Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Matthew 20:8
So when even was come, the lord of the vineyard saith unto his steward, Call the laborers, and give them [their] hire, beginning from the last unto the first.
When even was come – That is, when the twelfth hour had come; the day was ended, and the time of payment was come.
The steward – A steward is one who transacts business in the place of another. He was one who had the administration of affairs in the absence of the householder, who provided for the family, and who was entrusted with the payment of laborers and servants. He was commonly the most trusty and faithful of the servants, raised to that station as a reward for his fidelity.
Beginning from the last unto the first – It was immaterial where he began to pay, provided he dealt justly by them. In the parable this order is mentioned to give opportunity for the remarks which follow. Had those first hired been first paid, they would have departed satisfied, and the point of the parable would have been lost.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 8. When the even was come] Six o’clock, the time they ceased from labour, and the workmen came to receive their wages.
Steward] . A manager of the household concerns under the master. The rabbinical writers use the very same word, in Hebrew letters, for the same office, epitropos. See Kypke.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
8. So when even was comethatis, the reckoning time between masters and laborers (see De24:15); pointing to the day of final account.
the lord of the vineyardsaith unto his stewardanswering to Christ Himself, represented”as a Son over His own house” (Heb3:6; see Mat 11:27; Joh 3:35;Joh 5:27).
Call the labourers and givethem their hire, beginning from the last unto the firstRemarkabledirection thislast hired, first paid.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
So when even was come,…. At six o’clock, or when the sun was set, which was the time of paying labourers their wages: thus in the parable of the Jews, before referred to, which bears some resemblance to this, it is said,
“bre tel, s that “at evening time” the labourers came to take their wages.”
Sooner than this, one that was hired for a day, could not demand it; nor was the master of the vineyard, who hired him, obliged to pay him till the sun was set t, which was the time of his going forth from his labour u. This even may be understood, either of the evening of the Jewish state, upon the calling of the Gentiles; or of the end of the world, the close of the Gospel dispensation; when the work of it will be over, when all the elect of God, Jews and Gentiles, shall be called and gathered in, and all brought to repentance towards God, and faith in Christ.
The lord of the vineyard saith unto his steward: by the lord of the vineyard may be meant God the Father, who has chosen and separated the vineyard of the church for himself; and has made it the care and charge of his Son Jesus Christ; who, as mediator, may be designed by “his steward”; who has not only all the stores of grace in his hand, to distribute to his people, in this life, as their cases require; but has also eternal life and happiness in his possession for them; not only the promise of it, but that itself; and has a power of giving it to as many as the Father hath given him; and which he, the righteous judge, and faithful steward, will give at the day of judgment, to all that love his appearing.
Call the labourers, and give them their hire; the proper time being come: for the Jews say w
“it is an affirmative precept to give the wages of an hired person in its time; as it is said, De 24:15 at “his day thou shalt give him his hire”; and if it is prolonged after its time, it is transgressing a negative precept, as it is said, (in the same place,) “neither shall the sun go down upon it.””
So Jews and Gentiles were called to partake of the same Gospel privileges; and so will all the faithful labourers in the Lord’s vineyard be called together, and have the reward of eternal life bestowed upon them, and be bid to enter into the joy of their Lord, and inherit the kingdom prepared for them, as they before were ordered to go into the vineyard, and work. And though eternal life may be called hire or reward, because as hire is given to labourers, so is eternal life; and as that is given at the even and close of the day, and when the labourer has done his work, so everlasting glory will be given to the saints at the end of life, and when they have done the will and work of God: yet it will not be bestowed by way of merit, or, as if there was a just proportion between the work, labour, and services of the saints, and the glory that shall be revealed in them. Their purest services, even their sufferings for Christ, are not worthy to be compared with that; nor are there any that are done by them, but what are due to God, what he has a right unto, and are their duty to perform; so that when they are done by them in the best and most perfect manner, they are but unprofitable servants: nor can they, by anything they do, be profitable to God, or give anything to him, which can be obligatory upon him, to do anything for them, or be a valuable consideration for anything they should receive from him; and therefore they cannot merit anything at his hand, and much less eternal life: besides, their services are impure and imperfect, and whenever anything is well done by them, it is done not by their own strength and might, but by the assistance and grace of God; and therefore they can have no demand upon him for what they do: eternal life, though a reward, is not a reward of debt, but of grace; it is the free gift of God through Christ; God has graciously promised it in the covenant of his grace, before the world began; he has given it into the hands of his Son for his people, with whom it is sure; and he gives it freely to all the sheep the Father has given him.
