Matthew 19 Pt III

Poll 1: Which is more dangerous, being extremely rich or extremely poor? A. extremely rich, B. extremely poor, C. neither/unsure/none of the above

Poll 2: If you won the mega-millions lottery, would you be hesitant about collecting the money? A. Yes, but I would prayerfully go forward asking God to guide how I use the money, B. Yes, and I’m not sure if I would collect, C. Yes, D. No, E. No, but I would prayerfully go forward asking God to guide how I use the money, F. No, and I’d be happy to collect the money, G. Something else/none of the above

Poll 3: Do you believe the heart of the issue of the rich young man was money, wealth and possessions? A. Yes, B. No, C. money/wealth revealed a root issue but money itself was not the issue, D. none of the above/something else

Poll 4: Trivia Question: How many pounds of burial spices did Nicodemus bring for the burial of Jesus? A. 50, B. 75, C. 100, D. 125

Poll 5: Did you know: Nicodemus brought the amount of burial spices for the burial of Jesus that was typically reserved for a king?

            Tonight we are going to try to go from Matthew chapter 19 verse 23 all the way through to Matthew 20 verse 16…

            We normally stop at end of chapters… but there have been a few times we do something like this…

            The reason we often do this is because the passages are connected…

            And in this case, that’s exactly what we have here…

            Two weeks ago… well this is two weeks ago in terms of our study…

But in verses 16 through 22 Jesus spoke to the rich young ruler… and our introduction will summarize that encounter…

That encounter directly flows into the verses we are studying tonight that close the 19th chapter…

Where Jesus basically says this whole salvation thing is impossible…

But with God it’s not impossible…

Salvation is a God thing…

For man… it’s impossible for us to save ourselves or to do enough to be saved…

But with God- He can do it…

He has done it…

And He will continue to save as long as He extends time on this earth… [pause]

Remember when we went through our Revelation study a couple years ago… that was a major thread

? why does God draw out His wrath in Revelation? [pause]

? why does he prolong the time before the rapture and the tribulation? [pause]

            Because God is patient…

2 Peter 3:9

9The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness,

but is patient toward you, [pause]

not wishing that any should perish, [pause]

but that all [pause]

 should reach repentance. [pause]

at the end of Matthew 19 Jesus says 30But many who are first will be last, and the last first.

Then the beginning of Matthew chapter 20 explains exactly what this means…

And this section that begins chapter 20 ends in verse 16…

16So the last will be first, and the first last.” [pause]

            So in my mind…

            We can really block off this entire section… from the beginning of the encounter with the rich young ruler to the end of the parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard…

            Now I say that hesitantly… based on Vivian’s question a couple weeks ago about the trivia question…

            I think this is a parable here… but maybe it’s not quite a parable…

            But the opening of Matthew 20 is a fictional story that Jesus speaks to teach a true point…

            I believe that is a parable…

            But the title or label for something is not the main thing here…

we just want to read the Bible and ask the Holy Spirit to help guide us and teach us and help us to understand the truths we need to be pulling out of the Bible each and every time we read it… [pause]

            and on that note… let me pause for just a minute…

            Now one thing I enjoy is the half an hour before we begin… I’m praying for each person on our email list…

            And praying for our study…

            But one thing I realized I haven’t been doing is praying at the beginning of our study for our study…

            So if you’ll join me for a quick prayer and then we’ll get started [pause]

            [pause] [pause] [pause] PRAYER [pause] [pause] [pause]

            Let’s finish our introduction tonight with a very quick flyover of the encounter Jesus had with the rich young man

Remember how we combined the three Gospel accounts of this historical event

this young man started the interaction well…

He bowed before Jesus in a physical posture of humility…

He seemed willing to listen and learn

And he asked a really important question…

“What good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?” (vv. 16–17)

The man seems sincere

But his approach to salvation was centered on works… and not on faith [pause]

this was common for first century Jews [pause]

This man had a good position in society

A good morality… he lived and behaved pretty good compared to others…

He had a good religion… he was Jewish [pause]

Even though he had all those things…

He had what first century Jews would typically say “ok- that person in in good standing with God”

This man felt a need for something more…. That he was lacking something [pause]

