REWARDS (3)                                                     Matthew 20:1-16

So when even was come, the lord of the vineyard saith unto his steward, Call the labourers, and give them their hire, beginning from the last unto the first.  (v8)

What Does Jesus Mean By Rewards? Interestingly, the Bible uses two different words to describe Jesus’ reward. The Greek word used in Jesus’ teaching  in Luke 6 is  Misthos;  Literally, it means wages. “Rejoice in that day and leap for joy! For indeed your misthos (wages) are great in heaven.” (Luke 6:23) Jesus used the sameword laters when He spoke of earthly wages: “Call the labourers and give them their misthos (wages)” (Matthew 20:8) And Paul told Timothy, “The labourer is worthy of his misthos (wages) (1 Timothy 5:18) Everyone who heard Jesus understood exactly what He meant: “When you labour on earth, your employer gives you misthos. And when you labour for Me, I pay you wages, too.” Jesus never described His reward as a charitable up (“Here’s a little something extra”), or a token of appreciation (like a plague for thirty years at the factory). He called it wages – something you can earn resulting from something you do. The second word used for reward in heaven appears in our dinner story. Here Jesus used a compound word, apodidomai. Apo means back, and didomai  means to give. Combined, apochidomai means to give back in return, or simply repay. “You will be blessed… for you shall be apodidomai (given back in return)! At the resurrection of the just” (Luke 14:14) Read Luke 10:35 and Mark 9:4 (Bruce Wilkinson)

PRAYER LINE: Heavenly Father, I lift Your promises up to You. I ask that from this day forward, You would no longer give my grain as food to my enemies, in Jesus’ Name I pray.

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The labourer is worthy of his wages (Matthew 20:8)