Mark 10:28-31 "The First Will Be Last, and The Last First"

Good Morning Calvary Chapel Lake City!

It was great spending time with many of you this past Friday at our Resolutions Party…

Great to hear your hearts for what you want to see more of in 2024… personally and spiritually.

Well… let’s continue 2024 right by entering the word now. Please open your Bibles to Mark 10. Mark 10:28-52 today.

Last time in Mark we looked at Jesus sharing about entering the Kingdom of God.

Little children were brought to Him that He might touch and bless them… not so different from a child dedication that we might perform today.

But the disciples rebuked the people that brought them… which led to Jesus rebuking the disciples and set up an object lesson…

… of the childlike characteristics one must have to enter the kingdom of God.

As Jesus got on the road to depart Perea, a Rich Young Ruler ran to Jesus to ask, “Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?”

Of course this sets up another lesson that eternal life… or entering the kingdom of God is NOT about doing… not about works…

But, about surrendering idols… dying to self… and following Jesus…

Which is not easy for many people… and the Rich Young Ruler went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

And, Jesus taught His disciples that it’s impossible to enter the kingdom of God by the efforts of man, but “… with God all things are possible.”

Salvation is a gift that comes by faith in Jesus Christ alone… we just need to receive it.

Today, we pick up at the tail end of this same conversation… and the tail end of Jesus’ Perean Ministry which ends at V31…

And it’s in this teaching today that Jesus will remark, “The First Will Be Last, and The Last First” our sermon title for today.

Let’s Pray!

In reverence for God’s word, please stand as I read our passage today.

Today, we are looking at Mark 10:28-31, but let’s back it up and re-read the passage from last week… starting in V17…

Mark 10:17-27 for context… “Now as He was going out on the road, one came running, knelt before Him, and asked Him, “Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?” 18 So Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. 19 You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery,’ ‘Do not murder,’ ‘Do not steal,’ ‘Do not bear false witness,’ ‘Do not defraud,’ ‘Honor your father and your mother.’ ” 20 And he answered and said to Him, “Teacher, all these things I have kept from my youth.” 21 Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me.” 22 But he was sad at this word, and went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

23 Then Jesus looked around and said to His disciples, “How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!” 24 And the disciples were astonished at His words. But Jesus answered again and said to them, “Children, how hard it is for those who trust in riches to enter the kingdom of God! 25 It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” 26 And they were greatly astonished, saying among themselves, “Who then can be saved?” 27 But Jesus looked at them and said, “With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible.”

Now our passage today…

Mark 10:28-31 “Then Peter began to say to Him, “See, we have left all and followed You. 29 So Jesus answered and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My sake and the gospel’s, 30 who shall not 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. 31 But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”

Praise God for His word! Please be seated.

Let’s get grounded in our geography, and pull up a map of the region…

Today, in VSS 28-31, Jesus was still in Perea… the region beyond the Jordan (the area in red on the map)…

This is where Jesus ministered from Luke chapters 12-18…

Mark gave just a few of the Perean ministry highlights in Mark 10:1-31…

After our verses today, Jesus will be heading up to Jerusalem… indicated by the red arrow.

Now… in V28…

Peter… upon hearing what Jesus instructed of the rich young ruler… to sell all that he had… give to the poor and come and follow Him…

With that… he would have treasure in heaven.

In V28… we read, “Then Peter began to say to Him, “See, we have left all and followed You.””

The words “left” in Gk. by definition is to “send away or abandon.”

And, they abandoned “all”… all things.

All the things of the world that did not permit them to follow Jesus… the disciples let go of them.

Unlike the Rich Young Ruler.

And, this is a calling Jesus places upon all our lives… not just the Apostles… not just missionaries…

Any disciples of Christ must come to the place where there is NO OTHER lord in their life… except the Lord Jesus Christ.

You’ve heard the saying, “Jesus is either Lord of all, or He’s not Lord at all.”

Anything that holds preeminence in our lives over Jesus Christ must be de-throned.

There can be only one King in our life… and Peter and the other disciples had come to this place.

In Matt 19:27, Peter is also recorded asking, “Therefore what shall we have?”

Peter thinks, “Cha-ching! We did that! The Rich Young Ruler may have walked away from you and treasure in heaven… but we left all and followed you, so what treasure will we receive?”

Peter’s question comes across kind of selfish… like what’s in it for me?

I’m not entirely sure that was Peter’s heart…

Jesus does appear, here in Mark, to affirms Peter’s statement and question.

