John Calvin Commentary Matthew 20:8

"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." — Matthew 20:8 (ASV)

And when the evening was come. It would be improper to look for a mystery in the command of the householder to begin with the last, as if God crowned those first who were last in the order of time; for such a notion would not agree at all with the doctrine of Paul. Those who are alive, he says, at the coming of Christ will not come before those who previously fell asleep in Christ, but will follow (1 Thessalonians 4:15). But Christ observes a different order in this passage, because he could not otherwise have expressed—what he later adds—that the first murmured because they did not receive more.⁶⁴⁶

Besides, he did not intend to say that this murmuring will take place at the last day, but merely to affirm that there will be no occasion for murmuring. The personification (προσωποποΐα) which he employs sheds considerable light on this doctrine: that people have no right to complain about the generosity of God when He honors unworthy people with generous rewards beyond what they deserve.

Therefore, there is no basis for what some have supposed: that these words are directed against the Jews, who were full of malice and envy toward the Gentiles. For it would be absurd to say that such people receive an equal hire with the children of God, and this malice, which leads people to cry out against God, does not apply to believers.

But the plain meaning is that, since God defrauds no one of a just hire, He is free to bestow on those whom He has recently called an undeserved reward.

⁶⁴⁶ “Pource qu’on ne leur donnoit non plus qu’aux derniers;” — “because no more was given to them than to the last.”;” — “because no more was given to them than to the last.”