Let’s read the Parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard, and see this Miracle of the 11th Hour in the book of Matthew chapter 20 verses 1 to 16. The Bible passage records that;
“For the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. After agreeing with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard. And going out about the third hour he saw others standing idle in the marketplace, and to them he said, ‘You go into the vineyard too, and whatever is right I will give you.’ So they went. Going out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour, he did the same. And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing. And he said to them, ‘Why do you stand here idle all day?’ They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You go into the vineyard too.’ And when evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last, up to the first.’ And when those hired about the eleventh hour came, each of them received a denarius. Now when those hired first came, they thought they would receive more, but each of them also received a denarius. And on receiving it they grumbled at the master of the house, saying, ‘These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.’ But he replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? Take what belongs to you and go. I choose to give to this last worker as I give to you. Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity?’ So the last will be first, and the first last.”
You know what I love about The LORD JESUS parables is that they can teach so much lessons depending on how you and me understood them from the revelation HE gives you and me. Though it talks about the 11th hour miracles, but this Bible passage shows that sometimes miracles happen when we are at the right time, the right place, and for the right purpose.
In the book of Ecclesiastes chapter 9 verse 11, it says that “I have observed something else under the sun. The fastest runner doesn’t always win the race, and the strongest warrior doesn’t always win the battle. The wise sometimes go hungry, and the skillful are not necessarily wealthy. And those who are educated don’t always lead successful lives. It is all decided by chance, by being in the right place at the right time.”
Let’s learn through the Parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard or the 11th Hour Miracle Passage.
There are four things we can learn about GOD that is revealed from the parable of the laborers in the vineyard. One, concerning with the matter of the Kingdom of Heaven, it is GOD WHO finds laborers to work for HIS Vineyard. Two, GOD is generous. Sometimes GOD decides to be good to you and me, because HE just decided and chose to be good to you and me. Three, GOD does not entertain idleness or laziness. Four, GOD can use you and me to advance HIS Kingdom. If they don't want to hire you, GOD will hire you to a much better assignment.
From the parable of the laborers in the vineyard there were four category groups of the people the master of a house recruited and assigned to work at the vineyard.
There was the early in the morning group, the one the master found in the morning, the first group. It doesn’t specify what hour exactly, but the passage says “The master of a house went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. After agreeing with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard.”
There was the third hour group that he found standing idle in the marketplace. Scripture says, “And going out about the third hour he saw others standing idle in the marketplace, and to them he said, ‘You go into the vineyard too, and whatever is right I will give you.’ So they went.”
There was the sixth hour and the ninth hour group. It says “Going out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour, he did the same.”
There was the eleventh hour group, the last group, that he found idle all day because they couldn’t find anybody to hire them. The parable records that “And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing. And he said to them, ‘Why do you stand here idle all day?’ They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You go into the vineyard too.’
If you study all the four groups, it says that the master found, the third hour standing idle, and the eleventh hour were also standing idle and jobless, without employment, nobody has hired them. It doesn’t mention the situations of the early morning group and the sixth and ninth hour group. There could be also other reasons these people had. One of them, perhaps they had jobs but they were looking for something that is meaningful in their lives, a job and assignment that could give them a sense of purpose, and a higher pay maybe.
The good thing is that regardless of the above reasons, the master found them, and hired them to work for his vineyard. Regardless of how they were found, and in which group, whether they were looking for jobs or change of jobs, the master found them.
The master needed the workers or laborers to work for his vineyard. In the book of Matthew chapter 9 verses 36 to 38, it says that "When the LORD JESUS saw the crowds, HE had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then HE said to HIS disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the LORD of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into HIS harvest field.”
“For the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. After agreeing with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard. And going out about the third hour he saw others standing idle in the marketplace, and to them he said, ‘You go into the vineyard too, and whatever is right I will give you.’ So they went. Going out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour, he did the same. And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing. And he said to them, ‘Why do you stand here idle all day?’ They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You go into the vineyard too.’ And when evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last, up to the first.’ And when those hired about the eleventh hour came, each of them received a denarius. Now when those hired first came, they thought they would receive more, but each of them also received a denarius. And on receiving it they grumbled at the master of the house, saying, ‘These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.’ But he replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? Take what belongs to you and go. I choose to give to this last worker as I give to you. Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity?’ So the last will be first, and the first last.”
You know what I love about The LORD JESUS parables is that they can teach so much lessons depending on how you and me understood them from the revelation HE gives you and me. Though it talks about the 11th hour miracles, but this Bible passage shows that sometimes miracles happen when we are at the right time, the right place, and for the right purpose.
