The Parable Of The Two Sons & The Pharisee And Publican: The Power Of Humility, The Danger Of Pride Series

I had learned about God when I was 7, 8, 9 years old, into my teens, but as my life became increasingly broken I rejected God, and went my own way in anger and pride.

In my mind, I recall, I said to myself, we don’t need you God. We’re going to make this planet into a paradise on our own and show God that we don’t need him. We’re going to create utopia ourselves. We’re going to show God’s whose really boss. That is the spirit of the world, right there, the spirit at work in the sons and daughters of rebellion.

And so I began my descent down a dark hill. One by one everything was stripped away from me, thanks be to God for that, my ego was as big as a house, and piece by piece, chunk by chunk he chipped it away, but even near rock bottom, total lostness, I would rather die than turn to God, and I even attempted suicide. That’s the height of what you’d call “reprobate” one abandoned to their own sins and disaster. They’d rather die than turn to God.

And yet, that was 2009, 2010 2011, then 2012, a few year later, finally, there was no more ego left, every piece, every sliver was chipped away, and God guided me toward his son Jesus Christ, and all heaven waited in silence, as I made my choice, would I cry out or not, and I did cry out, to Jesus Christ for salvation. And then everything changed.

My ego removed, replaced with light with a soft beating heart of growing love. The Lord lovingly sent me out to work in his vineyard fields. Head out to work my child, and do my will, and I will be with you.

Which brings us to our parable today, our first parable, as we will look at two today.

It’s from Matthew 21, the same chapter, Jesus’ triumphal entry. So we understand the context. He’s speaking to the leaders, the masses, in Jerusalem, in the temple, and he says this, scandalously, he says…

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, but later he changed his mind and went.

30 “Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, ‘I will, sir,’ but he did not go.

31 “Which of the two did what his father wanted?”

“The first,” they answered.

Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. 32 For John 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 and believe him.” -Matthew 21:28-32

Today Jesus might say to us, "Truly I tell you, the poor masses of India, and China, the witchdoctors and shaman of the African nations are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you Americans. For the message of the gospel came to you through countless teachers, and preachers and evangelists, and mounds of bibles reaching to the sky and even after you saw all this, you did not repent and believe."

Jesus is contrasting in this parable, two different types of people, responding to the statement from the Dad, he says, go work in my vineyard.

Son 1 says no I’m not going.

Son 2 says yes I’ll go.

Words don’t matter much here. It doesn’t matter what they say. It’s what they do that matters.

Son 1 later changes his mind and goes in.

Son 2 lied, and never went to work in the vineyard.

Jesus gives this parable to illustrate a simple point, the accredited, the powerful, the wealthy, the affluential, the esteemed, are missing the kingdom of God because of their pride.

And the lowly, the miserable, the addicted, the prostitutes, the corrupt tax collectors, they are entering the kingdom of God, though they went into sin at first, later they changed their mind and gave their lives to God and got to work in his vineyard fields.

So this was a message that Jesus gave to rebuke the scribes, Pharisees and religious leaders of his time who rejected the message of John the Baptist. If you recall John the Baptist was one who prepared the way for Jesus’ coming, calling people to a baptism of repentance from sins, getting them ready, for the coming messiah.

Jesus contrasts many of the common people who viewed John the Baptist as a true prophet of God, and embraced his message of repentance, which made them ready for the coming of Christ, and those religious scholars and Pharisees and I’m sure other common people as well who rejected John the Baptist and as well were in the process of rejecting Jesus’ message as well.