The Text
Last Time on ‘The Story’
So the major shift that has happened between last week’s reading and this week’s reading is that Jesus has physically moved from ministry in Galilee in the north to Judea in the south. Up to this point, Jesus has been out in the country. He has been far away from the center of power, and he has been among the people. Now he is closer to Judea, and the Religious elites who rule there. He is also closer to the Roman authorities who are in charge of the area.
There, the Pharisees ask him about quick and easy (for the men) divorces, and Jesus tells them that Divorces are a conceit, and teaches the disciples about eunuchs. Jesus blesses children. Then he is approached by a rich young ruler asking for eternal life, Jesus tells him to sell everything he owns, and he walks away grieving because of his many possessions. Jesus teaches that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone with great wealth to get into heaven. This messes with the simplistic morality that riches are a sign of blessing from God, and the disciples ask, “then who can be saved?” Jesus tells them that “For mortals it is impossible, but for God all things are possible.” Peter breaks in to remind Jesus all the things they have given up to follow him (even giving an itemized receipt), and Jesus assures that all things will be made right.
Our Parable for today comes immediately after that exchange.
Overview of Matthew
Ch. 1-3 Overture
1:1-2:23 Nativity
3:1-17 John the Baptizer
Ch. 4-7 Jesus’ early ministry, culminating in giving Torah (Sermon on the Mount)
4:1-11 Jesus’ Temptation
4:12-25 Jesus begins ministry in Galilee, gathers disciples, and ministers with the message “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has drawn near.”
5:1-7:29 First set of Torah (aka Sermon on the Mount)
Ch. 8-10 Enacting the Kingdom, culminating in Jesus’ instruction to his apostles (sent ones) as they go out.
Ch. 11-13 Responses to Jesus, culminating in Parables about the Kingdom
11:2-30 Jesus questioned by John’s disciples, and Jesus teaches on John the Baptizer and the Kingdom of Heaven
12:1-46 Jesus questioned by Pharisees, and Jesus teaches about Leaders and Unclean Spirits
12:46-50 Jesus’ family tries to (presumably) question him, Jesus teaches on his true family
13:1-58 Torah on the Lake
Ch. 14-20 Various Expectations of Messiah, culminating in Jesus preparing his disciples/apostles for his death
14:1-12 Death of John the Baptist
Jesus goes to a deserted place
14:13-21 Jesus feeds 5,000 men plus women and children
Boat
14:22-33 Jesus walks on water
Gennesaret
14:34-36 The healing of people in Gennesaret
15:1-9 Pharisees confront Jesus over handwashing
15:10-20 Jesus gives Torah about what truly defiles
Tyre and Sidon
15:21-28 A Canaanite woman refuses to be dehumanized
By the Sea of Galilee
15:29-31 Jesus heals many by the Sea of Galilee
15:32-39 Jesus feeds 4,000 men plus women and children
Magadan
16:1-4 The Pharisees and Sadducees demand a sign
on the Boat, en route to Caesarea Philippi
16:5-12 Jesus warns about the ‘yeast’ of the religious elite
Caesarea Philippi
16:13-20 Peter’s declaration at Caesarea Philippi
16:21-23 Jesus foretells his death, and Peter blows it.
16:24-28 True disciples are those who take up their cross and follow
Mountain
17:1-8 The Transfiguration
17:9-13 Jesus teaches about John and Elijah
17:14-20 Jesus exorcizes a demon which the disciples were unable to
Galilee
17:22-23 Jesus again foretells his coming death
Capernaum
17:24-27 Temple Tax
18:1-5 the greatest in the kingdom is like a child
18:6-9 remove every stumbling block
18:10-14 The Parable of the Lost Sheep
18:15-22 Dealing with sin in the community
18:23-35 Parable of the Unforgiving Servant
Shift from Galilee to Judea (Jericho)
19:1-12 Pharisees ask question about divorce
19:13-15 Jesus blesses the children
19:16-30 The rich young ruler
20:1-16 Equal pay for all
20:17-19 Jesus tells his disciples that he will be betrayed and killed a third time
20:20-28 James and John’s Mother asks for special favor
20:29-34 Two men who are blind call Jesus “Son of David” and are healed
Ch. 21-25 Direct Confrontation with the Religious elites, culminating with a blistering critique of the Pharisees
Ch. 26-28 Crucifixion and Resurrection
Today’s Story
Setting: As said previously, the setting for this parable is in Judea, immediately after the rich young ruler asks about gaining eternal life, and has walked away grieving because he is told to sell all of his possessions to follow Christ.
