“For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard.”
This verse begins the parable of the workers in the vineyard. Jesus presents a parable whose purpose is to explain the eternal principle of God’s grace and justice. In the parable, the master of the house represents God, and the vineyard represents the work of God’s kingdom, the carrying out of His will in the world. The workers are people whom God calls at different times for service and for repentance. The master’s going out in the morning shows that God is the One who takes the initiative: He is the One who calls, not the person who offers himself. This parable is built up step by step to reveal that God’s reward is not determined by the length of a person’s labor, but by His good will and grace.