In the Bible we have many vivid pictures in which God would teach us,
by earthly things, concerning His heavenly things.
This Parable of the Labourers in the Vineyard is one of these pictures.
We have the account of it in the 20th chapter of Matthew.
There was an Eastern householder. He had great estates, and fields and
vineyards, stretching far up on the hillsides, and kept with great
care by his vine-dressers. By and by the grapes were ready for picking
and the householder went out early in the morning to hire the labourers
for his vineyard.
In those days there was a certain coin which was considered fair pay
for a day's wages.
Some of you who read the story in the Bible may say, "A penny for a
day's work!" But this is only because the money then was of such a
different value from what it is now; and a Roman penny was worth nearly
eight times what our penny is now, and was at that time the usual hire
for a day's work.
So the lord of the vineyard went out early to engage the men to get in
his harvest; and when he had agreed with them for a certain sum, he
sent them into his vineyard.
By and by, about nine o'clock in the morning, he went out again; and
seeing others standing idle in the market-place, he said to them: "Go
ye also into the vineyard, and whatever is right I will give you."
So they went their way, and entered the vineyard.
Then came twelve o'clock, and then three o'clock; and still the
householder wanted more men to labour in his vineyard. As our Lord
had said in another place, "The Harvest truly is plenteous, but the
labourers are few."
At length, at the last hour before sundown, the householder went out
once more, and found others standing idle, and he said to them: "Why
are you standing here idle all the day?"