46 Reivards are not equal. CHAP. 



which man could not have dared to hope for ; and 

 in the parable of the Two Sons, 1 Our Lord tells of 

 a son who at first refused to work in his father's 

 vineyard, but afterwards changed his mind, and was 

 permitted to go to work. 



As for the acceptableness, or the possibility, of a 

 " death-bed repentance," the parable of the Labourers 

 in the Vineyard has no bearing on it whatever. 

 Work cannot be begun on a death -bed; and to 

 repent and be converted on a death-bed would be 

 entering the vineyard, not at the eleventh but at the 

 twelfth hour. It may be possible, but this parable 

 alone gives no support for such a belief. 



This parable, as we have seen, teaches that neither 

 length of service nor quantity of work counts in the 

 apportionment of the heavenly reward. But it is 

 not true that all rewards are equal. Such a notion 

 is contradicted by Our Lord in the conversation that 

 led to this parable. Peter, contrasting himself and 

 the rest of the twelve with the young ruler who had 

 proved unable to give up all and follow Christ, 

 inquired, " Lo, we have left all and followed Thee : 

 what shall we have therefore ? " To which the Lord 

 replied, "Verily I say unto you, that ye which 

 have followed me, in the regeneration (or restoration 

 of all things see Acts iii. 21), when the Son of 

 Man shall sit on the throne of His glory, ye also 

 shall sit on twelve thrones, judging (that is to say, 

 ruling) the twelve tribes of Israel." We cannot tell 

 1 Matt. xxi. 28. 



