Stories of the Kingdom: The Parables of JesusSample

Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard

In this parable, Jesus describes a landowner who hires workers for his vineyard at different times throughout the day. He agrees to pay the first group a denarius, the standard daily wage. Later in the day, he hires additional workers, promising to pay them "whatever is right." Near the end of the day, he hires even more workers without specific agreement about their wages.

When it comes time to pay the workers, the landowner starts with the last group hired and gives each of them a denarius. Seeing this, the workers who were hired first expected to receive more, but they also received a denarius, just as agreed. They grumble, feeling they deserve more for working longer hours, but the landowner reminds them that they agreed to work for a denarius and asks if he isn't allowed to do what he wants with his own money. He concludes by saying that the last will be first, and the first will be last.

Why do you think the workers who were hired first grumbled when they received the same pay as those who worked less?