Draft transcript prepared from the recording and edited for readability. Audio proofreading is still pending; please refer to the recording for the spoken wording.
You're listening to Sunday Sermons at Asbury Chapel. I want you to keep the songs we've sang and heard today in view as we hear the Scripture. [Song lyrics from Above All omitted.] What Christ is worth. That's what you need to be thinking about as you hear this. And so from Matthew 20, I'm going to read the whole parable.
Matthew chapter 20 verses 1 through 16. I'm reading from the New Living Translation.
Matthew 20 verse 1, hear the word of the Lord. For the kingdom of heaven is like the landowner who went out early one morning to hire workers for his vineyard. He agreed to pay the normal daily wage and sent them out to work. At 9 o'clock in the morning, he was passing through the marketplace and saw some people standing around doing nothing. So he hired them, telling them he would pay them whatever was right at the end of the day. So they went to work in the vineyard.
At noon and again at 3 o'clock, he did the same thing. At 5 o'clock that afternoon, he was in town again and saw more people standing around. He asked them, why haven't you been working today? They replied, because no one hired us. The landowner told them, then go out and join the others in my vineyard. That evening, he told the foreman to call the workers in and pay them, beginning with the last workers first. When those hired at 5 o'clock were paid, each received a full day's wage.
When those hired first came to get their pay, they assumed they would receive more. But they too were paid a day's wage. When they received their pay, they protested to the owner. Those people worked only one hour, and yet you've paid them just as much as you paid us, who worked all day in the scorching heat. He answered one of them, friend, I haven't been unfair. Didn't you agree to work all day for the usual wage? Take your money and go.
I wanted to pay this last worker the same as you. Is it against the law for me to do what I want with my money? Should you be jealous because I am kind to others? So those who are last now will be first then, and those who are first will be last. The word of God for the people of God. Thanks be to God. You may be seated. Amen.
So you don't have to shout the answer out when I say this to you, as much as I know some of you wish this was a little bit more like Bible study sometimes on Tuesdays or Thursdays, where we just kind of holler it out and go for it. And I don't have any gold stars here today. They're back at the Jesse Jewell office. But just, it's a rhetorical thing. But I want you to look at the parable for just a second.
And some of you know how I operate. You're going to have to look a little wider. But who's sort of the, I'd say who's one of the central characters in this parable of the vineyard? Who's one of the central characters in this parable of the vineyard? We've got the landowner and we've got the workers who were hired at different times. Some of you are going to look at me and give the Sunday school answer. You're going to say, well, Jesus. Well, okay, that Jesus is never the wrong answer.
But it's not the one I'm looking for here. The funny thing about the entire parable here, the 16 verses, is the real central character here is actually the rich young ruler from Matthew chapter 19.
See, a lot of these parables are their response to what's happening. It's to help people see with a little bit more clarity about what's really at stake here. Sometimes Jesus is setting something up and then you'll see what happens on the other side of it. Sometimes something has happened and Jesus sets it up to drive it home with the parable. And in this instance, the big lesson here comes from paying attention to the rich young ruler. Now, some of you are going, Wait, I read the newsletter.
I knew what you were preaching today. You said it was Matthew 20, 1 through 16. That's not fair. I haven't had a chance to read that. That's okay.
We'll cover it and here's what we want you to know. In Matthew chapter 19, the rich man appears in verse 16. It says, What does he want? Eternal life. How does he want it? He wants to earn it. After the conversation is over, the lesson that we learn here is that Jesus lays out for him, These are the commandments I need you to follow. And he lists six commandments. Not all ten. He lists six commandments. And they're the six commandments that have to do with our relationship with other people.
And he says to him, Have you followed these commandments? He goes, Yep, I've followed every single one of those since my birth. Check. Check.
And Jesus says, Yep, you sure have. But then he instantly reveals to the man that the man has broken all four commandments that are the first part, Which all deal with your relationship with God. To love God above all else, As we've sang. Because Jesus looks at the man and he says, You've only got one thing left to do. And he's excited about what it is that he gets to do. How do I earn this? What's this good deed that I'm going to get?
I'm going to get eternal life. I've got one thing left to do. I can do it. I've done all the other ones. What is it, Jesus? Tell me what it is. Eternal life. What good deed? I need the deed. What is it? I'll do it. Go and sell everything that you have to the poor and come and follow me. And it says the man walks away sad because he had many things. See, he's real good about checking off all the good things you can do for people, But he wasn't real quick to check off how much he loved the Lord.
God wasn't enough. I've got to have my stuff.
