Transcription

Connor
You’re listening to the Bible guys, a podcast where a couple of friends talk about the bible in fun and practical ways.

Chris
Hey. Good morning, Jeff.

Jeff
Good morning, Chris. Well By the way or good evening. Yeah. Good afternoon.

Chris
As we’re thinking about when people are listening Yes. Yes. It reminds me that yesterday, I had breakfast with, uh, somebody on staff and then a good friend of mine, and we went to this restaurant called First Watch.

Jeff
Yeah. I love First Watch. Yeah.

Chris
Yeah. Yeah. And one and one of the servers attends Heritage. And she said to me, believe it or not, she says, hey, I listen to the Bible, guys. Oh. And I was like, oh, that’s really cool.

Jeff
Hi, server.

Chris
And she said, I listen to it when I take out my ducks. Ducks. And I said Really? And then and then then the friend of mine said, you mean dogs?

Jeff
She said, no. Ducks. Ducks.

Chris
She says, yeah. I I have I have a couple ducks. They live in the garage. And then I I take them out back and they they walk around. And she goes, and while they’re walking around in the back, uh, before I put them back before I go before I go to work, She says, I have my Bible time.

Jeff
That’s so awesome.

Chris
And I listen to the Bible guys, and I and I’m back there in Okay. In the nature. Alright. And she said, I listen to the podcast While my ducks are in the back eating. Well, there you go. And she that that’s that’s How cool is that? That’s a routine for her. Yeah. And so you know what I said? No. I said, well, maybe I’ll mention You won the Bible, guys. Oh.

Jeff
So I just So there’s the mention.

Chris
And there, I just did.

Jeff
I save server lady.

Chris
Yes. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yes.

Jeff
And and and hello to your ducks.

Chris
Yes.

Jeff
We hope that the ducks are doing well today.

Chris
And, of course, she was wonderful. Great great server.

Jeff
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Does she raise them for the eggs?

Chris
That was She actually, uh, she said they’re avid egg layers Yeah. And she brings them into First Watch all the time.

Jeff
Oh, yeah.

Chris
And so when they, you know, First Watch promotes if if you’re familiar with the restaurant Yeah. Cage free eggs and all that kind of stuff. Yep. Yeah. She actually yeah.

Jeff
Yeah. Duck eggs are good. Yeah.

Chris
Yeah. Yeah.

Jeff
Yeah. That’s great. Isn’t that cool? Yeah. That’s awesome.

Chris
Very neat. Oh, okay. Well, hey. Today, we’re starting out with a segment called two truths and a lie. There you go. And I know it’s Friday, so sometimes we switch it up. Right?

Jeff
Yeah. What makes Chris mad this week? Right. Right. Today is what’s gonna make Chris lie.

Chris
Yeah. That’s right. So Desiree says, come up with two truths and a lie about some of your, get this, past work experiences or present. Okay. And see if Jeff can figure out which statement is a lie.

Jeff
Okay. Great.

Chris
So I did have to think about this one about two minutes ago.

Jeff
Okay.

Chris
And I came up with three, uh, outlandish stories. Okay. Here’s the first one.

Jeff
First one.

Chris
The first one is Is that, um, uh, I had a friend in this small church that I was a part of who was up on stage singing in a quartet. Right? It’s a traditional quartet. Uh-huh. Right? Yes. So four men standing up there, four microphones, and I was in the back of the church. It was a small church so you could see my face. I was making faces at him, trying to get him to laugh.

Jeff
Yes.

Chris
Well, I didn’t realize that it would actually cause him to bust out laughing and ruin the song. And literally, he could not stop laughing and they had to shut the soundtrack off.

Jeff
Oh, no.

Chris
Because they were singing the cassette tapes at the time. And then he calls me out and points me out and says it was Zarbost’s fault he was making me laugh Uh-huh. In front of the whole church.

Jeff
Great.

Chris
That’s story number one.

Jeff
That’s one. Okay. Quartet laughing.

