The Bad News of the Gospel

How would you feel if the first thing you discovered upon reaching heaven was that Billy Graham was missing? And...

What if you then found out that your next-door neighbor was Adolph Hitler? Or...

What if you looked in vain for your son or daughter who had been heavily involved in the drug scene only to discover that the one who had sold them the dope was living across the street?

Now I am not campaigning for any of this! But.....

We do know that there will be some big surprises in heaven. People we thought would surly be there may be missing, and some we thought surely wouldn't be there may be present. God judges by a different system from ours, for we look only at the outward appearance, but God looks on the heart.

As we try to understand a little more about God's system, let's look at Matthew 20:1-16. It's one of the strangest stories Jesus ever told. And it brings us face-to-face with the bad news of the gospel.

"The kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire men to work in his vineyard. He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and he sent them into his vineyard.

"About the third hour (9:00 am) he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. He told them: 'You also go and work in my vineyard, I will pay you whatever is right. So they went.'" (verses 1-4). The didn't have an agreed sum of payment; they accepted his offer of "whatever is right." They trusted him.

Verses 5-7: "He went out again about the sixth (Noon) hour and the ninth (3:00 pm) hour and did the same. About the eleventh hour (5:00 pm) he went out and found still others standing around. He asked them, 'Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?'

"'Because no one has hired us,' they answered."

"He said to them, 'You also go and work in the vineyard.'"

Well, a worker can't loose at 5:00 pm with only one hour before time to quit. If all he does is stuff himself with grapes during the last hour and get nothing for his labor, he is still better off than he would be just standing on the street corner. These workers who were hired the last hour were fresh. They had done nothing all day. Can't you see them picking grapes faster than anybody else, just for the novelty of having something to do besides standing around? And perhaps the rest of the workers sniffed and said, "Sure, they're full of pep. Wait till they've worked for twelve hours like we have, and then see what happens to their enthusiasm."

And finally it was quitting time.

THE VINEYARD OWNER IS A TROUBLEMAKER!!

But now, the plot thickens.

Verse 8: "When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, 'Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired and going on to the first.'"

Here was the first sign of trouble. These people had gotten up before sunrise, eaten a hurried breakfast, and walked down to the corner on Main Street where those blue busses with the dingy windows pick them up and take them to the vineyard. They had been working for twelve hours. They were hot and dusty. They were tired and anxious to get home, shower, and have something to eat. pay a little attention to the kiddies, and go to sleep reading the evening paper. They would fall into bed exhausted, only to do it all over again tomorrow. And now, instead of getting their pay and being allowed to go on their way, they had to stand there and wait for the miserable one-hour workers to get paid first. Now don't you agree with me that the vineyard owner is a troublemaker?

Then the Bible says, "The workers who were hired about the eleventh hour came and each received a denarius [a day's wage]." Verse 9.

Suddenly things began to look good. It looked good for the eleventh-hour workers, who received a whole day's pay for one hour's work. There are two extremes of reactions you could have if you were in their place. One reaction could be to figure that the vineyard owner was a soft touch and plan how you could rip him off the next day. Second, an opposite reaction would be to be so grateful for the generosity of the kind vineyard owner that you resolve to come out and work the following day for free!

But not only did things look good to the one-hour workers. Things looked good to the twelve-hour workers as well. They looked over the shoulders of the ones who were paid first, whipped out their pocket calculators, and figured that vacation time had arrived at last! In their minds they were already home announcing the good news to the family, getting out the Coleman stove and the pup tents, and packing the station wagon. They were impressed with the generosity of the vineyard owner.

They didn't stay impressed!

Verse 10: "So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius."

Now, is this good news or bad news?

If the vineyard owner had chosen to pay the twelve-hour workers first and send them on their way, then they may not have discovered what he paid the other workers. But for some reason this vineyard owner wanted them to see. He was a troublemaker.

IN THAT CASE, JUST KEEP YOUR MONEY!

When the twelve-hour workers saw that their vacation plans had to be cancelled, they were upset.

It says, "When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner. 'These men who were hired last worked only one hour,' they said, 'and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.'

"But he answered one of them, 'Friend, I am not being unfair to you. Didn't you agree to work for a denarius? Take your pay and go. I want to give the man who was hired last the same as I gave you. Don't I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?'"

"So the last will be first, and the first will be last." Verses 11-16.

"Take you pay and go." Apparently they didn't even want to take their pay. They were ready to tell the vineyard owner he could just keep his filthy money. He had to plead with them to take it with them.

