The Parable of the Two Sons. Matthew 21:23-31
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Jesus had just entered Jerusalem. People were waving palm branches and laying them at Jesus feet. The beautiful praise song of the little children had stirred the ire of the Jewish religious authorities.
Then Jesus does something mysterious. He looks for figs on a fig tree that was out of season. The tree represents Israel. Specifically, it symbolizes the Jewish religious leaders. The fig tree had lots of lush green leaves, symbolizing religious pomp and piety. But it had not borne fruit of humble repentance and faith.
Jesus had also driven out the moneychangers in the temple, and had labeled them as thieves, desecrating God’s House.
These stoney-hearted men were actively watching for an opportunity to seize Jesus and finally shut Him up.
But these men were most adept at stepping into their own trap. They must have become increasingly frustrated and hostile.
When he had come into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him as he was teaching, and said, “By what authority do you do these things? Who gave you this authority?
Jesus answered them, “I also will ask you one question, which if you tell me, I likewise will tell you by what authority I do these things.
They could not have anticipated Jesus’ question. Can’t you just see their small minds spinning?
So, Jesus asks them:
The baptism of John, where was it from? From heaven or from men?”
These men had full access and education of the scriptures. They just could not come up with the correct answer.
They reasoned with themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will ask us, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ But if we say, ‘From men,’ we fear the multitude, for all hold John as a prophet.”
How could these religious teachers simply not know? You see, they were spiritually empty. Their souls were cold with piety and death. They had the answers written with ink upon parchment. They were self-sufficient.
They answered Jesus, and said, “We don’t know.”
He also said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things. But what do you think?
A man had two sons, and he came to the first, and said, ‘Son, go work today in my vineyard.’ He answered, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he changed his mind, and went.
He came to the second and said the same thing. He answered, ‘I’m going, sir,’ but he didn’t go.
Which of the two did the will of his father?”
They said to him, “The first.”
Jesus said to them, “Most certainly I tell you that the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering into God’s Kingdom before you.
Matthew 21:23-31
So, what does the parable mean?
Well, the first son represents the deplorables among the Jews. He represents the prostitutes, tax collectors and every other outcast. At first, their lives are a constant rebellious response to God. But then they accept His Son, and they are saved.
The second son represents Israel and the religious leaders. They kept laws with scrupulous determination. Their lives were filled with contemptible cruelty and disregard for the least among them. But mostly, they rejected the Messiah. They had no idea who Jesus really was.
This illustration from Jesus should be a wakeup call for every member of His Church. Do we believe in Him and submit to Christ with our whole heart?
Or do we say we believe, but like the fig tree, there is no evidence of fruit. Is your life a picture of religion without salvation?
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter into the Kingdom of Heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will tell me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in your name, in your name cast out demons, and in your name do many mighty works?’ Then I will tell them, ‘I never knew you. Depart from me, you who work iniquity.’
Matthew 7:21-23
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Isaiah 52:7
World English Bible (WEB)
by Public Domain. The name “World English Bible” is trademarked.
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