QUESTION : But sir…..
This where I really don’t get it……sir all of them received the same daily wages….

Sir does it mean both great men of God who laboured endlessly died even for the work of God be paid with the same reward as the people who died on their sick bed giving their life to Christ and probably won maybe 1 or 2 souls to Christ?

To answer this question

You need to firstly know that the Bible was not written in verses and chapters
It was written in form of scroll
It was during the canonization process that it was broken to chapters and verses
Students in FSB will understand what canonization means, it was taught there
The first word in Matthew 20 : 1 says “FOR THE KINGDOM OF GOD………”
It’s wrong for a statement to start like that
If it starts like that it means that there is a previous discussion that preceded it
That will take us to Chapter 19 to look at the discussion that preceded the statement
When you check it, you will find out that the genesis of this discussion was the story of a young rich ruler that came to Jesus with a question

Matthew 19:16
[16]And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?

The question was WHAT CAN I DO TO HAVE ETERNAL LIFE?
But the simple answer Jesus would have given to him was that “Believe in me” according to John 3:16

John 3:16
[16]For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that WHOSOEVER BELIEVETH in him should not perish, but have EVERLASTING LIFE(ETERNAL LIFE)

But if Jesus only told him to believe in Him
The man won’t understand
So,, therefore used another way to teach him TRUST/BELIEVING IN HIM as a means of gaining eternal life by asking him to KEEP HIS COMMANDMENT

Matthew 19:17
[17]And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.

But the man didn’t get him right, he was saying another thing else
So, Jesus used another word to explain BELIEVE IN ME which is GIVE EVERYTHING YOU HAVE OUT AND FOLLOW ME

Matthew 19:21
[21]Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.

Nonetheless
The man wasn’t ready to leave all and believe that FOLLOWING JESUS will take him to heaven because their custom back then was that you gain God’s attention by giving out what you have
So, Jesus explained this scenario further with a parable of. Workers in the vineyard
Their agreement stated that COME AND WORK and you will get this amount for SERVICE

Note: the number of hours spent on their service wasn’t included in their contractual agreement

The agreement was that Work and I will pay you a penny

So on the day of payment

What they didn’t bargain for was what caused hiccups which were the numbers of hours they have spent in the labour

The numbers of hours spent is liken to their own selfish interest which wasn’t bargained for with the master and the set of people having this problem are the first timers, the last timer are not having that mind set
The agreement was

Come and work for me( Believe in me ) and be paid(Have eternal life) not work for 2hours( Believe in me for long years ) and have more rank in heaven

That’s why Jesus said The first shall be the last and the last shall be the first in this context
To buttress this point, look at how Titus put it

Titus 3:5
[5]Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;
What this verse means is that we are saved not by doing some giving or self work but we are a candidate of heaven by His grace
Now to balance it
Being a citizen of a country doesn’t mean that everyone is equal in that state

I am a citizen of Nigeria
Buhari is also a citizen of Nigeria

But we are not in the same rank
I am greater than him 😂

What ranks you higher in the kingdom of God is the work you do IN HIS VINEYARD, Which we call SERVICE

Revelation 22:12
[12]And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.

Don’t be confused

The work Jesus addressed when He said The first shall be the last is called SELF RIGHTEOUSNESS and it’s. PRE-SALVATION work but the work that will give you rank in the kingdom is call SERVICE

This is the work that Jesus commanded us to do, which is to make disciples

This is then subdivided into 3 types and 3 dimensions

DIMENSIONS OF SERVICE

1. Physical : This deals with engaging in a department church
2. Spiritual : This deals with the classes of service and using your spiritual prowess to expand the kingdom of God
3. Financial : Using your money to propagate the kingdom

TYPES/CLASSES OF SERVICE

1. Soul Calling
2. Soul Winning
3. Soul Teaching

Are you enlightened?