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The evangelical church nearly always portrays Jesus as the Good Shepherd who
is kind and patient with his sheep and who gave himself for us on the cross.
We have all been taught that Jesus is gentle and humble.
Matthew 11:28 “Come to me, all you who are weary
and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you
and learn from me,
for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your
souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
We hardly ever hear that Jesus can be anything but
meek. Is what we have been taught the whole picture of Jesus as found
in the New Testament?
In particular, does Scripture ever portray Jesus as someone very different---even
as a hard master? Let us find out. It is important that the Church
have a scriptural and balanced understanding of the one we claim to
worship and serve. Otherwise, we could be in danger of following “another
Jesus.”
The Parable of the Tenants
Matthew 21:33 “Listen to another parable: There
was a landowner who planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it,
dug a winepress in
it and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers
and went away on a journey. 34 When the harvest time approached, he
sent his servants to the tenants to collect his fruit.
The vineyard represents Israel, and the landowner who rented out the
vineyard to the Jews is God. At harvest time God demanded and expected
to receive a share of the crops from the farmers.
35 “The tenants seized his servants; they beat one, killed another,
and stoned a third. 36 Then he sent other servants to them, more than
the first time, and the tenants treated them the same way. 37 Last
of all, he sent his son to them. ‘They will respect my son,’ he
said.
38 “But when the tenants saw the son, they said to each other, ‘This
is the heir. Come, let’s kill him and take his inheritance.’ 39
So they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.
40 “Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will
he do to those tenants?”
41 “He will bring those wretches to a wretched end,” they
replied, “and he will rent the vineyard to other tenants, who
will give him his share of the crop at harvest time.”
God expects from us his share of the crop at harvest time
We know that the Jews for the most part rejected Jesus
Christ as their Messiah and had him killed. Eventually they were “brought to
a wretched end” by God through the Roman General Titus who leveled
Jerusalem in 70 A.D. The gospel was offered to “other tenants”---meaning
to the gentiles. The point to be made here is that God also expects
the gentile Church to give him his share of the crop at harvest
time. Today the Church of Jesus Christ consists overwhelmingly of gentiles.
Here we are described metaphorically as tenants who have an agreement
with God, the landowner. Our main occupation on earth is planting and
cultivating our rented fields for the purpose of reaping a harvest.
A share of the crop is to be given to our landowner---the God who owns
everything. It is helpful to remind ourselves that nothing on earth
actually belongs to us.
God rightfully demands a share of the crop at harvest
time from us. The harvest time appears to be at hand. Have believers
been fully informed
and taught about what this means? Unfortunately, no. Most Christians
only know that when they die or when Christ appears they will somehow
be whisked into God’s presence where they will enjoy heavenly
bliss forever and ever.
What is church today?
Church today is generally a place where Christians
go for their once-a-week spiritual high or fix. They go to church
to be recharged and to gain
strength to survive for another week. They go to learn how to be happier
and more successful in their lives on earth. Some go to church to “get
blessed.” Perhaps they are touched by God there through some
supernatural manifestation. Finally, some people go to church out of
religious obligation or habit.
The above reasons---with the exception of the final one---are not
necessarily poor reasons for going to church. Churches which are skilled
at meeting such needs will grow in numerical size. People will eventually
leave a church that does not meet their felt needs and find one which
does. The astounding growth of some churches today is primarily the
result of people transferring from another church which did not meet
their needs.
But there is something amiss here. Is the job of the
Church simply to meet people’s earthly needs? Is it not more important to train
believers as tenants to plant and to cultivate the fields which God
has rented to us? The Church has basically failed to teach us that
one day there will be an accounting during which God will demand and
expect from us “his share of the crop.” We have essentially
failed to teach God’s people the paramount importance of planting
and of reaping the harvest during these last days.
We are not to follow a “business
model”
Because of our desire for numbers, we are getting quite
good at meeting people’s needs in order to draw them to our
church. We know how to give them what they want and what they need.
This is not much different
from a successful business which knows how to provide and market the
products or services which consumers want and need.
However, we must realize that churches and businesses,
despite current trends, are in the end very different in nature.
A business must make
a profit and hopefully grow. But the purpose of a church should not
be simply to grow big in numbers and income. Ultimately, churches must
prepare God’s people for the coming of the Lord---at which time
there will be an accounting between the tenants and the Landowner.
Matthew 25:14 “Again, it will be like a man going on a journey,
who called his servants and entrusted his property to them. 15 To one
he gave five talents of money, to another two talents, and to another
one talent, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey.
16 The man who had received the five talents went at once and put his
money to work and gained five more. 17 So also, the one with the two
talents gained two more. 18 But the man who had received the one talent
went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.
19 “After a long time the master of those servants returned and
settled accounts with them. 20 The man who had received the five talents
brought the other five. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted
me with five talents. See, I have gained five more.’
21 “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant!
