Matthew 20- Parable of The Workers

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For the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which went out early in the morning to hire labourers into his vineyard. And when he had agreed with the labourers for a penny a day, he sent them into his vineyard. And he went out about the third hour, and saw others standing idle in the marketplace, And said unto them; Go ye also into the vineyard, and whatsoever is right I will give you. And they went their way. Again he went out about the sixth and ninth hour, and did likewise. And about the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing idle, and saith unto them, Why stand ye here all the day idle? They say unto him, Because no man hath hired us. He saith unto them, Go ye also into the vineyard; and whatsoever is right, that shall ye receive. Matthew 20:1-7

Notice this is the “Parable of the Workers” this is not a parable of the couch sitting Christians or closet Christians. We as Christians need to get to work, if you are truly a Christian you are a servant of Christ. What did Christ command us to do at the Great Commision? Go and preach the gospel to all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19) It’s time to get to work for The Lord, time is running short and souls are perishing on a daily basis

Now in this parable, we see many different workers, who are symbolic of The Church. Many Christians have done different ministries and different degrees of work for God. However we all have the same destination, the Kingdom of God. We need to be careful not to allow our egos being the inspiration for our ministries. We are servants of Christ, we shouldn’t be concerned how much glory we receive or how much others receive, all glory belongs to God

So when even was come, the lord of the vineyard saith unto his steward, Call the labourers, and give them their hire, beginning from the last unto the first. And when they came that were hired about the eleventh hour, they received every man a penny. But when the first came, they supposed that they should have received more; and they likewise received every man a penny. And when they had received it, they murmured against the goodman of the house, Saying, These last have wrought but one hour, and thou hast made them equal unto us, which have borne the burden and heat of the day. But he answered one of them, and said, Friend, I do thee no wrong: didst not thou agree with me for a penny? Take that thine is, and go thy way: I will give unto this last, even as unto thee. Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? Is thine eye evil, because I am good? So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen. Matthew 20:8-16

When it came time for the laborers to get paid, they all got paid the same. Some complained, I did more than this person, as Jesus said “Is it not lawful for me (Christ) to do what I will with my own” Who are we to tell God how he should do things? This is exactly what we do many times as humans, and this is what many Christians do also. Instead of us just serving The Lord, we want credit and praise, but we shouldn’t expect anything in return for serving The Lord

Pride leads to destruction (Proverbs 16:18) we see this over and over again, whenever sin is involved it usually begins with pride. Remember Jesus said “Anyone who wants to be my disciple must deny themselves, carry their cross, and follow Christ” (Luke 9:23) Your true reward is eternal salvation with our Lord and God, Amen!

Matthew 19- Are You A Good Person?

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And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life? And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments. He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet? Matthew 19:16-20

Often when people hear of the story about the “Rich Young Ruler” they get hung up on the man being rich, but this is not the heart of this story. There is alot being revealed here by Christ, first notice the man asks “What do I need to do to inherit eternal life”? , this is a great question and gets right to the point, what do people need to do to become saved

Now the first thing is Jesus says “Why do you call me good, nobody is good except God” the word “good” here means “morally excellent” basically perfect. Jesus is saying nobody is morally excellent but God, hence since Jesus is sinless Christ is God. Many often don’t catch this, that Jesus actually declared he is God here. If you reject that Christ is perfect and sinless, then you reject the atonement for your sins, hence your not saved then. It’s important to understand who Jesus truly is, God in the flesh (John 1:14), the sinless Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29)

What is Jesus first response here to the man, Christ gives him the Ten Commandments, why? Because The Law reveals our sin (Romans 7:7) The Law is a mirror  (James 1:23) Before somebody can understand they need Christ, they first need to understand they are a sinner in need of saving, before they can understand they are a sinner they need to understand what is sin, hence the Ten Commandments.

Now notice this man’s response “Oh yeah I kept all the commandments” Right here , Christ knows the man is lying and deceiving himself. Scripture tells us “We have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23) This man is not acknowledging his sin and has not come to repentance. Hence he will not truly receive Christ because he doesn’t believe he’s a sinner

Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me. But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions. Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven. And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. Matthew 19:21-24

Since the man won’t acknowledge his sin and repent, Jesus tests the man. Christ said “Go and sell all your stuff and give it to the poor” Of course the man walks away because he doesn’t truly love The Lord, he loves the thought of eternal life. This is the same with most false converts in the Church today, everyone loves the thought of Jesus and eternal life, but how many have truly repented of their sin, and follow Jesus with all their heart, mind, and soul?

