Actions Speak
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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, “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you.
How would you feel if I made all of you a promise? I promise that at the end of service today, I will give all of you here a doughnut. Is that a good promise? Would you take me up on that promise? who in here want s a doughnut?
How would you feel if I made that promise but I didn’t come through? If i forgot about my promise and didn’t act on it? What would you think or say about me?
In the story we have the story, we see Jesus tell some guys that a group of sinners will be in heaven before the religious leaders. Let’s take a look at he full story.
23 Jesus entered the temple courts, and, while he was teaching, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him. “By what authority are you doing these things?” they asked. “And who gave you this authority?”
Look at that first question these religious church leaders asked Jesus. By what authority are you teaching people about heaven? and who gave you that authority?
What do we know about Jesus that these people don’t know?
Jesus is God
These people don’t believe that Jesus is God. God sent Jesus to us to teach us about heaven and how to get there. And Jesus could have said:
I am the Son of God and I was sent by God, instead he said something else:
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, “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you.
Jesus told them a story, Why don’t we play it out. Let’s pretend for a second that I have 2 boys. Why don’t you name them for me.
Well, I ask the first one to wash the dishes for me and he says:
Yes, I will do that for you. But instead of doing what I asked, he gets in his Xbox and plays fortnight instead. I then go see the second one and he’s taking a nap and I tell him, hey buddy can you wash those dishes for me? and he looks me straight in the face and says:
“now why would I do that?! I’m taking a nap!
but then, he feels guilty and remembers, that’s my dad. I should probably do what he asked of me and then he does it. Let me as you a question:
Which one was the obedient one?
The second one was obedient because, not because of his words, but because of his actions.
The religious leaders of Jesus’ time said what they thought God wanted to hear, but they never did what God asked them to do.
And there was a lot of sinners in Jesus’ time that did things they weren’t supposed too. The Bible says they were tax collectors and prostitutes and Jesus said this:
31 “Which of the two did what his father wanted?” “The first,” they answered. Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you.
Jesus was saying: these people are going to heaven because from now on they do 2 things:
Believe that Jesus is God.
Walk in Obedience.
The pharisees did not believe in Jesus, they didn’t believe He was God. They pretended to be Christians when they weren’t.
This is why it is hard to pretend to be a Christian. Because you can trick me and everyone else in here, but you could NEVER trick God. God can see your heart.
Did you know that Jesus spoke to Jesus one time and He said:
People have sinned against me, and they need someone to save them from their sin. Will you go and pay the price of sin?
What would of happened if Jesus would have said yes to the Father but didn’t obey? There would be no hope for us. What I love about Jesus is that He doesn’t pretend to be a good guy, or a good God. He is a good God, a real God, that offers real forgiveness, and real love. Even when we are fake.
13 if we are faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot disown himself.
Jesus can’t deny His goodness, His greatness, or His love for you and He obeyed the Father and His obedience took Him to the cross for you and for me so that you and I could live with Him forever in heaven.
I want to ask a hard question:
Are you pretending to follow Jesus?
If you are, then let’s talk today about following Him for real. And you may be someone here who isn’t even following Jesus. Your faith in Jesus isn’t fake because you might not have faith in Jesus. Talk to me.