Jewels In The Crown

And, behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward with Me, to render to each as his work is. Revelation 22:12

Render – If you really think about this verse, doesn’t it seem just a bit odd?  After all, are we really expecting a reward for our faithfulness?  And aren’t we rescued by grace?  Do we really think that the return of the King is only about payday?  And even if it is about reward, what kind of reward could we possibly want or need once we are in the presence of the Messiah?  The whole idea just doesn’t seem to fit the themes of Scripture.  Who cares about “jewels in my crown” if I am living in the undiminished glory of the Lord?  What greater reward would I ever want?

It doesn’t help much to know that the Greek word for “reward” is misthos (wages, hire, reward).  Although it has both negative (“a reward not reckoned of grace”) and positive (“a worker worthy of his hire”) senses, it clearly indicates payment of some kind.  The verb apodidomi (render) has the same connotation (to give or do something necessary in fulfillment of an obligation or expectation).  The verse gives every indication that something will be done for the righteous in fulfillment of a promise.  Since it can’t be about deliverance, what is left to give?  After all, eternal life began the moment Yeshua became Lord and Master.  What else must He bring to the table?

Perhaps 2 John 1:8 points us in the right direction.  John exhorts his readers to pay close attention to their walk so that they will not lose what they have already achieved but receive their “full reward.”  Perhaps the reward to be rendered isn’t something qualitatively different than the taste we have already been given.  Perhaps it is the fulfillment of the promise, the filling up of the cup we have been carrying.  What the Messiah brings is not some new reward but rather the final installment of the promised peace with God.

But if this is true, then what do we do about the Greek word apodidomi?  In what sense is this reward earned according to each person’s work?  We live in an era where grace dominates the thought about God’s character.  We have a hard time imagining that effort and reward are also part of God’s plan.  But if we step away from the “seeker” mentality, we discover that work and reward have been Scriptural themes since God told Adam to “serve” the earth.  In this sense, the Kingdom is the product of both divine and human endeavor.  “O the bliss of those destitute and humble of spirit.  Because of them, the kingdom has arrived” (Matthew 5:2 as it should be translated).  There is work to do.  That work is both internal and external.  The internal assignment is the purification of the heart, the sacrifice of the ego and the domestication of the yetzer ha’ra.  The external assignment is the stewardship of the earth, the conformity to Torah and the open-arms welcoming of all who would come.  Both efforts bring about the Kingdom.  What is the reward?  That the Kingdom comes in full!  That all we have desired and all we have longed to see becomes the reality of this world.  That Jeremiah 31:31 is completed.

Topical Index: reward, render, misthos, apodidomi, Kingdom, Revelation 22:12

Subscribe
Notify of
5 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Ken Bevakasha

Fantastic. Thanks Skip.

carl roberts

So, is it the destination (heaven) or is it the journey (earth)? lol! – How about some gospel (good news)! “It’s not either/or it’s both! The earth is the LORD’s and the fulness thereof, the world and they that dwell therein. Yes, He owns it all. Are we listening?- good. (tov.) He is (now,today) LORD of heaven AND of earth. Jesus (who is the) Christ, LORD of all. Sovereign LORD of the telescopic and the microscopic, the living and the dead. Jesus is LORD.
We walk by faith and not by sight. Remember? What does sight say? (Been doing some “sight-seeing” lately?) What does “faith” say? -What saith the scriptures my friend? Once again- “we do err, not knowing the scriptures nor the power of G-d.” Seeing is believing? lol!- no, believing is seeing. (you know the drill). We walk by faith, not by sight. Or do we? I can’t believe my eyes. (Can I?). The good, the bad, the ugly- we walk by faith. Is it time we learn what it means to walk by faith? Helpful household hint: the mother of Yeshua said unto the servants- “whatever He says unto you- do it.” Mary was right. We should “shema” the word of our LORD.
The walk of Abraham was pleasing unto YHWH. Why? G-d gave His instructions to Abraham and what was Abraham’s response to the word(s) of G-d? Obedience. He saddled his donkey and did as G-d asked him to do. A personal note: Brother Skip, I was floored by “na” (Hebrew for “please”). Yes, my friends, G-d did not “command” Abraham to sacrifice his son, He humbly asked (na) him. Amazing and wondrous, indeed.
Scripture (the word of G-d) is chock full of “things to do today.” Is it not? “love your neighbor”, “husbands love your wives as Christ loved the church”, “love the LORD your G-d with all your heart, soul, mind and strength”, “rejoice evermore”, “pray without ceasing”, etc. Yes, etc.. lol! “Whatever He says unto us (it is writtten..) we should “do it.” Why? -Obedience is the pathway to blessing. Yeshua, G-d incarnated in flesh,the personification of what obedience looks like, is both our Example and our Exemplar.
More good news. With each “command” of G-d, comes the power (authority and energy) to do it. We not only have the mind of Christ, to know the will of G-d, (what is pleasing unto Him), but we also have been given the Ruach HaKodesh, the holy Breath of G-d, to enable and empower us to accomplish the task we have been assigned to do. “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” (Philippians 4.13) And (more good news..), -so can you. For we (all) walk by faith, and not by sight. Trust and obey. “Shema, O Israel.”

Robin Jeep

Excellent encouragement, Carl! Thank you

Brian

Good morning Skip. “O the bliss of the destitute and humble of spirit, because of them the kingdom has arrived” (Matthew 5:2 as it should be translated) This is a fresh and marvelous way to translate that Scripture. I had to dance and celebrate with my family on this one.

I had heard years ago that the poor in spirit didn’t possess the Kingdom, because the kingdom belonged to God. But it was the character of those who had made up the kingdom. If they the destitute and humble of heart are those who make up the kingdom, and in that sense the kingdom has arrived!

His word is most delightful to my heart! Thanks again Skip, I will be running with this one for a while.