The Last Shall Be First

Please turn with me in your Bibles to Matthew chapter 19.

Matthew 19 · chapter mention

Let me pray for the reading and preaching of God's Word.

Heavenly Father, we confess that we are quick to forget.

And we can so easily lose sight of the preciousness of Christ, the gift you have given us in Christ in your Spirit.

And Lord, we want to be reminded this morning so that the way we live, the way we think, the way we prioritize and make decisions are all shaped by the priceless treasure that Christ is.

And having received that gift, we may never lose that sense of wonder.

And worship before your throne of grace.

So speak to us, God.

Address us as you are.

In Jesus' name we pray.

Amen.

Please stand if you are able to honor God as we listen to his Word as we pray.

It's like in Matthew 19, 27.

Then Peter said in reply,

See, we have left everything and followed you.

What then will we have?

Jesus said to them,

Truly I say to you,

In a new world, when the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne,

You who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands for my name's sake will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life.

But many who are first will be last, and the last first.

For the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard.

After agreeing with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard.

And going out about the third hour, he saw others standing idle in the marketplace.

And to them he said,

You go into the vineyard too, and whatever is right, I will give you.

So they went.

Going out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour, he did the same.

And about the eleventh hour, he went out and found others standing.

And he said to them,

Why do you stand here idle all day?

They said to him,

Because no one has hired us.

He said to them,

You go into the vineyard too.

And when evening came,

the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman,

Call the laborers and pay them their wages,

beginning with the last up to the first.

And when those hired about the eleventh hour came,

each of them received a denarius.

Now, when those hired first came,

they thought they would receive more.

But each of them also received a denarius.

And on receiving it,

they grumbled at the master of the house,

saying,

These last worked only one hour.

And you have made them equal to us,

who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.

But he replied to one of them,

Friend, I am doing you no wrong.

Did you not agree with me for a denarius?

Take what belongs to you and go.

I choose to give to this last worker as I give to you.

Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me?

Or do you begrudge my generosity?

So, the last will be first,

and the first last.

This is God's holy and authoritative word.

Please be seated.

The culture of our respective workplaces

can have a distinct effect on how hard we work.

If you have a laissez-faire boss

who is totally hands-off at our workplace,

you get little to no feedback or guidance about anything.

Or if you're at school,

you can have a PI like that.

Your excellent work goes unnoticed.

And in that kind of environment,

people lose motivation.

Because they rightly conclude

that extra effort makes no difference.

So workers check out,

and that they default to the lowest acceptable standard of work.

In contrast,

some bosses do a great job of rewarding performance,

but in such an overt, graceless manner,

ranking you as you're a top performer

and you're an average performer

and you're a low performer,

that they create this hyper-competitive

and cut-through culture.

In such an environment,

employees constantly compare themselves to each other,

which causes stress and anxiety.

They stop helping each other

because they see each other as rivals.

And they may even seek to undermine each other

to get ahead

because the workplace is competitive

rather than collaborative.

And people also start to optimize their work

for the metrics that are measured,

maximize the numbers that are being measured

rather than going for the underlying goals

that those numbers were meant to represent.

These potential pitfalls can play out

within the Christian life as well.

Some Christians live without any thought

of heavenly reward,

as if they've already received

everything that has been promised,

as if there's nothing to look forward to.

And as a result,

their lives are marked by

this worldliness and lukewarmness.

They don't think that their obedience

matters very much.

They're not willing, for that reason,

to make radical sacrifices for God.

And sometimes also,

even within the church,

we can find selfish ambition

and rival rather than humility

and unity,

which is why passages like

Philippians 1-2 and James 3,

14-16 exist.

But is there a way to avoid

these pitfalls?

Jesus tells us that there is.

Only a gospel culture

infused with the grace of God

can motivate us to work hard

in selfless,

self-effacing ways,

rather than in a selfish

and self-advancing way.

And I think this is the main point

of our passage.

We serve a generous king

who does not pay us

according to our deserves,

according to what we deserve,

but according to His grace.

So we're going to talk about

twin realities that are related

to each other,

maybe seemingly paradoxical at first.

God generously rewards us

according to our works

on the one hand,

but on the other hand,

God mercifully repays us

according to His grace

and not according to what we deserve.

