Members By God's Mercy

Josh Clink

Clarify, Unify, Glorify in Matthew • Sermon • Submitted 8 months ago • Presented 8 months ago

Matthew 20

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ME (A hook):

What do cheeseburgers,

Angry Birds,

And a driving range have to do with one another?

At first,

These things seem to be completely unrelated.

But while my wife, Stephanie, and I were on vacation this past week,

We were pleasantly surprised to participate in an activity where these three things are combined.

It is called Topgolf.

Has anyone here ever done topgolf before?

Oh man!

They are not super common,

But I had heard of it awhile ago,

And this past week had the chance to go and it was a blast!

It is like a combination of bowling and golf.

You get this bay where you can order food,

That’s where the cheeseburgers come in!

And while you wait for your food,

You have this little computer where you enter everyone who is playing, like bowling.

One of the game modes you can play is Angry Birds!

But Stephanie and I decided to start with the basics.

At this driving range,

They have several targets of varying sizes and distances,

Scattered along the range.

So, you grab a club and a ball,

Then you hit your ball at those targets.

They use the same technology you see when watching golf on TV.

This screen next to you traces where your ball went,

Then you get points for how close you get to the targets.

While your playing,

Your food comes and you get to eat and play at the same time.

I am telling you,

It is a blast!

Almost every single one of my hits looked like I was drawing a ‘C’ on the computer screen,

Because I slice so bad.

But it was so much fun.

It is surprising how seemingly unrelated things can come together for a useful purpose.

Not just when it comes to having fun like topgolf.

But also to sometimes teach important lessons.

That is what we see from this series of stories we are in the midst of.

Going back to last week,

I am so grateful to our WOL missionary,

Alf Wilkes,

For stepping in to fill the pulpit while I was away.

He taught us about the children and the rich young yuppie in the second half of ch. 19.

This morning,

We are continuing right into ch. 20,

Where more seemingly unrelated stories,

All fit together to teach one overarching truth.

A foundational truth throughout the Bible.

The crucial truth that We become Members by God’s Mercy.

Slide

We are going to look at this in three parts in ch. 20.

First,

The Least are the Most (vs. 1-19)

The Pride of Mankind (vs. 20-28)

The Miracle of Mercy (vs. 29-34)

We do not become Christ’s members by our merit, but only by God’s mercy.

As I already mentioned,

Ch. 20 is a continuation of the single narrative that began at the start of ch. 19.

The Pharisees tested Jesus with a question from the law about divorce.

After Jesus answered,

He spun off into this teaching about the last being first,

And the least being the most,

In response to the rich young man’s question about how to have eternal life.

So, this series of stories continue to answer this fundamental question from a variety of angles.

With the one overarching truth that is threaded through each of these stories,

Is that salvation is a free gift of God’s mercy,

Completely free of any human merit.

In fact, it is impossible for any of us to be saved,

To have eternal life,

Without the mercy of God.

Which is remarkably good news!

For unbelievers,

It means you can be saved by simply trusting in God’s mercy.

And for believers,

It means we can grow as Christ’s members by continuously relying on God’s mercy.

So, for all of us,

We do not rely on our own works or effort or position or any merit.

This is true,

As Alf showed us last week,

For little children,

And for rich rulers.

WE (vs. 1-19) (Why does this matter to us?):

Slide

So, this morning,

We continue to see this truth in vs. 1-19,

Where Jesus teaches how the last shall be first.

And the Least are the Most,

By telling a parable about laborers in a vineyard.

While the parable itself is not all that difficult to understand.

Many,

Even many believers,

Have described this as one of Jesus’ most difficult sayings.

And the reason this is so difficult for us,

Is because we often fail to recognize our absolute dependence on God’s grace.

When we get this,

There is no room for members to be jealous of the good gifts God gives to others.

It is important we recognize that the audience for this parable is Jesus’ disciples.

So, we, as His members, are the target audience for the instruction He gives here.

With that in mind,

Let’s work our way through this parable.

First, look at vs. 1,

Jesus says the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who goes out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard.

This imagery was a very relatable one for ancient Israel.

Because their terrain was ideal for vineyards.

And as a result,

Many landowners planted vineyards on their property.

The landowner is clearly meant to represent God.

In vs. 2, the landowner strikes up an agreement with a group of workers to work his vineyard for the day.

It will be a whole day’s work,

And they agree to do the job for one denarius.

Which is essentially a fair day’s wage.

So, they begin working at about 6 in the morning.

Slide

After the first group of workers worked for about three hours,

It was now 9 in the morning,

The landowner goes out to the marketplace,

And finds some people just standing around doing nothing.

