Take your Bible and turn to Matthew chapter 20 in verses 1 through 16. We’re in the parables of Jesus, a series we’ve called Famous Short Stories and we’re coming to look at the story, the vineyard, the workers in the vineyard, a message I’ve called More Than Compensated. More Than Compensated. And the title will explain itself as we read the passage and expound it.
Bill Borden was born a blue blood here in the United States. He was born with a silver spoon in his mouth. His father was fabulously wealthy. He was a descendant of British aristocracy. In fact, his father had amassed a fortune through real estate in Chicago and silver mining in Colorado. And by the age of 24, he had inherited in 1908 what would be equivalent to $40 million today as a 24-year-old man. But in 1912, this 25-year-old did two things that surprised the world.
First, he gave away his fortune to the Lord’s work and world missions. And then he gave himself to world missions. And he left the United States, and he traveled to Egypt on his way finally to do gospel ministry in a remote part in China. It was a bit of a scandal. News outlets picked it up, and media talked about what seemed like an incredibly wasteful decision, especially in the light of the fact that William Borden died of meningitis in Egypt and never did get to China.
Now, what Borden understood and what the world feel to understand is that he is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep for that which he cannot lose. See, William Borden understood that the disciple of Jesus Christ, the follower of the master, is driven and defined by a belief that they will be properly compensated in the next life for any sacrifice they nick for the kingdom of God in this life.
The Christian is a person who happily sacrifices their all for God’s glory. To quote John Calvin, “In the belief that they serve him who never fails to reward his servants to the full extent.” From a biblical perspective, any earthly renunciation of goods and kindred on the part of a disciple is predicated upon a belief, an expectation, and a hope of a greater heavenly renumeration.
Whatever the Christian gives away, whatever the Christian loses for gospel ends, he gets back a hundredfold sometimes in this life, but certainly in the life to come. That’s why when William Borden died and his Bible was possessed, they found inside the fly leaf of his Bible three entries that he had written the different points on the journey, when he left the United States, when he got to Egypt, and upon his death.
And you know what the entries said? First of all, he said no reserves. Secondly, he said no retreats. And on his deathbed, he entered no regrets because he is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep for that which he cannot lose. And so with that in mind, I want to turn to Matthew chapter 20 verses 1 to 16 where we find a parable of Jesus addressing kingdom compensation.
Here’s a passage that gives us abiding principles regarding God’s payroll. And this parable is going to challenge our motives and stir our motivation in the light of that ultimate payday. Remember what Jesus said in Revelation 22:12, “I come quickly, and I bring my reward with me to give to every man according to his works we live.” This day in the light of that day, we make sacrifices now in the light of those rewards to come. That’s the context of this parable.
Three things if you’re taking notes, so you come back to this later on and listen to it online. First of all, the prologue, the parable, the principles, the preceding events of the rich young ruler Jesus response to the rich young ruler’s response and Peter’s response to Jesus words. That’s the context, and a chapter division throws us off. Remember how Jesus had probed the heart and intent of the rich young ruler regarding the desire for eternal life?
Then Peter answered and said to him, notice the word then, it’s tying Peter’s comments to the story of the rich young ruler and Jesus reflection on the rich young ruler’s sad response. Then Peter said, “See, we have left all and followed you. Therefore, what shall we have?” So Jesus said to them, “Assuredly I say to you that in the regeneration when the son of man sits on the throne of his glory, you who have followed me will sit on the 12 thrones judging the 12 tribes of Israel and everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters, our father, our mother, our wife, our children or lands,” parenthesis like William Borden, and like the disciples of Jesus, “for my sake shall receive a hundredfold and inherit eternal life for many who are first will be last and the last first.
The disciples did what the rich young ruler didn’t. The rich young ruler wasn’t willing to deny himself and pick up his cross and follow Jesus. He wasn’t willing to obey Christ in the gospel, but the disciples dead. Matthew 4:18 to 22, Matthew 9:9 on the part of some, they left a thriving fishing business on the sea of Galilee. Matthew left a text collector’s table which was very lucrative in the occupied land of Israel under the Romans.
