We Are All Equal to God
Posted on Sep 15, 2026 by Shari Van Baale
Can you imagine working all day in the hot sun and someone else barely worked but got the same amount in pay? This is exactly what happens in the Gospel for this Sunday.
Matthew 20:1-16 tells the familiar parable of the landowner who pays his workers the same wage no matter when they start work.
I can just hear them whining, “But that’s not fair!” The landowner decides to give everyone the same amount, no matter if they worked all day or just a short time.
The landowner tells them he did nothing wrong, even calling the worker “friend.”
“But he replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for a denarius? … Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or are you envious because I am generous?’ So the last will be first, and the first will be last.” (Matthew 20:13,15-16)
According to Biblehub.com, “God’s justice is not compromised by His generosity. The first group of workers received what they initially agreed upon (Matthew 20:13). They had no reason to claim injustice; the reward was fair according to the promise. … The parable encourages believers to remain grateful for God’s grace toward all. Instead of comparing ourselves to others, we recognize that each believer’s ‘wage’ (ultimately, eternal life) is indeed unmerited favor.”
Whether you have followed Jesus your whole life or accept him in your dying breath, everyone who follows him will be rewarded in heaven.
The parable ends with the often quoted, “the last will be first, and the first will be last.” This happens quite literally here, as those who were hired last were paid first. I am sure this also upset those who had been there all day, watching those who just got there get paid while they had worked all day and had to wait for those who came after them to receive their wages.
We all enter heaven on an equal plane. No matter how long we followed God, how much money or things we had, or how many good deeds we did, God loves us all the same and we are all equal in His eyes.
Shari Van Baale
Salem Communications Coordinator