The parable that Jesus tells in Matthew 20 is bracketed by the same statement, “The last will be first and the first will be last.” We see this in the final verse of chapter 19 and again in verse 16 of chapter 20. This parable then seems intended to describe that statement. But how does that work? It seems like the traditional understanding of this phrase is a rather linear idea. Those who are first in line will be moved to the end of the line and those who are last in line will be moved to the front. It’s sort of a trading places situation. And so those who’ve been followers of Christ for a long time may feel slighted by those who just recently came to know Jesus and get slotted in a spot closer to the front of the line to heaven. That does not seem fair in any way. Which seems to be exactly how the workers were feeling. So, maybe we are thinking about this the wrong way.

I decided to look at the Greek words used in this statement and what I discovered was kind of interesting…at least to me. The words used for last and first are the words eschaton and proton. We know some words beginning with proto. Protozoic, prototype, and proton. A proton is a small particle of light, a prototype is a first design of a product, and protozoic is the class of the earliest living creatures. So, the Greek word proton means ‘first or earliest.’ And then the word eschaton is far less used in English. As far as I know it is only really used in theological contexts with the term eschatology, which is the study of the last things. So, Jesus tells his listeners that the first things, the earliest things, will be the last things.  And the last things will be the first things. But how is that any different than how we typically view this verse?

When we often think of this statement that the last will be first and the first will be last, we are thinking linearly. We are all in a big line waiting to get into heaven and we may think that we have gotten a prime spot near the front of the line only to have Jesus come to the back of the line first. You’ve probably had an experience like that a time or two. You pick a seat nearest the kitchen at an event, think that you will be first to eat, and they announce that they will start at the back. Or something similar. This interpretation gives us the same reaction that the workers who worked the whole day had when they saw what the other workers were paid. It seems unfair. Especially if we are the ones who were at the front of the line.

Which reminds me of a joke: A lawyer goes to heaven and finds himself at the back of a long line of Popes. Suddenly, St. Peter grabs him and takes him straight through the pearly gates. “I don’t understand,” the lawyer said puzzled. “There’s hundreds of Popes waiting in line and you’ve let me in before them. Why?” “Sir,” said St. Peter. “We’ve had lots of Popes here. But, you are our FIRST lawyer.”

So, anyway, how are we to understand Jesus’ parable and this statement that the last will be first and the first will be last? If our normal understanding is linear, then what would a more accurate understanding look like? I believe that we should view it as more of a circle. No matter where we fall on the circle, we will all come to the same point. This idea seems to fit with Jesus’ parable. It didn’t matter when the workers began their work. They all ended together and all received the same wage. No matter when we begin to follow Jesus, we will all come to the end together and we will all receive the same grace promised to us by God and secured for us in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

If we view this parable of Jesus in this circular way, there are several things that change for us. First, this view challenges our human desire for fairness. Is fairness what we really should be striving for? There is a really interesting TED talk that I’ve watched now a couple of times by primatologist Frans de Waal in which he talks about an experiment they’ve been running on capuchin monkeys. They take two monkeys and give them a task. When they complete the task, they give them a piece of cucumber. They are happy with this. Then they change things and give one of the monkeys grapes instead of cucumber for completing the same task. Now, grapes are a much preferred food for the capuchin monkeys. So, can you guess what happens the next time the other monkey gets another piece of cucumber as a reward instead of a grape? The monkey sniffs the cucumber and then throws it at the person who gave it to him. In that experiment, the researchers are not being unfair really. They are giving a reward to every monkey who does the required task. Yet the monkey did not see it as very fair. So maybe fairness is not the best guide for us. Maybe what we truly need is grace and mercy.

So, this parable challenges our human desire for fairness. But it also challenges our view of evangelism. Probably the most common view of evangelism is to share the salvation of God in Jesus so that others will not go to hell. We are “saving” them from the penalty of sin. We want for others to avoid punishment, just as we have avoided punishment because of the grace of God in Christ Jesus. But in the view of this parable, perhaps we would be better viewing evangelism as expanding the guest list to an amazing, eternal party. The Pulpit Fiction podcast put it like this: “Seeing the world through the lens of the Kingdom changes everything. The Kingdom of Heaven is a new way of looking at the world. Kingdom evangelism is not about getting people to avoid their punishment, it is about celebrating a bigger party.” What would it look like if we did evangelism that way?

This parable challenges our human desire for fairness, it challenges our view of evangelism, and finally, it challenges how we view our membership in the church. Oftentimes we think of membership in something as offering us special privileges. If we are members of the local country club, we have privileges at that golf course. If we are members of the Columbia Record Club, we get 15 CDs for $1 if we purchase 5 more and regular price within the next year. OK, that one may seem more like a curse than a privilege, but I think you get the point. But membership in the body of Christ, the Church with a capital C, is actually more about sacrifice than about gain. As members of Christ’s church, we give, not that we might receive a benefit, but that others might be clothed and fed and sheltered from storms. Our membership is one of giving without reward, of laying down our own desires for the desires of God and of our neighbor, of taking up our crosses and following the one who sacrificed his very life for us all. That may not look like fairness, but it is most definitely the way of Jesus Christ.

The parable of the laborers in the vineyard challenges our view of fairness, it challenges our traditional concepts of evangelism, and it challenges us to view membership in the Church with a capital C as an opportunity to serve rather than be served. The last will be the first and the first will be the last. In the end, we will all come full circle and will all stand before the throne of God equal in God’s sight because Jesus’ blood covers us all. We all stand in the loving and gracious embrace of our Lord and Savior, whether we’ve followed him for 100 years or for 100 seconds. God’s love is not contingent upon anything we do or for how long we do it for. God’s love is true and God’s love is for all of us in equal measure. It may not seem fair, but it most certainly is merciful. Because in reality, none of us deserve it. We’ve all sinned our fair share. But the Lord is gracious to us all through Jesus. And that, in and of itself, is the greatest privilege we could ever be afforded.

We began in paradise in the Garden of Eden with God as our great companion. Someday, life will come full circle and we will return to that paradise to live for eternity. And this time it will be never ending. What an amazing God we serve. Let us rejoice as new sisters and brothers join our party and travel the circle of love that will lead us back to paradise. Praise be to God! Amen!