Law & Grace - Matthew 20:1-34 "Two Gospels"
Matthew 20 · Vern Peterman · Mar 11, 2012
Law & Grace, No. 58
Holly Hills Bible Church
https://www.hollyhillsbiblechurch.org/teaching/messages/492636173715

Transcribed from the recording by SermonAudio, so expect the occasional misheard word.

Good morning. We are going to be moving into this passage here. I'd like to first give a status. Where are we? Since November 2010, we've been studying through passages on the topic of law and grace. Our aim, of course, is to have a very clear understanding of what is law, what is the principle of law, and what was meant and intended by that, and of grace, and what is the principle of grace. And so we've been focusing on that.

We began by exploring 16 Old Testament passages and topics on the principle of law as the reigning principle for the nation and people of Israel, who, as 1 Corinthians 10.2 says, were baptized into Moses. We began our study of the book of Matthew almost a year ago this month, and we're seeing how Jesus came specifically to the land and people of Israel. people under a principle of law. And Jesus actually, in much of the Gospels, underscored that principle of law among these people. In each case, however, we've explored these topics and passages explaining the meanings of God's Word so that we, who are in the church, will grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

2 Peter 3.18. You have this on your handout, top part of the page. And by the way, that number that we'll see in the lower corner there is referencing what page we're on.

And so this is to make clear before we go into today's passage that there is, as a pattern throughout scripture, and we've taken samplings of it, Actually, from Genesis to Revelation, two gospels. One is a gospel of substitution, that is, that Christ died in our place. And then the gospel of the kingdom, that Christ the Messiah will reign in the coming kingdom. So those two separate gospels are themes carried throughout the Old and New Testaments.

The gospel of substitution, of Christ as the one who died in our place, starts off in Genesis 3.15 and continues on in several different places in the book of Revelation, as we'll look at shortly. The Gospel of the Kingdom begins with the covenant with Abraham starting in Genesis 12 and continues through Genesis and through the Old Testament and into the last book of the Bible in several different places. Both those Gospels and both roles for Christ are taught throughout Scripture.

The gospel of substitution, basically we say substitution, Christ died in our place. The sum total of that is that Christ died for our sins and was buried and rose again. The person who believes that gospel is saved. That's what we mean by the gospel of substitution. It begins with Christ dying in our place, taking our sins that were due us on himself. centered on the cross.

Now, you have on the bottom part of that same page passages that carry that same parallel set of gospel themes in the Gospels, that is in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. We have here, initially in this Luke passage, this is where Mary is told by the angel Gabriel about how Jesus will come to fulfill the gospel of the kingdom.

Mary was told about he will be on the throne of his father David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever and his kingdom will have no end. That's the gospel of the kingdom message. Interestingly, Mary was told about the gospel of the kingdom message and Christ's central role in that.

Joseph, on the other hand, was told that Jesus saved the people from their sins. This is the gospel of substitution where Christ would die for them. Isn't it interesting how each of them was given a different gospel message about the role of Christ. John the Baptist in John chapter 1 verses 29 and 36 gives the gospel of substitution message not the gospel of the Kingdom message when he says Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world."

However, the same John the Baptist, along with Christ, in Matthew 3 and 4, say, repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. The gospel of the kingdom is the pattern there. In Matthew 10, Jesus sends out Twelve disciples and tells them tell people that the kingdom of heaven is at hand. It's the gospel of the kingdom that they're spreading He told them to go only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel Not even on a road that leads to the Gentiles In Matthew 12 40 and 16 21 and some other places we'll look at this morning.

I Christ says that he must die and rise again. He begins to give the gospel of substitution message to the disciples. And finally, we see there Jesus is crucified, buried, and raised, appearing to as many as 500 witnesses at once, as the Apostle Paul records for us. And the Gospel of the Kingdom, Christ ascends from the Mount of Olives to return to the Mount of Olives at the Second Coming.

Zechariah 14.4 records the Lord returning to the exact same place when he comes again. So you have these parallel themes, Gospel of the Substitution, Gospel of the Kingdom, that are carried on through the Gospels. Finally, shifting back to the chart that's at the top there of that very same page, We have, as we had initially up here, the lion and the lamb in the background of this chart.

