(From a message given November 28, 2021 at Beatty Baptist Church)
The Parable—Matthew 20:1-16
The parables of Jesus are short stories that use analogies to teach about real things. Jesus spoke in parables to conceal the meaning from those He knew would not accept it (such as the crowds in general), and to reveal the meaning to those He knew who would (such as His disciples). The parable we’re about to look at was intended for His disciples. It’s found in Matthew chapter 20, beginning in verse 1:
For the kingdom of Heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. And when he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard.
And he went out about the third hour and saw others standing idle in the marketplace, and said to them, You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right I will give you. So they went.
Again he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour, and did likewise.
And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing idle, and said to them, Why do you stand here idle all day? They said to him, Because no one hired us. He said to them, You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right you will receive.
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. And when those came who were hired about the eleventh hour, they each received a denarius. But when the first came, they supposed that they would receive more; and they likewise received each a denarius. And when they had received it, they murmured against the landowner, saying, 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. But he answered one of them and said, Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? 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? Or is your eye evil because I am good?
So the last will be first, and the first last. For many are called, but few chosen.
Jesus described a situation that was common at the time, but was handled in an uncommon, controversial manner. Back then, even not that long ago, people were paid at the end of each day’s work. Today our employers pay us every one or two weeks. I figure, the way things are going, in a couple hundred years, they might not pay us until we retire!
In Bible times, people who didn’t have steady employment would go to the marketplace early in the morning with their tools to wait for someone to hire them. One of my commentators from the 1800’s remembers seeing this situation played out before him at a marketplace in the middle-east, even down to some being hired at the eleventh hour. 1 I’ve seen people in Las Vegas waiting for work at a Home Depot parking lot and it reminded me of this passage.
Early in the morning was literally at dawn, and a full day’s work lasted until sunset. They didn’t have clocks back then, so 12 hours was measured from sunrise to sunset, which meant in the summer their 12 hour days were longer than our 12 hour days.
This landowner evidently wasn’t satisfied with the amount of work being accomplished, so he went out at various times during the day to look for more workers. Even late in the day, he had not given up searching, which tells me he had a sense of urgency in getting the work done. This reminds me of what Jesus said earlier in Matthew 9:37-38 when He told His disciples to pray because the harvest is great but the workers are few.
The unusual part of this story is that the landowner intentionally paid his workers in reverse order so as to make his generosity known to those who worked all day, and to reveal what was in their hearts. If he had paid his all-day workers first, they would have left without knowing how much the others were paid, and they would have been happy in their ignorance.
While what the landowner did may seem unfair, it was not. The first workers received exactly what they had bargained for. Both the workers and the landowner fulfilled their sides of the agreement. They were happy with the conditions of the agreement before they began working, and those conditions hadn’t changed. They expected to work through the heat of the day—it wasn’t a surprise. So there was no cause for them to be angry. But the first workers were jealous (…that’s what the ‘evil eye‘ means…) because they witnessed their employer’s generosity to those who didn’t have to work through the heat of the day. 2
The landowner was good—he gave his first workers what they agreed to, but they didn’t think he was good. Jesus then ended the parable with, “So the last will be first, and the first last. For many are called, but few chosen.“
The Context—Matthew 19:16-30
So, what does it mean? How can we understand this parable?
The parable of the laborers begins with the word “For,” which is similar to the word “therefore.” It connects this parable with what Jesus said earlier in chapter 19. So to get the context, let’s go back one chapter.
In verse 16 of chapter 19, a man came to Jesus and asked Him, “Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?” On the surface, this guy seemed to have the right focus. He was interested in eternal things. But the question he asked, “What good thing shall I do…,” betrayed his belief that eternal life is earned. He was seeking to make an agreement with God so he could have everlasting life. Isn’t this like what the first workers in the parable of the laborers did with the landowner? They made an agreement with the landowner about their pay for working all day in the vineyard. So, like those first workers, this man was seeking to make an agreement as well.
Jesus responded in verse 17, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, God. …“
Jesus was not denying His deity here. There are plenty of other places in the gospels where He claims to be equal with God. Jesus was only asking why the man thought He is good if He is merely a man, merely a ‘good teacher’.
