Sunday's Message: The Parables of the Gospel of Matthew (Two Sons - Matthew 21:28-32)

During the months of October and November, we're discussing the following parables unique to the Gospel of Matthew:

• October 8 - Wolves & Fig Trees (Matthew 7:15-20)
• October 15 - Weeds with the Wheat (Matthew 13:24-30)
• October 22 - The Kingdom of Heaven (Matthew 13:44-48)
• October 29 - The Two Debtors (Matthew 18:23-35)
• November 5 - Laborers in a Vineyard (Matthew 20:1-16)
• November 12 - Two Sons (Matthew 21:28-32)
• November 19 - The Wise and the Foolish (Matthew 25:1-13)
• November 26 - Sheep from Goats (Matthew 25:31-46)

On Sunday, we focused on the parable of the two sons found in Matthew 21:28-32. A recording and a copy of the sermon are below. You can stream the service by going to the Sligo Presbyterian Church YouTube Channel at 10:00 a.m. (EDT)

Well, here we are, approaching the homestretch in this sermon series we started at the beginning of last month. I’ll tell you, time certainly flies when you’re having fun. You see, for the last five weeks, we’ve been focused on some of the parables taught by Jesus that are only found in the Gospel of Matthew. And during that time, we’ve looked at the parables of wolves & fig trees and the parable of the weeds with the wheat. And we’ve talked about how the Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure that’s hidden in a field and a merchant who’s searching for pearls and a net that gathers fish. And then we considered how God’s rule is also like two debtors, one who’s been forgiven and the other who refuses to forgive, and how it’s also like laborers in a vineyard who, although hired at different times, all get the exact same pay, because the owner is both just and generous. Now that’s what we’ve been doing over the last month.

And this morning, we’re going to continue our parable-driven study by looking at another one found only in Matthew, this one about two sons that really points to the relationship between promises made and action taken. And I’ll tell you, for me, this really hits pretty close to home, because when I was growing up, my grandmother didn’t seem to believe that there was any relationship between the two at all. You see, she would make promises to us all the time, you know, that she was going to do something really special but then she’d never actually do it. Now, this was just who she was, and even though my sister and I figured it out early on, it actually was a pretty painful lesson for my little brother who’s about seven years younger than me, you know, the one who is both beautiful and practically perfect, but I digress. 

Anyway, back when he was about six, he found a movie projector I’d gotten when I was around his age. Now understand, it was a plastic toy, and when he found it, the light bulb, which was also plastic, had burned out years before, and so he couldn’t use it as a projector, something he told his grandmother. But you know, instead of telling him what our father had already said, you know, that it was a seven-year-old inexpensive toy that really couldn’t be fixed, she promised my brother that if she had to move heaven and earth, she would find a replacement for that burned out bulb, something that, in the time before the internet and Amazon and eBay, was something nearly impossible to do. Of course, when she made him this promise, everybody else in the house knew that she was just doing what she always did, and so we had absolutely no expectations at all. But my six-year-old brother didn’t know what we knew. And so he believed she really was going to fix the projector. I’ll tell you, he talked about it all the time. He even invited some of his friends over to watch the half dozen silent shorts that I had when first I got the toy. You see, he didn’t realize what I already knew, that this adult whom we loved didn’t seem to believe that there was a relationship between the promises she made and the action she took. 

And like I said, that’s what we’ll be talking about this morning, because I’ll tell you, that’s really what the parable of the two brothers is all about. And to do to this, we’re going to look at the whole passage, which includes both the parable itself and a brief application. And then I’ll offer three lessons that I think we can take from this little story that Jesus offered, but this time, not to his disciples but rather to some of the people who disliked him the most. 

You see, as Jesus was sort of debating with the chief priests and the leaders of the people in the Temple, this was what the Evangelist Matthew wrote:

Jesus said:

I will tell you a story about a man who had two sons. Then you can tell me what you think. The father went to the older son and said, “Go work in the vineyard today!” His son told him he would not do it, but later he changed his mind and went. The man then told his younger son to go work in the vineyard. The boy said he would, but he didn't go. Which one of the sons obeyed his father?

