Matthew 21:23-32
John Radzikowski
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Introduction
Introduction
Good morning and welcome to FCC where we worship God in Spirit and in Truth one verse at a time, one book at a time.
To all those who served our great country we all wanted to say thank you! Thank you for laying your life down!
Church, Freedom is not cheap, it cost man men and women their lives over the years, dating all the way back to the time of Jesus Christ.
Freedom cost God his only begotten Son church and that’s the ultimate reason why we Free indeed! Amen
Prayer
Prayer
Read Matthew 21:23-32
Read Matthew 21:23-32
Review/ Backdrop
Review/ Backdrop
It is Wednesday of Passion week. In just 2 days Jesus will be crucified. He will die for the sins of the world. He is crucified on Friday and gives up the ghost at the ninth hour (3pm). He rests in the grave on the Sabbath day which was Saturday and then He was resurrected o n Sunday, The Lord’s Day.
He entered on a borrowed donkey as a King. Can you imagine what the boys were thinking when Jesus said go into town and find a donkey?
This was prophesied in:
“Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, Lowly and riding on a donkey, A colt, the foal of a donkey.
4. This prophecy was fulfilled in Matthew 21:1-11
5. Then Jesus The Priest walks into the Temple a second time many scholars believe and overturns the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold sacrifices. Jesus said:
And He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a ‘den of thieves.’ ”
Church, this is another fulfilled prophecy out of :
Has this house, which is called by My name, become a den of thieves in your eyes? Behold, I, even I, have seen it,” says the Lord.
5. Moving on here in Matthew 21 Jesus gives an object lesson of a fig tree. The Vine and Fig tree in Scripture are often symbolic of Israel, so when Jesus caused the fig tree to wither, it was Divine judgement because of the fruitlessness of Israel.
The 1st Adam came to the Fig Tree for leaves, the last Adam/Jesus came to the Fig Tree, not for leaves, but for FRUIT. Jesus still expects Fruit.
6. Last week church, we talked about how the religious leaders questioned Jesus’ authority and how Jesus had lovingly backed them in a corner. Keep in mind that this is the third time he returned to the temple and there was not like 2 or 2 elders or chief priest, but possibly over 100. It was passover week church. Remember, Jesus fulfills the passover, He is the passover Lamb.
Here, we learned that religious leaders reasoned Jesus away. They reasoned away eternal life.
Did you reason away Jesus this past week? Did you exchange the truth Jesus was giving you for some lie? Did you???
When we see the religious leaders here, I think we have a tendency to say those Pharisee’s, or we look at the religious leaders like those people over there, or that church over there, instead of looking at our own hearts.
We need to see our part in the story and not reason away that the religious leaders, their attitudes, behaviors, and beliefs do not apply to us!
Sadly, there religion and Judaism at this point became an external religion, it was all about works on the outside. When Jesus came, he flipped things upside down.
The way he was teaching was not external like the Rabbi’s of the day, but internal and about the heart.
Church, Jesus is all about the heart!
“The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?
Jesus said In :
For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies.
Jesus is the remedy for this and he gives us plenty of instruction on how to walk in the Spirit, so we do not obey the lust of the flesh thereof.
Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.
So we come to our portion of text today and we will pick up here:
So they answered Jesus and said, “We do not know.” And He said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.
The religious leaders reasoned away Jesus, they knew the answer to Jesus question: “ The Baptism of John, where was it from? From heaven or men?
In taking them back to the ministry of John, Jesus was not trying to avoid the issue of authority but was trying to help them understand who He was.
John had prepared the way for Jesus.
Had the rulers received John’s ministry, they would have received Jesus. Instead church, the leaders permitted Herod to arrest John and then to kill him.
If they would not accept the authority of John, they would not accept the authority of Jesus; for both John and Jesus were sent by God.
The rejection of John was actually a rejection of the Father who had sent him.
But God who is gracious, full of mercy and love, who is suffers long church, instead of judgement, He sent His only begotten Son.
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.
The Lord’s heart is that men would repent and return unto Him.
This leads us to the first of a trilogy of parables that Jesus teaches. Teach one to reach one Jesus is saying. There are three parables that we are going to look at over the next few weeks, so study ahead. ( Matthew 21:28-32)
The Parable of the Two Sons
The Parable of the Wicked Vinedressers ( Matthew 21:33-46)
The Parable of the Wedding Feast ( Matthew 22)
Rather than the Father judge the religious leaders he attempts to get their and our attention through these parables in hopes for them and us to repent.
Remember, this is not the Pharisee’s or Sadducee’s or the elders of Jesus day, this is about us! We must ask ourselves the question, “Where do we find ourselves in this story?”
“But what do you think? A man had two sons, and he came to the first and said, ‘Son, go, work today in my vineyard.’
The words, “What do you think?” tie this parable to the Jewish leaders who had just confronted Jesus and tried to trip him up.
Here, Jesus wanted to convey the most extreme and critical message to them and to us.
The message of their and our eternal destiny church!
This parable is only here, however I can see a correlation with the parable of The Prodigal Sons, because there was two sons just like this one.
Parable- an earthly story with a heavenly meaning that either reveals a spiritual truth to those who desire to know, or conceals spiritual truth to those who do not desire to know.
It is simple: we have pride and humility operating here!
So we see here a father that had 2 sons .
The Father who is God in the story, gives an imperative here to go to work in His Vineyard.
If you reflect back, we taught through John 15 abiding in the Vine and how Jesus commanded us to abide in Him and we will bear much fruit.
Jesus said:
Come to Me!
