The Laborers in the Vineyard
Matthew 20:1 For the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which went out early in the morning to hire labourers into his vineyard.
Matthew 20:2 And when he had agreed with the labourers for a penny a day, he sent them into his vineyard.
Householder Meaning
Householder means master of the house. The Bible says that Moses was faithful over God’s house as a servant, but that Christ as a son is faithful over His own house, whose house we are. The householder in this story is a picture of Christ presiding over His own house, the church, and the laborers are those who respond to His invitation to work in His vineyard.
The Penny
The coin, or penny, mentioned in this story refers to the Roman silver coin the denarion or denarius, which means “containing ten.” It was worth the value of ten donkeys and was considered the acceptable wage for a full day's work at the time. We may recall that In the story of the Good Samaritan, the Samaritan gentleman gave the innkeeper three of these coins to take care of the man who had been injured by robbers.
It was a good wage, and these men who went to work in the householder’s vineyard were quite content to work a day in his vineyard for this amount.
Matthew 20:3 And he went out about the third hour, and saw others standing idle in the marketplace,
Matthew 20:4 And said unto them; Go ye also into the vineyard, and whatsoever is right I will give you. And they went their way.
These men who were hired in the third hour went to work with the promise of being paid whatever was right. No specific amount was mentioned, but it would be an acceptable wage.
Matthew 20:5 Again he went out about the sixth and ninth hour, and did likewise.
In the sixth and the ninth hour, men were again hired in the same manner, that is, with the promise of being paid whatever was right. There could not have been any discussion among the workers as to who was earning what wage. There was just a promise to pay an appropriate amount.
Matthew 20:6 And about the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing idle, and saith unto them, Why stand ye here all the day idle?
Matthew 20:7 They say unto him, Because no man hath hired us. He saith unto them, Go ye also into the vineyard; and whatsoever is right, that shall ye receive.
The full number of workers had not been available at the break of day but were hired over time as more men became available, a simple picture of the passage of time. These workers were accustomed to working a twelve-hour day, from daybreak to evening, from dawn to dusk. And the workers hired at the eleventh hour would work only the remaining hour of the day.
And again, the promise was that they would be paid what was right and acceptable. What would they likely have expected to be paid? For one hour, they would likely have been expecting the twelfth part of a day’s wage.
Matthew 20:8 So when even was come, the lord of the vineyard saith unto his steward, Call the labourers, and give them their hire, beginning from the last unto the first.
Here the householder, the owner of the house, is referred to as the Lord of the Vineyard, again a picture of Christ. It’s now the end of the workday, the time when men can no longer work, and He orders that the laborers be paid their hire, starting from the last ones hired and moving back toward the first.
Matthew 20:9 And when they came that were hired about the eleventh hour, they received every man a penny.
The eleventh-hour workers received a full day’s wage. How generous the Master of the House was! These workers would have certainly been thrilled with this amount, as they had only worked one hour and had been merely promised to be paid whatever was right.
Matthew 20:10 But when the first came, they supposed that they should have received more; and they likewise received every man a penny.
Matthew 20:11 And when they had received it, they murmured against the goodman of the house,
The workers who had worked all day in the vineyard received the same pay as the ones who only worked an hour, and they began to complain about the Master of the House for paying them what they now considered to be a small and unfair amount, based on the amount he had paid the twelfth-hour workers.
Matthew 20:12 Saying, These last have wrought but one hour, and thou hast made them equal unto us, which have borne the burden and heat of the day.
You have made them equal to us, even though they only worked for an hour. We worked all day long in the hot sun, twelve long hours through the heat of the day. How can that be fair? We worked much longer than they worked.
Living for God
The Bible tells us that God is a rewarder of those who seek Him, who serve Him, who live for Him. But is the reward given to the ones who serve the Lord all their lives greater than the reward of those who serve Him only a short amount of time near the end of life? Based on the analogy of this story, it would appear that both receive the same reward.
Matthew 20:13 But he answered one of them, and said, Friend, I do thee no wrong: didst not thou agree with me for a penny?
Friend, I haven’t done you any wrong or any harm. Wasn’t your consent in the morning to work all day for this amount? Have I not honored the agreement?
Matthew 20:14 Take that thine is, and go thy way: I will give unto this last, even as unto thee.
Take what we agreed upon, and go your way. It’s My desire to give to the last worker the same that I’m giving to the first. It’s within My power to do it, and that’s what I want to do.
Matthew 20:15 Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? Is thine eye evil, because I am good?
Is there any law against doing what I want with my own money? Of course not. And are you viewing Me in an evil light because I choose to do something good?
The Last Shall Be First
Matthew 20:16 So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen.
The last shall be first, or, that is, shall be the same as the first concerning their reward. Because many are invited, divinely selected, and appointed, but only a few respond and obtain salvation through Christ; only a few answer the invitation. And all of those who answer the call shall receive the same marvelous reward, eternal life through Jesus Christ.
Many are Called
Many were called to work in the vineyard in this story, and a good number responded to the invitation, but not all. There were still many who did not go to work in the vineyard that day, but only the ones He invited and who agreed to come.
But all who did respond, all who did go to work in the vineyard, regardless of the number of hours, received the same pay, the same reward, whether that was perceived as fair or unfair.
Parable of the Vineyard Meaning
In His goodness and His mercy, the Lord has desired to and has chosen to give the same reward to all who come, to all who respond to His call to serve Him in their lives, an eternal reward great beyond our understanding, a reward that we could never earn.