Theological Tuesday

Parables of Jesus 19: The Two Sons (Matthew 21:28-32)

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.

³¹"Which of the two did the will of his father?" They said, "The first." Jesus said to them, "Truly I say to you that the tax collectors and prostitutes will get into the kingdom of God before you.

³²"For John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him; but the tax collectors and prostitutes did believe him; and you, seeing this, did not even feel remorse afterward so as to believe him.

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Show Notes:

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To whom is it addressed, how does this matter?
· Chief priests and elders
· In Jerusalem
· At the Temple.

Placement in the book.
· Triumphal Entry
· Cleansing of the Temple
· Barren Fig Tree
· Question of authority about John
· Parable of the Two Sons
· Parable of the Wicked Tenants
· Parable of the Wedding Feast
· Tribute to Caesar
· Jesus answers the Sadducees.
· Pronouncements against Pharisees

Observations
· What is so scandalous about this story?
o Disrespect of the father
§ Fathers had near absolute authority in their families
o The Father’s patience/God’s patience with BOTH sons.
o Train up a child, and when he is old…
· Both sons do something atrocious and sinful.
o Which is worse?
· First son
o One boldly refuses, but then repents and goes
· Second son
o The other lies, and then stays the same.
o Even says “Sir.” As in Lord elsewhere.
o Reminiscent of Matthew 7, not who calls Jesus Lord, but whoever does the will of the Father.
o Why does he lie to his dad?
o This is really amazing. Does he think the father won’t find out?
o Absurd.
o Does he really hope verbal assent is enough to deceive his father?
o Does he think so little of his dad?
o How many of us have done this?
o This is even worse than saying no and not doing.
o Four responses, in order of bestness
§ Yes, yes
§ No, yes
§ No, no (at least honest, and respectful enough to tell truth)
§ Distant fourth, Yes, no.

Notes
· Major Textual issue
o The order and rendering here is problematic.
o First says will not go, but does. Second says will go, but does not. First does will. Many sources support this versin.
o First says will not go, but does. Second says will go, but does not. Second does will. (No coherence to this one, and no rebuke from Jesus for getting it so obviously wrong.)
o First says will go, but does not. Second says will not go, but does.
o Second does will. (Seems like a rendering to make it look like Jews/Gentiles)
· The meaning of the word “will get into” or “go into” is slightly unclear, but a lot of interpreters have tried to hang quite a bit on it.
o This is a mistaken focus. If God had meant all this, He would have said so.
o Too much focus on one word to make the case.
o The one clear conclusion is that the sinners are going into the kingdom ahead of the Pharisees. The Pharisees could join after or not, depending on how they now, near the end, respond.
o You’re already not capable of coming in first, but there’s still a place for you if you don’t mind coming in later.
· Why tax collectors and prostitutes?
o Sinners used elsewhere instead of prostitutes
o Prostitutes would have been collaborators with the enemy, setting up shop near Roman encampments.
· Way of righteousness?
o Doing God’s will
· Believing John the Baptist
o Being baptized
o Repenting
o Admitting sinfulness and inadequacy of your approach to God.

Mistaken interpretations
· This is an allegory for the Jews and Gentles
o There’s no indication of this
o It was Jews who went out to John, not Gentiles.

The sequence of three parables
· Similarities
o Man
o Vineyard
o Replacement motif
o Lord
o Likewise
· Jesus is showing the Pharisees that they are rejecting or will reject every aspect of God’s beautiful plan.
· Two sons
o They say they love God but
§ Reject John the Baptist
§ Reject baptism
o They claim to accept the OT and the Prophets, but they are rejecting the foremost prophet, his message, and the one for whom he is the forerunner.
· Wicked Tenants
o When God points out their refusal to do His work in the world of grace and redemption and mercy, they attack Him (His ambassadors, the prophets) rather than recognizing their own sin. .
o In their refusal, they are depriving Him of His due harvest of souls
· Wedding Feast
o Won’t come to the party
o Angry that God invites others to the party.
o Very much like the elder brother in the Prodigal son story.

Interpretation/Application
· Purpose of the story
o Resolves the question about authority
o Pharisees refused to answer, but Jesus gets them to indict themselves for their own refusal to go do God’s work.
o They refuse to judge John (although their indifference to him is judgment enough), but they do judge rightly and self-condemn here.
o Reminiscent of Nathan’s parable to David (2 Sam 12:1-10)
· What theological error does this story correct?
o The insignificance of John the Baptist’s ministry
o The non-necessity of baptism
§ What would believing JtB mean without getting baptized?
§ That legalism can get you there.
o The idea that profession is enough without obedience in behavior.
§ That antinomianism is right
§ Easy believe-ism.
o That believing and doing are separate questions
§ Believing and doing are inseparable
§ If you don’t do, you don’t believe.
· Initial responses are not ultimate responses.
o In time, both false negatives and false positives show up.
· Vineyard isn’t Israel, per se, but God’s Will and Purposes generally.
· God’s will is accepted by those whom the “righteous” despise.

John the Baptist
· Prepare the WAY of the Lord.
· Pharisees rejected him twice (like in the story)
o First, when they could have seen him as a messenger from God
o Again, when they saw the sinners going out to him.
· Why did they reject JtB and Baptism?
o Pride.
o We can’t have missed a genuine sign from God. We’re the leaders!
o How could those people have been saved by someone else’s preaching, who isn’t even in our group!
§ Reminiscent of the disciples wanting everyone to follow them.
§ Jesus says to let him be, even if operating on his own.
o He was doing something new and unorthodox and did not participate in their traditions.
o Clergy/Laity distinction too important to them.
§ But who really gets it in this story isn’t the clergy.
· Baptism requires humility because it is a humiliation:
o To admit you’re the sort of person who needs it, just like harlots and prostitutes
o I am so unclean I need total washing
o I am so tarnished, I need a new birth.
o To become baptized, a Pharisee would be
§ admitting his own failure,
§ separating himself from his fellow priests,
§ indicting them by his example
§ and indicting their whole approach to right standing with God as inadequate.

Connections with Prodigal Son Story (Luke 15)
· Only other use of Prostitutes in Gospels is here, in the mouth of the older son.
· Great contrast again of sinners and legalists.
· Same basic disposition of two sons, one who later repents and returns, the other who never does and is mad the first is accepted.
· What attitude does a younger brother (obedient brother) have to the older (disobedient) one? Sadness, not pride and judgment.
· What’s the real work of God? Reconciling sinners to each other and to God.

What does this story tell us about God/Jesus?
· Jesus is confronting the Pharisees and doing so in an amazingly bold way.
· He is claiming to pronounce the clear judgment of God
o This doesn’t require Him to be Messiah.
o Other prophets (even John) were equally bold and dire.