Mat 20:16 So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen.

Alternative: So the worst shall become the best, and the best the worst: for many are welcomed, but few are selected.

Christ says something similar in Matt:19:30, which expresses the idea of how our position turns around in life. This phrase has an addition about who is "called" and who is "chosen," but those terms confuse the idea a little.

This verse is often applied judgment in the afterlife (your judgement doesn't depend on whether you find God early or late life), but neither context has anything to do with the afterlife. The first usage was in a chapter that dealt with the distraction of physical and financial success from spiritual perfection. This time the context is what is fair, the nature of debts, and the nature of generousity.

What do these two contexts have in common?

First, both describe situations reverse themselves over time. In this case, those who found work early in the day considered themselves lucky, but when wages were given, it was the last hired that turned out to be lucky.

Last, both situations illistrate that we don't make the rules. God makes the rules. The rules that determine who is lucky and who is not are not for us to decide. If there is a balance, we are not in any position to understand it.


"Called" is from klêtos, which means "invited," "welcomed," "called out," and "summoned."

"Chosen" is from eklektos, which means "picked out," "selected," "choice," and "pure," like we might describe an elite as "the select."