Mathew 21:28-30
“But what think ye? A certain man had two sons; and he came to the first, and said, Son, go work today in my vineyard. He answered and said, I will not: but afterward he repented, and went. And he came to the second, and said likewise. And he answered and said, I go, sir: and went not.” Mathew 21:28–30
RELIGIOUS OUTCASTS!
As Christ instructed the disciples by parables, which made the instructions the more easy, so sometimes He convinced His adversaries by parables, which bring reproofs closer and make men, or ever they are aware, to reprove themselves. Reproving parables are appeals to the offenders themselves, and judge them out of their own mouths. This, Christ designs here, as appears by the first words (verse 28), “But what think ye?”
Thusly, Nathan convinced David by a parable (2 Samuel 12:1), and the woman of Tekoah surprised him in like manner (2 Samuel 14:2).The parable spoken at this time, however, was primarily evoked by the Sanhedrin’s opposition to Jesus’ authority.
The parable of The Two Sons is interpreted by Jesus, furthermore, as depicting the conflicting responses of the religious outcasts and their leaders toward the ministry of John the Baptist, which was preparatory to His own. The scope of the parable, therefore, is to show that they who know not John’s baptism to be of God, were shamed even by the publicans and harlots, who knew it, and owned it!
But, how interesting, therefore, that in this parable about two sons who were asked by their father to work in his vineyard, Jesus prefers the response of the son who flinched and first says no. “I will not,” and as the parable turns out, we can see why. The son (actually, child) was being honest. He did not want to spend the day in the hot sun picking grapes—a natural response. It’s understandable, as I have picked grapes in Greece which can be drudgery, and tedious, but yet noble and blessed—a rhapsodical work, filled with singing workers, rewarded by a leisurely lunch in the field of feta cheese and grapes.
CHARACTER!
Ah. But, the “yes” of the other son was dishonest. He did not want to work either, but his “yes” put off his father’s disapproval. But, this story is not about picking grapes, and its benefits, or about procrastinating on your chores. It is about living as God’s children, filling our place in God’s family. Being in God’s family usually involves doing chores, but the issue is whether we are willing to be God’s people? Nevertheless, the parable represents two sorts of persons; some that prove better than they promise, represented by the first of those sons; others that promise better than they prove, represented by the second son.
They both had one and the same father, which signifies that God is a common father to all mankind. There are favours which all alike receive from Him, and obligations which all alike lie under to him: “Have we not all one Father?” Yes, and yet, there is a vast difference between men’s—characters!
They both, moreover, had the same command given them, “Son, go work today in my vineyard.” Parents should not breed up their children; which not only implies procreating or merely raising them, but with good social conduct and acceptable manners—and not in idleness! Nothing is more pleasing, and yet nothing more pernicious, to youth than that “It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth.” Lamentations 3:27. God sets His children to work, though they are all heirs. This command is given to every one of us. The work of religion, which we are called to engage in, is vineyard work, creditable, profitable, and pleasant.
By the sin of Adam, we were turned out to work upon the common and to eat the herb of the field; but by the grace of our Lord Jesus we are called to work again in the vineyard. This requires present obedience; “Son, go work today,” while it is today, because “the night comes when no man can work.” We are not sent into the world to be idle (Hebrews 12:5). Ah. Yet for the reticent or, ehh—slovenly, it is a command “to work,” of a Father, which carries with it both authority and affection, a Father that pities His children, and considers their frame, and will not over-task them (Psalm 103: 13–14); a Father that is very tender of His son that serves Him (Malachi 3:17).
CONDUCT!
One of the sons did better than he said, proved better than he promised. His answer was bad, but his actions were good. Here is the untoward answer that he gave to his father: he said, flat and plain, “I will not!” Can you see to what a degree of impudence the corrupt nature of man rises, to say, “I will not!” to a command of a Father—yet? Such a command of such a Father; they are impudent children, and stiff-hearted!
Those that will not bend, surely they cannot blush; if they had any degree of modesty left them, they could not say, we will not! (Jeremiah 2:25). Excuses are bad, aren’t they, but downright denials are worse; yet such peremptory or haughty refusals to the calls of the gospel often meet with:
Firstly, some love their ease, and will not work; they would live in the world as leviathans in the waters to play therein (Psalm 104:26); they just do not love working!
Secondly, their hearts are so much upon their own fields that they are not for working in God’s vineyard. They love the business of the world better than the business of their religion. Thus, some by the delights of sense, and others by the employments of the world, are kept from doing that great work which they were sent into the world about, and so stand all the day idle!
CHANGE OF MIND!
But here is the happy change of his mind, the first son, and of his way, upon second thought: “Afterward he repented, and went.” There are many who, in the beginning, are wicked and willful, and very uncompromising, who afterward repent and mend, and come to something. Some that God has chosen are suffered for a great while to run to a great excess of riotous and rebellious conduct. Such were some of you (1 Corinthians 6:11; 1 Timothy 1:16).
Repentance is (GR: “metanoia”—an after-wit; and metameleia—an after-care). Ah. Better late than never—ehh? When he repented he went; that was the “fruit-meet for repentance.” The only evidence of our repentance for our former resistance is, immediately to comply and set to work; and then what is past shall be pardoned, and all shall be well. See what a kind Father God is? God wants to be gracious, and not withstanding our former follies, if we repent and mend, will favourably accept us. Blessed be God, we are under a covenant that leaves room for such a repentance.
BAD ACTIONS!
Now the other son said better than he did, promised better than he proved; his answer was good but his actions bad. To him the father “said likewise,” (verse 30). The gospel call, though very different, is, in effect, the same to all, and is carried on with an even tenor. We have all the same commands, engagements, encouragements, though to some they are, “a savour of life unto life,” to others, “of death unto death.” This son said, “I go, Sir,” He gives His father a title of respect, “Sir.”