So, he says to them,

“You also go into my vineyard,

And I will pay you whatever is right.”

No specific amount is mentioned.

Yet, off they went.

Another three hours pass,

It is now about noon,

The landowner went out again,

And did the same thing.

Another three hours later,

Now three in the afternoon,

He did the same thing again.

Slide

By the time we get to vs. 6,

The day is almost over,

It is about five in the evening,

Yet, the landowner goes out one more time,

And finds more people standing around.

So, he asks them,

“Why are you standing here doing nothing all day?”

They tell him,

“Because no one has hired us.”

So, says,

“You go into my vineyard also.”

And they go.

Slide

Then we get to vs. 8,

And Jesus intentionally says the landowner pays the workers starting with the last and ending with the first,

Illustrating the principle He said at the end of ch. 19,

Matthew 19:30 ESV

But many who are first will be last, and the last first.

So, in vs. 9, those who were hired last,

And only worked one hour,

Receive their payment.

To their surprise,

And to everyone else’s,

The landowner pays them a denarius.

The same amount he agreed to pay the first group.

A full day’s wage for only working an hour.

Before moving any further,

We cannot miss how gracious of an act this is!

They were standing around without work.

When the landowner sought them out,

Offered them work,

Then after working for only an hour,

He grossly overpays them.

It is essentially taking your daily pay and making it your hourly wage.

Assuming you work an eight-hour day,

That would be taking your salary and multiplying it by eight!

Do the math on that really quick if you can.

This is an incredible act of grace and generosity being demonstrated by this landowner.

And remember,

The landowner represents God,

Who is even more gracious and generous than the landowner in the parable!

Because He gives us far more than just money.

So, as we continue in the parable,

We cannot forget the incredible and unexpected grace of God.

Slide

In vs. 10,

We get imagine what those first workers were thinking.

They see the gracious payment the landowner just gave to that last group who only worked an hour.

They worked an entire day,

You can almost picture their eyes getting big,

Their pupils turning into dollar signs.

They have just hit the jackpot,

This landowner is paying his workers a denarius an hour!

They are ready and waiting!

And then,

At the end of vs. 10,

They get paid the same amount.

One denarius.

A full day’s wage.

The amount they initially agreed upon.

Slide

So, in vs. 11-12,

They start complaining.

“Those guys showed up and only worked one hour!”

“We have been working in this burning heat the entire day!”

“There is no way they should be treated equally to us!”

“We worked way longer and yet get paid the same amount as them!”

They believe they are right and justified in their complaint.

So, let’s pause here for a moment.

And let this Scripture examine our heart.

If we are being honest,

I am pretty certain we all,

Like these workers,

Have a hard time accepting this treatment as fair.

Because it completely contradicts our standard of right and wrong,

Especially in our culture.

Does it not?

If someone else is given something,

Do we not immediately think we deserve to be given that same thing as well.

And if we don’t get it,

Just like these workers,

We cry and protest that it is not fair!

Slide

But Jesus goes on to teach how these workers were wrong.

They have no right to protest for multiple reasons.

For one, they had received a fair day’s wage.

It was the normally accepted wage for their context.

So, the landowner did not underpay them in any way.

Secondly,

They agreed to work this wage before ever stepping on the landowner’s vineyard.

But third,

And perhaps most importantly,

It was the landowner’s money.

He was free to give his money however he sees fit.

And that is the key.

The same is true for God and His grace.

God is free to give out His grace to whomever, however, and whenever He sees fit.

And what this parable teaches us,

Is that God’s grace is surprising.

He surpasses our normal expectations.

We tend to love the stories where someone gets something they did not deserve.

But when a group of people does not get something they seem to deserve,

We bristle.

We get uncomfortable.

We cry out,

“That’s not fair!”

And that is the point Jesus is getting at!

God’s grace in giving us salvation is not fair.

But He gets to decide to give it anyway.

Slide

D.A. Carson candidly writes in one of his books,

“Do you really want nothing but totally effective, instantaneous justice? Then go to hell.”

Because that is the fair wage we deserve.

Romans says this plainly,

The wages of sin is death.

And we all have sinned and fallen short of God’s perfect glory.

But, instead of giving us our fair wages,

Thankfully,

God surprises us with His mercy,

As Romans continues to say,

The free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

By His grace,

God does what we would never expect,

To give us what we could never earn,

Salvation.

This is the same underlying truth Jesus taught with the children,

And with the rich young ruler in ch. 19.

God does not owe us anything!

Nothing we have done or could do,

No position we hold,

No amount of resources we have can get us salvation.

