Matthew 21:28-32
Jesus said to the chief priests and elders of the people: “What is your opinion? A man had two sons. He came to the first and said, ‘Son, go out and work in the vineyard today.’
He said in reply, ‘I will not,’ but afterwards changed his mind and went.
The man came to the other son and gave the same order. He said in reply, ‘Yes, sir, ‘but did not go.
Which of the two did his father’s will?”
They answered, “The first.”
Jesus said to them, “Amen, I say to you, tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God before you. When John came to you in the way of righteousness, you did not believe him; but tax collectors and prostitutes did. Yet even when you saw that, you did not later change your minds and believe him.”
BACKGROUNDER
Jesus has many issues with the religious leaders of his day. Not only do they misunderstand him, they are closed to the news he brings about who God is. The Jewish leaders find Jesus confusing and challenging. They are afraid of him and his message, and they are determined to get rid of him.
The leaders were appointed to teach about God and his ways. They draw their teaching from the Law of Moses, from what we would call the Old Testament. But they added many other restrictions to the Law. They also found ways to benefit from the prestige and wealth their position gave them, and they looked down on others.
Jesus fulfills all of the prophecies and promises of the Old Testament, but in ways that no one could have predicted. First, he is more than just a human Messiah, he is the son of God, and one with God (John 1). Second, because he is one with God, Jesus can speak with divine authority. He has power to forgive sins, to heal, even to raise from the dead.
What really bothers the authorities, however, is that Jesus loves the outcasts of society. Jesus doesn’t praise them for sin; in fact, he calls them (and everyone) to repent. But he does praise their willingness to change their ways when he calls them back to God. Jesus criticizes the religious leaders because they speak on behalf of God, but they are unwilling to acknowledge their own need for repentance.
Jesus himself is the perfect son. He both says that he has come to do the Father’s will (John 6), and then does it. But Jesus has his own hour of agony, sharing our human weakness in the garden, when he faces the cross. Then he prays, “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.” (Matthew 26:39)