Matthew 20:16

Mat_20:16

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

The elect Christians

It is not a question of calling, but of moving from second to first place, or falling back from first to second place. There is a disparity between those who are in the kingdom of heaven. This seen in Bible history. There is a difference between Abraham and Lot. Look at several passages of Scripture. In Exo_20:4, we read that Pharaohs chosen captains were drowned in the Red Sea. This does not mean that they were favoured captains, but that they had distinguished themselves by their bravery (Jdg_20:15-16). Of the 26,000 Benjaminites who drew the sword, there were 700 chosen men, left-handed. All the 26,000 men called to be soldiers, but there were 700 men who, in addition to the first calling, were called again as a chosen band, not independent of any fitness in themselves, but because there was fitness in them-they could sling a stone at a hair and not miss. (G. F. Pentecost.)

Natures chosen are few

Before we go to the Scriptures let us look at some analogies around us. In the White Mountains there are many peaks, but there is one which towers above the others. It is the choice, the elect peak. There are many organists in the world, but here and there is one who has such mastery over the instrument that all who hear him recognize him as a choice organist. All the others are organists; but here we have the best, the choice players. There are many business-men, but now and then we see one who, by singleness of aim, by untiring devotion to his affairs, rises above all other business-men. He is the chosen one from among all. In the orchard are many apples. Some are full, rounded, beautiful in colour. These are the ones that find their way, by wonderful unanimity, to the top of the barrel at Washington Market; but the gnarled, worm-eaten, sour apple is an apple just as much as the pippin and bellflower. These latter are among apples the chosen ones. I think it will be found eventually that all Christians are the called ones, and that the elect are those who from among Christians are selected for the higher positions in the kingdom of grace. (G. F. Pentecost.)

Order reversed

Sir Thomas Browne, in his Christian Morals, bids himself look contentedly upon the scattered differences of things, and not expect equality in lustre, dignity, or perfection, in regions or persons here below, where large numbers must be content to stand like lacteus or nebulous stars, little taken notice of, or dim in their generations. All which, he goes on to say, may be contentedly allowable in the affairs and ends of this world, and in suspension unto what will be in the order of things hereafter, and She new system of mankind which will be in the world to come; when the last may be the first, and the first the last; when Lazarus may sit above Caesar, and the just obscure on earth shall shine like the sun in heaven, when personations shall cease, and histrionism of happiness be over; when reality shall rule, and all shall be as they shall be for ever. Divine is the voice, as divine the strain, which Dante hears and records in Il Paradiso.

But lo! of those

Who call, Christ, Christ, there shall be many found,

In judgment, farther off from Him by far,

Than such to whom His name was never known.

Leslie, the painter, tells of his hearing the preference expressed by Rogers for seats in churches without pews, opposed by a gentleman who preferred pews, and said, If there were seats only, I might find myself sitting by my coachman. Rogers replied, And perhaps you may be glad to find yourself beside him in the next world. (F. Jacox.)

The reversal of human judgment

Such is the solemn sentence which Scripture has inscribed on the curtain which hangs clown before the judgment seat. The secrets of the tribunal are guarded, and yet a finger points which seems to say, Beyond, in this direction, behind this veil, things are different from what you will have looked for. Suppose, that any supernatural judge should appear in the world now, and it is evident that the scene he would create would be one to startle us; we should not soon be used to it; it would look strange; it would shock and appal; and that from no other cause than simply its reductions; that it presented characters stripped bare, denuded of what was irrelevant to goodness, and only with their moral substance left. The judge would take no cognisance of a rich imagination, power of language, poetical gifts, anal the like, in themselves, as parts of goodness, any more than he would of riches and prosperity; and the moral residuum left would appear perhaps a bare result. The first look of Divine justice would strike us as injustice; it would be too pure justice for us; we should be long in reconciling ourselves to it. Justice would appear, like the painters gaunt skeleton of emblematic meaning, to be stalking through the world, smiting with attenuation luxuriating forms of virtue. Forms, changed from what we knew, would meet us, strange unaccustomed forms, and we should have to ask them who they were: You were flourishing but a short while ago, what has happened to you now? And the answer, if it spoke the truth, would be-Nothing, except that now, much which lately counted as goodness, counts as such no longer; we are tried by a new moral measure, out of which we issue different men; gifts which have figured as goodness remain as gifts, but cease to be goodness. Thus would the large sweep made of human canonisations act like blight or volcanic fire upon some rich landscape, converting the luxury of nature into a dried-up scene of bare stems and scorched vegetation. (J. B. Mozeley, D. D.)

Calling and election

Noah preached the coming flood to the old world for a hundred years; but only eight souls were saved thereby. To the cities of the plain, Lot preached; but only three souls were chosen from them. Six hundred thousand men, besides women and children, passed through the Red Sea; but only two entered the promised land. Gideon went to fight the Midianites with thirty-two thousand men; but only three hundred were allowed to participate in the victory. These are types of the many called, but few chosen.

