Reward and Reckoning

Audio Player

Back in October we went to Ireland on holiday. We stayed in a village called Moira. When you enter Moira you see a wall written in big letters: "the coming of the Lord draweth nigh." It's taken from James 5:8. If you were sat in the traffic what would make of that sign? Some of us may think, "Yeah right?! That's just a fairy tale!" Some of us may think, "It's true but it just feels so far off, and I hardly ever think about it." Our problem is that Jesus' return just seems so far off. But back in Jesus' day they had the opposite problem. Many people felt that God's king was going to destroy the Romans and rule imminently.

What we think about tomorrow affects how we live today. Jesus want us to live in the light of his return so he tells a parable. Luke gives us the reason for the parable in verse 11. He says:

"While they were listening to this, he went on to tell them a parable, because he was near Jerusalem and the people thought that the kingdom of God was going to appear at once."

Jesus wants people to understand that he must leave before returning in power. The parable tells us that the returning Jesus will bring reward and reckoning. Jesus' parable corrects their thinking then, and our thinking now.

In the parable we meet a man of noble birth. He must go to a distant country to be made king and then return. Before he leaves he gathers 10 servants. To each servant he gives a mina – something like the equivalent of 3 months wages back then. He tells them to put the mina to good work, and then he leaves to be crowned. As he leaves his own subject send a delegation after him to say, "We don't want this man to be king." His own subjects have rebelled. And so he returns as king. First off he meets his servants. The first one made 10 minas from 1! So he is rewarded with the task of governing 10 cities. The second made 5 minas from 1! So he is rewarded with the task of governing 5 cities.

The third servant says he hid his mina in a piece of cloth and has made nothing. His reason, he was scared of his master. He thinks him a hard man, and someone who takes what he hasn't earnt. So the master is so unhappy he cries out "You wicked servant!" He says if you thought I was such a hard man why didn't you put my money in a bank to earn interest? To which there is no answer. The third servant's mina is taken away from him in judgment. And in another act of judgment the rebels are to be brought before the king to be executed.

In the parable we meet a king. Someone who pictures in some way the Christ – God's king. Just as the noble man must leave to be crowned, so the Christ must die and rise again. Now ascended, the Christ rules in heaven. Just as the king returns to bring reward and reckoning, so the Christ will return to bring reward and reckoning. To see how the returning Christ will bring reward and reckoning we're going to focus on the three characters we meet. First, we're going to take the insurgent subjects. That's my first point. The insurgent subjects. We're told in verse 14:

"But his subjects hated him and sent a delegation after him to say, 'We don't want this man to be our king.'

But their insurgency is futile. Verse 27 is tells us how the king says:

"those enemies of mine who did not want me to be king over them--bring them here and kill them in front of me."

The subjects picture the Jewish leaders who flatly rejected Jesus' claim to God's king. And their execution at the end pictures God's judgement on those who reject Jesus. It's a picture of Hell. A separation from God and his goodness. The parable tells us that resisting Jesus is futile.

Harry Randall Truman lived in the shadow of Mt St Helens by Spirit Lake. In 1980 the volcano became active. The town was evacuated. An evacuation order arrived on Harry's doorstep which he refused. He was recorded to say, "I don't have any idea whether it will blow… But I don't believe it to the point that I'm going to pack up…This area is heavily timbered, Spirit Lake is in between me and the mountain, and the mountain is a mile away, the mountain ain't gonna hurt me... boy." But on May 18th 1980 a pyroclastic flow engulfed Spirit Lake. His house was buried under 46 metres of volcanic debris.

Resisting the volcano was futile. So resisting Jesus is futile. I remember asking one of my old housemates about Jesus' return. My housemate simply replied, "I'll deal with it when it happens." But the reality is we can't deal with Jesus when he returns or when we die. It's too late. Where will you be in 100 years time? The success of your life is defined by how you respond to Jesus. Submit to Jesus as your savior and Lord. Now, before his return, is the time to leave the insurgency. Now is the time to trust Jesus with your sin and bow to him as king. He bore your sin on the cross so you could have eternal life. The returning Christ will bring rescue and reckoning. What will he bring you?

If you're a believer already, we've got to let the reality of judgment move us to share the gospel. It's not the only motivator, but's one. Frank Retief, a South African bishop told his clergy to organize their diaries around the mission statement that without Christ people go to hell. So let's pray and plan for our friends to come to carols this Christmas. Let's pray for opportunities to speak of Jesus before our families visit us.

The second group of people we meet in Jesus' parable are the sincere servants. That's my second point, the sincere servants. The servants of the king are given three months wages to invest for the king. In verse 16, the one who earns 10 mina, is rewarded with the task of governing 10 cities. What an incredible reward for making two and half years' wages profit! Even the servant who makes 5 minas in verse 18 is rewarded with the task of governing 5 cities. The reward far outweighs what they did for the king. It's a truly generous reward.

