Matt. 21:23-32
28What 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.’ 29“‘I will not,’ he answered, but later he changed his mind and went. 30“Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, ‘I will, sir,’ but he did not go. 31“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.
This morning we’re continuing on in our study of the book of John by being in Matthew…for whatever reason John records nothing from Jesus’ triumphal entry on Sunday to the institution of the Lord’s Supper on Thursday…however…both Matthew and Mark do share some of what Jesus said and did during those three days…and this parable is one of the things Jesus said.
As Jesus begins His last week in His earthly body…each one of the gospel writers gives information that is not found in one single account.
Matthew records five parables Jesus gives during those three days…all of which focused primarily on what a life of faith as His disciple looks like…there’s no mention of what is required for eternal life…these parables assume you are already a Christian.
Jesus is not talking about how to get into the kingdom of God…He has already established that…He’s talking about how we conduct our life is the evidence that proves our decision was genuine…He’s defining the expectations on how we are to live our life while on earth.
He is revealing what is expected of us when we claim Him as Lord and Savior… what does that mean…what are the expectations when we make that claim…what is involved in that commitment…in this parable He reveals the consequences if we fail to take seriously that commitment.
As part of living a life of faith last week we looked at Jesus’ statement regarding prayer…I hope you all understood that message because it helps to identify what Jesus is expecting from us when we pray…and how He works through our prayers to accomplish His will on earth.
Answered prayer is conditional…it’s not just throwing out a prayer and waiting for God to answer it…without re-preaching that sermon again let me just say… believing all you have to do is ‘ask and you shall receive’ without
1) keeping God’s expectations regarding answered prayer
2) not realizing that it is only when our desires match what God desires will our prayers be answered
3) only when our faith is in harmony with God’s will…that God hears our prayers.
This morning we’re looking at another issue that occurred as a result of Jesus’ actions in the temple on Sunday…He is back in Jerusalem doing what He’s been doing for the past three years…preaching and teaching.
It’s now Tuesday of Passion Week…Matthew 21:23 is a continuation of a conversation from the previous Sunday as a result of something the religious authorities—the chief priests and elders—said to Jesus after He cleared the Temple …the religious leaders respond by asking Jesus:
‘By what authority are You doing these things and who gave You this authority?’ [Matt. 21:23]
It’s important to know the audience to whom Matthew is writing so you can understand the significance of this question…the issue of ‘authority’ [23] has been a theme in the Gospel of Matthew from the beginning [7:29; 9:6, 8]
We’re trying to understand the meaning of this conversation 2000 years after the fact…not knowing all the details of what would have been common knowledge to the people at that time.
For the Jews the right to be a teacher…a rabbi… could only be conferred on someone who had studied under some other great teacher…hence the question…By what authority are You doing these things…who authorized this.
The chief priests and elders were responsible for the religious life of Israel and the operation of the temple…their authority came from God, so it was entirely appropriate for them to question Jesus’ action and ask by what authority he had to disrupt the temple routine.
The religious leaders are saying in essence…who are you to come into Jerusalem receiving the praises of the masses and drive the moneychangers out of the temple?
The second question gave point to the first. Could He name the Rabbi who had trained Him, or authorized Him to teach? ‘who gave you this authority.’
In the opening chapters of Matthew’s Gospel, he narrates stories demonstrating that Jesus is the Lord…that His coming inaugurates the kingdom of heaven on earth.
Matthew explains who Jesus is in terms of fulfilled Scripture…that His authority did come from God… ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me’ [(28:18] …His entrance into the world was the epicenter of all of God’s dealings with humanity.
Jesus responds to the religious leader’s question of ‘By what authority are You doing these things and who gave You this authority?’ by asking them a question to their question…something Jesus does frequently…He answered their question with a question of His own:
The baptism of John [the Baptist], was from what source, from heaven or from men?’ (21:25).
The religious leaders are unwilling to respond, Jesus uses this as an opportunity to address the fundamental issue of authority…Jesus declines to say directly by what authority He did these things (21:27) instead He invokes the name of John the Baptist…but for what purpose?
Again…we’re trying to understand the meaning of this conversation 2000 years after the fact…introducing John the Baptist into this conversation would have been a slap in the face to these guys.
God sent John the Baptist to prepare Israel for the coming Messiah…John even declared that was the reason for his coming…so they were re not ignorant of John’s mission…but the religious leaders were skeptical of John’s message of repentance.
