By Pastor Dave Farmer
The Sanhedrin do not believe our Lord Jesus Christ is the Jewish Messiah, the true heir to the Throne of David. They have attributed His miracles to the work of Satan. They are determined to prove that He is a fake, a fraud, a charlatan. Yet in these parables we see that no matter what slander they spread about Him and no matter what evil they may do to Him, his love for them is unfailing, unfaltering, and unwavering.
Text for this study: Matthew 21:28-32
Immediately after our Lord's discerning response to their challenge, "Who do you think you are?" He proceeds to tell them a story. The Lord was masterful in His use of parabolic illustrations. At this moment they were plotting His death, but He is wrestling for the destiny of their souls. So before they withdraw from the crowd, He engages them in an interactive story.
This is a parable, or we might say a story with a point of doctrine. In fact, that is all a parable is, a story with a special point of view. The Greek word parabole is a compound noun made up of two words. The first is the preposition para which means "to place alongside." Then we have bole which means "a short narrative or story." The Lord Jesus is going to place a story alongside the spiritual point He wants to make. He is attempting to evangelize them. They needed to receive Him as their Messiah. This is the essential point of the story. I want to outline our study in the following manner: First, He INTRODUCES a story. Secondly, He INTERROGATES them to test's their attentiveness. Thirdly, He INTERPRETS the meaning of the story. Finally, He IMPARTS the application.
Jesus INTRODUCES A Story
28] “But what do you think? A man had two sons, and he came to the first and said, ‘Son, go work today in the vineyard.’
29] “And he answered, ‘I will not’; but afterward he regretted it and went.
30] “The man came to the second and said the same thing; and he answered, ‘I will, sir’; but he did not go.
It is a fairly simple story. A father owned a vineyard. He had two sons. He asks them to go to work in the vineyard. The first son was rude and willfully disobedient. He flat out told his father that he wasn't going to work today.
In contrast, the second son was polite, respectful, and said all the right things. However, two interesting things happened. The first son, the disrespectful son, felt sorry about how he had spoken to his father. He repented and went to work in the vineyard, but the respectful son reneged on his promise to go to work and disobeyed his father.
He INTERROGATES the Sanhedrin
31a] “Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said [the Sanhedrin answering], “The first.”
He tests them with a question to see if they had been listening. They got it right! In fact, they were now hung by their tongue. Jesus, through a story, a rather simple story, will invite them to trust in Him. Because they were dull of hearing, He couldn't give them anything too deep like, "I am your Messiah won't you trust in Me." That's too deep! When He told them that; they wanted to kill Him. They wouldn't listen to Him anymore, so He has to go through the back door. Everybody loves a good story! Living in unbelief is not neutral. In unbelief, a spiritual condition develops that leads to irrationality. In fact, it opens the door to what the Scripture describes as becoming dull of hearing, spiritually blind, having one's heart hardened, and the mind darkened. Paul warned the Ephesians of this condition:
17] So this I say, and affirm together with the Lord, that you walk [live your life] no longer just as the Gentiles [in unbelief] also walk, in the futility of their mind,
18] being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart; [Ephesians 4:17-18 ]
Now the punch line.
Thirdly, He INTERPRETS, the meaning of the story
31b] Jesus said to them, “Truly I say to you that the tax collectors and prostitutes will get into the kingdom of God before you [This applies to the first son].
32a] “For John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him [This applies to the second son], but the tax collectors and prostitutes did believe him;
Jesus always makes an issue out of faith. The disrespectful son is like the tax collectors and prostitutes. God had a plan for their lives, and they said no to Him. After some time, they changed their minds. They repented and believed, and now they are going to heaven. 1 Matthew is a clear example of the salvation of a tax-collector; Mary Magdalene would be representative of the salvation of a prostitute.
The Sanhedrin is like this second son, who outwardly said they would follow God, but didn't. The religious crowd gives lip service to God. They talk about God, they pray to God, they give alms to God, they practice their rituals, but they are not saved, and sadly, they are not going to heaven. They are trying so hard to be saved and the very thing they are doing, trying to be saved, blinds them to the only one who can save - the Lord Jesus Christ.
The disobedient son, the tax collectors and prostitutes, have no illusions about themselves. They are sinners. They know they can't be saved by their good works. The only chance they have of going to heaven is through the work of someone else. When they hear the gospel, that God has provided a way for them to go to Heaven, they believe. Please note, they didn't go out and do something; they believed in someone. They trusted in Christ. Faith alone in Christ alone.
