“God’s kingdom is like an estate manager who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. They agreed on a wage of a dollar a day, and went to work. “Later, about nine o’clock, the manager saw some other men hanging around the town square unemployed. He told them to go to work in his vineyard and he would pay them a fair wage. They went. “He did the same thing at noon, and again at three o’clock. At five o’clock he went back and found still others standing around. He said, ‘Why are you standing around all day doing nothing?’ “They said, ‘Because no one hired us.’ “He told them to go to work in his vineyard.
“When the day’s work was over, the owner of the vineyard instructed his foreman, ‘Call the workers in and pay them their wages. Start with the last hired and go on to the first.’"
Those hired at five o’clock came up and were each given a dollar. When those who were hired first saw that, they assumed they would get far more. But they got the same, each of them one dollar. Taking the dollar, they groused angrily to the manager, ‘These last workers put in only one easy hour, and you just made them equal to us, who slaved all day under a scorching sun.’
“He replied to the one speaking for the rest, ‘Friend, I haven’t been unfair. We agreed on the wage of a dollar, didn’t we? So take it and go. I decided to give to the one who came last the same as you. Can’t I do what I want with my own money? Are you going to get stingy because I am generous?’ “Here it is again, the Great Reversal: many of the first ending up last, and the last first.”
Matthew 20:1-16 (The Message)
Some versions of verse 16 add the phrase "many are called but few are chosen."
I have often wondered about this scripture - who was Jesus referring to when he said the first would be last and the last would be first?
I understand the part about the wages that all the workers received. God's grace is for everyone and even those who wait until their dying breath to accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior will receive the same wages as those who accept His gift of salvation when they are young. Eternal life is the same for everyone who believes in Jesus as the Son of God. We will all enter God's kingdom and live with Him forever. No one is going to get short-changed because they failed to put their faith in Christ while young.
But what did Jesus mean when He said that the last will be first and the first will be last? I've done some research by reading what some of the world's finest theologians interpreted from this scripture and the answer that makes the most sense to me is this: Jesus was referring to the Jews and the Gentiles. The Jewish people were God's first choice to take the message of salvation to the world. They were the first workers hired by God, the owner of the world (or the vineyard). Those who came to work in the vineyard later in the day are those who have come to a saving faith because of Christ Jesus. We are His followers who willingly sacrifice our own lives to work for Christ in the world, doing whatever He commands.
I suppose that the Jewish people have a difficult time accepting the fact that "Gentiles" will enter God's Kingdom and receive salvation yet, their own prophets tried to tell them. Isaiah is referring to Jesus Christ, the Messiah, in this passage.
Isaiah 49:5-7
And now the Lord says—he who formed me in the womb to be his servant to bring Jacob back to him and gather Israel to himself, for I am honored in the eyes of the Lord and my God has been my strength—
he says: “It is too small a thing for you to be my servant to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back those of Israel I have kept. I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.”
This is what the Lord says—the Redeemer and Holy One of Israel—to him who was despised and abhorred by the nation, to the servant of rulers:
“Kings will see you and stand up, princes will see and bow down, because of the Lord, who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.”
“Kings will see you and stand up, princes will see and bow down, because of the Lord, who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.”
God also told Abraham that through his offspring all the nations of the earth would be blessed. Jesus Christ was Jewish and had Jewish ancestry, yet His biological father was God–the God of the universe–the God who wanted His son to shine His light also for the Gentiles (those who do not have Jewish ancestry).
God had a plan from the beginning of time to draw people to Himself and reward those who came to Him. It's never too late to respond to God's call. Until the day of Jesus' return, He will continue to seek workers to join Him in the harvest field and all those who do will receive the same pay – eternal life!
