SPEAKER_01: This sermon was recorded at Faith Evangelical Free Church in Grand Forks, North Dakota.
SPEAKER_00: If you would take your Bible and open it to Matthew chapter 19.
SPEAKER_00: Chapter 19 and chapter 20.
SPEAKER_00: We've been making our way through Matthew's gospel.
SPEAKER_00: We're going to look at some of 19 today and some of 20.
SPEAKER_00: I'll tell you why in a moment.
SPEAKER_00: But while you're making your way there, I'll tell you a story.
SPEAKER_00: I think this goes back to when I was 14.
SPEAKER_00: It's a little too long ago for me to remember if it was when I was 13 or 14 or 15.
SPEAKER_00: I can't remember.
SPEAKER_00: I've worn glasses for most of my life.
SPEAKER_00: Eight years old?
SPEAKER_00: Nine years old?
SPEAKER_00: Something like that.
SPEAKER_00: I detest glasses.
SPEAKER_00: I detest them.
SPEAKER_00: So when I was about 13 or 14 years old, these things came out called soft lens contacts.
SPEAKER_00: I wanted them.
SPEAKER_00: But my mom and dad said, you got perfectly good glasses.
SPEAKER_00: We can't afford that.
SPEAKER_00: No.
SPEAKER_00: But if you want to spend your own money, go right ahead.
SPEAKER_00: So I mowed lawns all summer long.
SPEAKER_00: And I didn't spend any money that summer.
SPEAKER_00: I didn't spend any money.
SPEAKER_00: I didn't buy my Dr.
SPEAKER_00: Pepper.
SPEAKER_00: I only bought gas for the mower.
SPEAKER_00: I lugged that mower and that trimmer all over town all summer long.
SPEAKER_00: That was hard for a teenager to go all summer long looking and anticipating for something at the end of the summer that I really didn't know was going to be worth it.
SPEAKER_00: But I scrimped and I saved every penny that I could so that at the end of the summer before school started I could get those soft lenses.
SPEAKER_00: And I did.
SPEAKER_00: And it was worth it until I got an infection in my eyes and can't wear them anymore.
SPEAKER_00: Later, the Lord was gracious to give me LASIK surgery, and you can see how long that lasted.
SPEAKER_00: You'll see in a little while how that story fits in.
SPEAKER_00: We are in chapter 20 of Matthew, beginning in verse 1.
SPEAKER_00: But verse 1 starts with an interesting word.
SPEAKER_00: For.
SPEAKER_00: Not F-O-U-R, but F-O-R.
SPEAKER_00: For the kingdom of heaven is like.
SPEAKER_00: That word for tells us that he is explaining something.
SPEAKER_00: Something comes before that.
SPEAKER_00: So to understand how this all fits together, we have to back up a little bit into chapter 19.
SPEAKER_00: And so if you would, look back at chapter 19, verse 27.
SPEAKER_00: Peter says to Jesus, look, see, we've left everything and we've followed you.
SPEAKER_00: What then will we have?
SPEAKER_00: So this follows the account of an interaction with a rich young man who came to Jesus, and Jesus told him, Here's what you need to do to follow me and to enter into eternal life.
SPEAKER_00: And the man said, Sorry, that's not worth it.
SPEAKER_00: And he walked away.
SPEAKER_00: Peter says, Look, Jesus, we've left everything and we've followed you.
SPEAKER_00: What then will we have?
SPEAKER_00: 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, and everyone who's left houses, or brothers, or sisters, or fathers, or mothers, or children, or lands, for my name's sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life.
SPEAKER_00: But many who are first will be last and the last first.
SPEAKER_00: For the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house, who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard.
SPEAKER_00: And after agreeing with these laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard.
SPEAKER_00: And going out about the third hour, that's about nine o'clock in the morning, he saw others standing idle in the marketplace and said to them, You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right I will give you.
SPEAKER_00: So they went.
SPEAKER_00: Going out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour, he did the same.
SPEAKER_00: And about the eleventh hour, this is about five o'clock in the evening, about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing and said to them, Why are you standing here idle all day long?
SPEAKER_00: They said, Well, no one's hired us.
SPEAKER_00: He said to them, You go into the vineyard too.
SPEAKER_00: And when evening came, the Lord of the vineyard said to his foreman, Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last up to the first.
SPEAKER_00: And when those hired about the eleventh hour came, each of them received a denarius.
SPEAKER_00: Now, when those who had come first early in the morning, they thought they would receive more.