Beginning from the last unto the first; beginning with the last that was called and sent into the vineyard, and so proceeding on to the next to them; giving them their wages as he went along, till he came to the first, who were early in the morning hired into this service; intimating, that some such method will be taken in the introducing of the saints into the kingdom of the Messiah here, and into his everlasting kingdom hereafter; whereby that saying of our Lord’s which occasioned this parable, will be also fulfilled, “the first shall be last, and last first”.
s Shirashirim Rabba, fol. 21. 3. Midrash Kohelet, fol. 72. 4. T. Hicros. Beracot, fol. 5. 3. t Bartenora in Misn. Bava Metzia, c. 9. sect. 11. u Jarchi in Lev. xix. 13. w Maimen, Helch. Secirut, c. 11. sect. 1.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
8. And when the evening was come. It would be improper to look for a mystery in the injunction of the householder to begin with the last, as if God crowned those first who were last in the order of time; for such a notion would not at all agree with the doctrine of Paul. They that are alive, he says, at the coming of Christ will not come before those who previously fell asleep in Christ, but will follow, (1Th 4:15.) But Christ observes a different order in this passage, because he could not otherwise have expressed — what he afterwards adds — that the first murmured, because they did not receive more (646)
Besides, he did not intend to say that this murmuring will take place at the last day, but merely to affirm that there will be no occasion for murmuring The personification ( προσωποποΐα) which he employs throws no small light on this doctrine, that men have no right to complain of the bounty of God, when he honors unworthy persons by large rewards beyond what they deserve. There is no foundation, therefore, for what some have imagined, that these words are directed against the Jews, who were full of malice and envy towards the Gentiles; for it would be absurd to say that such persons receive an equal hire with the children of God, and this malignity, which leads men to exclaim against God, does not apply to believers. But the plain meaning is, that, since God defrauds no man of a just hire, He is at liberty to bestow on those whom He has lately called an undeserved reward.
(646) “ Pource qu’on ne leur donnoit non plus qu’aux derniers;” — “because no more was given to them than to the last.”
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(8) When even was come.It was one of the humane rules of the Mosaic law that the day-labourer was to be paid by the day, and not made to wait for his wages (Deu. 24:15). This law the householder keeps, and his doing so is a feature in his character.
Beginning from the last unto the first.The order is not without its significance. It was a practical illustration of the words which had introduced the parable, that the last should be the first.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
“And when evening was come, the lord of the vineyard says to his steward, ‘Call the labourers, and pay them their hire, beginning from the last to the first.’ ”
Then when evening comes the Estate Owner calls to His manager and tells him to line up the labourers so that they can receive their pay. Paying at the end of the day, on the same day, was a requirement of the Law (Lev 19:13). And He tells him to pay the last who were employed first. His gracious treatment continues to the end.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
The settlement at evening:
v. 8. So when even was come, the lord of the vineyard saith unto his steward, Call the laborers, and give them their hire, beginning from the last unto the first.
v. 9. And when they came that were hired about the eleventh hour, they received every man a penny.
v. 10. But when the first came, they supposed that they should have received more; and they likewise received every man a penny.
