Spiritual Comparison

Matthew 8:14-15

Then John’s disciples came and asked him, “How is it that we and the Pharisees fast often, but your disciples do not fast?”
Jesus answered, “How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while he is with them? The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast. (Matthew 8:14,15)

I suspect that it was the Pharisees who first pointed out to John's disciples that Jesus's weren't fasting like them. Why else would John's disciples point out that they were fasting like the Pharisees? I can imagine John's disciple's discussing this with each other, "Yes, why do we fast and they don't?" On one hand there might have been a little spiritual smugness in their discussion. "We're doing the harder work." There might have also been a little frustration, "But we're doing the harder work!" (Funny, how those often go hand in hand.)

John's disciples without even realizing it unwittingly played into the hand of the devil. The devil wanted to discourage Jesus and create dissension between Jesus and John's disciples. If John's disciples could have seen what they were really doing, they might have been horrified. Luckily, Jesus didn't take the bait and simply redirected them to his mission, creating new lives prepared to have his spirit poured into them (new wine for new wineskins, Matthew 9:16-17).

The heart of John's disciples question comes from a source that is still alive today: spiritual comparison. We might see someone's incredibly successful ministry, and we compare their ministry to our just-getting-the-car-payments-in-each month. Our lives seem incredibly ordinary compared to those spiritual superstars. Or maybe we have the opposite problem. We see our neighbors who seem to be making bank, and we comfort ourselves with, "I might not have a BMW, but at least I'm not materialistic."

There's a story later in the gospels that offers a solution for our spiritual comparison. Jesus was reinstating Peter when Peter leaned back and asked, “'Lord, what about [John]?' Jesus answered, 'If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me'" (John 21:20-22).

Part of spiritual maturity is leaving behind comparisons to other Christians. If you're trying to be a spiritual superhero, this might get a little disappointing. God's not looking to see how great you are. He's not noticing how much harder you work at being a Christian. He's just looking to make your heart new so that he can pour his new wine into your life.