Matthew Chapter 21
Scripture:
28 “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.’ 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
Observation:
The chief priests had stopped in at the court of the
gentiles where he was preaching - in their fine garb and symbols of their
authority- to challenge Jesus and to take some of his power away. They weren’t
looking for honest answers to their question; they were trying to discredit him
with the crowd by making it clear that he DIDN’T preach from their
authority. So Jesus brings up John, who
the crowd they were all standing in revered as a prophet. He used the threat of
rousing the crowd to riot in order to harness them.
THEN he tells this parable.
It's an appeal to them both, each brother are represented in
the crowd after all. I believe that he doesn't want anyone to slip from the
opportunity to repent. So out of love he
holds up the mirror to say “don’t you see what you are doing?”
He reminds them through the story - that they have a
decision to make. Will they cling to an
outward form of godliness, telling God “yes” with their mouths but “no” with
their life... or will they repent and do the work that the Father has given
them to do?
James says it eloquently in 2:18. But to be clear, so that there is no
confusion about being saved by faith and not by works, James was talking TO
believers when he said “show me your faith by what you say and I’ll show you my
faith by what I do” That discussion is not about salvation, but about the
effectiveness of your ministry and testimony once you are saved; a kick in the
pants to the scattered church of the day to get out into the vineyard and do
the work.
Our passage today should not be confused with a debate about
faith and deeds. It’s not about that at
all. He was chastising the chief priests
for playing dress-up, in the robes of God’s office, without first having
repented and been saved. They craved,
not the goodwill of the Father, but the respect and authority over men.
Application:
Which brother are you?
Have you repented and need the reminder to get to work in the
Vineyard? Or have you been playing at
church without true repentance?
Prayer:
Lord, I am so grateful for your Holy Spirit which can
separate truth from lies, even the lies we tell ourselves for comfort. I pray that you divine our intentions and
spur us into action. Amen.
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