“Didst not thou agree with me for a penny?”
The full verse · Matthew 20:13 · KJV
he of , and , , I : thou with for a ?
Asked by
Landowner: the householder in Jesus' parable, now paying his labourers at evening (Matthew 20:8)
Asked to
Complaining Workers: the labourers hired early in the morning who bore "the burden and heat of the day" and murmured when the last were made equal to them (Matthew 20:10-12)
The Scene
At evening the householder pays every labourer a penny, starting with the last, and the workers hired first murmur against him (Matthew 20:8-12).
Why It Was Asked
The purpose behind the questionThe first workers felt cheated. They said, "These last have wrought but one hour, and thou hast made them equal unto us" (Matthew 20:12). The householder answered one of them by pointing back to the agreement they had made that morning (Matthew 20:2). Barnes explains his meaning: "I have fully complied with the contract." Gill says the one addressed was the "forwardest and loudest" in complaining and spoke for the rest. The question is meant to show that no wrong had been done: the worker got exactly what he agreed to.
The Response
What Scripture recordsNo reply from the worker is recorded, and none was needed: he had agreed "for a penny a day" (Matthew 20:2). The householder went on: "Take that thine is, and go thy way: I will give unto this last, even as unto thee" (Matthew 20:14). He then pressed two more questions about his right to be generous (Matthew 20:15).
Historical Context
The world behind the wordsThe word "Friend" translates the Greek hetaire, which Thayer defines as "a comrade, mate, partner." Matthew uses the same word as a form of address in Matthew 22:12 and Matthew 26:50, where Jesus speaks to Judas. The householder speaks to the grumbler as a companion, not an enemy. "Agree" translates synephōnēsas, literally "did you agree with," referring back to the bargain in Matthew 20:2.
Gill shows that Jewish law held hiring agreements to be binding, citing a later rule from Maimonides about wages agreed through a messenger. His point is that "the argument in the parable proceeds upon the agreement, which ought to be abode by."
The Bigger Picture
Where this fits in God's storyThis question shows that God's generosity to some is never injustice to others. The householder kept his word to the first workers exactly. What troubled them was not unfairness to them but kindness to others. Matthew Henry puts it plainly: "if God gives grace to others, it is kindness to them, and no injustice to us."
Gill goes further: the Lord "does no wrong to any" by the distinctions He makes, since no one has a claim on His grace, "and no one has the less for what is given to the other." Barnes applies the householder's words to Christian giving: when believers have paid their debts and wronged no one, they may give the rest as they choose, and the world has no right to complain.
Look Closer
Why did the first workers complain?
Carry the question into prayer and conversation.
Father, when I feel others got more than they deserved, would You show me what You have faithfully given me?
A prayer to carry into the day.
- The first worker got what he agreed to but still felt wronged. Why does someone else's blessing sometimes feel like our loss?
- Share a time when seeing God's kindness to someone else changed how you saw your own blessings.
For you, a small group, a friend, or the dinner table.
When you feel that God is being unfair because someone else received grace easily, remember the householder's question. God does you no wrong. His kindness to another takes nothing from you.
The householder answered the grumbler as "Friend," not as an enemy. You can bring your honest complaints to God without fear, and let Him correct your view gently.
Built from the biblical text and checked against trusted commentaries and lexicons. References & Sources