Matt 20 - …many who are first will be last and the last, first – What does that mean?

Mat 19:30 "But many who are first will be last; and the last, first.

Following Yeshua is not an easy path. When one follows in His steps, it involves family splits and loss of friends, relatives, and business. We are told to follow Torah just as He did by Yeshua, Paul, Peter, and John (1 John 2:6-7, 1 Cor 11:1, 1 Peter 2:21-22). "Many who are first will be last and many who are last will be first."
Matthew 20: Yeshua was just telling the disciples that it is almost impossible for a rich man to enter the kingdom (Matt. 19:16-24). This disturbed the disciples to the point that they questioned if they would be rewarded for their obedience and sacrifice (Matt. 19:25-27). He then told His disciples that those who have left houses or property or relatives for His sake shall receive many times as much (Matt. 19:28-29). Then He said, many who are first will be last and the last, first (Matt. 19:30).

Mat 20:1 "For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard.

Mat 20:2 "And when he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius for the day, he sent them into his vineyard.

Yeshua uses a parable to illustrate this Truth. In the parable, the landowner is Yeshua, or the Father. This is consistent with the parables told in chapter 13. The vineyard is Israel (Isaiah 5:1-6). The workers in the vineyard are those who sacrificed themselves to be followers of Messiah obedient to His Father's Word. Those in Israel agreed to follow Him and they will enter the Kingdom of Heaven after the regeneration. This agreement they made is the Covenant they have with the Father (Exodus 19:5-8). The payment they agreed to receive is their apportionment in the land. Each man is to get an equal portion of the Land (Ezek 47:13-14).

Mat 20:3 "And he went out about the third hour and saw others standing idle in the market place;

Mat 20:4 and to those he said, 'You too go into the vineyard, and whatever is right I will give you.' And so they went.

Mat 20:5 "Again he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour, and did the same thing.

The first laborers started work at 6 AM. The landowner then hired men at 9 AM, as well as at noon, and at 3 PM.

Mat 20:6 "And about the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing; and he said^ to them, 'Why have you been standing here idle all day long?'

Mat 20:7 "They said^ to him, 'Because no one hired us.' He said^ to them, 'You too go into the vineyard.'

The owner of the vineyard hired men at 5 PM. Quitting time is at 6 PM.

Mat 20:8 "And when evening had come, the owner of the vineyard said^ to his foreman, 'Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last group to the first.'

Mat 20:9 "And when those hired about the eleventh hour came, each one received a denarius.

Mat 20:10 "And when those hired first came, they thought that they would receive more; and they also received each one a denarius.

The last group received their wages first. But they received an equal amount as was promised those who had worked much earlier. This is appropriate because we are told in the Tanakh that the aliens among Israel will receive an equal share of the kingdom as if they were also blood sons of Israel (Ezekiel 47:21-23).

Mat 20:11 "And when they received it, they grumbled at the landowner,

Mat 20:12 saying, 'These last men have worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden and the scorching heat of the day.'

Mat 20:13 "But he answered and said to one of them, 'Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for a denarius?

The apportionment for the blood brother of Israel will be no different than that of those who were grafted in at a later time. Yeshua was fulfilling His promise to the original workers. Nothing can be held against Him for His generosity to others.

Mat 20:14 'Take what is yours and go your way, but I wish to give to this last man the same as to you.

Mat 20:15 'Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with what is my own? Or is your eye envious because I am generous?'

Mat 20:16 "Thus the last shall be first, and the first last."