NOTES for Mat 20:16
Christ says this phrase more than once. Evidently it is important for Him to convey to the disciples the thought that what people consider good, valuable, and significant does not necessarily look that way from God's point of view. What scales of values do we orient ourselves by? Do they coincide with, or at least come close to, the absolute scale by which God evaluates? Christ repeatedly indicates that such a scale, such a standard, exists, and that it can be known: it is He Himself. But using such a standard means the need for continuous living, dynamic relations with Him. In Jesus this phrase usually follows as a conclusion from a parable showing that even being chosen by God can turn out to be a dynamic concept, passing from some to others. It is not something given once and forever along with the calling. Rather, being chosen is received and kept by the same effort: living relations with God, a constant connection with Him.