Verse 8
And when even was come, the Lord of the vineyard saith unto his steward, Call the laborers, and pay them their hire, beginning from the last unto the first.
The chief steward in this analogy is Christ our Lord to whom the Father hath committed judgment; he is the head of the church and shall preside at the judgment of the Great Day. Christ shall mete out to the wicked and to the righteous their just dues.
When even was come indicates the end of earthly life; and, due to the association of judgment with life's end, it has a dual significance, applying not only to the end of life in the earthly phase of the kingdom but having an application to the eternal judgment also. In any case, no pay until evening. That is the big message here. Men may never abandon their labors in the church on the assumption that they have done enough. Those in advancing years should take sharp notice of this. Payment will come at the end of the day; and it may be dogmatically assumed that any who abandoned work earlier received nothing at all for their labors. It corresponds to Bible teaching that these men were paid at the end of the day (see Deuteronomy 24:15; Leviticus 19-13; Job 7:2; Malachi 3:5; James 5:4).
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