The Kingdom of Heaven Is Like a Vineyard

Fifteenth Sunday of Pentecost

The Kingdom of Heaven is Like a Vineyard

Matthew 20: 1 - 16

Jesus' followers and disciples wanted a heaven they could see in earthly terms, where each good deed and kind act were added up so that the disciples could compete for better positions closer to Jesus.

So Jesus told many parables about what heaven was like, a wonderful place where the boundless grace and goodness of God made all earthly sorts of competition irrelevant - there are no bad seats in heaven.

Do you think the disciples understood him this time?

1. Where did the man who owned the vineyard go to hire day laborers?

[He went to the marketplace.]

2. What times of the day did he go to hire workers?

[He went early in the morning, at 9 o'clock, at noon, at three o'clock, and at five o'clock.]

3. How did he pay the workers?

[He gave each of the workers a full day's pay.]

4. What did the workers that he hired first do?

[The early workers complained, because they had worked in the hot sun all day long, and the people who didn't start until five in the afternoon got the same pay.]

5. What did the owner of the vineyard say?

[The owner of the vineyard said, "Don't I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Why should you be jealous if I want to be generous?"]