Payment for Work
Matthew 20:1-16 tells the parable of the vineyard owner who hired laborers to work for the day. As the day progresses, he makes more trips to the labor pool at the 3rd, 6th, 9th and 11th hour and did the same. When evening came he paid each of the workers a days wage, regardless of how long they had worked.
Those who worked the longest were unhappy that the ones who worked only a short time were paid the same as those who worked a long day. The owner replied that they had been paid what they agreed to work for and if he wanted to pay the others the same, it was his money to do with what he wanted.
There is much disparity in the lives of those who work for Christ today. Pastors in richer areas are better off than those in poorer areas. Those with a plethora of churches may do worse than in areas with few churches. Most pastors do better than missionaries. And then there are those who have created their own empires.
One day, God will judge every Christian according to their works, and I suspect on the effectiveness of their works. Just doing things might not be worth much if it doesn't lead anyone to the Lord. I'm glad that God and Jesus and the Holy Spirit will figure it all out. I suspect that those who do what God has told them to do will be better off than those who have gone their own way. But like the vineyard owner, the accolades are God's to give. No matter what we feel we have accomplished, God knows its success, and the part that others played in that success. I would have to give a lot of credit to sermons preached, Dake's bible notes, tons of Sunday school lessons over around six decades.
Just like the vineyard owner, God is interested in the harvest. He knows, even if we don't, when He is going to send Jesus back to rapture the church. There is a time when work needs to be done before the crop is lost. Each generation of people is a new crop. Each is only on earth for a short while (relatively speaking). Those who have worked a long time for God's kingdom are rewarded. But I believe that anyone who steps up to His call will be rewarded if they help to bring in the harvest. The harvest is the main thing that matters to God. He doesn't want any part to be lost due to lack of workers.
Prophecy of Betrayal
Jesus again emphasized that His time was short in Matthew 20:17-19. His warning of what would happen to Him was a somber moment for each. At this point, they didn't know that one of them would betray Jesus, although I suspect that Jesus own prophesy of what would happen to Him partially led Judas to do what he did. I think that perhaps Judas was looking toward that kingdom to be manifested all along so that He could benefit from it. When it became clear that it wasn't going to happen, he got disillusioned. Just my $.80.
That the message had a hopeful ending, that on the third day He would rise again, wasn't enough to dispel the gloom that the announcement probably made.
Jockeying for Position
In Matthew 20:20-28, Salome (traditionally credited as the mother of James and John) comes with her sons to request that the sons would be permitted a place of honor on Jesus right and left hand in Jesus kingdom. I don't know a lot of early Hebrew or Yiddish, but a word I recognize that fits would be chutzpah.
Jesus tells them the don't understand what they are asking. They don't know the cup He would drink of or be baptized with the baptism of the Spirit as He was? They replied that they were. Jesus told them they would experience the full baptism and would drink of the cup that He would endure, but that regardless, Jesus didn't have the authority to say who would be honored by sitting on his left and right in his kingdom. That was up to God to decide, when all of time was complete (or at the very least when their lives were lived and done).
What could have been a moment that tore the disciples apart was turned into a teaching moment with Christ. When the other ten heard and took offense, Jesus told them that His kingdom wasn't going to be like that of the princes of the Gentile nations around them. He declared that those who wanted to be great should minister to the church. Who would be chief should be servant to all, following the example Christ laid out with His very own life on earth.
There is much politics and jockeying for position that occurs in the church today. There is more in some denominations than in others. The quest to be Pope comes to mind. Help us to all understand what Christ is saying here. It's one of the most important things He ever said about the churches leadership structure. Strive to be Christlike in all you do as a Christian leader. Stay humble. The more Christlike you are, the greater influence you will have in the world and in the church. Always give God the glory.
Healing of Two Blind Men
As they left Jericho Matthew 20:29-34 records two blind men who heard that Jesus was passing by. They called out for mercy, but the people rebuked them for trying to get Jesus' attention. This only caused them to cry louder.
Jesus stopped and called them and asked what they wanted Him to do for them. They asked to be able to see again. Jesus had compassion, touched their eyes, and immediately they could see again and they followed Jesus as He headed down the road toward Jerusalem.
There are only a couple of things that need to be said about this short passage. The first is that regardless of what was on Jesus mind, He always made time to meet people's needs. Even in times like this, when He was going to Jerusalem to be killed, He took time to do the Father's work. Would that we would all be as dedicated to the work the Father has appointed us to do. And to confess, I took a break after writing on Matthew 19 and watched an old movie. That isn't to say that you should never rest. But I also truly believe that the time is getting short for this world. We need to be more about the Father's business than our own.
The other thing to note is that Jesus asked what the men wanted to have happen. I'm pretty sure the Holy Spirit had given Him a heads up about what needed to be done. After all, He was always about His Father's business. But the multitude around Him may well not have known who these two men were. They may not have known their ailment. Clearly some knew, because they tried to shush them. But it is a good idea to see if the people your are ministering to have a meeting of the mind with what you feel God is directing you to do.
There seems to be a higher percentage of blind in the Bible that Jesus heals than would be seen today. But at the same time, the number of people with corrective lenses today or who have had surgery to correct vision is high. How many were totally blind and how many just had poor enough vision that they couldn't function well is unknown. Regardless, God is still in the healing business today. Even if you wear corrective lenses, it wouldn't hurt to seek God's healing. The cost of glasses is high. And if nobody else believes you were healed, at least your eye doctor will.