The Last Will Be First

Matthew 20:16: So the last will be first, and the first last.

The first will be last. This is one of those famous statements made by Jesus. In the Christian community, this phrase shows up all over the place. Our normal understanding of this statement made by Jesus is this: Jesus is saying that those who are first in this life will be last in the next life. The rich, privileged, and famous in this life will find that those things do not make them important in eternity. And the poor, forgotten, and ignored in this life will be blessed in the life to come.
The question is not whether everything said in the paragraph above is true. The question is whether everything said in the paragraph above is what Jesus was saying in Matthew 20:16 when he said, “So the last will be first, and the first last”?
The first clue in discovering the answer to this question is that almost exactly the same phrase appears in Matthew 19:30. After watching the rich young ruler walk away from Jesus’ call to leave all behind to follow him, Peter says to Jesus in Matthew 19:27, “See, we have left everything and followed you. What then will we have?” Jesus responds to Peter (and the others) in verses 28-30, saying,

Truly, I say to you, in the new world, when the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name’s sake will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last first.

In verse 30 Jesus again says that the last will be first and the first will be last. What was his meaning here? In this context, who are the first and who are the last? Are Peter and his fellow-apostles the last who will be first? That would be great for Peter. Unfortunately the answer is No. Instead, Peter and the other apostles are the first who will be last.
Is this hard to believe? If the apostles are the first who will be last, then who are the last who will be first? The answer is found in Jesus’ statement. Jesus began his response to Peter by saying that the apostles will have a special place in the kingdom. But then he says two words: And everyone. Everyone who leaves things behind to follow Jesus will inherit great reward. So the formula, if we were looking for one might look like this:

The First = Peter and the Apostles

The Last = Everyone who follows Jesus

So, is Jesus really saying that the apostles will be last, and that others who follow Jesus will be first? Yes. And he explains more fully by launching immediately into a parable in chapter 20.
This parable is about a landowner who went to hire workers for his vineyard. At 6:00am he went out and hired several and promised them a denarius. He then went out again at 9:00am, 12:00pm, and 3:00pm and kept hiring more workers. Finally, at 5:00pm, one hour until closing time, he went and hired more workers.
At the end of the day, 6:00pm, the landowner lined up all the workers to pay them. At the front of the line were the workers who had only worked one hour, and at the back were the workers who had worked all 12 hours. To the surprise of everyone, the landowner paid the one-hour-workers a full denarius. When the 12-hour-workers saw this, they assumed that this meant that they would be receiving much more. To their great dismay, they also received only one denarius. Their response to the landowner is very telling:

These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.

Their words ring in our ears, and they certainly rang in Peter’s ears. You have made them EQUAL TO US! We worked 12 hours and they only worked one. They don’t deserve to be made equal to us! Jesus conclusion to this scandalous parable is the same as his response to Peter:

So the last will be first, and the first last.

The last are first are easier to spot in this context. The first are the first workers who were hired. And the last are the last workers hired, who worked for only one hour.
But when Jesus says that the last will be first, he is not saying that the last workers, who only worked one hour, will be exalted about the first, who worked all twelve hours. And he is not saying that the first will be demoted to the last. Instead he is saying that they will all be the same. After all, that is what happened in the parable. The first and the last were made equal. The last are first, the first are last, the new are old, the old are new, the good are best, and the best are good. Equality.
The 12-hour workers were not looking for equality. They wanted an elevated position above the 1-hour workers. Peter also was not looking for equality. He was asking what he and his friends would receive, and Jesus gently helped him to see that they should not be looking to be in an elevated position above others who choose to follow Jesus, even if their sacrifices come much later in life than the apostles’ sacrifices.
What about us? Do we want equality? Do we want equality with the deathbed convert? That just doesn’t seem fair to those of us who have served God our whole lives. Do we want equality with the converted homosexual and the repentant stripper? Not if we are under the impression that we have kept ourselves unstained by the world. But Jesus’ scandalous words must ring in our ears: THE FIRST WILL BE LAST, AND THE LAST FIRST!
This new understanding of this famous phrase should not make the phrase any less prevalent in our Christian circles. But instead of serving as a reminder that the humble will be exalted, it should serve as a reminder that there is not meant to be a hierarchy within the Christian community. Instead there is to be equality.