Charles Spurgeon Commentary Matthew 20:11-12

"And when they received it, they murmured against the householder, saying, These last have spent [but] one hour, and thou hast made them equal unto us, who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat." — Matthew 20:11-12 (ASV)

As soon as the penny was in their hand, a murmur was in their mouth. It was a fair wage and what they agreed to take, yet when they had received it, they murmured against the good man of the house. His only supposed fault was that, as a good man, he was too good to the short-timers. The Lord often greatly blesses men whose working lives are short and even those who are saved late in life. He does not measure work as we do, by the rod or by the hour. He has his own gracious ways of estimating service, and the reckonings of grace are not like those of law.

At the sight of great grace, envious hearts grow sour. The murmurers said, not that the generous Lord had lowered them, but that he had advanced others who had worked only one hour. Their complaint was, “Thou hast made them equal unto us.” In this, he had used his own money as he pleased, even as God dispenses grace as He wills. He is never unjust to any, but in gifts of bounty, He will not be bound by our ideas of equity. If they had been of the right sort, they would have rejoiced that they had been able to give him a fair day’s work, since they had borne the burden and heat of the day.

At any rate, it is a great privilege to be serving the Lord throughout a long life, and those who have enjoyed this high favor are deeply indebted to the grace of God. Blessed be our heavenly Father, some of us have been His servants from our youth and have endured no little labor for His name’s sake, but in this we rejoice greatly and magnify His love.