Follow Me!
Learn of Me!
Abide in Me!
Israel was full of vineyards, sorta like the valley here, but more
This was an agrarian society and their lively hood depended upon the harvest.
Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people. But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd. Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.”
We see this was the father’s vineyard.
He answered and said, I will not: but afterward he repented, and went.
Many versions translated this word to something like relented, changed his mind and went, or regretted. But here in the KJV I like the word repent.
What does it mean to repent?
Repent-meta-me-lo-mai- vb. to regret, be sorry, change one’s mind. Refers to regretting or feeling sorry for one’s actions and deciding to change behavior. It means a change of heart, mind, and direction.
Church, here in these first 2 texts we see God giving a command to his son and his son saying I will not!
How many times did we do this to our parents, an employer, or spouse, or to each other?
But here, this son says I will not to God!
1. The command “go work” is an emphatic imperative. The father meant what he said: “You go! You work!” There is no other choice in the father’s mind; no other alternative. The sons were to work and serve their father.
2. Note the word “today.” Today is the day to go. Today is the day to work, not tomorrow. Tomorrow may be too late. The harvest will rot in the field. The night will come when no man can work (Jn. 9:4). The sons could also die (He. 9:27). They had to go today while they had a chance to help their father.
For He says: “In an acceptable time I have heard you, And in the day of salvation I have helped you.” Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.
For He is our God, And we are the people of His pasture, And the sheep of His hand. Today, if you will hear His voice: “Do not harden your hearts, as in the rebellion, As in the day of trial in the wilderness,
Jesus said we are not promised tomorrow, today is the day of salvation!
The first son said, “I will not!” This is disrespectful and rebellious.
It was the result of sin that says, I want to do things my way, I want to focus on me:
There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death.
The first son was selfish, he was self-centered, wordly, carnal, fleshly, materialistic and proud.
He knew better that his Father.
Been there, done that!
Then he came to the second and said likewise. And he answered and said, ‘I go, sir,’ but he did not go.
Note he said, I go sir! He immediately said he would go but did not. He said, I will go to work for you Father, I go!
He went to work, but not for the father for he was just like the first son, selfish.
He went about his own life working for himself.
Going back to the garden of Eden we see Adam and Eve eat of the forbidden tree, they sinned. Immediately, they knew the were naked, immediately, the hid, immediately they made for themselves a covering our of fig leaves. They moved from being selfless, to becoming self focus. They moved form focusing on others, to focusing on self. The moved from love to perverted thinking. And they moved from depending on God for everything, to depending on self. We see this when they sowed fig leaves together.
Church, there are a few differences between the two sons:
The second son professed respect for the father, and professed to go to work for the father, but never went to the fathers vineyard to work.
There are professors, and possessors church.
Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was.
Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’
2. The first son repented and went to work in the fathers vineyard.
Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said to Him, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you that tax collectors and harlots enter the kingdom of God before you.
Here we see Jesus ask the religious leaders Who done the will of the father?
And quickly, they reacted. They’re theological training did no good here. They did not see the point of the parable. Their religion and self-righteousness was blinding them and giving them a false sense of security
Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said to Him, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you that tax collectors and harlots enter the kingdom of God before you.
Here we see Jesus interpreting the parable, her we see him giving the point of the story.
Here we see God’s mercy, grace, and longsuffering character. He is trying to get their attention and they cannot see it. They answered correctly. But were blinded that the second son was them
When Jesus used tax collectors and harlots here, we was referring to what some my call the scum of the earth. Some might call them those people.
Tax Collectors were despised because they worked for Rome and were extortioners. Harlots were immoral and slept around.
Church, Jesus is saying that sinners enter the kingdom of God before the religious folk.
Matthew-II: Chapters 16:13–28:20 (King James Version) E. The Parable of Two Sons: What It Takes to Enter God’s Kingdom, 21:28–32
Jesus identified the vineyard and work that was to be done. The vineyard is the Kingdom of God and the work is “Go into the kingdom of God”—serve God within His kingdom
Jesus said emphatically, Verily I say unto you! He made it clear he was talking to the religious leaders.
He said sinners do into the kingdom of God, before you, before the self-righteous, false, professor.
Notice the words before you!
Jesus was not shutting the door of heaven to the religious leaders.
But that they could not enter the way they were.
They lacked one thing and they must do that one thing to enter God’s Kingdom.
For John came unto you in the way of righteousness, and ye believed him not: but the publicans and the harlots believed him: and ye, when ye had seen it, repented not afterward, that ye might believe him.
Church, Jesus shocked his audience. He declared that man’s idea of religion is wrong and that religion and righteousness are not enough to enter God’s kingdom.
Relgion is not enough (worship services, ceremonies, rituals, profession, and even ordinances).
Righteousness is not enough (morality, virtue, good works, and commitment). Is not enough.
Jesus says you need this one thing:
For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.
The one thing is repentance.
We need repentance in our life.
See church, if we become religious people like the second son or the religious leaders, we will not become repentant.
Repentance happens because of a relational transaction.
So after studying this story, we must ask ourselves which son are we???
The Lord was trying to get the religious leaders attention here and he is trying to get ours as well.
Remember, Jesus is headed to the Cross, he will die in just 2 days.
When he told them the scum of the earth would get in before them, they were furious and this along with clearing the temple is making them extremely angry.
Prayer
Prayer
Announcements
Announcements
Are there any announcements?
Reach out to those that are not here.
Be blessed and not stressed
Benediction
Benediction
Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside, redeeming the time. Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one.
The Lord Bless you!
Your Mission starts now!