He ask about salvation…

The answer Jesus gives did not focus on salvation [pause]

He forced the young man to think seriously about the word good that he had used in addressing Jesus. [pause]

“Only God is good,”

“Do you believe that I am good and therefore that I am God?” [pause]

If Jesus is only one of many religious teachers in history, then His words carry no more weight than the words of any other religious leader [pause]

But if Jesus is good… then He is God, and

we had better listen to… and obey what He says [pause] [pause]

remember we talked about two weeks ago… ? Why did Jesus bring up the commandments? [pause]

? Did He teach we earn eternal life by obeying God’s Law? [pause]

We know the answer of course is no…

no one can keep God’s Law

Romans 3 verse 20….

20For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin. [pause]

Jesus wasn’t bringing in the law to teach this man how to be saved [pause]

He pointed him to the law to show him that he needed to be saved. [pause]

Remember after Jesus brings in the commandments…

He says keep the commandments…

The ruch young ruler ask… “? Which ones?” [pause]

When we think about which ones…

It might be that this rich young ruler knew he didn’t keep the whole law… but maybe thought he kept some of it…

Well… one nugget we didn’t hit on 2 weeks ago that I want to throw out there…

That’s a mistake… for many reason….

But here’s the nugget…

? what does the law represent? [pause]

I’m actually gonna give you about 10 seconds of quiet to think about that question….

? what does God’s law represent? [pause]

[pause] wait 10 seconds, use fingers to count [pause]

 You probably thought of a few things…

And each of you maybe thought of different things… and all those answer are probably right…

There are many things God’s law represents…

For this nugget- I want to highlight that one of the things God’s law represents is His authority [pause]

The Law represents the authority of God [pause]

So… this guy ask ? which ones?

And in that… it’s inherent that “well maybe I kept the important ones”

But that’s off…

Because since the law represents God’s authority… to disobey

To disobey even what we might see as a minor thing…

what we may think is a minor law [pause]

that disobedience is still sin…

it is still rebelling against His authority [pause]

This is why you don’t have to commit legal crimes… in terms of society…

You don’t have to break man’s law to go to hell… [pause]

no… you can live a morally acceptable life…

you can behave better than 99 percent of other people on earth…

but because you have looked at a woman with lust when you were 16… even if you didn’t act upon it or anything else…

that one breaking of God’s law is enough to condemn you to hell forever…

you don’t need to go around being an axe murderer to earn hell…

no…

? why? [pause]

Because even when we do that small thing in the worlds eyes… to look lustfully upon the opposite sex is a small thing to the world…

I mean look at advertising… it’s promoted by the world…

Those lustful looks… they are actually rebelling against God’s authority [pause] [pause] [pause]

Ok… so let’s wrap this up so we can get into our passage for tonight…

But this is important to revisit and remember what happened here as it builds into the next two sections…

Jesus gives this man the second table of the law…

And masterfully… he shows  this man that even though he thought he had kept the laws Jesus recited…

Jesus shows him he hadn’t even kept the very first command…

3“You shall have no other gods before me.

Money and wealth was his god.

He was unable to obey the command, “Go and sell … come and follow.” [pause]

The young man went away sorrowful…

but he could have gone away joyful... [pause]

it’s possible later in his life this rich young ruler turned to Christ and is saved…

I hope he did… we all hope he did…

And it would be great when we get to heaven to hear his testimony…

Another “so what” from this story…

We need to constantly try to make sure our obedience is not because we fear hell or we want to earn heaven…

But that we would obey in a way that is motivated by love for Jesus… [pause]

If you’re like me… that’s hard to do…

And so I constantly need to pray and ask for help from the Holy Spirit…

That I would obey out of love for Christ… [pause]

No there is the concept of “just don’t sin” [pause]

and talking with one of my mentees recently… he asked about motives in obedience…

and I said… you know what…

in the short term… if its just battle to battle…

just don’t sin…

if fear of hell keeps you from falling back into that sin… for that moment… then fear hell and just don’t sin…

but balancing that in the long term of really wanting to follow Jesus… [pause]

and I reassured him… hey- you got into this program and linked up with a mentor because you love Christ and you want to obey Him out of love…

Just keep that as your foundation… [pause]