Chris
Story number two. I was sitting on a on a on a stool, uh, like a wooden stool. I had shorts on because I lived in Georgia, so everything was usually shorts. Right? Shorts and t shirt with with with my youth group. And they were all sitting on the ground. So they were beneath me. Right? Like crisscross applesauce. Yes. And I accidentally passed gas On this wooden stool, and it it made the biggest song noise Yes.

Jeff
Yes.

Chris
In the world.

Jeff
Okay.

Chris
It was the loudest thing on the planet.

Jeff
Okay.

Chris
And, um, and everybody laughed. And I had to dismiss everybody because I could no longer continue my lesson.

Jeff
Okay.

Chris
Because nobody would be quiet.

Jeff
Great. Okay.

Chris
You’re like, let’s get through that.

Jeff
Right. Right. Right. Great. So quartet, laugh.

Chris
And then, uh, and then passing gas.

Jeff
Gas on a wooden stool. Yeah.

Chris
And The third one is I brought teenagers to a mall On the way to some winter retreat, and we would always do this thing called Red Rhinoceros, where I would I would, uh, I would I would have somebody wearing red in the mall have a gift card. And anybody wearing red, you had to run-in. It was hilarious. And you had to walk up to strangers and say, are you the red rhinoceros? And people are like, no, leave me alone. And if there somebody’s wearing red, they just bar you know, just bombarded. K. So as I did this, uh, there were so many people that asked, Uh, one of the security guards who was wearing red, because it was Christmas time, it was winter retreat. They asked him so much that they grabbed one of my kids And locked them up and threw them in, like, the mall Mall jail. Mall jail Wow. Until I had to find them and go apologize and get them out.

Jeff
Wow. Okay. So Red Rhinoceros.

Chris
Red Rhinoceros.

Jeff
Uh, Gas on the Wooden Stool.

Chris
Gas on the Wooden Stool.

Jeff
And, uh, Quartet. Quartet. I’m going All three are very believable. Yes. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I’m gonna say the quartet is true. It is true. And I’m going to say getting your kid arrested is true.

Chris
It is not true.

Jeff
It’s not True. Really.

Chris
I did the gas thing. Oh, wow. The gas thing really happened to me.

Jeff
Uh. Yep. Yep. So the lie was The the lie was getting kid arrested. Yes. It just seems to me like you’re the kind of youth pastor who gets your kids arrested fairly often. So that was the Hey.

Chris
By the way, uh, Reverend Osteris, have you ever heard of that?

Jeff
Yeah. Uh-huh.

Chris
Oh, okay. Yeah. Yeah. Because we did that all the time.

Jeff
Yep.

Chris
And, uh, now today, I think that people will be super irritated with it.

Jeff
Oh, yeah. Well, they were super irritated back then too, but but there weren’t as many consequences.

Chris
Yeah. I was like I was thinking thirty years ago, it seemed to be more fun Yeah. You know, than the idea Seems now.

Jeff
Yeah. Seems like Well, it was less intimidating having a group of teenagers run up to you, you know, twenty five years ago, thirty years ago. This is not.

Chris
So before nine eleven, Uh, I actually used to play airport scavenger hunt.

Jeff
Oh, uh-huh.

Chris
When you were allowed to, uh, all the kids Go to the airport. Yeah. So I released ninety kids Yeah. In the airport, And I released three fugitives. And these fugitives were allowed to walk and they all had clues and they pieced together for a phone number.

Jeff
Yeah.

Chris
Right? And and they were, like, mixed up numbers. And and so literally, the you get FBI, like, you know, side profiles of picture of people wearing wigs, and you’d have to run through the airport and find them. And then and then it led you to first, second, third locker. Right?

Jeff
Right. Right. And so anyway but but these kids would run through the airports And, dude, you can never ever do that now. Not anymore. Right? It’s a different world. Yep. Different world. Yeah. I sometimes I think about all the things we did as youth pastors As I’m trying to talk to our current youth pastors and go Right. Well, you can’t do that. You could do that. Yeah. I don’t I don’t even know how to do a youth group anymore. No. Most most of the stuff we did, couldn’t we couldn’t do anymore.

Chris
Right. Yeah. I agree.

