Many that are first will be last, and the last will be first - (Mk 10:28-31)
Let us just consider this one sentence from today's Gospel: " But many that are first will be last, and the last will be first". With the same words, the Lord Jesus concluded the parable of the workers in the vineyard. Also, with the same words ends the warning of the Lord Jesus that some of His followers will see " You yourselves cast out. And people will come from the east and the west and from the north and the south and will recline at table in the kingdom of God " (cf. Lk 13:28 -29).
The words " many that are first will be last, and the last will be first." are both a warning and a promise. These words were most dramatically fulfilled on Judas and the good thief. Judas was clearly one of the first in God's Kingdom, and the thief who was crucified on the right side of Jesus was undoubtedly going straight to eternal damnation. And yet it was Judas who lost himself, and the good thief allowed Jesus to find him at the last moment.
To understand the meaning of this warning and the promise that " many that are first will be last, and the last will be first ", let us note that the Lord Jesus did not say that all the first will be last, or that all the last will be first. Of the 12 apostles, 11 remained the first forever, just as the bad thief lived a cursed life and died with a curse on his lips. Jesus only wants to warn his friends against overconfidence, and at the same time to give hope to even the greatest sinners.
There are many concrete descriptions in the Gospel of how the last become the first. The Lord Jesus said curtly to the Canaanite: "It is not good to take the bread from the children and throw it to the dogs." And yet it was she who heard the words: "O woman, great is your faith" (cf. Mt 15:28). A pagan centurion deserved a similar praise: " Amen, I say to you, in no one in Israel have I found such faith." (cf. Mt 8:10). In turn, after the healing of ten lepers, the Lord Jesus sadly remarked that " Has none but this foreigner returned to give thanks to God" (cf. Lk 17:18). It is no coincidence that the Lord Jesus contrasted in his parable the priest and the Levite with the good Samaritan.
The whole Gospel resounds with the warning and hope contained in these words that "many that are first will be last, and the last will be first". We still read in the Gospels about the unbelief of those who were especially called to faith and about the conversions of those who seemed to be converted. “Amen, I say to you, tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God before you " (cf. Mt 21:31).
Until Tomorrow
fr. george