And there's a reason for that, and that is Revelation 1.18, He is the Living One, Christ is the Living One.

Revelation 5.9, Christ purchased for God with your blood.

And then Revelation 5.6 through 22.3, the last chapter of the Bible. Christ is called the Lamb. Why? It's the completion and fulfillment of the gospel of substitution. Isn't it interesting that on into eternity we will know that Christ is the Lamb who paid the price for us? And finally, Revelation also has the gospel of the kingdom. Christ is the Lion of Judah. He is the one who has the sword in his mouth. and he is the one who will reign for 1,000 years.

Now, if you're interested in studying this more, because this was a very quick introduction and summary, and for some of you, repetition, there is at the bottom of the page there a place where you can listen to more audio and get more handouts. We actually studied this for two weeks, what we just went over quickly. So if you're interested in more detail, that's there. Here's the link in a little larger font. And I think Nancy was just telling me we also have some paper copies on the cabinet to the right as you exit this room. So if you want more detail on that, feel free to take advantage of those resources.

The gospel of the kingdom was spelled out earlier in our study of the book of Matthew in this way. Jesus was going throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and clue, who has synagogues? The Jews, right? It was a message directed to the Jews, and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness among the people. And we'll see why the healing goes along with that in a little bit here. This is, by the way, beginning on page 2 in your handout.

And Jesus was going, and this is from Matthew 9.35, very similar verbiage. Jesus was going through all the villages, excuse me, cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, again, synagogues indicating it's to Jews, and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and again, healing every disease, excuse me, every kind of disease and every kind of sickness.

Most of Matthew 20 that we'll be studying this morning is dealing with the gospel of the kingdom. It is that gospel, not the one of Christ died in your place. And the gospel of substitution, that is that Christ died in your place, was buried, and rose again, that's presented in Matthew. In Matthew, Jesus presented that he would die and be buried and raised, and in fact records that.

Matthew 1240 is the first place where it shows up. Interestingly, he goes 12 chapters in before he introduces that gospel. 1621 is the next place, and it's one year before his actual crucifixion, approximately. 1723, he additionally says it, and as we'll see in today's passage, Matthew 20, 18 and 19, Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death, and will hand him over to the Gentiles to mock and scourge and crucify him, and on the third day he will be raised up. Matthew 20, 28 is also in this chapter, and also points to the gospel of substitution. Now, Matthew chapter 20 has four parts. The first part, 1 through 16, is part of the gospel of the kingdom. It's the parable of the vineyard workers. The Gospel of Substitution, as Courtney read for us, verses 17 through 19.

Christ is going up to Jerusalem. And by the way, if you're starting below sea level at Jericho and climbing up to Jerusalem, it's up. So when he says up, he's not speaking a euphemism there. Going up to Jerusalem to give his life and rise again on the third day.

The gospel of the kingdom, then the gospel of substitution is given in 20-28. Rank in the kingdom is what's at issue there. The coming kingdom where Christ will reign on earth. Then Christ dying as a ransom payment is brought out in that passage. And finally in the fourth part, verses 29-34, is additional gospel of the kingdom message. Healing two blind men as validation that Christ is the Messiah. And we'll talk about that again shortly here.

Now, the first 16 verses, Jesus talks about labors in the vineyard. It's a parable that he puts forth in order to bring out a lesson. Now, it was real common in biblical times for someone would have a vineyard and it would take focused periods of time with a lot of labor in order to get the work done. I myself have worked in the vineyard. That was a while ago, and to give you a clue, I got paid a dollar and a quarter an hour. So that was quite some time ago. But Jesus tells the disciples a parable of a vineyard owner who hires laborers to work in his vineyard, first early, no time given, but early, then at 9 a.m., noon, 3 p.m., and 5 p.m. And that comes from the idea of what's given there, the third hours, 9 a.m., 6 hours, noon, etc. So that's the pattern in the Jewish manner of setting out time. He then pays them all, the vineyard owner, pays them all as if they had each worked a full day, a denarius each. A denarius was a typical day's wages. There's what a denarius looks like. And so that would be a typical day's wages for a worker.

