Matthew 21:28-32..Ready

Matthew 21:28-32..Ready

21:28 “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.’ 29 “I will not,’ he answered, (Notice how there’s no excuse, no explanation, no bargaining. For us in our day and age, not a real shock, How often have we’ve told our kid to do something and they decide not to do it) but later he changed his mind  and went. (Late obedience. Better late than never) 30 “Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, ‘I will, sir,’ but he did not go. (Pretend obedience. All promise, but no performance. Not that he forgot, but willfully disobeyed )  31 “Which of the two did what his father wanted?” “The first,” they answered. (Obvious answer, who doesn’t want performance over promise, who doesn’t want walk over talk, doing over saying. As it is said “Better to under promise and over deliver”) Jesus said to them “I tell you the truth, (Mic-drop) the tax collectors and the harlots are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. (To understand the shock that this would have had on Jewish listeners. It would be like saying “The Drag Queens and Racists are going to heaven before you are.” ) 32 For John (the Baptist) 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 (For Complete Expository See Book)

Extended Sermons

“Warns against giving lip-service to God with no heart-service in following through in obeying Him” ⇒ How many times have we made commitments to God, only to fail on following through? How many times have we made promises that, for one reason or another, we have not kept? How many times have we promised God we would stop doing something only to find yourself doing it.

“Warns how there’s two ways to miss out on God’s Saving Grace. One is open rebellion, the other self-righteousness.” → While open rebellion may be obvious, self-righteousness can be more subtle, causing us to rely on our own goodness instead of repenting and seeking genuine forgiveness. The first  One, Open Rebellion, is the kind of rebellion that says “I don’t need Jesus I’m fine the way I am. It’s the one who says “I’m going to direct my life the way I see fit and no one’s going to tell me differently.” (This keeps a lot of people from being Saved) The Second one, Self-righteousness. It’s the one who thinks I got it all figured out. I answered the Alter-Call, I know the bible, I know what it truly means to worship. I’m a good moral person, I obey the Commandments, I go to church regularly,  As a Christian It’s not about claiming you’re on the right team. Just claiming team Jesus is not enough. Just declaring Jesus is Lord doesn’t automatically make you Kingdom citizens. But rather it’s obeying and doing the will of God the Father that matters. To bring this home, it’s like saying “God I’ll do everything you tell me to do. But on this one, I’m not going to do it, and it’s going to be okay, because I don’t see it as a big problem.” Besides I’m on the right team and that’s all that really counts. I still accepted Jesus. I still believe God, I’m still going to follow Him no matter what. Where does sin have a little nook in your heart? Where is there something that God has said is wrong that you’ve decided you want to keep there? Are you submitted to God in some things, but not other things. Things God has told you to do that you’ve decided you’d rather not? Are you harboring some self-righteous attitudes about yourself. Are there areas in your life where you’re resisting God’s call for genuine change—perhaps clinging to comfort, pride, or routines that keep you from wholehearted obedience. True submission isn’t partial; it requires an honest evaluation of where you’ve drawn lines God never intended, and a willingness to surrender those hidden corners of your heart. Instead of justifying selective obedience or nurturing a sense of self-sufficiency, let your response be repentance and a humble openness to God’s transforming work, knowing His grace is sufficient to cover failures and empower you to walk in the fullness of His will.

“Gives hope and encouragement, no matter how dark, sinful, or sorted your past, God still offers mercy and forgiveness.” ⇒ No matter who you are or where you come from. No matter how wretched your past, how checkered your history you get everything heaven promises. All receive full grace, full mercy, full love, full delight, full joy, as soon as they repent. Thirty years of sin and wickedness are forgiven the day you believe. 50, 60, 70 years of backsliding and straying is forgiven the moment you turn back to Christ.

“Teaches how we serve a God of second chance. (It’s never too late to change your mind and turn back to God.) “ ⇒ We have a very forgiving and patient Father. The years and decades of sin, rebellion, and straying away can be forgiven and pardoned by God upon repentance. Never think that I have sinned too much or strayed too fare and too long for God to forgive me. Notice Jesus could have said they’re not going to go into the Kingdom period!, but only ahead of them. With God it’s not too late to change your mind. It’s not too late to obey. It’s not too late to say I was wrong about Jesus. I was wrong about the bible. I was wrong about the Gospel. As a believer no matter how much we’ve backslidden or how far we’ve strayed there’s still time to repent, there’s still time change, there’s still time to turn. There’s still time to say “You know what I haven’t lived a life of obedience and submission to God. I haven’t lived a life of cooperation to the will of God. I haven’t put away that sin that displeases God.