In fact,

God gives us salvation despite everything we have done,

Despite our position as His enemies,

Despite lacking the key resource of holiness.

We do not become Christ’s members by our merit, but only by God’s mercy.

Salvation is a free gift given by God.

A God who owes us nothing,

Yet gives us everything in Christ.

That is the message Jesus gives here.

Slide

Look again at the parable in vs. 13-15.

The landowner tells the workers to take what is theirs and go.

He did not have to hire any of these workers,

Yet he did,

And he has decided to give the last group the same wage as the first.

So, he rhetorically asks them,

“Don’t I have the right to do what I want with what is mine?”

Think of this question coming from God.

He is under no obligation to forgive us.

We are sinners,

Rebels,

Enemies.

But He has the right to give out His mercy however He pleases.

And as the Apostle Paul asks in Rom. 9:20,

Romans 9:20 (CSB)

Who are you, a human being, to talk back to God? Will what is formed say to the one who formed it, “Why did you make me like this?”

You see,

Mercy will be given however God sees fit.

And this is really good news for sinners like us!

Because we cannot save ourselves.

But sadly,

We sometimes fool ourselves into acting like we can.

So, Jesus addresses this issue with one final question at the end of His parable,

Cutting right to the heart,

He asks,

“Are you jealous because I am generous?”

If you are a member of Christ’s body,

You have been given everything by God’s grace in Christ.

So, this question cuts to your heart and my heart,

Am I jealous because God is generous?

You see,

This first group of workers represents believers who think they are more important to God than others.

You might think,

I have served God my entire life,

Or I have endured the burden of living for God in this world.

This will manifest itself into a mind that thinks,

I deserve to be treated better for these reasons,

I deserve to be recognized.

Maybe it is because of a position you hold in the church,

Or a position at work or school,

Or within your own family.

Or maybe it is because of all the things you have done for God.

Now, none of us would say this is true of us.

None of us would describe ourselves this way,

Or express any of these thoughts.

And that is why this question confronts us so sharply.

That is why this parable is one we find so difficult.

Because it forces us to address our subtle self-righteousness that we so easily deny.

It forces us to consider how we truly feel toward God or others.

Specifically, when God is gracious toward those who we feel do not deserve to reap the same benefits as us.

So, by God’s grace,

And because of His love for you,

Don’t just deny this subtle self-righteousness.

If your guilty,

Guess what,

We’re all guilty.

So, instead,

Let this parable challenge you,

Let His question confront you,

Let the light of His Word shine bright on your heart exposing the darkness of jealousy and pride,

Then confess it.

And He is faithful and just to forgive you,

And to cleanse you of it all.

Once again,

God gets to decide how He administers His grace.

And we are all recipients of His grace,

He has been far more generous to us than we deserve,

Giving us more than we can even fully think or imagine.

So, instead of getting jealous of His grace,

Be zealous for His grace.

Celebrate when others receive His grace,

Worship Him for His lavish grace toward others.

Slide

Why?

Because, as Jesus bookends this parable,

With the same statement from 19:30,

The last will be first,

And the first will be last.

This is the key that unlocks this parable.

Any position or honor or prestige in this life,

By no means assures us of heavenly approval.

In fact,

Jesus says just the opposite is true.

The least in the world end up being the most.

Slide

In vs. 17-19,

We see the greatest demonstration of God giving grace.

In His mercy,

God ordained for His Son,

Jesus Christ to be murdered by sinful human beings,

So, that we might be saved.

This death and resurrection is predicted by Jesus for the third time in Matthew here.

In His prediction,

He is once again connecting His role as the promised Messiah,

Teaching that He will undertake the suffering predicted for the Suffering Servant in Isaiah 53.

Saying that His death will include being mocked and flogged and crucified at the hands of the Gentiles.

But He will rise from the dead.

GOD (vs. 20-28) (Teach the text):

Slide

Sadly, after this teaching ends,

The disciples did not seem to understand it.

Because in vs. 20-28,

They demonstrate the Pride of Mankind.

Back in ch. 19,

Jesus promised that His disciples would sit on twelve thrones ruling over Israel.

Now, here in vs. 21,

The mother of James and John asks Jesus to promise her,

That her sons will sit on His right and His left in His kingdom,

That their thrones will be in the highest places of honor in the kingdom of heaven.

She did not seem to do this unprovoked.

As if James and John are sitting back, embarrassed,

Like, “mooom! Stop it! Don’t ask Jesus that!”

Rather, it seems they want this position for themselves,

To have just a little more prominence than all the other disciples,

And they ask Jesus to feed their prideful hearts this way through their mother.