Landowner: Once again, Jesus’s parable starts with the kindom of heaven being like a landowner. This is a common theme, associating the kindom of heaven with the titled elites over the regular people that Jesus is speaking to. There is some assumed power and authority in these positions, which makes sense for a heavenly kingdom. However, one of the striking things, especially in this parable, is how much the landowner does not act like the landowners that the people would have encountered. Jesus’ parables not only display the kind of kingdom that he acts as herald for, but also describes the types of actions and ways of being for that kindom. This is not the kindom that upholds the status quo, but the shepherd who leaves 99 sheep in the wilderness to find one lost sheep, the sower who extravagantly spreads seeds everywhere, and the landowner who extravagantly gives to everyone their ‘daily bread’.
Jesus is doing two separate things in these parables: First he is providing an alternative vision for the type of government/kingdom/empire that he proclaims. He is showing them a contrast to the hegemonic system of Roman Rule. Secondly, I believe that he is also teaching about the proper conduct for those members of the kindom of heaven with the means to provide for others who live payday to payday.
Day Laborers: The landowner goes out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. The assumption for this parable is that it is the time of the grape harvest (maybe Jesus is even telling this during the harvest time). In such time, it is common to get ‘all hands on deck’ to harvest the grapes before they get over-ripe, and would be very common to hire day-laborers in order to accomplish this. These day laborers would be those (primarily men) who do not have a standard trade, or are not currently working. They would most likely be those who are at the poverty level, looking for something, anything to feed their families.
The modern equivalent would be the Home Depot parking lot, or other places where migrant workers gather. Here there is no assumption of continued employment, it is in fact the opposite, those hiring are looking for a short term employee who will work hard for a day or two, and then find something else to do. This can also be seen in the gig-economy. Companies like Uber, Lyft, Door Dash, etc, ‘hire’ people to drive cars, but really just provide a platform for others to get a ride downtown, no strings attached. The gig-worker can make a decent living, assuming they work hard and are in an area with enough work to be had. Food servers have long lived this way, in most of the United States, servers can be payed $2.15 an hour (well below the “minimum wage” because the assumption is that they will get tips (Again assuming that there are enough customers, and that those customers will tip well).
An aside: I have worked for years in the food service industry and can tell you from personal experience, and anecdotal experience from fellow servers, that the worst sign for a good tip is if the people at the table pray before their meal. In fact, I served at a steakhouse during seminary which had to close, partially because of my fellow students who did not tip on dollar draft night. A stumbling block that we should consider.
The fact is that a large part of our population in the United States could be considered to be in poverty. The official number is 37.9 million people (11.6% of the population) is actually at or below the poverty line. However, according to the Mind over Money study 58% of people in the United States of America feel that finances control their life and 68% of people in the United States are worried about their financial future. The majority of citizens of the United States are one flat tire or hospital bill away from real financial ruin.
On a global scale, 47% of the world population lives on less than $6.85 a day, and 59% live on under $10 a day. On the flip side, 76% of world wealth is held by the top 10% of the highest earners, while the bottom 50% owns only 2% of the global wealth. The wealth gap has only widened in the last few years, the top .01% alone own 11% of all the wealth, up from 7% in 1995. There are around 140 Million houses in the United States, which is just over one for every 2 people (331.9 Million people in the United States), yet an estimated 582,500 people are unhoused. 34 million people in the United States are food insecure, and 53 million people turned to food assistance programs in 2021. It would take an estimated $20 billion to end homelessness in the United States, that is a lot of money, but compared to the US Military Government of $718 billion (which went up by $30.7 billion last year), it is a drop in the budget. The government already spends an average of $35,578 per unhoused individual (which using the above numbers comes to $20,724,185,000 annually) so we are actually spending that much every year to not end homelessness. The US Government spends $20 billion a year on Internet Technology (and have you seen .gov websites?) or subsidies for Fossil Fuels while Exxon Mobil alone posted $55 billion in profits in 2022. Elon Musk makes enough to single handedly end United States Hunger in one business quarter. Likewise, it would cost an estimated $37 billion a year until 2030 to end world hunger. Imagine what that would do for global unrest and therefore national security. The fact is that there are enough resources in the United States to make sure that everyone was housed and fed, but we choose not to use our resources in that way.
