The Parable of the Vineyard Workers

In today’s lesson, we’re learning about a parable Jesus told to teach a lesson about how we’re made right with God. One morning, a landowner went out and hired a group of guys to work in his vineyard. He promised them a full day’s pay for their work. They happily accepted and worked out in the hot sun all day. The landowner went out and hired another group a few hours later and also promised them a full day’s pay. The landowner did this a few more times-he hired more workers. But the last group only had to work one hour! At the end of the day, the landowner gave each group the same pay-a full day’s pay, just like he promised. But, the workers who worked all day, or most of the day, got mad because they had worked way harder than the groups that joined later. That’s not fair. They should get paid more for working longer. Here’s the point of the story. Jesus was teaching the people that they can’t work their way into heaven. The only way any of us make it to heaven is through trusting in Jesus. It doesn’t matter if you’ve done a lot of awesome things, more than any of your friends. Jesus offers all of us the same gift of forgiveness and it’s not based on our work, it’s based on what Jesus did!