finite bargain as to wages. Those who were employed at
nine, twelve, and three o'clock respectively went willingly without
agreement as to what they were to receive; so glad were they to find a
chance to work that they lost no time in specifying terms. At five
o'clock in the afternoon or evening, when but a single hour of the
working day remained, the last band of laborers went to work, trusting
to the master's word that whatever was right they should receive. That
they had not found work earlier in the day was no fault of theirs; they
had been ready and willing, and had waited at the place where employment
was most likely to be secured. At the close of the day, the laborers
came for their wages; this was in accordance with law and custom, for it
had been established by statute in Israel that the employer should pay
the servant, hired by the day, before the sun went down.[1006] Under
instructions, the steward who acted as paymaster began with those who
had been engaged at the eleventh hour; and to each of them he gave a
denarius, or Roman penny, worth about fifteen cents in our money, and
the usual wage for a day's work. This was the amount for which those who
began earliest had severally bargained; and as these saw their
fellow-workers, who had served but an hour, receive each a penny, they
probably exulted in the expectation of receiving a wage proportionately
larger, notwithstanding their stipulation. But each of them received a
penny and no more. Then they complained; not because they had been
underpaid, but because the others had received a full day's pay for but
part of a day's work. The master answered in all kindness, reminding
them of their agreement. Could he not be just to them and charitable to
the rest if he so chose? His money was his own, and he could give of it
as he liked. Were those grumblers justified in their evil displeasure
because their master was charitable and good? "So," said Jesus, passing
directly from the story to one of the lessons it was designed to teach,
"the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but
few chosen."[1007]

The parable was plainly intended for the edification of the Twelve. It
was called out by Peter's question, "What shall we have therefore?" It
stands as truly in force today as when it was delivered by the Master,
as a rebuke of the bargaining spirit in the Lord's work. God needs
workers, and such as will labor faithfully and effectively are welcomed