Now don't you agree that this vineyard owner is a troublemaker?

If you don't think the vineyard owner was trying to make trouble, maybe you have some idea of who the vineyard owner is! And if he is God, you don't want to admit that sometimes God's system looks strange to us, for the system of the world we are used to is entirely different. Even the spiritually mature, who have learned to appreciate God's system as far as heavenly things are concerned, must still live by the merit system in temporal matters. In our work, in our schools, in our lives here on earth, everything is based on the system of merit. You get what you earn, and you earn what you get. No more, and hopefully no less. It has permeated all of society. It has permeated the church. From the cradle on up, every one of us have had to live with the system of merit.

GIFTS AREN'T FAIR!

To receive a gift, really and truly for free, is a rare thing in this world, and may even make the receiver uncomfortable. Even the lotteries and sweepstakes have to go to a great deal of trouble to prove to everybody that it is chance that picks the winner--that the winner is nobody's favorite. To give prizes or gifts by any method except by random selection isn't considered "fair." And the ones who stand by and watch a gift bestowed upon another--as in, for example, an inheritance situation--are often upset at the unfairness of such an act.

I AM NOT WORTHY

In Luke 7 we read about the centurion's servant who was sick. And at his request, the Jewish rulers came to Jesus asking that his servant be healed. They were still on the merit system. You don't ever find them coming and requesting healing for a blind beggar or a leper or a little widow woman. But the centurion had built them a synagogue. So they came to Jesus, and "they pleaded earnestly with him, 'This man deserves to have you do this, because he loves our nation and has built our synagogue.'" Verses 4,5.

Jesus started out for the centurion's house, and when finally the centurion himself came to Jesus, in spite of the fact that the Jewish leaders thought he was worthy, the centurion said of himself, "I did not even consider myself worthy." Jesus marveled at him and said, "I have not found such great faith even in Israel." Verses 6, 9.

HERE'S THE BAD NEWS

It's the fact that none of us can ever be worthy, it's the truth that no one can ever earn merit God's grace or favor that is the bad news of the gospel. It has been a universal disease of humanity that we want to be worthy. When we have toiled through the heat of the day and then we see those who come at the last minute receiving a reward equal to ours, we find our reward hard to take. The message that we can never be saved in any way on the basis of our own works can be bad news to the one who is used to paying his entire way. Yet it is the foundation of God's economy. He is on the gift system all the way.

You are called to the bedside of a dying missionary. The elders have come to anoint him. And you remind the Lord of all of his years of faithful service -- how he buried a son or daughter, perhaps a wife, out there in the far-flung fields. You remind the Lord of all that he could yet do in His work. And you don't quite say it, but it's there, in the background, "Lord, this man really deserves Your help." And the missionary dies, and you go on your way, wondering about God's system of working.

Then you go to the bedside of a backslider. He's dying in a hospital of a heart attack. There's scarcely enough blood pumping across his brain to enable him to think. Between gasps he says, "Preacher, I'm a backslider. I've treated God badly for years. But please pray for me that I'll come up in the right resurrection." There are no elders and no oil. You don't even ask that he be healed. You just ask that he come up in the right resurrection. And he's healed and walks out of the hospital with a heart apparently as good as anybody's. And you go your way, pondering God's system.

God's free grace may be good news for a dying backslider -- but what about the dying missionary? Doesn't he deserve at least equal treatment? Doesn't he deserve--?

And we continue to be astonished at God's way of working.

THE EXTRA REWARD

FOR THE TWELVE-HOUR WORKERS

In order to understand why God's system is good news for the twelve-hour workers, for the dying missionary, as well as for the latecomers, we need to back up to Matthew 19. A rich man had come to Jesus asking what to do to enter into life. Jesus told him to sell all he had, give to the poor, and come and follow Him. The rich man went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. Verses 16-22.

The disciples watched it happen, and one of them managed to have enough courage to ask what all of them were thinking: "Lord, this rich man went away because he had great possessions, and he wasn't willing to give them up. However, we're still here. We haven't gone away, and we have left all to follow You. What are we going to get?" see verse 27.

If you had been in Jesus' shoes at this juncture, you could easily have gotten discouraged. He had been working with these men for almost three years, trying to teach them the values of the kingdom. If it had been one of us, we might easily have said, "You men are hopeless. give me another twelve. I'm starting over." But Jesus was patient, and He met them where they were. He said, "You who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel." Verse 28. And you can see Peter and the other disciples standing a little taller as they begin to picture the scene!