But, we will see later in Matt 20, that Jesus also tells a parable about workers who are envious of others rewards… seemingly an issue in the heart of Peter.

And, unfortunately… many people do relate to God transactionally.

“What do I get if I follow you God? What’s in it for me?”

“I’ll commit 2024 to following you, but if I don’t see blessings in my life… well, I’m gonna do it my way in 2025.”

“I’ll give you a year.”

If your mindset towards God is transactional… a good goal for this New Year would be to turn from that mindset…

Truly, there IS a lot of “GET” in Christianity… many promises… inheritance… prosperity…

And, we see that in V30…

But, it’s not all about the “GET”… it’s also about the “GIVE”… about service… and sacrifice… and perseverance… and we see that also in V30… summed up in Jesus’ words “with persecutions.”

The fear I have for people who have a transactional mindset with God… is that they will fall away… after the honeymoon period… when a trial comes… when persecution is experienced…

Like that seed sown on stony ground… or that seed sown among thorns… as Jesus described in the Parable of the Soils (Matt 13)…

Hard times or the allure of the world choke out the world and they fall away.

Men like Demas… who Paul wrote of in 2 Tim 4:9 “Demas has forsaken me, having loved this present world, and has departed for Thessalonica...”

Demas… allured by the world… the was seed sown among thorns.

Don’t let that be you in 2024… be that rich soil… good ground that yields a crop… even a hundredfold yield…

Which Jesus also promises in V30… which we will see in a moment…

But, one last note on V28… notice the words “Then Peter...”

I love that phrase… reminds me of the phrase, “But God”… only in reverse.

In the Bible we see the phrase “Then Peter” 21x; “But Peter” 17x; “And Peter” 9x…

And, what follows is often one of those ‘speak first… think later’ types of moments.

But, we’re also so often blessed with teaching moments by Jesus as a result.

Because of Peter’s comment in V28, Jesus gives a picture of the blessings of Kingdom life.

In V29, Jesus begins with the word “Assuredly”… “Verily” in King James…

In Gk amēn… which is of Hebrew origin and means “trustworthy or truly.”

This is the word we use to close our prayers.

It’s a declaration of affirmation.

And, as Peter voices that they have left all and followed Jesus… Jesus affirms this. Amen. Assuredly.

Jesus says in V29… likewise everyone who leaves their old life… anyone who breaks old ties with (and notice the repetition of the word “or”) “house or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands”… for His name’s sake will be blessed…

There is a Greek construction of this sentence to draw specific emphasis on each of the word following “or”…

This is not just a list, but each of these items are individually noted and much could be said about the things Christians have abandoned to follow Jesus.

It’s a little lost on us as modern Western Christians… not so lost on Christians in persecuted countries… not so lost on Mark’s Roman audience… who literally lost homes, and land, and family relations…

From our perspective, you almost have to become a missionary to let go of many of these things to follow Jesus…

But, Jesus’ statement here in V29, is not specific to missionaries, but a very general statement for all Christians.

We are all supposed to abandon the former life where only God is number one on your heart.

And, this isn’t to say that we are not to life in a home… or that property and family are inherently bad, but let’s be honest… is it not easy to allow one’s allegiance to these things to rival our allegiance to God?

Is it not easy to focus on one’s house or land… on upgrades… repairs… projects… and be distracted from the Lord?

Is it not easy to cherish our family relationships above our relationship with God?

Elsewhere in scripture, Jesus will use our closest family relationships… which could be completely healthy and edifying… as an example of something that cannot be valued more than our relationship with Him.

In Matthew 10:37 Jesus said, “He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me."

Even stronger… in Luke 14:26, Jesus said, “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple.”

And, the point is not that we must hate our family… but our love for Him must be so paramount… that in comparison all other relationships could compare to hatred.

Our love for Him must surpass even the closest of family relationships.

In both of those verses, and to the Rich Young Ruler… Jesus also spoke about how disciples must take up their cross, and follow Him… or they cannot be His disciple… they are not worthy of Him if they do not.

Our life must be about death. Death to our old life… death to the flesh… to walk the spiritual life.

And this is a sacrifice many are not willing to make. They love their life the way it is, and they are not willing to surrender their comforts to follow Jesus.

Other people love some sinful pleasure they are not willing to sacrifice… “… men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil...” (Jn 3:19)

Other people are fearful to let go and trust God…

There’s a reason we sing songs about walking by faith… why Paul would write “For we walk by faith, not by sight.” (2 Cor 5:7)…

We have a model of people who overcame fear to walk by faith in Heb 11… People who pressed into the unknown and stepped out to follow God.