On the other hand, the second son, the religious crowd, is self-righteous and arrogant. When they hear the Gospel, they do not respond because they are doing so well. They have plenty of good works. Why do I need Christ? This is a preposterous idea! Foolishness! I am a member of a church; I am a good father. I am a good husband. All of these things may be true, but you are also a sinner and spiritually dead, and this condition trumps all your good works. Good works cannot remedy this problem. God's solution to your sin problem is for you to believe in Christ.
He IMPARTS the application
You will notice that Jesus said that "the tax collectors and prostitutes will get into the kingdom of God before you." He said these people would go into the kingdom "before you." In other words, Jesus is saying to the Sanhedrin the door to heaven is still open. What amazing grace! The love expressed here is unmatched. Jesus is going to die for them in a couple of days. He is not speaking out of spite, or vindictiveness. He is not sore because they rejected Him. He is their only hope, so He fires away. They need to repent. They need to see themselves before God as spiritually bankrupt, without any merit, hopeless and helpless. Being better than tax collectors or prostitutes is not the answer.
God hasn't shut the door on them. They have shut the door. The door is open, wide open. Jesus said, ‘I am the door. If any man walks through that door, he shall be saved. . .". They stand condemned because they will not walk through the door of salvation provided by Christ. There is another way in which they stand condemned. They not only stand condemned because they had not believed in Christ [John 3:36], but because they did not believe in Him when the evidence was overwhelming.
Jesus says, "It is bad enough that you rejected the message of John 2, but how could you not see the truth in the testimony of his life? For John came to you in the way of righteousness.". Now, we have to admit that John was a little peculiar. He didn't dress like the usual Jew, his eating habits were a little strange (wild honey and locusts), but John’s walk was upright in his relationship with God. He walked so close to God that God was visible in his life. John manifested the glory of God like no other before him. John bore a light, a spiritual light. His life was exemplary. He sought to do the will of God. He sought not to please himself, but to please God. And his life reflected the presence of God. Now Jesus says, "You saw this." You have no excuse not to believe in Me. They had the evidence of a changed life.
It is important that we see the application that we now face. Our lives do matter! We are all witnesses for Christ. As the Scripture says, "We are all ambassadors for Christ [ 2 Corinthians 5:20]. As you grow spiritually, you begin to reflect a likeness to Christ, conforming to His character and God the Holy Spirit makes an issue out of it bring conviction to the unsaved [John 16:10].
Jesus said, "You saw this." Don't forget these words. Don't just read over them. Ponder their meaning. Let them influence you. Let them guide you for your life matters. Your life can further the Gospel and the cause of Christ, or it can hinder it. It will be one or the other; it will not be neutral. You can be a blot or a blessing, a blank you can never be. Jesus said to the unbelieving Sanhedrin, "you have no excuse, you saw his life." Dear brother and sisters in Christ, "Who is watching you?"
Sadly, the Christian testimony is small and unavailable to the unsaved today. There is a great apostasy [1 Timothy 4:1]. This has robbed the individual Christian of this aspect of their witness. Imagine a world where every believer in the Lord Jesus Christ reminded the unsaved daily of the Lord Jesus Christ. The power of that witness could not be suppressed. Yet, whatever Christianity exists today is feeble, powerless, and in decline. If there is any Christian who reads this article, I beg you to take to heart the lesson that is here. We must learn to become more like Christ and fulfill the mission that He gave us.
14] But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place.
15] For we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing; [2 Corinthians 2:14,15]
Life is worth nothing unless I use it for doing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus. [Acts 20:24]
And God has given us the privilege of urging [we are passionate about it] everyone to come into His favor and be reconciled to Him. This is the wonderful message that He’s given us to tell others. [2 Corinthians 5:18]
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, [purpose] so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him [tell others about Jesus -this is your life mission] who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; [1 Peter 2:9]
ENDNOTES
1 There is an important observation I would like to make, and that is the concept of delayed obedience. When the gospel is presented, not everyone comes to faith alone in Christ alone immediately. Some reject at first, think about it, change their minds, and turn to Christ. If you are witnessing to someone, remember this principle. Some will come later. Not everyone responds immediately. Don't be discouraged. Continue to pray for them. Continue to encourage them. Don't give up. Our Lord didn't. He is still knocking on their door.
2 Why does Jesus use John as the illustration? One reason is that John, like Christ, did not seek permission to preach or seek the Sanhedrin's approval. John didn't ride his burrow into the city of Jerusalem and pull up to the Bureau of Licenses to apply for permission to preach. God's call was sufficient.