But then Jesus makes a very interesting statement that we wouldn't want to miss. "Everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much" (verse 29), and Mark adds, "in this present age...and in the age to come, eternal life" (Mark 10:30). Please notice the two rewards. Those who have forsaken all and followed Jesus will receive a hundred times as much. When? Now! At this present time! And the other reward is eternal life in the age to come after the second coming of Jesus.

So there are TWO rewards!

And with that in mind, we can return to the vineyard and understand the rest of the story. There is a reward of being able to work throughout the day with the kind vineyard owner. It is rewarding to become involved in serve and meaningful work for the entire day. It is not necessary to wait for the end of the day for the reward -- the reward comes all through the day.

If you know a vital relationship with Jesus, if you know God as it is your privilege to know Him, then you primary focus is not on the reward at the end of the day. Your primary focus is the joy of fellowship and service with Him right now. These one-hour workers, who spent the day out on the street corner, are they the winners or the losers? It's BORING out there! But the vineyard is an exciting place. And unless you are merely putting in your time, trying hard to make it to heaven, you can easily understand this. If you don't know the thrill of entering into a relationship and service with the Lord Jesus today, then you are miserable now, and you'll be miserable at the end too.

The happiest person today is the one who is the most involved in service to others, and the most miserable person today is the one who is the most turned in on himself. If your whole focus is on yourself and on trying to make yourself happy, you will be miserable. But when you forget self and reach out to others, you find happiness automatically. The rewards that come with the burden and heat of the day more than compensate for the burden and heat of the day, even if there were no reward at the end.

If God called you to some hard place of service for Him and you know that He has called you, then the sacrifice is not in going. The sacrifice would be to stay home! And many missionaries can tell you that's true.

IDLENESS IS A REAL DRAG!

When I was in college, toward the end of one year the pressure had really built up. I was tired. And I told my brother one morning that I wished I could go to bed for a week. That very day, up on the gym field, we were pole-vaulting, and my pole broke. I landed on my head and was knocked unconscious. I got a brain concussion. I also got a strange heart problem called a pericardial friction rub caused by trauma. The medical students at Loma Linda Medical School found it a curiosity to listen to my heartbeat from across the room. And the doctor said, "Go to bed for a week." I loved it--for the first three hours.

Then it was terrible!

Have you ever left for a vacation and been so tired that you resolved to do nothing but set up a cot and some mosquito netting, and sleep and read by the lake? And as soon as you arrive at the lake, you hurry to set up the cot, and you crawl under the netting. But after thirty minutes you can't stand it. And soon you're out building a raft to go across the lake or damming up the creek or polishing the hubcaps on your car. In all of life, activity is the only way to survive. and activity is as necessary to the Christian life as to the physical life. It is in working that we stay live.

Even in heaven, that land of rest, there will still be the joy of service for others. That's what the angels are all about. They have found their joy for thousands of years in ministering to human beings, who are in every way inferior to them.

Can't you imagine it? One day your angel comes by your mansion for a visit. And he says, "how would you like to take a trip?"

And you say, "Sure--count me in. Just wait till I pack."

"No," he says, "there's no need to pack. Nothing to pack!"

You say, "Oh, that's right. Well, let me say goodbye to my friends, and then we can leave."

"They'll be here when you get back," he reminds you. "They'll be here forever!"

And so you are ready to go.

You've had opportunity to compare notes with this angel friend of yours. You've found out about the time when he saved you from going over the top of Nevada Falls in Yosemite. You didn't even know you were in danger. You've thanked him for saving you from that head-on collision on the highway. And you're eager to spend more time with him.

"Where are we going?"

"To a little planet on the outer rim of a galaxy, to let them hear the story from human lips of what it's like to be ransomed from a world of sin." You know that angels never felt the joy that our salvation brings, and so you start off on tireless flights to worlds afar, to tell those who haven't heard what it's like to be lost -- and found again.

And once more you are involved in the timeless and universal principle that the happiest person is the one who is reaching out to others.

I invite you today to the rewards, one hundredfold here and now, of working with this kind, loving generous vineyard owner. And He also has made provision to take care of the rewards at the end of the day, for everybody, whether they worked all day long or came at the last minute. Won't you join me today in pleading with God to transform our hearts so that we can accept His system and thus be happy with Him in heaven forever? It is as we accept His grace, for free, today, that we are enabled to find that the gospel is really good news, after all.

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This page maintained by Allen Roy. Last Update on 12/13/99