Jesus is always teaching his disciples about the kingdom of heaven. They never understand, of course, but there is no reason that they should. The kingdom of heaven is where earth reality zone is not. In Chapter 20 of the Gospel According to Matthew, Jesus teaches them that the association of those who dwell in the kingdom cannot be compared to social order and authority as lived in earth reality zone. (Actually this teaching is organized by the writer of the Gospel, who put these particular events in the sequence by which this teaching might be known.)
This chapter (verses 1-16) opens with a parable about a householder who hires laborers to work his vineyards for the day. Throughout the day he hires several laborers all for the same salary of one denarius for the time worked. At the end of the day the householder pays all those whom he hired the same one denarius wage. Naturally those who worked the entire day resent the fact that they are being paid the same wage as those who worked only a short time. The vineyard owner reminds them that he has given them the wage they agreed upon. Jesus concludes the story by saying, "So the last will be first and the first last." Does that mean the laborers who worked a short time will be invited into the kingdom and the grumblers will not? No, it doesn't.
This chapter (verses 1-16) opens with a parable about a householder who hires laborers to work his vineyards for the day. Throughout the day he hires several laborers all for the same salary of one denarius for the time worked. At the end of the day the householder pays all those whom he hired the same one denarius wage. Naturally those who worked the entire day resent the fact that they are being paid the same wage as those who worked only a short time. The vineyard owner reminds them that he has given them the wage they agreed upon. Jesus concludes the story by saying, "So the last will be first and the first last." Does that mean the laborers who worked a short time will be invited into the kingdom and the grumblers will not? No, it doesn't.
The next event in this chapter finds Jesus dropping a bombshell on the disciples. He tells them that while they are in Jerusalem, he will be arrested by the chief priests and scribes, tried, condemned, and turned over to the gentiles (Romans) for crucifixion. The implications of this announcement are not lost on the mother of the sons of Zebedee (James and John). She obviously knows about Jesus' description of the seating arrangements in the kingdom: Jesus on the throne with the disciples sitting to either side of him (19:28). She kneels before Jesus and asks that her sons sit directly next to him in the kingdom. Jesus is obviously not going to be around much longer and she needs to give her sons a leg up before he goes. Jesus is astonished by what she asks. This request is more than a mother asking her sons' teacher to allow them to sit in the front of the class. Yes, the sons may be able to "drink the cup" he is about to drink, although they apparently haven't given it much thought, but the seating arrangements are not up to him. Those arrangements are prepared by the Father. The other disciples are indignant about John and James asking for special treatment, so Jesus tries to head off a conflict by reminding them that the gentiles lord over everything in this world and that their role here is to serve each other. Being "first" in the context of their discontent means nothing. To make his point perfectly clear, Jesus explains to them that he, the Son of God, is about to die to "ransom" humanity.
The chapter concludes with Jesus healing two blind men (John and James?).
Even though Jesus gives his disciples still another lesson about the kingdom, it is impossible for them to know what it means when they (and we) are still beset with the conditions of the world. It is easier for Jesus to heal blind men than to get them to understand the kingdom.
And there is a reason. The kingdom is direct knowledge of reality. Earth reality zone is reality qualified by the conditions of life on earth. Those who dwell in earth reality zone do not have direct knowledge of reality. That's what earth reality zone is--ignorance of reality. Direct knowledge of reality is what dwelling in the kingdom is, and that knowledge alone brings completeness to existence. There may be "thrones" galore in the kingdom, and there may be beings of greater and lesser stature, including Jesus and the Father, but those distinctions do not matter when direct knowledge of reality establishes an irreducible equality between them. When Jesus says that the first shall be last and the last first, he means that in the kingdom, first and last do not mean anything. In earth reality zone, Jesus teaches the converse of what they know simply as a placeholder lesson that represents the best he can offer within the conditions of earth reality zone.
In the kingdom of heaven, all are equal in knowledge of reality. If this were not the case and lesser beings dwelling in the kingdom were envious of those of greater stature, then the rule of the Father, which is absolute, would be tyranny, and the kingdom of heaven would be no different than earth reality zone. There is no way the mother of the sons of Zebedee can understand this. There is no way the disciples can understand that the denarius the householder pays to the laborers represents the knowledge of reality that makes all in the kingdom equal.
The chapter concludes with Jesus healing two blind men (John and James?).
Even though Jesus gives his disciples still another lesson about the kingdom, it is impossible for them to know what it means when they (and we) are still beset with the conditions of the world. It is easier for Jesus to heal blind men than to get them to understand the kingdom.
And there is a reason. The kingdom is direct knowledge of reality. Earth reality zone is reality qualified by the conditions of life on earth. Those who dwell in earth reality zone do not have direct knowledge of reality. That's what earth reality zone is--ignorance of reality. Direct knowledge of reality is what dwelling in the kingdom is, and that knowledge alone brings completeness to existence. There may be "thrones" galore in the kingdom, and there may be beings of greater and lesser stature, including Jesus and the Father, but those distinctions do not matter when direct knowledge of reality establishes an irreducible equality between them. When Jesus says that the first shall be last and the last first, he means that in the kingdom, first and last do not mean anything. In earth reality zone, Jesus teaches the converse of what they know simply as a placeholder lesson that represents the best he can offer within the conditions of earth reality zone.
In the kingdom of heaven, all are equal in knowledge of reality. If this were not the case and lesser beings dwelling in the kingdom were envious of those of greater stature, then the rule of the Father, which is absolute, would be tyranny, and the kingdom of heaven would be no different than earth reality zone. There is no way the mother of the sons of Zebedee can understand this. There is no way the disciples can understand that the denarius the householder pays to the laborers represents the knowledge of reality that makes all in the kingdom equal.
