The parable of the laborers in the vineyard in Matthew 20 places a unique perspective on the matter of fairness. The parable is set in the parenthesis of two paradoxical verses - Matthew 19-30 and Matthew 20-16 - -The first shall be last, and the last shall be first.- The parable must be understood in that context. The point of the parable is not fairness from the beginning but God's grace in the end.