So chapter 19,

verse 27,

you may have,

if you weren't here last week,

you may have been no surprised

at where we began,

but it kicks off exactly

where we left off last week

after Jesus' interaction

with the rich young man.

Jesus said in 19,

13 to 15,

that the kingdom of heaven

belongs to people

who become like children.

Children who occupy

the lowest place in society,

the last place in society,

and because they don't yet

contribute to society

in any way,

they are overlooked

by people around them.

And yet Jesus says,

if you come to God

with empty hands

and neediness

and with a humble faith

like a child,

then the kingdom of heaven

belongs to you.

Then in 19,

16 to 26,

He tells a rich young man

who had great possessions

that he cannot enter

the kingdom of heaven.

Here is a man

who had everything

by the world's standards.

He's the first

in human society,

unlike his children

who are the last

and the least,

he is the great one,

the rich one,

but ironically,

he's the one

who lacks

what is necessary

to possess

the kingdom of heaven.

The child

who has no status

gets into the VIP lounge

and this man

who has everything

is left out

and killed.

This young man

idolizes

his great possessions

and that's why

he's not willing

to give it up

to follow Christ.

He tells,

Jesus tells him

to sell all that he has,

give it away to the poor

and they come

and follow him

and then the man

walks away sorrowful.

But as this happens,

you know,

Peter,

the representative

and leader

of the 12 apostles,

pipes up with the question

in verse 27.

See,

we have left everything

and followed you.

What then will we have?

The pronoun we

in the Greek construction

in the original language

is not necessary,

so this is an emphatic.

It's saying,

we ourselves,

look,

see,

we ourselves

have left everything

and followed you.

Unlike that rich man,

but you just promised

that rich man,

hey,

you sell everything

you have

and then come

and follow me,

he will have

treasures in heaven.

That newbie,

that rookie,

you just told me

you're going to have

treasures in heaven?

Whoa, whoa, whoa,

what about us?

You see,

we have left everything

to follow you.

What then will we have?

So Peter's sensing

an opportunity.

He knows he's been

following Jesus

from the very beginning.

He knows that he

and the apostles

are the ones

who have been with him

all along.

We have seniority.

We've done more for you.

We've cast out demons

in your name.

We've preached for you.

We've gone with you.

What do we get?

Peter's question,

if we understand it rightly,

is prideful

and entitled.

He thinks

that he and the apostles

are so much better

than the rich young man.

Look at how much

we've done for you.

Surely the best

heavenly treasures

are reserved for us.

It's the kind

of selfish question

that we expect

Jesus to rebuke.

And Jesus does

check

and caution

the twelve apostles

in chapter 19,

verse 30,

going up to chapter 20,

verse 16.

But he begins

with an exceedingly

kind response

in verse 28.

Jesus said to them,

Truly I say to you,

in the new world,

when the Son of Man

will sit on his glorious throne,

you who have followed me

will also sit

on twelve thrones

judging the twelve tribes

of Israel.

Jesus acknowledges

that his disciples

have made

real sacrifices,

that they have made

drastic life changes

in order to

honor him

and follow him.

And think about

what these apostles

had done

for a moment.

Remember the contempt

that the townspeople

of Nazareth,

Jesus' hometown,

treated Jesus with

earlier on

in Matthew chapter 13,

Matthew 13:53–58

verse 53 to 58.

The townspeople

said of Jesus,

He's not this,

the carpenter's son?

He's not his mother

called Mary?

And are not his brothers

James and Joseph

and Simon and Judas

and are not all

his sisters with us?

Where then did this man

get all these things?

And they took offense

at him.

Nazareth was such a

small, obscure village

that it doesn't get

mentioned even once

in the Old Testament

or in the Apocrypha

or in any rabbinic

literature.

Jesus comes from

the middle of nowhere

and he was

the carpenter's son.

He's an adopted,

earthly,

human father.

Joseph was a tradesman.

He was an honest,

respectable job

to be sure,

but he was a

blue-collar job.

Jesus was not

the son of a rabbi.

He was the son

of a carpenter.

This raises

the question

that the Pharisees

ask in John 7, 15,

how is it that this

man has learned

when he has never

studied?

Is not his mother

called Mary?

