WHICH ONE WAS RIGHT?
Matthew 21:28-32 NKJV
28 “But what do you think? A man had two sons, and he came to the first and said, ‘Son, go, work today in my vineyard.’ 29 He answered and said, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he regretted it and went. 30 Then he came to the second and said likewise. And he answered and said, ‘I go, sir,’ but he did not go. 31 Which of the two did the will of his father?”
They said to Him, “The first.”
Jesus said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you that tax collectors and harlots enter the kingdom of God before you. 32 For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him; but tax collectors and harlots believed him; and when you saw it, you did not afterward relent and believe him.
Jesus is once again rattling the cages of the religious leaders. The chief priests and elders did not know how to deal with Jesus. They would ask Him questions, and He wouldn’t answer, instead asking a question in return. Jesus was completely unintimidated by these leaders and often used them as the object of His teachings. Our verses today are a classic example.
The parable of the two sons was directed at the religious leaders of Israel. Two sons were given directives from their father: go work in the vineyard. One son defiantly declared that he would not go. And afterward, he felt bad about denying his father and went into the field. The other son had a great response. I go, sir. But he never went. This was a straightforward parable with an easy answer at the conclusion. Jesus asked which one did the will of his father? The leaders correctly answered the first son—the son with the poor verbal response but good actions. And even though the second son sounded like the sincere real deal, his actions disqualified him.
Then Jesus put a bow on this parable by directly applying the truth of the story to the religious people listening to Him. And Jesus did not spare His words. He told the pompous religious crowd that tax collectors and harlots enter the Kingdom of God before they did. I would have loved to have seen the looks on the faces of the leaders. Only if Jesus had mentioned the Samaritans entering heaven would His words have been more offensive. These men thought themselves to be the elite of the elite and ones who God favored. And Jesus put them behind the tax collectors, who were hated because they worked for the Romans and often stole from their fellow Israelites. And the harlots who were the prostitutes. But Jesus defended His declaration by revealing where God puts emphasis.
The tax collectors and harlots were the ones who initially said no to God. But when John the Baptist came preaching a message of repentance these two groups regretted their position and turned to God. They repented, and many were baptized by John. But on the other hand, the religious leaders who appeared to say yes to God never believed John’s prophetic message and repented. They knew better but never responded.
Jesus was redefining what living right before God looked like. The religious leaders of that day were showy and looked religious. They looked like people who said yes to God, but in their hearts they never went there. They did not obey the will of their father. The tax collectors and harlots looked anything but right with God, but made the heart adjustment and responded to the will of God.
APPLICATION
Our life before God is not in show or mere words but in actions. I am a big one on speaking right words. But right words can be nullified by wrong actions. What we do speaks even louder than what we say. This is why James would later write that the doers of God’s Word are the ones who are blessed, not those who hear but do not respond.
The very best response to God? I go, sir, and then going.