Matthew 20:1-7

“This will help you understand the way heaven’s kingdom operates: “There once was a wealthy landowner who went out at daybreak to hire all the laborers he could find to work in his vineyard. After agreeing to pay them the standard day’s wage, he put them to work. Then at nine o’clock, as he was passing through the town square, he found others standing around without work. He told them, ‘Come and work for me in my vineyard and I’ll pay you a fair wage.’ So off they went to join the others. He did the same thing at noon and again at three o’clock, making the same arrangement as he did with the others. “Hoping to finish his harvest that day, he went to the town square again at five o’clock and found more who were idle. So he said to them, ‘Why have you been here all day without work?’ “ ‘Because no one hired us,’ they answered. “So he said to them, ‘Then go and join my crew and work in my vineyard.’