The Parable of the Two Sons

We continue our sermon series during the season of Lent. In this series, we are examining Jesus final week of ministry which led up to His betrayal, trial, crucifixion, and death. All along, throughout his ministry, Jesus has been showing that He is the way, the truth and the life. In order to prove this out, Jesus openly challenges the false teachers, the wicked and evil leaders, the falsely religious of his day—pushing them to act out their heart’s desires. It is my prayer that as we study the truth of Jesus Christ, that we will be able to see our own tendencies toward false believing, false teaching, and false understanding, and replace them with true believing, true teaching and true understanding.

Before we dive into Jesus’ parable of the Two Sons, we need to read verses 23-27:

English Standard Version Chapter 21

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?” 24 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. 25 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?’ 26 But if we say, ‘From man,’ we are afraid of the crowd, for they all hold that John was a prophet.” 27 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.

This helps us understand Jesus interaction with the chief priests and the elders of the people in our passage, the parable of the two sons. They have come up to Jesus, and have asked, “By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?” They wanted to see Jesus’ credentials. They wanted to see his MDiv. They wanted to know which school he went to, Harvard, Yale or Princeton. Or McGill, McMaster, or UofL? Who has trained him, who has authorised him? Which denomination signed off on him, which classis examined him, who ordained him, by whose authority is he teaching, and preaching?

Now, this is not to say that credentialing is a bad thing. I don’t think any one of us would necessarily trust a doctor who went to online medical school. However, given the reality of covid, that’s far less preposterous than it sounded last year! In most cases, a good, solid education is necessary. There are always exceptions. Some of the most successful people I’ve worked for never graduated from high school. Then, there are the ones that prove the necessity of education. There are some people who regularly display their ignorance.