The Laborers in the Vineyard

The actions of the master of the vineyard cannot be explained by historical realism…this is not a typical master of a vineyard, but a person whose actions are motivated by non-financial considerations.

Jesus Christ: His Life and Teaching, Vol.4 - The Parables of Jesus, Metropolitan Hilarion Alfeyev

This parable, found in Matthew 20 and elsewhere, describes a vineyard master hiring workers for the day. The parable is preceded by a question from Peter:

Matthew 19: 27 Then Peter answered and said to Him, “See, we have left all and followed You. Therefore what shall we have?”

To which Jesus responds:

28 So Jesus said to them, “Assuredly I say to you, that in the regeneration, when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 29 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My name’s sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life. 30 But many who are first will be last, and the last first.

Jesus then begins the parable.

To the workers hired in the morning, the master promises the wage of a penny a day. As the day goes on, he hires more workers, at the sixth hour, the ninth hour, the eleventh hour. To these, he says he will pay whatever is right.

When it came time to pay the workers, those who were called last are paid first, each receiving one penny. When seeing this, those called earlier were expecting something more than this – which they did not receive. The master paid each worker the same amount, regardless of when they began work that day: one penny.

Those who began at the beginning of the day complain, as this seemed unfair or inequitable. But the master notes that he is paying exactly the amount agreed. Further, the master notes that it is lawful that he does what he wishes with what he owns.

Those hired first, despite being the only ones who agreed to a specific wage, were most disappointed – even angry. It is an understandable reaction.

The primary meaning of the parable is that God does not act toward us as we act toward each other. … You cannot make a deal with God, and his reward is never proportionate to your efforts.

Metropolitan Hilarion comments that the Pharisees could have seen themselves in this parable, as those being the first called. It could also be directed at all of Israel, being the “vineyard” which was first called by God (Cyril of Alexandria reads it this way).

…but those who were called much later will receive no less a reward in the kingdom of heaven….

These readings seem plausible to me, but only by adding an important piece: it was only those who labored until the end that were rewarded. Given Jesus’s regular preaching against the failings of both the Pharisees and of Israel, this has to be clearly taken from the parable as well.

John Chrysostom understands the workers of the parable to represent those who come to the truth at different times in their lives – some younger, some older – yet all receiving the same reward. Regarding the workers who came at the eleventh hour (representing those who came to faith at a much older age), Chrysostom writes:

“…to the latter, that they may learn that it is possible even in a short time to recover all. …he shows that it is possible for men coming later to receive the hire of the whole day.”

Jesus will accept the last just as He has the first; He shows mercy on all, regardless of the hour at which one was called and responded. This does not mean that all will be equal in the Kingdom of Heaven; just that they will all be in the Kingdom of Heaven.

Isaac the Syrian writes of this, a seeming inequality in heaven wrapped within an overarching equality of being in heaven. How will those of lower rank deal with this?

“He whose measure is less will not see the great measure of his neighbour’s rank, lest [he should think that] this arises from the multitude of his neighbour’s gifts and fewness of his own, and this very thing should become for him a cause of sadness and mental anguish.”

Such a thing will not occur in glory. Instead, each one will see his position relative to glory, taking delight in this and not concerned about any such distinctions. I can understand this relative to the light shining from God: in comparison to it, we are all equal; standing in it, we can only see (emotionally) ourselves and God.

The parable addresses another issue, one that has divided Christians significantly: the relationship of faith and works as regards salvation. God’s mercy or our works? There are so many verses in the Bible that deal with these issues.

In apostolic times, the argument primarily concerned salvation through faith in Jesus Christ and the fulfillment of the works of the law….

We see this argument more than once in the New Testament accounting of the apostolic experience – what works of the Law are applicable or necessary? We see it in the time of the Reformation if one considers the polemics between Catholics and Protestants on this topic. A treasury of merits on the one hand, justification and redemption achieved once and for all by Christ on the other.

Orthodox tradition…is and always has been far from both of these extremes. It has always been understood that without faith in Jesus Christ and without the Church, salvation is impossible. At the same time, each individual person’s participation in his own salvation cannot simply be reduced to passive assimilation of the fruits of the redemptive sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

This comes close to my understanding – setting aside a debate about what is meant by “the Church,” for which I accept a broader meaning than many exclusivist claims of one tradition or another. There is no salvation without God’s action and mercy. But living under grace does not mean a life lived in an easy chair. Yet, even here, it is only though God and the Holy Spirit that our works can be counted as good fruit. But works there must be – not as if we are earning salvation, but that we are showing evidence of our salvation.

How does one demonstrate a life of faith, or faithfulness? I don’t know another way than through works. Yes, confess with your mouth; repent and believe. But, ultimately, it is action that demonstrates that which we truly believe.

Conclusion

From one parable to the next, from one sermon to another, Jesus continues the theme of God’s unutterable love for mankind. It is a love that does not fit into human categories or assumptions about justice, rewards, and retribution.

Doubtless, God, who is bound by no obligation before mankind, can reward each person not according to his merits or even according to justice, but according to his own mercy and love alone.

There is no such thing as a faith without works. Yet, how God rewards those who respond to His call and despite how long or well they toil, rewards are solely in the hands of God.

God is absolutely unconstrained in this decision; this is the main idea of the parable of the laborers in the vineyard.