Task #8

My story is about The Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard extracted from Matthew 20:1-16. The Story is found in the New Testament as a narration of the Gospel according to Matthew. The book of Matthew is said to have been written in 70 CE by Matthew the Evangelist, a former apostle of Jesus who was an accountant or a tax collector (Evans, 2012). The book is the first among the books referred to as the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is a part of three others, Mark, Luke, and John. Matthew is also a synoptic gospel together with Mark and Luke because of the similarities in the point of view and narration style.

In Matthew 19: 27-30, there is an introduction of what is to be presented in the form of the Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard. Peter tells Jesus that the disciples have forsaken everything to follow him and Jesus answers that for everything they have lost, they would be repaid a hundredfold with everlasting life. The last verse, Matthew 19: 30, introduces the phrase that the first shall be last and the last shall become first. After the Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard, Jesus predicts his own death, suffering, and resurrection in verse 18-19.

In the Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard, the main characters include an employer and his employees. The employer is generous, kind, and just in decision making. He is also firm and a good leader. The employees are affected by the employer’s actions differently. Some laborers are disgruntled that the actions of their boss are unfair. In the end, every one gets exactly what they had bargained for. The conflict in the story is about justice and the perception of fairness. In the end, the story reveals that the employer acted according to the agreement.

The Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard is about an employer who went to look for laborers early in the morning. He hires different men agreeing to pay a certain amount for a day’s work. he goes out at different times to look for more laborers. When giving their wages, those who begun working early in the morning are rewarded the same pay as those that came late in the evening. The result is that the early hires are disgruntled and do not see the situation as fair based on the amount of effort. The employer explains that his actions were fair and just. He had paid everyone exactly what they had agreed upon. He questioned the disgruntled laborers on whether they were envious of his generosity.

References

Evans, C. A. (2012). Matthew. Cambridge University Press.