Luke 19:11-27 THE REWARD AND THE PUNISHMENT
This past Tuesday was “judgment day.” Not “Judgment Day,” the end of the world. But a day of judging – the voters of our country “judged” the candidates that were running for office and made some decisions. In the presidential race especially, election day is also a day of punishments and rewards for those who are helping out the candidates. If you were on George Bush’s campaign staff, election day for you is a day of rewards. You’ll be congratulated for all your hard work, and you’ll probably be given a job in the government somewhere – that’s your reward, if you want it, for working on the campaign for the winner. But if you were on John Kerry’s campaign staff, then election day for you is not a good day. All your work didn’t result in what you had hoped. You’re going to have to find a new job, a new life – something else to do. Election day is a day of rewards for the winners and punishments for the losers – it all depends on whose side you were on.
The same thing is true for Judgment Day, the last day, when Jesus returns to this earth and judges the world. Some on that day will be rewarded. And some on that day will be punished. Which one will you be? And what is the punishment, and what is the reward? In our Gospel lesson for this morning, Jesus tells a story that gives us a picture of Judgment Day. He tells us that there once was a man of noble birth who was going away to a distant country to be appointed king, and then he was going to return.
In this story, Jesus is describing himself. He is the man of noble birth, the Son of God. After his death and resurrection he goes away to a distant country. In other words, he ascends into heaven. There he is appointed as king over all the earth. Sometime after that, Jesus plans to return. That’s Judgment Day. On that day, there will be punishments and rewards, depending on the people he finds.
One group of people that Jesus will find will be the unbelievers. In verse 14, Jesus describes how the man of noble birth had people who opposed him, subjects who “hated him and said, ‘we don’t want this man to be our king.’” This describes people who outright reject Jesus today. I just read an interesting article about Ted Turner, a man who is well known in the cable television industry. This is what he said about Christianity some time ago: “Christianity,” he said, “is a religion of losers.” Talking about Jesus’ death on the cross Ted Turner said, “I don’t want anybody to die for me. I’ve had a few drinks and a few girlfriends, and if that’s gonna put me in hell, so be it.” There are many people like him today, people who say, “I don’t want Jesus to be my king. I’m in charge of my own life, not Jesus.”
When Jesus returns on Judgment Day, for them, there will be punishment. That’s what he describes in this story, verse 27: “But those enemies of mine who did not want me to be king over them – bring them here and kill them in front of me.” Jesus is very clear that on Judgment Day he plans to punish all those who reject him as God and Savior. Many people today say, “That’s not true. God is too loving to punish people.” But the reality is, God is not only a God of love, he is also a God of holiness and justice. And because God is holy and just, by his very nature, he always punishes sin. That’s what a holy and just God always does. Our other reading, from 2 Thessalonians, says the same thing when it talks about how Jesus will punish those who reject his Gospel with everlasting destruction. On Judgment Day, Jesus will shut them out from the presence of God forever. That is the fate of those who outright reject Christ during their lives on this earth.
There’s another group of people that Jesus will punish on Judgment Day. He’ll also find people who “hid away” the Gospel during their lives. In the story that Jesus tells, he describes how the man of noble birth gives a “mina” to each of his servants. A mina was a unit of money, about three months wages. “While I am gone,” he told his servants, “put this mina to work.” Once again, Jesus is describing himself. Before he left this planet, what did Jesus do? He gave to us, his followers, the Gospel, the Word of God. That’s our mina. And Jesus says to us, “While I am gone, put this Gospel to work. Use the Word, until I return.”
But look at what one of the servants did with his mina in the story Jesus tells. Verse 20 describes how one of those servants wrapped up the mina in a cloth, and hid it away. He did it because, as he told the king, “I was afraid of you. You are a hard man.” This describes what many people do with God’s Word today. God wants you, his servant, to put the Gospel to work in your life until Jesus returns. Use it, Jesus says. Read it. Study it. Ponder it. Live it. Share it. Put the Gospel to work in your life. But many of us don’t. Many of us wrap up the Gospel in a cloth, like that servant in the story, and put the Word of God off to the side. We make excuses like that servant did, excuses like, “I don’t have time” or “The Bible is too hard to read” or “I was afraid to share the Word of God because I might not say things right.”
