The text this morning is from the Gospel according to Matthew, the 21st chapter:
And when he entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came up to him as he was teaching, and said, “By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?” Jesus answered them, “I also will ask you one question, and if you tell me the answer, then I also will tell you by what authority I do these things. The baptism of John, from where did it come? From heaven or from man?” And they discussed it among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say to us, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ But if we say, ‘From man,’ we are afraid of the crowd, for they all hold that John was a prophet.” So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And he said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things. “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. For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him. And even when you saw it, you did not afterward change your minds and believe him.Thus far the text.
My dear friends in Christ,
I sometimes to wish, to be honest, that God was not as patient and long-suffering… with other people. Of course, I never wish that for myself. I never think that I’m such a demanding burden on others that they’re probably praying the same thing about me. But, I digress. The reality is that God is patient, and He is long-suffering. He puts up with so much from people, giving them the opportunity to repent, to turn from their sins, to turn from their sin-filled lives.
But, just because He is patient doesn’t mean that He will endure this behavior forever. Indeed, the day is coming that the Lord Jesus Christ will return from the right hand of the Father, descending upon the earth with all of His saints to welcome them and all of creation into His glory forever. The patience of the Lord regarding sin will run out and it is drawing to a close.
We see the beginning of the end with Christ, when He was walking upon the earth prior to His crucifixion. In fact, just before the passage today, Jesus cleansed the Temple. Remember, this had nothing to do with money, per se. There was no problem with the idea of the sellers there doing fundraising for their schools or getting donations for their charities. The problem was that they were bilking the poor and selling the sacrifices for salvation at a markup, as if God’s forgiveness wasn’t exactly what He demanded. If God tells you that if, because you are poor, you don’t have a lamb that you can sacrifice a dove, and God did say that in the Law, how do you think He’s going to like it if the basic price of the dove was marked up even the smallest amount. God provides for those who had trouble coming with great sacrifices; He isn’t going to like it when people stand in their way to receive His forgiveness.
So, Jesus cleanses the Temple, then He healed a large group of lame and blind people, and then He curses a fig tree and caused it to wither away, condemning, through analogy, Israel, who should be bearing fruit for their season was at hand, but weren’t. Jesus did a bunch of miraculous signs and wonders, pointing to who He was as the Messiah. Yet, the chief priests and the scribes and the elders grew jealous of Jesus, hearing the people’s adoration towards Him, adoration which should be reserved for God Himself, adoration that should only start with them, go through them, and be, ultimately, done by them.
The chief priests, scribes, and elders, well, you can almost feel their distaste. Sure, they seem to be doing all this in the name of God, for the sake of preserving His holy name for all the people. In reality, we see them, through the Gospels, becoming more and more jealous that the Messiah they have been waiting millennia for seems to be this itinerant preacher, Jesus. Who is He, they would ask? He isn’t trained, He isn’t high-born, He’s not one of them. And now He’s even comparing Himself with God, saying that He comes directly from Him.
So, our text this morning picks this up. Jesus heads back to the Temple, probably to teach, to heal, to preach. And when these guys see Him, they ask where He actually gains the authority to do all these things. Who does He think He is, sending their money changers out of the Temple? Who does He think He is, getting other to cry Hosanna out to Him? Where does He get the authority?
But, Jesus is smart. He doesn’t answer them directly. He would, but He know that they’re trying to trap Him. If He says that He’s the Son of God, they could charge Him with blasphemy, and His time for crucifixion is not yet. If He says that He does it on His own, they could charge Him with inciting rebellion. Now, both of these things are true, and if they were asking out of earnest seeking, He would answer them straight. Instead, He asks them a question.
Jesus equates Himself with John the Baptizer. He makes sure that they know that the authority of Jesus and the authority of John comes from the same place, God the Father. And what John did, Jesus could fulfill because the authority is the same. John offers the opportunity to repent and be forgiven because Jesus would come and make that happen because the Father sent the Son.
But the chief priests and elders and scribes, when asked where the authority comes from, couldn’t answer. They were afraid of the people who loved John, the prophet-martyr murdered by the pleasure-loving Herod, and they were afraid of God, who had authority even over them. If they answered Jesus saying that His authority came from man, they would risk the people rebelling against the man that John call the Lamb who takes away the sin of the world. If they answered Jesus saying that His authority came from God, they’d never be able to touch Him, to trap Him, to get rid of Him.
So, they tell Jesus what they think is the only safe answer, I don’t know. And when Jesus answers them back, He doesn’t tell them where His authority comes from. He only tells them a parable. A son tells his father that he will go work in the vineyard, but doesn’t. Another son tells the father that he won’t work, but then goes and does. Which one does the will of the father?
In one sense, I suppose we’d want to say that neither did the will of the father. One said what the father wanted to hear, but didn’t follow through. The other rejected the father, but eventually came into his own work. But, why does Jesus follow up their questions with this parable?
Very simply, to put them in their place. This brood of vipers, as John called them, never truly listened to John. In fact, I’d venture to say they never truly listened to God and His Word, for they look at the letter of the Law and tell God that all He has commanded they will do. And the thing to remember is, they thought they were doing it! They weren’t honest with God or themselves. But they gave verbal assent to God, and then forsook Him all the more. They were the first son.
But, for those who heard the Word of God, who heard John preach, and then repented of their sin, those who had lead lives of stealing from their neighbors, who had lead lives of sleeping with tens, hundreds, of others, giving themselves over in adultery, who lead lives of seeking after other gods, they were the second son. God told them to repent of their wicked ways. At first, they said no. But then, convicted through the Law, they followed their Lord and were brought to forgiveness. They are the second son.
The first son is evil, putting on a face of righteousness, but going whichever way his heard desires. The second son is evil, honest but evil, yet turns to the righteousness of God’s good demand of repentance. This is why God has patience, even with you, even with me.
God tarries, He waits, He is ready to send His Son to remake the earth, to raise the dead, to end evil and sin in this world forever. It’s not as if we have to do anything to make it all ready for God. God is ready. He’s been ready since Christ ascended into heaven. Yet, God waits. He’s patient. He’s long-suffering. He doesn’t will for the wicked to die in their sins. And so He sends us, He sends you and me into the world to preach repentance and the forgiveness of sins for all people through Christ.
God is patient for He wants all people to turn to Him. All people have their chance to follow after Christ, to receive forgiveness. Otherwise, they will seek after the desires of their hearts.
That’s what I do. It’s what our sinful flesh wants to do. We always want to seek after the desires of our hearts. But, sometimes, through the preaching of the Word, through conviction under the Law, through the prompting of the Holy Spirit, we are reminded of our great sin and the need for a great Savior. And so, you turn. You turn towards the Lord and we receive the forgiveness of your sins through His gifts, through His Word, through His Absolution, through His Baptism, through His Supper.
Often, our hearts push us to be like the first son, like the scribes and elders. But, in Christ, we are always welcomed as the second son. It may have taken us some time, but we get to that which is right, we get to repentance, we get to forgiveness. And so it is for us. Christ died that you might live. Christ rose that you might live forever. That’s His authority: He predicted it, He promised it, He achieved it. And when a guy promises that, when He’s killed, He’ll raise Himself up three days later from the dead, and then does it, well there is no one in the world who can contradict that. That’s His authority, and the love of God that comes from the sacrifice of the Son, well, that’s why He’s patient. Nothing can beat that.
Now may the peace of God which passes all human understanding guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord! Amen.
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