v. 11. And when they had received it, they murmured against the goodman of the house,
v. 12. saying, These last have wrought but one hour, and thou hast made them equal unto us, which have borne the burden and heat of the day. Six o’clock came, and the master gave the foreman, or steward, one of whose duties was the paying of the laborers, the command to call the workmen and pay them their wages. The order of payment is significant: He should begin with those that came and worked but one hour; commencing with the last one he should continue down the line to the first ones. Each one should receive the full amount of his hire, the amount which the householder had indicated to the steward. A very important point: According to common usage, the length of the employment decided the amount of the wages; the day-laborer that worked only a few hours received less than he that worked all day. But when those of about the eleventh hour came, they received each one his denarius , just as though he had worked a full day. Evidently there was here a case of a free gift or present, whether the other workmen wanted to consider the master as extravagant and foolish or not. But they, seeing this liberality, drew a wrong conclusion. When the first ones came, they that had been hired by regular contract in the morning, they eagerly expected a greater amount than the others had gotten. To their great chagrin, only the money named in the contract of the morning was forthcoming: Also they received each one his denarius. Now they accepted the money, but they immediately began and continued to voice their dissatisfaction. They murmured against the manager or ruler of the estate. Their complaint is excellently put, they express their contempt for the laborers of the eleventh hour. These last, they say, put in only one hour, they have spent that much time without really accomplishing anything worth speaking of, and equal thou hast made them to us, to us that have been obliged to bear the burden of the day’s work, and the scorching heat of noonday into the bargain. What was one hour of late afternoon in comparison with that? And yet their pay is the same?
The application of this part of the parable to the work of the kingdom of Christ is not difficult. It teaches us both to avoid envy and to yield honors to those whom the Lord honors. “Whosoever has the gifts of Jesus and knows that we are all equal in Christ, he tends to his work gladly, though he here on earth, for this short time, be in a humbler position and station than some other one. For there it shall be arranged so that in the external life there is a dissimilarity, that one has much, the other little; that one is master, the other servant. That does not bother a Christian, but he says: In God’s name, here on earth it shall not be otherwise; though I have a more difficult station than the master or the mistress of the house; though I be not so powerful as a prince, king, or emperor; yet will I not murmur about it, but gladly and willingly remain in my station, until God deals differently with me and also makes me a master or mistress. In the meantime, I comfort myself with this fact that I know neither emperor nor king has another Christ nor more of Christ than I. ” And so far as the giving of equal rewards of grace to all believers, to all members of the kingdom, is concerned, there shall be no pointing to a greater amount of good works before God, as though they were able to merit anything in His sight. “All work-saints must necessarily have such pride that know nothing of the grace of God and believe to be their own what they are able to do and what they perform, and that the Lord shall not judge according to His goodness, but according to the weight and ponderousness of their works. But whosoever has realized what grace means, he is not surprised, if God gives the same reward for the small and for the great works.”
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
Mat 20:8-9. Call the labourers, &c. The equal reward bestowed on all,the penny given to each labourer as his wages, signifies the Gospel, with its privileges and advantages, which they all enjoyed on an equal footing. The steward who called the labourers to receive this reward, represents the Apostles and first preachers, by whom the Gospel was offered both to Jews and Gentiles; and the rewards being first bestowed on the labourers who came at the eleventh hour, signifies, that the idolatrous Gentiles and proselytes would enjoy the Gospel with its privileges, before the Jewish nation would accept of it, the condition not of a few individuals, but of great bodies of men being represented in the parable.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Mat 20:8 . .] i.e . at the close of the twelfth hour (six o’clock in the evening).
] the chief of the servants ( ), to whom was entrusted the management of the household, Luk 8:3 .
] the wages in question. The had instructions from his master to give the same amount of wages to all, although all had not wrought the same number of hours.
] is connected with . . ., without anything requiring to be understood ( and continuing , and such like), as is evident from those passages in which the terminus ad quem is placed first ; for example, Plat. Legg . vi. p. 771 C: . Comp. Luk 23:5 ; Act 1:21 ; Joh 8:9 .
