The Last Who Are First: It is important to note the close tie between chapter 20 and the verse that precedes it. The saying about the first who will be last and the last who will be first (19:30) is repeated at the end of the first section of chapter 20 (v. 16). This Semitic device is called inclusio, and because the order is inverted it is also an example of chiasmus (for other examples compare 7:16 with 7:20, and 24:42 with 25:13). Chapter 20 also begins with the Greek conjunction gar, which emphasizes continuity.

20:29–34 In both Matthew and Mark this healing takes place just before the triumphal entry into Jerusalem. Luke adds the story of Zacchaeus and the parable of the pounds, which took place as Jesus and the disciples went through Jericho. This may account for Matthew and Mark’s pl…