The men standing in the queue behind them saw at once what was happening and quickly passed the word down the line. The news of these high wages not unnaturally led the men who had been hired first thing in the morning to start working out, at that rate of pay, how many days’ wages they were likely to get for their one day’s work.

When, however, they were given exactly the same – one full day’s pay as they had agreed on – they began to grumble to the owner of the vineyard that it was not fair. For, unlike the owner, they were motivated, not by compassion and generosity, but by a hard self-interest. “These last”, they complained, “worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat” (NRSV, Matthew 20: 12).