SPEAKER_00: But each of them received a denarius.
SPEAKER_00: And on receiving it, they grumbled at the master of the house, who wouldn't, right?
SPEAKER_00: Saying, These last worked only one hour, and you've made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.
SPEAKER_00: But he replied to one of them, Friend, I'm not doing you any wrong.
SPEAKER_00: Didn't you agree to me with me for a denarius?
SPEAKER_00: Take what belongs to you and go.
SPEAKER_00: I choose to give to this last worker as I give to you.
SPEAKER_00: Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me?
SPEAKER_00: Or do you begrudge my generosity?
SPEAKER_00: So the first, the last will be first, and the first will be last.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.
SPEAKER_00: If Jesus came by your workplace and said to you, come on, follow me.
SPEAKER_00: Would you do it?
SPEAKER_00: Now before you answer too quickly, would you get up from your desk, grab your wallet and your keys, and leave your job?
SPEAKER_00: On the way out, would you would you tell your boss that you're not returning?
SPEAKER_00: Would you go home that evening and tell your spouse that you quit your job to follow the teacher and that you don't know where the money to pay the bills will come from?
SPEAKER_00: You don't know what will happen to your home, but that you trust Jesus to provide?
SPEAKER_00: Would you still follow Jesus?
SPEAKER_00: If your family never spoke to you again?
SPEAKER_00: What if Jesus lands you in hot water with local authorities?
SPEAKER_00: What if following Jesus, quitting your job, losing your family, and following Jesus means getting beaten and left for dead because someone didn't appreciate you telling them about Jesus?
SPEAKER_00: Would you still follow Jesus?
SPEAKER_00: What if following Jesus means life is hard?
SPEAKER_00: What if following Jesus means that sometimes there may not be food for a meal?
SPEAKER_00: What if following Jesus means you can't have the car that you want?
SPEAKER_00: Or the house that you want, or that you have to keep on working until the day you die.
SPEAKER_00: Don't let anyone deceive you.
SPEAKER_00: You cannot follow Jesus unless you are willing to demote the things of this life so that Jesus can rule your life.
SPEAKER_00: Put simply, it will cost you to follow Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: It may cost you financially, it may cost you physically, it may cost you emotionally, it may cost you your deepest desires that you hold in this life.
SPEAKER_00: But let's make one thing very, very clear.
SPEAKER_00: While it will cost you to follow Jesus, following Jesus is worth whatever cost it exacts from you.
SPEAKER_00: It is worth it.
SPEAKER_00: That was a hard, hard summer for me.
SPEAKER_00: Watching all of my friends spend their money while I had to scrimp and save every bit.
SPEAKER_00: I think it was like a hundred dollars.
SPEAKER_00: That was a lot for 13, 14-year-old.
SPEAKER_00: But I couldn't do what everybody else did.
SPEAKER_00: But in the end I was worth it.
SPEAKER_00: For the first time in my life to be able to see without clunky glasses.
SPEAKER_00: It cost me something, but it was worth it.
SPEAKER_00: Now that pales in comparison to following Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: But let me make sure you understand.
SPEAKER_00: It will cost you to follow Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: I don't know what it will cost you.
SPEAKER_00: I don't know what the payment will be that comes from you, that is exacted from you.
SPEAKER_00: But let me tell you, following Jesus is worth it all.
SPEAKER_00: Do you believe this?
SPEAKER_00: And are you willing to entrust your life to this God man?
SPEAKER_00: The rich young man in Matthew chapter 19 was not willing.
SPEAKER_00: His wealth was more important to him than Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: His financial status had become his God, and Jesus told him there could be no eternal life for him or entrance into the Lord's kingdom unless that God was dethroned and replaced with Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: Now he gave Jesus the impression that he was willing to do anything to earn entrance into God's kingdom.
SPEAKER_00: But when it came time to follow through, he showed, yeah, not willing to do that.
SPEAKER_00: That cost is too high.
SPEAKER_00: He was not willing to take up his cross to follow Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: But he understood following Jesus is going to cost you something.
SPEAKER_00: So Peter, our good friend Peter, the businessman, the fisherman, asks a very important follow-up question.
SPEAKER_00: What would those who had already left everything and followed Jesus receive?
SPEAKER_00: Jesus, surely there's going to be something for us.
SPEAKER_00: Look, we've left everything to follow you.
