Church Fathers Commentary Matthew 20:1-16

"For the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that was a householder, who went out early in the morning to hire laborers into his vineyard. And when he had agreed with the laborers for a shilling a day, he sent them into his vineyard. And he went out about the third hour, and saw others standing in the marketplace idle; and to them he said, Go ye also into the vineyard, and whatsoever is right I will give you. And they went their way. Again he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour, and did likewise. And about the eleventh [hour] he went out, and found others standing; and he saith unto them, Why stand ye here all the day idle? They say unto him, Because no man hath hired us. He saith unto them, Go ye also into the vineyard. And when even was come, the lord of the vineyard saith unto his steward, Call the laborers, and pay them their hire, beginning from the last unto the first. And when they came that [were hired] about the eleventh hour, they received every man a shilling. And when the first came, they supposed that they would receive more; and they likewise received every man a shilling. 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. But he answered and said to one of them, Friend, I do thee no wrong: didst not thou agree with me for a shilling? Take up that which is thine, and go thy way; it is my will to give unto this last, even as unto thee. Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? or is thine eye evil, because I am good? So the last shall be first, and the first last." — Matthew 20:1-16 (ASV)

Remigius of Auxerre: To establish the truth of the saying, “There are many who are first who will be last, and the last first,” the Lord adds a parable.

Pseudo-Chrysostom: The Master of the household is Christ, whose house is the heavens and the earth, and whose family are the creatures of the heavens, the earth, and what is beneath the earth. His vineyard is righteousness, in which are planted various kinds of righteousness as vines, such as meekness, chastity, patience, and the other virtues. All of these are called by the one common name of righteousness.

Men are the cultivators of this vineyard, from which it is said, “Who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard.” For God placed His righteousness in our senses, not for His own benefit but for ours. Know then that we are the hired laborers. But just as no man gives wages to a laborer so that he should do nothing except eat, so likewise we were not called by Christ for that purpose, that we should labor only for things that pertain to our own good, but for the glory of God.

Just as the hired laborer looks first to his task and after to his daily food, so we should attend first to those things which concern the glory of God, and then to those which concern our own profit. Also, as the hired laborer occupies the whole day in his Lord's work and takes only a single hour for his own meal, so we should occupy our whole life in the glory of God, taking only a very small portion of it for the uses of this world. And as the hired laborer who has done no work is ashamed that day to enter the house and ask for his food, how should you not be ashamed to enter the church and stand before the face of God when you have done nothing good in the sight of God?

St. Gregory the Great: Or, the Master of the household, that is, our Maker, has a vineyard, that is, the universal Church. This Church has produced as many branches as the saints it has brought forth, from righteous Abel to the very last saint who will be born at the end of the world. To instruct His people, as if dressing a vineyard, the Lord has never ceased to send out His laborers. First through the Patriarchs, next through the teachers of the Law, then through the Prophets, and at last through the Apostles, He has toiled in the cultivation of His vineyard. Indeed, every person, who in any measure or degree has joined good action with right faith, has been a laborer in the vineyard. ¹

Origen of Alexandria: For this entire present life may be called one day—long to us, but short compared to the existence of God.

St. Gregory the Great: The morning is that age of the world which was from Adam and Noah, and therefore it is said, “Who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard.” He adds the terms of their hiring: “And when he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius a day.”

Origen of Alexandria: I suppose the denarius here means salvation.

Remigius of Auxerre: A denarius was a coin anciently equal to ten sesterces and bearing the king's image. The denarius, therefore, well represents the reward for keeping the Decalogue. And the phrase, “Having agreed with them for a denarius a day,” is well said, to show that every person labors in the field of the holy Church in hope of the future reward.

St. Gregory the Great: The third hour is the period from Noah to Abraham, of which it is said, “And he went out about the third hour and saw others standing idle in the marketplace.”

Origen of Alexandria: The marketplace is all that is outside the vineyard, that is, outside the Church of Christ.

Pseudo-Chrysostom: For in this world, men live by buying and selling and gain their support by defrauding each other.

