A familiar Bible saying, checked in context
The last shall be first
Real verse, wider context
The words occur in Matthew, including at the close of the laborers-in-the-vineyard parable.
By @The..Mustard..Seed · Updated
Read the relevant KJV passage
Matthew 20:16So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen.
Compare the evidence
The saying appears immediately before the vineyard parable as well as after it, framing the story on both sides.
Matthew 19:30But many that are first shall be last; and the last shall be first.
Mark preserves a related form of the reversal, showing that the saying occurs in more than one Gospel setting.
Mark 10:31But many that are first shall be last; and the last first.
What the context adds
Matthew 19:30 raises the reversal after a discussion about possessions and following Jesus. Matthew 20:1–16 then tells of laborers hired at different hours and given the same wage, ending with the familiar line again. The phrase is exact KJV wording in Matthew 20:16, but the parable gives it a particular shape: early workers protest the generosity given to late arrivals. Reading only the final sentence can make it sound like a general rule about every contest or ranking. The story asks readers to consider generosity, expectations, and the complaint of those who assumed they deserved more.
A question to carry forward
Whose complaint in the vineyard story makes the closing reversal surprising?
Keep reading
Read Matthew 20:1–16 and compare what each group expected with what it received.
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