In the book of Ecclesiastes chapter 9 verse 11, it says that “I have observed something else under the sun. The fastest runner doesn’t always win the race, and the strongest warrior doesn’t always win the battle. The wise sometimes go hungry, and the skillful are not necessarily wealthy. And those who are educated don’t always lead successful lives. It is all decided by chance, by being in the right place at the right time.”
Let’s learn through the Parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard or the 11th Hour Miracle Passage.
There are four things we can learn about GOD that is revealed from the parable of the laborers in the vineyard. One, concerning with the matter of the Kingdom of Heaven, it is GOD WHO finds laborers to work for HIS Vineyard. Two, GOD is generous. Sometimes GOD decides to be good to you and me, because HE just decided and chose to be good to you and me. Three, GOD does not entertain idleness or laziness. Four, GOD can use you and me to advance HIS Kingdom. If they don't want to hire you, GOD will hire you to a much better assignment.
From the parable of the laborers in the vineyard there were four category groups of the people the master of a house recruited and assigned to work at the vineyard.
There was the early in the morning group, the one the master found in the morning, the first group. It doesn’t specify what hour exactly, but the passage says “The master of a house went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. After agreeing with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard.”
There was the third hour group that he found standing idle in the marketplace. Scripture says, “And going out about the third hour he saw others standing idle in the marketplace, and to them he said, ‘You go into the vineyard too, and whatever is right I will give you.’ So they went.”
There was the sixth hour and the ninth hour group. It says “Going out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour, he did the same.”
There was the eleventh hour group, the last group, that he found idle all day because they couldn’t find anybody to hire them. The parable records that “And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing. And he said to them, ‘Why do you stand here idle all day?’ They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You go into the vineyard too.’
If you study all the four groups, it says that the master found, the third hour standing idle, and the eleventh hour were also standing idle and jobless, without employment, nobody has hired them. It doesn’t mention the situations of the early morning group and the sixth and ninth hour group. There could be also other reasons these people had. One of them, perhaps they had jobs but they were looking for something that is meaningful in their lives, a job and assignment that could give them a sense of purpose, and a higher pay maybe.
The good thing is that regardless of the above reasons, the master found them, and hired them to work for his vineyard. Regardless of how they were found, and in which group, whether they were looking for jobs or change of jobs, the master found them.
The master needed the workers or laborers to work for his vineyard. In the book of Matthew chapter 9 verses 36 to 38, it says that "When the LORD JESUS saw the crowds, HE had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then HE said to HIS disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the LORD of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into HIS harvest field.”
The master found them at the right time, and he hired them to work for the vineyard immediately. The master put them at the right place for the right purpose. He took them from the marketplace where people market themselves, from being grouped disqualified to being qualified, from being idle to be used for the right and godly purpose.
Altogether, four groups of workers were hired, and agreed to be paid for a denarius a day. But when the time came for the wages to be paid, the first group of workers saw the last group being paid a denarius and it dawned on them that they should be paid more since they had worked the longest. I mean, they started earlier than the other groups, and then seeing the last group who came just one hour before the end of the workday getting paid the same as them, they complained that the wages weren’t fairly paid.
The last group got paid working for one hour a day, the same wage what other laborers got paid for working for more than ten hours a day. And that’s why this parable is called the 11th hour miracle.
It looked so unfair to the other groups, therefore the master was forced to defend his actions. He told them he had dealt with them in fairness according to the contract or agreement which was a denarius a day. Whether they started earlier, or later, their agreed price was a denarius a day.
There is something big to learn from what the master said concerning his payment decisions. He said he paid them according to what they had agreed based on the contract or agreement they had.
There is this poem called “My Wage,” by J.B. Rittenhouse, and it says;
I bargained with Life for a penny,
And Life would pay no more,
However I begged at evening when
I counted my scanty store.
For Life is a just employer,
He gives you what you ask,
But once you have set the wages,
Why you must bear the task.
I worked for a menial’s hire,
Only to learn dismayed,
That any wage I had asked of Life,
Life would have willingly paid.
Sometimes, Life gives what we ask and agree with.
May we believe in GOD and believe in ourselves, for the Word of GOD in Philippians 4 verse 13 says “We can do all things through CHRIST WHO strengthen you and me.” May we get paid higher salaries, more than we deserve, because we are found at the right time, right place, right purpose, and right opportunities. May we not sign agreements and contracts that will not favor our lives. May GOD’S favor be upon our lives everywhere we go and we will be. As Proverbs 23 verse 18 says, "There is surely a future hope for our lives, and our hope and expectations will not be cut off." May we live to our full potentials. May we fulfill our godly destinies, purposes, and assignments. May we never meet that person we should have become. No hindrance placed over our lives will be able to stop you and me to live our godly destinies and fulfil our godly assignments. We shall not born the burden of the day and the scorching heat. In the Mighty Name of the LORD JESUS CHRIST I pray.
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