But if a temptation comes up…

Just do everything you can to fight against that… [pause]

            You may not necessarily think about the love you have for Jesus everytime a temptation comes…

            It might just be…

            Let me remove myself from this environment… because that way I won’t fall back into this… 

            Let me get outside and run an errand… [pause]

            Yes- go and do that… and get to a point of safety where you won’t fall back into sin…

            And once out then maybe start thinking about the love… and obeying from a place of love [pause]

            Don’t get me wrong… if that can be at the forefront…

            And we immediately fight temptation because we love Jesus- that’s awesome…

            What I’m relaying to you guys is… don’t feel guilty if you forgot a couple times and used a different strategy…

            If it kept you from sinning great…

            Keep the love of Christ as the foundation of your fight against the temptations of this world… and do everything you can to just not sin [pause] [pause] [pause]

            Play Ligonier Obey out of love 0:00-3:57

            Matthew chapter 19… verse 23…

            23And Jesus said to his disciples,

“Truly, I say to you,

only with difficulty

will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven.

24Again I tell you,

it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle

than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.”

25When the disciples heard this,

they were greatly astonished, saying,

“Who then can be saved?”

26But Jesus looked at them and said,

“With man this is impossible,

but with God all things are possible.”

27Then Peter said in reply,

“See, we have left everything and followed you. What then will we have?”

28Jesus 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.

29And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name's sake,

will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life.

30But many who are first will be last,

and the last first. [pause]

underneath these verses… I think we can feel this tension between wealth and following Jesus  [pause]

that if we start to have an attachment to money and possessions… that can lead to a place where our love for God grows cold

If we go there… it’s going to be really hard to obey Jesus from a place of love…

This is not an easy passage for us to read in America… the richest country that has ever existed…

This is not easy to read and then think about ourselves…

To honestly ask ourselves…

? what truly holds value in my life? [pause]

but it’s a very good reminder that we need to prioritize Christ over everything else… to include money and wealth and comfort… [pause]

to let go of earthly attachments and

to embrace a life marked by sacrificial love… where true wealth is found in our devotion and commitment to Jesus [pause] [pause] [pause]

            verse 23 23And Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly, I say to you,

only with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven. [pause]

            I want to give a little different take on this… and hopefully this will make sense… in terms of the kingdom of heaven…

            And for this take… I want us to just think about the kingdom of heaven being here and now… and I know this also means salvation… [pause]

            I was at a restaurant with Sam and Abby on Saturday… and I went to the bathroom…

            For the men… you know how above the urinals sometimes there are news paper articles or magazines in a glass type of a case…

            I stood in front of an article that was about a man… who became a fashion designer… who had began by collecting 2,000 pairs of tennis shoes… [pause]

            Ok… so just imagine having a collection of 2,000 pairs of shoes for a moment… 

? what does this man experience?

            When he looks upon his shoes… he probably experience some joy… let’s not say it’s miserable…

            He probably enjoys going through the collection and looking at the different shoes…

            There is some joy in that… [pause]

            But all of the joy is contained within him… [pause]

            If he brings friends or other people to look at his 2,000 pairs of shoes- they might be impressed… but they aren’t experiencing joy… [pause]

            So just try to imagine for a minute… how much this guy enjoys his collection…

            Maybe put a number to it…

            It gives him a 2 out of 10 on the joy scale… or whatever… [pause]

            He won’t have the joy of wearing them… if he wore a different pair every single day it would take him 5 years and 175 days to wear every pair… [pause]

            So you got this guy living for possessions…

            Now take this man… and convince him to do a challenge… to complete a mission…

            And the challenge is this… [pause]

            Every single day… for the next 5 years…. Find one person in need… mostly homeless… who actually… desperately… need a good pair of shoes…

            Which is basically every homeless person…

            Socks and shoes are gold for homeless folks…

            Take a pair of shoes from your collection… and every day over the next 5 years hand a pair to a homeless person… [pause]

            You can imagine these are high quality shoes… you can imagine some of the emotional reactions he will experience as a homeless person accepts these very high quality shoes… [pause]

            A few years ago I took a coworker with me to DC and we handed out these ziplock bags with food and socks and some good stuff for the homeless…