They trusted in Him even thought they couldn’t see how things would turn out on the other side… They overcame fear with faith.

It’s not an easy thing to fully trust God that He will care for us… to tithe when money feels tight… to serve when I don’t have energy… to dedicate my time to Him when life feels so busy… to sacrifice something that brings me joy to spend more time with Him.

If you’re struggling about whether or not God is trustworthy… whether or not He will make good on His promises… even the promises of what we read in our passage today…

Just consider all that God has already done. Has God not already proven Himself… and demonstrated His love for us… “… in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Rom 5:8)

1 Jn 4:10 reads, “In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation [the atoning sacrifice] for our sins.”

His love is trustworthy… His sacrifice to restore our relationship with God is trustworthy… His promises our trustworthy.

But are we? Can we walk as the saints of Hebrews 11 walked? By faith… not by sight…

And, here is the promise of our passage today… In V29, Jesus says, “Assuredly”... “Amen”... “Truly”… take it to the bank… if you’re allegiance to Him is number one… He will bless you.

Literally, Peter and the other disciples walked away from all they knew… their industries… their families… their home country… their homes… to follow Jesus…

And, for all those who sacrifice… as Jesus said… with the motive of… “for My sake and the gospel’s”… for His glory… not our own…

… will receive a threefold promise… which Jesus lays out in VSS 30-31…

First, there will be blessings in this lifetime…

“… a hundredfold now in this time—houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands… ”

A hundredfold is a hundred times as much. 10,000%.

That’s a return no investment or retirement plan promises, but Jesus does.

But the 100-fold principle is you cannot out give God.

And, in essence… we do expand our borders significantly in following Christ.

We fellowship in the homes of many Christian brothers and sisters.

I’ve been in the homes… in fellowship with many Christian brothers and sisters all over the world.

And, we gain spiritual brothers and sisters, fathers and mothers, and children…

When you fully give yourself over to the Lord and embrace the body of Christ… there is a sweet fellowship that happens… even with people you normally wouldn’t connect with.

Just stick around on any given Sunday and see all the conversations.

And, make a point to let people in your life. Be intentional about gathering beyond Sunday. Get to know one another. Let people in.

Most scholars don’t give an explanation for a hundredfold wives…

But, in my mind wives… the marital relationship is of the most intimate of relationships we know.

The wife is the help-mate for the husband… “ a helper comparable to him” Gen 2:18 states.

And, to this group of men… these Apostles, he promises a hundredfold wives… a hundredfold of the most intimate relationships with others…

And, isn’t it interesting that we literally become the bride of Christ… does that factor into this promise as well?

And, lands visited as Ambassadors of the King… how rich that is!

I remember when I sold insurance… I qualified for 3 to 5 vacation trips per year…

And, when I walked away from that career to follow Jesus… I briefly struggled in my heart letting go of that lifestyle… as we drove out to California for Bible College.

One day praying on that trip, the Lord impressed upon me… “Follow Me, and I’ll show you the world.”

And, that’s all I needed to hear. I haven’t looked back… just trusted… a hundredfold lands.

And, He’s making good on His promise…

Because of ministry… twice now we’ve driven across the United States… and visited many National Parks along the way.

We’ve lived in California, the Philippines, Maryland, and Indiana since our calling in 2012.

Either my family or I have served on short-Term mission trips in the D.R., West Virginia, and Wheatfield, IN.

And, I’ve been blessed to walk the Holy Land… Israel.

God has been making good on His promise.

So many blessings, but don’t forget… this is a threefold promise… and the second promise comes near the end of V30 summed up in the words “with persecutions.”

An important note for the Roman Christians Mark wrote to… something they would be familiar with… especially during the days of Caesar Nero.

Persecutions are not what we think of as a blessing, but they are… in the sense that the world has taken notice of your allegiance to Christ… and because you have not hidden your light under a bushel… they are coming against you.

Jesus said in Matt 5:10, “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

Blessed… meaning happy… could you come to the place of feeling joy if you were persecuted?

But, you are blessed… for persecutions prove your heavenly citizenship… yours is the kingdom of heaven.

In Acts 5, after the Apostles were arrested, put on trial by the Sanhedrin, beaten, and ordered not to speak in the name of Jesus,

We read in Acts 5:41 “So they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name.”