So the ones who started the day early, seeing that these others got paid more, expected to get paid even more than them. Well, the vineyard owner said that he's free to be generous with these others who started earlier, but go ahead and pay the ones who started early in the day what they had agreed to be paid.

And so that parable was given. in regards to the Kingdom of Heaven as part of the Gospel of the Kingdom message. There would be Jews who started early as workers for the Gospel of the Kingdom, and some would start later. As a matter of fact, at the end of this chapter, we're going to find two who started very late, just in the week before Christ was crucified. Whereas here were the disciples who had been around for three years. But Jews who responded to the gospel of the kingdom later would also be granted entry, even though they were late.

Entry into the kingdom. Most of us, of course, are not Jews. And likely none of us are counting on living in Israel as an Israelite in the coming kingdom. But there are some parallel principles that apply to us in the church. There will in fact be some who are saved while they are young.

I myself am one of those. I insisted that my parents tell me the gospel when I was four and a half. I told them I've waited long enough. Okay. Those who believe when they are young and those who believe in the last days of their lives will both be saved eternally, be placed into Christ, be blessed with every spiritual blessing.

So I'm going to tell you the tale of two grandmothers. All right, it goes like this. This was my mom's mom, Eva. This was my dad's mom, Hazel. Two grandmothers. Eva was at home. When the 1906 earthquake, you heard about all the ruckus that that caused in San Francisco. In the middle of the earthquake, a lady came up to my grandmother while the house was shaking and rolling and everything and the piano was banging from wall to wall and said, Eva, wouldn't now be a good time for you to trust Jesus? That got her attention.

Evangelistic opportunities don't come up like that all the time, right? So Eva went on to be a missionary to the cannibals in the Fiji Islands. Matter of fact, this is the village where she was stationed, over in Fiji Islands, and she was a missionary to the cannibals. And she had all kinds of stories I won't take the time to tell.

So that's Eva. Now Hazel, on the other hand, was my dad's mom. And there's a picture of her with one of her daughters right in front of her last home, last earthly home. Now, Hazel resisted the gospel. I can remember many times her hearing the gospel, but just clamming up. She would just be expressionless and no response. Now, they both died, interestingly enough, at about 87 years of age. died after being a believer for 74 years. Hazel died after being a believer for only three weeks. She became a believer in the last three weeks of her life.

And yet, what's interesting, were they not both saved eternally? Yes, they were both saved eternally. They were both placed into Christ and Christ in them, right? They were both blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. Some come early and some come late, but their position in Christ and who they are in Christ is the same. They both walked through heaven's gates. That's the tale of two grandmothers. We'll move on.

Jesus said to them, In 17 through 19, as Courtney read for us, I'm going to die and be raised up. So as they're going up to Jerusalem, Jesus tells his disciples, he's going to be crucified and raised up on the third day. Believing the gospel of substitution, that is that Christ died in our place, that Christ the Son of God died for your sins and was buried and rose again, is alone what saves you. That's the gospel. That's what needs to be believed. Salvation is by faith in God's provision through Christ. It is not our own merit. Even our having faith is not our merit. It's our having confidence in His merit and what He has done and who He is.

So Jesus is telling them this news and they're not going for it. The disciples understood and even preached the gospel of the kingdom, and they knew clearly what it was all about. As a matter of fact, Jesus sent out these twelve with these instructions. Do not go in the way of the Gentiles. Do not enter any city of the Samaritans. Rather, go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel as you do preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand.

He sent them out with those instructions. They understood it. They went out and did it, and they came back and rejoiced in the things that had happened. They understood that gospel. They did not understand nor believe the gospel of substitution at this point in time.