            It was the only time he went with me… and at one point he hands a bag to a homeless lady and she just begins weeping… [pause]

            I don’t know her full situation and mental state and how much of it was an over reaction… but she said she was thankful someone thought about her… [pause]

            I talked to him about a year ago… he left the Patent Office… young guy and got a different job…

            Even 4 or 5 years later… he remembered and said how much that one encounter impacted him [pause]

            We were handing out snacks and hygiene stuff… the most valuable thing was probably the socks… and they were good quality socks…

            Imagine handing out these really nice shoes [pause]

For this shoe collector…

At the end of the 5 year challenge… that man will still have 175 pairs of shoes left in his collection… [pause]

            But I would bet that at the end of that challenge he wouldn’t even want to keep them anymore… [pause]

            I believe he would be so impacted… so changed… by the experience of serving others and giving to others…

            That he wouldn’t stop… it would change everything…

            And he would experience a deep satisfying joy that his collection could never give just sitting in a closet or display case…

            That 2 out of 10… it would turn to something off the charts… 10 out of 10 times 100… [pause]

            I think that’s a taste of heaven here on earth… [pause]

            I believe when we serve and help others… [pause]

            When you hand someone who is hungry and in a bad situation… when you give them food…

            And you see them maybe in the rearview mirror or walking away… you see them opening and eating that food…

            We actually get a heavenly taste… that for a moment…. we enter the kingdom of heaven here and now… as far as the emotional joy we receive here on earth [pause]

            Jesus said only with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven

            And even in my kinda made up scenario…

I would say for that man to begin that 5 year challenge… day 1 would be really difficult…

Only with great difficulty would he begin… [pause]

But I would guess he would fly through and run out of shoes way before year 5…

I would guess a week or two in he would start taking boxes of shoes and handing them out all at once… [pause]

And of course this passage is mainly directed towards eternal heaven… [pause]

            But I couldn’t help but bring up that example… as I was just so struck by that magazine article a couple Saturdays ago… [pause] [pause] [pause]

            Verse 24

24Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” [pause]

            First note… and I mentioned this the first night we opened Matthew 19…

            There was a popular teaching that made its way around that went something along the lines of the eye of a needle was part of a inner wall of a city

            And a camel would have to be stripped of all of it’s goods… and have to bend down and get on all of its knees and crawl through this small opening of the wall…

            And that’s what Jesus was talking about [pause]

            I don’t know why that got around… I remember hearing it… [pause]

            There is no real evidence that such a thing ever existed in any ancient city wall… [pause] [pause]

            What’s going on here… Jesus is using exaggeration to make a point…

            The camel is the largest animal in Israel during first century…

            The eye of a needle is probably one of the smallest holes that people could see through at the time… [pause]

            So Jesus says take the largest animal you know about… take the smallest hole you know about…

            A rich person getting into heaven is like the largest animal going through the smallest hole…

            It’s like trying to stuff a camel through the eye of a needle… [pause]

            Yeah- you know how if the end of the thread gets frayed it becomes almost impossible to get that thread through the needle…

            Well think about trying to get a camel through the eye of that needle…

            It’s not gonna happen… it’s impossible [pause]

            That’s what Jesus is saying… [pause]

            I believe the reason Jesus uses these exaggerated visual illustrations… it’s because it makes it very memorable to us… [pause]

            We might forget “it’s impossible”

            But we don’t forget “it’s easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle” [pause] [pause] [pause]

            Now the disciples are about to react…

            But to understand their reaction a couple of things about the context…

            In first century… and before…

In ancient time wealth was often seen as someone favored by God

The Jews believed that riches were an evidence of God’s blessing

They had a good reason for this… it comes from Deuteronomy chapters 26, 27 and 28

They believed wealth was a sign of God’s favor [pause]

So here comes Jesus talking about wealth in a completely foreign way…

He was teaching them… don’t think of money as a blessing necessarily… but rather you need to recognize that earthly riches could be an obstacle

Money could wind up getting between you and God… where money becomes your God…

And you cannot serve two masters… [pause]

Just as a camel…

Yes the largest known animal in Israel at the time…

But ? what else is a camel know for?