Called … chosen

The expression is supposed to refer to the manner in which the ancients selected men for recruiting their armies. The honour of being chosen was esteemed the reward of superiority; and, among the Romans, was as follows:-The consuls summoned to the capital, or the Campus Martius, all citizens capable of bearing arms, between the ages of seventeen and forty-five. They drew up by tribes, and lots were drawn to determine in what order every tribe should present its soldiers. That which was the first order chose the first four citizens who were judged the most proper to serve in the war; and the six tribunes who commanded the first legion selected the one of these four whom they liked best. The tribunes of the second and third legions likewise made their choice one after another; and he who remained entered into the fourth legion. A new tribe presented other four soldiers, and the second legion chose four. The third and fourth legions had the same advantage in their turns. In this manner each tribe successively appointed four soldiers, till the legions were complete. They next proceeded to the creation of subaltern officers whom the tribunes chose from among the soldiers of the greatest reputation. When the legions were thus completed, the citizens who had been called, but not chosen, returned to their respective employments, and served their country in other capacities. (Townsend.)

I. That God in communicating His benefits to men, acts in a sovereign manner, making the last first, and the first last.

II. That in bestowing His rewards on mankind, God does not render unto men according to the amount of the means they participate, but the use they make of them.

III. That the bestowment of rewards on this principle is most expressive of the goodness and justice of God. (Sketches.)

Conversation between St. Anthony and the cobbler

We [Bishop Latimer] read a pretty story of St. Anthony, who, being in the wilderness, led there a very hard and straight life, insomuch that none at that time did the like; to whom came a voice from heaven, saying, Anthony, thou art not so perfect as is a cobbler that dwelleth at Alexandria. Anthony, hearing this, rose up forthwith, and took his staff, and went till he came to Alexandria, where he found the cobbler. The cobbler was astonished to see so reverend a father come to his house. Then Anthony said unto him, Come, and tell me thy whole conversation, and how thou spendest thy time? Sir, said the cobbler, as for me, good works have I none, for my life is but simple and slender. I am but a poor cobbler. In the morning, when I rise, I pray for the whole city wherein I dwell, especially for all such neighbours and poor friends as I have; after I set me at my labour, where I spend the whole day m getting my living; and I keep me from all falsehood, for I hate nothing so much as I do deceitfulness; wherefore, when I make to any man a promise, I keep it and perform it truly. And thus I spend my time poorly with my wife and children, whom I teach and instruct, as far as my wit will serve me, to fear and dread God. And this is the sum of my simple life. In this story you see how God loveth those that follow their vocation, and live uprightly, without any falsehood in their dealing. Anthony was a great holy man; yet this cobbler was as much esteemed before God as he.

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Mat 20:16. So the last shall be first, and the first last — The Gentiles last called, and last in advantages and privileges, not having been favoured in that respect as the Jews were, and despised and looked down upon with contempt by the Jews; shall be first — Shall more readily, and in far greater numbers, embrace the gospel than the Jews, and shall far exceed them in knowledge and wisdom, holiness and usefulness, and make abundantly greater progress than they in true religion. And many, whether Jews or Gentiles, that were called long after others, and even late in life, yet being more zealous and diligent in the use of means, and in the exercise of every grace and virtue, and the employment of every talent intrusted with them, shall, in every branch of godliness and righteousness, far excel others who set out in the ways of God long before them. See note on Mat 19:30. For many be called — Even all who hear the gospel, whether Jews or Gentiles; but few chosen — Only those who obey it; and even many who do for a time obey it, and that in reality, and are therefore, οι κλητοι, the called of Jesus Christ, Rom 1:6; yet not persevering to give diligence to make their calling and election sure, by adding to their faith every grace, as directed by St. Peter, 2d Epist. Mat 1:5-10, are not finally chosen to everlasting life, but excluded the marriage-feast for want of a wedding-garment: for without holiness no man shall see the Lord, and only he that is faithful unto death shall receive the crown of life. It seems necessary, before we dismiss this parable, to caution the reader against concluding, from any part of its contents, that the rewards to be conferred after death, or at the day of judgment, will be equal in all that receive them. For this would be to make the parable contradict a vast variety of the plainest passages of the New Testament, which assure us, in the most positive manner, that when our Lord cometh, his reward is with him, to give unto every man according as his work shall be, that is, in proportion to the degree of the inward and outward holiness which he had attained in the days of his flesh, and according to the efforts he had made and the diligence he had used to glorify God, and serve his generation in obedience to the divine will: and according to the sufferings which he had patiently endured. For, as one star differeth from another star in glory, so shall it be with the saints at the resurrection of the dead.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