St. Gregory the Great: He who lives for himself and feeds on the delights of the flesh is rightly accused of being idle, since he does not seek the fruit of godly labor.

Pseudo-Chrysostom: Or, the “idle” are not sinners, for they are called dead. But he is idle who does not do the work of God. Do you wish not to be idle? Do not take what is another's, and give what is your own, and you have labored in the Lord's vineyard, cultivating the vine of mercy. It follows, “And he said to them, ‘Go also into my vineyard.’” Observe that it is with the first group alone that He agrees upon the sum to be given, a denarius. The others are hired with no express stipulation, but, “Whatever is right I will give you.” For the Lord, knowing that Adam would fall and that all would hereafter perish in the deluge, made conditions with him, so that he could never say he neglected righteousness because he did not know what reward he would have. But with the rest He made no contract, seeing He was prepared to give more than the laborers could hope.

Origen of Alexandria: Or, He did not call upon the laborers of the third hour for a complete task but left it to their own choice how much they should work. For they might perform work in the vineyard equal to that of those who had worked since the morning, if they chose to apply to their task a working energy that had not yet been exerted.

St. Gregory the Great: The sixth hour is the period from Abraham to Moses; the ninth is from Moses to the coming of the Lord.

Pseudo-Chrysostom: These two hours are coupled together because it was in the sixth and ninth that He called the generation of the Jews and multiplied His testaments to publish among men, as the appointed time of salvation now drew near.

St. Gregory the Great: The eleventh hour is the period from the coming of the Lord to the end of the world. The laborer in the morning, at the third, sixth, and ninth hours, denotes the ancient Hebrew people. In its elect, from the very beginning of the world, this people zealously served the Lord with right faith and never ceased to labor in the cultivation of the vineyard. But at the eleventh hour, the Gentiles are called. For those who, through so many ages of the world, had neglected to labor for their living were the ones who had stood idle the whole day.

But consider their answer: “They say to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’” For neither Patriarch nor Prophet had come to them. And what is this but to say, “No one has preached to us the way of life”?

Pseudo-Chrysostom: For what is our hiring, and the wages of that hiring? The promise of eternal life; for the Gentiles knew neither God nor God's promises.

St. Hilary of Poitiers: These then are sent into the vineyard: “Go also into my vineyard.”

Rabanus Maurus: But when they had rendered their day's task, at the fitting time for payment, “When evening had come,” that is, when the day of this world was drawing to its close.

Pseudo-Chrysostom: Consider, He gives the reward not the next morning, but in the evening. Thus the judgment will take place while this world is still standing, and each person will receive what is due to him. This is for two reasons. First, because the happiness of the world to come is to be itself the reward of righteousness, so the award is made before, and not in that world. Secondly, so that sinners may not behold the blessedness of that day. “The Lord says to his steward,” that is, the Son to the Holy Spirit.

Glossa Ordinaria: Or, if you choose, the Father says to the Son; for the Father worked through the Son, and the Son through the Holy Spirit, not that there is any difference of substance or majesty. ²

Origen of Alexandria: Or, “The Lord said to his steward,” that is, to one of the Angels who was set over the payment of the laborers, or to one of those many guardians, according to what is written, that “the heir, as long as he is a child, is under tutors and governors” (Galatians 4:1-2).

Remigius of Auxerre: Or, the Lord Jesus Christ Himself is the master of the household and also the steward, just as He is the door and also the keeper of the door. For He Himself will come to judge, to render to each person according to what he has done. He therefore calls His laborers and gives them their wages, so that when they are gathered together in the judgment, each person will receive according to his works.

Origen of Alexandria: But the first laborers, though having witness through faith, have not received the promise of God, the lord of the household providing some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect. And because we have obtained mercy, we hope to receive the reward first—we, that is, who are Christ's—and after us, those who worked before us. For this reason it is said, “Call the laborers and give them their hire, beginning from the last to the first.” ³

Pseudo-Chrysostom: For we always give more willingly where we give without return, seeing it is for our own honor that we give. Therefore God, in giving reward to all the saints, shows Himself just; in giving to us, merciful, as the Apostle speaks, “That the Gentiles might glorify God for His mercy” (Romans 15:9). Hence it is said, “Beginning from the last even to the first.”