“Even today, we can be just like the second Son. We say all the right things. We talk about loving Jesus, but don’t do a thing to follow Him. We speak about turning our life’s around, going to church more and serving God more with no heart to follow through with it. ” ⇒ Which type of son (daughter/servant) are you? Do you say, “No,” to God’s call, but change your mind and go? Or do you say, “Yes,” but never go to do the will of your Heavenly Father? You say you’ll be “in” God’s Word more, but how faithful are you in your personal Bible reading, in family devotions or corporate Bible study? We know God’s desire that we worship regularly, but our attendance is infrequent and irregular! We know we should serve those in need, but we never volunteer time to Good Will or the Red Cross. And how about voting? Studies tell us that 75 % of all Christians don’t vote when they have an opportunity! Rather than taking our biblical Christian values with us into the Voting Booth, many sit on the sidelines and let others make important decisions which negatively affect our country, our freedoms and our lifestyle! Have you ever meant a believer who claimed to be a Christian and disciple of Christ, but you hardly see them at church. Or they’ll say “I love the Lord”, but they never show up at the prayer meeting or go to a bible study. Or they’ll say “I’m a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ”. But they won’t forgive people who hurt them. They won’t help the poor. They won’t witness or fulfill the great commission.

Additional Notes & Applications

Warns how many are all about knowing the right things and being about the right thing without doing the right things. (We can say all the religious things but in the end it’s just empty talk)

Calls for being humble enough to admit when we’ve been disobedient and then turning 180-degrees back to God.

Warns how we can know what’s true and what’s expected of us, and yet still come off as hypocritical.

Teaches how it’s easier to repent of open rebellion that it is to repent of Self-righteousness.

Teaches how true faith and beliefs are responses tested by time. In the end what we finally do matters most.

Calls for a open heart that’s willing to change your opinion and correct your behavior when you realize your wrong.

Teaches how our profession of faith will eventually be tested. The true test of spiritual health is obedience.

Warns how just having all the right words, talk, and rhetoric is not enough without a life of daily obedience and righteous living.

Teaches rather than live with the status quo, thinking, well I disobeyed the Lord, there’s no use turning back now. Were to stop, repent and do what God wants us to do.

Displays how Jesus doesn’t hold any punches, but goes right to the heart of our condition and eternal destination.

Teaches the greatest witness we will ever see is not miracles, but the transformation of a human life whom Jesus Saved. You’ll know someone who didn’t love God, now they do. Someone who was pound and self-centered, now they live for Jesus.

Warns how it’s one thing to make a bold face lie to yourself, to your family, to your teacher, to your coach, to your company, to your boss, to your pastor, but a whole other thing to lie to the face of God, a God of holiness & truth, who never lies.

When it comes to the Second Son, I don’t know about you, but for me I would rather be rejected to my face than have someone fake it in acting like they agree with me. I would rather have an honest disagreement any day, than a pretend agreement. Better a rude, blunt man with integrity, than a well-mannered polite and courteous chameleon!

Vineyards usually consisted of grape or fruit orchards. Working in a Vineyard involves a variety of tasks. Depending on the time of the season it may include tilling the soil, planting the seeds, pruning the vines, harvesting grapes, etc. A father asking his Sons to work in the Vineyard was culturally acceptable and expected for a Son to obey. Most assume the first Son was probably the older Son. It is often the oldest son in the family that is thought of as the one who represents responsibility, leadership, and example. The Oldest Son may be more motivated to meet their parents’ expectations. The Oldest Son is more extroverted, agreeable and conscientious. To respond as the First Son did was not just simply rude it was utterly disrespectful. In a traditional Jewish culture to say No to your father was a shameful thing to do. It was disgracing his family. To Jews, family connection was everything it was the strongest thing you had. Today it’s like a son refusing to carry on the family business that’s been handed down from one generation to the next.

This parable is not teaching that one son was better than the other. But rather it exposes the hypocrisy between profession and practice.

Jesus is not telling this parable out of anger or frustration. Jesus is not trying to hide the truth from them.  But rather He’s telling this parable out of love. Jesus is reaching out to these religious leaders in giving them an opportunity to turn from their sin. Jesus wants them to come to grips with their relationships with God.

Some who read this Parable really wish there was a Third Son in the story. The say the way the story stands is a little incomplete they want a third son as an example. You have the first Son who was not good, but then good. The Second Son good, but then ultimately not good. Why don’t we have a Third Son who heard the right thing and did the right thing. Who responded the right way and lived the right way. The answer to that is simply, we can’t. No one can respond perfectly to the will of God. in fact if we would take a step back outside this parable, outside of this picture. We are seeing Jesus doing exactly that. The Son of God is responding completely to the will of His Father. And He does it to perfection. Jesus is our example of what Sonship to the Father should look like and how it is faithfully carried out.

Additional lessons drawn from Parable

• There’s a big difference between saying & doing. That God considers action more important than words.

• God Saves not because of the good things we’ve done, but by our faith & trust in Jesus,

• The Gospel call is given to all types of people; the disobedient & rebellious as well as the morally upright.

• Those who obey God’s will & call are the doers rather than the Sayers.

• The conscious sinner is more readily to receive the Gospel than the outwardly religious & upright.

• There’s a difference between knowing the will of God and actually doing it.

• God is gracious despite our former mistakes and allows the sinner every opportunity to repent