20:16 See Matt 5:19; 8:11-12.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Mat 20:16. Οὕτως, in such a manner) The conclusion enunciated in ch. Mat 19:30 is inferred again from the parable, though somewhat inverted, and at the same time limited by the οὕτως, as in Rev 3:16. Not all who are first shall fail, yet all require to be on the watch, lest they should fail; and all do fail who conduct themselves as the ἑταῖρος, (‘friend,’ or comrade) mentioned in the parable. Many, also, from the intermediate ranks, may take up a higher or a lower position.—ἔσονται, shall be) With respect to the apostles, it is not a prediction, but a warning.—οἱ, the) The article is here the sign of the subject (as it is everywhere, except when that is still more definitely determined by a proper name or a pronoun, demonstrative or personal), and at the same time has reference to ch. Mat 19:30; thus showing that the proposition is not to be taken as of universal application.—πρῶτοι, first) See the end of Mat 20:8.—πολλοὶ, many) sc. of the first, who themselves are many (see ch. Mat 19:30); and moreover of οἱ ἔσχατοι, the last.—κλητοὶ, called) The term κεκλημένος is applied to a labourer who has been invited, even though he should not enter the vineyard: the term κλητὸς, signifies one who has embraced the calling.[883]—ἐκλεκτοὶ, chosen) i.e. selected in preference to others. In this passage, the first where it occurs, the word seems to denote, not all who shall be saved, but, the most excellent of human beings. See Franck’s Sermons for Sundays and Holidays, pp. 431, 432, and W. Wall’s Critical Notes, p. 27.

[883] Ὀλίγοι, few) who, as clinging to mere [unmixed] faith, give [cause] more honour to God, than the most zealous workmen.—V. g.

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Mat_20:16. The teaching of the parable: So,just, as in the case here supposed, those who were the last to be sent into the vineyard received the same amount of wages as the first; so in the Messiahs kingdom, the last will be on the same footing as the first, and the first as the last, without a longer period of service giving an advantage, or a shorter putting to a disadvantage. Comp. Mat_19:30.

ἔσονται] that is, practically, as far as the reward they are to receive is concerned. The first will be last, inasmuch as the former receive no more than the latter (in answer to de Wettes objection, as though, from the expression here used, we would require to suppose that they will receive less than a denarius). There is nothing whatever in the text about the exclusion of the πρῶτοι from the kingdom, and the admission of the ἔσχατοι (Krehl in the Sächs. Stud. 1843); and as little to favour the view, adopted by Steffensen: those who esteem themselves last shall be first, and those who esteem themselves first shall be last, for the labourers in the parable were in reality ἔσχατοι and πρῶτοι. The proposition: that, in dispensing the blessings of the kingdom of heaven, God takes no account of human merit, but that all is the result of His own free grace (Rupprecht, Bleek, Holtzmann, Keim), does not constitute the leading thought set forth in the parable, though, no doubt, it may be supposed to underlie it.

πολλοὶ γὰρ, κ.τ.λ.] Confirmation of what has just been said about the ἔσχατοι being put upon an equality with the πρῶτοι: for although many are called to share in the future recompense for services rendered to the Messiahs kingdom, yet those chosen to receive rewards of a pre-eminent and peculiarly distinguished character in that kingdom are but few. These ἐκλεκτοί are not the ἔσχατοι (those, as Olshausen fancies, whose attitude toward the kingdom is of a more spontaneous nature, and who render their services from hearty inclination and love), but those who are selected from the multitude of the κλητοί. We are taught in the parable what it is that God chooses them for, namely, to be rewarded in an extraordinary degree (to receive more than the denarius). The train of thought, then, is simply this: It is not without reason that I say: καὶ οἱ πρῶτοι ἔσχατοι, for, from this equalizing of the first with the last, only a few will be excepted,namely, those whom God has selected for this from among the mass of the called. Thus the parable concludes, and that very appropriately, with language which, no doubt, allows the Apostles to contemplate the prospect of receiving rewards of a peculiarly distinguished character (Mat_19:28), but does not warrant the certainty of it, nor does it recognise the existence of anything like so-called valid claims; for, according to the idea running through the parable, the ἐκλογή is to be ascribed simply to the purpose of God (Rom_9:11; Rom_9:15 f.) See Mat_20:15. Comp. also note on Mat_22:14.

REMARK.

The simple application of Mat_20:16 ought to warn against arbitrary attempts to trace a meaning in all the little details of the parable, many of which belong to the mere drapery of the story. The householder is God; the vineyard is the Christian theocracy, in which work is to be done in the interests of the approaching kingdom of the Messiah; the οἰχονόμος is Christ; the twelfth hour, at which the wages are paid, is the time of the second coming; the other hours mark the different periods at which believers begin to devote themselves to the service of Gods kingdom; the denarius denotes the blessings of the Messianic kingdom in themselves, at the distribution of which the circumstance of an earlier entrance into the service furnishes no claim to a fuller measure of reward, however little this may accord with human ideas of justice; hence the πρῶτοι are represented as murmuring, whereupon they are dismissed from the masters presence. Calvin appropriately observes: hoc murmur asserere noluit ultimo die futurum, sed tantum negare causam fore murmurandi. But there is nothing to warrant the view that, inasmuch as they consented to be hired only for definite wages, the πρῶτοι betrayed an unworthy disposition, while those who came later exhibited a more commendable spirit in being satisfied simply with the promise of ὃ ἐὰν ᾖ δίκαιον. It can only be of service in the way of edifying application, but it is not reconcilable with the historical sense of the passage, to explain the different hours as referring to the different stages of life, childhood, youth, manhood, and old age (Chrysostom, Theophylact, Euthymius Zigabenus), inasmuch as they are meant to represent various periods between the time of Christ and the close of the αἰὼν οὗτος, at which the second coming is to take place, and are therefore to be regarded as exhibiting the time embraced by the generation then existing (Mat_16:28) under the figure of a day with its various divisions. Origen supposed that the allusion was to the leading epochs of history from the beginning of the world (1) till the flood; (2) till Abraham; (3) till Moses; (4) till Christ; (5) till the end of the world. This view is decidedly forbidden by Mat_19:29 f. Yet similar explanations, based upon the history of the world, are likewise given by Theophylact and others. No less foreign is the reference to the Jews and Gentiles, which Grotius, but especially Hilgenfeld, following Jerome, has elaborated, so that the first of the labourers are taken to represent the Jews, whose terms of service, so to speak, are distinctly laid down in the law, and subsequently re-affirmed, at least, in an indefinite form; while those who come last are supposed to represent the Gentiles, who, in accordance with the new covenant of grace, receive, and that before all the others, precisely the same reward as those who were the first to be called. Scholten is disposed to think that the parable was also intended to expose the pretensions of the Jews to precedence and distinction in the kingdom.