They did what the rich young ruler didn’t. And so in the light of that, Peter piggybacks, Peter anticipates and argues that God will repay them for their disinvestment of their worldly goods and their reinvestment into the kingdom of God. In fact, verse 27, the word we have, “Therefore, what shall we have?” That’s in the emphatic, in the Greek. That’s the heart of Peter’s question. What will we get for what we have given?
Peter wanted to know what was coming to him and the other disciples in the light of their sacrifices and their service. Now, here’s the thing to notice before we get to the parable. This is the prologue. This is what leads up to the parable. To the surprise of some, the Lord’s response to Peter was not one of rebuke but reaffirmation. The Lord did not consider it carnal or wrong or mercenary to desire to lay up for your self treasure in heaven, to give, to get.
If you go through Matthew’s gospel, the teaching of Jesus was clear on this and no doubt this is the whale of thinking that Peter draws from in Matthew 4 verses 10 to 12, “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed their day when they revile and persecute you and say all manner of evil against you and are false and speak falsely against you for my sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad for great is your reward in heaven for so they persecuted the prophets that were before you.”
Again in the Sermon on the might, Jesus says in Matthew 6 verses 19 and following, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal, for where your treasure is there, your heart will be also.”
And you can go on. You can go to the parable of the talents which we looked at in this series about Jesus tells a story about a landowner that leaves or a boss that leaves, gives his servants some duties to do and those that do it well are rewarded. And it’s a parable about the life to come and us desiring by the way we live and the sacrifices we make and the deeds we do.
We want to hear the well-done, good and faithful servant enter into the joy of your Lord. So it’s not surprising that Peter would say this. And by the way, it’s not surprising that Jesus didn’t rebuke him but affirmed him. John Eadie, an old commentator, says, “The Christian doctrine of reward is too often lost sight of or kept in abeyance as if it were not perfectly consistent with the freest bestowment of heavenly glory.”
And so we’re not surprised. In fact, are we not challenged by maybe the thinking of Jonathan Edwards or the words of CS Lewis? I’m in the middle of a wonderful book I highly commend to you called Following Jesus in an Age of Quitters. It’s written by John Gillespie. It’s on the resolutions of Jonathan Edwards, 72 inspiring chapters, convicting chapters about life. And one of Edwards’ resolutions was what he resolved to die for myself, the fullest happiness attainable in the life to come.
He lived this day for that day Jonathan Edwards shaped his life, made every decision, took every step with this thought, “Will this gain me eternal happiness? Will this win the well-done good and faithful servant? Is this what will work for me at the judgment seat of Christ when Christ will look at all the things I’ve done in my body,” or the words of CS Lewis? He says this, listen to this, “If we consider the unblushing promises of reward…” And we just read some of them from Matthew’s gospel, it’s the backdrop to Peter’s thinking when he asks the question, “If we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the gospels, it would seem that our Lord finds our desires not too strong but too weak.
We are half-hearted creatures fooling about with drink and sacks and ambition when infinite joy is offered us like a ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday by the sea.”
Credit to Peter, he didn’t want to be easily pleased. He wanted to gain for himself to the fullest extent happiness in the world to come, and that’s what is kind of the background. And Jesus doesn’t rebuke him. He affirms him, and Jesus doesn’t rebuke him. He affirms him and encourages him.
Look at verse 28 and 29. And what the Lord does doesn’t rebuke him, doesn’t say, “Oh you mercenary, you carnal man. Is it not enough to love me?” Now, Jesus dangles in front of him the prospect of the millennial kingdom of reigning on thrones over the regenerated and regathered nation of Israel in fulfillment of the covenants that God made with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and King David. And then on top of that, you’ve got the multiplied blessings in the life to come. Mark, interestingly in his synoptic gospel talks about a hundredfold in this life and the life to come and Jesus says, “Hey, Peter, I hear you.”
