The Parable of the Vineyard Workers

“That’s not fair!” This exclamation does not appear in the parable of the vineyard workers, but it would certainly fit.

These words perfectly express the resentment of the workers who had “borne the burden and the heat of the day” (Matthew 20:12).

They felt the vineyard owner had been unfair to them. After all, they had worked the entire day. Other men had joined them later in the morning, and even in the afternoon, working fewer hours.

Some had worked no more than an hour, and yet they all received the same pay. How was that fair?

Many of us in the modern world might feel the same way. What was it that Jesus was teaching? What was His point in this parable?

The parable of the vineyard workers in context

As with all Scripture, we must read this parable in context. We must examine what had happened that led up to Jesus teaching this lesson. Also, we need to look at the people He was addressing.

There is a clue in an expression Jesus used close to the end of the parable: “So the last will be first, and the first last” (verse 16). These same words, in reverse order, appear at the end of the preceding chapter (Matthew 19:30).

So the parable of the vineyard workers is linked to a discussion Jesus had with His disciples that is recorded in the preceding chapter. And what prompted that discussion was an encounter with a young man of wealth and influence (Matthew 19:16-22).

The young man asked Jesus what he needed to do to have eternal life (verse 16). Jesus answered, “If you want to enter into life, keep the commandments” (verse 17). The young man replied that he had kept the commandments all his life. “What do I still lack?” (verse 20).

Out of love, Jesus told this young man to “sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me” (verse 21).

Saddened at the prospect of giving up his abundant wealth, the man walked away.

Astonishing the disciples

The disciples were astonished by the statement Jesus made immediately after the rich young man left. He observed that “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” (verse 24).

The disciples, who had grown up in a culture that associated wealth with God’s blessing and approval, were understandably shaken. They asked, “Who then can be saved?” (verse 25).

Jesus reassured His disciples, telling them, “With God all things are possible” (verse 26). Christ went on to explain that God is mindful of whatever sacrifices Christians make to obey, and that everyone who has given anything up to follow Him “shall receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life” (verse 29).

There are two parts to this assurance. First, God notices the sacrifices His followers make and promises to restore those losses “a hundredfold.” Second, God promises these people “eternal life.”

That second promise is the same for everyone who has faithfully responded to God.

Elements of the parable of the vineyard workers

Jesus often used common agricultural imagery in His parables. Vineyards were an ordinary part of life in Judea and Galilee and would have been easy for His disciples to understand.

Furthermore, vineyard imagery had already appeared in Scripture (Isaiah 5:7). This Old Testament parable was well-known.

Jesus set up the story in a way that would not have surprised anyone listening. As the vineyard owner watched his grapes ripening, he would have been preparing for the harvest.

That meant hiring extra workers to pick the grapes at the right time. There was no time to waste because the sugar content of the grapes, and thus their market value, would change with each passing day. The work had to be completed quickly.

Finding the workers

The vineyard owner in the parable goes out in search of workers several times in one day, presumably always at the marketplace, though the location is specified only once (Matthew 20:3). Day laborers would have gathered there in hopes of finding work.

The first group of workers, hired at the beginning of the day, agree to work for a denarius. A denarius was a standard daily wage for laborers in the time of Christ.

The parable does not indicate why the vineyard owner continued to return to the market to find more laborers. Thus the reason the vineyard owner returned several times is not important in understanding the parable. In this case, the why is not the focus of the story.

The workers hired later in the day were not told they would be paid a denarius. They were only told that they would receive “whatever is right” (verses 4, 7).

Reversing the order

At the end of the day, when it was time to pay his workers, the vineyard owner told his steward to handle this task, but to begin with those workers hired last (verse 8). This reversal would have reminded Christ’s disciples what He had said just prior to beginning this parable: the “first will be last, and the last first” (Matthew 19:30).

This is also the point at which the surprises of the parable begin. The first shock was the pay given to those individuals hired at the last hour. They received a denarius each (Matthew 20:9)—the very same amount promised to the first workers hired.

There were two other coins of lesser value in circulation at the time. Rather than paying these workers a silver denarius, the vineyard owner could have used the copper quadrans or bronze sestertius. Instead, he chose to pay a full denarius to each.

The parable does not specify how much the vineyard owner gave the workers he hired during the third, sixth and ninth hours (approximately 9 a.m., 12 noon and 3 p.m., respectively). However, since those hired at the last hour and those hired at the beginning of the day each received a denarius, we can assume that all of the workers received that same amount.