BUT…wanting to show they were respectful and obedient…they gave the appearance that they accepted John’s message but refused to recognize what God was doing.
Jesus refuses to tell them where He derives His authority but knowing their thoughts, He tells this parable that reflects the leaders’ true feelings…they say they’re in favor of what John the Baptist preached…but they do nothing to support it.
It is in this context that Jesus tells three parables—the Parable of the Two Sons… the Parable of the Landowner…and the Parable of the Wedding Feast…each of these parables is told to the Jewish religious leaders, each illustrates their rejection of Jesus.
The Parable of the Two Sons is in response to the Pharisees question of ‘By what authority are You doing these things and who gave You this authority?’
The story is about a man who had two sons…he tells them to go work in the vineyard…the first son refuses but later changes his mind…obeys and goes… the second son initially expressed obedience, but later changes his mind and disobeys.
This is a parable I’m sure you’ve heard before especially if you’ve been in Church for any length of time.
It’s not my intention this morning to add anything new to what Jesus gives relating to this parable…God hasn’t revealed to me any additional meaning…because there is only one meaning…what it meant when Jesus gave it.
The key interpretive point in understanding the Parable of the Two Sons comes in defining to whom Jesus is speaking…just like with the fig tree we talked about last week…we need to look at the overall context of the passage…what is Jesus saying to me through this parable this morning.
Jesus tells the parable of the two sons to illustrate how actions are more important than intentions.
Both sons hear the same command: “Son, go work today in my vineyard.” …here’s where we start to split hairs…this statement is making a comparison between two things…what it meant then…and the application for us today.
First…The whole purpose of these parables is to illustrate the religious leader’s rejection of Jesus and the judgment on Israel that will come as a result of their rejection of Him as their Messiah.
Secondly…the application for us today…this in essence is the same command every person who has ever lived hears…”Son, go work today in my vineyard.” This parable is an illustration of God’s call to every person who has ever lived.
This son represents every person’s first reaction to God’s call of repentance…the initial response of a sinner to God’s call is ‘I will not’.
EVERYBODY we’ve all been there which shows the initial relationship between man and God…the disobedient son represents those who have no desire to make an effort to obey God.
They neither fear God nor pretend to…they see no immediate reward in making a decision to trust Jesus as their Savior…here’s what’s interesting about those people.
The first son is like every person in this sanctuary…we initially disobeyed the word of God…flat out rejected Him…making no excuses as to why…like the son refusing to go into the field we’re exhibiting our disobedience… ‘I will not go’.
But after thinking about it…the son regrets his decision and returns to carry out his father’s wishes
Why did the first son regret his disobedience?
This story should unsettle us…we have to look at the second son to get a clear picture of what is being portrayed…the religious leaders are represented by the second son who says “I will” but then disobeys his father.
Jesus is telling us and them like the son…we might have the best intentions with our promises of faithfulness to obey God…but that is not enough for salvation… promised obedience isn’t obedience…partial obedience is not obedience…having good intentions is not obedience…it’s only those who actually obey God who are doing the will of their father.
Like the fig tree we talked about last week…it’s possible to convince ourselves that our appearance is proof of our devotion—but Jesus is looking for fruit.
The significance of this story is that the first son, who initially does not want to work in the vineyard but repents and later does…represents the people who were non-believers that were sent a message by John the Baptist to believe in God.
These people repented and wound up following God, as shown by the first son deciding to help with the vineyard after first saying no.
Why did the second son initially say he would go but later didn’t?
The second son represents the leaders of Israel…or people who have been believers for their entire life…even though these people have been believers for their entire life…claiming obedience…they’re not doing the will of the father.
They claim to be someone when they’re not…this son creates a false image of himself as someone who helps…scheme · resolve · resolution · determination · wish · desire · ambition · idea · dream · aspiration · hope. He’s a big talker, full of promises but no actions.
He deceitfully professes respect and obedience, but he never follows through…the contradiction between his word and his work exposes his major character flaw—he’s an imposter…he pretends to be someone else in order to deceive others… ‘Sure dad you can count on me, I’ll work in the vineyard’…then he never shows up.
The second son pictures the hypocritical…self-righteous religious leaders who talk about serving God but actually live in disobedience to the word of God.