Usual Daily Wage: The Denari or Denarius was a standard pay for an unskilled day’s labor. In theory, a Denari could feed a person for a day. It is difficult to determine the relative value of a denarius, but here are some guesses:
Relative to the price of silver, the 3.9 oz. coin would be worth around $2.60 (well below poverty level, and too low to consider seriously)
Relative to the price of bread, the coin would be worth around $25 in 2023 ($7,800 annually- 6 days a week).
Assuming the current national minimum wage of $7.25 and hour, for 8 hours, would make it worth $58 (the calculation that I used for my previous post) ($18,096 annually, still considered low income, and below poverty line)
And assuming $17 an hour, the average wage for a general laborer, for 8 hours would be $136 ($42,432 annually, still low income, but above the poverty line)
Under Julius Caesar, a Roman soldier would earn 225 Denari a year ($5,625- 30,600 using above numbers), a Centurion would earn at least 3,750 Denarius ($93,750-510,000), and the highest rank could earn 15,000 Denarius ($375,000-$2.04 million)
The starting pay for military today is $24,000, and a Secretary of Defense makes up to $221,400.
So based on that, a Denari would be $13 to $15 an hour, about twice what the current ‘minimum wage’ is, but not quite a living wage.
Daily Bread: There is a good deal of this parable which is based less on just compensation (otherwise, those who worked longer would earn more), and more on the idea of daily bread. Exodus 16 tells of the Hebrews after they had crossed the Red Sea, and were in the land of Sin. They had already run out of water, and the lake they found had bitter water; YHWH cleaned the water, and they were able to drink. Now they had run out of food (short of sacrificing the livestock that they had left Egypt with) and complained to Moses/God. YHWH then provided a flock of quail in the evening, and stuff on the ground in the morning. This stuff (Manna or “what is it?” in Hebrew) would be their primary source of food for the next 4 decades in the wilderness. Each day they were asked to gather only enough for that particular day. Those who gathered a lot (perhaps thinking that there would not be enough, or it would not be there the next day), and those who gathered a little (being lazy, or unable to gather) each had just enough. If someone tried to keep some the next day (again, not trusting that there would be enough) would find that their manna had rotted and was filled with maggots, but also that there was manna the next day. This was the case for each day, except the sixth day (Friday) when they miraculously gathered twice as much as other days, and the extra was preserved for the next day, so that they could rest on Sabbath (Saturday). Each day, for decades, the people would be trained in trusting God’s providence for their daily bread.
Our current national minimum wage has not increased since 2009, and is currently one third of a living wage (the amount that would be necessary on average to support a household at 40 hours a week). Some other options have been suggested like a Universal Basic Income, which would provide every citizen a base amount of money to live off of. Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King jr. was working on such a program soon before his assassination, and a plan was proposed by both Linden B. Johnson and Richard Nixon, but ultimately stopped at Social Security. It has been suggested and tried in various places, Switzerland proposed a national plan in 2016, which did not ultimately pass. More recently, future thinkers like Andrew Yang and Elon Musk, among others, have suggested a UBI, specifically citing both the positives and negatives of automation (we can do more with less, and also jobs are being eliminated).
It is not on accident that this parable comes immediately after the story of a rich young ruler who expresses an interest in having eternal life but when faced with the ‘price’ of giving up all that he owns in order to do so, goes away grieving. He did not have the trust that God would provide for his daily needs, and I suspect that he would not have believed that what he had was even enough. This is why Jesus tells his disciples that it is difficult for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven, they (we) have been so formed by the assumptions of this world, the mindset of scarcity, of dog eat dog, of always having 10% less than we want. Jesus uses the illustration of a camel going through the eye of a needle, and how it is easier to do that than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven. There is a story that there was a gate in Jerusalem called the ‘eye of the needle’ which was long and narrow, and really only designed for humans. The story goes that a camel could make it through, but it would take much effort. This story is completely and totally fabricated. There was never such a gate, it was created in some preacher’s imagination in the first millennium, likely to make those who had riches feel better about themselves. All evidence suggests that when Jesus said that it was easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, that he was referring to the small hole at the head of a sewing implement. It is clearly a hyperbolic image, to which the disciples say, “then who can be saved?” Jesus says that it is impossible for humans, but for God nothing is impossible.
