What does Matthew 20:4 mean?
Peter has asked Jesus what reward they will get for leaving everything behind to follow Him (Matthew 19:27–30). To illustrate the answer, Jesus is telling a parable about the kingdom of heaven. He compares the kingdom to the master of house hiring day laborers to work in a vineyard. He hires the first group early in the morning, likely around 6 a.m. They agree to work the day for one denarius each. Then he goes out again at the third hour, around 9 a.m., and hires another group. He now tells them to go work in the vineyard for whatever he decides is right at the end of the day.It's possible that the second group does not expect to be paid a full denarius since they won't be working a full day in the vineyard. They apparently need the work and are willing to trust the master of the house to pay them something reasonable when the time comes, whatever that is.