Meyer — Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament — English translation by Peter Christie, edited by Frederick Crombie (T&T Clark, 1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Mat 20:16 . Christ here points the moral of the parable = Mat 19:30 , the terms ἔσχατοι πρῶτοι changing places, the better to suit the story. The meaning is not: the last as the first, and the first as the last, all treated alike. True, all get the same sum; at least the last and first do, nothing being said of those between; but the point of the parable is not that the reward is the same. The denarius given to all is not the central feature of the story, but the will of the master, whose character from a commercial point of view is distinctly eccentric, and is so represented to make it serve the didactic purpose. The method of this master is commercially unworkable; combination of the two systems of legal contract and benevolence must lead to perpetual trouble. All must be dealt with on one footing. And that is what it will come to with a master of the type indicated. He will abolish contract, and engage all on the footing of generously rewarding generous service. The parable does not bring this out fully, as it gives the story only of a single day. It suggests rather than adequately illustrates its own moral, which is that God does not love a legal spirit. In the parable the men who worked on contract, and, as it came out at the end, in a legal temper, got their penny, but what awaits them in future is not to be employed at all. Work done in a legal spirit does not count in the Kingdom of God. In reward it is last, or even nowhere. This is the trend of the parable, and so viewed it has a manifest connection with Peter’s self-complacent question. On this parable vide my Parabolic Teaching of Christ .

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

So the last shall be first, and the first last--that is, "Take heed lest by indulging the spirit of these murmurers at the penny given to the last hired, ye miss your own penny, though first in the vineyard; while the consciousness of having come in so late may inspire these last with such a humble frame, and such admiration of the grace that has hired and rewarded them at all, as will put them into the foremost place in the end."

for many be called, but few chosen--This is another of our Lord's terse and pregnant sayings, more than once uttered in different connections. (See Mat 19:30; Mat 22:14). The "calling" of which the New Testament almost invariably speaks is what divines call effectual calling, carrying with it a supernatural operation on the will to secure its consent. But that cannot be the meaning of it here; the "called" being emphatically distinguished from the "chosen." It can only mean here the "invited." And so the sense is, Many receive the invitations of the Gospel whom God has never "chosen to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth" (Th2 2:13). But what, it may be asked, has this to do with the subject of our parable? Probably this--to teach us that men who have wrought in Christ's service all their days may, by the spirit which they manifest at the last, make it too evident that, as between God and their own souls, they never were chosen workmen at all.

Next: Matthew Chapter 21

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 16. So the last shall be first, and the first last] The GENTILES, who have been long without the true God, shall now enjoy all the privileges of the new covenant; and the Jews, who have enjoyed these from the beginning, shall now be dispossessed of them; for, because they here rejected the Lord, he also hath rejected them.

Many are called, c.] This clause is wanting in BL, one other, and in the Coptic and Sahidic versions. Bishop PEARCE thinks it is an interpolation from Mt 22:14. The simple meaning seems to be: As those who did not come at the invitation of the householder to work in the vineyard did not receive the denarius, or wages, so those who do not obey the call of the Gospel, and believe in Christ Jesus, shall not inherit eternal life.