Who do these servants picture? They picture the servants of Jesus, those who submit to him and serve him as Lord and savior. These servants aren't earning a place in the kingdom, they're being rewarded for their service. Followers of Jesus never earn their place in his kingdom, it's a free gift. We saw that last week in Zacchaeus. The biggest sinner in town welcomed into the kingdom. Jesus came to seek and save the lost. So this parable is not about the salvation of believers, but the reward of believers.

Let me illustrate that. Last week I saw the film Robin Hood Prince of Thieves on T.V. In the film the king has been away fighting in the crusades. While the king was away, the Sheriff of Nottingham has been mounting a rebellion. Robin has remained loyal to the king by fighting against the Sheriff. Right at the end of the film, Robin is about the marry Maid Marian the King's Cousin. Sean Connery, playing Richard the Lionheart enters. They all bow to the king. The king beckons Robin to stand up. Already part of His kingdom, now is the time for reward. He calls him Lord Loxley, the loyal servant has his family's estate restored to him. But there's more. The king gives his permission for Robin to marry Marian, he now enjoys the full privilege of being in the king's family. What a reward!

When the good king returns there is reckoning; the rebellion is over. But there's also reward for faithfulness. But the story of the good king bringing reward and reckoning is a true story. It's the story of Jesus. If Jesus is your Lord it's your story too! Jesus will one day bring you reward.

So when you lock up after music practice on a cold Tuesday night and you wonder if it's worth it…when you turn the TV off on Monday night to prep Sunday School and you think, "What am I doing?"...When you inhale your dinner to get to prayer meeting and wonder is this worth it…When you look at your bank statement and see your outgoing going to a missionary and you wonder is this a good use of my cash?... Jesus answers loud and clear, "Your faithful service is worth it! One day, I'll say, Well done my good servant!" One day Jesus will replace the grit with glory!

So in light of that. Let's get stewarding the gifts he has given us. Look at your fingerprint for a second. It's unique to you. So are the gifts God has given you to invest for his kingdom. He's given you time, money, resources and gifts for the sake of the gospel. Some of us have more or less time, money and resources. We all certainly have different gifts. If you're following Jesus you've been given gifts of grace for the glory of God. So let's steward them well until he returns.

Two questions to ask. Firstly, apart from Sundays, is there one area of service in the church life you can serve the gospel in? Secondly, is there one group, be that a home group, women's fellowship or HTG Youth you can really commit to serving. To get to know the members well, to speak the gospel into their lives, to love them, to pray for them? And remember it's worth it. For the returning Christ will bring reward and reckoning.

Lastly, we come to the third character we meet. The sham servant. That's my final point. The other servant fails to invest his mina. He hides it in a piece of cloth. Let's see what he says to the king in verse 21:

21 I was afraid of you, because you are a hard man. You take out what you did not put in and reap what you did not sow.'

He calls the king hard. Yet we've seen the king be incredibly generous to the other servants. He accuses the king of taking what he did not work for. So let's see how the king responds in verse 22:

22 "His master replied, 'I will judge you by your own words, you wicked servant! You knew, did you, that I am a hard man, taking out what I did not put in, and reaping what I did not sow? 23 Why then didn't you put my money on deposit, so that when I came back, I could have collected it with interest?'

The king says if you knew I was a hard man, taking what I don't work for, you'd at least have put my money into a bank to earn interest! If the servant's assessment was right he was a fool for not acting on it. If the servant's assessment was wrong he has insulted his master. He's a liar or has seriously misjudged the king. So the king brings judgment. The servant is declared wicked. The servant's mina is taken away. Who does this servant picture? He's represents people associated with Jesus. They perhaps are associated with the church, and even have responsibility in it. Yet their attitude shows they do not see Jesus as gracious, nor have they ever trusted in him. So when Jesus returns they too face judgment because they did not respond to him.

You see knowing Jesus' grace changes you. Trusting in Jesus moves you to serve. If you don't think Jesus is worth extravagant service you haven't grasped his extravagant grace. If you don't think Jesus is the greatest news ever, you haven't got it.

The story of the sham servant is a warning. Maybe you are associated with Jesus. Maybe your parents are believers? Maybe you were baptized? Maybe you know quite a lot about the Bible? Maybe you're happy to take those gifts but you haven't accepted his gift of salvation? Maybe you're happy to come on a Sunday but don't acknowledge him as Lord for the rest of the week? I'm not talking about the down season we all go through at times, or the struggle with sin but a settled refusal to respond to Jesus.

If that's you, Jesus tells this story as a loving warning. He wants you to submit and serve him as Lord. So make time to hear Jesus out. Come to Christianity Explored in January. Inevitably, there'll be lots of things clamouring for your time instead. But remember the success of your life is defined by how you respond to Jesus. One day Jesus will bring reward and reckoning. What will he bring you?

Let's wrap up. Jesus has shown us three groups of characters. Who are you most like? If you are like the insurgent subjects, submit and serve Jesus as Lord. Your success in life is defined by how you respond to him. If you are like the sincere servants keep submitting to and serving Jesus as Lord. One day the grit will be replaced by glory. If you are like the sham servant, submit and serve Jesus as Lord. Because one day Jesus will bring reward and reckoning.

Back to top