That ordinary Mary,

that plain old Mary

from down the block?

That's his mother.

What can possibly

be so special

about this Jesus

of Nazareth?

And all his brothers

are with us.

We play catch

with them growing up.

All his sisters

are among us.

Some of us

are married to them.

What can be possibly

so special

about this man

who has no pedigree,

who is so ordinary,

and yet these disciples

have left everything

to follow Jesus?

Try to imagine that

in a modern context.

Let me bring it home

for you.

Imagine

that some rando

from a small town

you've never heard of

rolls into town.

He has no impressive

degree from

respectable institutions.

And he comes

claiming that

he's a prophesied

Messiah,

the Savior of the world.

You Google him,

which is what

any sensible person

does at this point,

right?

You check him,

you stalk him

on Facebook

and LinkedIn.

Don't laugh

when you walk down.

And then you find,

whoa,

we have some

mutual connections,

some shared friends.

And you track down

his family members.

And oh look,

they're about as

ordinary as they can get.

His dad's a plumber.

But this man

keeps gaining followers

and to your shock

and dismay,

your friends

start believing in him

and following him.

And then you look up

YouTube videos

of this man speaking

and he says

crazy things.

Matthew 10,

37 to 39,

and whoever loves

father or mother

more than me

is not worthy of me.

And whoever loves

son or daughter

more than me

is not worthy of me.

And whoever does not

take his cross

and follow me

is not worthy of me.

Whoever finds his life

will lose it

and whoever loses his life

for my sake

will find it.

He tells his followers

that they must

deny themselves,

that they must renounce

their own plans

and desires,

that he could die

to themselves

and give up everything

and follow him.

He demands

exclusive allegiance.

He tells them

that they must love him

even more

than they love

their own family members.

And you listen to this

and you think to yourself,

well, this guy's

another case.

My friends will soon

come to their senses,

they're not going

to follow him.

But no,

they leave their money

and their property

behind.

They leave their professions,

their careers behind.

They leave even

their families behind

to follow this guy.

Would you not be

deeply alarmed?

Would you not try

to dissuade your friends?

Oh man,

I think my friends

got enmeshed

in some kind

of pyramid scheme

Or a cult!

Or both!

Please help!

Imagine

how foolish

these disciples

would have looked

to many around them.

But it turns out

these twelve apostles

were right.

Jesus is killed

as he predicted

and he is raised

from the dead

as he predicted

in any other situation

with any other person.

The disciples

would have been fools.

But if Jesus

really is

the man

he said he is,

if he really is

the Son of God,

if he really is

the Lamb of God

who takes away

the sin of the world,

if he really is

the crucified,

risen Messiah,

then he is

worth forsaking

everything.

Good Father,

say hi.

And that is precisely

what Jesus calls us

to today.

Jesus told the rich

John and to sell

everything he has

and give it away

to come and follow him

because that was

the one thing,

the property,

the possessions

that he had

was the one thing

that he was not

willing to relinquish

to God.

It was his idol,

his money and possessions

occupied the center,

the ruling place

of his heart

and you can't

serve God that way.

God must be

God.

God,

he must be

the center.

He must occupy

not the outskirts

of our hearts

but the center

of our hearts,

the throne

of our hearts.

If you are not

yet a follower of Christ

and you are here

this morning,

this is what it takes

to be saved.

This is what it takes

to become a follower

of Christ.

It takes

everything.

Everything.

If there is

something in your life

of which you say,

I can give you

all those other things,

I can give you

a part of this thing,

but not all of it.

That's not enough.

You can't

have two masters.

That's called

treachery.

you can't

have two

lovers.

That's called

adultery.

My Christian

brothers and sisters,

aren't we all

fools

who have

left everything

to follow Jesus?

Where are

my fellow

fools

who give away

tens of thousands

of dollars

in tithes

and offerings

for the edification

of the church

body

and the advancement

of the gospel

year after year?

Many.

Who would

rather give away

their wealth

than to keep it

for themselves?

Where are my

fellow fools

who embrace

chastity

in singleness

or faithfulness

in marriage

and will not

indulge in the

lusts of the

flesh

for the sake

of Jesus?

Who will gladly

live like eunuchs

for the rest

of their lives

if that is indeed

what God

calls them to?

