The Parable of the Vineyard Workers in Matthew 20:1-16 has notoriously been obscure and confusing. What is the marketplace, and what are the fields? What does the denarius represent? Who is the foreman? Is the landowner being unfair, and if so, is that a good thing? Who are the various laborers he calls throughout the day, and what do the times of day represent? And what does this mean for missions in our world today?
In light of these uncertainties, Western Christians have too often contextualized this passage (among many in the Bible) to resonate with our modern, individualistic sensibilities. But is this the way Jesus intended his parable to be understood?
The Kingdom of Heaven
To understand what Jesus really meant, we first need to examine the context of the Vineyard Laborers. If we zoom out to the big picture, Matthew’s gospel is primarily written to Jews. His main purpose is to convince them that Jesus is the Messiah they’ve been looking for. He quotes fifty-five Old Testament prophecies – more than any other gospel – and shows Jesus fulfilled each one.
Matthew relies heavily on the Jewish Scriptures because he is on a mission not just to demonstrate that Jesus is the Messiah foretold, but that he is very different than the one they were looking for. Matthew reveals throughout his gospel that Jesus is more than a political Messiah to the Jews; he is the Messiah to all of mankind. A Messiah who reigns in the hearts and minds of men. Furthermore, Matthew shows that the ‘Kingdom of Heaven’ – a phrase exclusive to Matthew – is much bigger than the Jews expect. In many ways, He is the opposite of what they are looking for.
Reversal of Fortune
Let’s zoom in to the narrower context of the surrounding passages. The parable of the vineyard workers is surrounded by stories on reversals of fortune. Just prior to the parable, we meet the rich young man. His greed ultimately and sadly prevents him from experiencing the Kingdom of Heaven. Immediately following the parable, the disciples squabble over who will have the places of highest honor in Messiah’s kingdom. Amidst all that, Matthew 19 shows Jesus rebuking his disciples for thinking children were not worthy of his time.
Jesus’ responses to each situation are encapsulated at the end of the vineyard laborers’ story, “The last will be first, and the first will be last.” To say it another way, Jesus is a bull in the china shop of expectations, shattering them with every interaction. He is teaching that God acts counter to our fallen intuition, and that the kingdom of Heaven is one of great reversals. The slave will be master. The first will be last. The children and outcasts will be in places of honor while the rich, powerful, and prideful will miss out.
The Parable
With that background we can now approach the text. To briefly recap the parable, there is a landowner who wants help with his vineyard. He goes out early in the morning (probably 6 a.m.) and hires men from the market to work in his fields for the day. This was a very common situation in Israel at the time of Jesus, and his listeners would easily connect with the parable’s setup. The landowner agrees to pay them a denarius (a common day’s labor wage at the time) and they go to work. Then he goes back to the marketplace FOUR more times (9 a.m., noon, 3 p.m., and 5 p.m.), each time sending more laborers to his vineyard, and telling them he will pay them ‘whatever is right.’
At 6 p.m., he tells his foreman to pay all the workers. However, the foreman is told to pay the laborers in the order of last-to-first, and to pay everyone the same amount – one denarius. The workers who showed up at 5 p.m. (and therefore did only 1 hour of labor) receive their denarius first. The workers who showed up at 6 a.m. (and thus worked 12 hours) are the last to receive their denarius.
Unsurprisingly, the first workers are incredulous and angry at being paid the same as those who worked less than 10 percent as long as they did. And the landowner responds by saying, in a nutshell, (1) I have not been unfair to you, and (2) I have the right to do whatever I want with my money. Then Jesus ends with the famous words: “The last will be first, and the first will be last.” This statement (which bookends the parable) is the key to understanding the main point of the passage.
So, what is Jesus trying to teach us through this parable?