The first will be last, and the last will be first. The Bible Knowledge Commentary says this, “While it might appear they are giving up everything now and our last, they will be given everything eternally and will be first.
And conversely, while looking at the rich man in this life, he looks like he’s first in the life to come, he will be last. Here’s a little thought, guys, as we move on to the parable. Look out for the danger of being a temporary winner. Look out for the danger of being a temporary winner.
Remember, the first will be last, and the last will be first. The winners in this life will be the losers in the next. And the seeming losers in this life will be the winners in the next. That’s the prologue, the parable, maybe too long in that to make a simple point that the chapter division is misleading and given the chapter division and prologue of the issue of rewards, now, that becomes the interpretive key for the parable.
What is the parable about? I’ll make an argument. The parable is about rewards because that’s the context. That’s the question that Jesus answers, which leads to a parable from the mouth of the master to well, there is immediate affirmation from Jesus not rebuke regarding Peter’s inquiry.
I do think, and I’ll come back to this more fully in a minute, I do think that the parable that follows is a reorientation. So there’s no rebuke. There’s reaffirmation, but the reaffirmation is followed by reorientation. I think that Jesus detects in Peter’s question and Peter’s urgent response to what he had just witnessed with the rich young ruler. Jesus wants to check his motive, his intent, his heart attitude.
While it’s not wrong to desire reward, to seek for yourself eternal happiness, Jesus wants to make sure that beneath that and before that primarily is a love for God and desire for his glory. So let’s look at the parable and what it might mean or what it intends to communicate.
The setting is a typical scene in the first century Israel. Daily laborers gather in the marketplace hoping someone will offer them employment for the day. Their situation is precarious. There’s no social services. There’s no net for the poor. They live from hand to mouth from day to day. And so there’s a group of men standing in the marketplace wishing to be hired.
And so just as there’s a lot of stake for the laborers. There’s a lot of stake for landowners because he’s got to get his harvesting. Missteps here could cost him the season, which put his family in financial peril. And so he goes down and he starts to hire, and we read that it starts at six in the morning. It’s a 12-hour day, it seems, according to the clock within this parable.
And he comes down at six o’clock, and he does his due diligence, and we don’t know how he decides to pick, but he believes he’s picking the best of the bunch right now. And so he picks them. And we read in the text that he negotiates with them a price and that would be a denarius. Verse 9, the denarius was the typical going wage for a day laborer.
And as the day unfolds, he realizes they’re a bit shorthanded or he wants to speed the process up. We’re not told. And he goes back down at 9:00 AM, and he gets a second wave of workers. But this time, here’s what’s interesting, you got to notice this. The first wave at six, there are contract workers. They agree to a denarius. It’s fair. It’s the going wage. Everybody’s good. Then he gets this second wave of workers, and you’ll read in verse 4 that there’s no contract.
He just says, “Hey, you need to come with me. You need to trust me. And whatever’s right, we’ll sort it out at the end of the day.” And they agree to that. And then this is repeated 9:00 o’clock, 12 o’clock, 3:00 o’clock, 5:00 o’clock. And then at the end of the day as you read the story, he gets his foreman to pay the workers, and he kind of does it in reverse, which I find very interesting.
He does it in reverse, and he pays those first who came in last, hence the language of first and last. And to their surprise, they get a denarius. Even those who came in the 11th hour who did one hour’s work, they get a denarius. And so do those who came at five, and three, and 12, and nine. Now by this stage, in the one sense, those who came at nine who signed the contract, they’re a little disturbed, but also maybe they’re wetting their lips in anticipation, “Hey, if they got a denarius for less work in less time than we did, I guess we’re going to get more.” It doesn’t work out that way. They get a denarius just as they agreed to. They’re up in arms. They’re calling the shop steward.
There’s a dispute that’s unfolding here. What do you mean? We’re getting to see him as the guys who worked one hour? That’s not fair. Something wrong here. Somebody blow the whistle and call foul.” And what does the owner say? Hold on a minute, guys. You’re charging me with unfairness, but there’s nothing unfair with what I did because, number one, didn’t you agree to denarius? So have I been good to my word? Have I jipped you? Have I cheated you? Have I robbed you? No.