Where are

my fellow

fools

who after

getting slapped

on the right

cheek

turn to them

the other?

Who forgive,

who love

and pray

for their enemies

and forgive

people not

seven times

but 77 times

who extend

God's mercy

even to repeat

offenders?

Where are

my fellow

fools

who would

rather pray

and depend

on God

than to be

anxious

and take

things into

your own

hands?

Where are

my fellow

fools

who would

rather be

associated

with the

crucified

Messiah

and with

these vilified

churches

and Christians

than with

the rich

and the

powerful

and the

famous?

Where are

the fellow

fools

who have

subordinated

all other

loyalties?

Loyalty to

kid and

kin,

loyalty to

country,

subordinated

all of them

to your

loyalty to

Christ?

Where are

my brothers

and sisters

who would

rather die

for Christ

than live

without it?

All of

these things

seem foolish

and crazy

to the

watching world

because,

he says

in 1 Corinthians

2.18,

the word

of the

cross is

folly to

those who

are perishing,

but to

us who are

being saved,

it is the

power of

God.

1 Corinthians

2.14,

that natural

person does

not accept the

things of the

Spirit of God,

for they are

folly to

them,

and he's not

able to

understand them

because they

are spiritually

discerned.

But as

Jim

Elliot,

who was

killed like

a fool

at the

age of

22 by

the

Guarani

tribe in

the Amazon

in Ecuador,

while trying

to tell them

about the

good news,

the saving

news of

Jesus Christ,

he once

said before

he died,

he is no

fool who

gives what

he cannot

keep to

gain what

he cannot

lose.

He is no

fool who

gives what

he cannot

keep in

order to

gain what

he cannot

lose.

The world

is passing

away along

with its

desires,

but whoever

does the

will of

God abides

forever.

Is it

not wise

to give

up what

is passing

away in

exchange for

what lasts

forever?

For what

will it

profit a

man if

he gains

the whole

world and

forfeits

his soul?

What shall

a man give

in return for

his soul?

Isn't it

better to

forfeit the

world that

is passing

away,

this temporal

world to

gain our

eternal

soul?

We are

no

fools.

For

here is

what we

have to

gain.

Jesus said

in verses

28 to

29,

truly I

say to

you in

the new

world when

the son of

man will

sit on

his

glorious

throne,

you who

have

followed

me will

also sit

on

twelve

throes,

judging

the twelve

tribes of

Israel.

If you're

using the

English

standard version

of the

Bible,

you might

have a

footnote

after the

word new

world.

And if you

look at that

footnote,

it will tell

you that the

word literally

means regeneration

in Greek,

which means new

birth or

renewal.

When exactly

is that time?

Jesus tells us

when the

son of man

will sit

on his

glorious

throne.

Jesus will

mention this

time again

later in

Matthew 25,

31 to 32.

he says,

when the

son of

man comes

in his

glory and

all the

angels with

him,

then he

will sit

on his

glorious

throne.

Before him

will be

gathered all

the nations

and he

will separate

people one

from another

as a shepherd

separates the

sheep from

the goats.

It's the

time of

final judgment

after Christ's

return.

At that

time,

Jesus

promises

the twelve

apostles,

you who

have followed

me will

also sit

on twelve

thrones,

judging the

twelve

tribes of

Israel.

I think

there is a

particular

reference

here to

the twelve

apostles,

that's why

there's

twelve

thrones.

In Luke

22,

28 to 30,

Jesus says

to the

twelve,

you are

those who

have stayed

with me

in my

trials,

and I

have

signed

to you

as my

father

assigned

to me

a

kingdom,

that you

may eat

and drink

at my

table

in my

kingdom

and sit

on

thrones

judging

the twelve

tribes

of Israel.

So that

the twelve

who ministered

alongside

Jesus

during his

earthly life

and ministry

laid the

foundation for

the church

and as

such they

occupy a

special place

in the

age to

come.

That's why

I think

in Revelation

21,

14,

the new

Jerusalem

that comes

down from

heaven,

which represents

the people

of God,

has twelve

foundations

and on

them were

the twelve

names of

the twelve

apostles of

the land.

In Revelation

Revelation 20:4

20,

verse 4,

it says that

after Christ's

return and

during his

millennial

reign,

there will

be

thrones

and

see

it

on

those

to

whom

the

authority

to

judge

was

committed.

