Rewarded for a Day: Matthew 20:1-16

As we continue moving forward through the parables and illustrations Jesus shared, we come to a challenging parable that almost emphasizes God’s unfairness when dealing with humanity. However, in this parable, the results don’t seem accurate to what should be the case, implying, at least in my own mind, that if there is a result like this, it is only temporary, or that the theme of this parable is focused on our reward and not on our response.

Our parable and passage are found in the gospel of Matthew, chapter 20, and we will read it from the New International Version of the Bible. Starting in verse 1, Jesus shared with those present:

¹ “For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. ² He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard.

³ “About nine in the morning he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. ⁴ He told them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.’ ⁵ So they went.

“He went out again about noon and about three in the afternoon and did the same thing. ⁶ 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?’

⁷ “‘Because no one has hired us,’ they answered.

“He said to them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard.’

⁸ “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.’

⁹ “The workers who were hired about five in the afternoon came and each received a denarius. ¹⁰ So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius. ¹¹ When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner. ¹² ‘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.’

¹³ “But he answered one of them, ‘I am not being unfair to you, friend. Didn’t you agree to work for a denarius? ¹⁴ Take your pay and go. I want to give the one who was hired last the same as I gave you. ¹⁵ Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?’

¹⁶ “So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”

With how this parable ends, it is amazing in my mind to think about what God has done for us and what He has given to us through Jesus and Jesus’ death on the cross, and what that gift has to do with the reward this landowner gave to each of those he hired.

When reading this, it is interesting to note that those hired first are promised the standard pay for a day’s worth of work. In verse 2, the landowner “agreed to pay them a denarius for the day” before sending them into his vineyard.

It is also interesting to realize that the second group of people who are hired, the landowner promises in verse 4 to pay them “whatever is right”, using the wording of this translation.

From these first groups, we have clearly established the wage that can be earned from a full day of work. However, when the day ends, the landowner pays everyone as though they worked an entire day.

This is a crazy and unfair decision, because those who only worked for an hour or two are paid as though they worked the entire day. However, the only way we can see this landowner’s actions as unfair and not as generous is when we compare the wage each person earned with the others.

If we look at each person individually, without comparing their wage with the others, then we are left with the picture that the landowner is amazingly generous. The landowner could only be seen as generous for paying someone who worked an hour or two as if they had worked for an entire day.

What seems unfair on first glance is actually a blessing in disguise.

If we analyze the parable and what the parts of the parable represent, we discover some important things. First, since this is a Kingdom of Heaven parable, we must look for God represented, and the most logical role for God to be in this parable is the landowner. Since God created everything, He also owns everything, making Him the ultimate landowner, even if He has entrusted property managing to us.

With God as the landowner, that means He hires people to work in His vineyard. Since this is a Kingdom of Heaven parable, the picture it represents will likely be much bigger than just a single day in a single location. The work for a day in the context of this parable very likely represents the work of someone God commissions for their entire lifetime. This means that someone could be hired early in life and work for more hours of their lifetime than someone hired later in life.

As we begin unpacking the big ideas in this parable, let’s shift our focus onto looking at what God’s reward for a lifetime of service is. In the gospels, as many of you likely already know and understand, our reward for choosing God and placing our hope, faith, trust, and belief in Jesus is eternal life.

The reward for a life that perfectly served God is eternal life.

The problem with this reward is that only one life was lived perfectly, and that life, Jesus’ life, ended in death. This was part of God’s plan for making the way available for us to be saved.

This means that even if we grew up as a Christian, and we dedicated our lives to God’s service as soon as we could, the best we can offer God is a life of imperfect service that started after the start of the symbolic day. Because of this, we all have the promise of Christ’s perfect life of service standing in for us when we are rewarded for our imperfect lives of service that didn’t last for the whole day. We are rewarded based on Jesus’ life and not on our own.

This is amazing news for us, and the idea that those hired first would grumble about their reward seems crazy. When the reward for a lifetime’s worth of service is eternal life, it is impossible to divide out this gift in any different way. Eighty-five percent of eternal life is the same as not having eternal life. Eternal life is only eternal if it is given at 100%.

When we reach heaven and we see everyone who has been saved, I’m pretty sure we will be surprised by some of those who are there. Will we grumble or complain about it to God? Maybe, but this grumbling must be temporary, because the only way we grumble is if we are comparing ourselves to each other and taking our focus off of what God has given to us.

We are promised eternal life, and regardless of who accepts this gift and regardless of who God saves, our responsibility is working for God and our reward is eternal life. The only way our gift is not a blessing is when we compare ourselves to others and take our eyes off of our Savior.

As we come to the end of another podcast episode, here are the challenges I will leave you with:

As I always challenge you to do, be sure to intentionally seek God first, and choose to dedicate your life to Him. In whatever situation God has placed you in, be sure to work for Him and focus on the gift He offers you. Avoid comparing yourself to anyone else, because when we look at others, we have taken our eyes off of Jesus and taking our eyes off of Jesus is a bad idea in the big picture of eternity.

Also, as I always challenge you to do, continue praying and studying the Bible for yourself to keep growing closer to God each and every day. Don’t let me or anyone else get between you and God. Choose to grow a personal relationship with God and to develop your personal connection to Him.

And as I end every set of challenges by saying in one way or another, never stop short of, back away from, chicken out of, or deviate away from where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!