The Eleventh Hour Worker
“When he had agreed with the labourers for a penny a day, he sent them into his vineyard. And he went out about the third hour … and said … Go ye also into the vineyard, and whatsoever is right I will give you. … Again he went out about the sixth and ninth hour, and did likewise. And about the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing idle, and saith unto them, Why stand ye here all the day idle? Go ye also into the vineyard; and whatsoever is right, that shall ye receive” (Matthew 20:2-7).
The parable of the 11th hour worker has been a difficult parable to understand. What were the circumstances that caused Jesus to give it and what is the lesson to be gained?
Found in Matthew 20:1-16, the parable describes a land owner who had gone out early in the day and hired men to work in his vineyard. Each worker agreed to work for a penny. At the 3rd, the 6th, and the 9th hours, the owner hired additional workers and, as wages, said that they would receive “whatever is right.” Finally, at the 11th hour of the day, he hired more workers, with the same condition, that they would receive “whatever is right.”
At the end of the day, as the workers collected their pay, those who were hired first noticed that the 11th hour workers received the same penny wage. They complained to the owner that it was not fair. They had expected to be paid more since they had worked so much longer. But the land owner answered, “Friend, I am not being unfair to you. Didn’t you agree to work for a dinarius? Take your pay and go. I want to give the man who was hired last the same as I gave you. Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my money? Or are you envious because I am generous?” (verses 13- 15 NIV).
CHAPTER DIVISION
One of the difficulties with studying this parable is the chapter division. The parable begins chapter 20 with the word “For” or “Therefore.” This is a word meant to draw a conclusion. So, to get the sense of why Jesus gave the parable of the 11th hour worker, it is necessary to go back to chapter 19 in order to see what precipitated it.
The context preceding the 11th hour worker reveals a discussion between Jesus and a rich young ruler who had approached Jesus with a probing question. He said, “Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?” After telling him that he should live by the principles of the Law the young man said, “All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet?”
Jesus then said, “go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me. But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions” (verses 21, 22).
This discussion was likely a sad experience for the Lord. Here was a man with a good heart, but one too caught up in his own wealth to live a life of sacrifice. He gave up far more than wealth when he refused the Lord’s invitation. It is ironic to think that, had he accepted Jesus’ offer, and been faithful in his consecration, he would someday have more wealth than he could ever possess on earth. Jesus called it “treasure in heaven.”
After the rich man declined our Lord’s invitation to sell his possessions and follow him, Jesus said, “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven” (verse 24).
Workers Receiving Pay at the End of the Day
The disciples were amazed by this statement, and they made two comments. One said, “Who then can be saved?” (verse 25). In other words, “If we have to overcome our natural propensity to selfishness, do good to others, and give up all that we have, how could we ever be saved?”
PETER’S QUESTION
But Peter was not so skeptical. He said, “Behold we have forsaken all and followed thee, what shall we have therefore?” (verse 27). Peter’s statement is the reason that Jesus expanded the lesson that he just gave about the rich. He expanded it into a lesson about making comparisons with others.
Jesus offered the rich young man the answer to how he might gain eternal life, and lay up true treasure in heaven. To gain these riches he should forsake all his possessions and follow the Lord. Peter’s sentiment was “Lord, we have done that. What will we get?” Though not an unreasonable question, it showed a measure of selfish desire, spoken by a natural man.
But Jesus did not take offense. He simply answered by saying, “Ye which have followed me in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel” (verse 28). And then he gave the beautiful message of verse 29. “Everyone who has left houses, brothers, sisters, father, mother, children, or farms to follow me will get much more than they left. And they will have eternal life.”
The Rich Young Ruler — The Price was Too Dear
Here was the complete answer that the rich man did not understand. What one gives up for the Lord is inconsequential in comparison to the reward they will receive. So Jesus drew a complete picture of what is expected of his followers. He expects them to forsake this world and to do God’s will. It is a comprehensive description of consecration.
THE LAST SHALL BE FIRST
At the end of chapter 19 Jesus said, “But many that are first shall be last and the last shall be first” (verse 30). In connecting that statement to his discussion with the rich man, Jesus was saying that in this world the rich are first in honor. The rich young man was an example of that.
But in the kingdom, many who are now first in honor will be last. Their wealth will not enter into the measure of honor that they will then receive. His disciples, who are now least in the estimation of this world, will be first in honor because of their consecrated lifestyle.
However, it seems to have still bothered Peter that the rich man could receive “eternal life,” the same reward as the disciples who had “forsaken all.”
To address this concern Jesus used the words of the land owner who told his disgruntled workers, “Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my money? Or are you envious because I am generous? So the last will be first, and the first will be last” (Matthew 20:15,16 NIV). Jesus was saying that Peter and the disciples did not have the right to question how God would reward those who entered the race after them.
Contextually then, Peter was like the worker who had born the heat and exhaustion of the day. The disciples were the ones grumbling about the 11th hour worker who received the same wages from a generous Lord.
At the time Peter and the other disciples had been with Jesus for about three years. They had served with him and sacrificed their lives for the Gospel. It is understandable that they would question why the rich man would be worthy of the same reward as those who had been with the Lord from the beginning.
The Parable of the 11th Hour Worker, then, was Jesus’ answer to Peter’s envy. However, it conveys a principle that is not limited to the early disciples. Every Christian should understand that no one has a right to question who the Lord blesses and rewards. Jealousy should have no room in the Christian heart and comparisons are unprofitable.
Every follower of the Lord should focus on their own responsibilities, understanding that the Lord will deal righteously and lovingly with every individual. He can be trusted for that.
— Br. Tom Ruggirello
Whosoever doth not bear his cross,
and come after me, cannot be my disciple. Likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh
not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.
(Luke 14:27, 33).