SPEAKER_00: So here we have, on the one hand, a wealthy young man who refused to follow Jesus' commands, to sell everything that he had and to give it away and to follow Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: We never hear from him again.
SPEAKER_00: We're left to assume that he rejected Christ to maintain his lavish lifestyle.
SPEAKER_00: He enjoyed his reward, which was just in this life alone.
SPEAKER_00: You see, that young man was seeking to serve two gods at the same time.
SPEAKER_00: The command was to reject the God of money and possessions and wealth and comfort and follow Jesus alone.
SPEAKER_00: And he said, No, that cost is too high for me.
SPEAKER_00: Then there are those, on the other hand, who, as Peter said, have left everything and followed Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: What a contrast.
SPEAKER_00: You see, it's really important for us to eliminate that chapter 20 division because we need to see how all of this is fitting together.
SPEAKER_00: That four at the beginning is really important.
SPEAKER_00: It answers for us why Peter asked the question.
SPEAKER_00: There's a massive contrast between this rich young man who doesn't leave anything and the disciples who do leave everything.
SPEAKER_00: One gets everything in this life, the other group gets nothing in this life, but is that worth it?
SPEAKER_00: Is that worth it?
SPEAKER_00: So after the man leaves, Peter says to Jesus, Hey, we've done that.
SPEAKER_00: Remember Jesus that day you walked by my boat and said, Come and follow me?
SPEAKER_00: I did.
SPEAKER_00: What am I gonna get?
SPEAKER_00: What's in it for me?
SPEAKER_00: Now the disciples hadn't given up absolutely everything to live as like a like an ascetic monk out in the desert.
SPEAKER_00: Peter still owned a home.
SPEAKER_00: At least one of the fishermen still owned his boat and his fishing equipment.
SPEAKER_00: Some were married and had families to care for.
SPEAKER_00: So that tells us that this isn't an account, it isn't a story about, hey, give up everything that you have, sell it all, get rid of it so that you have nothing and you're destitute so that you can follow Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: No, that's not what it's about.
SPEAKER_00: It's about priority.
SPEAKER_00: It's about the place that Jesus holds in your life.
SPEAKER_00: It's about which God is on top.
SPEAKER_00: Remember when Jesus told the Old Testament Israelites, You shall have no other gods before me?
SPEAKER_00: None.
SPEAKER_00: That's what we see being lived out here.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus demands to be the one and only God in our lives.
SPEAKER_00: The rich young man said no thanks and walked away.
SPEAKER_00: But the disciples answered Jesus' call to believe and have followed him.
SPEAKER_00: So naturally, there's a follow-up question.
SPEAKER_00: What are we gonna get, Jesus?
SPEAKER_00: Is this really worth it?
SPEAKER_00: Jesus, it's really hard.
SPEAKER_00: It's really hard to have you be the chief of my life when I live and work in a pagan environment that hates you.
SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna stick out like a sore thumb.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus, is it worth it?
SPEAKER_00: Jesus, I'm going to a university where where I'm gonna be mocked and ridiculed.
SPEAKER_00: Is it really worth it to have you at the top?
SPEAKER_00: Following Jesus, friends, is not the easiest thing to do.
SPEAKER_00: Don't let any TV preachers tell you otherwise.
SPEAKER_00: Don't let any preachers tell you otherwise, TV or otherwise.
SPEAKER_00: Matthew's already shown us the expectations for doing what Jesus says.
SPEAKER_00: The expectations include things like potential persecution or reviling for our faith.
SPEAKER_00: There's the command to turn the other cheek.
SPEAKER_00: Let somebody smack you twice for believing in Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: There's the command to go the extra mile.
SPEAKER_00: There's this statement again and again that family may reject us.
SPEAKER_00: But we're also called to trust in the Father's provision for us, knowing that he knows best.
SPEAKER_00: We are to expect the same kind of treatment that they gave to the Lord Jesus Christ, and we know what they did to him.
SPEAKER_00: So Matthew has shown us it's not easy to follow Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: It's not easy to dethrone the gods of this life and to put Jesus at the top, but he's shown us that Jesus demands the highest place in life with no other person or no other thing competing with him for that place.
SPEAKER_00: We signed up for that, Peter says.
SPEAKER_00: Yes, we want that.
SPEAKER_00: Now what are we gonna get out of it?
SPEAKER_00: Jesus, will it be worth it?
SPEAKER_00: Jesus, did we do the right thing?
SPEAKER_00: You can almost sense Peter asking Jesus for some encouragement here, right?
