Jesus’ Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard

Jesus spoke of the kingdom of heaven, God’s rule, in many of his parables. In the parable of the workers in the vineyard he illustrates important principles of God’s kingdom—principles that the religious leaders of his time didn’t fully understand: God’s grace and mercy on the undeserving.

The landowner looks for workers 

Many of Jesus’ parables feature a landowner, a king, or the master of a household as the main character, who usually represents the Lord. Because Jesus is teaching about the kingdom of God, then God himself features predominantly in these stories. The main character in the parable of the workers in the vineyard is a landowner:

For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. (Matthew 20:1)

In this story, the landowner hired workers to work in his vineyard at various times in the day:

He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard. About nine in the morning he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. He told them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.’ So they went. (Matthew 20:2-5)

The workers who showed up first agreed to work for a denarius, the typical daily wage for that time. This was a verbal contract, the terms of which both parties understood. The workers that came later at 9:00 AM agreed to work for “whatever is right.”

Latecomers to the jobsite

But the landowner was still short of workers to complete the job:

He went out again about noon and about three in the afternoon and did the same thing. About five in the afternoon he went out and found still others standing around. He asked them, ‘Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?’ ‘Because no one has hired us,’ they answered. He said to them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard.’ (Matthew 20:5-7)

These workers arrived late in the day looking for work. When the landowner saw them, he immediately hired them, and they didn’t complain. They probably didn’t expect too much in the way of pay, since there was little daylight left to work. But they were happy to have work.

The owner pays the workers in the vineyard

At the end of the day, the landowner instructed his foreman to pay the workers. Paying manual laborers the same day was just and compassionate, since these workers were poor and probably lived hand to mouth. For this reason, in the Mosaic law God commanded same day payment for laborers (Leviticus 19:13, Deuteronomy 24:14-15).

When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired and going on to the first.’ The workers who were hired about five in the afternoon came and each received a denarius. (Matthew 20:8-9)

The foreman then paid the workers in reverse order of when they arrived at the job site, beginning with those who arrived last. He could’ve paid the first arrivers first. But as Jesus told the story, the landowner wanted everyone to know what everyone else was paid. And much to everyone’s surprise, he paid everyone a full day’s wage—a denarius—regardless of how long they worked.

So, when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius. When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner. ‘These who were hired last worked only one hour,’ they said, ‘and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.’ (Matthew 20:10-12)

The workers who worked a full day saw this right away, and so they complained: “It’s not fair.” They had clearly done most of the work, and on top of that, it was hot. If they had been paid first, they might have left without knowing what the later workers got. But once they saw, they felt they were being cheated. Their ugly selfishness was on display.

The owner’s generosity

But the landowner defended his decision:

But he answered one of them, ‘I am not being unfair to you, friend. Didn’t you agree to work for a denarius? Take your pay and go. I want to give the one who was hired last the same as I gave you. Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?’ (Matthew 20:13-15)

Didn’t the landowner have the right to do what he wanted with his money? He wasn’t being unfair to the first workers since they agreed on their pay before they started. They performed their work and received what was agreed upon according to their contract, so why were they complaining? The landowner doesn’t diminish the fact that they fulfilled their agreement and doesn’t deny them their pay for doing so. But they complained that the others unjustly got more than they worked for.

The owner had the right to give above what he had originally promised to any of them. The second workers received what was right, plus whatever additional kindness the owner wanted to give as a bonus. But the late coming workers were shown extraordinary kindness and generosity. They probably had no idea what the landowner intended to give them and went away amazed and thankful. But the early arrivers were envious and even angry.

Historical application to the workers in the vineyard

The more direct application of this parable relates to the Jews and Gentiles historically. In this story God is the landowner who was looking for workers for his kingdom. The vineyard is God’s kingdom. The workers who arrived first are the Jews who received God’s law. Similar to the verbal contract the landowner made with the early workers, the Jews agreed to serve God under the Mosaic law. Those who obeyed God’s law from the heart received the blessings that he promised.

The workers who arrived later are the Gentiles. Before the coming of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Gentiles only had general revelation and had no promises or assurances of salvation from him. But God out of his generosity gave them his grace and mercy. In the Bible God’s grace is his generosity and kindness, anything extra above and beyond what he promises by merit or “contract.” So, it’s undeserved. God’s generosity to the Gentiles was shown when he gave them the opportunity to enter into his kingdom and inherit eternal life. The Gentiles previously had no standing with God and didn’t have Scripture to guide them. But God included them in his plan through the preaching of the gospel. Those Gentiles who believed the gospel would be full members of God’s household of faith, equal to the believing Jews.

Those workers who came late in the day could be the sinners, tax collectors, and prostitutes of Jesus’ day. Today they could be the addicted, the despised, the mentally compromised, those living on the streets, or the irreligious or unchurched. They are all without natural hope or worldly success, but who receive God’s mercy if they respond to God’s grace. Everyone is invited to God’s kingdom, since in God’s eyes everyone has intrinsic value.