Jeff
I did get sued a couple times, not me, but our church, uh, when I was a youth pastor for kids getting hurt because the because the events were too hard. One time, a girl broke an ankle, and one time, somebody’s insurance company sued because, uh, she got another girl got hit in the eye with a ball and Detach your retina. Yeah. She’s fine. They had to sort back on, but Oh my goodness. So we were too rough I’ve never had that back in the day.

Chris
But I should have been sued a million times.

Jeff
Yeah. Well, I’m not a youth pastor anymore, and that’s why right there because I Right. Parents should not allow their kids to, uh, go on youth events with me because somebody’s gonna get hurt. Okay. Well, today, we are in a really interesting this might be surprising. This one today might be a little surprising for people. Um, and we’ve referenced this idea before. Yep. But Jesus goes straight at the heart of it here. So, uh, he’s telling the parable of the vineyard workers in Matthew chapter twenty verses one through sixteen. Yep. Jesus said, for the kingdom of heaven is like the landowner who went out early in, uh, one morning to hire workers for his vineyard. He agreed to pay the normal daily wage and sent them out to work. At nine o’clock in the morning, he was passing through the marketplace and saw some people standing around doing nothing. So he hired them, telling them he would pay them whatever was right at the end of the day. So they went to work in the vineyard at noon. And again, at three o’clock, he did the same thing. At five o’clock that afternoon, He was in town again and saw some more people standing around. He asked them, why haven’t you been working today? And they replied, because no one hired us. Landowners said, told them, then go out and join the others in my vineyard. That evening, he told the foreman to call the workers in and pay them, beginning with the last workers first. Then when those hired at five o’clock were paid, each received a full day’s wage. When those hired first came to get their pay, they assumed they would receive more, but they too were paid a day’s wage. When they received their pay, they protested the owner. Jeff
Those people worked only one hour, and you’ve paid them just as much as you paid us who worked all day in the scorching heat. And then he answered One of them, friend, I haven’t been unfair. Didn’t you agree to work all day for the usual wage? Take your money and go. I wanted to pay this last worker the same as you. It is is it against the law for me to do what I want with my money? Should you be jealous because I’m kind to others? So those who are last now will be first then, and those who are first We’ll be last.

Chris
Yep. There it is.

Jeff
Yeah. And So Jesus says that this is the kingdom of heaven. This is God’s kingdom.

Chris
Right.

Jeff
And Jesus is telling us God’s not fair.

Chris
Yeah. And and and, uh, and by the way, this was the first passage I ever preached at Heritage.

Jeff
Oh, really? Oh, yeah.

Chris
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Wow. I spoke at your church several times Right. Actually twice before I got there. But, um, as a staff member, this was my first Sunday there. And And I remember asking the question, is God fair? And, uh, and then of course, this explanation is I not only does God, Uh, not pretend to be fair at all. Right? He’s incredibly unfair to our advantage. Right? Um, but, uh, but I love how he gives the no explanation explanation. He literally says, in another translation, what business is it of yours? Right. Uh, what I do with my own money. Right? What he what he’s saying is is that he’s saying, like, my business is my business. I don’t even have to give you an explanation.

Jeff
Yeah. I have to answer you.

Chris
Yeah. Uh, but at at the same time, He actually is fair to the people who actually thought he was unfair. Just because he rewarded the people who worked only an hour with the same wage, Uh, doesn’t mean that he wasn’t he he was not unfair. Right? Because he he says that. He says, friend, I haven’t been unfair to you. Didn’t you agree to work all day for the usual wage?

Jeff
Right. Right.

Chris
So, in other words, what he’s really saying is I wasn’t unfair to you. I was just unfair In the good sense of them.

Jeff
I was generous to the other one. Right. Which feels unfair to you.

Chris
Which feels unfair to you. Right? Yeah.

Jeff
So Yeah. So They’re not working hourly. I mean, the union steward would come in and just pitch a fit about this. Right? The union would be so mad. But, uh, they’re not hourly workers. He hired them to do a day’s work. Right. And by the way, this is a long day because he hired the first group at nine, and he hires the last group at five. Right. And then they work for a while, And then he shuts the party down. So they worked, you know, this is Probably told this. Yeah. This is probably a ten hour day or Yeah. Something pretty close. Nine or ten hour day. And, um, So they agreed to a day’s work, and the reward at the end of the day was a day’s wage. What’s fair?

