Getting Rewards Right Part 1

Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith. In a parable, Jesus taught his disciples how rewards are handed out in the kingdom of God. What he taught seems quite unfair. Today, a look beneath the surface of the words of Jesus for some life-changing truth that upends our innate sense of fairness. From the Moody Church in Chicago, this is Running to Win with Dr. Erwin Lutzer, whose clear teaching helps us make it across the finish line. Pastor Lutzer, the lesson we have to take from Matthew chapter 20 really does seem like a bad deal. I hope you can help us understand it. You know, Dave, I have to tell you that in the year 1968, I studied in Israel, and standing before the tomb of Jesus, the Garden Tomb, there was a man who was responsible for the tomb, and he preached a message on Matthew chapter 20, the parable that we are going to be discussing. I remember the passion with which he spoke.

But I also remember the point that you are making, that it seems very unfair that here you have workers who show up late and are paid the same amount. But Jesus had a very important lesson to teach us, and that's why I think it's so important for us to understand this parable and to move on from there. And by the way, we here at the Ministry of Running to Win are so thankful for the many of you who support this ministry, and you might want to become what we call an endurance partner, someone who stands with us regularly with their prayers and their gifts.

You want more info, go to rtwoffer.com, click on the endurance partner button, or call us at 1-888-218-9337. But now, let's listen to the words of Jesus, and let's find out what this parable teaches us for today. I think it would be true to say that our society is obsessed with fairness. But actually the desire to be fair is inborn in every human heart. Those of us who have had children know that if you're going to share a cookie with them, or if two children have to share the same cookie, you had better cut it right down the middle so that it is fair. They'll look at it and they'll say, is this fair?

Is this side bigger than the other? Now just imagine what it is like when you work for an organization, as many of you I'm sure do, and you feel that the pay scale is unfair. I remember a baggage handler at O'Hare, with whom I was speaking because we had a suitcase that was late and all those things. He was complaining to me about the fact that those who were in his particular department and those who were the head of the airline, he did some investigation and discovered how much they were being paid, and it seemed to be so unfair in comparison to what he was being paid. He said, there they are in beautiful offices doing virtually nothing, and he said, look at their pay scale, and he was angry because life is unfair.

Or think of the situation in which you do as much work as somebody else and you get paid less per hour, and of course that is an issue that women have often spoken about and have tried to change the way in which employers and employees work together, and the whole issue behind it is, is it fair? Now I think it's wonderful to work toward fairness, but I need to tell you today that if you insist on fairness, if fairness has become your idol, you will be angry, you will be filled with envy, and you will even be angry with God because life isn't fair. Jesus told a story which, when you read it for the first time, it seems as if he is condoning unfairness. I remember reading it as a child and wondered what in the world Jesus was teaching, because you read this parable and it seems as if he's saying it's okay to be unfair. Jesus in this parable is not giving us a blueprint for how to run a company, but what he is doing is he's after something else, and the parable that at first seems to be a parable that condones unfairness turns out to be life-changing if we understand its implications and its teachings.

The parable is found in the 20th chapter, the 20th chapter of the book of Matthew, Matthew chapter 20, but we must understand the context of this parable. Jesus in the previous chapter talked to a young ruler who asked what he would have to do to inherit the kingdom of heaven. What would I have to do to rule with you is really what he was asking, and Jesus said, well, sell everything that you have and then come and follow me, and you'll be able to have that eternal life that you're seeking. Of course, that is not the gospel. The gospel is that eternal life is free. Jesus here is talking about something else that has to do with the offer of the kingdom of heaven and what it would take to be rewarded in the kingdom of heaven. But then Peter hears this discussion, and Jesus said it is difficult for a rich man to be saved, difficult because oftentimes rich people depend upon their money. And so this generates some discussion, and Peter, being the most American of the apostles, says in verse 27, see, we have left everything and followed you. What then will we have? Now, Jesus didn't rebuke him for asking that.

It's OK to ask that question. But Jesus is going to shed some light on this whole business of rewards, and what he's going to say is transforming indeed. But Jesus said, truly I say to you in the new world, in the regeneration when the world is restored and the kingdom is set up, the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne. You who have followed me will also sit on 12 thrones judging the 12 tribes of Israel. That's to the apostles.

And then here's a promise to all of us. Verse 29 of chapter 19, and everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands for my sake will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life. That is to say life and position in the kingdom, but many who are first will be last, and the last will be first. And now comes the parable. Hope that you're able to follow along in the Bible that is there in the back of the seat in front of you.

It's actually page 825. Let's go through this together and see what Jesus teaches about, quote, fairness. He says, for the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house who went out early in the morning. That's six o'clock in the morning. He goes out at six o'clock in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard.

The grape harvest actually begins to ripen and needs to be taken off as a crop in the end of September and after that rain begins. So he goes to a labor exchange board where there are people who gather every morning to see whether or not they could get a job for that day, day labors. And he negotiates, the scripture says, verse 2, after agreeing with the labors for a denarius a day, which is a good wage, he sent them into his vineyard. And going about out the third hour, that's nine in the morning, he saw others standing in the marketplace and said to them, you go into the vineyard too and whatever is right I'll give you.