Jesus is good, because He is God. But that did not stop many from becoming offended through the things He said and did, and people murmured at Him at times. The scribes and Pharisees complained when Jesus showed mercy to sinners and tax collectors—people the Pharisees didn’t think had earned any favor with God.
In the parable of the laborers, the all-day workers murmured against the landowner when they saw him showing favor on those who didn’t work very long. They didn’t think their employer was good, even though he was. The landowner asked them in chapter 20 verse 15, “…is your eye evil because I am good?“
This man called Jesus a ‘good teacher‘, but he knew little of God’s grace. He thought God’s favor had to be earned. If he somehow could do enough good works to gain eternal life, but then he saw God give eternal life to others only on the basis of grace without any works, he probably would have complained as well.
But the man was looking to make an agreement, so Jesus gave the conditions, “… But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.“
He said to Him, Which?…
Seems like a strange thing to ask, doesn’t it? Did this guy think only some of the commands are essential? No, he didn’t. I think he wanted to show off his righteousness as Jesus listed the commands one by one:
“… Jesus said, You shall not murder, …”
“Yes, I’ve kept that one!“
“You shall not commit adultery, …”
“Of course, I’ve kept that one!,”
“You shall not steal, …”
“And I’ve kept that one as well!…“
“…You shall not bear false witness, Honor your father and your mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
These commands come primarily from the Ten Commandments in Exodus chapter 20. The last one comes from Leviticus 19:18, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” It’s interesting to me that Jesus only mentioned commands that deal with human relationships. He didn’t say “Only worship God,” “Don’t make any images,” or “Keep the Sabbath holy.” He also didn’t mention coveting your neighbor’s things.
These commands were the ones God gave to Israel soon after they came out of Egypt. God had rescued them from cruel bondage after showing Himself strong against Pharaoh. Through Moses He brought His people to the base of Mount Sinai where He made an agreement with them—a covenant. Exodus chapter 19 is about that agreement. Beginning in verse 3:
And Moses went up to God, and Jehovah called to him from the mountain, saying, Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel: You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you unto Myself. Now therefore, if you will listen to obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine. And you shall be unto Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words which you shall speak unto the children of Israel.
And Moses came and summoned the elders of the people, and laid before them all these words which Jehovah had commanded him. And all the people answered together and said, All that Jehovah has spoken we will do. So Moses brought back the words of the people unto Jehovah.
Here we see Israel making an agreement with God: to do whatever God commanded them to do. It was right after this that God gave them the Ten Commandments, along with a bunch of other commands.
Now maybe they didn’t realize what they were getting themselves into, so after hearing what God required of them, they had another opportunity to confirm their agreement. In Exodus 24:3, we read:
And Moses came and told the people all the words of Jehovah and all the judgments. And all the people answered with one voice and said, All the words which Jehovah has spoken we will do.
Knowing what was required of them, they still confirmed the agreement they made earlier. This agreement became known as the Mosaic Covenant. We know it today as the Old Covenant or the Law. Israel bound themselves to obey everything that God commanded.
In the parable of the laborers, the first workers who agreed with the landowner for a denarius a day symbolize those Israelites who agreed to the terms of their covenant. The Israelites said they would obey whatever God said to them. In turn, God would make them His special, treasured people—a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. This was the contract they made with their employer.
In Matthew 19, the man that came to Jesus seeking eternal life was under that same contract. He was obligated to keep all of those commandments. But he didn’t think of them as a burden. In fact, he claimed to have kept all of them. Look at verse 20:
The young man said to Him, All these things I have kept from my youth. What do I still lack?
This man claimed to have kept the Law—the terms of the agreement. But somehow he knew it was not enough. He asked Jesus, “What do I still lack?” because he knew there are more conditions to keep. And it’s true. Even if you could keep all of the commandments in the Law, it would still not be enough. God never promised eternal life to those who keep the Law; for such people He only promised blessings here on earth.
