‘ “For the Kingdom of Heaven is like the landowner who went out early one morning to hire workers for his vineyard.  ²He agreed to pay the normal daily wage and sent them out to work.  ³“At nine o’clock in the morning he was passing through the marketplace and saw some people standing around doing nothing.  ⁴ So he hired them, telling them he would pay them whatever was right at the end of the day.  ⁵So they went to work in the vineyard.  At noon and again at three o’clock he did the same thing.  ⁶“At five o’clock that afternoon he was in town again and saw some more people standing around.  He asked them, ‘Why haven’t you been working today?’  ⁷“They replied, ‘Because no one hired us.’  “The landowner told them, ‘Then go out and join the others in my vineyard.’  ⁸“That evening he told the foreman to call the workers in and pay them, beginning with the last workers first.  ⁹When those hired at five o’clock were paid, each received a full day’s wage.  ¹⁰When those hired first came to get their pay, they assumed they would receive more.  But they, too, were paid a day’s wage.  ¹¹When they received their pay, they protested to the owner, ¹²‘Those people worked only one hour, and yet you’ve paid them just as much as you paid us who worked all day in the scorching heat.’  ¹³“He answered one of them, ‘Friend, I haven’t been unfair! Didn’t you agree to work all day for the usual wage?  ¹⁴Take your money and go.  I wanted to pay this last worker the same as you.  ¹⁵Is it against the law for me to do what I want with my money?  Should you be jealous because I am kind to others?’’
Matthew 20:1-15 (NLT)

1. Salvation is impossible without God

²⁶‘Jesus looked at them intently and said, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But with God everything is possible.” ‘
Matthew 19:26 (NLT)

⁹‘Well then, should we conclude that we Jews are better than others?  No, not at all, for we have already shown that all people, whether Jews or Gentiles, are under the power of sin.  ¹⁰As the Scriptures say, “No one is righteous — not even one.  ¹¹No one is truly wise; no one is seeking God.  ¹²All have turned away; all have become useless.  No one does good, not a single one.”  ¹³“Their talk is foul, like the stench from an open grave.  Their tongues are filled with lies.”  “Snake venom drips from their lips.”  ¹⁴“Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.”  ¹⁵“They rush to commit murder.  ¹⁶Destruction and misery always follow them.  ¹⁷They don’t know where to find peace.”  ¹⁸“They have no fear of God at all.”  ¹⁹Obviously, the law applies to those to whom it was given, for its purpose is to keep people from having excuses, and to show that the entire world is guilty before God.  ²⁰For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands.  The law simply shows us how sinful we are.
Romans 3:9-20 (NLT)

1. The Willing

‘ “For the Kingdom of Heaven is like the landowner who went out early one morning to hire workers for his vineyard.  ²He agreed to pay the normal daily wage and sent them out to work.
Matthew 20:1-2 (NLT)

⁶ “At five o’clock that afternoon he was in town again and saw some more people standing around.  He asked them, ‘Why haven’t you been working today?’  ⁷“They replied, ‘Because no one hired us.’  “The landowner told them, ‘Then go out and join the others in my vineyard.’’
Matthew 20:6-7 (NLT)

²⁹And everyone who has given up houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or property, for my sake, will receive a hundred times as much in return and will inherit eternal life.
Matthew 19:29 (NLT)

1. The Proud

¹⁶Someone came to Jesus with this question: “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?”  ¹⁷“Why ask me about what is good?”  Jesus replied.  “There is only One who is good.  But to answer your question—if you want to receive eternal life, keep the commandments.”
Matthew 19:16-17 (NLT)

⁵The Lord detests the proud; they will surely be punished. 
Proverbs 16:5 (NLT)

⁶ Jesus replied, “You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you, for he wrote, ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. ⁷ Their worship is a farce, for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God.’  ⁸ For you ignore God’s law and substitute your own tradition.”  ⁹Then he said, “You skillfully sidestep God’s law in order to hold on to your own tradition.
Mark 7:6-9 (NLT)

²⁰And then he added, “It is what comes from inside that defiles you.  ²¹For from within, out of a person’s heart, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, ²²adultery, greed, wickedness, deceit, lustful desires, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness.  ²³All these vile things come from within; they are what defile you.”
Mark 7:20-23 (NLT)

¹¹When they received their pay, they protested to the owner, ¹²‘Those people worked only one hour, and yet you’ve paid them just as much as you paid us who worked all day in the scorching heat.’
Matthew 20:11-12 (NLT)