SPEAKER_00: Because life following Jesus can sometimes be rough.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus, give us some hope that it's worth it.
SPEAKER_00: The young man left in a sad state.
SPEAKER_00: Will we be sad that we followed you?
SPEAKER_00: So Jesus responds with a very clear declaration.
SPEAKER_00: He says, truly I say to you.
SPEAKER_00: In the new world, when I make everything new and I sit on my glorious throne, you who have followed me, speaking of the twelve disciples, will sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
SPEAKER_00: 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 receive eternal life.
SPEAKER_00: But many who are first will be last and the last first.
SPEAKER_00: So when Peter asks, What then will we have?
SPEAKER_00: Jesus responds by saying, All true disciples will have treasure in heaven.
SPEAKER_00: The treasure in heaven that was offered to the rich young ruler that he turned down.
SPEAKER_00: When God is done with all of his work in this world, he will regenerate everything.
SPEAKER_00: That's the word behind the translation of the new world here, basically speaking of a new creation in which Jesus rules everything.
SPEAKER_00: In that perfect world, the twelve disciples will act as elders of the twelve tribes of Israel with an authority to judge.
SPEAKER_00: So the answer to Peter's question is yes, it is worth it.
SPEAKER_00: For those disciples, eternity will result in having an authority and a prominence that they did not have in this world.
SPEAKER_00: And then Jesus extends the promise.
SPEAKER_00: And everyone.
SPEAKER_00: That's me.
SPEAKER_00: Everyone.
SPEAKER_00: And everyone who has done this for my sake will inherit eternal life and receive a hundredfold.
SPEAKER_00: You know, in the first century, the natural result of having faith in Jesus as the Messiah was expulsion from your family.
SPEAKER_00: That was usually the first thing that you could expect.
SPEAKER_00: If you worked for somebody else, you could expect the loss of your job.
SPEAKER_00: You would expect the loss of an inheritance, loss of status, perhaps the loss of your home, potentially anything else of consequence.
SPEAKER_00: That didn't always happen, but it was expected.
SPEAKER_00: In fact, to be a Christian was to be rejected.
SPEAKER_00: Being seen as Jesus' disciple was an immediate loss.
SPEAKER_00: And when it first came into use, the term Christian was derogatory.
SPEAKER_00: It was like a slap in the face.
SPEAKER_00: That was understood in the early church, in the book of Acts, for example.
SPEAKER_00: They knew what coming to faith in Jesus meant.
SPEAKER_00: They understood what Jesus meant when he spoke about leaving houses, family members, or lands.
SPEAKER_00: He wasn't speaking of a select group of people, those who were voluntarily leaving everything to follow him in full-time ministry.
SPEAKER_00: He was speaking of everybody with faith in Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: Those who, like the rich young man, were called to remove the gods that were taking the place of Jesus in their lives and to put Jesus in the first place.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus is talking to everybody who follows him to face the consequences of following him head on.
SPEAKER_00: That's for everybody.
SPEAKER_00: That message hasn't changed.
SPEAKER_00: We are all like the rich young man.
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes, sometimes at great expense and great loss, as a result of coming to him, the Lord calls us to dethrone the idols in our life, remove them, and put Jesus first.
SPEAKER_00: Now Jesus says to all those who have followed him in that way that the result of coming to him will be receiving a hundredfold and receiving eternal life.
SPEAKER_00: That receiving a hundredfold is an agricultural picture.
SPEAKER_00: A first century farmer could typically expect a 10 to 20% return on his investment in his fields.
SPEAKER_00: Not very much.
SPEAKER_00: Anything beyond that was an expected bonus.
SPEAKER_00: A bumper crop might be a return of 30%.
SPEAKER_00: So to receive a hundredfold was beyond imagination.
SPEAKER_00: That's like winning the lottery without even buying a ticket.
SPEAKER_00: And with that high point in the disciples' minds and in our thinking as well, Jesus clarifies but many who are first will be last and the last first.
SPEAKER_00: Wait a minute.
SPEAKER_00: We've just been told that everyone who comes to Jesus with the faith of a child to become his disciple is.
SPEAKER_00: And then who faces all kinds of unworldly things is going to receive blessing and eternal life.
SPEAKER_00: But now you're telling us that we might be last?
SPEAKER_00: How does that make sense?
SPEAKER_00: Well, first, it's Jesus' way of telling us, teaching us to think like him.
SPEAKER_00: See, the promised treasure in heaven is going to be given God's way, not my way.
