Mateus 20

Jesus told a parable to illustrate how God will reward those who serve him.

1 "In order to illustrate how God rewards people, I will compare the way God [MTY/EUP] rules his people with what the owner of an estate did. Early in the morning the owner of the estate went to the market where people who wanted work gathered. He went there to hire laborers to work in his vineyard. 2 He promised the men whom he hired that he would pay them the standard wage for working one day. Then he sent them to his vineyards. 3 At nine o’clock that same morning he went back to the market. There he saw more men who did not have work. 4 He said to them, ‘Go to my vineyard as other men have done, and work there. I will pay you whatever is a just wage.’ So they also went to his vineyard and began to work. 5 At noon and at three o’clock he again went to the market and found other laborers whom he promised to pay a fair wage. 6 At five o’clock he went to the market again and saw other men standing there who were not working. He said to them, ‘Why are you standing here all day and not working?’ 7 They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘I will hire you. Go to my vineyard as other men have done, and work there.’ So they went.

8 When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his manager, ‘Tell the men to come so that you can give them their wages. First, pay the men who started working last, and pay the men last who started working first.’ 9 The manager paid the standard daily wage to each of the men who did not start working until five o’clock in the afternoon. 10 When the men who had begun working early in the morning went to get their wages, they thought that they would receive more than the standard wage. But they also received only the standard wage. 11 So they complained to the owner of the vineyard because they thought their payment was unfair. 12 They said to him, ‘You are not being fair! The men who started working after all of the rest of us started worked for only one hour! You have paid them the same wage as you paid us! But we worked hard all day [IDM], including working in the hottest part of the day!’ 13 The owner of the vineyard said to one of those who complained, ‘Friend, I did not treat you unfairly. You agreed with me to work the whole day for the standard wage [RHQ]. 14 Stop complaining to me! Take your wage and go! I desire to give the same wage that I gave you to the men who began working after all of you had begun working. 15 I certainly have a right to spend my money as I desire [RHQ], including paying those laborers what I desire to pay them. ◄You should not be envious about my being generous!/Are you angry [MET] because I am generous?► [RHQ]’" 16 Then Jesus said to us, "Similarly, God will reward well some people who seem to be less important now, and he will not reward some people who seem to be more important now."