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
8 So when even was come, the lord of the vineyard saith unto his steward, Call the labourers, and give them their hire, beginning from the last unto the first.
Ver. 8. Saith unto his steward ] That is, to his Son Christ, whom he hath made judge of all, to give unto every man according to his works. This he will do with demonstration of his singular both justice (so that none shall receive less than was promised him) and mercy (so that all shall receive more than they deserved). For although their penny be here called their hire, and elsewhere their reward, yea, their wages, yet all is of grace.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
8. ] By the Mosaic law ( Deu 24:15 ) the wages of an hired servant were to be paid him before night . This was at the twelfth hour, or sunset: see Mat 20:12 . I do not think the must be pressed as having a spiritual meaning. If it has, it represents Christ (see Heb 3:6 , and ch. Mat 11:27 ).
is not merely expletive, but definite, as in Luk 23:5 .
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Mat 20:8-12 . The evening settlement .
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
Mat 20:8 . : a pregnant word, including not only the commencement of the process of paying but its progress. There is an ellipsis, being understood before (Kypke). Grotius thinks this does not really mean beginning with the last comers, but without regard to order of coming in, so that no one should be overlooked. He fails to see that the idiosyncrasy of the master is a leading point, indeed the key to the meaning of the parable. This beginning with the last is an eccentricity from an ordinary everyday-life point of view. The master chooses to do so: to begin with those who have no claims.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Mat 20:8-16
8When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last group to the first.’9When those hired about the eleventh hour came, each one received a denarius. 10When those hired first came, they thought they would receive more; but each of them also received a denarius. 11When they received it, they grumbled at the landowner, 12saying, ‘These last men have worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden and the scorching heat of the day.’13But he answered and said to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for a denarius? 14Take what is yours and go, but I wish to give to this last man the same as to you. 15 Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with what is my own? Or is your eye envious because I am generous? 16So the last shall be first, and the first last.”
Mat 20:8 “When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the laborers and pay them their wages'” We learn from the Mosaic Law that laborers were to be paid at the close of the work day so that they could buy food for their families (cf. Lev 19:13; Deu 24:15; Mal 3:5). Often landowners tried to withhold the wages until the next day in order to assure that their labor force would return, but this was against the Mosaic Law.
Mat 20:10 “When those hired first came, they thought they would receive more” The workers hired first were assuming that they deserved more money because those who worked less time received what they had contracted for (cf. Mat 20:2). This parable shows how the ways of God are so different from the ways of this world. We see from Mat 20:11 that when they did not receive more money, they grumbled continually. Their attitude of being grateful even to be employed turned to anger because they did not get all that they expected. They rationalized that because they had worked all day in the heat, they deserved more pay. The implication of this is striking in relationship to religious people and spiritual rewards (cf. Mat 19:30; Mat 20:16).
Mat 20:13-15 The landowner answers with three rhetorical questions. The landowner has freedom to act as he will (cf. Romans 9), but he chooses to act in grace!
Mat 20:15 This verse is the theological heart of the parable. God is sovereign and He has the right to act (i.e., Romans 9-10). He chooses to act in undeserved grace (cf. Romans 11). Can anyone fault Him for that? This is theologically parallel to the Prodigal Son recorded in Luk 15:11-32. Should God’s mercy to some offend those who have also experienced His mercy?
NASB, NRSV”Or is your eye envious because I am generous”
NKJV”Or is your eye evil because I am good”
TEV”Or are you jealous because I am generous”
NJB”Why be envious because I am generous”
This relates to the Ancient Near Eastern metaphor of “the evil eye” (cf. Deu 15:9; 1Sa 18:9). In this context it referred to jealousy or envy (cf. Mar 7:22). See Special Topic at Mat 6:22-23.
