Mat 20:8 So when even was come, the lord of the vineyard saith unto his steward, Call the labourers, and give them [their] hire, beginning from the last unto the first.
Mat 20:9 And when they came that [were hired] about the eleventh hour, they received every man a penny.
Mat 20:10 But when the first came, they supposed that they should have received more; and they likewise received every man a penny.

Notice what the the Lord of the vineyard is doing. He tells his steward to intentionally start paying the last hired, making those who were hired first wait. He knew that this would intentionally create expectations on the part of those who were hired first.

From this, Christ is saying that life is designed to intentionally create expectations of one kind of fairness while it delivers another kind of fairness.

Notice what is relevant here is what those who were hired first were thinking to themselves. From their point of view, if those who worked only one hour were paid a certain about, they, who had worked the whole day, deserved more. However, this is a private, mental exercise. They naturally wanted more. Everyone wants more. From their own perspective, they thought they deserved more, not because of anything that they had done, but because the Lord of the vineyard was more generous with others.

Notice how this story touches the three realms of the material world: the work that was done, the thoughts that people have, and the relationship between people.

This story is also important because it touches on the nature of debt. Christ's entire message revolved around debt, specifically what we owe God and what what we think God owes us. This idea starts with the Lord's Prayer, where we ask not for fogiveness of "trespasses," but for the forgiveness of our "debts."



"Supposed" is from nomizô, which primarily means "to use by custom" or "to be accustomed to." Secondarily, it means "to own," "to acknowledge," "to hold in honor," and "to believe." It is usually translated as "think" in the Gospels, but it in the sense of having specific expectations.