Now, it becomes children to speak respectfully to their parents. It is one branch of that honour which the fifth commandment requires. He professes a ready obedience, “I go”; not, “I will go by and by,” but, “Ready, sir, you may depend upon it, I go just now!” This answer should give from the heart heartily to all the calls and command of the word of God (Jeremiah 3:22) (Psalm 27:8). But he failed! He went not! The son who said “I go,” but went not describes the religious leaders who first gave an aloof sort of approval to John (John 5:35) but never followed through (Luke 7:29–30).
There are many that give good words, and make fair promises in religion, and those from some good notions for the present, that rest there, and go no further, and so come to nothing. Saying and doing are two things; and many there are that say, and do not; it is particularly charged upon the Pharisees (Matthew 23:3). Many with their mouth show much love, but their heart goes another way. They had a good mind to be religious, but they met with something to be done, that was too hard, or something to be parted with, that was too dear, and so their purposes are to no purpose. Buds and blossoms are not fruit!
WHICH ONE?
Which one of them, therefore, did the will of his father? They both had their faults, one was rude and the other was false. Parents experience this variety of exercises in the character of their children, and they have need of a great deal of wisdom and grace to know what is the best way of managing them. But the question is: which was the better of the two, and the less faulty?
Ah! Resolved! The first, because his actions were better than his words, and his latter end than his beginning. This they had learned from the common sense of mankind, who would much rather deal with one that will be better than his word, than with one that will be false to his word. And, in the intention of it, they had learned from the account God gives of the rule of his judgment (Ezekiel 18:21–24), that if the sinner turns from his wickedness, he shall be pardoned; and if the righteous man turn from his righteousness, he shall be rejected. The point to understand here is that those are accepted as doing their Father’s will, who, wherein they have missed it, are sorry for it, and so do better.
YES AFTER NO!
Part of the analogy in Jesus’ parable is to the religious leaders who had committed themselves to doing God’s will, yet when Jesus came, they rejected Him. They had first said, “Yes I will go to work in the vineyard,” but then did not go! On the other hand, the prostitutes and tax collectors, who had been living, what all agreed were godless lives, accepted Jesus. They at first said, “I will not,” but later they went into the vineyard. The yes of the prostitutes and tax collectors was better than the initial yes of the religious leaders. The yes after saying no is more believable than the yes before saying no. Is this clear? It’s the yes after saying no that has validity.
Most of us said yes to being God’s children before we discovered that we had any “no” in us! Our motives were right. We were taught that we belonged to God and we tried to think, act, look and talk like it. Right? But, as time and our experience in our life journey in a raging world went on, we discovered some of our no. When we were told we should do things we did not want to do, we found ourselves saying, hmm—no! The Apostle Paul understood this; “Oh wretched man that I am!” (Romans 7:23–24).
QUESTIONING GOD
Being naughty, in essence, may at least, at first, appear to be more honest than being good! Let’s elaborate further. When we were taught doctrines of the church that we could not understand, we might have ignored or discounted them. Honest doubt is better than gullibility. When we heard the reasons we should believe in God, we may not have been convinced, focused, engaged—in the Spirit. Questioning God for some is better than believing in God the way children blindly believe in make-believe-figures—Santa Claus, the Good Fairy, etc.
Yes, when bad things happen to us (and they do to all), or to good people we dearly love; terminally ill with cancer, demented (Alzheimer’s disease), Parkinson’s disease, diabetes, feeble, sick and aged parents, addicted, maimed, suicidal, cantankerous, widowed, separated, unemployed, etc.; many may not want to have anything to do with a God who would permit such “evil.” Rejecting God altogether seems better, consequently, for some than accepting a God who does “evil things.”
“No! No!” No is a good word to say. We must say no to silly, mean, ironic, vengeful portrayals of God and our place in God’s family, if we are at all serious about God. It may take us a good long time to figure out what God is not! But, our honest “no’s” clear our vision to see the promise of God in Christ.
WELCOME!
Jesus seems to have spent most of His time with people who had said no the loudest—tax collectors who were basically embezzlers, and prostitute’s who were depraved and perverted. He came not with moral platitudes and scolding, nor with arguments to validate His role as the Messiah. Rather He came with acceptance of those people whom no one else would accept! Christ “ever liveth to make intercession for them.” Hebrews 7:25. Christ’s continual prayers sustain us through critical problems in a continuing intercessory ministry for our salvation. God constantly reads our hearts and registers our thoughts.
Do you understand what is going on? These prostitutes and tax collectors were not first accepting Jesus; rather, Jesus was accepting them! The yes they gave to Jesus was not approval of Him, but acceptance of His approval of them!
After we have said no to all attempts to make us accept God, God comes to us and says yes to us. God accepts us as God’s people. God invites and welcomes us into His family. God’s acceptance of us, God’s yes to us, we call “grace.” One of the marvels of God’s grace is that He loves us even though He knows all about us.
Living as God’s children is about accepting God’s yes to us. And when we accept God’s yes, then we find that God’s yes makes it possible for us to accept each other.
As I was carrying my one son, a mere toddler, in my arms one hot summer day, we passed an ice cream vendor. My son lustily shouted, “daddy, daddy, buy me an ice cream!” I quickly said “no!” He incessantly asked again, “daddy, daddy, please!” I repeated again, “no!” Unrestrained he resounded louder with his tiny voice, and said, “daddy, daddy, say—yes! Say—yes daddy—please!”
Hmmm. Without vacillating, I surrendered, feebly succumbing—said—“yes!”
Say YES to Jesus’ YES after you say NO! Please!!
Amen<><
John Theodorou
U.S.A.