Mat 20:16
NASB”So the last shall be first, and the first last”
NKJV”So the last will be first, and the first last. For many are called, but few chosen”
NRSV”So the last will be first and the first will be last”
TEV”So those who are last will be first, and those who are first will be last”
NJB” Thus the last will be first, and the first, last”
There is a phrase at the end of this verse “for many are called, but few chosen,” which is found in the KJV, but is omitted in the NASB, NKJV, TEV, and JB. It seems to have been added from Mat 22:14. It does not appear in the Greek manuscripts , B, L, or Z. The UBS4 gives its exclusion an ” A” rating (i.e., certain).
There is an obvious relationship between Mat 19:30 and Mat 20:16. Rewards are not based on merit but on grace. This has been understood in two ways.
1. All believers will not receive equal rewards, but equal standing in the kingdom. This is the biblical tension between a free salvation and Christ-like discipleship.
2. The Jews who received the promises of God first will not receive greater rewards or blessings than Gentile believers (cf. Luk 13:30).
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
This is a study guide commentary which means that you are responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in the light we have. You, the Bible and the Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.
These discussion questions are provided to help you think through the major issues of this section of the book. They are meant to be thought provoking, not definitive.
1. What are the guidelines for interpreting parables? (See How to Read the Bible For All Its Worth, by Fee and Stuart, p. 135-148)
2. What is the literary context of this parable?
3. What does this parable have to say to the relationship between God’s children and rewards?
4. What do you think is the relationship between this parable and the elder brother in the parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15)?
CONTEXTUAL INSIGHTS FOR Mat 20:17-18
A. The parallel of this account, found in Mar 10:32 ff., sets the stage for the attitude and actions of the disciples.
B. It is obvious from this account that the disciples still had a fundamental misunderstanding of the Messianic kingdom. This was possibly related to Jesus’ statement in Mat 19:28.
C. This is the third and most detailed prediction of Jesus’ death and resurrection to the disciples (cf. Mat 16:21; Mat 17:9; Mat 17:22-23). He knew why He came! He controlled His own history (cf. Joh 10:17-18)!
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
even. Even Bengel held that this refers to “the last judgment”. And it is clearly the time of reckoning and of the reward spoken of in Mat 19:29, when all will be justly rewarded.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
8.] By the Mosaic law (Deu 24:15) the wages of an hired servant were to be paid him before night. This was at the twelfth hour, or sunset: see Mat 20:12. I do not think the must be pressed as having a spiritual meaning. If it has, it represents Christ (see Heb 3:6, and ch. Mat 11:27).
is not merely expletive, but definite, as in Luk 23:5.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Mat 20:8. , but when even was come) A prophetic allusion is made to the Last Judgment. The evening of each individuals life resembles the evening of the world.- , from the last unto the first) They were all divided into these two classes; for all are reckoned amongst the first, who came before the eleventh hour; see Mat 20:9-10.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
when: Mat 13:39, Mat 13:40, Mat 25:19, Mat 25:31, Rom 2:6-10, 2Co 5:10, Heb 9:28, Rev 20:11, Rev 20:12
unto: Gen 15:2, Gen 39:4-6, Gen 43:19, Luk 10:7, Luk 12:42, Luk 16:1, Luk 16:2, 1Co 4:1, 1Co 4:2, Tit 1:7, 1Pe 4:10
Reciprocal: Deu 24:15 – At his Rth 2:6 – the servant
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
AT EVENTIDE
When even was come, the lord of the vineyard saith unto his steward, Call the labourers and give them their hire.
Mat 20:8
The householder goes out early in the morning, and then, when eventide is come, he, the owner of the vast and beautiful vineyard, calls the labourers.
I. The call.The voice and the call of the Householder have come to us. They came in the morning of life. Can you remember that morning, you who are stricken in years, you who are toiling in mid-day life? Can you not remember when your dreams, like Josephs, were made of such stuff as godly ambition is made of; when you felt that the whole world was before you, and you heard Gods voice bidding you, Go, work, in His vineyard. Illustrate from Moses, Samuel, Isaiah. You may remember faintly still how you went forth. But behind it all you feel that the great Householder was He Who determined your lot, and the decision was with the Lord.
