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Matthew 20:1-16

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19:30But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first.

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1“For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard.

2He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard.

3“About nine in the morning he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing.

4He told them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.’

5So they went. “He went out again about noon and about three in the afternoon and did the same thing.

6About five in the afternoon he went out and found still others standing around. He asked them, ‘Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?’

7“‘Because no one has hired us,’ they answered. “He said to them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard.’

8“When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired and going on to the first.’

9“The workers who were hired about five in the afternoon came and each received a denarius.

10So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius.

11When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner.

12‘These who were hired last worked only one hour,’ they said, ‘and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.’

13“But he answered one of them, ‘I am not being unfair to you, friend. Didn’t you agree to work for a denarius?

14Take your pay and go. I want to give the one who was hired last the same as I gave you.

15Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?’

16“So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”

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1)       Is verse 19:30 included in VisionCasting-Matthew19.16-30?

o   Yes.

 

2)       Why is verse 19:30 included here?

o   It is included here to provide continuity of context.

 

3)       According to verse 1 what is the kingdom of heaven like?

o   The kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard.

 

4)       Whom does the landowner represent?

o   The landowner represents God.

 

5)       According to verse 2 what was the agreement between the landowner and the workers?

o   He

§  Agreed to pay them a denarius for the day.

§  And sent them into his vineyard.

 

6)       According to verses 3 and 4 what did the landowner do in order to get more people working in his vineyard?

o   About nine in the morning he

§  Went out to the marketplace.

§  Told those who were idle to work in his vineyard.

§  And promised to pay them whatever is right.

 

7)       According to verse 5 what did the landowner do again in order to get more people to work in his vineyard?

o   He

§  Went out again

Ø  About noon. 

Ø  And about three in the afternoon.

§  And did the same thing.

 

8)       According to verses 6 and 7 what did the landowner learn about the situation of some people standing there all day long doing nothing when he went out about five in the afternoon?

o   It is because no one had hired them

 

9)       According to verse 7 what did the landowner tell those people who were standing there doing nothing about five in the afternoon?

o   He told them to

§  Go.

§  And work in his vineyard.

 

10)   According to verse 8 what did the owner of the vineyard tell his foreman to do when evening came?

o   Call the workers.

o   And pay them their wages,

§  Beginning with the last ones hired.

§  And going on to the first.

 

11)   According to verse 9 what did workers who were hired about five in the afternoon each receive?

o   Each received a denarius.

 

12)   According to verse 10 what was the expectation of those who were hired first and what did they each actually receive?

o   They expected to receive more.

o   But each one of them also received a denarius.

 

13)   According to verses 11 and 12 what was the reaction of those who were hired first?

o   They began to grumble against the landowner

§  That those who were hired last worked only one hour.

§  And that he had made the late-comers equal to them who had borne

Ø  The burden of the work. 

Ø  And the heat of the day.

 

14)   According to verses 13 to 15 what was the response of the landowner to the complainers?

o   He was not being unfair to those who worked all day.

o   Because

o   They were paid what they were promised.

o   Furthermore they had no right to complain.

o   Because

o   He had the right to be generous with those who were hired last with his own money.

 

15)   According to verse 15 how did the landowner turn the table on the complainers?

o   He questioned them

§  If they were envious.

§  Because he was generous.

 

16)   What does the parable teach us?

o   God is sovereign in the way he grants his grace of eternal life with

§  Some having to bear more burden in this life.

§  And others less.

o   We have no right to grumble against God’s providence.

o   If

o   We have to bear more burden.

o   Because

o   We will receive the promised eternal life.

 

17)   According to verse 16 how will those turn out who bear more burden in this life and who grumble against God’s providence?

o   They will become last from being first.

 

18)   According to verse 16 how will those turn out who bear less burden in this life?

o   They will become first from being last.

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Matthew 20:1-16

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