It Isn’t About You
Let’s identify the laborers in the parable and consider what this means for global missions. First, let me give you the classic Western interpretation of this parable. It goes something like this: eternal life through salvation is represented by the denarius that every worker received. That salvation is available for anyone at any time and is equivalent for all. It doesn’t matter when it is accepted or how long you have labored for the kingdom. It doesn’t matter if you accept Christ at the age of 5 or 95. If you heed the call of the Spirit and receive the forgiveness of sins through Christ’s sacrifice, you will be in the kingdom forevermore.
Laboring in the field is the call of every believer. It doesn’t matter if you labor for one minute or your entire life, you will receive eternal life if you are called to labor for the kingdom. Furthermore, God continues to reach out to people throughout their lives. He goes back to the market and invites them to be in relationship with him. This interpretation certainly resonates with our modern, individualistic, Western sensibilities – and everything I have just said about salvation is true. But is it the interpretation Jesus would give? I doubt it.
It's About the Nations
Jesus is speaking to first century Jews. His listeners had a strong collectivist Near Eastern mindset. They were looking for national deliverance from their oppressors, and very much despised outsiders. In fact, they had such an ‘us vs. them’ mentality that they grouped everyone who wasn’t a Jew into a single category: Gentile. Also, remember that Jesus is attempting to show them a much bigger and different deliverance than what they’re looking for (i.e., the Kingdom of Heaven).
Put yourself in that mindset and try out this interpretation: the Kingdom of Heaven is open to all nations, peoples, tribes, and tongues – not just the Jews (i.e. the first group of laborers called). This kingdom is available to anyone who wants to labor for the true Messiah. And God will continue to bring more and more nations and people groups into his Kingdom of Heaven. He will proceed throughout history by continually ‘going back to the market.’
Jews and Gentiles
Why would I say it like that? This interpretation is compelling for at least a handful of reasons:
The main point of Matthew’s gospel.
As noted above, Matthew’s goal is to show that Jesus is indeed the Messiah foretold in the Jewish Scriptures, but whose kingdom is very different from the one the Jews were anticipating. To understand Matthew’s message, we need to be in the mindset of a first-century Jew looking out for the Kingdom of Heaven. That means a collectivist mindset seeking Israel’s political deliverance from her oppressors, as opposed to individual, spiritual salvation. Matthew transforms the Jews’ understanding of God’s kingdom to show a much broader and different salvation than they were expecting.
The laborers are called in groups, not as individuals.
Yes, individuals are called, but they each come in a group during the various hours of the day. Looking at the laborers as groupings of people aligns nicely with seeing the groups of people as individuals who are part of collective nations, tribes, and tongues.
The parable ultimately divides the workers into just two groups.
The first group, and all the others. Throughout the parable, the contrast is between the first group of workers and all the other groups collectively. There are no distinctions among the later groups besides when they are called. The nation of Israel was the first and only group of people called by God for the Kingdom of Heaven in the Old Testament.
The first group is the only one that receives a contract.
Notice how the first group of laborers receives an agreement with a set wage (i.e. a contract) for their labor. All of the remaining workers do not receive any contract, but are simply promised to receive ‘whatever is right’. Israel is the first and only nation with whom God created a contract. The new covenant that we are now under has no rules and regulations. It is not a contract, but a covenant of grace and generosity, just as the landowner displayed generosity to the laborers called later.
The first group grumbles about being treated unfairly.
Who believes that they deserve better than all the others? Who was chosen first and labored the longest? Nothing is said about the workers who were hired at 9 a.m. or noon grumbling, just the first group who had an agreement or verbal contract. This is reminiscent of the Israelites' grumbling about being mistreated by God relative to the surrounding nations throughout the Old Testament.
One in the first group is called a friend.
In verse 13, the landowner calls one of the first laborers a ‘friend.’ Abraham is called a friend of God in Isaiah 41:8. Not a day-laborer, but a friend. No one in the later groups receives such a greeting.
Only the first group is rebuked.
God rebuked Israel throughout the Old Testament for their attitudes and behaviors. Jesus rebuked the Jewish leaders repeatedly for their selfishness and resentment toward Gentiles and outcast Jews.