Keeping the Law is not good enough to get you eternal life, so Jesus added more conditions for the rich young man to keep…
Jesus said to him, If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in Heaven; and come, follow Me.
But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had many possessions.
These additional terms were not what this young man was expecting. He wanted to retain all that he had achieved in life, and add eternal life as the final crowning achievement. He thought he was already close to eternal life because of all the things he had—all that God had blessed him with. But Jesus told him he had to abandon all of that. Give it to the poor, and follow Him.
Suddenly his hope turned to sorrow. He realized this was much more than he was willing to agree to, and so he left very downcast. The world still had too much of a hold on him. Verse 23:
Then Jesus said to His disciples, Truly, I say to you that it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of Heaven. And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.
Always open to a teaching moment, Jesus, the ‘good Teacher,’ told His disciples of the extreme difficulty of a rich man entering the kingdom of heaven. It’s just as impossible as a camel walking through the eye of a needle.
Rich people aren’t used to such difficulties. They have it pretty easy in this world. They don’t have to stand in the marketplace, waiting for someone else to hire them to work their their fields or vineyards. They don’t spend the day sweating in hard labor under the heat of the sun. Rich people are the ones who hire others to do the hard work for them. They prefer the easy life. And as such, they may imagine they are more blessed of God. Verse 25:
When His disciples heard it, they were greatly astonished, saying, Who then can be saved?
Perhaps the disciples envied that rich young man, thinking he was close to God because of his blessings. When they heard he had kept the commandments, maybe they admired him more, thinking he was even closer to God then they were. But Jesus smashed this misconception with a very large hammer, and the disciples were shocked. If those God had blessed in this life with material wealth could not enter heaven, then what hope was there for anyone else? What hope was there for them?
But Jesus looked at them and said to them, With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.
The rich man and the disciples thought only of what is possible or impossible according to their own merits and abilities. Isn’t that the way we tend think as well? Even when we say we trust in God, many times we think there must be some small part we can do to earn more favor. But Jesus said, No, there is nothing we can do to earn salvation. But that’s not a reason to give up hope, for nothing is impossible with God.
Then Peter answered and said to Him, Behold, we have left everything and followed You. What then will there be for us?
I wonder what Peter was thinking. Obviously he had latched on to the additional conditions Jesus offered to the rich man, and perhaps he thought he had met those conditions. He had left his family and business and gladly followed Jesus. What reward would that get him?
And Jesus said to them, Truly I say to you, that in the regeneration, when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My name, shall receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life.
Jesus made them a promise. In the regeneration, after Jesus restores all things to the way they should be, He will sit on His throne of glory, and His disciples will also sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel. They will have positions of authority in His kingdom.
On a side note: Jesus said the twelve disciples would sit on twelve thrones. We know one of those twelve was Judas Iscariote, who later betrayed Jesus and fell away. What happened to his throne? Would it remain empty? No.
In Acts chapter 1, the apostles cast lots to see who would replace Judas, and the lot fell on Matthias… who we know literally nothing about. Personally, I believe Paul was God’s chosen replacement for Judas, but that’s just my opinion, and it’s likely not worth anything. Lets get back to what we know Jesus said.
Jesus also gave promises for all who would believe in Him. Those promises are for us. Everyone who has followed Jesus, who has denied themselves the things of this world, who has taken up the cross and followed Him for His name’s sake, shall (as Jesus also said in Mark 10:30) receive much more in this life than they gave up. The work we do for Jesus has benefits in this life. But there is one more benefit that everyone who follows Jesus will receive, and it is not based on any work we do here on earth. Jesus said those who follow Him will not earn eternal life: They will inherit eternal life (vs. 29).
Inheritance is not based on works; it’s based on relationship. Workers, servants, employees, slaves… these do not receive an inheritance. Children receive an inheritance, because they are children. We receive eternal life because we are children of God—because we have been born of God, not because we worked for it. Verse 30:
But many who are first will be last, and the last first.
That sounds familiar, doesn’t it? Jesus ended the parable of the laborers in the next chapter the same way. In fact, the whole parable is sandwiched between this phrase. So that is what the parable is about. Let’s take one more look at it.