Money can become an idol just like anything else you put in place of God. Have you acknowledged you are a sinner and turned away from your sins? Have you truly placed all your faith and trust in Jesus Christ as your Lord? Do these things and you will inherit eternal life, Amen!

Matthew 19- Jesus Love The Children

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Then were there brought unto him little children, that he should put his hands on them, and pray: and the disciples rebuked them. But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven. And he laid his hands on them, and departed thence. Matthew 19:13-15

We often heard the Sunday School song “Jesus loves the Little Children” and it’s Biblical. As we see in the scriptures here, Jesus does love the Little Children”, and as we see in the world today, Satan hates Children, this is why all the evil agendas of this world are aimed at Children. 

Jesus often says we should have “Childlike Faith” (Matthew 18:3) we need to humble ourselves, unharden our hearts and minds, and listen to The Lord. Notice when the Children were coming to Jesus, the disciples rebuked. However Jesus said “Let the little children come to me, and don’t hinder them” We shouldn’t be a stumbling block for anyone coming to Christ, including children. We can actually learn alot from children, most of the time we hinder ourselves due to pride and ego. 

Jesus said “For the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to such as these” think about that! While Children are often the ones who are hidden during Church services, these are the ones that Christ is seeking the most. People with a clean heart and a clean mind, not corrupted by this world. Children don’t need a lot to be content, however the older we get, the more it seems we need to satisfy ourselves. We need more possessions, we need more money, we need more friends, however nothing ever seems to fill our void. Because the void can only be filled with Christ!

Are you seeking Christ with an open heart and open mind like a Child? Or are you coming to Jesus with a bitter heart and a mind full of corruption of this world? We need to be Born Again (John 3:3) we need to be reset, we need to be renewed in our minds and not conformed to the ways of the world (Romans 12:2) We remember when the disciples were arguing over “Who was the greatest in Gods Kingdom”? Jesus pointed to a child, said “Whoever humbles themselves like this little child, is the greatest in the Kingdom of God (Matthew 18:4)

We can learn alot from children, we need to have Child-like faith in Christ, because in Christ we are Children of God, Amen!

Matthew 19- Jesus On Divorce

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The Pharisees also came unto him, tempting him, and saying unto him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause? And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female, And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh?Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder. They say unto him, Why did Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement, and to put her away? He saith unto them, Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so. Matthew 19:3-8

The topic of divorce is obviously a very complicated topic and is not black or white by any means. But Jesus did touch on this subject, so we can gain wisdom into his teachings. It’s important to note though, Jesus didn’t teach on this topic totally in depth, so I think there are alot of gray areas where many people make assumptions, we need to be careful in making wrong judgements on divorce.

Notice it says the Pharisees came to “test” or “tempt” Christ, we see this over and over again in the gospels, the religious leaders trying to trap Jesus with his interpretations of The Law. Now The Lord reveals a few things about marriage right here, first he declares God established the Covenant of Marriage in Genesis. Humans don’t have the power or authority to change the rules of marriage. Secondly, marriage is between One Man and One Woman, period. Any other arrangement outside of this is not a valid marriage in God’s eyes and is immoral. The third thing Christ reveals is marriage was designed to be eternal, “what God has joined, let nobody separate”

The religious leaders than came back to challenge Christ, “Why did Moses then allow divorce” ? And Jesus replied “Because of the hardness of your hearts” So to sum this up, Marriage was originally designed by God to be eternal, but because we live in a fallen world (Genesis 3) because we are sinners , God has allowed divorce under different circumstances.

And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery. His disciples say unto him, If the case of the man be so with his wife, it is not good to marry. But he said unto them, All men cannot receive this saying, save they to whom it is given. For there are some eunuchs, which were so born from their mother’s womb: and there are some eunuchs, which were made eunuchs of men: and there be eunuchs, which have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven’s sake. He that is able to receive it, let him receive it. Matthew 19:9-12

Now comes the gray areas of divorce, Jesus mentions adultery as a valid reason to get divorced, but is that the only reason? Now honestly I don’t think Jesus was doing an in-depth teaching on this topic, he was just listing a valid reason. Meaning I believe there are other valid reasons you can get divorced such as abuse, ect. Now with that said, we shouldn’t strive to get divorced, however sometimes divorce is necessary in some circumstances. Again living in a fallen world as fallen people

Don’t get me wrong I know “God hates divorce” (Malachi 2:16) however God also understands and has mercy and compassion. God divorced Israel (Jeremiah 3:8-10) Divorce is an unfortunate and painful separation that was not part of Gods original design, however there is mercy and healing through Jesus Christ, Amen!