Skip to main content

227. The Parable Of The Two Sons

Matthew 21:28-32
Key Verse: Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the Kingdom of God ahead of you."
Matthew 21:31B

As with the parable of The Prodigal Son, (Luke 15:11-31) we once again are given a story of a Father with two sons. Jesus uses this story to once again contrast the religious with the sinners. He also takes the opportunity to continue His support of John the Baptist and the authority given to him by God.

Let's reverse the parable a bit and examine the second son first. He told his father to his father's face that he would be obedient. He would do what the father had asked of him. The religious leaders had promised to uphold the law of God and guide the people in the paths of righteousness, but in reality, they were obeying only as well as the second son who said he would go but didn’t. Just as the second son's obedience was in word only, an act to possibly avoid conflict, the religious leaders concern for the people was also only an act. That's why Jesus was constantly calling them hypocrites, or actors, as we learned earlier.

The first son was obviously defiant. It's easy to tell who the sinners are! When the father asked him to go work in the vineyard, the first son replied, "I will not!" which is just what we would expect a sinner to say. But then Jesus says about this boy, "but later he changed his mind and went." (Matthew 21:29) To put it in modern terms, he repented. To repent means to change direction or turn around. The first son turned from his rebellious attitude and submitted to his father's wishes and obeyed his father's will. Both sons probably had no intention of obeying at the beginning, but one repented and it wasn't the one representing the religious person, it was the one representing the sinner.

Jesus is still not done with this second son, however. He has more to say to the one who rebelled. Yesterday, we said that Jesus knew that the Pharisees didn't really believe in John, but they didn't want the crowds to know that. Now Jesus says to them: "John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and prostitutes (the first son) did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him." (Matthew 21:32) 

 Jesus is saying that the leaders, the second sons, saw the change that was brought about by the repentance of the sinners, the first son, and yet they still wouldn't acknowledge that John's ministry was from God and under God's authority. It was too important for them to be right in their own eyes and that self-righteousness kept them from repenting themselves and submitting to God's will and recognizing the Good that only God could do.

We need to be careful. Pride can hold us back too. We can easily think that we are better than the obvious sinners in our community and families. Those people know what we know, that they are bad and in need of change. Sometimes, our pride and our religious practices can blind us to our own false piety. "Lord, of course I love you, but I'm not going to obey You, your way, at least, not quite yet." Be careful that you yourself are not the second son toward your heavenly Father and your earthly brother.

Hymn: "How Blessed are They Who Hear God's Word"

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

211. The Sons of Thunder's Request

Matthew 20:20-28 , Mark 10:35-45 , Key verse: "Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all." Mark 10:43B-44 In our readings for yesterday, in which Jesus outlined what was about to happen to Him, for His disciples, the passage in Luke ends: "The disciples did not understand any of this. It's meaning was hidden from them, and they did not know what He was talking about." ( Luke 18:34 ) Now, we see just how truly clueless they were. Jesus had laid out a plan before them of pain and suffering and death and now James and John are focused on a promotion. The disconnect is so obvious. It's really not important to know whether James and john came up with this request on their own or if their mother put them up to it. The request was made and James and John thought that they could handle the responsibility that would come with it. What is that saying, "Fools rush in where angels fe...
Post a Comment
Read more

201. All for God's Glory

John 9 & 2 Corinthians 12:7-12 Key Verse: "Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life." John 9:3 In this event John records my personal favorite from all four gospels. I love it for its detail. I love it because it demonstrates so much of our human frailty. It shows us how powerful our fears can be in the midst of God's amazing grace and glory. First, we have the disciples who are suffering under the misconception that sickness and unfortunate circumstances are the result of sin only. They are thinking like Job and his friends. If you obey you will always be blessed and if you sin, God will punish you for it. They couldn't imagine that God could have possibly designed this man, blind, for His own glorious purposes. Then we have the neighbors who are all amazed, but then what? What do you do when the mold has been broken? This man was blind and now he...
Post a Comment
Read more

204. Come Like a Child

Psalm 127 , Matthew 19:13-15 , Luke 18:15-17 , Mark 10:13-16 Key Verse: Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." Matthew 19:14 The attitude of the disciples isn't much different than the attitude of many people, even Christians, today. Instead of seeing children as a blessing from the Lord, too many regard them as a burden to bear that gets in the way of our own selfish happiness. Family size is determined by what we think we can afford rather than openness to God's blessing, trusting God to provide. Satan hates children. Children represent innocence. The sooner he can corrupt and or damage a child, the happier he is. This is why Jesus warned in Matthew 18:6: "If anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drown in the depths of the sea." To corrupt or damage ...
Post a Comment
Read more