There are four parts in the parable of the laborers in the vineyard. These may answer to: first, the law, which if a man keep he shall live; second, the ministry of Christ; then, third, the gospel by the Holy Spirit sent down from heaven in the beginning of the history of the church; and now, fourth, the present eleventh-hour testimony immediately before the coming of the Lord, the riches of His grace, after centuries of dark rejection. Yes, it is an act of grace on God’s part in the last three cases. And the Jew who made his own bargain, as always, murmurs at the grace of God. In His vineyard, grace has shone out more and more. This is the theme of Jesus, but how little they understood Him! He was on the way to die for them—to take the lowest possible place. They were desiring to take the highest in the kingdom! Precious lesson! Everlasting life to all who have believed His Word—to both the Jew and the Gentile, God is seen the Seeker of the needy.
C. H. Mackintosh