It’s harder to convince an imposter of his true state than it is a flagrant sinner… because the imposter follows his own standards and form of godliness…deceiving himself…whereas the sinner knows he is evil.
Many in mainstream Christianity profess to know God but deny Him in their works. They appear pious at church, but their personal lives are riddled with sin…they’re living a lie…they’re imposters pretending to be someone else in order to deceive others.
The second son doesn’t go to work because he lives for the moment…he didn’t do the will of his father, though he agreed to…his agreement was a lie, and his failure to go was evidence that he never truly intended to do the father’s will.
So not only did the second son fail to obey the word of his father, but he also lied about his intentions, which showed him to be a hypocrite.
In these two men Jesus describes the spiritual condition of Israel…God had sent John the Baptist to prepare Israel for the Messiah’s coming… preaching a message of repentance…Israel’s sinners responded to John’s message when convicted. They responded…they turned away from their iniquities, repented, and obeyed God…but the religious leaders were skeptical of John’s message.
The religious leaders had zeal for the law but had reservations about John’s message …they made a big show of their obedience but didn’t heed to John’s teaching because they were convinced of their righteousness.
Why does the disobedient son eventually do the will of his father?
The sons’ ultimate actions reveal their difference…the first son, after open refusal, repents of his sin and goes to work for his father…he yields to his father’s instructions doing as his father commanded him.
The first son is a picture of sinners who, by repenting and obeying the Gospel, will enter the Kingdom.
The second son is a picture of the hypocritical self-righteous people who talk about serving…who claim obedience to God but actually live in disobedience to the word of God.
Again…in both these parables…the withered tree and the parable of the two sons… Jesus is pronouncing in the immediate future…His coming judgment on Israel…but it’s also about all the people of God…unbelievers…as well as believers.
It’s teaching that religious observances are not enough to guarantee salvation unless there is the evidence of fruit…our personal lives can look like we’re ‘in leaf.’ …our leaves may look like those of a super Christian but the root may be withered.
If there’s no fruit then we’re just like that withered fig tree…we’re useless… genuine salvation is evidenced in the life of the person by how they conduct themselves.
Let me share with you another aspect of this parable that most people never pick up on…it’s about whether God accepts death bed conversions.
With regards to the first son…he initially fails to obey the father…but later repents and does obey…the father accepts the son’s repentance and allows him to serve anyway…so the son was credited with doing the will of the father in the end.
Is that representative of someone who for years…possibly throughout their entire life has been defiant toward God…rejecting Him and His offer of eternal life…but before they die…like the son…repents.
There is a lot of controversy regarding whether people who for their entire life have not believed, but come to a saving knowledge of Jesus just before death…are they allowed into heaven?
This story…as well as other verses…and even a parable by Jesus Himself
The parable of the vineyard workers (Matthew 20: 1–16)
indicate that the sinner who repents and obeys even in the later years of his life…in the end will enter the Kingdom of Heaven.
Look again at what Jesus says…He responds with a pretty strong statement of condemnation.
He is talking to the religious leaders of Israel…just because you exhibit…or proclaim a belief in Jesus but live a life of deliberate…willful… unrepentant sin… even though you are the religious leaders of Israel…they will take a back seat to tax collectors and prostitutes [31] who will enter the kingdom of God ahead of them.
Have to understand the social structure of Israel at that time…to fully understand the seriousness of that condemning remark.
In that time there was nothing more despicable than prostitutes and tax collectors… I’m sure Matthew was probable thinking… ‘Gee thanks’ Lord for bring that up’…being a former tax collector who provided this service on behalf of Rome.
Jesus is saying despite the completely unacceptable lifestyle of prostitutes…disobeying the Lord through their sinful lifestyles…if they repent and accept Jesus as Messiah at any point in their life before they die…in the end…they would be more welcomed in the Kingdom of Heaven than a person who claims to be a believer but lives a life of disobedience.
Jesus will give two more parables which are focused primarily on what a life of faith as His disciple looks like…has nothing to do with eternal life…Jesus is not talking about how to get into the kingdom of God…He’s defining the expectations on how we are to live our life while on earth.
He is revealing what is expected of us if we claim Him as Lord and Savior…what that means…what are the expectations when we make that claim.
In this parable He reveals the consequences if we fail to take seriously that commitment…so there’s no surprise on that ‘day’.