In Matthew 20:1-16, Jesus tells a famous parable about the owner of a vineyard who hires workers all throughout the day, paying them all the same amount at day’s end. What is the point of this parable?
Jonathan T. Pennington seeks to answer that question, not by digging deep within his own speculations, nor by staring at the sky. He examines historic traditions of interpretation from the context.
In the history of the church, there have been many attempted explanations of this parable. Some suggest the five different hirings represent five stages of world history during which God has called people to Himself, or different stages in life that one may become a Christian. The point, then, is that God is gracious to all and welcomes all into His kingdom, no matter when they were called. Some say the parable is a picture of God’s future kingdom where all saved people receive heaven, no matter how much they have worked for God. The broadest and maybe most popular interpretation is that this parable is simply a picture of God’s incredible and marvelous grace and generosity—the gospel in a nutshell.
Each of these interpretations has some truth in it. But there is something more to be seen. The key is to pay attention to the context that Matthew gives us for this parable.
I encourage you to read his brief piece for another clear example of why context matters.
