The First Shall Be Last and the Last Shall Be First

The central focus of Jesus’ ministry is to preach, teach, and demonstrate God’s radical grace, and, by doing so, stir up the surrounding socio-political environment. It is a continual call to action. Jesus does this from the beginning of his ministry when he declares, “Repent, for the Kingdom of God is at hand,” and he continues it to the end when he dies on the cross - - dying as a criminal, rather than a king.

Jesus is a radical teacher, preacher, and healer. He heals the sick, casts off demons, and calms the seas. He goes toe to toe with the Pharisees in interpreting and explaining the scriptures. But his overall message, the message that permeates all his ministry is of God’s radical grace and love - - a love that does not conform to social norms or expectations. It is a love that delights, surprises, puzzles, and annoys. These are teachings that were hard for first century Christians, and they continue to be hard teachings for Christians today.

The radical grace and love Jesus speaks of is illustrated throughout the parables. For instance, in parable of the Pearl in Matthew 13:44-45, the gift of grace calls the individual toward a response that is radical and risky - - selling everything and buy a field of buried treasure. Other parables put at odds the rich and poor, the accepted and the rejected, those with status against those without status, and ultimately Caesar’s reign against the reign of God.

Jesus confronts Pharisaic legalism in the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32), challenging the view that, through the eyes of the older brother, human beings can somehow merit divine favor through their own actions, separate from God’s grace. In doing so, Jesus also confronts the attitude of resentment that some, like the older brother would have, when God’s grace seems to fall on those who don’t deserve it, like the younger son.

Jesus takes on Jewish dietary regulations in Mark 7:15, saying, “There is nothing outside a person that by going in can defile, but the things that come out are what defile.” This teaching must have perplexed the Pharisees who were focused on obediently serving Yahweh by observing 600-plus purity laws. They must have thought, “He must be joking. If we abandon these purity laws, how will we be able to tell who’s a sinner and who’s not. We’ll lose our status and power.” This theme carries over in the parable of the Great Supper (Luke 14:16-24), when Jesus shows that those that are concerned about their social standing are really unimportant in the big scheme of things. The affluent refuse the banquet invitation, while the socially outcast sit and dine at table. The blindness that occurs due to the affluent’s social status, robs them from the surprising, gracious gift of God’s love in the banquet.

Jesus shatters conventional wisdom about love of neighbor in the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:29-37). To the listener’s surprise, the hated Samaritan becomes the hero. The story demands the overthrow of prior values, closed options, set judgments, and established conclusions (Pregeant, page 67). In the parable, Jesus shows that the love of God, like the Samaritan, looks radically beyond the constraints and prejudices of society to act and do what its right whatever someone’s race, religion, or ethnicity may be. This theme is picked up again Matthew 5:39-46, when Jesus challenges his audience to turn the other cheek and love their enemies.

The role of women in society is questioned and challenged by Jesus in the parable of the Unjust Judge (Luke 18:1-8). In the parable, Jesus, speaks of a woman who, by challenging a judge, proceeds to cross social barriers and boundaries because she refuses to accept the judge’s denial of her plea for justice. Women in the first century Middle East were marginalized, but Jesus never seemed to care about what other’s thought of him being in the company of women, whether he was speaking to Mary Magdalene or the Samaritan woman at the well.

Jesus challenges the belief that financial success was a sign of God’s favor in Mark 10:25, when he tells the apostles, “It is easier for a camel to pass through a needle’s eye than for the rich to enter the Kingdom of God.” Jesus goes one step further in Mark 12:16 when he says about the payment of taxes, “Give to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” In these teachings Jesus seems to be saying that both individual wealth and the wealth and power of governments is nothing compared to the wealth of riches to be gained through the Kingdom of God.

Throughout his ministry, Jesus is a radical lover and teacher who challenges social and political norms. He hangs out with the wrong crowd, he breaks societal norms, and he has no status, yet he teaches with authority. In all of his parables and teachings, Jesus seems to be saying, “Listen to me - - my Father’s love is bigger than all of your daily concerns and worries to pay taxes, follow rules, work for prosperity, and fight for status. All I want you to do is love me and love your neighbor and if you take the radical leap and do that, the rest will take care of itself. Other people may not like you or agree with you if you do this, but if you do it, you will be blessed and will share in my Kingdom.”