This gospel of his death for sins, his burial, and his resurrection, not included. Mark 9, 30 through 32. And you can look at Luke 9, 43-45 in parallel. Anyway, Mark 9, 30-32 says this, "...for He was teaching His disciples and telling them, The Son of Man is to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill Him, and when He has been killed, He will rise three days later." Verse 32, "...but they did not understand this statement, and they were afraid to ask Him." What's He talking about? I don't know. Don't ask. Right?

So now, Now in verses 20-28, the mother of James and John, the sons of Zebedee, as a matter of fact, the nickname that Jesus gave them, the sons of thunder. I'm not sure why he called them the sons of thunder, maybe they were really loud like me. So, she comes up and makes an appeal to Jesus for her sons who are there. And my guess is they're in on this appeal. for them to be seated exactly to his right and his left I mean the two best seats for her sons in his coming kingdom when he would reign over the land and people of Israel in this coming kingdom so Jesus answers and by the way this is plural so he's not answering just her Jesus answered James and John. So here's the mother making the request, and Jesus is turning to James and John.

He says, you guys put her up to this, didn't you? So he responds to them, you, plural, do not know what you're asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink? And they said to him, we are able. And no, they're not. Right? No, they're not. So Jesus says, OK, my cup you shall drink. You will but to sit on my right and on my left It is for those to whom it has been prepared by my father.

It's not mine to give Both James and John would indeed suffer and that's the cup that Jesus is talking about James would be the first of the Apostles to die. This is the first couple verses in Acts chapter 12. It's the one death of an apostle recorded right in the New Testament, dying at the orders of Herod Agrippa. And these two brothers were kind of like bookends of the Apostles. So here's James the first to die, and John the last.

John, by a much later account, was boiled in oil. That's not in the Bible, but that's according to an extra biblical recording. But didn't die, so he was exiled to Patmos. And so they tried to kill him, but he didn't die. So they said, well, the best we can do is, you know, if you're not going to die, we'll put you on Patmos. So he's exiled to Patmos.

And he writes about that in Revelation 1.9, that he is there on the Isle of Patmos.

As for the two treasured seats just to the right or the left, these two would be assigned by his father. You see, It's very interesting the roles that the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit have. Are they all not full deity? Yes, they are. What is interesting is that they have certain specific roles and functions and places. It's not like three and they're all the same.

They have stepped into those certain roles and the Son has agreed to be subservient to the Father. various areas, and this being one of them. The Father is the one who will call the shots. There's an example of that in Acts chapter 1 verse 7. There are certain things that are left to God the Father, including setting the pivotal times and epochs in this earth.

This also means that the Father will likely call the time when Christ comes for us, the church, as his bride. What's interesting is the Jewish wedding ceremony has an interesting custom in it. And the custom is that the father tells the son, go get your bride. So this will be likely something called for by the father telling Christ, go get your bride, us, the church.

As you can expect, the other 10 become indignant. What are these guys doing? Man, this is terrible. And so they're ticked off that James and John have had, oh, the mother of all, request this, right? And so anyway, Jesus has already told them in the prior chapter, Matthew 19.28, that they would be judges over the tribes of Israel. So it's like, look, you guys already have a promise of some special place. What are you guys doing going asking for additional special placement beyond that just for the two of you? You've got to be kidding me.

Jesus said that seeking a high rank is just not where it's at. That's of course my paraphrase. The Gentile rulers, Jesus tells them, lorded over their subjects, but that's not what the disciples are to seek for themselves. Don't be looking for higher ranks so that you can be heavy-handed over those under your charge. He says this is a servant thing, not a ruler thing.

It's very interesting that Peter, when he writes in 1 Peter 5, 1-4, seems like he eventually got it, writing several decades later. Therefore I exhort the elders among you as your fellow elder and witness of the sufferings of Christ, which he of course did. And I partake also of the glory that is to be revealed. Shepherd the flock of God among you. exercising oversight, and not under compulsion, but voluntarily, according to the will of God, and not for sordid gain, but with eagerness, nor yet as lording it over those allotted to your charge." So Peter got the idea.

This principle of why I want the high positions, and I want high rank, No, it's not a matter of that. It's not a matter of, boy, I'm in charge, and I'm the boss, and I'm the general. But proving to be examples to the flock, and when the chief shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.

