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“A Tale of Two Sons” Matthew 21:28-32 *Click for Audio* Pastor Kevin Vogts Trinity Lutheran Church Paola, Kansas Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost—September 28, 2014 In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Our text is today’s Gospel Reading, a parable which we could title “A Tale of Two Sons.” In the news we hear every day about the ever-escalating religious discord and horrible violence in Middle East. It seems things haven’t changed much there in 2,000 years. For, as Jesus tells this parable in the Temple courts at Jerusalem, he himself is the center of an even greater, more bitter religious dispute, a dispute which in a few days will culminate in his horrible suffering and violent death upon the cross. It is Tuesday of Holy Week. As Jesus teaches in the Temple courts, gathered around him are not only his followers and admirers, but also members of the Sanhedrin, the ruling council that within 72 hours will condemn him to death and hand him over to be crucified. They are in the crowd not to LEARN from Jesus, but, as Matthew reports, “to catch him in his words,” trying to trick Jesus into saying something that will turn either the crowds or the Romans violently against him. Matthew tells us Jesus “knew their evil intent,” and so he tells them this parable, “A Tale of Two Sons.” “‘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.” “I will not,” he answered, but later he changed his mind and went. Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, “I will, sir,” but he did not go.” THEIR motive is hatred, but Jesus’ motive is LOVE. Even at the bitter end, even as they are plotting to capture and kill him, with this parable, Jesus is gently, lovingly reaching out to them, trying to somehow get them to see that they have rejected God’s way by their rejection him, God’s Messiah. With this parable, Jesus is gently, lovingly trying to somehow bring them to repentance and faith in him. “Which of the two did what his father wanted?’ [Jesus asked.] ‘The first,’ they answered.” Jesus powerfully brings the point home by having them condemn themselves with their own words. He tells the parable in such a way that the answer is obvious, and so is the application. He is trying, somehow, to get his enemies to see IN THEMSELVES the second son of the parable, so that they will repent and believe in him. “Jesus said to them, ‘I tell you the truth, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him.” Well, it was obvious to the Pharisees and other members of the Sanhedrin why the tax collectors and prostitutes should repent. Tax collectors were considered horrible sinners, on a par with prostitutes, because they cooperated with the occupying pagan Roman government, they generally extorted more than was actually due, and because they defiled themselves with Roman coinage bearing idolatrous images and inscriptions. The phrase “tax collectors and prostitutes” is representative. It means all those evil, wicked, vile OBVIOUS sinners. But, with this parable, Jesus is trying to get the Pharisees and other members of the Sanhedrin to realize there is another kind of sinner—THEIR KIND of sinner; not obvious, but hidden. Later that day, Jesus put it to them more bluntly: “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. . . Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.” With the parable of the two sons, Jesus is trying to get them to recognize that they and their class are every bit as vile and wicked and evil as the tax collectors and prostitutes and the like. Not openly, not on the surface, but underneath, underneath their veneer of religion, their facade of holiness. Paul puts it this way in Romans: “There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Another important point is, what exactly WAS the great sin of the Pharisees and other members of the Sanhedrin? They certainly were not guilty of the obvious, outward sins of a wicked way of life, like the tax collectors and prostitutes. In the sharpest possible contrast to them, the Pharisees and other members of the Sanhedrin outwardly lived the most pure, most upright life. There was no one more “religious,” no one more “spiritual,” no one more sincere and zealous, no one more pious and devout in their way of life. But, Jesus is trying to get them to see that they too need to repent. In their case, repent not of a sinful life, like the tax collectors and the prostitutes, but repent of their sinful DOCTRINE. For all the “spirituality” and sincerity and zeal and devotion and “religion” in the world means nothing if it does not flow from the right doctrine, from faith in Jesus Christ. As Paul says in Galatians, “It is a fine thing to be zealous, provided the purpose is good.” Our prevailing human attitude about religion is expressed in the often heard phrases, “It doesn’t matter what you believe, just as long as you’re sincere” and “What’s important is deeds, not creeds.” But, with this parable, Jesus blows that commonly held attitude of ours away. For, no one was ever more sincere, or had more admirable deeds, than the Pharisees. Jesus tells us in this parable that all the “spirituality” and sincerity and zeal and devotion and “religion” in the world means nothing if it does not flow from the right doctrine, from faith in him. As Paul says in Romans, “Everything that does not come from faith is sin.” The Pharisees and other members of the Sanhedrin were like the second son. They were called by their heavenly Father to believe in the Messiah he was sending into the world. Their pure, upright lives were like the second son enthusiastically responding, “I will, sir!” But, like the second son, who did not actually go work in the vineyard, when the Messiah did come the Pharisees and other members of the Sanhedrin refused to believe in him. They refused to believe in him because this kind of Messiah just didn’t fit with their doctrine anymore. They had turned away from the doctrine proclaimed throughout the Hebrew Scriptures, that the Messiah would suffer and die for the sins of the world, as Isaiah said: “Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows. We observed him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” The Pharisees and other members of the Sanhedrin rejected this doctrine of the Messiah’s substitutionary sacrifice for the sins of the world and instead followed the man-made false doctrine that they could and would save themselves with their good works. That was THEIR offensive sin; not a wicked, sinful way of life, but a wicked, sinful DOCTRINE. The tax collectors and prostitutes and the like are like the first son in the parable. They too were part of the chosen people of Israel, and they too were called by their heavenly Father to believe in the Messiah he was sending into the world. Their SINFUL, WICKED lives were like the first son contemptuously responding, “I will not!” But, like the first son, who repented and actually did go work in the vineyard, when the Messiah did come they repented and believed in him. Jesus said, in the Sermon on the Mount, “I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.” The tax collectors and prostitutes and other sinners who repented and believed the in Christ received a righteousness that surpassed even that of the Pharisees, a righteousness that made them worthy in God’s sight to enter his kingdom. And that same righteousness covers over YOUR sins and makes YOU worthy of God’s kingdom, the perfect righteousness of Christ, which God credits to all who trust in Christ for salvation. Paul puts it this way in Philippians and Romans: “Not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. . . This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.” “Jesus said to them, ‘I tell you the truth, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you.’” Not “instead of” but “ahead of.” Jesus is pleading with them and you, “The door is still open; there is still room; I have already prepared a place for you. Repent, and believe in me, and you also shall enter my eternal kingdom.” Amen. Return to Top \| Return to Sermons \| Home \| Email Church Office

