The Son Who Entered the Vineyard

On Sunday, we heard the parable of the two sons invited to work for their father in the vineyard (Matt. 21:28-32).  As Justin explained, Jesus was pursuing the priests and elders and urging them to repent.  His parable was pointed directly at them.  They were the son who had said “yes” to the father, yet not followed through on their commitment.  The tax collectors and prostitutes, though, were the son who had initially said “no” to the father, yet repented later.  These sinners would thus enter the Kingdom of God before the priests and elders, simply because they had repented, while the priests and elders had not. 
 
Each group needed to repent of different sins.  The sins of the tax collectors and prostitutes was obvious to everyone, but the priests and elders could not see their own sin, even though Jesus challenged them with it through his question (21:24-27).  Before the parable, he asked them where John received his baptism and preaching.  Was it from men, or from God?  Their sin was effectively the sin of rejecting God’s authority, God’s message, and God’s messenger, specifically in the person of John the Baptist.  They viewed themselves as the authority, and could not receive those that God sent into their life, including the Son of God himself.  This was the sin they needed to repent of in order to enter the Kingdom of God.
 
It is easy for us to talk about the failures of the priests and elders, yet we rarely turn the questions of this passage on ourselves.  In other words, we understand the historical situation, but we miss the voice of God.  But if we read to hear the voice of God, these questions begin to rise to the surface, pushing hard against our pride and complacency.  Do we receive the authority of God over our lives?  Do we receive his message, as it is directed personally to us?  Do we receive the messengers he sends into our lives?
 
As we examine ourselves, most of us will find some resistance to God’s corrective voice, his authority, and his messengers.  It takes humility to let God examine us and correct us.  And what is more, when he uses others to communicate this message, as he used John the Baptist with the priests and elders, we oftentimes bristle, wondering why we should listen to this other person, who is no better than us.  Yet God oftentimes sends people to speak the truth to us.  He is faithful, and uses his children to guide, correct, and refine each other.  He longs to heal us, and is willing to do surgery on our hearts through his word to accomplish this.  He sends messengers to convict, to instruct, and to encourage.  In other words, his word doesn’t come in a vacuum; it comes from the lips of ordinary people.
 
As we grow in the faith, one of our prayers should be, “Father, do not let me miss the word you speak to me through your people.  May my heart be humble enough to hear it, no matter who is delivering it!”
 
Steven+

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