Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard

Why Jesus told it. Peter had just said to Jesus, “See, we have left all and followed You” (Luke 18:28). Matthew's Gospel tells us Peter also asked what they would receive (Matthew 19:27). Jesus promised that no one who leaves things for Him will lose out. Then He warned, “But many who are first will be last, and the last first” (Mark 10:31). This parable explains that warning. What a parable is. A parable is a story Jesus told to teach a truth about God's kingdom. This one begins, “For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner” (Matthew 20:1). The kingdom of heaven is God's kingdom, where God is King. Out early (20:1-2). The landowner went out early in the morning to hire workers. He agreed to pay them “a denarius a day.” A denarius was a silver coin. Again and again (20:3-5). He went back out at the third hour, then the sixth and the ninth. To the new workers he promised, “whatever is right I will give you.” They trusted his word and went. No one hired us (20:6-7). At the eleventh hour, with only one hour left to work (20:12), he found people still standing there. He asked why, and they said, “Because no one hired us.” Nobody had picked them. The owner did. A picture. Many Christians see the landowner as a picture of God, who keeps calling people to come to Him. What we learn. God's invitation is not only for people who come early. Whether you are young or old, and whether you have known about Jesus for years or for one day, He wants you to come. Do not wait to answer Him.

The setting. Peter said, “See, we have left all and followed You” (Luke 18:28), and Matthew adds that he asked what they would have (Matthew 19:27). Jesus promised a rich reward, then warned, “But many who are first will be last, and the last first” (Mark 10:31). The parable begins, “For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner” (20:1), and it explains that warning. The kingdom of heaven. It is the same as the kingdom of God: God's rule and the people who live under it. An agreement (20:1-2). The first workers made a deal: “he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius a day.” A denarius was a silver coin. They knew exactly what they would get. A promise instead of a price (20:3-7). The later workers had no agreed amount, only the owner's word: “whatever is right I will give you” (20:4). The hours were probably counted from sunrise, so the third hour would be about nine in the morning and the eleventh about five in the afternoon. Standing idle. “Why have you been standing here idle all day?” “Because no one hired us.” Their answer does not sound lazy. It is the answer of people nobody had picked. The owner went to them himself. A picture of God's call. Many Christians see the landowner as a picture of God, who keeps going out to call people into His kingdom at every stage of life. For you. Some people come to Jesus as children, and some come late in life. The invitation is the same, and so is the welcome. Do not wait for a better time to answer it.

Peter said, “Look, we left everything we had and followed you!” Jesus promised that God would give them much more. Then Jesus said something surprising. Many who are first now will be last. And those who are last now will be first. Jesus told this story to explain what He meant. A story like this is called a parable. It teaches us about God's kingdom. In the story, the owner kept going out to find workers. Some people waited all day, and nobody hired them. The owner went and found them himself. God's invitation is for everyone, young and old.

Jesus told a story about a man who hired workers. He went out again and again. God invites people to come to Him.

Payday (20:8). “So when evening had come, the owner of the vineyard said to his steward, ‘Call the laborers and give them their wages, beginning with the last to the first.’” A steward was a helper who managed the owner's work. The last first. The owner paid in reverse order. The workers hired at the eleventh hour came up first, and “they each received a denarius” (20:9). That was a full day's pay (20:2) for one hour of work. Generous. The owner did not owe them a denarius. He chose to give it. That is what generous means: giving more than someone has earned. They supposed (20:10). “But when the first came, they supposed that they would receive more.” That is an easy thought to understand. If one hour earned a denarius, surely a whole day would earn more! A promise kept. “And they likewise received each a denarius.” They got exactly what they had agreed to. The owner kept his word to the first workers just as surely as he was kind to the last. Grace. A gift that nobody earns is called grace. Jesus told this story to show that God's kingdom runs on grace, not on hours worked. What we learn. God always keeps His promises, and He loves to give. His gifts are not measured out by the hour. Nobody can ever tell God that they have worked long enough to be owed His love.

Evening (20:8). God's law said, “The wages of him who is hired shall not remain with you all night until morning” (Leviticus 19:13). The owner paid that same evening, as the law required. Beginning with the last. The steward paid “beginning with the last to the first.” Because of that order, the first workers saw what the others received before they were paid themselves. A denarius for one hour (20:9). “They each received a denarius.” One hour of work could never earn it. The owner gave it because he wanted to. Supposed (20:10). “They supposed that they would receive more.” Their thinking makes sense if pay is all about hours. They were measuring by what is earned, while the owner was giving by what he wished to give. Exactly what was agreed. “And they likewise received each a denarius.” No one was cheated. The first workers received the full amount of their agreement. Grace. Grace means a gift that is not earned. Paul describes God's salvation in the same terms: “being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Romans 3:24). Freely means as a gift, without payment. A deal and a promise. The first workers came with an agreement. The later workers came with only the owner's promise. He kept his word to both, and to the last he gave far more than they had earned. For you. You will never come to God with enough hours to earn His love. Everyone who receives it receives it the same way, as a gift.

At the end of the day, the owner paid his workers. He told his helper to pay the last workers first. The five o'clock workers had worked for only one hour. But each of them received one whole silver coin! That was the same pay as a whole day of work. The owner was being very kind to them. Then the first workers came to get paid. They hoped they would get more money. That is easy to understand. But they also received one silver coin. That was exactly what the owner had promised them. The owner kept his promise to everyone.

