Matthew 20:1-16 records the parable of the labourers in the vineyard. Early in the morning the master of the house went out to hire labourers for his vineyard. This reminds of Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden. “And God said to them,’ Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.’”
The narrative of Matthew then states that at the third hour, the master of the vineyard went out and hired more labourers. This reminds of the call of Abraham when God said to him: “ The LORD said to Abram, ‘Leave your land, your relatives, and your father’s home. Go to the land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation, I will bless you. I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you, I will curse.’”
In the sixth hour, the master again went out and called more labourers. This reminds of Jesus coming in the flesh as the Messiah to His people. “Then He said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few.’” Here addressing the Jews to take the gospel to the Jews.
The call to work in the vineyard, started at creation, and is all inclusive, both Jew and Gentile. Starting with Adam, a gentile, God then took a people for Himself, Israel, and called Abraham to be light to the nations. Jesus then came to His own people who rejected Him. He died on the cross at the ninth hour, crucified by His own people. The words reverberated from before the judgment seat of Pilate when they shouted: “Crucify Him!” But Pilate’s act of washing His hands did not exonerate him. He had the power to release, or not to release, whoever he chose. But he chose to please the chief priests. Unwittingly, he wrote the King of the Jews on the inscription above the cross. The very same expression that is recorded in Isaiah 44:6: “Thus says Yahweh, the King of Israel(Jews) and His redeemer, Yahweh of hosts. I am the first and the last and besides Me there is no God.” The inscription confirmed the deity of Jesus.
Rejected by His own people and crucified by the Romans, God again called workers to the vineyard. Cornelius, a Roman centurion, had a vision in the ninth hour and he heard God clearly saying to him, “ Your prayers and alms have ascended as a memorial before God. And now send men to Joppa and bring one Simon, who is called Peter.”
Knowing the heart of Peter, God prepared him to go to Cornelius in a vision. It is in his house that Peter delivers the first message of salvation to the gentiles. He confirmed that God anointed Jesus from Nazareth with the Holy Spirit, how He went about doing good, healing all who were oppressed of the devil and how He was crucified. The King of the Jews, the first and the last. The Hebrew word for last is acharon אַחֲר֔וֹן, the same word that John used when he spoke of the last hour, “Children, it is the last hour, and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come. Therefore, we know that it is the last hour (John 2:18, ESV).
The eleventh hour, or last hour is characterised by the presence of the antichrist. The word “anti” means in opposition to Christ. The many Christ rejecting religions of the last 2000 years speak of this: Jewish, Islamic, Druze, Bahai, Sikhism, Buddhist and the like. This is how we know we are in the last hour.
And just as Peter told Cornelius that Jesus commanded them to preach that Jesus is appointed to judge the living and the dead, the call for the eleventh hour is: “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.”
Through the ages, early in the morning, the creation, the third hour, the call of Israel, the sixth hour, the new creation, the ninth hour, the call of all, the eleventh hour, the last call to repent, God is calling a people to work in the vineyard. Because at midnight there will be a cry:
“Here comes the bridegroom.”
