19th Sunday after Pentecost
September 25, 2005
Matthew 21:28-32

^21:28"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. ³⁰Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, ‘I will, sir,’ but he did not go. ³¹Which of the two did what his father wanted?" "The first," they answered. Jesus said to them, "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." (NIV).

Will You Go Work In His Vineyard?

  We begin our service with a short form of confession and absolution. Before we actually confess our sins, we say what God has said to us in his word. We quote 1 John 1:8-9. "If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. But if we confess our sins, God, who is faithful and just, will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness." If we added verse 10 we would say, "If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives."

  Through his Word, God confronts each one of us with our sin, all the ways we have deviated from his good and perfect will. When he confronts us we can react in one of two ways. We can either admit the truth--the fact that we have sinned in thought word and deed and deserve God’s temporal and eternal punishment--or we can call God a liar and reject the whole notion of our sinfulness. If we admit the truth and confess our sins, we have God’s promise that he will forgive our sins for Jesus’ sake. But if we reject the truth and call God a liar, we become God’s enemies and begin a battle that we can not win. God does not want to condemn us so he invites us to put down our weapons--i.e., to confess our sins--and to accept his terms of peace--i.e., to let Christ cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

  Several years before the Apostle John wrote these familiar words that we use every Sunday, Jesus spoke them in the form of a parable. Jesus spent two or three years going through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. But in the end, most of the Jewish leaders rejected and opposed Jesus. So in a series of parables he tries to wake them up and warn them. The first of these parables is that of the father and his two sons.

  "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.’ ‘I will not,’ he answered, but later he changed his mind and went. Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, ‘I will, sir,’ but he did not go. Which of the two did what his father wanted?" "The first," they answered.

  Nothing could be more simple. The first son outright refused to go work. However, he later repented and went. He realised that his father had the right to ask him to work in the vineyard. He too lived off the grapes that vineyard produced, so it was right for him to do this work. He was wrong to disobey his father, so he changed his mind, i.e., he repented and went to work.

  The other son did the opposite. He lied and said he would go, even made a big show of it by calling his father ‘sir’, and then did not go. No doubt that night at the dinner table he had some good lies to tell about why he didn’t go work! Or maybe he just yelled at his father and complained about how he had no right to ask him to work in his vineyard.

  Now neither son’s behaviour was good. Both sinned against their father. Nevertheless, Jesus asks the important question, Which of the two did what his father wanted? The first of course! But why point that out? Because by changing his mind, the first son admitted his sin. He could be sure that his father would graciously forgive him. Their relationship would be restored; they would be reconciled. But if we confess our sins, God, who is faithful and just, will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

  The other son, however, is too proud and stubborn to admit his sin. He does not go to work. The relationship between him and his father is broken and will remain broken. You know how this goes. The tension will increase until the son hates his father and leaves home or else somehow gets rid of his father. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.

  Was this just a story? No! It was happening right then and there. Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. 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."

  Jesus was speaking to some Jewish leaders, the political and religious authorities. These guys didn’t respond to God’s call to repentance through John the Baptist. John had come to prepare the way for Jesus. He announced the coming of the Christ, the Jewish king and saviour, and called everyone to repentance and baptism in preparation for the coming of the Christ. That was the way of righteousness. But like the first son who refused to go to work, so the Pharisees, Scribes and Sadducees refused to repent and be baptized. They refused to acknowledge John as a prophet who spoke for God. They had no need of repentance, or of John’s baptism, or of this Jesus whose coming John announced. They considered both John and Jesus deranged liars who needed to be eliminated. So they found themselves fighting God.

  On the other hand, the more flagrant sinners of the day, the tax-collectors and prostitutes, did listen to John. They were like the first son in the parable because they recognized their sin, changed their minds, and were baptized by John. Tax-collectors were thieves and they knew that theft and extortion violated God’s commandments. Prostitutes knew that their illicit sex trade also violated God’s commandments. God had asked both groups to follow his commands and lead pure, honest lives--to work in his vineyard--but they refused. However, when John came and announced God’s day of judgement and his baptism for the forgiveness of sins, these sinners saw their chance. They changed their minds and were baptized. Then they began to follow Jesus, the one whose way John prepared. These sinners were no longer sinners in God’s eyes. They were forgiven and the rift between them and God was gone. That’s why, to the amazement of the Pharisees and Scribes, these people were now acting like God’s children. They listened to Jesus’ teaching and did what he said. Prostitutes gave up their trade and tax-collectors gave to the poor and restored what they had stolen.

  But even that miraculous change had no effect on the stubborn, proud leaders. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him, i.e., John. They just could not admit their fault. They had to call John and Jesus liars. They didn’t realize that they were calling God a liar. His word and thus his forgiveness had no place in their lives. Yet, like the second son in the parable who said, "Yes sir, I’ll go," they maintained their show of religious piety. They were after all the religious leaders! They wore their tasselled robes, fasted and prayed on schedule, and didn’t eat with sinners. They taught the Law of Moses and saw no need to learn from John and Jesus. The tax-collectors and prostitutes listened because they were ignorant.

  Can we see ourselves in this parable? Can we see ourselves in the shoes of the tax-collectors and prostitutes or in those of the Jewish leaders? Or do we think that maybe we’re a third type of son who is not mentioned? Are we the son who said yes, I’ll go work in the vineyard and then went?

  No, we’re not that. There was one and only one son who ever said yes, "I’ll go work in the vineyard," and then went. That was Jesus. He is the only person who never disobeyed God and did everything he was asked to do. He alone could say, "I have no sin!" The good news is that he obeyed and went and worked in the vineyard for us. The father whom we would expect to be angry with us because we refused to do his will has taken his anger out on Jesus. Thanks to him we now can change our mind and go do what God asks.

  Yet he was never angry at Jesus. He was angry at us, at our sin and rebellion. By charging Jesus with our sin and allowing him to die, God destroyed our sin. He is no longer angry, threatening to punish us. Instead he is calling us back to himself. God the father wanted his son to be with him so he raised him from the dead. Just so he wants all of us, his other sons and daughters to be with him. So he tenderly invites us to change our mind, to confess our sins and come back to him. He does not want us to be like the proud, stubborn second son who refused to repent. With such people God is doubly angry for they have not only their own sins on their head, but also the fact that they have rejected God’s offer of peace through faith in Christ.

  Yes, like the tax-collectors and prostitutes, we need to daily repent and return to God. That is what pleases God, not that we daily sin in thought, word and deed, but that we admit it and turn to him for forgiveness and strength to overcome our sin. What pleases God is that we look to our Baptism by which we were buried with Christ and raised to live a new life. For this Baptism "indicates that the Old Adam in us should by daily contrition and repentance be drowned and die with all sins and evil desires, and that a new man should daily emerge and arise to live before God in righteousness and purity forever." For such people there is real hope!

  If however we won’t do that, if we won’t go to work in the vineyard, that Old Adam will be just like the second son and the Pharisees. He will find a million excuses not to go work in the vineyard. We will convince ourselves that we do not need God’s Word, or his Baptism or his Son’s body and blood or his Church. We will convince ourselves that we have no sin of which to repent and thus no need for Jesus. We’ll look in the mirror and see a proud Pharisee!

  Brothers and sisters, God addresses you as dear children. He asks you to work in his vineyard. That means that he asks you believe his word and put your trust in his son, Jesus Christ. He asks you to let Christ be your Lord and Saviour. He asks you to seek and do his good and perfect will.

  So, will you go work in his vineyard?