At the end of the day, the man paid everyone. The last workers got a whole silver coin! The owner was very kind.

They complained (20:11). “And when they had received it, they complained against the landowner.” They had their denarius in their hands, and still they grumbled. Their words (20:12). “These last men have worked only one hour, and you made them equal to us who have borne the burden and the heat of the day.” They had a point. The first workers really had worked longer, and they had worked through the heat of the day. Most of us would feel the same way. We can see ourselves in them. Made them equal. Their own pay had not changed at all. What upset them was that the others were made “equal to us.” They wanted to be ahead. Keeping score. When we compare, we start keeping score. A brother gets a bigger slice, a friend gets picked first, a classmate gets praised, and suddenly our own good gift does not feel good anymore. Against the landowner. Their complaint was against the owner himself, the one who had given them work all day. Grumbling about how someone else is blessed is really grumbling about the giver. What we learn. Be thankful for what God has given you. When He is kind to someone else, it takes nothing away from you. Ask Him to help you be glad with them.

Gongyzo (20:11). “They complained against the landowner.” The word is gongyzo (say: gong-GOOD-zoh), to grumble or mutter in a low, discontented voice. Paul uses the same word for Israel in the desert: “nor complain, as some of them also complained” (1 Corinthians 10:10). Equal to us (20:12). “You made them equal to us who have borne the burden and the heat of the day.” Equal is isos (say: EE-sos), the same in amount. Their own pay had not changed. The equal treatment of others was what they could not accept. A fair-sounding complaint. They really had worked longer and through the heat. By the measure of hours, their complaint sounds reasonable. That is why people who have followed God for a long time need to hear this parable. Comparison. Their contentment with a fair wage vanished the moment they looked at someone else's. Comparison turns a gift into a grievance. The first workers measured the owner's goodness by what the others got, not by what he had given them. Against the giver. They complained “against the landowner.” Grumbling about another person's blessing is never only about that person. It questions the goodness of the one who gave it. A searching question. When God answers someone else's prayer first, or blesses a newer believer in a way He has not blessed you, what does your heart say? The first workers' words are easy to speak without ever saying them aloud. For you. Listen to what your heart says when others are blessed. Thank God for His goodness to them, and for His goodness to you.

The first workers got their silver coin. Then they complained to the owner. They said, “And we worked hard all day in the hot sun.” They really had worked hard. It is easy to understand how they felt. Their own pay was exactly what they agreed to. They were not upset about their own pay. They were upset that others got the same. They were comparing themselves with the other workers. Comparing can make a happy heart grumpy. Your own good gift stops feeling good. God wants us to be thankful for what we have.

The first workers complained. They wanted more than the others. Be glad when God is kind to others.

Friend (20:13). The owner answered one of the grumblers, “Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius?” He answered the complaint with a kind word and the plain truth. No wrong. The first worker had been treated fairly. He received everything he was promised. My own things (20:14-15). “Take what is yours and go your way. I wish to give to this last man the same as to you. Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with my own things?” The money belonged to the owner. Being generous to one person did not cheat anyone else. An evil eye. Then he asked, “Or is your eye evil because I am good?” An evil eye is a jealous, grudging way of looking at someone else's blessing. The worker looked at the owner's kindness and felt angry instead of glad. Last and first (20:16). “So the last will be first, and the first last.” In God's kingdom, coming early or working longest does not earn a better place. The ones who expected to be ahead were paid last, and they complained instead of rejoicing in what the owner gave. What we learn. God is never unfair to us, and He is good to everyone who comes to Him. When He is generous to someone else, be glad with them. You have never lost anything because God was kind to another person.

Hetairos (20:13). “Friend, I am doing you no wrong.” Friend is hetairos (say: heh-TIE-ross), a word for a companion. It is a kind word, spoken to a man who has just complained. The owner reasoned with him instead of sending him away. No wrong. “Did you not agree with me for a denarius?” The owner was just: he paid what was promised. Justice means no one gets less than is right. Grace means someone gets more than was earned. The owner gave both. My own things (20:14-15). “I wish to give to this last man the same as to you. Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with my own things?” Generosity to one person is not unfairness to another. The owner had every right to be generous with what was his. An evil eye. “Or is your eye evil because I am good?” In the Bible an evil eye is not a magic curse. It is a jealous, grudging look at someone else's good. The worker's eye turned the owner's goodness into a reason to be angry. Last and first (20:16). “So the last will be first, and the first last.” The warning Jesus gave just before the story (Matthew 19:30; Mark 10:31) comes back at the end, with the last now named first. Those who counted on being first by their hours were paid last, and they complained. Those who had nothing to offer received everything as a gift. Called and chosen. Jesus added, “For many are called, but few chosen.” Hearing God's invitation is not the same as receiving it. Come to Him humbly, on the terms of His grace. For you. If you have followed Jesus a long time, rejoice over every newcomer. If you are new, you are not second-class. Everyone in God's kingdom stands there by grace.

The owner spoke kindly to one grumbling worker. He said, “Friend, I am being fair to you.” The worker got exactly what he agreed to. It was the owner's own money to give. He wanted to give the last workers the same pay. He asked, “Are you jealous because I am good to those people?” Jealous means upset when someone else gets something good. Jesus said the last will someday be first. In God's kingdom, nobody earns a better place. Coming early or working longest does not earn more. God gives His love as a gift to all who come. He is good to you, and He is good to others.

The owner said he was fair. He chose to be good to the last workers. Jesus said the last will be first!

Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard

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