WORK IT OUT / PART 2

November 2, Brandon Mitchell started a sermon about the nature of obedience. In it, Brandon depicts a confrontation between the Pharisees and Jesus about the authority that Christ worked under (Matt 21:23-32) . Christ asked the Pharisees what authority did John the Baptist work under? Unable to pick a side, the Pharisees say that they don’t know: if they say by God, then they would condemn themselves for not believing; if they said by man, they would become the scorn of all his disciples and followers. So they chose the fence. Jesus responded with a parable of two sons, a father and a vineyard and ends with this statement:

“I tell you the truth, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. ³²For 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.” (Matt 21:31-32)

The chief priests were the religious, the church goers. These were the guys who you knew for sure would get to heaven. They had their spiritual “to do list”. However, Christ said that prostitutes would enter heaven before them.

So, why would Christ say that the prostitutes would go before them? Jesus relates in a parable about two sons, a father and his vineyard. The father asked both to go work in a vineyard for him. One told the father no but changed his mind and went and worked. The other son said he would, but never went. To the Pharisees, he asked this question: who did the will of the Father, the first or second son? It was the first son.

Now, it doesn’t say in the Bible why the son refused to initially work for his father.

Maybe the son was lazy. How many times has God asked us to do something but we refused Him just because we didn’t feel like it?

Maybe he lacked ability. Perhaps he didn’t know how to work in the vineyard.

Maybe he was rebellious.  A spirit of rebellion won’t allow you take instruction, but only seeks to justify “your” way above all others.

Maybe he was busy. He may have even been doing other chores for His father but it wasn’t what the Father asked him to do at that time. When God asks we’ll always be busy. The Father never asks us to do something when it’s convenient. Referring back to the Doors series, God’s plans always involve some level of sacrifice, faith and commitment.

Maybe he was prideful. If the father was wealthy enough to own a vineyard-(after all wine was indeed a cash crop for Israel)-then the father probably could afford servants to go work in the vineyard. Perhaps the son thought because of his position, he was better than others. After all, you never leave the vineyard clean. You leave it dirty. The same goes for ministry: it’s never pretty. Sometimes, you might find yourself cleaning toilets.

It doesn’t matter why he first said no. He still repented and went and did the will of his father.  How many of us are like the second son?  He seemed eager to go but never went.

James 1:22 calls us, “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says”. Thinking about what God said to do is not the same as doing. God hasn’t called us just to memorize His word but to follow it. Without the application, it’s meaningless. After all, faith without works is dead. (James 2:26)

So, back to the Pharisee’s and the prostitutes. What separated them? The prostitutes recognized their need for a Savior. The prostitutes knew where they stood when it came to righteousness. The Pharisee’s believed that what they were doing was the will of God and pursued their self-righteousness. The prostitutes seem more like the first son. They originally rebelled against the Father but later sought repentance and did His work. The Pharisee’s represent the second son: knowing the will of God but refusing to do it.

If we don’t do the work then no one will do it. So here is a point to ponder. Who will you be?

Work It Out  / Part 2

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