Because they are right there for this conversation with Jesus,

Slide

Who, in vs. 22, responds to them,

Not their mother.

So, we can be pretty confident this request came from them.

Therefore, Jesus goes on to address their pride,

Asking them a question about a cup.

In the OT,

The cup normally was a metaphor for enduring the suffering of the outpouring of God’s wrath.

It is often pictured with wine because wine looks so similar to blood.

That the disciples would drink this cup means they would experience suffering.

So, Jesus is asking them if they are willing to suffer for Him,

As He is going to suffer for them.

John and James say,

“Yes, we can endure suffering for You, Jesus.”

To which Jesus says,

They will indeed suffer.

Later, this is proven true.

For example,

Acts 12 tells us that James was killed by the sword,

And Revelation begins by saying that John gets exiled to an island called Patmos.

But Jesus refers to the cup here as His cup,

Because although His members will endure suffering,

Only Jesus drinks the cup of God’s wrath.

So, that His members do not have endure the eternal wrath of God that we deserve.

The suffering it takes to drink the cup of God’s wrath is so great,

That even Jesus in His humanity pleaded with the Father to let the cup pass.

Yet, because He is the only perfect person ever,

He was able to conclude His prayer by saying,

“Not my will, but your will be done.”

In other words,

God, please let this cup of excruciating suffering pass from me,

But since it is your will for me to drink it,

Hand me the cup,

Hand me the cross.

Through Christ’s suffering,

God’s judgment for all sins has already been taken care of for all who trust in Jesus.

This means we are justified in Christ.

We are heirs of His glory.

And it is our privilege to be identified with Christ in His sufferings.

Slide

This will be the case for the 12 disciples.

But look at vs. 24,

At this moment,

All 12 disciples were struggling with the pride of mankind in their heart.

The request of James and John ignited a conflict among them.

They are described as indignant!

They are furious!

Why?

Because of their pride!

Each of them wanted the seat of honor,

They all believed they should get the position of prestige.

So, in this moment,

All of the disciples needed more humility.

And Jesus is the perfect Person to administer it to them.

Slide

First, He tells them,

The way they are acting is the way the world acts.

This is the pride of mankind.

People want high positions,

So, they can lord it over others.

But Jesus says in vs. 26,

It must not be this way among His members.

It can’t be.

He prohibits it.

Instead, He says,

It should be just the opposite.

Whoever wants to be great,

Must be a servant.

Why?

YOU (Response):

Slide

Because His members are to be like Him,

As He says in vs. 28, just...

Matthew 20:28 (ESV)

As the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

This is a deeply rich and profound verse.

And it gets at the heart of why Jesus came.

So, lets break this down into smaller sections.

First, He came to suffer.

He refers to Himself as the Son of Man here,

He identifies with humankind.

As a real human,

He is able to sympathize with you in your suffering,

And He is qualified to be your sacrificial substitute.

Jesus did not come to earth for a throne.

He stepped down from His throne to come to earth,

To willingly walk head on into suffering and death on your behalf.

This is the ultimate expression of humility.

So, He came secondly,

To give His life as a ransom.

What does it mean to give your life as a ransom?

A ransom is the price paid to deliver someone from slavery or imprisonment.

It is still used today when someone is taken hostage.

Which is still a helpful way to think about our situation as hostages to sin.

Sin is in control of us,

We are hostages to sin, self, and death.

And the ransom,

The price of freedom from sin and condemnation,

Is a perfectly righteous life.

A life only Jesus lived,

That He gave to set us free.

As 1 Pet. 1:18-19 says,

1 Peter 1:18–19 ESV

knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.

Thirdly, He came to give His life as a ransom,

For many.

“The many” is talking about us!

Jesus drinks the cup of God’s wrath,

Not for His own sins,

He was perfect,

But as the means of ransoming many.

This is how His death saves us from sin and death.

He came to be our substitute.

He gave His life in the place of many lives.

Without Christ,

We stand under the weight of our sin,

And the wrath of God.

We fully deserve death.

But Jesus took our place,

Suffered and died.

This is the substitutionary atonement.

And He did not do this for just a few,

He is a ransom for many!

He is the Mediator,

Who paid the necessary price to free all types of people from our sins.

All of this is part of God’s sovereign plan.

Friends, this is the gospel.

Jesus’ death for you is not just an expression of some sort of lovey dovey sentiment.

No, He died instead of you.

He is the Son of Man who came to suffer,

He is the ransom who came to save and be the substitute for many.

And in doing so,

He thirdly shows us how to live.

He is the perfect model of servitude,

Who calls His members to this same humble attitude.

