Read Matthew 20.
Matthew 20 opens with another kingdom parable, this one about a landowner and some temporary workers he hired. In this story, the landowner hires men at four different times during the day. The landowner specified what the pay would be for the first group (v. 2: a denarius was the typical daily wage for hired workers [see this ESV footnote]), then told the other two groups that their pay would be appropriate (v. 4: “whatever is right”). At the end of the day, the landowner sent his manager to pay the men, with the men who worked least getting paid first. Despite the fact that they had been promised a denarius (v. 2, 13), the men who worked the longest complained that their pay was unfair because all the men were paid the same, despite the fact that they did not work the same amount of hours.
The landowner objected to being called unfair and reminded the men that they had agreed to the standard daily wage of one denarius. He stated that the pay received by the later workers was an act of generosity (vv. 14-15), not an attempt to cheat the earlier workers.
But the story does feel unfair. It seems unjust to pay everyone the same despite the fact that some of the men clearly worked longer and in more unpleasant weather (v. 12). Still, a deal is a deal and when the original workers agreed to the terms, they were undoubtedly happy to be working that day.
Jesus concluded the story by stating merely, “So the last will be first, and the first will be last” (v. 16). This is a puzzling statement that Jesus had made previously in Matthew 19:30 which we also read today. In chapter 19, Jesus applied this “last/first” statement to the disciples as contrasted with the rich young man. The rich young man finished in first place in this world; the disciples (a rowdy band of ex-fishermen types) were bringing up the rear in the earthly economic rat race. But because they forsook all to follow him, something the rich young man was unwilling to do, Jesus promised them a reward (19:29). Then Jesus stated the same moral in 19:30 that he stated here in 20:16. But seeing how this “last/first” kingdom truth applies in both passages is difficult.
D. A. Carson, in his commentary on Matthew in the Expositor’s Bible Commentary Series (which iRecommend highly), has some helpful comments about this “last/first” statement. Concerning 19:30, he writes on page 426 that the best way to understand this parable is:
…a way of setting forth God’s grace over against all notions that the rich, powerful, great, and prominent will continue in the kingdom. Those who approach God in childlike trust (vv. 13-15) will be received and advanced in the kingdom beyond those who, from the world’s perspective, enjoy prominence now.
Returning then to the parable of the landowner, Jesus states that nobody in the kingdom can complain that they did not receive the correct reward. As Carson writes concerning 20:16: “The point of the parable is not that all in the kingdom will receive the same reward but that kingdom rewards depend on God’s sovereign grace (cf. v. 23)” (p. 428).
It is not uncommon in church work to find people who feel slighted. They faithfully serve in a ministry somewhere but never receive any recognition. While they may receive a great reward in heaven for their service, we must remember that none of us is entitled to anything from God. While we may do much work for God’s kingdom, the fact that we are in God’s kingdom at all is completely due to God’s grace.
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