What does it mean, “The first shall be last and the last shall be first”?
Matthew 20:16
NKJV - 16 "So the last will be first, and the first last. For many are called, but few chosen."
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Asked May 31 2021
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John Tedesco
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Tim Maas
This statement conveys the idea that the criteria by which "greatness" is judged in this life and world do not necessarily coincide with how a person will be judged with respect to worthiness for reward or commendation in eternity. Those who are "first" in this life, but who are basing their pre-eminence on transitory "surface" characteristics such as fame, appearance, wealth, or power will find that they will be surpassed in eternity by those whose faith endowed them with attributes such as humility, generosity, and love toward other human beings -- in other words, how they related to the ones whom Jesus referred to as "the least of these" (Matthew 25:40).
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