Rights of the Firstborn: The other biblical theme that is being expressed in this parable is that of the right of the firstborn. This theme is weaved throughout the Hebrew Scriptures, starting from the very beginning. Humanity is created on the sixth day, well after the ‘sky rulers’ on day four. These creations of sun, moon, and stars signify celestial being for us, but would signify spiritual beings inside or outside of the divine council for ancient hearers. After the water creatures and sky creatures on day five, and after the land creatures earlier on day six. However, these last to be created are crowned with the image of God, and given authority over the creatures of land (the domain of the sky rulers), water, and land. The last of the created beings is the one given the most authority. This may be at play in Genesis 3 when the serpent, representing the creatures and/or the sky rulers, tempts humanity to define good on their own terms, instead of trusting YHWH God. This theme is at play in the story of Cain and Abel when the younger brother’s offering is regarded by YHWH, but Cain’s is not. It is seen when Abram, presumably the second-born son is called by God; when Isaac, the second born-son, is chosen to bear the promise; when Jacob, the second-born and conniving son gets the blessing; and when Joseph, the eleventh-born hated brother is blessed with God’s favor. Moses was the younger brother in his family, David was the second king, Solomon was one of the youngest sons of David, and the list goes on. As this theme is played out, there is often the flip side of God purposefully working through the later-born, and the ‘rightful’ firstborn not responding well. Cain kills Abel, Lot (potentially son of the firstborn of Tarah) endangers Abram’s journey, Sarah worries that Ishmael will endanger her son’s inheritance, Esau wants to kill Jacob for taking the blessing (but ends up accepting that God provides for both of them), Joseph’s brothers are so jealous of him that they sell him into enslavement, Aaron and Miriam grumble against Moses and are punished, Saul goes nuts over jealousy of David, and on and on.
After the interaction with the rich young ruler, and the follow up teaching about riches, Peter reminds Jesus of all that they have given up in order to follow him. “Look, we have left everything to follow you. What then will we have?” Peter is worried about what they will get out of this thing, that they will be justly compensated. I think that in the background of this story is also the interactions that Jesus has had with the Religious elites, where they take umbrage at the poor, tax collectors, prostitutes, and other undesirables receiving attention from Jesus.
This Parable comes in direct opposition to our feelings and expectation of entitlement. Jesus is not advocating the unjust distribution of wealth, all do receive the standard daily wage that they are expecting. However, they also do not receive more than they are entitled to. This is partially a scarcity mindset, that if those who ‘don’t deserve’ reward get it, that there will be less for those who do. It is a zero-sum game, that someone else winning means that you are somehow losing. This is an easy mindset to get into, whether it is government assistance, or being upset because someone did better on a test than you; but it is almost always unfounded. As the popular meme/quote puts it, “When you are accustomed to privilege, equality feels like oppression.” This is at the heart of many racial and other conversations right now, those who are used to having special privilege in society, of getting their way, are having a very hard time with others getting just a little attention. Some even lash out, the proposed Florida HB 999 goes beyond the previous “don't say ‘gay’ bill” and calls for defunding of any higher education program that calls for inclusivity, equality, or diversity; eliminates majors having to do with race or gender (Gender studies, Women’s studies, Critical Race Theory, Black history, etc.); and demands that any hiring decision be held by the trustees of the institution (rather than, say department heads). The idea that any history other than white and patriarchal “founder” history be taught is simply unacceptable to those behind this bill.
We can easily be caught up in such feelings that someone else’s gain means our loss, but it simply is not so.
Pop Culture References
“Knives Out” is a great example of income inequality, assumptions of privilege, what happens when the one who ‘doesn’t deserve’ reward gets it, and what happens when the ‘rightful’ heirs do not. Like with Signs: DO NOT WATCH THIS CLIP UNLESS YOU HAVE SEEN THE MOVIE! Also, these scene includes corse language, projectile vomit, and attempted murder, so be warned.
Here is a local news report from El Cerrito, CA on day laborers from 2008. It gives a little bit of a picture of what happens when workers are not able to be hired: