Matthew 20:16 Commentary and Bible Study

‘So the last shall be first, and the first last.’ Christ repeats the principle of the kingdom which prompted the parable in the first place (Matthew 19:30). In the way in which it is illustrated in the parable, this principle will be seen to be true when the kingdom finally comes at the last day. But how has the parable shown this principle to operate in the kingdom? Not in the trivial sense that the last labourers were paid first and the first labourers were paid last. That is nothing more than an artefact of the parable to allow the first workers opportunity to protest. Neither is it in the sense that some received more than others; they all received exactly the same payment. And yet Christ insists that the parable explains how the last shall be first, and the first last. The only sense in which that is true lies in the complaint of the first hired labourers that they have been treated unfairly. However, that feeling of injustice derives from a misunderstanding of the basis on which they are serving in the vineyard. Peter needed to hear this warning because he was in danger of slipping into the same error, but those to whom it more strictly applies are people who believe that God will reward them for their works and who even expect to receive salvation on this basis. As applied to the Pharisees it means this: they thought they were first, but no, they will be last, that is, nowhere at all. What counts is not how long you have worshipped in the temple, but whether in fact you know the Lord.‘For many be called, but few chosen.’ The same clause occurs in Matthew 22:14. There it indicates that the scope of the gospel invitation is greater than the scope of those who are truly converted. The parable of the wedding feast give in Matthew 22 teaches that some respond to the preaching of the gospel in an inadequate way and are never born again. The same is true here in Matthew 20 in connection with the parable of the labourers in the vineyard. This confirms that we should apply the parable more widely. In this case the vineyard represents the visible church which includes some who do not truly know the Lord. The last refers to some who are not saved at all. ‘Many are called.’ The audible preaching of the gospel reaches many ears. It brings to its hearers the general call of the gospel. This call invites all who hear it to respond, but the reality is that, because of the hardness of the human heart, none will do so. All will turn away from God and from the gospel when acting under the impulse of fallen human nature. ‘Few are chosen.’ Few receive a second effectual call from God, and certainly less than the number who hear the outward call. Only these will truly enter in, because the Spirit of God works irresistibly in their hearts. The reason they are called effectually is that they are elect, chosen. They were chosen before the foundation of the world and their names written in the Lamb’s book of life. God has taken the initiative to save them, and without this initiative, none will be saved.