And number two, can I remind you back to our little thought that that’s a good capitalistic verse I think verse 15, Hey, it’s my money, and I can do with it what I want. My money. And if you’ve agreed to a denarius and I give you a denarius, I’m good, you’re good. Go your way. And if I want to be generous for my reasons to those who came later in the day, that’s up to me.
You don’t get the question, my goodness, or my generosity. That’s the parable. And I think the issue is the issue of spirit and heart because they become discontent and complaining when they had no grounds to. And I think, again, I hope I’m not over reading the text or reading into the text in a bad manner, but it is interesting that he starts with those who were lost rather than those who were first because think about this, if those who were hired at six o’clock had been paid right away, they’d have had no complaints. They wouldn’t have seen the others getting the denarius, and they would’ve gone home happy as Larry.
But I think the intent of the parable is to challenge, motive, intent, spirit, heart. Can they a rejoice in the benefit of others? Can they be happy what they have been given by the master that’s both right to him and nothing unfair about it. They don’t deserve anything more than they agreed to? There have been different interpretations on this parable. What are you to make of it? I think I’ve already give my hand away, but let me drill down for a little bit and then we’ll get quickly to three quick. But I think punchy applications. I was surprised in reading many commentators and books on the parables that some see this parable as regarding the grace of salvation, and they think the whole point of the story is that grace seems unfair and indiscriminate.
Well first of all, that is true. Grace is indiscriminate. God is sovereign in the choices he makes in salvation. It’s a true statement. It’s just the wrong passage because for one thing, you don’t work for salvation ever for by grace of receive through faith that not of yourselves. It’s the gift of God not of works lest any man should boast. To try and climb your way to heaven, my friend, through good works.
John Whitfield says, “Like trying to climb a sand rope. First, and another thing, I can’t imagine anybody begrudging someone the gift of salvation. And for another thing, the context I’ve made the argument I think, soundly is reward. So number one, I don’t see this as a parable regarding the grace of salvation. Number two, some believe that it teaches that everybody’s going to receive the same reward in heaven just as everybody received a denarius.
Well, no, sorry. I’m in a very disagreeable mood today. The first view’s wrong, and the second view’s wrong because that flies in the face of what we read in the New Testament, that while there are degrees of punishment in hell, we cover this in our prophecy series, there are degrees of glory in heaven.
1 Corinthians 3:14 to 15 about the judgment seat of Christ, some will suffer loss. It’s not to see him. It can’t be the see him. It’s not what Randy Alcorn’s getting at when he says, “Well, God make all souls equal in heaven and thereby consider as equally valid a life of selfishness and indifference to others, needs as compared to a life kneeling in prayer, feeding the hungry and sharing the gospel.” The Bible clearly answers no. 2 John 8 says that we are to meet sure we don’t fall short of our full reward.
Revelation 22:12 tells us that Jesus is coming quickly and his reward is with him to give, listen to every man to see him, no, to every man according to his works. So the third perspective is I think the correct one. The focus of the message and the parable is attitude, heart orientation, and right spirit. Personally, it speaks of the attitude one brings to one’s action. And one of the things we’re going to be judged about at the judgment seat of Christ is the kind of work, not just the work, but the heart, the spirit, the intent behind it.
What manner is it or what kind is it? 1 Corinthians 3:13. You can do the right thing the wrong way with the wrong attitude. The kingdom of God must never be simply about punching the clock in getting paid. It’s bigger than that. It’s about God’s glory. It’s about love for Jesus. It’s about helping others. Certainly, the byproduct of that, the outcome of that is reward for you.
But I think Jesus is picking up on Peter’s attitude here. He’s a little concerned or maybe he’s just using Peter’s question to warn Peter and the disciples and all of us who know that there are rewards to be gained in heaven. What’s your motive? What’s your intent? What’s your attitude?