So they went. Going out again about the sixth hour, the sixth hour would be noon, the ninth hour is three in the afternoon, he did the same. And about the eleventh hour, we're talking here at five in the afternoon, he went out and found others standing and said, why do you stand here idle?

And they said, because nobody has hired us. He said, you go into the vineyard and they went into the vineyard. But now the day ends, it's six o'clock and it's time to be paid. And now the intrigue begins. When evening came the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, call the labors and pay them their wages beginning with the last to the first.

Now that in itself is a great change. Wouldn't you pay the people who came at nine o'clock in the morning or six o'clock in the morning first? Why pay the people who came at five o'clock first? And then notice it even gets twistier if there's a word like that.

If not, I think there is now. You'll notice he says, and when those who have been hired at the eleventh hour, that's five in the afternoon came, shock. Each of them received a denarius, a full day's wage. Wow. Now when those who were hired first, the six o'clock people, six in the morning, they thought that they would receive more because after all, the man who worked only one hour gets a full day's wage.

He's leaving the area to run home to his wife and says, mama mia, we're going to be able to have some steaks tonight. Look at what this landowner gave me, a full day's wage for one hour's work. So those who come at six o'clock, they think that they should receive more, but each of them also received a denarius. And on receiving it, they did what often happens when employers ask employees for a meeting to discuss their wages. 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 and the heat and the scorching heat of the day. It ain't fair. Somebody replied to one of them, friend, I'm doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? Take what belongs to you and go and I choose to give to this last worker as I gave to you.

Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or are you begrudging my generosity? So the last will be first and the first last.

The question is, how do we interpret this variable? Number one, there are those who say, oh, the denarius is salvation. And at the end, whether you get saved late in life, whether you get saved early in life, doesn't matter. Everybody gets to heaven. Well, it is true that whether you're saved early in life or late, everybody gets to heaven. But I can't believe that this denarius is the ticket to heaven, that it's salvation.

For one thing, we don't work for our salvation. For another thing, I can't imagine waking up in eternity and begrudging the fact that there is some people there whom we think shouldn't be there. Have you ever thought in heaven are you going to say to Jesus, Jesus, I can't believe that he made it over there? No. You know what? That guy will be saying, I can't believe that he made it into heaven.

None of that. I don't think that it's salvation. There are those who say, well, what it really means is that in the end, no matter how long you serve, whether you're faithful or unfaithful, you're going to get the same reward.

I don't buy that at all. I think the Bible is very clear that we're going to be judged very thoroughly. Years ago, I preached a series of messages on that. And that this thorough judgment is going to show that some people are going to be rewarded above other people. And they are going to be given more responsibility in the kingdom because of faithfulness or lack thereof. And those who weren't faithful are not going to receive the same reward. Everybody in heaven happy, everybody contributing to the glory of God.

But like a chandelier, some bulbs burning more brightly. It's not true that we're all going to be rewarded the same. Some people say, well, the only way to look at it is to think that the folks who came at 5 o'clock, they worked so hard. They did as much work as those who showed up at 6 in the morning. There's no evidence in the text that that's true. In fact, when those who came at 6 o'clock in the morning complained and said, we have borne the scorching heat of the day, the master didn't correct them and say, no, you're just a bunch of lazy people who didn't do anything all day.

No, they worked hard. How then to interpret? I believe that what Jesus is trying to teach in context is this. The Jews who came to the vineyard early because they were chosen by God resented the fact that the Gentiles who showed up later were being blessed more than they thought God should bless people like that. Because you and I know that God sometimes over blesses certain people that shouldn't be blessed the way in which he blesses them. And so they resented the fact that there were those who came to the vineyard late and lo and behold, God is giving them more than they deserve.

And I think that really the bottom line is this. What God is dealing with here, what Jesus is dealing with is the attitude with which we serve. And now I'm going to give you three lessons that grow out of this parable. I want you to write them down and each one has an important word that describes the way in which we should serve God. And now it is time for you to write. I've been talking now you write. First of all, number one, we should serve God in faith without bargaining, without bargaining, in faith without bargaining.

Do you notice that maybe you missed it? I think that one of the keys to this parable is verse two. After agreeing with the labors for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard.

You can just imagine it. They were haggling. How much are you going to pay me? I'm not going to step into this vineyard until I know upfront exactly how much I'm going to get at six o'clock this evening. So he agreed with them for a denarius a day. It's interesting that the others that showed up, there was no agreement. You remember he told them, he said, go into my vineyard and whatever is right I'll pay you. And they trusted the vineyard owner to do right by them. And so as a result of their faith in his goodness, he overpaid them. You remember the story in the New Testament about the man by the name of Simeon who invites Jesus into his home.

He wants to check Jesus out to see whether or not he might get some benefit from believing in him or whatever. And as he has this feast, a woman of the streets comes and she kneels beside Jesus and she knows that she is deserving of nothing. Who gets blessed most?

