11 “And on receiving it they grumbled at the master of the house, 12 saying, ‘These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.’ (Matthew 20:11–12 ESV)
Jesus taught this parable to His disciples (Matt.19:23-30). He compared God’s eternal rule and reign in heaven, and citizenship therein, to a master and his laborers. This master went out (ἐξέρχομαι; exerchomai) or initiated an act of hiring laborers or workers for his vineyard.
The master and the laborers agreed to a denarius a day. A denarius (δηνάριον; denarion) was a common laborer’s wage for one long day’s work (Matt. 20:2, 9; Mark 14:5; Luke 10:35; 20:24; John 6:7; Rev 6:6). Upon this mutual agreement, the master sent the laborers into his vineyard (Matt. 20:1-2).
At the third hour of the day (9:00 am), the master went to the marketplace (agora). This was the location where the unemployed generally gathered perhaps hoping someone would hire them for the day. The master chose to do so promising to pay them what was right. The unemployed workers agreed and went to the vineyard (20:3-4).
The master went back to the marketplace and continued to hire more workers. He did so at the sixth hour (Noon), the ninth hour (3:00 pm), and even at the eleventh hour (5:00 pm). He sent all of them to the vineyard presumably promising to pay them what was right (20:5-7).
Quitting time arrives at the twelfth hour (6:00 pm). When this evening hour came, the master instructed his foreman to call all the laborers. This was so the foreman can pay them their day’s wages. God’s Law required a prompt, daily compensation of day laborers (Lev. 19:13; Deut. 24:14-15; James 5:4).
The master instructed his foreman to pay the laborers hired last first, and sequentially the other laborers until the laborers hired first were paid last. The foreman did as his master directed him. Each laborer received a denarius.
The laborers the master initially hired at the beginning of the day mistakenly thought they would receive more. However, they also received the agreed upon denarius (Matt. 20:8-10). They became upset. Even though they received their agreed upon wages, they were not happy. They grumbled at the master of the house. To grumble (γογγύζω; gongyzo) means to mummer and complain.
In this context, the verb refers to a persistent complaining and discontent. The biblical text tells us why. The complaining workers continually said to the master, “These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.”
“The nature of their grumbling showed what kind of men they were. They did not say, “You have put us on a par with the late-comers,” but “you have put them on a par with us.” In other words, they were not only dissatisfied with what they themselves had received; they were also—perhaps especially—envious of what had been given to the others! They talk about the “arduous toil” and the “sweltering—or scorching—heat” which they have borne,” explains Dr. William Hendriksen.
“The main reason for their sullen dissatisfaction is that others, though last, were made to be first, and that they themselves, the first, had been made last. But for this dissatisfaction they were themselves to blame, their sin being a triple one: a. the mercantile spirit that had marked them from the very beginning; b. their failure to recognize the rights of the owner; and c. loathsome envy.”
As with all of Jesus’ parables, there is more here than meets the eye. Jesus was not just teaching a story about economics and labor relations. He was instructing His disciples (Matt. 19:23) about the nature of God’s saving grace and to not begrudge the Lord for His saving grace.
The master of the vineyard addressed the dissatisfied laborers. He exposed their, and perhaps our own, threefold root of unhappiness when God’s grace is properly understood in the last being first and the first last.
We will study the master’s response when next we meet. Until then, repent for any envy or complaining you may have towards individuals receiving God’s grace who you believe are unworthy of such an act by God. Of course they’re unworthy. So were we. If you think otherwise, you do not understand the nature of your sin and the greatness of God’s grace.
Soli deo Gloria!
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