Are you going to be happy to accept what God gives you? Are you going to fight with God should he bless another in a manner that doesn’t meet with your approval? Remember, the amount of work accomplished is not as important as the spirit in which it is done. Was Peter serving the Lord only for what he could get out of it? Not saying he was. I’m just saying that’s a danger. Then Jesus is picking up on that danger. Peter was a little too quick, wasn’t he maybe to jump in?
Hey, he didn’t do what you asked him to do, but we did. So Lord, what are we getting? Remember, emphatic in the Greek, that’s the big thing on Peter’s heart. What are we getting? What’s coming to us? What are we going to have? And one sense is nothing wrong with that again, but it could be wrong if the intent is divorced from and disconnected from God’s glory, love for Christ, a marveling simply at the gift of grace and God’s blessing on others.
Were the disciples forsaking all only because he had promised him a reward? This takes you back to a very central question that makes us vulnerable. Remember the charge that Satan made of Job? Oh, does he serve you for nothing except Satan saying to the Lord, “Hey, I think I know you’re serving Job better than you know him,” because you have blessed him, and he’s living between the edges of your protection, but I can guarantee you, you let me take a run at him, and he’ll curse you if he gets sick, if he loses his goods, if he has some setbacks because his motive’s wrong.
It’s self-serving, not God-glorifying. And in God’s providence, he allows Satan to take a run at a servant and to Job’s credit, he proves to be the man. The Bible describes him to be a man without fault. And while his wife encourages him to curse God, he doesn’t. The Lord gives. The Lord takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.
Amen.
Attitude’s important guys. Spirit’s important. Isaac Watts, the famous hymn writer, said this, “It is not enough for the eye to be lifted up to him or the need to bow before him.” It is not enough for the tongue to speak of him or the hand to act for his interest in the world. All this may be done by a painted hypocrite whose religion is all disguise and vanity. But the heart with all the inward powers and passions must be devoted to him in the first place. This is religion. Indeed, the great God values not the service of man if the heart be not in it.
Just back from London as you know. And while we were there, Kurt Driscoll, one of the men, our church was with me on that trip. He went away for the afternoon and come back and told us about his visit to St. Paul’s Cathedral, which had been re-built by Christopher Wren, a great architect after the fire of 1666. And he told you about an inscription in the cathedral about Christopher Wren that there is no monument to him because the cathedral is his monument. It’s a wonderful little insight.
But he told me that when he got back later in the day. I said, “That reminds me of a Christopher Wren story,” that as they were rebuilding St. Paul’s, Cathedral, Christopher Wren, the architect was must be doing a site or spot inspection, and he ended up talking to one bricklayer, and he said, “What are you doing?,” to which the bricklayer replied, “I’m a bricklayer. I’m working hard at laying bricks to feed my family.” He asked a second bricklayer, “What are you doing?” He said, “Well, I’m a builder, and I’m building a great cathedral.” He asked the third bricklayer, “What are you doing?” He said, “Well, I’m a cathedral builder, and I’m building a great cathedral to the glory of God.”
Motive, intent. So that’s the prologue. That’s the parable. In a few minutes here by 15, we’ll look at three dangers. I think Jesus, remember, he’s not rebuking. He’s reaffirming, but I also think he’s reorienting, and he’s warning Peter and his disciples and us through this parable of the danger of wrong motive, the dangers of a calculating spirit, a comparing spirit, and a complaining spirit. Let me draw that out of the parable very quickly, what I call in the Lord’s service, the danger of a calculating spirit.
It’s interesting within the story, we’ve already alluded to this, there are two kinds of workers in the story, right? In verses 1 to 2, there’s the workers who work according to a contract. And then in verses 3 to 4, there are those who are hired who trust the master to do what’s right, and those who signed up for the denarius a day when they watch others getting the same, well, they’re not happy.
They’re running the figures in their head. There’s something wrong with this. This doesn’t compute. I don’t like this calculation. How do we, who worked all day in the heat of the day and put in 12 hours hard work, how do we come up short compared to those who came for one hour at five o’clock and got the same? So they’re calculating. They’re negotiating. They’re kind of haggling and bargaining to some degree with the owner.