So now, the very last verse in that particular passage, Matthew 20, 28, Jesus says that he came not only to serve, certainly conveyed that in that part of the passage, came to serve in his first coming to earth, but also to give his life a ransom for many. Now, what's a ransom? We encounter the term frequently in a kidnapping, right? It's to buy somebody back.

But the idea is Christ paid the price. Christ paid the price to buy us. As a matter of fact, It was interesting when we, matter of fact it was just about a year ago we were facing up to this. Our friend from Uganda, Hassan, had to buy his wife with three cows and four goats and some chickens, right? So that was the bride price. What was Christ's bride price for us?

His life, okay? He gave us life. That was the bride price that he paid. to buy us the ransom that he paid. The second half of this verse then conveys the gospel of substitution, to give his life a ransom for many. He would pay the price, do you and me.

Christ did not go reluctantly to the cross. He didn't go kicking and screaming, No! No! This is unfair! You've got the wrong guy! Don't do this! He didn't do that, did he? The Bible says repeatedly that he gave his life. To give his life. Did you see that in here? To give his life is a ransom for many. He did not go kicking and screaming. He did not go reluctantly. He went voluntarily. He said, please put the nails in. Please put them in.

John 3.16, God loved and He gave.

Galatians 2.20, Christ loved and He gave. Ephesians chapter 5, He loved and He gave.

Some people are really caught up with the idea of trying to find fault. It was this group's fault. It was the Jews. It was the Gentiles. It's their fault. It's their fault. Guess what? It's my fault. He was up there for my sins. It's not a matter of don't point a finger at some group. He volunteered to be there for me and for you. not reluctantly, not looking for who do we blame for this.

Jesus gave his life because he loves you. For the joy set before him he endured the cross. He didn't say, well okay I guess so. For the joy set before him he endured the cross. The joy of fellowship and relationship with you, he says, is well worth it. It's a bargain. I'll take it.

Jesus then, and these are the ones who come late, who are the late hires in the vineyard, so to speak. Here are the two who come late about a week before Christ's crucifixion. On his way through Jericho, or about that area, this event appears to be about the same time as that of Zacchaeus, the tax collector, that is recorded in Luke 19, 1-10. The two blind men appeal to Jesus, and they call him Son of David. By the way, the Son of David term, which gospel is that? The gospel of the kingdom, right? So they call upon him as the Son of David. So they appeal to him.

We're blind, and there's nothing we can do to fix it, but you can. So Jesus, seeing them, has compassion on them and restores their sight. They follow him after that, which of course says that they became disciples, certainly not one of the twelve, but disciples to follow Jesus. Of course, it helps they can see now, right?

At a momentous time, within a week, he would be crucified. Within a week, he would be crucified. And we might ask, why the healing miracles here? Jesus performed miracles of healing as a validation and verification that he was indeed the long-promised Messiah. The prophets had said these would mark the Messiah, and it gives several passages here in Isaiah alone. Christ the Messiah, when he comes, will be marked by healing those who are lame, healing those who are blind, and preaching the gospel to the poor.

So Jesus exercised compassion there in Jericho, even though he would be crucified in a week. Isn't it interesting that Christ didn't come and say, you know guys, I'd really like to heal you, but this whole crucifixion thing has kind of got my mind all turned around, and I can't focus on that, because this is really tough. Isn't it amazing that he's a week away from being crucified, from going through this horrific, horrible time, And yet he notices these two men and has compassion on them. He's not so full of the anguish that he can't express love and compassion to these men.

Remember the gospel of the kingdom that we spoke about earlier? This is a slide at the start of page two. Jesus was going throughout all Galilee teaching their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom. And what? In addition to that, Healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness among the people. Why? It's a validation. It's a verification that He is indeed the Messiah. He is the One. Healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness.

Both places, Matthew 4.23 and 9.35, they go together. Proclaiming the Gospel of the Kingdom goes along with doing the healing that He did. That's a validation and verification. of who he was and that his claim to be the Messiah was true.