The evil eye in the parable of the vineyard workers

When those workers hired first saw how much the vineyard owner paid the other workers, they expected they would receive even more. So when they received a denarius, they were not happy and grumbled against the owner. He patiently listened to their complaint before responding. Significantly, he called the spokesman for the workers, “friend” (verse 13).

Do we resent the successes and blessings of others? Do we judge their spiritual level? After pointing out that he had fulfilled his duty by paying the agreed amount, the vineyard owner then addressed the real issue. He used a common idiom—ophthalmos sou ponēros—to bring this point home, asking the spokesman whether his eye was evil (verse 15).

What did this mean? According to Barnes’ Notes, “The eye is called evil in such cases, because envy and malice show themselves directly in the eye” (commentary on Matthew 20:15). In essence, the eye symbolizes the way we view the world, and they viewed it with envy.

The workers hired first did not have the perspective of the vineyard owner. This man, likened to the Kingdom of Heaven (verse 1), and therefore to God, looked at the needs of the workers. As Simon J. Kistemaker notes in The Parables:

“At the end of the day, the employer paid the laborers who were hired during the course of that day not in relation to the hours they had worked but in accordance with the current need of their dependents. He was a most benevolent person” (p. 76).

Had the workers hired later in the day received any less than a denarius, they would have had difficulty feeding their families. Unlike some wealthy people of Jesus’ time, the vineyard owner in this parable cared about the needs of all his workers.

Understanding the parable of the vineyard workers

The best way to understand this parable is through the words of the vineyard owner himself. When he asked the unhappy workers whether they were envious because he was good, he was asking a question Jesus meant for all of us to ask ourselves.

Clearly, the vineyard owner represents God, who is far more generous than any human. He understands our hopes and fears, and He supplies our needs abundantly. He does not give to us based on what we have done for Him.

As well, eternal life, the second aspect of Christ’s assurance at the end of the preceding chapter (Matthew 19:29), is not something that can be given in differing amounts. No one can have half as much of eternal life as someone else.

More important, eternal life is not something we earn. It is a gift of God (Romans 6:23). It is something God offers because of His generous and loving nature.

This does not mean that what we do is unimportant. Grace does not give us a free pass to do whatever we want. Like the workers in the vineyard, we must serve our Master, obeying Him in all He commands.

Although the gift of eternal life will be the same for all who work in God’s vineyard, as this parable pictures, there will be different rewards in the Kingdom as well. That is the subject of a different parable, the parable of the talents. (For more on this subject, see our blog post “The Meaning and Lessons of the Parable of the Talents.”)

The last will be first

Finally, we should consider the significance of the phrase that appears just before the parable, in its middle and at the end. That phrase, though the wording differs, is about a reversal:

• “But many who are first will be last, and the last first” (Matthew 19:30).
• “Beginning with the last to the first” (Matthew 20:8)
• “So the last will be first, and the first last” (verse 16).

This expression is a way of saying that many preconceived ideas and expectations will be reversed.

Just as the workers in the vineyard had false expectations, many of the people of Christ’s day were “steeped in the doctrine of merit” (The Parables, p. 77) with false expectations regarding their works.

Similarly, many of those same people took it for granted that wealth always indicated God’s approval and blessing. What this parable shows is that many of these preconceived ideas will be overturned in the Kingdom.

Embracing the parable of the vineyard workers

What should this parable mean for us today?

To begin with, we should take comfort in the knowledge that the gift of eternal life is just that—a gift. We don’t have to earn it. Yes, we must respond to God in a positive way, and we must obey Him, but eternal life is a gift.

Second, we should reassess some of our own preconceived ideas and prejudices in light of the teaching of the Bible. Do we assume that our blessings indicate that God is pleased with us?

Third, we must consider whether we are guilty of having “evil eyes,” or looking at others with less than generous hearts. Do we resent the successes and blessings of others? Do we judge their spiritual level?

Finally, we should stop ourselves from thinking that God isn’t fair. He provides for our needs, and often blesses us beyond those needs. He always gives us more than we deserve. We are in no position to grumble at the end of our day in His vineyard. As we meditate on God’s mercy and justice, we grow in faith—assurance that our loving God always has our eternal best interests in mind.

We are to learn not to focus on comparing ourselves with others (which is not wise, 2 Corinthians 10:12), but on appreciating the abundant gifts and blessings God has given and will give.

For more on God’s amazing gifts, see “The Gift of Eternal Life” and “Joint Heirs With Christ.”