SPEAKER_00: The disciples were told that they were going to sit on thrones of authority and judgment.
SPEAKER_00: And so you can imagine how the riches of that young man who came to visit with Jesus are now replaced with visions of heaven on earth and twelve thrones.
SPEAKER_00: And now there's this confusing statement by Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: What does he mean by it?
SPEAKER_00: How does receiving blessing and honor and glory and a hundredfold and eternal life now fit with being last?
SPEAKER_00: Well, in chapter 20, verse 1, we see a helpful statement.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus says, For the kingdom of heaven is like.
SPEAKER_00: And then he tells a story.
SPEAKER_00: We've seen that kind of statement before, right?
SPEAKER_00: It's when Jesus tells a parable to help explain what he's saying.
SPEAKER_00: Look down at verse 16.
SPEAKER_00: You'll notice, so the last will be first and the first last.
SPEAKER_00: It's the same statement as the end of chapter 19, but flipped around.
SPEAKER_00: It's the reverse.
SPEAKER_00: And those statements are like bookends to Jesus' story, telling us that everything in between, everything in between the pieces of bread and the sandwich, explains Jesus' statement to Peter.
SPEAKER_00: And Jesus explains all of that with a story.
SPEAKER_00: In the story, there's a Lord, a despot, or a ruler of a household.
SPEAKER_00: He's the owner, he's the ruler, he's the Lord, he's the master of the house, and he owns a vineyard.
SPEAKER_00: Apparently a quite substantial vineyard.
SPEAKER_00: Presumably this story takes place at harvest time when there's a need for workers immediately out in the harvest fields.
SPEAKER_00: So the master goes out into the public areas of the community early in the morning, just after sunrise, to find some day laborers.
SPEAKER_00: These were like our temp workers, seeking work every single day.
SPEAKER_00: They don't have their own land, they don't have their own vineyards, so they're seeking employment for each day from somebody else.
SPEAKER_00: They agree to work for the day for a denarius.
SPEAKER_00: A denarius was the standard amount given for one day's work.
SPEAKER_00: We think today in terms of hourly pay or bi-weekly or monthly salaries.
SPEAKER_00: But at that time, the pattern was to think in terms of a full day's wages.
SPEAKER_00: The first time he went out was about six o'clock in the morning.
SPEAKER_00: That was the typical time to begin the day.
SPEAKER_00: Now he goes out again at about 9 a.m., the third hour, going again into the public areas, and he sees more workers that apparently weren't there before.
SPEAKER_00: And so he tells them, Go to work in my vineyard.
SPEAKER_00: There's no negotiation, there's no discussion of pay.
SPEAKER_00: He just says, I will give you what is right, what is just.
SPEAKER_00: Happens again at noon, at the sixth hour, and again at 3 o'clock at the ninth hour.
SPEAKER_00: We're not told why the owner keeps on going back and hiring more workers.
SPEAKER_00: We're only told that he does.
SPEAKER_00: And so we would expect in our normal American way of thinking that we expect him to give each set of workers a prorated portion of the going rate for a day's work.
SPEAKER_00: So those hired at noon would receive half of a denarius.
SPEAKER_00: But then we arrive at verse 6 of chapter 20, where he says, in about the 11th hour, that's 5 o'clock, he went out and found others standing.
SPEAKER_00: And he said, Well, what are you doing loitering around here?
SPEAKER_00: Why are you standing idle all day long?
SPEAKER_00: And he said, They said to him, Well, no one's hired us.
SPEAKER_00: And he said, Well, I'll hire you, go into the vineyard.
SPEAKER_00: We're not told why.
SPEAKER_00: We're not told if he needs more workers still.
SPEAKER_00: We're not told, were these group of people at the very end of the day known to be slow, lazy workers?
SPEAKER_00: We don't know.
SPEAKER_00: Did they arrive at the public square too late in the morning to be hired by most of the landowners?
SPEAKER_00: We don't know.
SPEAKER_00: Whatever the case, they are sent into the owner's vineyard to work for one hour.
SPEAKER_00: Now the standard workday was from sunup to sundown, typically six in the morning till six in the evening.
SPEAKER_00: A 12-hour day.
SPEAKER_00: At the end of the workday, the owner instructs the foreman to call in all the workers and to pay them their wages.
SPEAKER_00: That's right in line with Scripture, by the way.
SPEAKER_00: Leviticus 19, 15 and Deuteronomy 24, 15 instruct God's people to pay their workers at the end of each day.
