And I tell you that some now last will then be first, and some now first will then be last."

And the last will be first, and the first will be last.

And behold, those who are last will be first, and those who are first will be last."

And, lo, they are last who shall be first The same words, as we shall elsewhere see, were frequently employed by Christ, but in a different sense, (Matthew 19:30; 20:16; Mark 10:31.) All that he intended here was, to throw down the vain confidence of the Jews, who, having been chosen by God in preference to all the rest of the world, trusted to this distinction, and imagined that God was in a manner bound to them. For this reason, Christ threatens that their condition will soon be changed; that the Gentiles, who were at that time cast off, would obtain the first rank; and that the Jews, deprived of their honor, would not even occupy the farthest corner in the Church. [1]

Footnotes

1 - "Ne tiendront pas mesme le dernier reng, ou quelque petit coin en l'Eglise;" -- "will not hold even the lowest rank, or some small corner in the Church."

There are last which shall be first - See on Matthew 19:30 (note).

And behold, there are last which shall be first,.... The Gentiles, the most mean and abject, afar from God, aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, called last of all; these shall be first, and sit down among patriarchs and prophets, men of the first rank here on earth, in the kingdom of heaven, and enjoy the same glory and happiness with them:
and there are first which shall be last: the Jews, who were first the visible professing people of God, to whom the oracles of God, and outward privileges and ordinances were given; who had the Messiah first sent to them, and the Gospel first preached among them; these shall be last, be rejected and despised, and shut out of the kingdom of heaven, they thought themselves heirs of, and expected to enjoy; see Matthew 19:30.

The last shall be first. See notes on Matthew 20:16.

But there are last - Many of the Gentiles who were latest called, shall be most highly rewarded; and many of the Jews who were first called, shall have no reward at all. Matthew 19:30.