So I

think this

reign and

rule extends

from the

millennial

kingdom to

eternity

beyond.

And there

is a

particular

special place

for these

twelve

apostles.

But I

don't think

that this

is the

exclusive

privilege

of the

twelve

apostles.

Yes,

they occupy

a unique

place in

redemptive

history and

within the

kingdom of

God,

but the

apostles are

the

foundation

of the

church.

And we

are part

of the

same

spiritual

house that

God is

building as

a dwelling

place for

himself.

The

apostles

represent

all of

us,

the people

of God.

And this

is why

scripture

elsewhere

anticipates

that all

the saints

and the

whole church

will partake

in this

reign of

Christ and

in the

judgment

of Christ.

It says

in 1 Corinthians

6,

2-3,

do you

not know

that the

saints will

judge the

world?

Do you

not know

that we

are to

judge

angels?

This

lofty,

glorious

task that

our

heavenly

father

sees

fit

to

entrust

to us

in this

new age

the

judgment.

Daniel

7-22

prophesies

of a

time when

the

ancient

of

age

comes,

the

judgment

is

given

for

the

saints

of

the

most

high.

And

the

time

comes

when

the

saints

possess

the

kingdom.

Revelation

3-21,

Jesus

promises

that those

who

conquer

as

he

conquered,

that he

will give

them to

sit with

him on

his throne.

This is

supposed to

be an

encouraging

promise to

those who

are downtrodden

and weak

and

disenfranchised

here in

life.

Are you

downtrodden

now?

Are you

reviled and

persecuted

now?

Are you

weak and

powerless

now?

You

can

wait

with

hope

because

Christ

has

prepared

for

you

a

throne

and a

kingdom.

But does

God have

something good

for us

only in

this next

life?

What about

here and

now?

Do we

have anything

to look

forward to

in this

life?

Or is

this life

only suffering

and misery

and loss?

Jesus

says in

verse 29

And

everyone

who has

left

houses

or brothers

or sisters

or father

or mother

or children

or lands

for my

name's sake

will receive

a hundredfold

and will

inherit

eternal

life.

If you

compare this

verse to

the parallel

verses in

Mark

Mark 10 · chapter mention

chapter 10

28-30

and Luke

Luke 18 · chapter mention

chapter 18

28-30

we can see

clearly that

the promise

that we

will receive

a hundredfold

applies not

to the

afterlife

but to

the present

life.

Jesus

says in

Mark

10-30

that we

will receive

a hundredfold

now in

this time

houses

and brothers

and sisters

and mothers

and children

and lands

with persecutions

and in the

age to come

eternal life.

Luke

18-30

says that we

will receive

many times

more in

this time

and in

the age to

come

eternal life.

so then

there are

wonderful

promises

for our

life here

on earth

as well.

For the

early

converts

in Jesus'

day

following

Christ

meant

being

kicked

out

of

the

synagogue

being

disowned

by their

families

being

rejected

and

persecuted

by their

society.

This

has been

the

norm

and not

the exception

throughout

Christian

history.

Many

Christians

throughout

history

and even

today

Christians

in many

parts of

the world

following

Christ

means

rejection

and

persecution

by

family

and

society.

But

Jesus

promises

that to

those who

give him

the

primacy

that he

is due

in their

lives

become part

of the

family of

God.

The

church.

And as the

church

lives out

its calling

as the

family of

God,

as they

share

their

lives

and

possessions

with

each

other,

we may

lose

our

own

homes,

but we

gain

a hundred

more in

the homes

of our

Christian

brothers and

sisters.

We may

lose our

spouses and

siblings and

parents and

children,

but we

gain hundreds

more within

the family of

God.

The church

is not a

mere club

or a show

that you

attend on

Sundays,

or a

non-profit.

It is the

very home

and family

of the

people of

God,

all those

who have

been

orphaned and

disenfranchised

in this

world because

of their

allegiance to

Christ.

As Jesus

said earlier

in Matthew

Matthew 12:48

chapter 12

verses 48

and 50,

stretching out

his hand

toward the

disciples,

here are

my mother

and my

brothers.