He did not come to be an object of another’s help or assistance,

He came to attend to the needs of all humankind.

Jesus demonstrated how His members are to live selflessly for the good of others.

God’s glory is the goal,

Not your reputation.

Jesus says to love people by serving them.

So, you and I are to live in sacrificial service to others on the basis of what Jesus had done.

This is what defines greatness, Jesus says.

But He was so much more than an example.

In the most unthinkable act of humility,

The King of the universe came to serve you.

Think about that for a moment.

Jesus did not come just for you to serve Him,

He says He came to serve you.

This is crazy!

Jesus is not like some earthly ruler,

Forcing lowly servants to cater to Him.

He came to be the lowly servant,

To be born as a human,

To provide salvation for you and I.

The One who most deserves to be served,

Came to serve the most.

This is displayed most vividly on the cross.

It is really important we understand what this means.

Jesus is your servant.

This does not mean you get to boss Jesus around.

No, He is not your servant in that way.

Don’t approach Jesus in that way.

He is not just here to do everything you want Him to.

Rather, as your servant,

Jesus is expressing that He gives you what you need.

This is key to understanding what it means to be a member of His body.

Consider the context.

Jesus just told James and John they were going to suffer.

Then He tells all the disciples that following Him entails radical sacrifice in service to others.

Living as His members is impossible for you and I to do.

So, by serving you,

Jesus is promising to empower you to do this.

Slide

This brings us back to the same overarching point,

We do not become Christ’s members by our merit, but only by God’s mercy.

You see, becoming Christ’s members is both a one-time thing,

And an ongoing thing.

You become Christ’s member,

Then you spend your life becoming Christ’s member.

This is the idea from our mission as a body of growing in Christlikeness.

So, we also do not grow as Christ’s members by our merit, but only by God’s mercy.

David Platt explains this well,

“That we are utterly and completely dependent on God’s mercy is not only true at the point of conversion. Even after we’re saved, we are dependent on divine mercy in every part of our lives.”

So, as your servant,

Jesus is promising to give you what you need every moment of every day to serve Him.

When He leads you into difficult places,

Or calls you to do difficult things,

He empowers you because He came to serve.

Slide

He is both Servant and Lord.

He serves you,

Yet you serve Him,

Not because Jesus needs your help.

He gives us everything.

Our life and breath and all things.

He is the Almighty Who needs no support.

He literally needs nothing and wants for nothing.

He never gets tired or hungry or lonely.

So, you serve Him by trusting His authority as God and King,

And gladly living for His glory and His purposes on earth.

But because He is both Lord and Servant.

He serves you by empowering you to serve Him.

When He calls you to do something,

He is essentially telling you how He wants to serve you.

And how you respond says a lot about your view of Him.

Do you trust Him to serve you to serve Him?

Because it is only with trust that you will be empowered to serve Him.

He is serving us at every moment.

So, that we can exalt Him by serving others.

It is His power and love that strengthens us to sacrifice for others,

As a demonstration of His sacrifice for us.

WE (Paint a picture of the future):

So, let’s wrap up this morning,

Slide

With one final literal miracle in vs. 29-34,

Which demonstrates the Miracle of Mercy.

In vs. 29, Jesus and the disciples went out of Jericho with a great crowd following Him.

When two blind men,

Cry out to Jesus,

Requesting help.

Specifically asking Him to have mercy to heal their blindness.

Initially, the crowd demands them to keep quiet.

But instead of listening,

Their cry for Christ’s mercy grows even louder!

Slide

Jesus stops, and moved by compassion,

He acknowledges their faith in Him as the Son of David.

Then, in vs. 34,

He reaches out, touches their eyes,

And immediately they were healed.

They went from darkness to light and they could see.

So, they followed Him!

The blind men teach us,

What the children taught us,

What the rich young ruler taught us,

What the workers and the landowner taught us,

What the disciples taught us.

We all need help,

We all need mercy.

Slide

So, the application is simple,

Confess you need it.

Confess that you need Jesus’ help,

You need His mercy.

Throw away the subtle pride and self-righteousness in your heart,

And like these blind men,

Declare,

“Lord, Jesus, have mercy on me, a sinner!”

We do not become Christ’s members by our merit, but only by God’s mercy.

But even if you are already a member of Christ’s body,

You are still fully dependent on Jesus’ power and kindness to serve you.

You still need His mercy today,

And the next day,

And the next day.

So, confess that you need His mercy,

And trust Him to serve you to serve Him.

He has the power to do the miraculous.

So, trust Him to do what only He can do.

Because we do not grow as Christ’s members by our merit, but only by God’s mercy.