Chris
Which by the way was a Greek denarius. Uh, which which is A denarius was yeah.

Jeff
It was a one day wage.

Chris
It was a Romans it was a Romans soldiers one day wage. Yeah. And so, uh, and by the way, that was a very fair wage because actually that wage was referenced in the Old Testament. I think it was in Deuteronomy As, uh, paying people fairly and giving people what they deserve, and so Jesus was using that as the measuring stick. So when he started the parable, people would have immediately been on board. Right. They they would have been They’ll pay you a day’s wage. They’ll pay you a day’s wage. And so people are like, that sounds fair. Right. Right? I mean, like, you know, so this must have been a very good man. So he sets the precedence as this vineyard owner is a good man Already. To the people who worked all day.

Jeff
Right.

Chris
So then so that’s that’s important, I think.

Jeff
And then again, three hours later, and then six Hours later.

Chris
Right. Right.

Jeff
And then eight hours later Right. He goes and hires them and goes, and I’ll pay you a day’s wait.

Chris
Yeah. Right. And and so imagine the suspense. I you know, so you know, Jesus is a master storyteller.

Jeff
Right.

Chris
And so imagine the journey of the listeners. So he says the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner and you’re paying him a day’s wage and you’re like, great. And so you so the setting is set. Right? Because I love good storytelling. Then he says, and then he goes out and he hires this guy, and then this guy, and then this guy, later, later, later, later, later.

Jeff
Right.

Chris
And then he he he starts with paying the guys who only work one hour.

Jeff
Right.

Chris
And he says he gives them a full day’s wage. Right? And so you can imagine, like, a good movie, like, a good story. They’re on the edge of their seat probably thinking, Okay.

Jeff
Like, what’s the what’s the last guy gonna get who worked all day? Right?

Chris
And so and so and by the way, think of the implications of this because he starts off by saying the Kingdom of heaven is like. Yes. So the listeners who are the Pharisees are like, oh, I’m the worker who worked all day. Yeah. Yeah.

Jeff
Right? I’ve been working on this a long time. I’m gonna get so much more than these other guys. Right? The application is is pretty clear.

Chris
And so think about all the Christians who have served God their whole lives versus the thief on the cross.

Jeff
Yeah. Right?

Chris
So so so guy Last minute. He places the same It’s like it’s like Billy Graham versus the thief on the cross or me. Right?

Jeff
Hey, I’ve got thirty something years in. Right?

Chris
The demon on the cross had thirty seconds in. So or whatever it was. But the but the bottom line is is it’s like it’s like that’s the guy who works one hour. And so for those, you know, it’s the older son in the story. Right?

Jeff
Right.

Chris
Uh, who’s been faithful his whole life in Luke fifteen. It’s it’s the person who’s been all, uh, their lives who think they deserve more. It’s it’s the entitled person. And there’s nothing wrong with feeling that way, but like it’s it’s also, uh, it’s also every Christian who serves God with their whole lives, Who feels like how in the world, you know, is somebody on death row gonna turn their life over to Christ. Right? You saw recently in the news, Hulk Hogan Oh, yeah. Uh, just got baptized and turns his life over. Yeah. Um, uh, Pet Benatar. We’re we’re doing this costume party. Uh, we’re flying down this weekend Oh. To go Yeah. Yeah. To to to do this thing. And I guess by the time this airs, it’ll be over. Right?

Jeff
Yes.

Chris
Yes. Okay. So we’re doing a surprise birthday party for my daughter Yeah.

Jeff
Right.

Chris
Who doesn’t know we’re coming. She’s turning thirty. Right? So we’re all dressing up. Right? Yeah. Somebody’s being surprised. Surprise. Somebody’s being Eminem. Somebody’s being my daughter’s Ariana Grande. Well, my wife says Pat Benatar. You wanna know how hilarious my wife is? She she goes online and she wants to sing a certain song that Pat Benatar sings because we had to do karaoke. But in the video, Pet Benatar plays, uh, this prostitute. My wife goes, I can’t be Pet Benatar now. And so I go, why? She goes, well, in this video, she plays a prostitute. I’m like, she wasn’t a prostitute. I’m like, she’s a singer who plays a prostitute in a video. Right? With redemption, by the way. I’m like, uh, I’m like, she’s not a prod what are you thinking, Liz? She goes, but I I don’t wanna So she with the song. I’m like well good for her.

