The Two Sons

INTRODUCTION

Have you ever had good intentions that just didn’t seem to go the way you thought they would?

Illustration: In Tanzania, two guys went for an interview. One was smarter than the other but they were good friends and willing to work together so the less smarter could pass. The educated one said if he went first, he would come back with the answers to the interview questions. It happens that he went first.

Question 1: When was Tanzania’s independence?

Answer: It was supposed to be in 1960 but was postponed to 1961 due to many reasons.

Question 2: Who brought independence to Tanzania?

Answer: So many people participated in the process but it was Mwalimu Nyerere who finalized it.

Question: 3: It is believed that the planet Mars has life. Is it true?

Answer: Some say so but it has not been scientifically proven.

The smart one came out and quickly told his friend the answers. The friend went in.

Question 1: When were you born?

Answer: It was supposed to be in 1960 but was postponed to 1961 due to many reasons.

Question: What? Who is your mother?

Answer: So many people participated in the process but it was Mwalimu Nyerere who finalized it.

Question: Oh my god, are you crazy?

Answer: Some say so but it has not been scientifically proven.

Sometimes we have good intentions when it comes to following God, but we can get so narrow in what we think we know that we completely miss the reality of what God has for us.

Matthew 21:23-32

1) Who is the ultimate authority? (vs. 23)

The setting for this passage takes place after the triumphal entry of Jesus.

He had already developed quite the reputation in the previous 3 years of ministry, teaching, and miracles.

Such a welcome would have undoubtedly made his presence in Jerusalem the talk of the town and drawn the attention of the religious leaders.

While Jesus is teaching in the temple, He is questioned by “the chief priests and the elders of the people.”

These were the who’s who. It is highly likely that these men were sent by the High Priest Caiphas with one purpose… “By what authority...”

What Jesus had been doing what not validated by the normal religious order. Since the religious establishment of the day set the societal standards, it was not societally appropriate.

Jesus was known for associated with the rejected, with the tax collector traitors, the prostitutes and drunkards, the beggars and the lepers. This was not appropriate for societal standards, especially from one who claimed to be a Rabbi and called His own disciples.

The religious leaders presently questioned Jesus’ authority, because they had rejected His previous answers that His authority came from God, His Father.

In our lives, do we truly recognize the authority of Jesus?

Too often we like the things Jesus says, but we don’t recognize His Lordship over our lives.

We like to say that Jesus sits on the throne of our hearts, but we don’t really give Jesus a throne…

We tend to give Jesus a love seat so we can sit right next to Him and live by our own comfortable standards, seeing Jesus really as more like an advisor than our Lord.

We need to truly ask the tough question, “By what Authority?”

The real answer to this question is not found in our words, but in our lives.

2) What is your mindset? (vs. 28-31a)

Here are two sons… One openly rebellious at the onset, but then changes…One seemingly obedient, but is deceptive and rebellious in reality.

Vs. 29 gives the real distinction between the two sons.

It was not in what was said, but rather what was done.

“changed his mind...” is the very root meaning of the word REPENT.

We tend to think about repentance as action, but action without a change of mindset is just a temporary course of action.

True repentance happens when there is a change of thinking.

I believe this is why we have so many people are still focusing on a works based faith.

We’ve been taught that you change your actions and eventually you will change your mind, but we must humble ourselves and have a change of mind first.

We can all like that Jesus offers heaven, but heaven is not our reward…Jesus is!

Jesus brings a whole new way of thinking about life, values, priorities, purpose, etc.

In Jesus, we don’t live for the things of this world, we live for Him in this world.

The world’s treasures are never enough because you were not made to treasure this world. You were made to adore and value God and be valued and adored by Him.

When we truly repent and change our minds, we don’t see life the same way anymore.

We no longer accept sin in our lives, but we agree with God that sin is unacceptable.

We no longer go around the hurting, but we agree with God that the hurting need Him.

We no longer cast blame and insult on others, but we agree with God to love others and see them with dignity and value.

We no longer see ourselves trying to make our place in this world, but we agree with God that our place is with Him, in His Kingdom, valuing Kingdom values.

Repentance is not living our lives differently…it’s more than that. It’s changing how we think about everything to align with the thoughts of God.

When our minds change, then our lives are transformed.

3) How then shall we live? (vs. 31-32)

Jesus gets straight to the point…the tax collectors and prostitutes heard God’s call to righteousness and responded in belief. Their belief created a change of thinking that resulted in a change of living that was noticeable.

The chief priest and elders saw the change in the tax collectors and prostitutes, yet still didn’t change their minds.

While the chief priests and elders where asking Jesus “by what authority are you doing these things (teaching and miracles)...,” Jesus’ response is “why have you missed seeing the authority of God at work?”

These guys knew the Bible better than any others. Their actions were carefully lives to abstain from unrighteousness, yet they couldn’t even recognize God standing right in front of them!

Their lives looked meaningful, but their minds were not transformed because their hearts were still dead to God.

At one point Jesus calls them whitewashed tombs…pretty on the outside, but filled with dead men’s bones.

Their actions were meaningless and self-focused for God’s sake rather than being God-focused for righteousness sake.

A person who has truly repented with a change of mind, lives transformed with a changed life.

We need to check our lives. Do we recognize the things of God when we face them? Are our lives transformed because our minds and our hearts are changed?

Do we live God-centered lives, or do we just accessorize our self-centered lives with God?

Do we live with a Jesus-focus that produces Kingdom purpose, or are we still wrapped up in ourselves with a little bit or religious flair mixed in?

CLOSING

We need to examine our hearts and our minds. Who is the ultimate authority in your life? Do you ever live out the socially uncomfortable things of God simply because He tells us to and we want to be obedient? Who really has control over your thoughts and your decisions? What is your mindset? Do you see the world through God’s lenses or through your own experience? Have you repented by changing your mind or are you still striving with futility to change your actions? How do you see people…all people? Do you see them how God sees them? How do you live your life? Is there a noticeable transformation that is the growth of a change of mind? Do you blend with the rest of the world around you or is there something different that is God-created in your life? Have you given your mind and your heart to Jesus?