II. The work.Are there not twelve hours of the day in which it behoveth man to work? You went forth to your work, and now each season asks, How are you doing it? Now that one hour and another and another are striking over your head, are you fulfilling the work which you then, with best resolves, intended to do?
III. The unity in life.Our early feelings and joys blend with our later ones. At any hour, something attempted, something done gives joy.
IV. At eventide.There is such a thing as a dark, dreary, godless old age; a sunset dark with gathering clouds. The eventide is coming. The Householder is continually calling. Keep the eventide in your thoughts, the reckoning in your faith, that you may hear the Masters Well done.
Canon Rowsell.
Fuente: Church Pulpit Commentary
20:8
There is no special rule in business that caused the paymaster to begin with the ones hired last. However, by telling the parable in that order Jesus brought out the idea of the lesson which is in verse 16. These men were last as to time and the chronology of events but they were first or foremost in receiving the Lord’s estimation.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
So when even was come, the lord of the vineyard saith unto his steward, Call the labourers, and give them their hire, beginning from the last unto the first.
[Call the labourers.] For “it is one of the affirmative precepts of the law, that a hired labourer should have his wages paid him when they are due, as it is said, ‘You shall pay him his wages in his day’: and if they be detained longer, it is a breach of a negative precept; as it is said, ‘The sun shall not go down upon him,’ ” etc.
Fuente: Lightfoot Commentary Gospels
Mat 20:8. His steward. Christ, the overseer of the house of God, entrusted with the whole economy of salvation including the distribution of the final reward (Heb 3:6; Joh 5:27.; Rev 2:7; Rev 2:10; Rev 2:17; Rev 2:28, etc.). It was the Jewish custom to pay laborers at the close of the day.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Here observe, 1. That the time of God’s full rewarding of his labourers, is the evening of their days; that is, when their work is done. When the evening was come, the lord of the vineyard called his labourers, and gave them their hire; not but that they have part of their reward in hand, but it is chiefly laid up in hope.
Observe, 2. That though God makes no difference in his servants wages for the time of their work, yet he will make a difference for the degrees of their service. Undoubtedly, they that have done most work, shall receive most wages. He that soweth bountifully, shall reap bountifully: God will reward every man according to his works; that is, not only according to the nature and quality, but the measure and degree, of his work. All shall have equity, but all shall not have equal bounty.
Observe, 3. That all inequality in the distribution of rewards, doth not make God an unjust accepter of persons; he may dispense both grace and glory, in what measure and degree he pleases, without the least shadow of unrighteousness. Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own?
Observe, 4. That when we have done much service for God, by labouring longer than others in his vineyard, it is our duty to have a low esteem both of our services and of ourselves, for the first shall be last, and the last first: that is, they that are first and highest in their own esteem, shall be the last and least in God’s account.
Fuente: Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament
Mat 20:8. When even was come Then, as usual, the day-labourers are called and paid. Faithful labourers shall receive a portion of their reward when they die. It is deferred till then, that they may exercise patience in waiting for it; but no longer. As soon as Paul, that faithful labourer, departs, he is with Christ. The general time of reckoning, indeed, and the full payment, will be after the resurrection, in the evening of the world. Then every one will receive according to the deeds done in the body. When time ends, and with it the world, then the state of retribution commenceth. Then it will be said, Call the labourers, and give them their hire. Observe, reader, ministers call them into the vineyard to do their work; death calls out of it to receive their penny: and to those to whom the call into the vineyard is effectual, the call out of it will be joyful. Observe again, they did not come for their pay till they were called: we must with patience wait Gods time for our rest and recompense.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
The evening was the time of reckoning for the workers (cf. Lev 19:13). The order in which the landowner’s foreman paid the workers created a problem. In view of what he paid those hired late in the day, those who began working earlier expected to receive more than they had hoped for. They grumbled against him because he had been generous to the latecomers and only just with them. They cited their hard working conditions as justification for their grievance.