So, I've got a question for you, or maybe you've already asked it. Why would Jesus tell the disciples things he knew they didn't understand? Sometimes, you know, Nancy and I have had this fun little exercise. I'll explain something to her. And she goes, I don't understand. So for a long time, I would say the exact same words to her, and she'd say, I still don't understand. And she'd say, wait a minute, use different words, right?

But the thing is, Jesus would tell them in different ways, and they still didn't understand. They still weren't getting it. They understood very well the gospel of the kingdom, they did not at all understand what he was saying about the gospel of substitution. That Christ would die for sins and be buried and rise again. They didn't get it.

Jesus tells his disciples about this again and again, even that he will give his life a ransom, and they do not understand. Why? Why would he keep telling them this? Why tell them at all if they don't get it, especially after you keep telling them again and again? Well, here's why.

John 14, 26. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, He will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. So later on, they're going to go remember this and, hey, you guys remember that? Yeah, he said that. As a matter of fact, That's what the gospel writers did. They wrote down that he told us. They did remember. They did bring it to mind. And so that's why as the years went on, matter of fact, as the decades went on, they made discovery after discovery. They had aha moments. Aha! Now I get it! That's what that was about. Even as Thomas said, no, I'm not going to believe until I see the wounds. He's been telling him for over a year. And Thomas says, no, I don't believe it. Right?

He makes the discovery finally after Jesus has risen and says, my Lord and my God. Christ, resurrected, talks to Peter on the shore of Galilee. Feed my sheep. Feed my lambs. Peter discovers the Lord still has use and a plan for him. The disciples are still asking questions when Jesus goes up into the heavens and he ascends. Isn't that amazing? Hey, we've got questions and you've... Bye! But they're making discoveries all the way along. On the day of Pentecost, they first began revealing things that they had begun to learn. And we're making discoveries. But that wasn't the end.

Peter, discovering that the gospel was for the Gentiles, about a decade later, goes and gives the gospel to the Gentile house of Cornelius in Caesarea. The apostle Paul makes the amazing discovery on the road to Damascus. They gather together in the council in Jerusalem, recorded in Acts 15. and say, no, we shouldn't put the Gentiles under law. The Apostle Paul is sent out to go to the Gentile lands, preaching to Jews first, and then the Gentiles in the Gentile lands.

But you know what? The apostles make discoveries for decades. And that's what we see in the book of Acts. That's what we see when we start lining up when the books were written. Making discoveries for decades about what has already happened. Making discoveries for decades about what's already taken place. All writings that were identified with Christ in his crucifixion, in his burial, in his resurrection, his ascension and seeding. Do you know that the ascension and seeding part was not revealed until three decades after Christ was ascended and seeded?

They were catching up to the truth of things that had already taken place. But you know, that's really in the same position we're in. The same position we're in. Our own lives as believers are intended by God to be a series of aha moments. Oh, now I get it. Now I understand. Continually discovering what God has already done at the beginning.

I discover, oh, not only did Christ pay for my sins, but I was there that day, identified with Him. As Paul wrote to the Galatians, I have been crucified with Christ. Discovering who we are in Christ and who Christ is in us. Paul wrote to the Colossians, may the word of Christ dwell in you richly. Have you discovered that?

He wants us to be constantly amazed at his grace. A grace so amazing that it will spend eternity showing, and that word means demonstrating, His grace to us on into the rolling ages of eternity as we gasp in awe forever. Ephesians 2, 7. Always catching up to, always discovering and learning about what God has already done. Amazed at His grace. I think that's why on into the new heavens and new earth we'll still call Christ the Lamb because we'll be discovering what that means forever. Amazing grace, absolutely astounding grace.

Let's pray. Lord, we thank you as we look at this passage, as we look at the things that you're communicating and telling the disciples, we thank you for the cascade of discoveries that we can make by what you've revealed and by your Holy Spirit's work in us. And we just pray as we look at this passage here this morning that we would continue to discover the things that you have for us. We give you thanks for it all and most especially for your amazing grace. We pray in Jesus name. Amen.