From our Sunday service on September 21, 2025, Luke 15, Matthew 20 and Luke 7. This is part 6 of our Parables of Christ series. Watch the full message: Jealous of Grace – The Parables of Christ #6 on YouTube.
This is part two of our topic on salvation. Last time we looked at three parables that showed us how God searches for the lost and how much He rejoices when they come home. Today we are going to be honest about how we sometimes struggle with God’s grace, and how, if we are not careful, we can find ourselves upset when God forgives people we think do not deserve it. That attitude can hurt our ability to share the gospel with others. God wants you to know that you should always rejoice at the salvation of others.
The Older Brother
Before we get into verse 25, a quick review. We looked at the first half of the parable of the two sons. The younger asked for his portion, left, wasted everything, came to himself in a far country feeding swine, and came home. Before he could even finish asking to be a servant, the father ran to him, put his best robe on him, gave him a ring and shoes, and called for a feast. Today we pick up with the older son.
Now his elder son was in the field: and as he came and drew nigh to the house, he heard musick and dancing. And he called one of the servants, and asked what these things meant. And he said unto him, Thy brother is come; and thy father hath killed the fatted calf, because he hath received him safe and sound. And he was angry, and would not go in: therefore came his father out, and intreated him.
Luke 15:25–28
We have to put ourselves in the perspective of this older son. He has been out in the field all day doing hard physical labor. He is exhausted, sweaty, and hungry, and as he comes near the house he hears musick and dancing. He has to ask a servant what is going on. When he finds out his brother has come home and his father has killed the fatted calf, he is angry and will not go in. His father comes out and intreats him.
The older son has two main grievances. First, he was never rewarded for treating his father well. I have worked for you all these years. I never disobeyed you, and you never even gave me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends. Second, his brother harmed the family and lived in sin, yet he is celebrated with the best they have. He has devoured thy living with harlots, and you have killed for him the fatted calf. How does the father answer? First, Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine. We do not need to celebrate every day. Some kids argue that if there is a Mother’s Day there should be a Children’s Day, and the answer is, every day is children’s day. The older son already had the father’s presence and the father’s goods. What they should do now is make merry and be glad, because this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found.
What is the spiritual application? Sometimes God’s grace toward others is going to feel unfair. Sometimes we will feel like the older brother, upset that someone who wasted years, hurt people, and lived in open sin is welcomed home with joy, while we have been in the field all along. The Father is not cheating you. You have been with Him. All that He has is yours. The right response is not to stand outside and refuse to go in. The right response is to rejoice that the one who was dead is alive again.
The Workers in the Vineyard
Matthew 20 talks about how all believers share in the same reward. A householder, somebody who owns a big plot of land, goes out early in the morning to hire labourers into his vineyard, and he agrees with them for a penny, a day’s wage. About the third hour, around 9:00 a.m., he needs more workers. He finds others standing idle in the marketplace and tells them, Go ye also into the vineyard, and whatsoever is right I will give you. He does the same at later hours. Finally, about the eleventh hour, around 5:00 p.m., he finds others still standing idle. Why stand ye here all the day idle? They say, Because no man hath hired us. People had to quit around 6:00 because they had to leave before sundown to make it home, so these men would get about an hour of work. He sends them too.
When even is come, the lord of the vineyard tells his steward to call the labourers and give them their hire, beginning from the last unto the first. Those hired last, who worked only an hour, receive a whole day’s wage. Those who have been in the heat of the day see it and assume they will receive more. When they also receive a penny, they murmur. The owner reminds them that they got exactly what they agreed to. He kept the contract. The problem was not that the owner was evil or unfair. The problem was that they compared themselves with people who received the same pay for less work, and they called his generosity injustice. I will give unto this last, even as unto thee. Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? Is thine eye evil, because I am good?
There is also this: the first to work are the last to receive. They have to wait the longest. Salvation is the same way. Those saved early in life walk with the Lord for years, and those who come at the eleventh hour, even on a deathbed, receive the same gift of eternal life. Do not sin in jealousy, because God is good. We are not being cheated when He is kind to someone who came later than we did. We are being given exactly what we were promised, eternal life with Christ.
The Two Debtors
Our last section is the parable of the two debtors in Luke 7. One of the Pharisees, Simon, desires Jesus to eat with him. This is not the same account as the other woman who washes Jesus’s feet. A woman in the city, which was a sinner, stands behind Him weeping, washes His feet with tears, wipes them with the hairs of her head, kisses His feet, and anoints them with ointment. Simon thinks, If this man were a prophet, he would know what kind of woman this is and would not let her touch him. The woman who sees Jesus as the Messiah is humble. The Pharisee, who has invited Him over to decide whether He is the Messiah, a prophet, or a crazy man, condemns Him because of His grace.
And Jesus answering said unto him, Simon, I have somewhat to say unto thee. And he saith, Master, say on. There was a certain creditor which had two debtors: the one owed five hundred pence, and the other fifty. And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me therefore, which of them will love him most? Simon answered and said, I suppose that he, to whom he forgave most. And he said unto him, Thou hast rightly judged.
Luke 7:40–43
Once again we are dealing with the Roman denarius. A man loans money to two people, one for a year and a third’s worth of wages, the other for fifty days’ worth. Both have nothing to pay. A year and a third of debt is no joke. In that culture, if you owed money, you could be taken into indentured servitude, forced labor until you worked off the debt. They would stamp a mark in your ear and say you were a debt slave until you paid yourself out. The lender had every right to say, Work for me fifty days, or work for me a year and a third. Forget about your family. Does he do that? No. He frankly forgave them both. You can also translate that word as pardoned. He released them from the debt. That was a huge favor to them in society.
Jesus is showing us a picture of what we have just seen in real life. The debtors are the sinful woman and Simon the Pharisee. The woman has an abundance of sin to be forgiven, and she loves much. The Pharisee, who thinks he has little to forgive, loves little. Jesus says those He forgives the most will love Him the most. I think we can all think of someone who inspires us by how much God transformed their life. Our past brokenness should not discourage us from wanting to serve the Lord. It should inspire us to serve Him even more. On the other hand, our lack of sin should not make us think we do not owe the Lord as much. Whether you owe a year and a third’s worth of money or fifty days’ worth, you still owe money and you are still guilty in the court. Whether you have fifty sins or five hundred thousand, you are still in debt to God, and He will still find you guilty if you do not go to Jesus and ask for forgiveness. Both the great sinner and the small sinner are guilty and in need of the Savior.
Today we looked at three examples of how believers can become jealous of God’s grace. I hope none of us replicate these attitudes. The older brother struggled because he worked hard, stayed home, and did the right things, yet his brother was celebrated. The vineyard workers remind us that God’s reward is the same for all who follow Him, whether they come to faith as a child or repent on their deathbed. The two debtors remind us that the more we recognize how much we have been forgiven, the more we will love to follow Jesus. God wants you to always rejoice at the salvation of others. Will you choose to rejoice at the salvation of others today?
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