This place seems to refer to the ancient Roman custom of recruiting their armies. Among this celebrated people, no one was forced to serve his country in a military capacity and it was the highest honour to be deemed worthy of thus serving it. The youth were instructed, almost from their cradle, in military exercises. The Campus Martius was the grand field in which they were disciplined: there, they accustomed themselves to leaping, running, wrestling, bearing burdens, fencing, throwing the javelin, c., and when, through these violent exercises, they were all besmeared with dust and sweat, in order to refresh themselves, they swam twice or thrice across the Tyber! Rome might at any time have recruited her armies by volunteers from such a mass of well-educated, hardy soldiers but she thought proper, to use the words of the Abbe Mably, that the honour of being chosen to serve in the wars should be the reward of the accomplishments shown by the citizens in the Campus Martius, that the soldier should have a reputation to save; and that the regard paid him, in choosing him to serve, should be the pledge of his fidelity and zeal to discharge his duty. The age of serving in the army was from seventeen to forty-five, and the manner in which they were chosen was the following: -

After the creation of consuls, they every year named twenty-four military tribunes, part of whom must have served five years at least, and the rest eleven. When they had divided among them the command of the four legions to be formed, the consuls summoned to the capitol, or Campus Martius, all the citizens who, by their age, were obliged to bear arms. They drew up by tribes, and lots were drawn to determine in what order every tribe should present its soldiers. That which was the first in order chose the four citizens who were judged the most proper to serve in the war; and the six tribunes who commanded the first legion chose one of these four, whom they liked best. The tribunes of the second and third likewise made their choice one after another; and he that remained entered into the fourth legion. A new tribe presented other four soldiers, and the second legion chose first. The third and fourth legions had the same advantage in their turns. In this manner, each tribe successively chose four soldiers, till the legions were complete. They next proceeded to the creation of subaltern officers, whom the tribunes chose from among the soldiers of the greatest reputation. When the legions were thus completed, the citizens who had been called, but not chosen, returned to their respective employments, and served their country in other capacities. None can suppose that these were deemed useless, or that, because not now chosen to serve their country in the field, they were proscribed from the rights and privileges of citizens, much less destroyed, because others were found better qualified to serve their country at the post of honour and danger. Thus many are called by the preaching of the Gospel, but few are found who use their advantages in such a way as to become extensively useful in the Church-and many in the Church militant behave so ill as never to be admitted into the Church triumphant. But what a mercy that those who appear now to be rejected may be called in another muster, enrolled, serve in the field, or work in the vineyard? How many millions does the long-suffering of God lead to repentance!

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(16) So the last shall be first.—This, then, is the great lesson of the parable, and it answers at once the question whether we are to see in it the doctrine of an absolute equality in the blessedness of the life to come. There also there will be some first, some last, but the difference of degree will depend, not on the duration of service, nor even on the amount of work done, but on the temper and character of the worker. Looking to the incident which gave rise to the parable, we can scarcely help tracing a latent reference to the “young ruler” whom the disciples had hastily condemned, but in whom the Lord, who “loved” him (Mar_10:21), saw the possibility of a form of holiness higher than that which they were then displaying, if only he could overcome the temptation which kept him back when first called to work in his Master’s vineyard in his Master’s way. His judgment was even then reversing theirs.

For many be called, but few chosen.—The warning is repeated after the parable of the Wedding Feast (Mat_22:14), and as it stands there in closer relation with the context, that will be the fitting place for dwelling on it. The better MSS., indeed, omit it here. If we accept it as the true reading, it adds something to the warning of the previous clause. The disciples had been summoned to work in the vineyard. The indulgence of the selfish, murmuring temper might hinder their “election” even to that work. Of one of the disciples, whose state may have been specially present to our Lord’s mind, this was, we know, only too fatally true. Judas had been “called,” but would not be among the “chosen” either for the higher work or for its ultimate reward-Interpreting the parable as we have been led to interpret it, we cannot for a moment imagine that its drift was to teach the disciples that they would forfeit their place in the kingdom. A wider interpretation is, of course, possible, and has been often applied, in which the first-called labourers answer to the Jews, and those who came afterwards to converts in the successive stages of the conversion of the Gentiles. But this, though perhaps legitimate enough as an application of the parable, is clearly secondary and subordinate, and must not be allowed to obscure its primary intention.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

16. for many be called, but few chosen] This verse which occurs in a natural connection ch. Mat_19:30, but is difficult to explain here, is omitted in the best MSS. The words are probably interpolated.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And Jesus going up to Jerusalem,.... Which was situated (f) in the highest part of the land of Israel: the land of Israel, is said to be higher than any other land whatever; and the temple at Jerusalem, higher than any part of the land of Israel; wherefore Christ's going to Jerusalem, is expressed by going up to it. Whither he came either from the coasts of Judea, from beyond Jordan, Mat 19:1 where he had been some time healing diseases, disputing with the Pharisees, discoursing with the young ruler, and instructing his disciples; or from a country near to the wilderness, from a city called Ephraim, Joh 11:54 where he continued some time with his disciples, after the sanhedrim had took counsel to put him to death; for this was his last journey to Jerusalem.

Took the twelve disciples apart in the way: into some private place, which lay near the road; for it seems that there were others that followed him, besides the twelve; when he was not willing they should hear what he had to say to them, concerning the issue of this, journey; lest either they should be discouraged and desert him, or it should be made public, and methods be used to prevent it: and said unto them; the disciples, whom he thought fit once more to remind of his sufferings and death, and to prepare them for the same; and though they would not so thoroughly understand all that he should say, yet when it was come to pass, they would remember it, and which would be of service to confirm their faith in him, as the true Messiah. See Gill on Mar 10:32.