Jeff
Don’t don’t make her sin against her conscience.

Chris
Okay. Here’s my point.

Jeff
Yeah.

Chris
My point is is that, Uh, then then my wife comes back to me and goes, guess what? I said, what? And she goes, just recently, Pat Benatar Became a Christian after like, you know, forty years. Right?

Jeff
Right.

Chris
Of not being a Christian. That’s right. Of living the rock and roll life. And and I said, so what does that mean for you? And she goes, it means that I can I I think I could now feel good about being pet than it’s our you know, just like That’s creepy?

Jeff
That’s hilarious.

Chris
So anyway, all that to say, uh, the application must have been shocking for the Pharisees or the religious people listening Because they now know that God rewards generously to those he loves.

Jeff
So it’s interesting. Uh, yesterday, we finished up Speaking or talking about Jesus speaks to this rich young man.

Chris
Mhmm.

Jeff
And he says, uh, oh, I’ve obeyed all the law. Right. And he said, okay. Well, then, um, sell everything you have and Your money is what’s between you and God right now. Right. Your money is your number one thing, and he leaves sad. And then Jesus turns and talks to disciples. Remember? Mhmm. Verse thirty ends and you gotta remember in, uh, in Jesus’ world, it wasn’t chapters and verses. Right. So this is the first verse of the very next Chapter says, for the kingdom of heaven’s sake. Jesus isn’t done explaining to the disciples. Right. Right? So he’s explaining to the disciples That everything, no matter what you feel like you sacrifice for me, that’s his ending. Right? No matter what you feel like you sacrifice for me, God will return it to you. And he says, because the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning. Right?

Chris
Yeah.

Jeff
And so God is gonna be Courageously generous to you is what he’s saying here. So grace is equal for everybody. Nobody gets more or less. Nobody gets A better or worse version of grace. Right? God’s grace is extended to all of us, and the the you know, you’ve heard it say. We’ve said it before. Um, the ground is level at the cross. Yep. And so what he’s saying is whether you’ve been a long time Christian or a short time Christian, whether you have Have been walking with God for your entire life or you just recently started following Christ. The power of God is available to you. The blessings of God are available to you. Uh, it’s it’s not that there’s, uh, there’s no classes of citizens in the kingdom of heaven. Right? As you say, he said there there’s there’s not the The elites and the the ones that are getting overtime pay versus the ones that are Right. Right. Uh, and and it’s surprising. I think it’s surprising to The religious leaders especially and and but he’s talking directly to his disciples in this situation trying to tell them, listen, Grace is gonna be equal for everybody.

Chris
Right. And and for some people, they may think that that sounds incredibly unfair because there are people who, Uh, actually seem to go through life thinking that everything needs to be fair. Right? And and yet, God, You know, unapologetically sort of announces, like, uh, it’s not about fairness. Right? He’s gonna be incredibly unfair to our favor. And fairness ended in the Garden of Eden. Right?

Jeff
Right.

Chris
So so God’s gonna gonna love who he loves. He’s gonna reward who he’s gonna reward. He’s going to do what he wants to do. It’s not about fairness. It’s about God’s grace and love and generosity to all of us.

Jeff
So if you started if you trusted Christ and started following Christ when you were a boy, me. Um, so Oh, I I started following Christ to, what, seven years before you did. Yep. Yeah. So I feel like I should get a little bit more benefits Then you and have Yeah.

Chris
That little pinky ring.

Jeff
Seven years in.

Chris
Little extra pinky ring in heaven.

Jeff
And then and then, you know, we’ve got people in our church. We’ve got a couple Bonnie and I went to dinner with them a a few Weeks ago, and they listened to the podcast, that, um, uh, you know, they’re in their eighties, and they’ve been walking with the Lord their entire life. Right. So if suddenly this was the end and we’re all standing before the throne, they follow the Lord for eighty years. I’ve only followed the Lord for, what, forty years. You followed the Lord for thirty five years.