The first will be last, and the last will be first.
This is the punchline and appears to be a direct shot at the Jewish leaders. The Jewish leaders believed they had priority in God’s kingdom. Matthew’s gospel shows Jesus challenging the Pharisees, chief priests, elders, and their authority. He calls them out as appearing to be first but really being last (for instance, see Matt 8:11 and Matt 21:43).
These points are collectively compelling. Together they tie Jesus’ conclusion on the great reversal of the first and last with the reversal of the Jewish nation relative to the Gentile nations.
What does all of this mean for missions?
Matthew ends his gospel with the Great Commission. It is the call to go to the ends of the earth to preach the Good News to all peoples, nations, tribes, and tongues. This concluding command supports our interpretation of the parable, underscoring Jesus’s heart for all people.
Missions is the way we fulfill the Great Commission to invite all to come labor for the Kingdom of Heaven and receive what they have not earned. Missions organizations are vital toward that end. Oh, that more would heed the call to be ambassadors for Christ on mission in the ‘market’ of the world!
The Idle Marketplace
I want those of us who have been laboring in the king’s field for a while now to notice something else, namely the laborers’ responses in the market. Every time the landowner goes to the market, he finds workers sitting idle. In verse 6 he asks them, “Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?” Their response is telling: “Because no one has hired us,” they answer. Not ‘we slept in.’ Not ‘we are lazy and don’t want to work.’ They wanted to work – they were desperate enough to wait around in the market all day for just an hour of work.
Certainly, they worried how they were going to provide for their families that day. What would they say to their wives and children when they brought home no food for dinner? They weren’t sitting around the marketplace thinking ‘This is great, I don’t have to work!’ They were ruminating in fear and dread of the future. And amazingly they hadn’t given up. They were still waiting to be hired an hour before the day ended! They must have been overjoyed when the landowner offered them even an hour of work so that they could bring home a morsel that night.
The Ungrateful Laborers
Contrast this with the all-day laborers. They happily went to the field early in the morning to work. They knew their labor would provide the security they needed. Their satisfaction only turned to grumbling once their expectations shifted. Note that the all-day laborers’ reality never changed. They were promised a denarius, and they got a denarius. But their expectations shifted when others who worked less also received a denarius, and their satisfaction quickly turned to grumbling.
The Labor is Part of the Blessing
The 6 a.m. workers did not understand the real blessing. They were gifted with a trustworthy master who provided all the security they needed through meaningful work. While the first workers represent the Jews at the time of Jesus, us long-time Christians can learn an important lesson from them. Many of us were ‘on fire’ for Jesus when we were first saved. We were ecstatic to have the opportunity to labor in the field of the master.
However, over time we see that others aren’t working in the field alongside us but rather sitting idle in the market. We also see those who come to labor much later in life, and we know the Bible says they will also inherit eternal life. This begins to feel unfair to us; shouldn’t those of us who have been faithful for much longer receive more? In our discontentment, we imagine what it would be like to go back to the marketplace. We imagine the fun we could have if we stopped laboring for a while; if we could just kick back, relax, and do a little window-shopping in the market, aka this fallen world.
The labor is arduous, and the temptations of the world are a siren song to our souls, and we falter in our commitment to Christ. But what we forget is the marketplace is filled with the fear of the unknown; the world is filled with idle people, yes, but very worried idle people. It is filled with those who are hungry in their souls, fearful about where their next meal of satisfaction will come from and scared about the future and what will become of them. The market is a dark place, one that none of us wants to go back to.
Do not forget the immeasurable blessing you have in the security of tirelessly laboring in the fields for Christ!
Solomon tells us in Ecclesiastes 5:12, “the sleep of the laborer is sweet, whether he eats little or much.” Laboring for Christ is so much more fulfilling, even in the present, than the idle fears of the uncertain worldly market. Oh, that God would give us eyes to see the harvest field for the blessing that it is.
“Then he [Jesus] said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.’” — Matthew 9:37