(f) T. Bab. Sanhedrim, fol. 87. 1.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

16 So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen.

Ver. 16. So the last shall be first, &c.] This is the purport of the preceding parable. Application is the life of preaching.

Few are chosen] It is a strange speech of Chrysostom, in his fourth sermon to the people of Antioch, where he was much beloved and did much good. How many, think you, shall be saved in this city? It will be a hard speech to you, but I will speak it: though there be so many thousand of you, yet there cannot be found a hundred that shall be saved, and I doubt about them too; for what villany is there in youth! what sloth in old men! and so he goes on. Non arbitror inter sacerdotes multos esse qui salvi flaunt. Chrysost. hom. 3. in Act. {See Trapp on "Mat 7:14"}

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

So the last shall be first ... - This is the moral or scope of the parable. “To teach this it was spoken.” Many that, in the order of time, are brought last into the kingdom, shall be first in the rewards. Higher proportionate rewards shall be given to them than to others. “To all justice shall be done.” To all to whom the rewards of heaven are promised they shall be given. Nothing shall be withheld that was promised. If, among this number who are called into the kingdom, I choose to raise some to stations of distinguished usefulness, and to confer on them special talents and higher rewards, I injure no other one. They shall enter heaven, as was promised. If, amid the multitude of Christians, I choose to signalize such men as Paul, and Martyn, and Brainerd, and Spencer, and Summerfield - to appoint some of them to short labor but to wide usefulness, and raise them to signal rewards, I injure not the great multitude of others who live long lives less useful and less rewarded. All shall reach heaven, and all shall receive what I promise to the faithful.

Many be called, but few chosen - The meaning of this, in this connection, I take to be simply this: “Many are called into my kingdom; they come and labor as I command them; many of them are comparatively unknown and obscure; yet they are real Christians, and shall all receive the proper reward. A few I have chosen for higher stations in the church. I have endowed them with apostolic gifts or with superior talents, and suited them for wider usefulness. They may not be as long in the vineyard as others; their race may be sooner run; but I have chosen to honor them in this manner, and I have a right to do it. I injure no one, and have a right to do what I will with my own.” Thus explained, this parable has no reference to the call of the Gentiles, nor to the call of aged sinners, nor to the call of sinners out of the church at all. It is simply designed to teach that in the church, among the multitudes who will be saved, Christ makes a difference. He makes some more useful than others, without regard to the time which they serve, and he will reward them accordingly. The parable teaches one truth, and but one; and where Jesus has explained it, we have no right to add to it, and say that it teaches anything else. It adds to the reason for this interpretation, that Christ was conversing about the rewards that should be given to his followers, and not about the numbers that should be called, or about the doctrine of election. See Mat 19:27-29.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Few chosen: only such as have not despised their caller, but followed and believed him; for men believed not, but of their own free will. (St. Augustine, lib. i, ad Simplic. q. ii.) (Bristow) --- Hence the rejection of the Jews and of negligent Christians, and the conversion of strangers, who come and take their place, by a conversion both of faith and morals. On the part of God all are called. (Matthew xi. 28.) Come to me all, &c. In effect, many after their call, have attained to faith and justification; but few in comparison are elected to eternal glory, because the far greater part do not obey the call, but refuse to come, whilst may of those who come fall away again; and thus very few, in comparison with those that perish, will at the last day be selected for eternal glory. (Tirinus)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

16. Last… first — As he had warned Peter in the last verse of the last chapter. The arrogating spirit of the first may sink them to the last, and vice versa. Called — To labour for Christ. Few chosen — To the final reward; because few serve Christ in the right humble spirit.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

So the last, etc. The parable concludes with the saying with which it began, (Mat_19:30) but with some inversion in the order of the words. There it was, "Many first shall be last; and last first;" here it is, The last shall be first, and the first last. The circumstances of the parable necessitate this change. The last called were first paid, and were equal to the first in recompense; the first were behind the others in time of payment, and in the spirit with which they received their wages; they were also treated with less generosity than the others. For many be called...chosen. (Mat_22:14) This clause is omitted by a, B, and other manuscripts; but it has good authority, and is most probably genuine. It is added in explanation or justification of the preceding statement. From not seeing its applicability, and regarding it as opposing the intention of the parable, some transcribers and some editors have expunged it from the text. But it would seem that Christ takes occasion from the particular case in the parable to make a general statement, that not all who are called would receive reward; because many would not answer the call, or would nullify it by their conduct; not, as Theophylact says, that salvation is limited, but men"s efforts to obtain it are feeble or negative. In other words, many outwardly members of the kingdom of God are unworthy of, and shall not share in, its spiritual blessings. Chosen. Many, that is virtually all, are chosen; but there is an election within the election, and they only who are of this inner circle shall be recompensed at the resurrection of the just.

