Sermon Tone Analysis

By Pastor Glenn Pease

In his book Merely Colossal, Arthur Mayer tells of how he hired a stunt man to be buried alive as a publicity stunt for a film he was promoting.

The stunt man knew how to breathe in such a way that he could stay buried for 24 hours and not suffocate.

After the papers made a big splash about a man being buried alive, the appointed day arrived, and just as the paper said, the man was buried.

The spot was carefully marked with lime, so it could be easily found.

Unfortunately, a heavy storm came up that night and washed away all the lime, and they could not find the exact spot.

The stunt man was lost.

Mayer says 30 men dug frantically in the area for 12 hours before they located him.

He was in good condition, but he demanded overtime pay for the extra hours he was lost.

Just about anything can happen, but very few people are ever lost by being buried.

The same, however, cannot be said for the truth.

Men are constantly losing the truth by burying it.

Millions lose sight of the most basic truth in life, which is redemption through Christ, by neglect.

They bury this truth under a mountain of meaningless religious ceremony.

Christians are constantly losing truths by not applying them to life when they hear them.

Preachers are constantly losing truths by getting into ruts and riding hobby horses through the Bible, forgetting that precious treasures are found just off the beaten track.

For example, our passage today contains one of the most obscure parables of Jesus.

It is not even noticed in most books on the parables, and commentators skip over it with little recognition.

It has been buried in the field of neglect, even though it contains a precious pearl.

Verse 10 contains the only recorded instance in Scripture where our Lord used the word duty, but in this one instance He made it so comprehensive that nothing more needs to be said to recognize that duty was a major subject of His teaching.

He taught us all that is necessary to know about duty by a simple illustration and application.

I. ILLUSTRATION.

vv.

7-9

Jesus says if you have a servant in the field doing his job, and he comes in at supper time, you don't make a big fuss over him as if you were his mother.

You don't tell him to set down while you fix his meal.

Not at all, for you expect him to carry on his duties as a servant, and get your meal.

Jesus says, "Does the master thank his slave for doing what he was commanded?"

And the answer is, of course not.

If that seems harsh, it is only because we read into it an unjust relationship between a master and his slave.

If we put it into a modern setting, it is obvious what Jesus is getting at.

I once worked in a packing house where I was given a variety of jobs.

One day I was told to pull hooks off of pigs as they came by.

Another day I was commanded to scoop up rosin and throw it into a boiling vat.

Another day my orders were to crawl under thousands of pigs hanging in a cooler, and wash the fat drippings off the floor with a hose.

Never once did any of the bosses ever thank me for doing what I was told, and never once did I expect such thanks.

Why?

Because it was my duty to do what I was told, and I was being well paid to do it.

As long as they fulfilled their obligation in the relationship, and paid me, it was my duty to do what I was commanded, without expecting them to shower me with praise.

I was not doing anyone a favor, I was doing my duty.

That is what Jesus is saying.

We have all kinds of relationships in life that involve obligations.

We have duties to our family, our church, our neighbor, our employer, and our nation.

These duties are the basic factors in human relations.

They are so basic that we are expected to fulfill them without patting ourselves on the back, and thinking we are great for doing so.

In other words, if you take care of your family, don't expect a write up in Life Magazine.

It is your duty.

Don't expect a thank you card if you pay your taxes or put money in a parking meter.

It is your duty.

If you don't run over anybody for 10 years, don't expect the traffic department to send you a medal.

It is your duty to drive safely.

If you get out to vote, don't gloat and expect to be named citizen of the year.

It is your duty to vote.

Don't expect rewards for doing what it is your duty to do in any area of life.

Now why did Jesus have to emphasize this?

Because He knew the heart of man, and its susceptibility to that cancer of the soul called pride.

In verse 5 His disciples had asked for increased faith, and Jesus told them they could do miracles if they had faith as of a grain of mustard seed.

Jesus knew they would receive the power to do miracles, and so He gave this short parable to warn them against pride, and the danger of thinking they would put God in their debt by what they would do.

Jesus says to them by this illustration, "Remember that everything that you do is your duty to do.

Don't expect any thanks, and don't even think that God owes you anything."

Jesus is saying that doing our duty is the foundation of our life.

We haven't even started to build until we are settled on that.

And it is because we have buried this truth that our society is coming apart at the seams.

Everyone demands their rights, but they dodge their responsibilities.

They fight for their rights, but flee from their responsibilities.

The old duty of youth keeping themselves pure for the one they will marry is being thrown out.

Why?

Because duty is hard, and no one thanks you for it.

The duty of morality does not make anyone a hero.

It is just the expected thing for one who lives responsibly.

Adults are being driven dizzy by duties these days.

There are responsibilities weighing on them all the time until sometimes they come to despise their daily duties.

They go to work, do their job, pay the bills, go to church, go to PTA, and what do they get?

Does anyone ever thank them for being dutiful parents, employees, church members, and citizens?

No! Very seldom to never are people thanked for doing their duty.

Duty is a big bore.

So people become duty dodgers, and like the priest and the Levite they pass by on the other side.

I was hungry and you gave me no food; thirsty and you gave me no drink-but duty is so dull.

I was naked and you clothed me not; I was a stranger and you took me not in-but duty is so boring.

I was sick and you visited me not; in prison and you came not-but nobody would thank me if I did.

Yes, duty can be dull, but to dodge it is not only dangerous, it is deadly.

To evade it leads to judgment.

Many try to escape duty all together.

Someone has expressed their feelings like this:

I wish I had a ticket for Siam,

I'm getting bored with where I am.

But when I'm in Siam why all I'll do,

Is wish I had a ticket for Peru.

What can we do?

If we can't evade it and be happy, and if we can't escape it and be happy, we can exalt it and be happy.

We can put duty up where Christ put it, and recognize that it is the path to happiness.

II.

APPLICATION.

v.10

Jesus says to apply in the spiritual realm what is true in the natural relationships of life.

If you give a man back the ten dollars you owe him, don't expect him to shower you with devotion.

You gave him nothing but what you have received.

He has made no profit because you have done your duty.

In the service of Christ, if you are completely committed, and obey all that Christ commands, remember, you have brought no profit to God, for all you do you do by His grace and power.

Recognize this and you will be humble, and aware that you can never do more than your duty.

It is your duty to do all, and having done it, you can claim no merit, for what is your all compared to the price Christ paid to purchase you?