Let’s begin, shall we? When Jesus was leaving a certain place, a man
came running and knelt at His feet and asked, Good Master, what can I
do to inherit eternal life? Jesus answered, Why do you call me good?
There is none good but One, and that’s God. If you wish for eternal
life, keep the commandments. The man said, Master, I’ve kept the
commandments since I was a child. Jesus looked at him with love and
said, You’re missing one thing. If you wish to be complete, go and
sell all that you have and give it to the poor and you’ll have
treasure in Heaven, then come and follow me.
This is a very important First shall be last and the last shall be
first point of concern ... The man grew sad at what Jesus said,
because he was rich. Jesus looked at His disciples and said, I tell
you honestly, with what difficulty will those who have riches enter
into the Kingdom of God.
The disciples were surprised at what He said, and He added, It’s easier for a camel to go through the eye of
a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the Kingdom of God. Still
surprised, the disciples said to one another, Who then, can be saved?
Jesus answered, With men it’s impossible, but not with God: for with
God all things are possible. Then Peter said, We’ve left everything and followed
you, what will we have?
Matthew 19:28-30
28 And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have
followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the
throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging
the twelve tribes of Israel.
29 And every one that hath forsaken houses,
or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children,
or lands, for my name’s sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall
inherit everlasting life.
30 But many that are first shall be last
and the last shall be first.
Wow, that is a strange saying ... What is the first shall be last
meaning? Jesus says these words (The First shall be last and the last
shall be first) a few times in the Gospels. But what do these words
mean?
Let’s go find out ... Let’s look at other very important messages and
parables that Jesus shared where He used these same words as to see
if we can understand the first shall be last meaning:
Luke 13:23-30
23 Then said one unto Him, Lord, are there few that be saved? And He
said unto them,
24 Strive to enter in at the strait
gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not
be able.
25 When once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut
to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door,
saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; and he shall answer and say unto
you, I know you not whence ye are:
26 Then shall ye begin to say, We
have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our
streets.
27 But he shall say, I tell you, I know you not whence ye are;
depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity.
28 There shall be weeping
and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and
Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you
yourselves thrust out.
29 And they shall come from the east, and from
the west, and from the north, and from the south, and shall sit down
in the kingdom of God.
30 And, behold, there are last which shall be
first, and there are first which shall be last.
Jesus used these same words to reveal to us a Truth. If one does the
Spiritual math, He is saying that those who are living high or deemed
as upper class and elect not to choose Jesus shall be replaced and
those who are deemed as lower on the worldly ladder ... Will be
offered their place. In other words like Jesus is saying ... The
first shall be last and the last shall be first. In this particular
case, He is referring to the Gentiles (Non Jewish people) taking the
place of many Jewish people that traded God up for the worldly
pleasures. This causes:
“ ... many that are first shall be last; and the last shall be
first.”
Jesus shares more with us:
Mark 9:33-35
33 And He came to Capernaum: and being in the house he asked them, What was it that ye disputed among yourselves by the
way?
34 But they held their peace: for by the way they had
disputed among themselves, who should be the greatest.
35 And He sat
down, and called the twelve, and saith unto them,
If any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all, and
servant of all.
We begin to see a pattern form when Jesus uses the words ... The
First shall be last and the last shall be first. This time the words
are used to reveal to the Apostles who were arguing about who would
be the greatest of the Apostles, that they should not seek to be
highly respected in man’s world but rather lowly and humble because:
“ ... many that are first shall be last; and the last shall be
first.”
Jesus shares even more with us on this
topic:
Matthew 20:1-16
1 For the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an
householder, which went out early in the morning to hire
labourers into his vineyard.
2 And when he had agreed with the
labourers for a penny a day, he sent them into his vineyard.
3 And
he went out about the third hour, and saw others standing idle
in the marketplace,
4 And said unto them; Go ye also into the
vineyard, and whatsoever is right I will give you. And they went
their way.
5 Again he went out about the sixth and ninth hour, and
did likewise.
6 And about the eleventh hour he went out, and found
others standing idle, and saith unto them, Why stand ye here all
the day idle?
7 They say unto him, Because no man hath hired us.
He saith unto them, Go ye also into the vineyard; and whatsoever
is right, that shall ye receive.
8 So when even was come, the Lord
of the vineyard saith unto his steward, Call the labourers, and
give them their hire, beginning from the last unto the first.
9 And when they came that were hired about the eleventh hour, they
received every man a penny.
10 But when the first came, they
supposed that they should have received more; and they likewise
received every man a penny.
11 And when they had received it, they
murmured against the goodman of the house,
12 Saying, These last
have wrought but one hour, and thou hast made them equal unto
us, which have borne the burden and heat of the day.
13 But he
answered one of them, and said, Friend, I do thee no wrong:
didst not thou agree with me for a penny?
14 Take that thine is,
and go thy way: I will give unto this last, even as unto thee.
15 Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? Is
thine eye evil, because I am good?
