The receiving of the denarius occurs, not at Jesus’ death, but at Pentecost 33 C.E., when Christ, the “man in charge,” pours out holy spirit on his disciples. These disciples of Jesus are like “the last,” or the 11th-hour, workers. The denarius does not represent the gift of the holy spirit itself. The denarius is something for the disciples to use here on earth. It is something that means their livelihood, their everlasting life. It is the privilege of being a spiritual Israelite, anointed to preach about God’s Kingdom.

But it is, in fact, these very ones, whom the clergy despised, who received the denarius​—the honor of serving as anointed ambassadors of God’s heavenly Kingdom.