Matthew 21:28-32 “What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work today in the vineyard.’ “‘I will not,’ he answered, but later he changed his mind and went. “Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, ‘I will, sir,’ but he did not go. “Which of the two did what his father wanted?” “The first,” they answered. Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him.
In the above scriptures, Jesus ruminates over the questions the chief priest and elders asked him. “By what authority are you doing these things?” “And who gave you this authority? Jesus did not respond to their questions; instead, He deflected the discussion to John the Baptist. Jesus replied, “I will also ask you one question. If you answer me, I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things. John’s baptism—where did it come from? Was it from heaven, or of human origin?” (24-25) The priest and elders were caught in a dilemma. If they claimed John’s authority came from heaven, then Jesus would ask them why they did not obey John’s message and repent of their sins. If they said it was from John himself, they knew the people would rebel against them, for they thought John was a prophet sent by God. So they did not answer Jesus’ question directly: We don’t know. (27) Therefore, Jesus did not answer their question directly either. Instead, He tells them a parable of two sons who were directed by their father to work in the vineyard. These two sons represent two segments of society, the sinners and the self-righteous. The first son represents the sinners: the wayward, the irresponsible, the tax collectors and the prostitutes, people who repented of their sins when John called for repentance. The second son represents the self-righteous, those who thought they had no need to repent or to answer God’s call for repentance. The priests, teachers of the law, and elders were in this group. They should have been shepherds of the flock, leading the people to God by encouraging them to repent of their sins and wayward living; instead, because of their deceptive hearts, they were hindering the people from finding God. They were living lives of hypocrisy, pleasing themselves at the people’s expense. Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness. (Matthew 23:27-28) As the second son, they claim they will work for the father, but they do not. They construct their lives around their desires, their will for each day. Their agenda for their lives is not their father’s but their own. “I will, sir” is not the real intent of their hearts. They are hypocrites, not living for the benefit of the father, but for themselves. By telling this parable, Jesus lambasts the Jewish elite for their unwillingness to be God’s servants, their lack of sacrifice for the wellbeing of the people they serve. Their actions reveal their lack of compassion and love for the people, even criticizing Jesus for healing people on the Sabbath. When Jesus heals a woman who had been bent over for eighteen years, releasing her from Satan’s grasp, they were indignant, angry that He would do work on the Sabbath. Jesus responds to their indignation, “You hypocrites! Doesn’t each of you on the Sabbath untie your ox or donkey from the stall and lead it out to give it water? Then should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her?” (Luke 13:15-16) The second son lost out because he failed to do the will of the father. The Jewish leaders lost out with God because they failed to behave as true servants of God. The Jewish priesthood would be replaced by the Good News that Jesus saves and makes people right with God.
The first son represents the secular world, a son who intended to live his life for himself. He was initially unwilling to heed his father’s call of working in the vineyard. He had a plan for that day and it was not the father’s plan for him. His agenda probably included the secular life of eating, drinking, and being merry for tomorrow we may die. The first son represents the lifestyle of the prostitutes, the tax collectors, the disreputable—all living their lives the way they desire. But later on in the day, the son changed his mind and went. He repented by going into the vineyard to work, choosing to do the father’s will and not his own. However, the second son’s hypocrisy was exposed by his behavior, not doing the father’s will, merely saying he would without any intention to fulfill his father’s desire for him. The second son is an analogy of the Jewish leadership, their intractable nature of fulfilling their own desires, putting their agenda above God’s will. They thought obedience to the law made them right with God. They believed the temple sacrifices kept them safe from the wrath of God, and that tithing was important because it showed their dedication to God. Yes, true, but their hearts were in the wrong place: they ignored the more important aspects of serving God. Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. (Matthew 23:23) God’s love for people and his desire for their redemption far outshines any religious lifestyle of perfunctory tasks. Serving God is an issue of the heart. To love God with all our strength, mind, soul and spirit, and to love others as we love ourselves is essential in serving God. Love is an action, but it starts with the correct attitude. The Jewish leadership rebuked Jesus for doing good on the Sabbath, just the opposite of serving God with love for him and others. The first son found this truth to be foundational in his life by going into the vineyard to work for his father. This revealed his love for the father. The second son by disobeying the will of the father revealed his lack of love for his father. The saying that we must walk our talk is important when it comes to obeying God’s will in our lives.
Jesus was revealing by this parable what will happen to the Jewish self-serving leadership. They would be replaced by the people who were once aliens, away from God, who refused to obey him, but later came to him in repentance, giving their lives to God, willing to live their lives in the vineyard, as songs of praise. Their lives, as the first son illustrates, will be a sacrifice to God. As Paul says, his life is a drink offering to the Lord, so will every follower of Christ be a drink offering to the Father God—no hypocrisy, no pretension, no lack of dedication to God. This is the life of the first son. This is the life of those who first said, “No,” living a secular life, claiming that their lives were their own. I will eat, drink and be merry and then I will die, but my life will be lived the way my flesh deserves. But then the first son changed his mind, chose his father’s will rather than his own will. He will enter the kingdom of God. The second son said he would work but chose himself over God’s desire for him. Peter talks about the first son’s willingness to stay in the household of God by doing his will. But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. (1 Peter 2:9-10) By saying no to the Creator, violence and corruption creeped into mankind, but John ministered repentance, and some repented and became children of God. Coming to God through Jesus Christ and his works, people became the first son, leaving behind the world’s corruption and violence. Now Peter says, of those once secular people, you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Obedience is better than sacrifice, or following the law, or tithing or anything else. Following God through serving Christ, accepting his grace and mercy, will gain everything from God’s household of mercy. God’s household of mercy is long suffering, caring and loving. Paul reminds Timothy, pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses. (1 Timothy 6:11-12) Otherwise, stay in the vineyard, work hard for the Lord. Let your life be a sacrificial one. Your life of dedication to the vineyard is a song of praise to God. Let God and everyone you meet hear the melody of your life. Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!” (Romans 10:13-15) Walk your talk today. Keep your promises to God. Sing a new song to him!
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