The interpretation of the parable. As in all parables, so here, we are to regard the general scope, and not lay too much stress on details, which often, while adding to the vividness of the picture, contribute nothing to its spiritual side. The explanation of this difficult parable has greatly exercised the minds of commentators in all ages of the Church, and various have been the views with which its bearing has been regarded. We may, however, select two expositions which seem to embody most of the suggestions advanced, and are in themselves most reasonable. The first considers it as of individual application the call of God coming to the soul at different ages of life. Thus the householder is God, the marketplace the world, the vineyard the visible Church, the labourers are men who have to do their work therein, the steward is Christ, who superintends and rewards the faithful workers. The hours of the day represent the various periods of men"s life at which they hear and answer God"s call to a closer walk with him, when, as modern theology terms it, they are converted. Some, at the first hour, from their very infancy, live a pure and holy life; some at the third hour, in early youth, begin to serve God effectually; others at midday, in full maturity; others at the ninth hour, when old age is creeping on them; and lastly others obey the call only at the eleventh hour, at the very approach of death. And all who have laboured at all, without regard to the length of service, receive the "penny," i.e. not some indefinite temporal benefit, but eternal life, which in a general sense (without considering the difference of degrees which shall exist) is the same for all. The apparent unfairness of this recompense, if we take a merely human view of the transaction, is obvious. They who have lived a life of holiness, and they who have given to God only the dregs of their ill-spent days, receive the same salvation. The difficulty is removed in two ways. We may say that the capacity for receiving and enjoying the reward depends ca the recipient, and that what to one would be infinite bliss and satisfaction, to another would offer far inferior enjoyment. Or we may take refuge in the mysteriousness of God"s arrangements, and hold that the considerations in accordance with which God apportions his rewards are known only to him, and are truly, and are intended to be, beyond human understanding. Further, if the hours represent the stages of human life at which Christians are called, surely, to make the parable concinnous, they ought to be the same persons who are invited on each occasion, not different ones. We should be told, not that the householder found others wanting work, and sent all thus found into the vineyard; but that some of those called at the various hours refused the work and scoffed at his offer, while others after a time accepted it, and at the approach of the night all the idle remnant consented to labour, thankful at last to win wages for little trouble. But the parable says nothing of all this, and would need much alteration to make it speak so. There is another difficulty which has to be met, if the above interpretation is adopted. How are we to explain the murmuring of the discontented labourers? There can be no envy and displeasure in heaven. It is not conceivable that any who have obtained the gift of eternal life should be dissatisfied with their reward or jealous of others. This is not a mere accessory which is outside the spirit of the story, and adds no item to its mystical signification; it is really the leading feature, and the householder"s own interference and reproof are based entirely on this behaviour of the first called. If the "penny" signifies eternal life, and the labourers are all the called, there is no satisfactory explanation of this part of the parable. The murmur is heard after the reception of the reward, and is censured accordingly; these things could not be found in the Church triumphant; none can murmur there; if they did feel envy and discontent, they would not be worthy of a place in the kingdom. Therefore another interpretation must be advanced which will allow the proper importance to this detail of the parable. The only one that does this is that which gives a national, not simply an individual, bearing to the story. According to this exposition, it applies to the calling of the Jews and the Gentiles, though there are still particulars which do not entirely or without some violence suit the application. The "penny" which all receive is the favour of God, the privileges that crown and reward the members of his kingdom. God"s ancient people were first called to work in his vineyard. The various hours of the day cannot be accurately explained. Many interpreters follow St. Gregory in defining the first hour as extending from Adam to Noah, the third from Noah to Abraham, the sixth from Abraham to Moses, the ninth from Moses to the coming of Christ, the eleventh from the coming of Christ to the end of the world. During all the day, up to the eleventh hour, the call was confined to the Jews and their progenitors; in the eleventh hour the Gentiles are called, and, accepting the call, receive the same privileges as the Jews. It is better to forego any attempt to interpret the various hours and the various sets of labourers definitely, except to observe that the first called, with whom a covenant was made, plainly represent the Jews, the people called under the covenant of works, who were to be rewarded according to their service; the other workers are not paid stipulated wages; they receive ("I will give") reward of free grace in accordance with God"s inscrutable appointment. That the Jews murmured at the admission of the Gentiles to the kingdom of God and the Father"s favour, we are taught in many places. The discontent of the elder brother in the parable of the prodigal son is a case in point. So in Act_13:45, Act_13:46, the Jews are filled with envy that the Word should be spoken to and accepted by heathens, and St. Paul (1Th_2:16) complains that the Jews forbade him and his fellow apostles "to speak to the Gentiles, that they might be saved." Our Lord looks forward to and prepares his disciples for this envious and ungenerous behaviour, as he continually teaches that the gospel is for all men everywhere, confined to no people or country, but free as the air of heaven or the light of the all-fostering sun. These Gentiles are the last in time, but by their willing service and obedience in the faith are made first; while God"s ancient people, once the first, become by their jealousy and hatred of others the last. "There (ekei) 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. 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". (Luk_13:28, Luk_13:29) This momentous change in the relation of the peculiar people to the rest of the world was thus foretold and prepared for. And the lesson ends with the mournful fact, read by the eye of the Omniscient, that though virtually all the Jews were called, yet but a small remnant will accept the gospel the elect of grace, a little flock. By this parable, regarded in its primary application as a reply to Peter"s question, (Mat_19:27) "What shall we have therefore?" the apostles are warned that they are not to expect as their due something super eminent over those called later than themselves; that the reward is not of merit, but of free grace. This last thought pervades the whole similitude, and must be borne carefully in mind, whether we take the individual, or the national, or any other mixed interpretation.