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“A Tale of Two Sons”
Matthew 21:28-32

Click for Audio

Pastor Kevin Vogts
Trinity Lutheran Church
Paola, Kansas
Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost—September 28, 2014

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Our text is today’s Gospel Reading, a parable which we could title “A Tale of Two Sons.”

In the news we hear every day about the ever-escalating religious discord and horrible violence in Middle East. It seems things haven’t changed much there in 2,000 years. For, as Jesus tells this parable in the Temple courts at Jerusalem, he himself is the center of an even greater, more bitter religious dispute, a dispute which in a few days will culminate in his horrible suffering and violent death upon the cross.

It is Tuesday of Holy Week. As Jesus teaches in the Temple courts, gathered around him are not only his followers and admirers, but also members of the Sanhedrin, the ruling council that within 72 hours will condemn him to death and hand him over to be crucified. They are in the crowd not to LEARN from Jesus, but, as Matthew reports, “to catch him in his words,” trying to trick Jesus into saying something that will turn either the crowds or the Romans violently against him. Matthew tells us Jesus “knew their evil intent,” and so he tells them this parable, “A Tale of Two Sons.”

“‘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.” “I will not,” he answered, but later he changed his mind and went. Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, “I will, sir,” but he did not go.”

THEIR motive is hatred, but Jesus’ motive is LOVE. Even at the bitter end, even as they are plotting to capture and kill him, with this parable, Jesus is gently, lovingly reaching out to them, trying to somehow get them to see that they have rejected God’s way by their rejection him, God’s Messiah. With this parable, Jesus is gently, lovingly trying to somehow bring them to repentance and faith in him.

“Which of the two did what his father wanted?’ [Jesus asked.] ‘The first,’ they answered.” Jesus powerfully brings the point home by having them condemn themselves with their own words. He tells the parable in such a way that the answer is obvious, and so is the application. He is trying, somehow, to get his enemies to see IN THEMSELVES the second son of the parable, so that they will repent and believe in him.

“Jesus said to them, ‘I tell you the truth, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him.”