The first group, bargained, haggled, not the second group. They were just happy for the opportunity, and they trusted the master of the vineyard. We don’t need to spend a ton of time on this. It’s very simple that we’ve got to watch a calculating spirit.
Now, again, there’s sense in which we can think through and add up in our minds the reward and the glory that awaits the faithful servant. But if we’re not careful, it can lead to a quid quo pro kind of approach to the Christian life where we start to kind of bargain with God, “Well, Lord, if I do this, I believe you’re going to do that.” And it becomes commercial and contractual, and we lose something of the heart and we begin to haggle with God.
We’ve got guard against the spirit of a harling. We’re not just to punch the clock in the kingdom of God. We’ve got to be careful not to serve the Lord in a manner that seems to put him in our debt. I like what Erwin Lutzer in his book on eternal reward says about this very chapter in this very point. He said this, “I’ve heard Christians say, ‘I promise God that if he gave me a better job, I would begin to tithe.'” That’s the commercial spirit. That’s the calculating spirit.
If God doesn’t call me to Africa, I will get a good job and support 10 missionaries. Such bargains ties the hands of God, and he cannot be generous with us. We must not try to make a deal with the Almighty. We should simply serve Him to the best of our ability and let Him worry about the results. We must seek His will and trust Him to do what’s right by us. I like that. Again, Peter’s not wrong.
God, aren’t you going to reward us for all of our sacrifices? Yes. But what is right could become wrong in terms of you become calculating, and you lose something simply of the free grace of God and the joy of serving Him and just, “You know what, Lord? Heaven’s enough, but I know there’s going to be more than that, and I’m just going to trust you with that, and I’m going to serve you, and I’m going to sacrifice you, and I’m going to gladly give my stuff away and do your glory, do your kingdom work for your glory because you can be trusted.”
Lutzer goes on, “When we make a bargain with God stipulated and he do business on our terms, we lose. ” He will be more gracious when we realize that He alone has the right to make the choice about our rewards. He invites us to rejoice in His promise that we will be rewarded, but we must determine what that reward will be. But He must determine what that reward will be. And with His decision, we shall be satisfied.
Remember years ago, reading a little story about in the early days of American history when people were out on the plains, and they would make a weekly trip back into the nearest little town where the [inaudible 00:35:56] stored. And so this farmer and his wife and the kids get into their wagon, and they make the half-a-day trip to the little town. And he’s in the store again, and the wife’s in the store getting the necessities, the essentials. And their little son is standing by the counter, and there’s these jars of hard candy, lollipops and gobstoppers. And the shop owner sees this and the little face says, “Hey, put your hand in one of the jars and take what you want.”
And he stands there just looking, coming across a little bit shy. And so the owner drops his hand in and gives him a handful of candy. And on the way home, the father who watched all of that says, “Hey, I saw what was going on in there,” and I was a little surprised.” You’re not typically behind the door. You’re not shy to take what you think can be yours. So why didn’t you put your hand into the jar when the store owner told you to, which the little fellow replied, “Well, his hand is bigger than mine.”
And I love that story because I try to remind myself when I have a calculating spirit that God’s hand is always bigger than mine when I’m not willing to trust him with the sacrifice, when I’m kind of weighing it up, making sure that I don’t lose. I’m rebuked by this story. I’m rebuked by that little fella. Always believe as you go about God’s business, his hand is bigger than yours. Don’t you worry too much about your award. You just worry about your faithfulness, doing it with the right attitude. There’s a second danger, not only the danger of a calculating spirit. There’s the danger of a comparative spirit.
Those originally hired the 12-hour workers, you’ll notice in verse 10 expected more. But when the first came, they suppose they would receive more, and they likewise received each of denarius. They’re expecting more in comparison to those they deemed as doing less. So they’re making a comparison. They were being competitive in their spirit.