Or surely, so that God may show His inestimable mercy, He first rewards the last and more unworthy, and afterwards the first; for by His great mercy He did not regard the order of merit.

St. Augustine of Hippo: Or, the lesser are therefore taken as first, because the lesser are to be made rich. ⁴

St. Gregory the Great: They who have worked since the eleventh hour get a denarius, just as those who have worked since the first, for they sought it with their whole soul. That is, those who were called from the beginning of the world have received the same reward of eternal happiness as those who come to the Lord at the end of the world.

Pseudo-Chrysostom: And this is not unjust. For he who was born in the first period of the world lived no longer than the determined time of his life, and what harm was it to him that the world continued after he left it? And those who will be born towards its close will not live less than the days that are numbered to them. And how does it shorten their labor that the world ends quickly, when they have already completed their lifespan?

Moreover, it is not of man to be born sooner or later, but of the power of God. Therefore, he that is born first cannot claim a higher place for himself, nor should he who was born later be held in contempt. “And when they had received it, they murmured against the goodman of the house, saying.” But if what we have said is true—that both first and last have lived their own time, and neither more nor less, and that each person's death is his consummation—what does it mean that they say, “We have borne the burden and heat of the day?” It is because knowing that the end of the world is at hand is a great force to make us practice righteousness. For this reason, Christ in His love for us said, “The kingdom of heaven shall draw nigh” (Matthew 4:2).

In contrast, it was a weakening for them to know that the duration of the world was to be yet long. So, although they did not indeed live through the whole of time, they seem in a manner to have borne its weight. Or, by the burden of the day is meant the burdensome precepts of the Law. The heat may be that consuming temptation to error which evil spirits contrived for them, stirring them to imitate the Gentiles. The Gentiles were exempt from all these things, believing on Christ and being saved completely by a concise path of grace.

St. Gregory the Great: Or, to bear the burden and heat of the day is to be worn down through a long life by the passions of the flesh. But it may be asked, how can they be said to murmur when they are called to the kingdom of heaven? For no one who murmurs will receive the kingdom, and no one who receives it can murmur.

St. John Chrysostom: But we should not pursue every particular circumstance of a parable. We should instead enter into its general scope and seek nothing further. This, then, is not introduced to represent some as moved with envy, but to exhibit the honor that will be given to us as so great that it might stir the jealousy of others.

St. Gregory the Great: Or, because the old fathers down to the Lord's coming, notwithstanding their righteous lives, were not brought to the kingdom, this murmur is theirs. But we who have come at the eleventh hour do not murmur after our labors, since, having come into this world after the coming of the Mediator, we are brought to the kingdom as soon as we depart from the body.

St. Jerome: Or, all who were called of old envy the Gentiles and are pained at the grace of the Gospel.

St. Hilary of Poitiers: And this murmur of the laborers corresponds with the rebelliousness of this nation, which even in the time of Moses was stiff-necked.

Remigius of Auxerre: By this one to whom his answer is given may be understood all the believing Jews, whom he calls friends because of their faith.

Pseudo-Chrysostom: Their complaint was not that they were defrauded of their rightful recompense, but that the others had received more than they deserved. For the envious have as much pain at others' success as at their own loss. From this it is clear that envy flows from vainglory. A man is grieved to be second because he wishes to be first. He removes this feeling of envy by saying, “Did you not agree with me for a denarius?”

St. Jerome: A denarius bears the figure of the king. You have therefore received the reward which I promised you, that is, my image and likeness. What more do you desire? And yet, you seek not that you should have more, but that another should have less. “Take what is yours, and go your way.”

Remigius of Auxerre: That is, take your reward and enter into glory. “I will give to this last,” that is, to the Gentile people, according to their deserts, “as to you.”

