Charles Ellicott Commentary Matthew 20:14

"Take up that which is thine, and go thy way; it is my will to give unto this last, even as unto thee." — Matthew 20:14 (ASV)

Take what is yours, and go your way — The tone of dismissal is natural and intelligible within the parable. But what corresponds to this in God's dealings with people? The question is not so easy to answer. If the “penny” that each person received was the gift of eternal life, did those who represent the murmuring laborers receive it, or were they excluded from any share in it by their discontent? Was the money they received like “fairy-gold” that turned into a withered leaf in the hands of its thankless possessor?

Perhaps the answer is found in the idea that the reward is the presence of God to the disciple's soul, and its blessedness depends on the harmony between the believer's character and the mind of God.

Heaven is not a place but a state; its happiness is not sensual but spiritual. Those who are in it share its blessedness in proportion to how much they are like God and see Him as He is. It is only perfect when their love is like His.