“The older one,” the chief priests and leaders answered.

Then Jesus told them:

You can be sure tax collectors and prostitutes will get into the kingdom of God before you ever will! When John the Baptist showed you how to do right, you would not believe him. But these evil people did believe. And even when you saw what they did, you still would not change your minds and believe. [Matthew 21:28-32. CEV]

Now that’s what happened.

And like I said, as it relates to promises and action, I think there are three lessons we can draw from what Jesus said. For example, first, I think it’s pretty clear that the promises we make are important, and I’m talking about both for the “promiser” and the “promisee.” I mean, in the story, the father asked his two sons to do the same thing, to “go work in the vineyard today!” [Matthew 21:28b, CEV] Now the oldest said “no” while the youngest promised that he’d go. And I’ll tell you, I think what they both said was important, because, like my brother with the broken projector, they really told the father what he could expect. You see, the promises themselves were important.

But you know, that’s not just the case in this particular story. I mean, just listen to what Jesus said a little earlier in this gospel. According to Matthew, this was what Jesus said to his disciples:

You know our ancestors were told, “Don't use the Lord's name to make a promise unless you are going to keep it.” But I tell you not to swear by anything when you make a promise! Heaven is God's throne, so don't swear by heaven. The earth is God's footstool, so don't swear by the earth. Jerusalem is the city of the great king, so don't swear by it. Don't swear by your own head. You cannot make one hair white or black. When you make a promise, say only “Yes” or “No.” Anything else comes from the devil. [Matthew 5:33-37, CEV]

You see, according to Jesus, the promises we make are important.

And I’ll tell you, when we remember this, I think two things are going to happen. On one hand, I believe we’ll be a little more careful in the promises we choose to make. I mean, rather than just shooting off at the mouth and saying a lot of stuff that may sound great and get plenty of “oos” and “awws”, maybe we’ll decide to pause for just a minute and consider carefully our limitations. Now that’s what I mean by being careful. On the other hand, we might also be a little more honest when the situation changes and we’re not able to do what we’ve promised. I mean, even though it may be a whole lot more comfortable to say nothing and hope that no notices that we haven’t gone into our father’s vineyard or that we haven’t bought the replacement bulb, it’s a lot better to bite the bullet and admit that we’re just not willing or able to do what we promised. And even though we can expect some of the praise and goodwill we initially got to turn into disappointment and even anger, maybe if we have to do this enough, maybe we’ll be more careful before we open our mouths and let the promises roll. You see, the promises we make are important, and for me, that’s the first lesson we can take from this parable. 

And second, I think what Jesus said also reminds us that, when you get right down to it, our actions mean more than our promises. In other words, what we do trumps what we promise to do every single time. And that’s certainly something that’s part and parcel in this parable. I mean, of the two sons, it wasn’t the one who promised but didn’t go who did what his father wanted. Rather, it was the one who, even though he hadn’t promised to go, actually went; man, he was the one who obeyed his father. Why? Because obedience was shown by what was done and not by what was promised. And in our passage, even the chief priests and leaders knew it.

But I’ll tell you, they weren’t the only ones. I mean, just listen to what the writer of Ecclesiastes said:

Be careful what you do when you enter the house of God. Fools go there to offer sacrifices, because all they do is sin. But it's best just to listen when you go to worship. Don't talk before you think or make promises to God without thinking them through. God is in heaven, and you are on earth, so don't talk too much. If you keep thinking about something, you will dream about it. If you talk too much, you will say the wrong thing.

God doesn't like fools. So don't be slow to keep your promises to God. It's better not to make a promise at all than to make one and not keep it. Don't let your mouth get you in trouble! And don't say to the worship leader, “I didn't mean what I said.” God can destroy everything you have worked for, so don't say something that makes God angry.

Respect and obey God! Daydreaming leads to a lot of senseless talk. [Ecclesiastes 5:1-7, CEV]

You see, what we actually do is a heck of a lot more important than whatever we might promise. 

