I wasn’t aware of the parable that takes up the first half of chapter 20, but now I’m fascinated by it. It presents a group of laborers who worked for different amounts of time, but all got paid the same; the longer-working laborers complained, but got the following response, from Matthew 20:13-15:
Friend, I do thee no wrong: didst not thou agree with me for a penny? Take that thine is, and go thy way: I will give unto this last, even as unto thee. Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? Is thine eye evil, because I am good?
Emotionally, I’m on the side of the longer-working laborers here: but why? If they would have felt adequately paid in the absence of the other laborers, then why are they bothered by how the other laborers are treated?
The key here is, of course, the comparison. If the other laborers hadn’t worked at all, and it had been pure charity, I imagine that the laborers who had worked wouldn’t have felt bad. And then there’s another potential scenario that Jesus doesn’t give us: what if both sets of workers had worked the same amount, but they’d gotten radically different pay rates, the lower of which would, in other circumstances, be acceptable? The same argument seems to apply that the lower-paid set of workers shouldn’t feel bad; I bet they would, though, and they’d feel like the person in charge is unfairly playing favorites.
I dunno. I’m still mostly on the side of the longer-working laborers, and, if I were in their shoes, I wouldn’t set my alarm clock early the next day. But “Is thine eye evil, because I am good?” is a very good question.
The rest of the chapter doesn’t strike me as strongly. I do, however, like the call to servant leadership in Matthew 20:26-28, in particular “And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant” (Matthew 20:27).
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This parable is one of the ones that gains the most from a look at the cultural context. The laborers are various segments of the people of god (Jews, gentiles) seeing the light of the gospel. It seems unjust to those who have conceived of themselves as always having been chosen, but salvation will be offered freely even to the gentiles. Remember that Matthew’s community is clearly composed primarily of Jews who have chosen to follow Jesus; this parable seems tailor-made for them, as is the more famous parable of the Prodigal Son.
12/31/2010 @ 8:32 am
So, from the point of view of salvation, my comment that I wouldn’t set my alarm clock early the next day is kind of irrelevant – there is no next day!
12/31/2010 @ 9:07 am
(Though I still think it’s interesting to look at this parable outside of the context of salvation.)
12/31/2010 @ 12:03 pm
Well, here’s where things get interesting, because I think it’s interesting to do that, but only insofar as it shows us that the gospels have really fascinating esoteric content. That is, I think that reading is interesting specifically as an incorrect reading that non-initiates are supposed to fall for, because they don’t have ears to hear the real message.
12/31/2010 @ 12:20 pm
Sorry–it kind of meant like I had some ironic intent with the word “interesting.” I didn’t–I was just commenting too quickly. :D
12/31/2010 @ 12:20 pm
Arrgh. *It kind of looks like
12/31/2010 @ 12:21 pm
Hmm. I’ve certainly enjoyed learning and thinking more about the cultural context of the gospels. But I find it raises a lot of interesting questions (and gives a lot of useful advice) even when completely stripped of that context. And this is an example of that: it makes me want to understand my reactions to the plain story (not the hidden story) in the parable better, and to figure out if it’s a way in which I can improve myself.
12/31/2010 @ 4:14 pm