A great reversal.

This is an often-repeated saying of our Lord"s; perhaps he uttered it more often than anything else a fact which shows its importance and also the difficulty people have in believing it and acting on it. We are not to suppose that there is a Nemesis that mocks at good fortune and delights in reversing it. Prosperity is not punished as such, for it is not in itself an evil thing. God is gracious and generous. He would not torment his children with needless disappointments. Let us, then, look for the causes of the great reversal.

I GOD DOES NOT JUDGE MEN BY THEIR WORLDLY POSITION. He does not punish rank. He takes no account of it, except in so far as it brings with it obligations, etc. We see men in honour because of their riches or their success. Such things mean nothing to God. He only looks at the naked characters of the men themselves. These are all that he puts in his scales. If these are found wanting, they are condemned, and no riches or honours can be thrown in as "make weights." On the other hand, poor, obscure, oppressed, misunderstood, or persecuted people suffer nothing whatever in God"s judgment on account of those circumstances which bring on them the contempt of the world. If they have real worth they are understood and appreciated in heaven.

II WORLDLY PRE-EMINENCE DOES NOT USUALLY SPRING FROM THOSE GRACES OF CHARACTER WHICH GOD VALUES. Sometimes, indeed, it is the reward of real merit. But too often it comes from most inferior qualities. The accident of birth confers the highest honours and the greatest wealth by the artificial law of primogeniture. Successful scheming and good fortune bring a man money and influence. A Napoleon forces his way to the head of Europe by the exercise of enormous mind and will powers at the expense of every moral consideration.

III THERE IS A TENDENCY IN WORLDLY PRE-EMINENCE TO INJURE THE BETTER QUALITIES OF THE SOUL. Christ spoke of the difficulty of rich men in entering the kingdom of heaven. (Mat_19:23) Other forms of pre-eminence besides that of wealth also have their difficulties. One great hindrance to spiritual progress is pride, and high rank fosters pride. Self-will is incompatible with spiritual excellence, and the great and exalted are tempted to indulge self-will. Lowliness and obedience, unselfishness and a spirit of serving, are the qualities which Christ honours. It is very difficult to cultivate these graces in high places difficult, but possible to those who seek the help of God as we see in a Margaret of Navarre and a Cardinal Contarini.

IV ULTIMATELY GOD WILL TREAT ALL ACCORDING TO THEIR TRUE CHARACTERS. The irony of judgment will be terrible, just because it will be just. At the great revelation the fictitious glory of worldly pre-eminence will fade and all its tawdry tinsel will be shown in hideous distinctness. Then true worth will shine as the sun bursting forth from the clouds. That day is coming. Therefore let not the favoured boast of their temporary exaltation; and let not the lowly and oppressed despair. There will be a great reversal. W.F.A.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

So the last shall be first, and the first last - Not only with regard to the Jews and Gentiles, but in a thousand other instances. For many are called - All who hear the Gospel; but few chosen - Only those who obey it. Matt. xix, 30; xxii, 14.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

16. So, etc. A special lesson, first, to the Jews. They had been called first by God, but the Gentiles who heard the call should soon enjoy special privileges. They would even be first in the kingdom, because of their greater readiness to receive the gospel. Our duty in the vineyard is to go to work as soon as the Lord calls us, and to do what he tells us.

B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.

16. After ἔσχατοι the textus receptus has: πολλοὶ γάρ εἰσι κλητοί, ὀλίγοι δὲ ἐκλεκτοί. Here the older MSS. are followed, but CD and the mass of later uncials and many versions and patristic quotations contain the clause, which is certainly genuine, in ch. Mat 22:14.

16. οἱ πρῶτοι. Not only as primarily in the parable the first called, but the first in position, knowledge and influence.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

16.] The last were first, as equal to the first; first, in order of payment; first, as superior to the first (no others being brought into comparison), in that their reward was more in proportion to their work, and not marred by a murmuring spirit. The first were last in these same respects.

The last words of the verse belong not so much to the parable, as to the first clause, and are placed to account for its being as there described; for, while multitudes are called into the vineyard, many, by murmuring and otherwise disgracing their calling, will nullify it, and so, although first by profession and standing, will not be of the number of the elect: although called, will not be chosen. In ch. 23:14 the reference is different.

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

16. So the “last” shall be “first,” and the “first” “last.”] That is, “in a similar way the saying about first and last will be fulfilled. All alike will receive the reward of eternal life, whether they become disciples of the kingdom at an earlier or at a later period.”

At this point C D S1 S2 al add πολλοὶ γάρ εἰσιν κλητοὶ ὀλίγοι δὲ ἐκλεκτοί. But it is almost impossible to give the words any meaning in this connection. They are genuine in 22:14.

International Critical Commentary — older volumes (1896–1929), various authors — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.