In this passage, Jesus continues to give His disciples intentional teaching on the kingdom. In the previous verse, Matthew 19:30 He proclaimed that many who were first in this life would be last and the last will be first. In other words, the humble will be the most prominent in the kingdom. By saying that the first will be last and the last will be first is saying that in the kingdom, the citizens will be equal. In fact, this parable is sandwiched between the same statement of the last being first and the first being last. It’s important to remember as we study this parable that the context is the future kingdom of God.
THE MASTER’S VINEYARD
The disciples witnessed the interaction between Jesus and the rich young ruler in the previous chapter. They witnessed this man who was a “good person” by his own estimation and probably even those around him for the most part. And they saw the man choose his own kingdom over the kingdom of God. And immediately the disciples ask, “Behold we have left everything and followed you; what then will there be for us?” (Matthew 19:27). Jesus answered them by telling them that their reward will be eternal and will be in the kingdom and that reward will be infinitely greater than any earthly reward possible. Jesus then tells them the parable of the master’s vineyard to give a more complete answer.
Matthew 20:1 – For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for this vineyard.
Jesus begins the parable by setting the scene. There is a wealthy landowner who operates a vineyard. Each day the vineyard owner needs laborers to tend to the work of the vines. He goes to a marketplace where day laborers would wait to be hired for the day. These people at this time were in no good negotiating position. They were typically very low wage workers and relied on getting work each day to be able to eat and survive day to day. In this parable, the vineyard owner is the Lord, and the day laborers represent all people.
Matthew 20:2 – When he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius for the day, he sent them into the vineyard.
The landlord hires the first set of workers for the day. And he pays them well. A denarius was an average daily wage. It’s what a soldier or medium skilled worker would have received. These workers were used to working for far less for a day of work. But this vineyard owner is generous and pays them well for the work that they do. As the day goes on, the vineyard owner returns to the marketplace and hires more workers.
Matthew 20:3-4 – And he went out about the third hour and saw others standing idle in the marketplace; and to those he said, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right I will give you.’ So, they went.
The third hour would have been around the 9 o’clock hour. The Hebrew workday started around 6am and went until 6pm. So, the vineyard owner hired his first set of workers at the beginning of the workday, this set of workers he hired mid- morning. But notice that there is no set amount to be paid, simply “what is right”. The workers agree because by this time they may be starting to get worried they won’t be hired today, and anything is better than nothing. So, they go to the vineyard and begin working. In the next verse (vs. 5) we see that the landowner does this again at the sixth hour (around noon) and the 9th hour (3pm). But then he goes back at the end of the
workday and hires some more.
Matthew 20:6 -7 – And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing around; and he said to them, ‘Why have you been standing here idle all day long’? They said to him, ‘Because, no one hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You go into the vineyard too.’
The 11th hour is at 5pm, only an hour until quitting time. These workers are desperate. They’ve hung around the marketplace all day despite not being hired. Their great need kept them there. The dialog between them and the landowner shows that to be the case. The landowner in this case doesn’t even offer payment but sends them to work. In their desperation, they figure any chance of some sort of paycheck is better than what they’ll get if they stay in the marketplace or go home.
THE WORKERS’ PAY
The end of the workday comes and it’s time for all those hired that day to be paid. Although the landowner does things a little differently than normal.
Matthew 20:8-9 – When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last group to the first.’ When those hired about the eleventh hour came, each one received a denarius.
The landowner tells the foreman to pay the people hired last, first. And when he does, they each got a full denarius. In other words, they were paid an entire day’s wage despite only working for an hour! So generous is the landowner to these desperate workers that he hired at the very end of the day. I wonder what the workers who were hired earlier in the day were thinking. Would they get even more than they originally agreed? Clearly this vineyard owner is very generous.
Matthew 20:10-12 – When those hired first came, they thought that they would receive more; but each of them also received a denarius. When they received it, they grumbled at the landowner, saying ‘These last men have worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the scorching heat of the day.’
The landowner pays the day laborers the amount they originally agreed upon. They got the same pay for the day as those who worked significantly less hours. Those hired early in the day cried that it wasn’t fair! But the vineyard owner responds to the disgruntled workers.
Matthew 20:13-15 – But he answered and said to one of them, ’Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for a denarius? Take what is yours and go, but 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 what is my own? Or is your eye envious because I am generous?’
The vineyard owner was generous with all of them. Even those that were hired first that day were paid more than they normally would be paid for a day of work. Plus, they had agreed to the terms of working that day.
Since the vineyard owner paid the agreed upon wage, a generous wage but then he points out the sin of the workers. The only reason they became discontented with their wage is because the generous vineyard owner decided to give the workers who deserved less than a denarius a gracious gift. It was then only envy that led the early workers to grumble.
CONCLUSION
Jesus ends the parable with one simple phrase.
Matthew 20:16 – So the last shall be first, and the first last.
Remember the disciples were implying in Matthew 19 that they felt they should receive a greater reward for working longer. They had been with Jesus for several years during his ministry. They had suffered and would suffer earthly consequences for following Him. And they were asking what reward they would receive. But Jesus has been teaching them humility throughout His ministry. Their mindset is all wrong.
Jesus is saying through this parable that, yes, their reward will be great, but no greater than anyone else that comes in the kingdom. Jesus was kind and generous to them to invite them into His vineyard, so to speak. But what about those who follow Jesus who do so without a life of service and devotion. There are some whom He will call later in life to enter the kingdom. Some, maybe even in the last moments of their life. I think of the thief who was crucified next to Jesus. He acknowledged Jesus as Lord while being executed and Jesus rewarded Him by saying that he would be with him in paradise the same day! He had not done nearly what any of the disciples had done, but he would be rewarded in full.
The big message to takeaway from this wonderful parable is this: It is only by the grace of a generous God that any enter His kingdom. Whether one has labored their entire life for Him or is called in their last moments or somewhere in between, it is only by God’s grace that any enter. To say the first will be last and the last will be first is to say that all will stand on equal footing in the kingdom under the awesome grace of God.