Being heavy-laden and stubborn

That stubbornness… cannot easily enter through a narrow gate

our attachments to wealth can obstruct our paths to God…

heavy-laden… and I want you guys to see this…

that Jesus is not calling the rich to a hard life…

and He is not calling for every rich man to give up their wealth…

a camel is heavy-laden… burdened with weight as they carry loads across dry and hot lands…

and Jesus has a word for those camels… He has a Word for the camels in this verse who represent those who have put wealth and riches and made it a god

28Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden,

and I will give you rest. [pause]

? You think it’s restful to chase money?

? you think that’s relaxing?

Mike at Keen mountain shared with me a couple week ago…  

a story of an old friend who checked his account first thing every single morning…

Mike said he was living for money… that he would constantly talk about money

He didn’t start his day with prayer or even just with coffee or breakfast… he started every single day logging into his financial accounts and looking at the balances…

he was not at rest… [pause]

Jesus offers rest to him… to us…

Whether it’s the burden and we are heavy laden from chasing material things… or it’s a burden of strained relationships… or the burden of sickness or cancer…

Whatever the burden is… He offers rest to anyone who would come to Hime…

28Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

29Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me,

for I am gentle and lowly in heart,

 and you will find rest for your souls.

30For my yoke is easy,

and my burden is light.” [pause] [pause] [pause]

To take one step back…

To the concept of riches and wealth and possessions being an indication or a sign of God’s favor…

This happened at the beginning of Israel being formed as a nation…

This was back in Deuteronomy when Israel was first being formed… [pause]

Before we go to another video clip… I want you guys to think about this concept…

That back in Deuteronomy… they were in the beginning…

They were in the infant and child stages of becoming a nation…

? How do we treat children?

? How do we help to teach children? [pause]

By rewards and by punishments…

And back when Israel was first formed…

The Lord taught them through rewards and punsihments…

God promised material blessing if they obeyed… and material loss if they disobeyed…

We teach children the same way… [pause]

That’s ok at 5 and 6 years old…

Maybe at times at 12 or 13… but it really should be limiting down significantly… [pause]

By the time our children are getting ready for adult-hood…

And we are preparing them to be independent… we really shouldn’t be using these techniques… [pause]

If you do this good thing… I’ll give you this…

If you disobey… then you’ll be punished in this way… [pause]

? why? [pause]

As adults…

As mature young men and women…

As the nation and people of God mature… [pause]

The kind of obedience we’re looking for isn’t an obedience based on a desire for reward… or the fear of punishment

But obedience that is motivated by love [pause]

Love for Christ…

Love that accepts His yoke… and comes to Him when we are heavy laden…

And out of appreciation we want to listen to what He says and obey…

Not for fear of hell…

Or for the longing of heaven… [pause]

But because we love Him… [pause]

Play something on rich people who were saved

Poll Results

            25When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished,

            Again…

            The disciples are greatly astonished because the idea was if you are rich God has blessed you…

            And Jesus is basically saying… if you are rich… your riches could be a huge stumbling block…

            The disciples are astonished… greatly astonished… and they say…

            “Who then can be saved?”

26But Jesus looked at them and said,

“With man this is impossible,

but with God all things are possible.” [pause]

The statement there in verse 26 is a thread that really goes throughout the entirety of the Bible…

From Genesis to Revelation… the Bible is  clear…

With man… salvation is impossible…

But with God… all things are possible [pause]

Only God can save sinful man… man cannot save himself [pause]

This is true for the rich… the poor… any and every person who ever lived… [pause]

We need God to save us… and that is why God came here Himself and saved us… [pause]

Now to focus in on this verse in context of this passage… [pause]

That concept of only God can save has to be our foundation to understanding what Jesus is saying here… [pause]

Jesus is making a point… because He sees how easy it is for the rich to rely on themselves and their riches rather than depend on God… [pause]

Jesus is not saying that if you are rich you’re going to hell [pause]

We know Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus…

Both rich…

Both Pharisees…

Both alive at the time of Jesus…

Both demonstrated saving faith… [pause]

