The kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out at dawn to hire laborers for his vineyard. 2 After agreeing with them for the usual daily wage, he sent them into his vineyard. 3 Going out about nine o’clock, he saw others standing idle in the marketplace, 4 and he said to them, ‘You too go into my vineyard, and I will give you what is just.’ 5 So they went off. [And] he went out again around noon, and around three o’clock, and did likewise. 6 Going out about five o’clock, he found others standing around, and said to them, ‘Why do you stand here idle all day?’ 7 They answered, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You too go into my vineyard.’ 8 When it was evening the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Summon the laborers and give them their pay, beginning with the last and ending with the first.’ 9 When those who had started about five o’clock came, each received the usual daily wage. 10 So when the first came, they thought that they would receive more, but each of them also got the usual wage. 11 And on receiving it they grumbled against the landowner, 12 saying, ‘These last ones worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us, who bore the day’s burden and the heat.’ 13 He said to one of them in reply, ‘My friend, I am not cheating you. Did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage? 14 Take what is yours and go. What if I wish to give this last one the same as you? 15 [Or] am I not free to do as I wish with my own money? Are you envious because I am generous?’ 16 Thus, the last will be first, and the first will be last.”
This parable is about God’s generosity which he showers upon all. The vineyard represented the house of Israel (I. 5:1-7) and a denarius was a day’s wage for a laborer. The parable reflected the resentment shown by those who faithfully observed the Torah against sinners, tax collectors, and Gentiles who recently became ‘righteous’ through belief in Jesus. This parable also illustrates the rewards for discipleship and the reversal of fortune for those who reject Christ. Dawn until sundown was the period of Jewish daytime hours which was usually 12 hours (Jn. 11:9). It is broken into 4 quarters beginning at 6:00 am and ending at sundown, 6:00 pm. Note: Based on the Temple Liturgical Service, the first male lamb was sacrificed at the third hour, nine o’clock in the morning, and the second lamb was sacrificed at the 9th hour, three o’clock in the afternoon. Jesus was nailed to the Cross at the third hour (Mk. 15:25) and died at the ninth hour (Mk. 15:34).
Normally, those being hired would bargain with the one hiring them over the wages to be paid. The men who started work at dawn agreed to the usual daily wage of a Denarius to work in the vineyard. The landowner went out again at 9:00 am, 12 noon, and 3:00 pm and hired more unemployed workers and agreed to pay them what was just. He went out again at 5:00 pm, one hour before sundown, and hired more unemployed workers and sent them into the vineyard. We were not told the wage he agreed to pay them. A laborer’s wages must be paid by sundown (Deut. 24:14-15). At sundown, the foreman was ordered to pay the workers and to start by paying the last workers hired first. Each worker received the usual daily wage, which vexed the workers who worked a full day because they felt they should have received more.
The landowner spoke to one of the dissatisfied workers in a kind tone and reminded him that he agreed to work for a day’s wage, so he had not been cheated. God’s standard of justice is different from our human standard of justice. God sees the intent of the human heart. God’s goodness and divine generosity are boundless, and He renders to each the divine measure He wants without a strict legal accounting according to human justice. God will not create a distinction between the latecomers, the Gentiles (Lk. 13:29-30), and the children to whom the Kingdom was promised through the patriarchs, the Israelites (Rom. 11:25-29).
Lord God of mercy, help us not to judge things as just or unjust by our human standards. We give you thanks for including us in your plan of salvation. Grant us your divine wisdom to view life through the eyes of faith and live in the light of Christ. This we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen!
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
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