Salvation of the Gentiles

In Romans 11, the apostle Paul wrote that after most Jews rejected their Messiah, the Gentiles’ salvation would make them envious:

…. salvation has come to the Gentiles to make Israel envious.  (Romans 11:11)

Later in Romans, Paul elaborated:

For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the Jews on behalf of God’s truth, so that the promises made to the patriarchs might be confirmed and, moreover, that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. (Romans 15:8-9)]

God made good on his promises to the Jews by sending the Messiah. He has now completed his promises to the Jewish people, and they now have all they need to enter God’s kingdom and fulfill their role in it.

But God has also included the Gentiles into his household, not by any direct promise to them, but out of his mercy. Although there were many Old Testament prophecies that God would save the Gentiles, they had no direct access to these prophecies since they didn’t have the law or the prophets. They would have needed to access them through the Jews, but the Jews mostly kept their distance from Gentiles.

The last will be first

Jesus finishes the parable of the workers in the vineyard with this:

So the last will be first, and the first will be last. (Matthew 20:16)

Jesus repeats this saying about the kingdom of God in other teachings. It’s a principle that has a number of applications in different contexts.

In the parable of the workers in the vineyard, the workers who came later were shown extraordinary grace and mercy. These workers represent those who truly understand God’s grace because they are recipients of it and have experienced his mercy first-hand. They understand that God is kind, generous, and merciful, and having received his generous gift have come to know and love God for who he is. They are “first” in that they take the first and higher places in God’s kingdom. Although they heard the gospel later, they responded eagerly, with passion, and in greater numbers.

The first will be last

A parallel passage in Luke 30 states:

“There will be weeping there, and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves thrown out. ²⁹ People will come from east and west and north and south, and will take their places at the feast in the kingdom of God. ³⁰ Indeed there are those who are last who will be first, and first who will be last.”   (Luke 13:28-30)

In this teaching the people Jesus is speaking to are the unbelieving Jews of his time. Many were depending on their own righteousness to be accepted by God and couldn’t understand Jesus’ emphasis on God’s grace. They had no idea that God would ever save Gentiles. But those who come from the “east, west, north, and south” are clearly coming from gentile nations.

Most Jewish leaders of Jesus’ time viewed God as strict, judgmental, and who only gives people what they deserve and nothing more. They thought the Gentiles should never have been so blessed to receive anything from God. For God to allow them into his kingdom made these irreligious Gentiles equal to the Jews. Not understanding nor embracing God’s kindness and mercy toward others, these leaders—and all those who think like them—are now forced to take a lower (last) place in God’s kingdom. They heard the gospel first, but their response was reserved and in far fewer numbers.

Grace and mercy on the undeserving

As a broader application for today, God loves all and wants everyone to love and serve him, whether they arrive early or late in the day. The thief on the cross repented at the last hour of his life (Luke 23:39-43). There was nothing he did to deserve it, but he also entered God’s kingdom and received salvation the same as the most devout believer. Those who have wasted most of their lives with wild living, alcohol or drug abuse, or a selfish lifestyle, and then repent in their later years, are still welcomed into God’s kingdom. The angels rejoice, and there is no jealousy or envy among brothers and sisters.

Today, both the life-long faithful and those who come into the kingdom later in life receive the same salvation: God forgives their sins, gives them the Holy Spirit, adopts them as his children, and promises them eternal life in his presence.

God is constantly working in his vineyard, and he always welcomes those who want to join in the work. And the Lord will reward anyone for whatever faithful service they perform for him, not based on merit, but based again on his grace. But unlike salvation, our rewards for service will vary in proportion to our obedience and faithfulness (Matthew 25:14-23).

And one final point: God strongly reproves those who criticize his generosity as unfair and who despise those whom he forgives.  People who do this forget that they don’t deserve anything they receive from God either. Only the envious and the entitled view God’s kindness as unfair. Their selfishness prevents them from understanding and experiencing God’s grace and receiving his mercy.

Is God’s generosity unfair?

In the parable of the workers in the vineyard, Jesus showcases God’s generosity and kindness. Doesn’t God have the right to be generous to those who previously had no standing with him?  He promises that anyone who enters God’s kingdom receives his full blessing of salvation, whether they receive it early or late in life.

Jesus insisted that God’s grace is not unfair because it shows who God really is. He is kind and generous, and nothing we receive from him is “deserved.” And God wants everyone to know that. It’s especially important to him that believers in Christ understand this so they can proclaim this good news to others, so they can know him and receive his mercy and forgiveness for themselves. And we should never resent it when the sinful repent and come into God’s kingdom but should rejoice with the angels when they do.

Are you offended by God’s generosity? Repent of this and receive his gifts of life and forgiveness for yourself, and you will become a member of his family, saved by his grace.

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