the end of the previous chapter, that those at the front would end up at the back, and vice versa, it may have seemed that ‘those at the front’ was referring to the rich and powerful, and that ‘those at the back’ meant the disciples themselves. However, that saying was part of the answer to Peter, after his somewhat self-centred question in 19:27 (‘We’ve left everything and followed you; so what is our reward?’). It’s possible that, already in chapter 19, Jesus is intending the riddling saying about