Would your heart rejoice after such a violation against your life? They did because they suffered shame for THE Name.

Persecution brought them into greater communion with the Lord.

In Acts 16, in Philippi...after Paul and Silas were imprisoned for casting a demon out of a slave girl… the magistrates tore off their clothes… had them beaten with rods… and had their feet bound in stocks…

And, what did Paul and Silas do? Acts 16:25 reads, “But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them.”

In persecutions, we can become a witness to the world.

When Paul wrote to the Corinthians about his thorn in the flesh… which he pleaded with the Lord three times to depart… and the Lord responded “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.”

After Paul received that word from the Lord, he wrote in 2 Cor 12:10 “Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

Persecutions can shape our character and help us to completely rely on God.

And, I truly believe that Paul had this peace despite circumstance, because he understood his position in Christ…

Twice Paul wrote about the “Peace of God”…

… that will “rule in your hearts”… (Col 3:15)

“… which surpasses all understanding”… and “guards your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus...” Phil 4:7

Paul had the “peace of God” because he had “peace with God.”

And, you’ll never know the peace of God… unless you have peace with God.

In other words, you will never know true peace in this life… and certainly not in the life to come… unless you come to that place of peace with God… which only happens through faith in Jesus Christ.

Paul put it this way in Rom 5:1-4 “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations [by def. affliction, persecution], knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; 4 and perseverance, character; and character, hope...”

And, so… this second promise of persecution… as James wrote… “count is all joy when you fall into various trials.”

Not only is the Lord doing a work in you through the difficulties of this lifetime… but the world is also noticing that you are an Ambassador for the Lord… and they come against you because they are against Him.

I truly pray that in this New Year… your faith would be so bold that the world would take notice…

That your light would shine brightly in this world…

I don’t pray persecution for you, but on a dark night… when you’re standing on top of a hill letting your light shine… that light will be seen for miles… and the enemy will know your position.

And, persecutions may come… and if they do… I pray you have the mind of the Saints who came before you to recognize it as a blessing… for you are identified with Christ.

Finally, the third of the threefold promise… at the end of V30 “in the age to come, eternal life.”

Which to me is the greatest hope we have… eternal life.

You just have to say it to realize how amazing it is… ETERNAL LIFE.

Where there are no more persecutions…

Where we will fully realize just how large our Christian family is… saints from all ages…

Where even our bodies are changed… capable of receiving the presence of God whom we will see face to face.

No more sin, sorrow, suffering… no more tears… no more death… (Rev 21:4)

Whatever glimpse of blessing… or community… or prosperity we experience in this lifetime… will pale in comparison to what’s to come.

This is my favorite promise. I know some of you were really digging the persecution promise…

But, I’m camped out here. I’m not as tough as some of you.

So, in this threefold promise for those who leave all and follow Jesus…

He promises presents rewards of a multiplication of relationships through Christian community…

And, He is honest about the reality of persecutions.

And, then He promises the future reward of eternal life.

If you follow Him… with no reservations, this is what you can expect.

Now, turn to Matthew 19… Mark only focused on the general threefold promise for Christians in general, but in Matthew… Matthew also recorded another promise specific to the Twelve Apostles…

We read the same question from Peter in Matt 19:27, “See, we have left all and followed You. Therefore what shall we have?”

And, then in Matt 19:28 we read, “So Jesus said to them, “Assuredly I say to you, that in the regeneration, when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.”

The regeneration by def. is “the renewal of all things;” “when the world is made new;” “the Messianic restoration”…

This is the time after the 7 year tribulation when Jesus returns to earth in His 2nd coming and ushers in His Millennial reign… His literal 1000 Year Reign on earth.

As Jesus stated, “when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory...”

“Son of Man” is Jesus’ favorite messianic title for Himself…87x in the NT.

Later in Luke 22:29-30 Jesus again says to the Apostles, “And I bestow upon you a kingdom, just as My Father bestowed one upon Me, 30 that you may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.”

To Peter and the Apostles specifically, Jesus gives the promise that in the regeneration they will sit on twelve thrones and judge the twelve tribes of Israel.

Places of special honor will be bestowed upon them since, as stated in that same passage… they ‘continued with Jesus in His trials.’

And, during the Millennium, Jesus and His saints will sort out who has been faithful, and who has not... during what is called the “Sheep Goat Judgment” or the “Judgment of the Nations”… where the Nations of the world who survived the tribulation will be judged.