SPEAKER_00: So Jesus' story is in line with God's expectations.
SPEAKER_00: But that's exactly when the tension in the story begins to increase.
SPEAKER_00: Because the owner instructs his foreman, I want you to pay the wages for this day, but here's how I want you to do it.
SPEAKER_00: Pay the last ones first.
SPEAKER_00: We don't see a reaction to that particular method.
SPEAKER_00: The reaction comes when they receive their pay.
SPEAKER_00: Because the pay for working one hour is one denarius.
SPEAKER_00: And one denarius is equal to a full day's wage.
SPEAKER_00: Now, if I'm one of those workers saving up for my contact lenses, I'm thinking I got this good.
SPEAKER_00: If the guys that worked for an hour get a full day's wage, then that means I get almost two weeks of wages for one hour.
SPEAKER_00: I'm sorry, for one day, one full day.
SPEAKER_00: But as we read on, our our modern sensibilities begin to get irritated a bit.
SPEAKER_00: Shouldn't the ones who were there the longest be the first to be paid and then the first to leave and go home?
SPEAKER_00: And then we suddenly see dollar signs running around in some mines, because if you're there early in the morning and the late ones get a full day's wage, we're now up to 12 days' wages.
SPEAKER_00: But it says, now when those who were hired first came, they thought they would receive more.
SPEAKER_00: Naturally, who wouldn't?
SPEAKER_00: But each of them also received a denarius.
SPEAKER_00: It's a good thing there were no federal regulations or labor unions.
SPEAKER_00: There would be an instant investigation and multiple lawsuits, and the landowner would be desolate, but that's not part of the story.
SPEAKER_00: The workers began grumbling.
SPEAKER_00: Normal, right?
SPEAKER_00: We expect that.
SPEAKER_00: They grumble about how much they were paid and the weather conditions in which they work, but the owner replies with just this soft kindness.
SPEAKER_00: Friend, I've not done you any wrong.
SPEAKER_00: You agreed to work for me for a denarius.
SPEAKER_00: Just take what we agreed on and go, because I want to give this last worker the same amount, and what's wrong with that?
SPEAKER_00: Can't I do what I want with what belongs to me?
SPEAKER_00: Or do you begrudge my generosity?
SPEAKER_00: There's the key to the parable.
SPEAKER_00: You see, the complaints came as a result of the generosity.
SPEAKER_00: The protests against the landowner are not levied against him because he followed through on his agreement.
SPEAKER_00: The contractual obligations were met.
SPEAKER_00: What's wrong with that?
SPEAKER_00: No, the griping came because his generosity was not equal across the board.
SPEAKER_00: And the story's point for the 12 disciples was that they would receive what is right for following Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: And what is right will come from the hand of a generous father.
SPEAKER_00: Had the rich young man sold everything and followed Jesus, he would have been investing in eternity, and that investment would return a hundredfold return.
SPEAKER_00: It is worth every cost to follow Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: Now you may not see the return on your investment in this life.
SPEAKER_00: Because, like a young teenager who struggles to see around the corner, you have to look to the end of the summer for the return on your investment.
SPEAKER_00: In our case, we have to wait to eternity.
SPEAKER_00: We have to wait until we see Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: But you can be sure that your return on your investment, your reward will be received when Jesus rules over the world as king.
SPEAKER_00: It will be worth every cost to follow Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: But that's not all we see in this perspective shattering story.
SPEAKER_00: There are other perspective-shattering realities in what Jesus says in the story that are emphasized in the book-ended statements.
SPEAKER_00: First, consider this, if you will.
SPEAKER_00: Man's way is based on fairness.
SPEAKER_00: Because we consider the equality of a person's.
SPEAKER_00: And we consider the amount of work done.
SPEAKER_00: I remember at one point in life going to my employer after watching every other employee and thinking, I do twice as much as they do.
SPEAKER_00: I end my breaks on time, I begin my breaks on time, I go back and I work hard.
SPEAKER_00: And so I went to my employer and said, hey boss, can I get a race?
SPEAKER_00: That's the way we work, right?
SPEAKER_00: That's the way we function.
SPEAKER_00: The complainers did not gripe because they received the agreed upon pay.
SPEAKER_00: They complained because they felt the owner wasn't fair in his generosity.
SPEAKER_00: Wait a minute.
SPEAKER_00: That's not fair.
SPEAKER_00: We've all said that, right?