John 19:38-42

38After these things Joseph of Arimathea,

who was a disciple of Jesus,

but secretly for fear of the Jews,

so he was a secret follower of Jesus…

but watch his boldness after the crucifixion… [pause]

asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus, and Pilate gave him permission. So he came and took away his body. [pause]

39Nicodemus also, who earlier had come to Jesus by night, [pause]

John’s giving us a hint that Nicodemus also likely feared to be known…

He met Jesus under the cover of night… [pause]

came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds in weight. [pause]

John includes the weight because 75 pounds would be reserved for kings…

Nicodemus is treating the body of Jesus just like the body of a king who would have died…

Nicodemus is demonstrating incredible faith here…

Everyone would have known the amount iof what Nicodemus brought is that of a king…

This is not just a friend taking care of another friends body…

This is Nicodemus treating Jesus as a king… [pause]

40So they took the body of Jesus and bound it in linen cloths with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews.

41Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid.

42So because of the Jewish day of Preparation, since the tomb was close at hand, they laid Jesus there. [pause]

by the way… those 75 pounds…

remember that would be of high cost and high value speaking in terms of money… [pause]

so we have two… and many examples throughout the Bible actually of rich people who are saved…

but 2 important and well known examples in Nicodemus and Joseph…

so ? how did it happen?

? how were they saved? [pause]

It was a supernatural work of God… that stirred their hearts to where despite their wealth,

Despite their high positions in society

Despite their high positions in the religious structure… [pause]

God had stirred in Nicodemus a desire to seek answers about… well we actually don’t know from the text the exact questions Nicodemus had…

But in John chapter 3 Jesus… after hearing Nicodemus say “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.”

Jesus teaches Nicodemus what it is to be "born again."

A new birth that signifies a spiritual transformation [pause]

Nicodemus put his money and possessions on the line for Jesus…

He put his reputation and position as a Pharisee on the line for Jesus….

He put his physical safety on the like for Jesus… [pause]

If anyone knew they could be in danger for caring for the body of Jesus… it would be a prominent Pharisee… a teacher of Israel… [pause]

And those actions from Nicodemus give us a good idea that he was born again as Jesus explained… and he is saved… [pause]

The actions and changed life of Nicodemus also line up well with the rest of our passage…

Verse 27… [pause]

27Then Peter said in reply, [pause]

Peter is very quick to see the contrast between that rich young ruler and the disciples… and Peter says… [pause]

“See, we have left everything and followed you. [pause]

What then will we have?” [pause]

28Jesus said to them, [pause]

Now some context…

The first century Jews believed that in the Messianic kingdom… Israel would be exalted back to greatness just like when Solomon was king…

Well come back to that…

Jesus speaks…

“Truly, I say to you,

in the new world,

when the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne,

you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones,

judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

Jesus is talking about a whole different world…

And we read about this in Revelation 21…

1Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.

Remember Jesus said in the new world… [pause]

2And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God,

prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

3And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.

4He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more,

neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore,

for the former things have passed away.”

5And he who was seated on the throne said, [pause]

Remember Jesus said when He sits on His glorious throne…

he who was seated on the throne said “Behold, I am making all things new.”

Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”

6And he said to me, “It is done!

I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.

To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. [pause]

In other words… you’re not going to need earthly riches in heaven… [pause]

Now Jesus does begin to talk about rewards…

And the opening of Matthew 20… which looks like we’re not going to get to tonight…

Laborers in the Vineyard… It’s not about salvation… it’s about rewards…

Jesus in our passage… answering Peter…

He says…

29And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands,

for my name's sake,

will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life. [pause]

Jesus is basically encouraging the disciples…

“hey- I know this can seem hard and be hard…

But don’t look at this like a sacrifice…

You’re not making sacrifices… rather… you’re making investments” [pause]

This is not a hundredfold here and now…

There may be a return now… but there is also the promise of heavenly rewards… [pause]

Jesus ends by saying…

30But many who are first will be last, and the last first. [pause]

This is going to lead right into a parable about workers who are hired at different times of the day…

And one of the big ideas from this parable is grace…

That God’s grace is not limited by our idea of what is fair…

But that His grace and

His gifts and

His mercies and

His care is

far far far

beyond anything we could possible deserve [pause]

We’ll pick that up next week…

Questions, thoughts, comments