They didn’t take what was theirs because they had negotiated a denarius and rejoice in the generosity of the master to the others. No, they were in competition. They didn’t want to be beaten out. They didn’t want to come up short. They didn’t believe they were being treated fairly. And out of a competitive and comparative spirit, they became unhappy and even jealous.
You’ll notice that in verse 12, these last men have worked only one hour, and you made them equal to us? There’s comparison going on there, isn’t there, who have borne the burden and the heat of the day? Jesus picks that comparative and calculating spirit up and he puts it down to jealousy and envy. Look at verse 15. Isn’t that lawful for me to do what I wish with my own things or is your eye evil because I’m good?
Comparisons of danger, guys. Don’t have a competitive spirit within the kingdom of God. Two examples. One in Old, one in New Testaments. What about Saul and David. Talk about a competitive comparative spirit. So Saul puts his hand, and David sends them the war. He defeats the Philistines. Initially, Saul celebrates that and should celebrate that and be thankful for David. But then it all turns south and it all turns sour because he hears what?
He hears the women in Israel saying, “Saul has slain his thousands, but David his tens of thousands.” And from that moment on, Saul seeks the downfall of David becomes jealous, envious, competitive. He loses his own joy. By the good hand of God, Saul has slain thousands, and that’s something to rejoice in. He’s been in the hand of God and used by God, but he can’t enjoy it. Why? Because he’s comparing himself to others. And then you’ve got Peter and John, John 21, 20 to 22.
When the Lord tells Peter what’s going to happen to him? And he says, “Okay. Lord, that’s interesting.” It’s actually not good. It looks like he’s going to die by means of crucifixion. But then he sees John, the disciple whom Jesus loved, leaning kind of Jesus side. Okay. Hold on. You’ve told me what’s going to happen to me. What’s going to happen to him? Tell me it’s going to be as bad for him as it is for me. I’ll feel better about that. Well, Jesus says, “Peter, why don’t you just mind your own business? What’s that to you? You run your race.”
That’s the challenge, isn’t it? Comparing is a danger. Comparisons make even the most advantaged person to discontent. See, you might have a lot, but whatever you have, I’ll tell you this, all with someone’s got more. If you get into the comparison game, your lot’s going to seem little if you compare it to someone who has more. That’s what comparison does.
Comparisons make even the most advantaged person discontent because we always measure up not down. Comparisons focus on what we don’t have rather than on what we do have. That was Ahab who became envious of Naboth’s vineyard. He validates both these areas. Here’s an advantaged man not feeling disadvantaged because he likes Naboth’s vineyard and he can’t get it, and he doesn’t enjoy what he has because he’s focused on getting what he can’t get or doesn’t have. Dangerous, guys.
Comparisons are selective and therefore deceptive. When you and I make comparisons, we tend to focus on the area of that person’s life we like, and envy, and want. But we tend to forget if you want their life, you get all of their life, not just the part you like. And they’ve got stuff that’s going on that you won’t like, maybe be just as tough as aspects of your life. Comparisons become very selective, and that makes them deceptive. And finally, comparisons divert us from what God wants me to do.
As in Peter and John. See, we’re all unique. We’re all originals, and God has gifted us through the Holy Spirit in certain areas, sovereignly given, selectively given for you to be who you are for God’s glory. I love that verse in Acts 13. David served his generation, by the will of God.
We’ve got to be careful about comparison. It drags us down. It distracts us, diverts us. I remember when I first came out to the Master’s Seminary in 1993, I think, because of the kindness and interest of Dr. MacArthur, my wife and I, with our three girls had come over to go to TMS. And through John’s kindness and the investment within the congregation at Grace community, we had been helped financially to make it happen.
And also, John had given my name to Placerita Baptist Church in Santa Clarita where I eventually became a part-time pastor while going through TMS, which was a great help. Remember, getting into an elevator one morning early on in my first semester, just finding my feet here in the United States, kind of feeling the pressure, not wanting to drop the ball, wanting to live up to whatever expectations had been set for me, get into the elevator. And there was two other guys in the elevator. And one of them said to me, “Who are you?” Just wanted to get to know me, just an innocent question. Before I could say anything, the other guy in the elevator said, “Oh, he’s John MacArthur’s pet.”