Chris
Right.

Jeff
Right? Um, so it might feel like because I’ve had more time in the kingdom than you and they had way more time in the kingdom than me, That it feels like they should get more. Got you. Uh, that’s because we’re obsessed with time on this Earth, and we think that this really is mostly all there is.

Chris
Right.

Jeff
But a billion and a half years from now, my extra eight years don’t really matter. Right? Right? Right. So in the scope of Eternity? Time is not an issue. So we get obsessed with time. How about you had all the benefits of following Christ, working for the king All this time, and then he rewards you. And at that point, time won’t matter anymore. The amount of time it took won’t matter anymore. What he’s trying to highlight is the gift, the reward is gonna be so great that no price you paid Was too much because he’s talking in context of the sacrifice that they made. Right? Isn’t that that that’s exactly that’s how Matthew chapter nineteen ends Is you will be rewarded for your work. Let me tell you how. Mhmm. It will be so extravagant of a reward That no price and no amount of time, no amount of sacrifice will, uh, will feel like it was too much Because the reward will be that good, and it’ll be equal for all of you. Right? That that’s what he’s trying to say.

Chris
Yeah. That’s great. Yeah. Yeah. And, uh, and I love I I love how, um, he goes out and finds people that he doesn’t even necessarily know. And, uh, if if you think about it, he highlights the fact that these people, uh, are alone and forgotten and neglected because he says, why haven’t you been working today? Right? It’s almost like there’s a care there. Right?

Jeff
Yeah.

Chris
There’s absolute genuine Care. You you should be earning a wage sometime to provide for your family. How is it that you’re not working? Well, because no one has hired us.

Jeff
Right.

Chris
They’re forgotten. They’re overlooked. Uh, they’re they’re they’re not hired. They’re not important. They’re they don’t have opportunity. And and so the land owner the land owner says go out and join others in my vineyard. And that evening, you know, he he sends other people out to hire other people. So it’s it’s it’s it’s that he’s not just rewarding those who are faithful, He’s he’s seeking those who are, uh, you know, uncared for. Right? Yeah. Uh, unloved, Forgotten Yep. Of the marginalized, the ones that seem far from him. He’s good. Unhirable by others. Unhirable by others. Yeah. No. That’s good. Mhmm. Unhirable by others. No.

Jeff
That’s good. Choose them. Yeah.

Chris
Yeah. Yeah. So so so so the picture here is he’s seeking.

Jeff
Mhmm.

Chris
Right? He’s finding those. He’s he’s seeking and save those who are lost.

Jeff
Yeah. And then he ends and we can end with this. He says, should you be jealous because I’m kind with others? He’s kind of implying the flip side of that is you guys shouldn’t be Arguing about who worked more hours. You should all be celebrating that everybody’s being rewarded. Right? That’s how good the reward is. But why The king is so rich. This rich man is so rich that the fact that somebody else benefits does not diminish whether or not you’re going to be able to benefit.

Chris
Right.

Jeff
I think a lot of times jealousy springs up. I was with somebody recently, uh, who just talked about how jealousy is a major issue for them. When they see somebody else have something that they don’t have, it just rises up in them. They don’t know why. Mhmm. And it’s a it’s an it’s an illogical concept. If God is really on the throne and he he has everything necessary, he can provide every resource, then when he chooses to bless somebody else, That does not diminish the opportunity for him to bless me. It’s not like he was like, I’ve only got a little bit left. Who am I gonna give it to? You know? Right. And once I give it to you, we’re all done. I don’t have anymore. Right. Right. Fine. And so we can celebrate when other people are blessed, And their blessing is different from our blessing. Very. We can. Right? Yeah. And, uh, there’s there’s no reason that we should be jealous when God’s kind to others. That’s good. If we can learn to celebrate, our life would be so much better. Book of Romans chapter twelve says rejoice with those who rejoice.

Chris
Mhmm. Yeah. Well, that is a great place to end. And, uh, hopefully, we will see you on Monday on The Bible Guys.