In the parable of the workers in the vineyard, we are confronted with what we might consider an unfair situation. The owner of the vineyard goes out and hires workers, starting in the early morning and ending close to sundown. But no matter what time of day the workers are hired, all get the same daily wage, even if they only worked for one hour.
Most of us probably will think how very unfair it was that some had to labor all day and others got to waltz in at the last minute, but everyone got the same reward. In fact, the characters in the parable felt the same way and most likely so did Jesus' audience.