Vinko MAMIČ, Matthews response to an early missionary issue. Meaning and function of the Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard (Matt 20:1-16). Gregorian & Biblical Press, Roma 2016.

This present paper on the Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard is the published edition of the doctoral dissertation in Biblical Theology defended by Fr. Mamič at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, in December 2011. 
The Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard is one of the most remarkable of the Matthean gospel. Throughout history this parable has shown resistance to a comprehensive and holistic interpretation. In fact, it has been interpreted in various ways, which shed light on certain aspects of the narrative, but contemporaneously aroused different theological and hermeneutical problems. Even in modern times there is no consensus among scholars in terms of the parable’s meaning or in respect to its function in its present literary context, or in its actual context. This dissertation offers a thorough research of these issues. It does not deal with the form and redaction criticism. Consequently, the questions such as: was the parable originally said by Jesus; or is it the fruit of later tradition; or who was the original audience; or why and when the story was first pronounced are not examined in this paper. It considers the parable in its present textual setting and subsequently exposes its significance and function. Thus the meaning emerges primarily from the text itself, i.e. from the parable’s context, and not from its supposed historical environment. Once the relationships between the parable and its context are established, though, the possible parallels with the world outside the text are explored. In other words, parting from the parable in its actual context, this survey examines its plausible historical context. The latter, in turn, provides an insight into the purpose and function of the parable as intended by the evangelist.