Totally different from the Great White Throne judgment of Rev 20 where unbelievers are cast into the Lake of Fire…

Totally different from the Bema Seat judgment of 1 Cor 3 and 2 Cor 5 where believers are rewarded for their true works for Him in this lifetime.

The Sheep Goat Judgment is different… Matt 25:31-32 speaks of this time... “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. 32 All the nations [ĕthnŏs- nations or Gentiles] will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats.”

Non-Jews during the tribulation will judged for their actions towards the Jews… and will either be permitted entrance into the millennial kingdom (sheep)… or expelled into everlasting fire (goats)…

And, us saved believers also play a role during this judgment… in 1 Cor 6:2 Paul wrote “Do you not know that the saints will judge the world?" And, V3 “Do you not know that we shall judge angels?” (fallen angels reserved for judgment spoken of in 2 Pet 2:4 and Jude 6)

Judgments will be trusted to Christians who are co-heirs with Christ… as Paul wrote in Rom 8:16-17 “The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.”

Or as John wrote in Rev 3:21 “To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.”

True we may share in His sufferings now, but we will share in His royalty then… in glory… eternally.

Jesus gives His Apostles then, and us today, a sneak peek of our duties and rewards…

You who have been faithful now in this lifetime… a hundredfold blessing now… and in the age to come, eternal life.

Whatever fleeting persecution may come… I say let it come… this life is a vapor… eternity is forever.

The world may look down upon… or even in truly persecuted countries… the world may take the lives of believers…

But in God’s economy… Jesus says…

In V31 of Mark 10, “But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”

Now this is a rather enigmatic statement… and scholars land on several interpretations…

I’ve heard it taught that God is gracious to even give eternal life to those who accept Him late in life… even during death bed conversions.

And, certainly that is true.

I’ve heard it said, that the world elevates people like the Rich Young Ruler… into the first… the best places now in this lifetime, but unless they are saved… none of that will matter eternally.

But, those who are thought of as the least by the world… namely Christians… will be elevated to places of honor in the Kingdom.

And, there’s some contextual merit to that thought as well.

What seems to make to make the most sense is Jesus is helping Peter to understand that there will be rewards…

He and the others who left all and followed Jesus will be rewarded, but not based on earthly standards.

God is the rewarder… and He will graciously reward as He sees fit… for He is sovereign God.

We will likely all be shocked by how God rewards.

“Really, that guy Lord? You’re rewarding Him?”

“Wow… such a big reward for such little service.”

And, these aren’t just thoughts I’m plucking out of thin air.

I mean that’s how I write most of my sermons… you all know that…

But I can actually back this thought up…

In the parallel account in Matthew 19… right after Jesus said these same words… immediately following Matthew records Jesus in Matthew 20 sharing the Parable of the Laborers.

Matt 20:1-16 “For the kingdom of heaven is like [This is parabolic language. Jesus is illustrating what the “kingdom of heaven” is like...] a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. [A vineyard is a plot of land for growing grapes. ‘Morning’ would be roughly 6-8 am. A standard work day was 10 hours, but extended hours would not have been unexpected during the urgent harvest season.] 2 Now when he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard. [they agreed upon the standard laborers days wage…which was fair] 3 And he went out about the third hour [9am] and saw others standing idle in the marketplace [where the laborers assembled], 4 and said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right I will give you.’ So they went. [notice…no agreed upon wages from here out…just “whatever is right.”] 5 Again he went out about the sixth [12pm] and the ninth hour [3pm], and did likewise. [there’s a sense of urgency to get the harvest in, before the grapes spoiled.] 6 And about the eleventh hour [5pm] he went out and found others standing idle, and said to them, ‘Why have you been standing here idle all day?’ 7 They said to him, ‘Because no one hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right you will receive.’ 8 “So when evening had come, the owner of the vineyard said to his steward [a foreman], ‘Call the laborers and give them their wages, beginning with the last to the first.’ [according to Lev 19:13 it was customary to pay the laborers at the end of each work day... so they could buy food for their families. It’s sad that the Bible has to instruct us to pay wages, but man’s heart is evil and may rip off the laborer] 9 And when those came who were hired about the eleventh hour, they each received a denarius. [this was generous…it would have been fair for them to receive a fraction of a denarius for the hour they worked, but the foreman pays the full wage]. 10 But when the first came, they supposed [a presumption] that they would receive more; and they likewise received each a denarius. 11 And when they had received it, they complained [they murmured, they grumbled] against the landowner, 12 saying, ‘These last men have worked only one hour, and you made them equal to us who have borne the burden and the heat of the day.’ [Through a natural lens, this is a fair complaint!] 13 But he answered one of them and said, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? 14 Take what is yours and go your way. I wish to give to this last man the same as to you. [which was his right] 15 Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with my own things? Or is your eye evil because I am good?’ [And, this is the key issue… their heart attitude… the evil eye was a Jewish idiom for covetousness…envy…jealousy… so he challenges them on this point]. 16 So the last will be first, and the first last. For many are called, but few chosen.” [Emphasizing His choosing and His rewards are based on grace].