16 So the first shall be last,
and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen.
Jesus is comparing the workers in the field to the Christian Faith.
Many that have been Christians for quite some time find it difficult
to understand why God would let someone come in at the last moment
and be saved when they were Christians for many years.
Jesus tells us of this same ... The First shall be last and the
last shall be first thought process in the parable of the Prodigal
Son:
Luke 15:11-32
11 And he said, A certain man had two sons:
12 And the
younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of
goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living.
13 And
not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took
his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with
riotous living.
14 And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty
famine in that land; and he began to be in want.
15 And he went and
joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent him into his
fields to feed swine.
16 And he would fain have filled his belly with
the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him.
17 And when
he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father’s
have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!
18 I will
arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have
sinned against heaven, and before thee,
19 And am no more worthy to be
called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants.
20 And he arose,
and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his
father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck,
and kissed him.
21 And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned
against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called
thy son.
22 But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best
robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his
feet:
23 And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat,
and be merry:
24 For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was
lost, and is found. And they began to be merry.
25 Now his elder son was
in the field: and as he came and drew nigh to the house, he heard
music and dancing.
26 And he called one of the servants, and asked what
these things meant.
27 And he said unto him, Thy brother is come; and
thy father hath killed the fatted calf, because he hath received him
safe and sound.
28 And he was angry, and would not go in: therefore came
his father out, and intreated him.
29 And he answering said to his
father, Lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither transgressed I
at any time thy commandment: and yet thou never gavest me a kid, that
I might make merry with my friends:
30 But as soon as this thy son was
come, which hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou hast killed
for him the fatted calf.
31 And he said unto him, Son, thou art ever
with me, and all that I have is thine.
32 It was meet that we should
make merry, and be glad: for this thy brother was dead, and is alive
again; and was lost, and is found.
Let’s take a lil The First shall be last and the last shall be first
field trip ... The younger son represents the lost souls which are
children of God who are caught up in the world and God wants them
back. The older Son represents those Christians older in the Faith.
The older souls in Christ are oft times jealous that the younger in
Christ are being allowed back into the family. They want to try and
burden them with laws when they themselves were saved by Grace.
But why?
This is not an unusual view as even old Testament
prophets did this. After being called by God to warn the people of
Nineveh, Jonah ran and hid and ended up being swallowed by a whale for
3 days and 3 nights in order for God to grab his attention.
Jonah reluctantly agreed to go to Nineveh and
prophesied as God had commanded. The people of Nineveh heard the Word
of the Lord and repented. God forgave them. But this angered Jonah and
he even said it would be better for himself to die than for them to be
forgiven tho he himself had just been forgiven and released from the
whale’s belly.
Jonah 4:1-4
1 But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was very angry.
2 And he
prayed unto the Lord, and said, I pray thee, O Lord, was not this my
saying, when I was yet in my country? Therefore I fled before unto
Tarshish: for I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow
to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest thee of the evil.
3 Therefore now, O Lord, take, I beseech thee, my life from me; for
it is better for me to die than to live.
4 Then said the Lord,
Doest thou well to be angry?
Here is the First shall be last meaning tidbit of truth ... The story
goes on to say Jonah set up a lil camp on a hill and awaited the
destruction of Nineveh even after God said He forgave them. The book
has a very abrupt ending.
Are you like Jonah? Do you make it hard for the lost
children to return to God? If so, you best beware what Jesus is saying
...
“ ... many that are first shall be last; and the last shall be
first.”
These words ... The First shall be last and the last shall be first, are such
a great lesson. There are many people who go through their entire
lives with the good fortune of being Christian. Many from childhood,
were raised as Christians and others, early in life were adopted into
God’s family. There are also many who don’t find Jesus until they’re
older, and some, don’t seek Him until the very last hour.
If you’re
one who has followed the Christian path all your life, this parable
teaches not to be jealous of those lost sheep who weren’t found until
the last hour. Be joyous for them. Praise His generosity. God is good.
He can do whatever He wants with His children. Be thankful for your
place. Here is the best way to explain the words:
“ ... many that are first shall be last; and the last shall be
first.”
Luke 18:9-14
9 And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted
in themselves that they were righteous, and despised
others:
10 Two men went up into the temple to pray; the
one a Pharisee, and the other a publican.
11 The Pharisee
stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee,
that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust,
adulterers, or even as this publican.
12 I fast twice in
the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.
13 And the
publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much
as his eyes unto Heaven, but smote upon his breast,
saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.
14 I tell you,
this man went down to his house justified rather than
the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased;
and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.
Humility Comes Before Honor
Proverbs 15:33
The fear of the Lord is the instruction of wisdom; and before honour is humility.
The First shall be last meaning and the last shall be first
interpretation is that we must choose to serve and not be served.
Hmmmmmmm. First shall be last or last shall be first ... Which one
will you choose to be now (temporarily) for later (eternally)? Choose
wisely.