Jesus appears to be still talking to the chief priests and elders at the temple, or perhaps to others who had come to the temple to worship and hear God’s word, when he shares the content of Matthew 21:28-32. He has just finished a rather clever rebuke for their effort to question His authority. Then He speaks to show us who is truly doing the will of the father… those with nice words and a good front or those who act on God’s instruction, humbly submitting to Him in repentance of their sin.
28“But what do you think? A man had two sons, and he came to the first and said, ‘Son, go work today in the vineyard.’ 29“And he answered, ‘I will not’; but afterward he regretted it and went. 30“The man came to the second and said the same thing; and he answered, ‘I will, sir’; but he did not go. 31“Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Truly I say to you that the tax collectors and prostitutes will get into the kingdom of God before you. 32“For John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him; but the tax collectors and prostitutes did believe him; and you, seeing this, did not even feel remorse afterward so as to believe him.
Jesus is sharing an important message with us. Notice His target audience, by context… those that were religious leaders and those that had come to the temple. (Think of it like this… Jesus came to a church to speak to a congregation that already thought of themselves as obeying and serving God.) He is not speaking to those that did not come to the temple. It is important to do God’s will, even if we get off to a poor start. On the other hand, it is intentional deception and wickedness (or perhaps sloth), to say we will obey God’s instructions but then fail to do so. Not understanding God’s instruction clearly is a call for us to study it more and seek answers in scripture and in prayer… it is not an excuse to keep living the way we want to… that, too, is sloth.
None of us are “good enough” to meet God’s standard. We are all sinners. Those of us who recognize our sin, who recognize that our sin is so ugly to God that the punishment is death, should genuinely repent and turn from our sins, asking God’s forgiveness and submitting to Jesus Christ as Lord. We do not hide from our sin or deny our sin, but rather ask God’s help to overcome it! God loves us so much that He made a way for us to be reconciled to Him and forgiven of our sins. Jesus died, was buried, and rose from the dead so that those who believe in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life. We come thankfully and humbly before God in the name of Jesus Christ, repent from our wrong behaviors and thoughts, and ask Him to be Lord of our lives. Then we begin to live our lives for God instead of our own way.
Those who put a nice image, or front, of being perfect or good enough are fooling themselves, and perhaps fooling others, but they are certainly not fooling God. In particular, the chief priests and elders had every opportunity to know and follow God’s law, but instead followed traditions of men and looked out for their own power and status. The punishment they receive is great. Many who claim to teach about Jesus even today do likewise, misleading many or living in hypocrisy, teaching about God and living for themselves.
Do not get complacent, taking confidence in your church attendance or even your church leaders. Test what they teach against scripture to confirm it. The wise welcome reproof and correction and get wiser still; only fools despise correction and testing. We should come before God like the tax collectors and prostitutes to whom Jesus referred. Accept and admit to our sins and turn from them. Live like Jesus Christ is truly Lord of our life and turn loose of any pride that we must be righteous on our own… we are not!
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Have you submitted your life to Jesus Christ? If you die today, do you know for sure that you would be with God in heaven? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.