Parables casts a spiritual truth alongside a natural truth. It’s a word picture to help illustrate a point.

If you haven’t understood this already… as many scholars interpret…

The ‘landowner’ is God...

The ‘laborers’ are us…

The ‘vineyard’ is the world...

The ‘day of work’ is one’s life…

And, the ‘payment…the day’s wage’ is, most likely, looking at rewards given at the Bema Seat Judgment for believers.

So, what is the point of this parable? Three key points...

One...This is a parable about grace.

The landowner was accused of being unfair…but, in actuality he was fair…even more than fair…

The issue was not the fairness of the landowner, but the envy of the workers...

The landowner is God and it’s God’s business how He decides to reward… and He chose grace.

Two…This is a parable about God’s sovereign judgments and rewards.

This parable is humbling because it puts us in our place. God is the landowner…we are the laborers, and He has the legal right to reward how He sees fit.

God knows how to judge and reward perfectly. We have no ideal how to judge with righteous judgment like God does.

God knows our hearts, our motives…and He will reward based on these deeper intentions.

The third and final point… This parable is in response to Peter’s question about what rewards they will receive.

Peter compared the disciples who left all to follow Jesus to the rich young ruler, who did not.

Likewise, in this parable, the workers who worked the full day compared their efforts with those who only worked part of the day, and then proceeded to grumbled about their payment.

It would seem that just as Jesus put his finger on the heart issue of the rich young ruler (idolatry of possessions)…now... Jesus is puts His finger on Peter’s heart…a desire for reward…

Which becomes a theme in the disciples ahead…

Next week we will look at James and John and their ambition to sit on the right hand and the left of Jesus in glory.

At the end of John’s gospel, Jesus speaks to Peter about Peter’s death and Peter will ask about John.

Jesus responds, “If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you? You follow Me.”

And, the point is we need not concern ourselves with how God rewards and blesses other people.

Maybe they are wise stewards who God knows He can trust to use their possessions for His glory.

To sum this parable… (and worship team you can come)… God’s sovereign and gracious judgments are being contrasted with man’s evil heart attitudes.

We need trust that God is a lot better at running the universe and distributing rewards than we are.

We need to be careful not to look down upon God’s goodness and graciousness… and how He rewards.

If He determines to reward the last first, and the first last…so be it. He is God…and we are not. It’s His vineyard… not ours.

Kind of humbling… right?

Personally, I trust that His system of grace is going to blow our minds in the best possible way.

Grace is a much better system…you’ll fair much better in eternity. Be thankful.

We can rest easy knowing God’s character... God is love, and His rewards are based on grace.

If this is new to you today, it’s important to understand that the first step of faith you must take to even be considered for rewards…

Is that step of faith to say yes to Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior.

Let’s pray… Let’s take communion… and if you want to say yes to Jesus Christ today… meet me in the back in a moment, and we’ll take that step of faith today.

1 Cor 11:23-29 “...the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; 24 and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” 25 In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes. 27 Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. 28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 29 For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body.”

Please distribute the elements...

Communion is a time for us to look three directions…

We look back remembering Jesus’ sacrifice… His broken body and shed blood for the remission of our sins.

His new covenant. Salvation by faith and in grace.

Look forward in hope of His imminent return… we proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes. He is coming.

And, looking inward to examine yourself…and take communion in a worthy manner.

Time to do business with God.

Once you have prayed… take the communion elements individually.

Our worship team will play one worship song, and then close us in prayer.

----------------------------------------------

If you have never accepted Jesus as Lord...

...either let the cup pass and do not partake in communion -or- the better option...

...accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior today.

Pray to God and tell Him you believe in Jesus and accept Him as your Lord and Savior, and ask for forgiveness.

...then take communion. And, be sure to let us know. Salvation is something to celebrate!

------------------------------------------------