Now, the problem, though, is not just with the rich young ruler. That's not the only problem. You've got to keep reading. And when it comes to Scripture, let me tell you something. You better keep reading.
I mean that on multiple levels.
The disciples are looking at this situation, and they go, Ooh, man. Jesus says it's hard for the rich to get into heaven. And the disciples are going, How will they ever get into heaven? How are they going to do it? And Jesus says it's easier for a camel to enter through the eye of a needle Than it is for the rich to get into heaven. But then he also reminds them, and he says, But you know what? That's if man tries.
But if God does it, well, anything's possible.
So the disciples, here's where it gets a little weird. In verse 27 of 19, you guessed it, Peter.
Then Peter said to him, We've given up everything to follow you. What will we get?
Peter just, he can't help himself. And that's okay. Most of us can't. But Peter gets to this place. We've given up everything to follow you. What will we get? He's still worried about what he's going to get, And how much he's going to get. And is it going to be enough? If you're worried about what you're going to get, You're worried about whether or not it's enough. Right? And Jesus is saying, Lay it down and follow me. I have to be enough.
I have to be enough for you. And we have people today, let's just go ahead and move forward. Like we have people today who they hear about eternal life, And they go, well, that's sweet and all, But like, what do I get from all this? What do I get? You get eternal life. Yeah, but I mean, like I get to go to heaven, and that's cool. But what do I get? Well, you get eternal life. And for the people who are looking to feel special, For the people who are looking to have their ears tickled, Or their hearts warmed, Who want to feel good, It's never going to be enough.
But then the ones who can sing above all, Like we sang just a second ago, [Song lyrics from Above All omitted.] And when you welcome eternity into your heart, It is instantly, it is enough. That God would do what He did for you. That He would cover your sins.
That He would forgive you of every infraction, Of every trespass. That He would be the one who says, Trust me, I'm going to give you what you need. But we're so used to grabbing and taking, And making our own luck, And we're so used to feeling good, That it's just about the pleasure of it all, When it needs to be about Christ being our all in all.
And so the rich young ruler shows up, And he thinks he can earn it, And he misses it. And then the disciples go, Well guess what? We can check off the box he can't check. What do we get? You know what Jesus tells them? It's amazing. It's really the verse you've got to walk away with today. And I hope. And it's the wrestle. There's churches where, And we do it here too, But there's churches that will maybe call you down, And the moment that God creates, With our worship leaders and the spirits here, And you get to come, And maybe you wrestle, And you'll deal.
But I don't want you to wrestle just here. I want you to keep wrestling. And I want you to go home today, And I want you to wrestle. And here's what I want you to wrestle with. Is God enough for you? Is who Jesus is, And what Jesus offers you, The eternal life that he wants to give you, And the life he's calling you to live right now, As you're working in that vineyard, That needs to be enough for you. Because guess what?
Then Peter said to him, Chapter 19, verse 27, Then Peter said to him, We've given up everything to follow you. What will we get? Jesus replied, Here we go. I assure you, That when the world is made new, And the Son of Man sits upon his glorious throne, You who have been my followers, Will also sit on twelve thrones, Judging the twelve tribes of Israel, And everyone who has given up, Hear that? And everyone who has given up houses, Or brothers, Or sisters, Or father, Or mother, Or children, Or property, For my sake, Will receive a hundred times, As much in return, And will inherit eternal life.
But many who are the greatest, Now, Will be the least important then. And those who seem least important now, Will be the greatest then.
For the kingdom of heaven is like, The landowner who went out early one morning, To hire workers for his vineyard. You see how that works.
He tells them. He showed them first, With the rich young ruler. Then he tells them, When they ask the question. And then he shows them here, With this beautiful illustration. And it's a hard illustration. Some of y'all, I know it, You are, Jesus is in this room. You are, You're a liar, If you have not thought this, At least one person in this room besides me. When you heard that parable, If you have ever owned anything, If you have ever been a manager of any kind, If you have ever had employees, If you've been an employee, But especially if you've had folks, Everything from children to volunteers to employees, There is not a moment that's gone by, Where you've not gone, You know, I don't really know if I can pay that guy at five o'clock, The same as the one who showed up at six.
I mean, It went through your head. You're kind of going, Really?
Guess what? Really?
Because it's not about how we're viewed. It's not about who's done the most. It's not. It's not about who's worked harder than somebody else. If you have gotten into the church because of reputation, Man, This is a hard message for you.
