The Two Sons - Going from NO to YES
- Terry Sweeney
- Sep 28, 2008
September 28, 2008
The Rev. W. Terry Sweeney
The Two Sons
Matthew 21:23-32
Unbelief is not a misfortune to be pitied; it is a sin to be deplored. Its sinfulness lies in the fact that it contradicts the word of the one true God and thus attributes falsehood to him. --- From "The Letters of John" (Tyndale New Testament Commentaries)
“The Call to follow Jesus consists to two necessary and complimentary parts: faith and obedience. Faith in Christ is always to be accompanied by obedience to Christ. To attempt to follow Christ without faith is trying to will ones self to be “good”, just a form of works righteousness; to claim faith in Christ without obedience to Christ and His word is hypocrisy” Anonymous
In the Name of God: + Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.
I would expect that all of us at one time or another, whether we remember when or not, have said to someone (probably our parents) that we would not do something and later changed our mind and did it.
I suppose there are reasons why we said “NO” in the first place.
And I suppose there are reasons why we eventually said “YES” and did what we at first said we would not do.
Please, clean your room – NO – a consequence is given – OKAY, I’ll clean it.
Please cut the grass – NO – Mom just looks at you with sad eyes – OKAY let me finish what I’m doing then I will.
It’s often said when we reach the Terrible Two’s we are smitten with the ability to only say NO; NO becomes our favorite word – it comes to full bloom. . . . . . .
It’s almost as if very early on we see the mark of our fallen nature as we quickly (and without training) learn to resist authority.
James Dobson’s book on raising the strong willed child comes to mind and it reminds me that we many times take great pride in being rebellious.
We test our parents and those with authority over us and use our NO’s as ways to remain in control, exercise our sense of right and wrong, and sometimes take a stand got our autonomy.
NO is a small word with a host of potential complicated meanings behind it.
So, if we think about it we would probably agree that there are many examples of request-NO-change of heart-YES-do it.
And there are numerous reasons why the NO is changed to YES.
If we consider the Gospel lesson before us today we see that the essence of why Jesus used this parable is to answer the questions challenging His authority.
Matthew 21.23b, “"By what authority are you doing these things?" they asked. "And who gave you this authority?"
Where does your power come from?
How do you give sight to the blind, send demons away, heal lame legs?
How can you possibly have any control over the weather?
Who said you could teach? Who’s disciple are you?
You don’t sound like a Pharisee or a Sadducee.
Where do you come from? Nazareth? Ugh.
By what means are you drawing followers? Is it the devil?!
His answer pointedly strikes at their hard hearted resistance to John and eventually to Him.
It’s almost too simple to believe but nonetheless it is:
He says, you rejected John even when you saw God working in him as he spoke about me . . . . . .
Yet even the people you judge and look down upon as sinners came to John, sought his baptism, confessed their sins therefore saying YES to preaching.
However, you’re NO to John stayed NO and now you’re saying NO to me as well.
So when we read the parable of the two sons we must read it plainly – not as an allegory.
A man had two sons – he asked them both to do the same thing. One said NO but later changed his mind and said YES. One said YES but never followed through.
Which one did the will of his father?
The first one. . . . . right .
The son who started at NO but eventually came to YES pleased his father.
(Some officials could have seen some redemptive value in the second son’s behavior)
Pleasing the Father is what the Son does.
Matthew 12.18-20 cites Isaiah 42.1-4 and expresses this relationship between Yahweh and His Messiah this way:
“18"Here is my servant whom I have chosen, the one I love, in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him, and he will proclaim justice to the nations.
19He will not quarrel or cry out; no one will hear his voice in the streets. 20A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out, till he leads justice to victory. 21In his name the nations will put their hope."
Matthew 17.5, “5While he was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!" Listen and DO what He says.
The Father loves the Son; the Son loves the Father and is obedient to Him – therefore the Father is well pleased with the Son. . . . .
Whom He says we are to listen to – OBEY.
Jesus knowing the hearts of the Chief Priests and Elders pronounces judgment upon them:
Tax collectors and prostitutes will get into the KOG ahead of you (replace you – take your places) unless you repent.
Several years ago I was at St Paul the Apostle on Washington Blvd. to interview as their Rector. One night we went down the street and around the corner to a member’s house who happened to be a single woman.
She was very outgoing, loud and just “out there”.
During the course of the evening someone (I don’t know who) told me she was an ex-prostitute who used to “walk” along Washington Blvd. In that instant the Gospel became it bit more credible to me.
What do I mean, credible? In many ways the Gospel is incredible and by that I mean we may give it great lip service but hardly expect to see the fruit of what it says staring us in the face.
Credible to me meant – wow – a real prostitute, saved by Christ, brought into His kingdom – on a search committee!
Sometimes the scripture is so incredible that we read it and find the parts that challenge us the most we just let slide, BUT secretly we hardly really believe it could happen.
Acts 3.6, “Then Peter said, "Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk."
This woman whose name I have long since forgotten was a walking testimony to a life changed because when Jesus somehow said FOLLOW ME instead of selling your body to strange men she said YES instead of NO. (And she may have said NO to God a thousand times before!)
Not only did she say YES but she then did it! She began to practice, live life in a new way, what John and then Jesus preached.
She did the will of her heavenly Father. . . . and in doing so the Gospel became credible in the sense that myself and others could see the power of the Gospel at work in her life!
Sadly Jesus says to the Chief priests and elders: You saw John – heard the power of his message – saw the power of his ministry and never said YES to his invitation to repent and enter my kingdom.
Now that I’ve come you are saying and will say NO to me and will never say YES.
Your NO will cause you to loose your eternal life; you will be replaced in my Kingdom unless it’s changed to YES.
Where the YES of a prostitute or sinner will mean new life now and in to eternity.
There is a great switch that goes on when the self proclaimed righteous hang on to their hardened hearts and reject the righteousness of the message of Jesus.
This is a simple parable in many respects – yet its impact is profound.
Going from NO to YES means God’s Grace has entered our lives, opened our eyes, and caused us to confess with our mouths and believe in our heart that Jesus is God’s Son raised from the dead who has come to bring us new life both now and into His Kingdom. Amen.
Comments
Log in