What does Matthew 20:5 mean?
How much is a day's work in a vineyard worth? Jesus is telling a story that will answer that question: A day's work in the vineyard is worth whatever the master is willing to pay for it, even if you work more or less than other laborers. The point of Jesus' parable, though, is about rewards in the kingdom of heaven for those who work in this life for Jesus' sake.The master of the house needs laborers for his vineyard in the same way that God uses workers on earth, followers of Jesus, to prepare the way for the kingdom of heaven and to "harvest" those who need to hear the gospel of the kingdom (Matthew 9:36–38). The master in the story hired the first group of workers early in the morning, likely around 6 a.m. They agreed to put in a full day for a denarius. Then the master returned to the marketplace at the third hour, 9 a.m., and hired more workers for "whatever is right." He does the same thing at the sixth hour—about noon—and the ninth hour—about 3 p.m.—agreeing to pay each worker whatever is right in exchange for working for what's left of the workday, until about 6 p.m.
The following verse shows that even all those workers are not enough, though. The master needs still more hands and bodies in the vineyard to get the work done.
Matthew 20:1–16 is a parable illustrating what Jesus meant in saying that some of the last will be first and the first last in the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 19:30). When a master hires five groups of workers at different times throughout the day, he pays the last group the same amount that he pays the group hired early in the morning. Though that group grumbles, they received what they had agreed to earn and had not been cheated. The master insists he has the right to show generosity to whomever he wishes. Jesus concludes by saying, again, that the last will be first, and the first last. Themes found in this parable are echoed in the later portion of the parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15:25–32).
Jesus illustrates His earlier comments about how some of the "first will be last, and the last first" (Matthew 19:30) with a parable about hired workers. He then clearly tells His disciples about His impending death and resurrection. The mother of James and John asks Jesus to make her sons number two and three in His kingdom. Jesus tells the disciples that true greatness won't come by flaunting authority as the Gentile leaders do. Instead, they will become great by serving each other, even as a slave does, as Jesus Himself has done. He then heals two blind men immediately before entering Jerusalem.
