Matthew 21:28-32

Matthew 21:28-32

A Tale of Two Sons

I. Those who work in God’s will are truly His children; so we must be obedient to serve His commands

a. In order to trap the Pharisees, Jesus tells a story about a father who desired for his sons to work in his vineyard. He came to the first and sent him to go and work there, but the son refused. However, after a while, the son felt regret for his disobedience, and went to the vineyard and worked. The father came to his second son and also sent him to go work in the vineyard. This son seemed to be respectful and compliant to the father’s command, but was disobedient and never went. Jesus asked the Pharisees which of the two sons did the will of the father, to which they correctly answered, the first. Then Jesus revealed that the first son represented those who openly rejected God, but who ultimately faced their sin, repented, turned to God, and were truly obedient to serve His commands and work in His will as His children. The second son, who seemed obedient in outward appearance, ultimately failed to truly do the will of the father. He represented the Pharisees who seemed obedient to God outwardly, but who were only disobediently serving themselves, and weren’t really children of God. (Vv. 28-32)

b. But what does this parable say to us about what it looks like to work in God’s will; to be obedient to serve His commands? The fundamental difference in the two sons which prompted Jesus’ question to the Pharisees, and ultimately established or refuted their sonship, was repentance. Repentance is a change of mind, which leads to a change of heart, and which ultimately leads to a change in the direction of our lives. That’s what we see in the first son and in the tax collectors and prostitutes to which Jesus refers. Repentance requires us to believe that God’s way through Christ is better than our own way, to turn away from our own sinful desires and direction, and turn towards His will. Repentance must be a continual process of choosing God. Repentance can only be the product of a heart that truly loves God more than our sinful desires. The will of God in which we are to labor, is represented by the father’s commands and the vineyard. The father commanded the sons to go and work in the vineyard, which is our mission field of the world. He didn’t tell them to go to the vineyard and work whenever they got ready to and got around to it, he told them to go and work today! The work in the vineyard is the work of planting, watering and cultivating, and harvesting. Jesus was clear in His earthly ministry that He came to serve and not to be served, that He came to seek and to save that which was lost, and that as the Father had sent Him into the world, He sends those who are His brothers and sisters, or children of God, to do the same. In order to be certain we’re working in the will of God and obediently serving His commands; we must be working in His vineyard. We’ve all been given unique skill sets, desires, and stations in life which are our positions in the vineyard. As we go in life, continuing in repentant faith in our growing walk with Christ, we must be urgent in each day to work in our section of the world as His witnesses, ambassadors, and disciple makers. (Mica 6:8; Matt. 3:1-12; 20:28; 22:36-40; 28:18-20; Luke 7:28-30; 10:2; John 4:35; 6:28-29; 14:21; 15:14; 20:21; Acts 1:8; 1 Cor. 15:58; 2 Cor. 5:18-20; Eph. 2:1-13)

II. Those who work in God’s will are truly His children; so we must be careful not serve our own righteousness

a. The second son answered the father in the affirmative, but his actions responded in the negative. It doesn’t matter if he intended to go to the vineyard or not, he never did, so there was never any change of heart, which means that somewhere along the way he convinced himself that what he wanted was more important that what the father wanted, and that he knew better than the father. The pride at the root of this sin has been at work since our fall in garden, and it was the very sin at work in the hearts of the Pharisees. They had completely fooled themselves into believing they were serving God obediently, and that they were in a right relationship with God, but they were only serving themselves. Their self-righteous hypocrisy had immunized them from God’s grace because they didn’t even see their need for repentance and restoration, while the sinful tax collectors and prostitutes were truly God’s children because they saw their need and responded in repentance. It’s easy to work feverishly in our vocations, families, and especially the church, but never consider what God’s will is in our work and so work in our own vineyard. We must not only consider what we’re doing, but we must always examine our hearts and God’s Word to see why we’re doing it, so we’ll be certain for whom we’re working. (Gen. 3:1-6; Exod. 20:12; Ezek. 18:20-23; Matt. 21:23-27; 23:23-28; Rom. 3:23; 6:23; Acts 11:18; 1 Cor. 10:12; 2 Cor. 7:8-11; Jas. 1:22-26; 2:14-26)