Mat 20:13 But he answered one of them, and said, Friend, I do you no wrong: didn't your agree with me for a penny?

Here, Christ sets out the principle that defines a free economy: that the relationships between people should be determined by their agreements. Those agreements define right and wrong in our business relationships. It is right to honor our agreements. It is wrong to fail to honor our agreements. If you agree to something freely, you cannot afterward claim that getting what you agreed to is unfair.

In other words, between people, there is not absolute standard for what is fair other than what people agree to. Note that Christ does not suggest that the payment is fair because of social standards. The "penny" described here was really the "denarios," which was the silver coin considered equal to a standard day's wage for a farm laborer. The standard of that price is not what makes it fair. The agreement is what makes it fair.


"Do wrong" is from adikeô, which means "wrong doing," "a wrong," "harm" and "injury."

"Agree" is from sumphôneô, which means "to sound together." It means "to make an agreement or bargain" and it is a is a metaphor for harmonizing.