SPEAKER_00: I'm sure we have.
SPEAKER_00: Fairness would mean being generous to all of the workers because our mindset is in terms of equality across the board.
SPEAKER_00: If the owner, if the owner doesn't give everyone the same percentage of generosity based on the time worked, then at least he could give them a little bonus and make them feel better.
SPEAKER_00: It simply wasn't fair for the landowner to be generous to the last workers and not to the first.
SPEAKER_00: That's our way of thinking.
SPEAKER_00: Fairness is an ideal based on personal expectations.
SPEAKER_00: We expect to be similarly benefited to someone else.
SPEAKER_00: And it's all based on our perception of fairness.
SPEAKER_00: We've been trained to think that way, haven't we?
SPEAKER_00: We've been trained to think that way from civil rights to gender equality, from minimum wages to taxes.
SPEAKER_00: We've been taught to view things from the perspective of fairness.
SPEAKER_00: And that's not to say that there aren't good things in those aspects.
SPEAKER_00: It's just the way we think.
SPEAKER_00: In other words, we might say that Billy Graham ought to receive greater rewards than the thief on the cross.
SPEAKER_00: Billy did far more for the Lord over a more significant amount of time.
SPEAKER_00: So it would be fair, we would argue, if Billy received greater rewards.
SPEAKER_00: If the thief on the cross receives a day's wages, Billy should receive 12 times that amount.
SPEAKER_00: Now we have to understand here that we're talking about fairness from our perspective.
SPEAKER_00: Fairness from God's perspective is a completely different thing.
SPEAKER_00: Because fairness is always what is right from God's viewpoint.
SPEAKER_00: From human viewpoint, fairness is always what I think.
SPEAKER_00: We need to realize God's way is always grounded first in what is just.
SPEAKER_00: By our standard definitions, God isn't fair.
SPEAKER_00: Because God doesn't condescend to play by our rules of fairness.
SPEAKER_00: Fairness is subjective.
SPEAKER_00: It's what I think is fair.
SPEAKER_00: And what I think is fair may not be the same thing as what you think is fair.
SPEAKER_00: My children don't think anything is fair.
SPEAKER_00: But God is just.
SPEAKER_00: God is just.
SPEAKER_00: Now why do I why do I make a big deal about this?
SPEAKER_00: I make a big deal about it because of verse 4.
SPEAKER_00: You go into the vineyard too, and whatever is right, I will give to you.
SPEAKER_00: That's the word for just.
SPEAKER_00: Justice.
SPEAKER_00: Justification.
SPEAKER_00: God will do what is right.
SPEAKER_00: When God acts, God always does what is right.
SPEAKER_00: That is his character.
SPEAKER_00: He cannot go against it.
SPEAKER_00: So when we in our in our humanity struggle with whether or not God is being fair to us, what we're doing is questioning his character.
SPEAKER_00: We are questioning whether or not he does the right thing.
SPEAKER_00: But God always does what is right.
SPEAKER_00: He cannot contradict his character.
SPEAKER_00: He is always about what is right.
SPEAKER_00: But again, viewed from God's perspective, what is right is fair.
SPEAKER_00: And what is fair is right because there's no inequality with God.
SPEAKER_00: God always does the right thing.
SPEAKER_00: But the landowner in the picture is a picture in the story is a picture of God giving his people their rewards, their treasures in heaven, after their service is complete.
SPEAKER_00: And Jesus tells his disciples that following him is worth every cost.
SPEAKER_00: But don't let that lead you to pride.
SPEAKER_00: Don't let that lead you to pride.
SPEAKER_00: Yes, you are.
SPEAKER_00: But you might be last.
SPEAKER_00: You might be first.
SPEAKER_00: You might be last.
SPEAKER_00: God may begin the reward system with those who came to him last in time instead of those who came to him first in time.
SPEAKER_00: Maybe the thief on the cross will be the last one to receive his reward.
SPEAKER_00: He may reward the thief on the cross as generously as he rewards Billy Graham or the Apostle Paul.
SPEAKER_00: Because disciples should not expect to be rewarded in the way that we humanly expect rewards.
SPEAKER_00: Why?
SPEAKER_00: Because God will do what is right.
SPEAKER_00: And what is right will be worth it forever.
SPEAKER_00: The rich young man couldn't see to the end of the summer.
SPEAKER_00: He couldn't see how giving up all that this life had to offer to follow Jesus was worth it in the end.