Well, it was obvious to the Pharisees and other members of the Sanhedrin why the tax collectors and prostitutes should repent. Tax collectors were considered horrible sinners, on a par with prostitutes, because they cooperated with the occupying pagan Roman government, they generally extorted more than was actually due, and because they defiled themselves with Roman coinage bearing idolatrous images and inscriptions. The phrase “tax collectors and prostitutes” is representative. It means all those evil, wicked, vile OBVIOUS sinners.

But, with this parable, Jesus is trying to get the Pharisees and other members of the Sanhedrin to realize there is another kind of sinner—THEIR KIND of sinner; not obvious, but hidden. Later that day, Jesus put it to them more bluntly: “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. . . Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.”

With the parable of the two sons, Jesus is trying to get them to recognize that they and their class are every bit as vile and wicked and evil as the tax collectors and prostitutes and the like. Not openly, not on the surface, but underneath, underneath their veneer of religion, their facade of holiness. Paul puts it this way in Romans: “There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

Another important point is, what exactly WAS the great sin of the Pharisees and other members of the Sanhedrin? They certainly were not guilty of the obvious, outward sins of a wicked way of life, like the tax collectors and prostitutes. In the sharpest possible contrast to them, the Pharisees and other members of the Sanhedrin outwardly lived the most pure, most upright life. There was no one more “religious,” no one more “spiritual,” no one more sincere and zealous, no one more pious and devout in their way of life.

But, Jesus is trying to get them to see that they too need to repent. In their case, repent not of a sinful life, like the tax collectors and the prostitutes, but repent of their sinful DOCTRINE. For all the “spirituality” and sincerity and zeal and devotion and “religion” in the world means nothing if it does not flow from the right doctrine, from faith in Jesus Christ. As Paul says in Galatians, “It is a fine thing to be zealous, provided the purpose is good.”

Our prevailing human attitude about religion is expressed in the often heard phrases, “It doesn’t matter what you believe, just as long as you’re sincere” and “What’s important is deeds, not creeds.” But, with this parable, Jesus blows that commonly held attitude of ours away. For, no one was ever more sincere, or had more admirable deeds, than the Pharisees. Jesus tells us in this parable that all the “spirituality” and sincerity and zeal and devotion and “religion” in the world means nothing if it does not flow from the right doctrine, from faith in him. As Paul says in Romans, “Everything that does not come from faith is sin.”

The Pharisees and other members of the Sanhedrin were like the second son. They were called by their heavenly Father to believe in the Messiah he was sending into the world. Their pure, upright lives were like the second son enthusiastically responding, “I will, sir!” But, like the second son, who did not actually go work in the vineyard, when the Messiah did come the Pharisees and other members of the Sanhedrin refused to believe in him. They refused to believe in him because this kind of Messiah just didn’t fit with their doctrine anymore. They had turned away from the doctrine proclaimed throughout the Hebrew Scriptures, that the Messiah would suffer and die for the sins of the world, as Isaiah said: “Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows. We observed him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.”

The Pharisees and other members of the Sanhedrin rejected this doctrine of the Messiah’s substitutionary sacrifice for the sins of the world and instead followed the man-made false doctrine that they could and would save themselves with their good works. That was THEIR offensive sin; not a wicked, sinful way of life, but a wicked, sinful DOCTRINE.

The tax collectors and prostitutes and the like are like the first son in the parable. They too were part of the chosen people of Israel, and they too were called by their heavenly Father to believe in the Messiah he was sending into the world. Their SINFUL, WICKED lives were like the first son contemptuously responding, “I will not!” But, like the first son, who repented and actually did go work in the vineyard, when the Messiah did come they repented and believed in him.

Jesus said, in the Sermon on the Mount, “I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.” The tax collectors and prostitutes and other sinners who repented and believed the in Christ received a righteousness that surpassed even that of the Pharisees, a righteousness that made them worthy in God’s sight to enter his kingdom. And that same righteousness covers over YOUR sins and makes YOU worthy of God’s kingdom, the perfect righteousness of Christ, which God credits to all who trust in Christ for salvation. Paul puts it this way in Philippians and Romans: “Not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. . . This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.”

“Jesus said to them, ‘I tell you the truth, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you.’” Not “instead of” but “ahead of.” Jesus is pleading with them and you, “The door is still open; there is still room; I have already prepared a place for you. Repent, and believe in me, and you also shall enter my eternal kingdom.”

Amen.

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