Click here for the Matthew 21:28-32 PODCAST
28 But what do you think about this? A man with two sons told the older boy, "Son, go out and work in the vineyard today." 29 The son answered, "No, I won’t go," but later he changed his mind and went anyway. 30 Then the father told the other son, "You go," and he said, "Yes, sir, I will." But he didn’t go. 31 "Which of the two obeyed his father?" They replied, "The first." Then Jesus explained his meaning: "I tell you the truth, corrupt tax collectors and prostitutes will get into the Kingdom of God before you do. 32 For John the Baptist came and showed you the right way to live, but you didn’t believe him, while tax collectors and prostitutes did. And even when you saw this happening, you refused to believe him and repent of your sins." ~ Matthew 21:28-32
Today, we continue our study of Matthew 21 where the Lord Jesus is in Jerusalem with His disciples. This is His final week on this earth before He would go to the cross to deal a death blow to sin and death. Before paying the penalty that our sin created, the Lord Jesus was trying to reason with the religious leaders of Israel. He had just confronted them with a question regarding John the Baptist. He had asked them about John's baptism of repentance whether it was from God or not. Of course, the religious leaders evading His question and in doing so they resisted yet another opportunity to embrace a personal relationship with the God of the Bible.
In v.28-31 of today's passage we read, "28 But what do you think about this? A man with two sons told the older boy, 'Son, go out and work in the vineyard today.' 29 The son answered, 'No, I won’t go,' but later he changed his mind and went anyway. 30 Then the father told the other son, 'You go,' and he said, 'Yes, sir, I will.' But he didn’t go. 31 'Which of the two obeyed his father?' They replied, 'The first.' Then Jesus explained his meaning: 'I tell you the truth, corrupt tax collectors and prostitutes will get into the Kingdom of God before you do.'"
Here, the Lord Jesus essentially challenged the religious leaders of Israel to think deeper. He told them a parable of a man who had two sons, one who embraced humility and the other who didn't. These two sons painted a picture of those who enter a personal relationship with God through repentance and those who do not. Essential to coming to the place where we embrace poverty of spirit are humility and honesty, neither of which did the religious leaders welcome into their hearts.
This parable of this father and his two sons paint for us the picture of the very same responsibility we all have in reference to God and that is obedience. The first son was initially disobedient but he then repented while the second son never obeyed his father even though he said he would obey. This parable describes all of sinful man since the Fall of man in the Garden of Eden.
When the religious leaders of Israel who were moral and upright responded to the question from the Lord Jesus, they thought they were getting somewhere with Him. But, without even knowing it, they put themselves in the position to be rightfully rebuked. The religious leaders of Israel lived under the illusion that God was thrilled with them because of their sanctimonious morality. Unbeknown to them, the scum of society, the traitors and the whores who lacked morality were the ones who God was pleased with due to their poverty of spirit.
In effect, the Lord Jesus likened the moral and the religious to the second son who vowed to obey God, but never did. On the other hand, the rebels of society, the tax collectors and the whores who started out as rebels but then repented, they were the ones God was really pleased with. The Jewish religious leaders claimed to be obedient but weren't, while those who initially resisted a personal relationship with the Father entered into His family by believing in His Son. Implied in the response of the Lord Jesus to the religious leaders was the idea that those who they thought would not get into heaven, will. It also implied that those who thought they would get into heaven, would not. Religion doesn’t get anyone into God's kingdom. And, sin repented of and forgiven will not keep anyone out of His kingdom. Praise the Lord that the very worst of humanity can repent from their arrogance and believe in the Son resulting in being admitted into heaven.
In v.32 of today's passage we read, "For John the Baptist came and showed you the right way to live, but you didn’t believe him, while tax collectors and prostitutes did. And even when you saw this happening, you refused to believe him and repent of your sins."
According to Matthew 3, John the Baptist referred to the Jewish religious leaders as "snakes" because they had refused his message of repentance. John had warned them to flee from the wrath of God by repenting of their arrogance. It was their arrogance that prevented the religious leaders from poverty of spirit. Of course, poverty of spirit causes us to cry out to God for His help. The Lord Jesus made it clear that the non-repenters were characterized by the second son in His parable and the first son was characterized by those who repented.
The dishonesty of the moral religious leaders kept them out of heaven. They had been good all of their lives. They had even gone to church all of their lives and they had kept the sacraments but they lacked the repentance of heart that would have positioned them to enter into a personal relationship with God. They didn't understand that no amount of human goodness erases our sin before God. They didn't understand that only the poor in spirit who turn to God for help experience the necessary change of heart that causes one to own his sinfulness and depend upon God for entry into heaven. It was their pride that kept them from the necessary honesty and humility needed for God's forgiveness.
It was repentance that granted dirty tax collectors and nasty prostitutes to believe in the message John the Baptist came to deliver. John's baptism was a sign of repentance which provides a picture of the washing away of our sin. This parable of the two sons is like the parable of the prodigal who lived a wasteful life like the tax-collectors and the prostitutes. In this parable, the Lord Jesus reveals the arrogant, self-righteous moralists for who they were. They were the fig tree that had no fruit. This explains why repentance is so necessary for salvation.
The truth is we are all condemned sinners. We have all fallen short of God's glory. We all need God's forgiveness. We all are in desperate need of a change of heart. We initially, like the first son in this parable said, "No" to God's offer of forgiveness through the death of His Son on the cross. But later, we had a change of heart that resulted in genuine surrender and repentance. It was then that we experienced God's grace for ourselves and now we have been included in His kingdom. I trust this is your story. If not, let me encourage you to cry out to God right now. He will always respond to those who cry out for His help.