You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge
of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’
22 “The man with the two talents also came. ‘Master,’ he
said, ‘you entrusted me with two talents; see, I have gained
two more.’
23 “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant!
You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge
of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’
The first
two servants worked hard and wisely invested the property entrusted
to them. They were able to give the master “his
share of the crop.” He
was pleased and rewarded them handsomely.
24 “Then the man who had received the one talent came. ‘Master,’ he
said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where
you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered
seed. 25 So I was
afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground. See, here is
what belongs to you.’
Is the Lord really “a hard man”?
The third servant actually had some understanding of
his master. The master had gone on a journey and entrusted his property
to the servants.
During the master’s absence they were to work hard investing
the master’s wealth in order to earn profits for him. Upon his
return, he would receive the profits from the servants’ labors---even
though he himself had not done any work. He would harvest where he
had not sown and gather where he had not scattered seed. In this sense
he was “a hard man.” However, being that the talents were
in fact the property of the master to begin with, the arrangement was
completely justified and fair. Moreover, the fruitful servants were
well rewarded for their labors. Let’s see how the master rewarded
this third servant.
26 “His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy
servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather
where I have
not scattered seed? 27 Well then, you should have put my money on deposit
with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it
back with interest.
28 ”‘Take the talent from him and give it to the one who
has the ten talents. 29 For everyone who has will be given more, and
he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has
will be taken from him. 30 And throw that worthless servant outside,
into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
The master judged the third servant by his own words
and gave him a hard sentence. He had the servant thrown outside into
the darkness
where he would suffer in weeping and gnashing his teeth. It is reasonable
to conclude that part of this punishment was on account of his failure
to secure for the master “his share of the crop”---profit
earned from the one talent entrusted to him.
We have failed to teach God’s people
We have pointedly failed to warn believers about the
possibility of this scenario befalling them in the age to come. Instead
we invest
most of our resources teaching them to be more personally successful
and fulfilled on earth. To whom does this parable apply at this time,
if not to servants of the Lord? We have generally failed to equip God’s
people how to plant, how to cultivate, and how to harvest in order
to give the Lord his share of the crop at the coming of the Son of
Man.
Matthew 24:36 “No one knows about that day or
hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.
37 As it was
in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.
38 For in the days before the flood, people were eating and
drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark;
39 and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came
and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the
Son of Man.
“Eating and drinking”
In the days just before the flood, the lost were “eating and
drinking, marrying and giving in marriage”---enjoying their lives
according to the empty and sinful ways of the world. Then the flood
came and took them all away. It will be like this at the soon appearing
of Jesus Christ.
…42 “Therefore keep watch, because you
do not know on what day your Lord will come. 43 But understand this:
If the owner
of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming,
he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken
into. 44 So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come
at an hour when you do not expect him.
45 “Who then is the faithful and wise servant,
whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household
to give them their
food at the proper time? 46 It will be good for that servant whose
master finds him doing so when he returns. 47 I tell you the truth,
he will put him in charge of all his possessions.
We should teach God’s people that the Lord has assigned to each
of us a specific task to perform--- “it’s like a man going
away: He leaves his house and puts his servants in charge, each with
his assigned task, and tells the one at the door to keep watch” (Mark
13:34). We must urge the Lord’s people to be faithful and fruitful
in performing their tasks so that when Christ returns, he will find
them doing their jobs. They will be well rewarded in the age to come.
The Lord is most gracious and generous to faithful disciples.
But there will be servants among us who “eat
and drink”
48 But suppose that servant is wicked and says to himself, ‘My
master is staying away a long time,’ 49 and he then begins to
beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards. 50 The
master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him
and at an hour he is not aware of. 51 He will cut him to pieces and
assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping
and gnashing of teeth.
We must warn God’s people not “to eat and drink with drunkards.” This
was precisely what the people of Noah’s day were doing when the
flood came. They were enjoying their lives according to the ways of
the world. Christians who are living like unbelievers---even though
they attend church faithfully and even tithe---will not be ready for
the Lord’s return. They will be assigned a place with the unbelievers
where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth (Luke 12:46). The
Church is obligated to issue this sober warning to God’s people.
What is the meaning of “the harvest” for us as
tenants?
What tasks has the Lord assigned to us? Obviously we have each been
given different callings and gifts. However, every believer is called
to have some part in sharing the gospel to the lost as part of the
Great Commission.
Luke 10:1 After this the Lord appointed seventy-two
others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place
where he was about
to go. 2 He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers
are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers
into his harvest field.
The very
first parable at the beginning of this study, the Parable of the
Tenants, also involved a harvest. The landowner
demanded a share
of the crop from the tenants at harvest time. In Luke 10 here the Lord
is referring to the harvest field of precious souls which have been
and are to be reaped and brought into the kingdom of God before his
second coming.
These souls are “his share of the crop” which he demands
and expects from us.
