The Parable of the Two Sons

The Parable of the Two Sons

    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.   

 ³⁰ “Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, ‘I will, sir,’ but he did not go.    

³¹ “Which 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. ³² 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.

   Do you see yourself in this parable?  Which one are you?  Are you the son who said, “no” and later said, “yes.”  Or, do you see yourself as the son who answered, “I will sir, but did not go.  For me this parable contains a strong warning:

I tell you the truth, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. ³² 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.

   Do we think we are better than others?  Do we think we are more righteous?  Perhaps, we see ourselves as sinners, but surely we’re not as bad as some others around us.  I encourage you today to take Jesus’ warning to heart.  This parable suggests that those who we might look down on for their wrongdoings are entering the kingdom of God ahead of us.  I can’t speak for you, but that scares me.  This is not just anyone saying these words; this is Jesus, son of God and my Lord and Savior.  When he speaks, we need to listen.

   There is something even more powerful, more compelling that I receive from this parable than fear.  I receive hope.  You see, Jesus tells us that the son who starts out on the wrong path by saying no, changes his mind and does what his Father asks him.  Wow.  That message gives me hope.  I “hope” it will give you hope too.

   Jesus clearly tells us that there is hope for the sinner.  If we start out on the wrong path, we can come back to Him and to His Heavenly Father.  This is the message of the gospel, a message of hope.  You may not have believed it before.  You have a past that plagues you somehow.  Don’t we all in some way?  We may believe that God can’t forgive us; we might not be able to even forgive ourselves.  If you feel that way, the news of the gospel is here to give you hope.

   Repent and believe him!  Ask for forgiveness and believe him.  In the days of Jesus, tax collectors were truly despised.  Yet according to Jesus, they believed and are entering the kingdom of heaven.  The prostitutes did too.   Do we really think we’re beyond help or hope?  We aren’t if we will turn to Jesus.

   You may be answering, “no” at this very moment to God, your Father’s question.  But, you can repent and believe him.  The son who changed his mind and did what his Father asked, did what his Father asked.  I encourage you to do the same.  I pray that we all will have the strength, the faith and the will to do what our Father asks.  Amen.