The person who is shrewd and calculating and wants to find out exactly what benefits come to him or the person who says I have no benefits coming to me, nothing in my hand I bring simply to thy cross I claim. Ah, that elicits the generosity of God. Don't ever bargain with God, please don't. Don't say Lord if you give me this job I promise you I'm going to start to tithe. Or Lord I promise you I'm willing to go to Africa as a missionary if you give me a husband first.

Now you might want to also point out that if you think that way he's going to have to agree to go too I would think. Don't get into this business of saying God if you do this I'll do this. If you reward me in this way I promise I'm going to reward you in that way.

No, no, no, no. Come in faith believing that God will be generous and serve him wholeheartedly. There's a friend of mine who actually taught me preaching, a preaching class at Dallas Seminary. His name is Haddon Robinson and he had a son by the name of Tori and he likes to tell this story. One day Tori when he was a boy mowed the lawn in Texas, the hot Texas son, and he came in and said dad, he said, I have mowed the lawn which is to say being interpreted pay me. So his father said to him well Tori how much you think it's worth? He said oh I don't know he said and the father's trying to get the son to name a price and he won't. Finally he said to him why don't you give a price as to what you think it is worth for you to mow the lawn?

And then the boy said this, dad I would rather have you make the decision because I know you'll give me more than I ask for. God is generous. Don't bargain with him before you go into the vineyard.

Don't be a legalist and say well God if I do this then you owe me that. Just serve him in faith and he will do right by you I can assure you. There's a second lesson that we must learn.

Yeah thank you. And that is we must serve him in submission. This is very important now and this gets to our hearts.

Sin is going to be revealed in your heart very shortly so get ready for it all right. Serve in submission without envy. Serve in submission without envy. Now you'll notice here that the folks who showed up at six o'clock they were envious because the ones who showed up at five got the same as they did. And there's nothing that elicits envy in our heart more than feeling that we are being treated unfairly and seeing somebody else being blessed more than we think they should be blessed.

Well this is Pastor Luther. I have to tell you that Jesus Christ explodes the notion of fairness. The emphasis on fairness in our society. Of course we should always strive to be fair but life often is not fair. So in order for us to be able to serve the Lord with freedom we have to be free from that sin of envy. Whenever I preach this message I have to tell you it speaks to my heart and I believe that it speaks to yours as well. Would you like to help us here at the Ministry of Running to Win? We are in more than 20 different countries in three different languages. We ask that you consider becoming an endurance partner.

That's someone who stands with us regularly with their prayers and their gifts. Of course you need more info so here's what you can do. Go to RTWOffer.com. Of course RTWOffer is all one word. RTWOffer.com when you're there click on the endurance partner button or if you prefer you can call us at 1-888-218-9337. Now perhaps I gave you that information too quickly so here it is again.

You can go to RTWOffer.com, click on the endurance partner button or call us at 1-888-218-9337. And now for another chance for you to ask Pastor Lutzer a question about the Bible or the Christian life. Lee listens to Running to Win on BBN 91.1 in South Carolina. He says in recent radio broadcasts dealing with David's sin with Bathsheba you mentioned how God blessed David with wives, plural. If David's multiple wives were a blessing from God how can we argue that the Bible defines marriage as a union between one man and one woman? How could God bless someone with something that's against his plan? Well Lee I want you to know that you have asked your question very well.

You've pinpointed an issue that has been a matter of discussion really throughout many years. But first of all let me say that when we argue that the Bible teaches one man one woman marriage we have to go back to the beginning of Genesis where God clearly states that. And also in the Old Testament book of Proverbs for example you have an emphasis on one man and one woman. Now it is true that in the Old Testament God tolerated polygamy and this was done I think as a concession to the culture but interestingly and perhaps I misspoke if you're quoting me correctly on a previous text. Interestingly nowhere is polygamy approved by God explicitly.

One could argue that it was approved implicitly but nowhere is that stated. So in the Old Testament it was something that God put up with but also notice everyone who had multiple wives all of the difficulties that were created as a result. There was no easy relationships here. Brokenness fills the pages of the Bible in those stories where a man had more than one wife.

And so what we need to do is to realize though that the original regulation of God confirmed by the way in the New Testament in several different places is one man for one woman and that has to be upheld within the marriage relationship as God's ideal and God's expected ideal particularly during this era. Some wise words from Dr. Erwin Lutzer. Thank you Dr. Lutzer. If you'd like to hear your question answered go to our website at rtwoffer.com and click on Ask Pastor Lutzer or call us at 1-888-218-9337.

That's 1-888-218-9337. You can write to us at Running to Win, 1635 North LaSalle Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 60614. Running to Win is all about helping you understand God's roadmap for your race of life. In God's kingdom He chooses to give some more than others.

More abilities, more money, better health. You might be asking, is this fair? Next time on Running to Win, more from Matthew Chapter 20. We'll come to realize that it's the giver who makes the call and not the receiver. Thanks for listening. For Dr. Erwin Lutzer, this is Dave McAllister. Running to Win is sponsored by the Moody Church.