Origen of Alexandria: Perhaps it is to Adam He says, “Friend, I do you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? Take what is yours, and go your way.” Salvation is yours, that is, the denarius. “I will give to this last also as to you.” A person might not improbably suppose that this last was the Apostle Paul, who worked but one hour and was made equal with all who had been before him.

St. Augustine of Hippo: Because that eternal life will be equal for all the saints, a denarius is given to all. But since in that eternal life the light of merits will shine differently, there are many mansions with the Father. So, under this same denarius bestowed equally, one will not live longer than another, but in the many mansions one will shine with more splendor than another. ⁵

St. Gregory the Great: And because the attainment of this kingdom is from the goodness of His will, it is added, “Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with my own?” For it is a foolish complaint of man to murmur against the goodness of God. Complaint is not when a man does not give what he is not bound to give, but if he does not give what he is bound to give. From which it is added, “Is your eye evil because I am good?”

Remigius of Auxerre: By the eye is understood his purpose. The Jews had an evil eye, that is, an evil purpose, seeing they were grieved at the salvation of the Gentiles. He shows what this parable pointed to by adding, “So the last shall be first, and the first last.” And so the Jews, from being the head, have become the tail, and we, from being the tail, have become the head.

Pseudo-Chrysostom: Or, He says the first will be last and the last first, not that the last are to be exalted before the first, but that they should be put on an equality, so that the difference of time should make no difference in their station. That He says, “For many are called, but few are chosen,” is not to be taken of the elder saints, but of the Gentiles; for of the many Gentiles who were called, few were chosen.

St. Gregory the Great: There are very many who come to the faith, yet but few arrive at the heavenly kingdom. Many follow God in words but shun Him in their lives. From this, two things arise to be considered.

First, that no one should presume anything about himself; for though he is called to the faith, he does not know if he will be chosen for the kingdom. Second, that no one should despair of his neighbor, even if he sees him lying in vice, because he does not know the riches of the Divine mercy.

Or otherwise: the morning is our childhood. The third hour may be understood as our youth; the sun, as it were, mounting to its height is the advance of the heat of age. The sixth hour is manhood, when the sun is steady in its meridian height, representing, as it were, the maturity of strength. By the ninth is understood old age, in which the sun descends from its vertical height, as our age falls away from the fervor of youth. The eleventh hour is that age which is called decrepit and doting.

St. John Chrysostom: That He did not call all of them at once, but some in the morning, some at the third hour, and so forth, proceeded from the difference of their mindsⁱ. He called them, then, when they would obey, just as He also called the thief when he would obey. As for their saying, “Because no one has hired us,” we should not force a meaning out of every particular in a parable. Further, it is the laborers and not the Lord who speak thus. For that He, as far as it pertains to Him, calls all people from their earliest years is shown in this: “He went out early in the morning to hire laborers.”

St. Gregory the Great: Those, then, who have neglected to live for God until extreme old age have stood idle until the eleventh hour. Yet even these the master of the household calls, and often gives them their reward before others, since they depart from the body into the kingdom before those who seemed to be called in their childhood.

Origen of Alexandria: But this, “Why do you stand here idle all day?” is not said to those who, having “begun in the Spirit,” are now being “made perfect by the flesh” (Galatians 3:3), as if inviting them to return again and to live in the Spirit. We do not say this to dissuade prodigal sons—who have consumed their inheritance of evangelical doctrine in riotous living—from returning to their father's house, but because they are not like those who sinned in their youth, before they had learned the things of the faith.

St. John Chrysostom: When He says, “The first shall be last, and the last first,” He alludes secretly to those who were at first eminent and afterwards disregarded virtue, and to others who have been reclaimed from wickedness and have surpassed many. This parable, then, was made to quicken the zeal of those who are converted in extreme old age, so that they should not suppose they will have less than others.

1. Hom. in Ev., xix, 1
2. ap. Rabanus
3. Heb 11, 40
4. de Spir. et Lit. 24
5. de Sanc. Virg., 26