The Two Sons

Good morning and welcome to Our Daily Walk.

Audio version at http://tinyurl.com/yons7f

Have you ever been around “yes men?” You know the kind. They are always on their best behavior when the boss is around and say whatever it is that he wants to hear. But when the boss is gone they are not nearly as enthusiastic about it.

Such behavior isn’t pretty. Not only does it build on deceit and hypocrisy, but it also destroys trust and often leads to failure.

The phrase “do as I say and not as I do” is more often seen in action than spoken in words. Good intentions aside, there is a big difference in saying you are going to do something and actually doing it. For example, not all people who say they are religious actually act in religious ways.

In Matthew 21 Jesus is speaking to an audience that included the chief priests and the elders. They represented the Jewish religion and were questioning the authority of Jesus. When Jesus refused to answer by what authority He spoke, He asked them about the baptism of John. Was that from heaven or from men?

This was a trick question of sorts. If they answered, “from heaven,” then Jesus will rightly accuse them of not believing him. If they say, “from men,” then they fear what the people will do. So they answered that they did not know.

Jesus then tells a parable about two sons in Matthew 21:28-32.

“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 and said, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he regretted it and went. Then he came to the second and said likewise. And he answered and said, ‘I go, sir,’ but he did not go. Which of the two did the will of his father?”

They said to Him, “The first.”

Jesus said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you that tax collectors and harlots enter the kingdom of God before you. For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him; but tax collectors and harlots believed him; and when you saw it, you did not afterward relent and believe him.”

The Jews represented the second son in this parable and the sinners represented the first son.

Notice how the first son indignantly refuses to go and work in the father’s vineyard. “I will not.” There is no offer of any excuse or reason. There is no expression of sorrow for not wanting to work; neither is there any offer made of performing some alternative task. He simply refuses to go.

However, this son also regrets his action. Later he goes and works in the vineyard.

The second son, represented here by the Jews, mostly gives the father, “lip service.” This son appears to be respectful and eager to work. “I go, sir.” But he does not go at all. This son professed much but practiced nothing. His promise was without any performance.

The audience responds correctly to Jesus’ question about which son actually did the will of the father. It was the one who refused, regretted and then performed the work. An intention is worthless until action is added to it.

It has been said that the road to hell is paved with good intentions. We don’t have enough information about the second son to know if he actually intended to do the work or if he was just putting off his father. Either way, the work was requested to be done, was accepted as a task and in the end was not done at all. This son failed the father.

Jesus brings home the harsh reality of doing nothing when He informs the audience that the sinners—tax collectors and harlots—are going to enter into the kingdom ahead of them. They had rejected God’s standards earlier but now had received the way of righteousness through John. Even after the Jews saw them accept John’s teachings they still refused to change their minds and believe him.

Even today there are some who will end up only giving lip service to God. With all good intentions they will declare their love to God, their service to the Savior and their willingness to do the work. But when the Father’s request is no longer fresh on their minds they also will fade into doing nothing.

There is a big difference in “say” and “do.”

On Our Daily Walk today, may we make a special effort today to make good on our commitments to God, Jesus, the church and to others. May we make every effort to show others that we are not only people of our word, but that we are also people ready to work.

Our thought for the day: “He who waits to do a great deal of good at once will never do anything. Life is made up of little things.”

May God bless you on your daily walk.

© Our Daily Walk, Mike Baker, 2007. Permission is granted to copy these articles provided they are not sold and the author's name and copyright are included.