THE PARABLE OF THE WORKERS IN THE VINEYARD
Discuss It – Matthew 20:1-16
- What do you think of deathbed or death-row conversions?
- What is the most generous thing anyone has ever done for you?
- Who is the best employer you ever had? Why?
- Who was the central character in this parable? (Matthew 20:1)
- What wages were agreed upon by the landowner and his hired hands? (Matthew 20:2)
- In the parable, what happened at about 9:00 a.m.? (Matthew 20:3)
- What wage was agreed upon between the landowner and his workers? (Matthew 20:4)
- How many additional times did the landowner go out and hire workers? (Matthew 20:5–6)
- What explanation did the last group of workers give when asked why they were standing around doing nothing? (Matthew 20:7)
- What happened to the last group of workers? (Matthew 20:7)
- What did the landowner tell his foreman at the end of the day? (Matthew 20:8)
- What wages did the workers hired at the eleventh hour receive? (Matthew 20:9)
- What did the landowner pay to the men who worked all day? (Matthew 20:10)
- How did the workers respond to the landowner’s system of payment? (Matthew 20:11–12)
- What rationale did the landowner give for his actions? (Matthew 20:13–15)
Apply It
- In what ways does God’s grace seem unfair?
- How do our cultural values resist the idea of grace?
- Why is it dangerous to compare your own situation with someone else’s?
- How would you answer the argument that God isn’t fair in the way He forgives?
- How does it make you feel to know that heaven will include ex-murderers, former child molesters, and people who put their trust in Christ only minutes before death?
- What would happen if God gave each of us what we deserve?
- How can focusing on God’s grace in our lives keep us from becoming jealous of others?
- What can you do today to help someone who needs God’s grace begin to understand the love of God?
- In what way can you say thank you to God every day this week for his amazing grace in your life?
- In what way could you help a new Christian get oriented to life in the Master’s kingdom sometime in the next month?