Three “Why” questions about Jesus’ parable

of the vineyard workers in Matthew 20

In the parable of the workers in the vineyard in Matthew 20,

the owner of the vineyard says to the foreman,

“Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired.”

The last ones to come are those who came at 5 p.m.

when the owner of the vineyard said, “You also go and work in my vineyard.”

So the people who came at 5 p.m. each received a denarius.

Then the men who had come before them, those who had come at about 9 a.m.,

those who had come at noon, and those who had come at 3 p.m.,

thought they would receive a little more than those who had come at 5 p.m.

But they too received only one denarius.

So they began to complain to their master after receiving their wages:

“These men worked only one hour, and you have given them the same as we

who have borne the burden of the day and the heat?”

(Matthew 20:1-12)

When I meditate on these words, several thoughts come to mind:

(1) Why did the owner of the vineyard say to the overseer,

“Call the workers and pay them their wages,

beginning with the last ones (those who came at 5 p.m.)”?

Why didn’t he say to pay them first (those who came at about 9 a.m.)?

Perhaps the reason is that Jesus had in mind

the central lesson of the parable of the workers in the vineyard:

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

(2) Why did the people who came first

(those who came around 9 AM, 12 PM, and 3 PM)

think they would get paid more than the people who came later

(those who came at 5 PM)? Of course, common sense tells us

that the people who came at 5 PM only worked 1 hour,

and they worked 9 hours (those who came around 9 AM),

6 hours (those who came at 12 PM), and 3 hours (those who came at 3 PM),

so they must have thought and expected that they would get paid more

because they worked more than the people who came at 5 PM and only worked 1 hour.

But what they had forgotten was that the owner of the vineyard had promised

the workers “a denarius a day” and sent them into his vineyard (v. 2).

So the owner of the vineyard answered one of the workers

who had complained to him after receiving his wages:

“I have done you no wrong.  Didn’t you agree with me for a denarius?” (v. 13).

(3) Why did the owner of the vineyard have the heart to give the same wage,

one denarius, to those who were called around 9 AM to work in his vineyard,
to those who were called at noon and 3 PM, and to those who were called at 5 PM? (v. 14)
If it were up to us, we would naturally think that the wage

should be based on the number of hours worked.
So, if someone worked starting at 9 AM, they should be paid for 9 hours of work
(since they worked until 6 PM) (v. 12),
if someone worked from noon, they should be paid for 6 hours,
if they worked from 3 PM, they should receive payment for 3 hours,
and if they worked from 5 PM, they should be paid for just 1 hour.

In this parable of the vineyard workers, Jesus said,
"It is my will to give the same wage to those who came last

(the ones who came at 5 PM), just as I would to you

(perhaps one of those who came at 9 AM, noon, or 3 PM,

but this would include all of them).  This is my heart" (v. 14).
And He also said, "Is it not lawful for me to do

what I want with my own possessions?" (v. 15).
From these words, I believe He was speaking about the sovereignty of God.
I was reminded of the words in Romans 9:20-21:
"But who are you, a mere human, to talk back to God?
Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it,

'Why did you make me like this?'  Does not the potter have the right

to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery

for noble purposes and some for common use?"