And for that reason, maybe we need to focus more of our time and more of our effort on getting the job done than on getting the words right. I mean, without saying that the promises themselves are meaningless because as we said a little while ago, that’s certainly not true, still the rubber hits the road when we pick up the rake or find the projector bulb or actually do what Jesus Christ has called each and every Christian to do, namely to love God and to love neighbor. And I’ll tell you, this is something we can decide to do, whether we’ve made the promise or not. I mean, even though it would be best both to make and to fulfill our promises, I think what we do will always be more important than what we say we’re going to do. You see, our actions mean more than our promises, and for me, that’s the second lesson we can take from this parable. 

And third (and trust me, this just might be the most important of all), according to what Jesus said, God isn’t stupid. Now didn’t Abraham Lincoln say, “You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time”? Well, I’ll tell you, he could have certainly added “God” to that last group. And in my opinion, that’s why, at the end of the parable, Jesus added this, and remember, he’s talking to the chief priests and leaders of the people:

You can be sure tax collectors and prostitutes will get into the kingdom of God before you ever will! When John the Baptist showed you how to do right, you would not believe him. But these evil people did believe. And even when you saw what they did, you still would not change your minds and believe. [Matthew 21:31b-32, CEV]

You see, in spite of outer appearances, God knew exactly who was doing right and good as well as who was all talk and no action.

Of course, the idea that God already knows our thoughts and intentions, well, that’s not unique to Jesus. I mean, just listen to this from the Psalms:

You have looked deep

into my heart, Lord,

   and you know all about me.

You know when I am resting

    or when I am working,

and from heaven

    you discover my thoughts.

You notice everything I do

    and everywhere I go.

Before I even speak a word,

    you know what I will say,

and with your powerful arm

you protect me

    from every side.

I can't understand all of this!

Such wonderful knowledge

    is far above me. [Psalm 139:1-6, CEV]

Now, that’s who God is.

And because of that, maybe, just maybe we should stop trying to fool God and others and maybe even ourselves by making a whole bunch of promises that sound great and spiritual and righteous, but that we just can’t do. For example, before we say that we’re going to give God our lives, it might be a good idea to consider how we’re exactly supposed to do it and of course, what doing it actually means. My gosh, that makes sense, right? And before we make Jesus our personal Lord, it might also make sense to be crystal clear about the practical, real-world implications involved in making that decision. For example, if I promise to live as though Jesus is my Lord, does that mean I have to do what Jesus challenged the rich young ruler to do when he said, “If you want to be perfect, go sell everything you own! Give the money to the poor, and you will have riches in heaven. Then come and be my follower”? [Matthew 19:21b, CEV] I mean, it just makes sense to know what actually is involved in fulfilling our promises before we say the words. Because, I’ll tell you, God isn’t impressed by what we say but by what we do. You see, this kind of stuff we might want to stop. While at the same time, we might start intentionally doing what Christ has called us to do, namely to follow and to obey, something that we talk about all the time around here and that we’ll look at over the next two weeks. And again, doing that just makes sense, because let’s face facts, God is going to know whether we do it or not regardless of what we promise anyway. You see, God isn’t stupid, and for me, that’s the third lesson we can take from this parable. 

Now, do y’all remember how I was telling you about my brother and the broken toy projector he found. Well, as the rest of us expected, the promise made never resulted in any real action taken. But that didn’t stop my brother from asking our grandmother every time he saw her for the next six months about when she was going to bring the broken bulb. He wouldn’t let it go; therefore, my father had to sit his six-year-old son down and tell him the truth, that this person whom he loved and trusted was never going to do what she’d promised, and she never did. I’ll tell you, my brother was crushed. And even though she continued to make these great promises about what she was going to do for him or give to him, their relationship was never the same again.

But that doesn’t have to happen to us, certainly not in our relationship with God or with one another. You see, right here and right now, we can accept that our promises are important; therefore, we probably should be careful and honest in making them. And we can accept that our actions mean more than our promises; therefore, we probably should focus more on what we do than on what we say. And finally, we can accept that God isn’t stupid; therefore, our relationship with him will be grounded in our willingness to follow and to obey and not in our decision to give and to make. You see, this we can know and do because Jesus told the parable of the two sons. And next week, we’ll look at the first of two stories from Matthew 25, the parable of the foolish and the wise.