In Matthew 20, Jesus tells the parable of the workers in the vineyard. Some labor all day, while others work only an hour, yet everyone receives the same payment.
Naturally, those who worked longer complain that this is unfair.
What do you think Jesus was teaching about God’s grace, fairness, and the kingdom of heaven?
Does the parable challenge our human understanding of what people deserve?
I think some people get a good start in life, obeying the commandments of the Lord, and the Lord rewards them. Later, they get lazy and stop obeying the Lord. Meanwhile, some people who didn’t get off to a good start in life recognize the error of their ways and repent. God then rewards them. Read this:
Some people come early.
Some people come late.
Everyone gets the same.
The point isn’t when you showed up. You showed up.
I realize you are employed by Salem Network to generate conversation, so you are not actually asking this question: “Why Did Jesus Say Some People Would Be First and Others Last?” for your own personal understanding, but you are asking it rhetorically. Even so, maybe a few comments may edify any who audit these topics. I pray His light.
The chapter and verse numbering in our modern bibles can inadvertently give a reader a false sense of compartmentalism when consuming the various accounts of the Gospels. the gospels were not intended to be broken into small, disconnected, easily digestible morsels, but to be read as a single grand presentation of “The Good News”. The event to which you are referring is contained within a larger context which is explained in Matt. 19:1
“Now it came to pass, when Jesus had finished these sayings, that He departed from Galilee and came to the region of Judea beyond the Jordan. And great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them there. The Pharisees also came to Him, testing Him…”
In this setting, Jesus and his disciples had traveled south from the city of Capernaum,. In Capernaum Jesus taught His disciples:
“At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them, and said, "Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 18:1-4)
This context is important! With that strange teaching still ringing in His disciples’ ears, the concept of “the least being the greatest” will be reinforced here in “Judea beyond the Jordan”. Jesus applies His same Divine perspective while willingly submitting to the Jerusalem Pharisee’s feeble “tests”. Remember, the Pharisees considered themselves far superior in knowledge and depth of spiritual understanding, especially compared to the illegitimate, uneducated son of an insignificant Nazarene carpenter. Jesus sets them on their heals with His divine perspective of marriage. Then He rebukes his disciples for trying to keep the little children away from him, and Jesus has to remind them of what He taught them in Capernaum:
“…“Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 19:14)
Are you beginning to see a pattern developing? Following this rebuke, Jesus offer’s His divine perspective on the dangers of trusting in (depending on) worldly wealth, power, or influence. By this time, it is becoming very obvious who the world considers “least” (or last) and who are considered themselves to be “greatest” (or first). It is also being revealed who Jesus is recognizing as both first and last in The Kingdom of God. The two groups are inverse of each other. The concept is becoming so palpable to the disciples that peter finally explodes by saying “See, we have left all and followed You. Therefore, what shall we have?" Desperately Peter pleas, “Look! We have LEFT ALL, we have nothing anymore, what is to become of us?” to which Jesus reassures him, “Don’t worry, many “first-folks” will be last, and “last-folks” will become first.” This is the important contextual setting for the passage you @ellenvera, have brought before us.
With all this setting firmly in our mind, we are now prepared for Jesus’s teaching of the vineyard owner and his hired servants. With this context firmly in our mind, the parable of the vineyard owner opens up in clarity like a beautiful blooming flower. With this background firmly in our mind we can easily see that those standing by, those testing Jesus, those considering themselves to be “firsts”, considering themselves to be more deserving, considering themselves to “have worked all day” as faithful followers of Moses for nearly a millennium and a half, should be the first to partake of The Kingdom of Heaven. The least among them, such as the gentiles (other nationalities), women and children, laborers like smelly fishermen, even the illegitimate offspring of simple carpenters must get in line behind them. Only if there is enough room in some corner of The Kingdom, and maybe some leftovers no one wants, maybe then the least of men might be permitted to squabble over their kingdom supplied scraps. This parable set that thinking on its head; this parable turned the whole idea of entitlement upside down. Had not the vineyard owner invited them to work, all would have endured the same fate; hunger. Once the vineyard owner invites anyone into His vineyard, all receive His best wages, beginning with the least, and including even the greatest among them last.
This is also a cautionary tale to us, sophisticated, modern, comfortable, wealthy disciples of Jesus. His words are eternal, and do not “modernize” with age or vary with changes in culture. It is still true today that “the first will be last, and the last first”. Jesus never modernized his message to say “unless you all become intellectual giants, erudite forces of academic prowess, persuasive pontificators, or charismatic celebrities you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.” It is just as true today as it was 2000 years ago, “whoever humbles himself as a little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven”.
KP