For whoever

does the

will of

God,

will of

my Father

in heaven,

that is my

brother and

sister and

mother.

And that's

what many

of you have

been throughout

the history of

our church for

one another.

When you

care for one

another in

sickness by

delivering meals,

cooking for

each other,

when you

watch the

children of

the parents in

the church like

their uncles

and aunties,

when you

take members

into your own

homes when

they don't

have a place

to live,

when you

give away

thousands

anonymously to

help an

unemployed

brother,

when you

fly to a

different part

of the

country to

help a

sister move,

when you

secretly pay

for a

church member's

medical bill

because they

can't afford

it.

We do

this because

we are

family.

And God

has abundantly

fulfilled his

promise in my

life, in my

family, a

hundredfold

and more.

And that's

just the

beginning.

Afterward,

we have

eternal life

to enjoy.

In this

way, God

generously

rewards us

according to

our works

because our

works are

the fruit and

evidence of

the grace that

we have received

from God.

As Jesus

said in

Matthew 10,

42,

whoever

gives one

of these

little ones

even a

cup of

cold water

because he

is a

disciple,

truly I

say to you,

he will

by no

means lose

his reward.

Even the

least of our

good deeds

that we

do in

his name

will be

rewarded,

will not

go unseen.

So take

heart,

my brothers

and sisters.

Verse 30

then concludes

the preceding

passage and

begins the

next.

It's a pivot

point.

But many

who are

first will

be last

and the

last first.

Some people

understand

verse 30

as a positive

statement

affirming

Peter and

the apostles.

the rich

young man

is the

one who

was first

in this

world but

he will

be last.

But you

who left

everything,

you're last

in this

world but

you will

be first.

That is

a true

statement.

It's what

Jesus

essentially

said in

the earlier

verses 28

and 29.

However,

I don't

think that's

the primary

function of

verse 30.

And here's

why.

It begins

with the

conjunction

but,

which indicates

contrast.

Remember

Peter's

plow and

entitled

question in

chapter 19

verse 27.

See,

we have

left everything

in follow

due.

What then

will we

have?

If Jesus

is affirming

Peter's

attitude and

posture here,

you're right,

you're right.

You gave us

so much to

follow me,

you'll be

first,

don't worry.

I don't

think that's

what Jesus

is saying.

If that's

the case,

then we

expect the

coordinated

conjunction

for.

For many

who are

first will

be last

and the

last

first.

But no,

we have

but.

It keeps

a contrast.

And if you

skip ahead to

chapter 20

verse 16,

you will see

that the

same statement

is repeated

in reverse

order.

So the

last will

be first

and the

first

last.

This is

what we

call an

inclusio.

These two

verses serve

as bookends.

the front

and back

covers of

the book

that enclose

its content

together and

bind them

together.

So I

think for

that reason,

chapter 19

verse 30

goes primarily

with the

following

parable.

And it's

intended as

a caution

to the

apostles and

to all

subsequent

followers of

Christ.

Yes,

you will

have great

rewards.

I assure

you of

that.

But don't

you go

importing

selfish

ambition,

sinful

comparison,

and envy,

and worldly

striving for

first place

into your

Christian life.

Because first

will be last

and the

last first.

You guys

following me?

It will be

clear when we

get to the

parable.

God

mercifully

repays us

according to

his grace.

Jesus says

in verse 1,

for the king

of heaven is

like a

master of

a house

who went

out early

in the

morning to

hire neighbors

for his

vineyard.

The

conjunction

for in

verse 1

signals that

Jesus is

commenting on

what he

just said

in verse

30,

chapter 19,

verse 30.

But many

who are

first will

be last

and the

last first

because

for,

Jesus

explaining,

for the

kingdom of

heaven is

like this,

like a

master of

a house

who went

out early

in the

morning to

hire neighbors

for his

king.

The

vineyard is

an often

used image,

a metaphor

for the

people of

God in

the Old

Testament.

And

Jesus

used that

image famously

in John

15 to

say,

I am the

true vine

and the

father is a

vine dresser.

I am the

vine and

you are

the

branches.

Whoever

abides in

me and

I in

him,

he it

is that

bears much

fruit.

For apart

from me

you can

do

nothing.

The

people of

God are

God's

vineyard

and God

is the

master who

owns it.

In this