SPEAKER_00: It's hard to do when you're already wrapped in the comforts of this world.
SPEAKER_00: But God will do what is right and it is worth it forever because God's way abounds in gracious generosity.
SPEAKER_00: He is a gracious father.
SPEAKER_00: And that's where we hold our hope.
SPEAKER_00: It's not in what we've lost, not in the pain that might come, not in what we abandon, not in the loss of comforts, but in the righteousness of Christ Jesus our Savior, and in the gracious generosity of God the Father.
SPEAKER_00: One day we will be perfect and without sin, and on that day we will receive our wages.
SPEAKER_00: And we will understand perfectly that all that we have and all that we receive is not because of what we've done, not because of what we've given up, but because of grace.
SPEAKER_00: We will bow before the Lord Jesus Christ with praise for his generosity.
SPEAKER_00: Some of you folks will remember that old line from that old hymn.
SPEAKER_00: It will be worth it all when we see Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: We may not be those first disciples who went against the grain and followed Jesus, giving up everything.
SPEAKER_00: We may not be the spiritual giant like the Apostle Paul, but whatever part we play in God's program, we must remember that God's justice, what he does rightly, is always enhanced by his generosity, by his graciousness.
SPEAKER_00: Whatever the cost is for you, whatever the cost is for me, he guarantees that it will be worth the cost.
SPEAKER_00: So in answer to Peter's question, Jesus, what are we going to get out of it?
SPEAKER_00: Jesus demands willing service.
SPEAKER_00: Just like the rich young ruler, he says, dethrone that God and come and follow me.
SPEAKER_00: Well, how for how long?
SPEAKER_00: Yes.
SPEAKER_00: Just come and follow me.
SPEAKER_00: Doesn't matter how long you're going to labor if it's the apostle James, the first one to get martyred, after after Stephen, first apostle to get martyred?
SPEAKER_00: Or if it's John, the last one to die.
SPEAKER_00: Just labor after Jesus, trusting all along in the Father's just, his right, righteous, and gracious provision today, tomorrow, and however long he calls you.
SPEAKER_00: That's the lesson the 12 disciples needed to learn.
SPEAKER_00: I think we need to learn that lesson too.
SPEAKER_00: Yes.
SPEAKER_00: If you answer the Lord's call to follow him as a disciple today, or if you have already done that, you will receive treasure in heaven a hundredfold and eternal life in the Lord's kingdom.
SPEAKER_00: Don't raise your expectations to be first in line or last in line.
SPEAKER_00: Don't raise your expectations so that you end up focusing on what you're going to receive.
SPEAKER_00: Because what you're going to receive is not the end goal.
SPEAKER_00: The end goal is Christ Himself.
SPEAKER_00: Just humbly keep your eyes on Jesus, for he is your reward.
SPEAKER_00: Don't worry about what is lost for the cause of Christ, for you will receive far more than you ever could lose.
SPEAKER_00: The rich young ruler heard Jesus' demand to leave behind the idol of his life and follow Jesus, but he refused.
SPEAKER_00: Why?
SPEAKER_00: Because in his mind it wasn't worth it.
SPEAKER_00: Why should anyone leave behind the idols of this world and the gods of this world to follow Jesus?
SPEAKER_00: Sounds like a risky proposition.
SPEAKER_00: But Jesus tells us there's a promise of God's reward from a generous Father for all those who follow him.
SPEAKER_00: Because the God that you follow is a just God who always does what is right and bestows generously upon all.
SPEAKER_00: Then you can hear his words.
SPEAKER_00: Come, follow me.
SPEAKER_00: Lord Jesus, may we follow you today.
SPEAKER_00: May we take to heart all that you said, not in fear, not in anxiety of what that might mean for us, but in hopeful trust in your care for us and your provision for us and of the excitement of following you wherever you might take us.
SPEAKER_00: Lord Jesus, we want to see you as you lead us out, as you go before us this week.
SPEAKER_00: You know already what we will encounter.
SPEAKER_00: You know the highs and the lows, the excitements and the trials of this week ahead of us for walking with you, for following you, for believing in you.
SPEAKER_00: And we trust that you will make it worth it all when we follow you.
SPEAKER_00: In Jesus' name we pray.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.
SPEAKER_01: That concludes this sermon from Faith Evangelical Free Church.
SPEAKER_01: Our mission is to declare the Word of God and disciple believers into mature, devoted followers of Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: You can learn more by visiting our website at faithfree.com.