That's not what this is about. This is about the fact that the Lord of glory condescended to leave glory, To come down to this place, And to look every single one of us in the heart. Notice I said not the eye. To look at every single one of us in the heart, And to say, Come work with me. Come work with me. Some of y'all got chose at like 6 a.m.
And some of y'all are late comers. And there's people that see you that way, don't they? They sit there and go, Now wait a minute. We were here when this whole thing started. We were here in the beginning. So what? But, When you turn around and you look at the cross of Jesus Christ, None of that matters. None of it. Because that's the only thing that matters. I haven't said this since I was a youth pastor when I was 23 years old, But you ought to be cross-eyed.
Everywhere you look as a Christian, You ought to see the cross everywhere. Every person that you see. I don't care where they are. I don't care what they look like. It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter if they've got on a tie. It doesn't matter if they can't tie their shoes. You look at them. You see the cross. And you see the one who graciously showed up. Maybe it's 6 in the morning. And maybe he showed up at 5 o'clock with an hour left.
And says, Come on.
Let's go. Follow me. Work in my vineyard. What God is offering here is eternal life. And here's the deal. He's the one who defines how worthy this gift is. He's the one who tells us that this is magnificent. You don't get to look at what he's offering and go, Eh. He could do better. Well, good luck with better.
I don't want better.
I just want Jesus. And what it is that he has to offer. And the way I understand it is this. A good God made a wonderful world.
And he loved it. He loved it so much that he risked not being loved in return. And some things went sideways. And they had to pay the penalty for things when they went sideways.
But from the moment they left the garden, he chased them all the way to the end of the book. Loving them. Putting up with them. Forgiving them. Chastising them pretty good. Calling others that thought they would never have the opportunity to be a part of this thing. You know, kind of like being hired at 5 o'clock.
And he made a way.
They didn't deserve it. If they hadn't been hired by 5 o'clock, they probably weren't very good employees to begin with.
But he hired them. Because that's not what it was about. All he wants to do is fill his vineyard. Have people working. What he really wants to see is the people that got hired in the morning. Putting their arms around the people who got hired in the evening. And saying, come on. Come on, brother. Come on, sister. Let me help. Let me show you how we do it around here. You know what? I've been here all day long and I hadn't done it like that.
I like that. We'll do it that way. You don't have anything to lose. Except maybe that salvation that has been purchased for you. Don't do that. Don't do that. He's hired you. He's put you there. He's worked in your life. The warning is here. Be very careful. Be very careful. That when you look upon the gift of the Son of God. That you see what it is that he has truly done for you. And don't diminish that gift. Don't say, well, is that all he's offering me?
He's just offering me forgiveness? Oh, brother. He's offering you forgiveness.
See, there comes a time in your life when. You start to understand what matters and what doesn't matter.
And when that happens. Forgiveness is kind of a big deal.
So it's important for you to look upon what it is that Jesus has done for you. And to see it for what it really and truly is. It can be that bridge from this place to the next place. That's a bridge. I want to cross. I think that's a bridge you want to cross. I know that's a bridge that God wants others to cross. And so the opportunity that we have. Is to take whoever it is that God gives us. And to hold on to them.
And to love them. And to usher them in. And to bring them in. And to let them see the grandeur. And the glory. And the majesty of the gift that God has for us. That they can look at the Son of God. The same way that we do. And say, that's Jesus. That's my wonderful Jesus. Look at what he's done for me. You have to be able to tell that story. I hope you heard what God did through Ellie a minute ago.
When she sang that song. And she talked about testifying to the battles that the Lord has won. You've got to hear that. We all should have said amen. And walked out of here after that moment.
But here we are. With an opportunity.
To say, will I testify to what God has done? He's won battles for me. He's overcome for me. For my family. But guess what? He's overcome for others too. And we celebrate that. So how can you get up underneath the burden of other people. Rather than comparing other people. Don't look down on them. Don't be jealous of them. But look at them. And see them as a brother and sister in Christ. And work alongside them. Because he's called you. And he's welcomed you.
And he's brought you into this place. So this morning.
There's a very simple question to cap off. This parable. This message. And all that we've said. Here's the question. It's a complicated question.
Are you ready? Do you love Jesus? Do you love him?
Do you love what he's offering you? It's the opportunity to be with him. It's the opportunity to work in that vineyard. To grab hold of people who are your family. To lock arms. To hang out with people from 6 a.m. and 9 a.m. To hang out with people who got there at 3 and 5. And to receive that wage.
I'll take that wage.
If this is what he says it is. It's good enough for me. Amen? Let's pray.