I’m going, “What?” And I was not ready for that. And it scurried me to a little degree thinking, {Man, is that the perception?” I was bothered by it. Kind of also a little ticked off by what he said, but I kept my cool, which was his benefit. And later on, I talked to a mature believer about that and their answer’s, “Well, that’s his problem.” If he can’t accept God’s providence in your life, that’s his problem.
God wants to bless you, and it was a blessing to have Dr. MacArthur take a personal interest in it. But don’t forget, he had visited us in Ireland, and we’d struck up a friendship. There was some uniqueness to that relationship. And to this day, I’m forever grateful for his kindness, but standing behind him is the providence of God. And believe it or not, that guy and I did become friends later on, but it was that I think he would have to admit that that was a moment of competitive comparative spirit where you can’t rejoice in what God’s doing, in another word, you’re drawing parallels that are not helpful, not spiritual, not profitable. Last thought very quickly, the danger of a complaining spirit.
Verse 11, they complained against the landlord. They murmured and threw a hissy fit about the perceived injustice and fairness of how they got given, how much they worked compared to others. But remember to repeat and finish their complaint was groundless. One, they had happily agreed to the denarius, and that’s what they got, and they should have been happy.
And two, they have no right to challenge the master about what he does with his money since he’s being truthful and fair to them. They have no right to judge his goodness or generosity towards others. Brothers, that’s beware of a grumbling spirit.
Philippians 2:14, do all things without murmuring or disputing. James 5 verse 9, don’t grumble against a brother. And remember, it’s no small matter, grumbling, complaining. It’s not a white sin while others are black sins. It’s not a respectable sin. It was the continual murmuring in the wilderness that aroused the anger of God and wiped out a generation of Israelites.
Murmuring is a contagion that robs us and those around us of forward movement, joy and ability to be thankful for the least of God’s graces. Murmuring is the sin of a man who has forgot himself. He has forgot himself in the sense that he’s a hell-deserving sinner, and God has not dealt with him after his sins. That’s why the old Puritan was right when he was asked, “How are you doing?” to which he replied, “Better than I deserve. Always, always.”
That’s rejoice in the Lord. Let’s serve the Lord with joy. Let’s find joy in what God is doing in others. As we finish, we go back to that question, I think, at the heart of this parable, given its context, “Why do I serve the Lord?” That’s a question I want you to go home thinking about. There’s a mix of motives. God’s glory, love for Jesus, the desire to help others, and the winning of eternal happiness for oneself. All of those motives are good. But sometimes, their motives are not pure. And that’s what the parable is challenging us to think through.
Was Peter’s motive skewed or in danger of being skewed and Jesus had to correct it a little bit it? I graduated in 1999 from the Master’s Seminary. Dr. Eric Alexander, I believe, spoke that night. And in part of his sermon, he was talking about Acts 6, about man of God give themselves to prayer in the study of the scriptures.
He talks about high one particular morning as he sat in his little hut kind of office out his backyard in Scotland, his wife capped up the tradition. Right about 10 o’clock, she would always come with a warm cup of tea and a biscuit. And on that particular morning, she comes into his little den. He’s studying. She puts the tea down and the biscuit down. He puts his pen down. And in that particular morning, he just was reveling in the fact that God had called him and God was using him.
And he was thinking about that interesting story when Pharaoh’s daughter, unbeknownst to her, hires Moses’s mother and pays her wages to take care of her son, which she would’ve done for free anyway. And so that is kind of a background and join that moment. He looks up to his wife and he says, “Oh, my dear to think that I get paid to do this.”
I just dropped at that moment in the service. It was emotional. I prayed that that moment would last for a long time in my life. I know that God will bless. I know that God would reward, but I want that to be the spirit with which I preach and serve and by which you follow Jesus to think, guys, we’ll get rewarded for doing this.
Amen.
That’s the spirit, more than compensated. Amen.