Job 22-24, Matthew 21: 18-32, Psalm 20
Matthew 20: 28-31 (ESV)
“What do you think? A man had two sons. And he went to the
first and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’ And he answered, ‘I
will not,’ but afterward he changed his mind and went. And he went to the other
son and said the same. And he answered, ‘I go, sir,’ but did not go. Which of
the two did the will of his father?” They said, “The first.” Jesus said to
them, “Truly, I say to you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes go into the
kingdom of God before you.”
In verses 28 through 31 from Matthew 20, Jesus explains to the
chief priests and elder the parable of the Two Sons. In this parable, a man had
two sons whom he asked to go work in the vineyard. The first said No but then
changed his mind and went to work. The second son said the same, but did not go
to work. Jesus asks the chief priests and elders which son did the will of the
father, and they respond to Jesus and say the first son. Jesus then tells them
that the first son are like the tax collectors and prostitutes who listened to John
the Baptist and believed him and changed their lives. I’m sure the chief
priests and elders thought they were like the first son. But Jesus told them
No, because even though they say they are doing the work of God they have not
changed their behavior. Jesus explained
to them that they cannot just say they are obeying God but not change their behavior.
The sinners who listened to John the Baptist and changed their behavior are the
ones who have really obeyed God. Jesus called out the chief priests and elders for
being hypocrites, because they said to the people they were obeying God, and
yet in private they were disobeying God.
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