These are excuses, just like the servant made in Jesus’ story. And what happened to him? The master punished that servant. “I will judge you by your own words, you wicked servant,” the master said to him. And then he took away the mina he had given to him, and gave it to someone else. What Jesus teaches us here is that he also plans to punish all those who don’t put the Gospel to work in their lives. And as we hear these things, there should be alarms going off in our heads. We all can look back on our lives and say, “There have been times when I haven’t really been all that faithful in my use of the Word of God. I’ve made excuses. I’ve “wrapped up in the Bible in a cloth” and put it off to the side.” This story Jesus tells this morning may cause you to ask yourself, “Will I be punished on Judgment Day?”
If you are an honest Christian, it’s not uncommon to feel a sense of fear and trepidation. We all know what we deserve on Judgment Day, and that is punishment. But the good news this morning, is that on Judgment Day, Jesus won’t treat you as your sins deserve. He won’t punish you, even though he has every right to. Instead, he will reward you. He will bless you.
How can that be? It is true that God is holy and just. But he is also loving, and forgiving. Remember where Jesus was heading, as he told this story. Verse 11 tells us that he was near Jerusalem. The disciples sensed that something big was about to happen. If only they knew. Jesus was heading to Jerusalem, to satisfy God’s justice and holiness. God needed to carry out punishment for all the sins that have been committed in our world. Jesus satisfied that justice of God by allowing the Heavenly Father to punish him. That’s why he gave his body, and shed his blood, on the cross. God’s justice was satisfied. Jesus’ death also has allowed God to be loving and forgiving toward us. We call that “grace, God’s undeserved love. That’s why, on Judgment Day, God won’t punish you. It’s already been taken care of at the cross. You’re forgiven. Instead of punishment, you will be rewarded and blessed.
We call that message “the Gospel.” And Jesus today invites you to put that message to work in your life. And as you do, you will receive blessings and rewards. Look at what happened to the servants in this story: When the king returned, one servant told him, “I put your mina to work, and it has gained ten more.” Another one told him, “I put your mina to work, and it has gained five more.” As you put the Gospel to work in your life, as you ponder the good news about Jesus, his life and death and resurrection, as you study it for yourself and share it with others, that Gospel will “make gains” in your life. Your faith will get stronger. Your life will become more and more God-pleasing. Others will see your Christianity and perhaps even become Christians themselves. Those are some of the rewards you can already receive now, before Judgment Day.
And then Jesus will reward you when he returns on Judgment Day. In the story, the master said to one servant, “You have been trustworthy in a very small matter, so take charge of ten cities.” To another, the master told him to take charge of five cities. That was their reward. This is a picture of what Jesus will someday do for you on Judgment Day. He will return, and look at you, and he won’t see any of your sin. Your sins have all been taken away by him at the cross. That’s the message of the Gospel. Jesus will see how you have used the Gospel in your life, and he will reward you. “You, take charge of ten cities. And you, take charge of five cities.” We don’t know what it all exactly means, but all over the Bible, there are little phrases that talk about how you as a Christian will someday reign with Christ in the life to come. You will someday be rewarded. You will reign with him. You won’t have to campaign for that position. When you meet Jesus on Judgment Day, he will give you that position as a reward of grace.
Does this really include you? The answer is “yes,” according to our other reading. “On that day,” it says in verse 10, “he comes to be glorified in his holy people and to be marveled at among all those who have believed. This includes you, because you believed our testimony to you.” Ask yourself this morning, “Do I believe?”
“Believe in me,” Jesus say. “Believe in my sacrifice for your sins.” Believe that he is the “way, the truth, and the life.” Believe that one day, Jesus will return, and on that day, he will punish many, but he will reward you, and all those who place their trust in him. May that good news affect how you live your life today. Amen.