What will
he do if we fail to deliver to him his share of the crop, if we continually
fail to complete the Great Commission,
even after
2,000 years? As he did to the Jews when they rejected Jesus, will he
take the vineyard away from us and rent it to other tenants
who will give him his share of the crop at harvest time? Will he
raise
up
a faithful
remnant
who
will
make the Great Commission its highest priority? Will he be displeased
with a Church which is now “eating and drinking” with the
world and not performing her assigned task of planting and reaping
the harvest?
Most of us do not emphasize the primary task of the Church
The Great Commission is the primary task of the Church.
Yet most of us leaders do not focus on the Great Commission, but
rather on meeting
the various needs of the flock. The hope is that by meeting people’s
needs, the lost will come to the church and eventually into the kingdom
of God. But such an approach to evangelizing the lost has clearly failed.
Those who do come to our meetings, as pointed out earlier, are mostly
Christians who were dissatisfied with their previous churches and have
now come to us for greener grass. As for the lost, they are generally
not interested in coming to church. Clearly we will not fulfill the
Great Commission simply by preaching the gospel to the choir at church
services.
Some churches
do send out or support home and foreign missionaries in the harvest
field, and for that we are very grateful to the Lord. But
more often
than
not it is just an afterthought and obligation not to be neglected,
especially during the summer months when the kids are on vacation
and need to
be kept busy. And so we send them on a mission trip to Mexico to paint
an orphanage or for some other worthy project. But our actual primary
focus---the "real" job at hand---is on growing our local
church and growing
it big, God
willing.
Size generally
means success
in the eyes of the Christian community as well as the world. It feels
great to be considered successful in the eyes of man.
Pastoring
a growing church is of course not necessarily wrong. The key question
is: is our growing church the Lord's blessing for our sincere and
scriptural obedience to the Great Commission? Or is it the result
of giving people
what they want to hear and the skillful tickling of their itching
ears?
Repent
We must repent of our disobedience. We must remember what the Lord
does to those who fail to give him his share of the crop and who fail
to perform their assigned tasks. We must remember that two thousand
years ago our meek Savior gave his life for us through immeasurable
suffering on the cross in order that we might have the gift of eternal
life. What should happen after we believe on him? He will graciously
teach and enable us to obey his commands and to bear fruit for him.
In thankfulness to him for what he has done for us, we will labor in
his harvest field and reap precious souls for the kingdom of God. We
will give him his share of the crop when he returns.
Yes, in a sense Jesus is “a hard man.” He
has earned that right by his obedience unto death on a cross for
our sake.
What are our wages for laboring in the Lord’s
harvest field?
John 4:35 Do you not say, ‘Four months more and then the harvest’?
I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for
harvest. 36 Even now the reaper draws his wages, even now he
harvests the crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be
glad together. 37 Thus the saying ‘One sows and another reaps’ is
true. 38 I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have
done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor.”
Above are the words of Jesus himself. Verse 36 is most
interesting. It speaks of even now the reaper drawing his wages for
his labor. What
are those wages? It has to do with eternal life: “even now he
harvests the crop for eternal life.” In light of this revelation,
it is reasonable to ask whether or not working in the Lord’s
harvest field is in fact optional for a believer. We are not saying
that every believer must be a frontline missionary like Peter or Paul.
But it is highly arguable that every believer should have some part,
according to the talents given him, as a laborer in the Lord’s
harvest field.
John 15:5 “I am the vine; you are the branches.
If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart
from me you can
do nothing. 6 If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch
that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown
into the fire and burned.
If we are a true disciple of Jesus Christ, we will bear much fruit
for him as his share of the crop. If we do not bear fruit, like a dead
branch we will be thrown into the fire and burned. We will of course
have nothing---no share of the crop---to give him when he returns.
Yes, Jesus is the gentle and humble Savior who gave
himself for us. Therefore when he returns in his Father’s glory,
he must be given what is due him---the harvest of disciples who will
serve his kingdom
and reign with him in the age to come.
The Great Commission
Mark 16:15 He said to them, “Go into all the
world and preach the good news to all creation. 16 Whoever believes
and is baptized
will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. 17 And
these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will
drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; 18 they will pick
up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will
not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and
they will get well.”
19 After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up into heaven
and he sat at the right hand of God. 20 Then the disciples went out
and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed
his word by the signs that accompanied it.
Matthew 28:18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All
authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore
go and make
disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father
and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey
everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to
the very end of the age.”
A final word
Revelation 22:12 “Behold, I am coming soon! My
reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what
he has done. 13 I
am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and
the End.
Jesus
did not say that he would give to everyone according to what
he has believed, but according to what he
has done. True saving faith
in Jesus Christ will result in obedience to his commands. And his final
command before he left for heaven was for us to preach the gospel to
all creation and to make disciples of all nations. When he returns,
he will demand and expect from us his share of the crop---the fruit
of the harvest. This will in part determine our eternal reward from
him.
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