If Jesus Were a Socialist: The Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard
"For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard.
The workers formed a union and negotiated for him to pay them a denarius
for the day, and they went into his vineyard.
About nine in the morning, the workers demanded a break and the
evil rich landowner was forced to give it to them.
While on their break, the workers saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. The union leader
went straight to the landowner, and told him, "These must also go and work in your vineyard, and you must pay them whatever is right."
So he did.
They went out on break again about noon and about three in the afternoon and did the same thing.
About five in the afternoon the workers went out and found still others standing around. They asked them,‘Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?"
"Because no one has hired us," they answered.
"Well, I'll set the landowner straight on this!" the union leader said to them, "You also go and work in his vineyard."
When evening came, the workers demanded that they receive their wages and be sent home and be provided with medical care.
So the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, "Come, help me mortgage my house so that I can pay all these workers who were hired without my consent."
The workers had to wait an hour while the landowner scraped together enough money to pay all of them. By the time the man returned to them, they were all whining and bickering.
The union leader stepped foreward.
"You have caused us to have to wait here past supper time; we demand to be paid overtime!"
The landowner shook his head and proceded to pay each of the workers one denarius.
"Hey!" complained the union leader and the others who had been hired at the beginning of the day. "Where's our overtime?! And
we even did all that work of going out and hiring all these other workers for you, because you were too much of a selfish hoarder to do it yourself."
But the landowner answered them, "I am not being unfair to you, friend. Didn’t you agree to work for a denarius? Take your pay and go. Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money?"
With this, the workers went on strike and took the landowner to court and sued him for all that he was worth for being so selfish.
Declared the union from that day forward: "So the employees shall be treated fairly and take control of their employer!"
Read the real story in Matthew 20:1-16
The workers formed a union and negotiated for him to pay them a denarius
for the day, and they went into his vineyard.
About nine in the morning, the workers demanded a break and the
evil rich landowner was forced to give it to them.
While on their break, the workers saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. The union leader
went straight to the landowner, and told him, "These must also go and work in your vineyard, and you must pay them whatever is right."
So he did.
They went out on break again about noon and about three in the afternoon and did the same thing.
About five in the afternoon the workers went out and found still others standing around. They asked them,‘Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?"
"Because no one has hired us," they answered.
"Well, I'll set the landowner straight on this!" the union leader said to them, "You also go and work in his vineyard."
When evening came, the workers demanded that they receive their wages and be sent home and be provided with medical care.
So the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, "Come, help me mortgage my house so that I can pay all these workers who were hired without my consent."
The workers had to wait an hour while the landowner scraped together enough money to pay all of them. By the time the man returned to them, they were all whining and bickering.
The union leader stepped foreward.
"You have caused us to have to wait here past supper time; we demand to be paid overtime!"
The landowner shook his head and proceded to pay each of the workers one denarius.
"Hey!" complained the union leader and the others who had been hired at the beginning of the day. "Where's our overtime?! And
we even did all that work of going out and hiring all these other workers for you, because you were too much of a selfish hoarder to do it yourself."
But the landowner answered them, "I am not being unfair to you, friend. Didn’t you agree to work for a denarius? Take your pay and go. Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money?"
With this, the workers went on strike and took the landowner to court and sued him for all that he was worth for being so selfish.
Declared the union from that day forward: "So the employees shall be treated fairly and take control of their employer!"
Read the real story in Matthew 20:1-16