lines of God's equality of love and providence for all who come to Him - early or late in their lives - the point being that is not as important when you accept Him (through Christ) but rather the fact that you do.
Be careful - however - of those who might use God's grace as something they can always turn to "after they have pursued their own goals" for it is often these self-sought goals that take us so far from Him that we lose sight of ever turning to Him.

Answer 6

We ought to learn not to be jealous of those who accept Jesus later in life than we do, but receive the same reward.

It could also reference the gentiles receiving the gospel after the jews, and yet receiving their reward before the jews.

Answer 7

Basically if you become a Christian and serve God for only three days and then suddenly die, you get the same rewards and benefits (heaven, reigning with Christ during the Millenium, etc.) as would a Christian who served God faithfully for 70 years and then died. We're all equal in God's eyes, no matter how long we've served Him.

Answer 8

Working the work of God amounts to the same thing because the output is the same no matter what age you began preaching it. The last will be first and the first will be last - meaning we're all equal in the eyes of God.

Answer 9

the parable has been treated as an allegory and taken to mean that even those who are baptized late in life earn equal rewards along with those baptized early, but Jesus' parables were meant to provoke thought rather than to define precise details or explicit application[

Answer 10

That's no way to run a vinyard.

God rewards all men (with salvation) the same whether they have always been faithful or come to him at the eleventh hour.

Answer 11

The key verse is the last one.Those that are envious and expect others to communistically "share the wealth" and are filled with greed will be last in line, if at all, in Heaven.