The Parable Explained
In chapter 20, verse 1, Jesus said this parable is about the kingdom of Heaven. It’s not about the way things are done on earth. Here you get paid for the amount of work you do. Those who work half a day will get paid half of what those who work a full day get paid. In heaven, there will be rewards. Some will get more and others less. But this parable is not about those rewards. As we saw in the last half of chapter 19, it’s about eternal life. And this can be a bit confusing, because we know we can’t work to gain eternal life. So how are we to understand this parable?
Most of the commentaries I’ve read focus on identifying who the different workers are. Some say the first workers are the Jews, and the others are the Gentiles. Some say the first workers are those who get saved early in life and the others those who get saved later in life. I’m sure you can apply it those ways. But almost all of them ignored the greater context that included the rich young ruler asking what he needed to do to gain eternal life.
To understand the meaning of this parable, I think the most important thing to keep in mind is that Jesus gave this parable as part of His answer to Peter’s question in 19:27, “Behold, we have left everything and followed You. What then will there be for us?” So let’s see what Jesus was teaching His disciples in this story, beginning with some observations about the workers:
- Only the first workers made a contract with the landowner to work for a denarius a day. Their pay was worked out before hand. The other workers made no contract. They worked for the landowner solely based on his promise to give them what was right. They trusted in the goodness of the landowner. They had more faith. The first workers needed an agreement before they would work, showing a lack of trust.
- Because of their agreement, the first workers expected to be paid their denarius at the end of the day. They likely had money on their minds throughout the day. But the other workers, with no knowledge of what they would receive, probably didn’t focus so much on their pay. I think they were more focused on the work itself and helping the landowner get the job done.
- The first workers, having a guaranteed income for the day, did their work normally. The other workers, perhaps believing they had to make up for lost time to have a worthwhile income, likely worked harder.
Some of these are conjectures, but I’m pretty sure the later workers had a different mindset than the early ones. Yet, with these differences, the landowner still paid them all the same.
I think all of them expected to be paid based on the amount of work performed. But we see the amount of work had absolutely nothing to do with their pay. Everyone received the same denarius. The first workers received not one cent more benefit than the others, showing a disconnect between the work they did and their reward. This is strong evidence that this parable is about salvation, not rewards.
When Peter asked, “What will there be for us?,” he was putting himself in the position of the first workers in the parable. Yes, there would be rewards. Jesus said he and the other disciples would sit on twelve thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel. But Jesus knew that just their knowing this would set their minds on the prestige and honor that it would give them. Their minds would be on their rewards. So He told this parable to warn them not to focus on those things, or they might be disappointed by the richness of God’s grace on others when the final payday arrived. Their focus was to be on the work. They were to trust in their good Lord to give them what is right, whether they knew what that is or not.
Sometimes I think we assume those twelve disciples will receive greater rewards than all other believers—after all, they were so close to Jesus. Maybe they thought so as well. But we don’t know that, and I think Jesus was warning them not to get too conceited when He said, “The last shall be first and the first last.” Yes, those disciples all suffered greatly, and most died cruel deaths for their faith. But there are plenty of others who suffered just as much, some that we know nothing about. And there are still others who never suffered at all for their faith. And all will receive the same eternal life, because it is all by grace through faith.
Commentator Frank Binford Hole wrote this:
Here then is a lesson that we all take a long time to learn. The Lord will not undervalue work, but He will value even more highly the simple faith in Himself—His rightness, His wisdom, His word—which will go on serving Him, even though late in the day, without much thought as to reward, or any attempt at a bargain. The faith and love which would move any to serve Him thus is sweeter to Him than the actual work they may be able to accomplish. We shall profit if we read, mark, learn and inwardly digest this parable.
So the point of the parable is that we should not be focusing on the reward so much as the Rewarder. We need to keep working in faith, because we love Jesus, not because we want more jewels in our crown, or a higher speed internet connection in our heavenly mansion. Let’s fix our eyes on Jesus, trusting in His wisdom and goodness. Let us love Him more just because of who He is.