"Change of Heart - Change of Mind"
Sermon Presented September 25, 2005
Matthew 21:23-32
In order to get someone off your back, have you ever agreed to do something without any intention of doing it? As a child - or a spouse - or a roommate, did you ever promise to clean your room, take out the trash, or vacuum the floors, and then do nothing until you were told again - this time with a harsher ring to the demand? Have you ever agreed to organize a project or serve on a committee, only to forget or ignore the agreement and do nothing? Did you ever say "No" to a request and then felt guilty about your refusal and agreed to do it later? Whether it's a memory from long ago or a more recent experience, most of you can probably answer "Yes" to at least one of these questions and possibly all of them.
The encounter Jesus has with some religious leaders in the temple may ignite these memories as we look at our text this morning. It's Holy Week, following Jesus' triumphant entry into Jerusalem, and the religious leaders in the temple want to know the source of Jesus' authority. In response to their question, Jesus offers them a question and a parable. Hear his response as written in Matthew 21:23-32. (Read text.)
When I read this text, I immediately think of religious and political leaders today who say they believe something or will do something, but don't follow their words with confirming actions. However, when I make that judgment, I realize that I am also guilty of the same offense because there are times when I will speak one message and live another. None of us walks the walk consistently - even when we talk the talk.
Our text begins when the religious leaders interrupt Jesus' teaching in the temple to ask him where he gets the authority to do the things he is doing. Show us your credentials! What has Jesus been doing? Well in addition to teaching and healing there in the temple, he drove the moneychangers and those selling sacrificial animals and birds from the temple. These latter actions seal his doom with the religious leaders and they are convinced he acts without authority.
Jesus tells them he will answer their questions if they answer his question. His question: Did God give John the Baptist authority to baptize for repentance of sin, or was John acting on his own? Both Jesus' question and that of the religious leaders have to do with authority. Did God give the authority or was it usurped? The religious leaders are afraid to answer Jesus because however they answer, they will be in trouble. They are on the horns of a dilemma! If they say God gave John the Baptist the authority, Jesus will say, "Then why didn't you listen and repent?" If they say John's authority wasn't from God, then those who are listening will object violently because they believe that John was God's prophet. It's much easier to walk the fence here and say "I don't know!"
"I don't know" is a legitimate response to many questions. But it shouldn't be used to avoid stating an unpopular belief. The response Jesus receives sounds like it was from a politician running for office, a pastor who wants to keep all of her parishioners happy, or a person who doesn't want to lose a friend. We often fail to stand up for what's right for fear of alienating someone with an opposing view. When someone says "What do you think about this issue?" we want to make sure our answer won't be used against us. Once Jesus said that we shouldn't throw pearls before swine because the swine will just trample them. To me, this means we need to use discernment in our interactions with others. However, it doesn't mean we should straddle the fence instead of taking a stand when we should take a stand.
The sin the religious leaders are guilty of is that they saw and heard John the Baptist and Jesus, and yet refused to believe and repent. Even when they observed the tax collectors and prostitutes respond to the message of repentance, they stood aloof, because they saw no sin in themselves.
Now let's look at Jesus' parable. A man with two sons tells the older one to go work in the vineyard. The son answers: "No!" but later changes his mind and goes to work. After the first son refuses to go, the father goes to his second son and tells him to go into the vineyard and this son says he will go, but he doesn't. He may have become sidetracked, or he may have had no intention of going. He just doesn't show up for work.
Jesus' question is: "Which son did what his father wanted?" The religious leaders answer, "The first - the one who went to work." We need to realize that both sons in this story shamed their father. In that culture, it was shameful for a son to be disobedient to his father. The action of the first son was right, but his initial attitude was wrong, and vice versa for the second son!
This story is similar to another parable Jesus told of two sons - one who rebels and later obeys and one who does all of the right things for the wrong reasons. In both stories, the one deemed a sinner eventually does the right thing and the seemingly righteous one who speaks the right words shows no love or commitment to his father. Change comes through repentance, and that's the determining factor.
The religious leaders aren't in a good relationship with God because they believe that they are okay. They see no need to change. They talk the talk, convincing themselves of their goodness, but they don't walk the walk. Jesus says that when we only talk the talk, we fail God. We are like the second son who says he will obey, but doesn't. The correct words are spoken but the commitment to follow through is missing.
Let's look at the positive points of the parable. First the job gets done, although it isn't accomplished by the one who said he would do it. It so often happens that when one person fails to do a job, another person shows up, sometimes a most unlikely candidate to anyone but God.
Another positive is that what we say doesn't preclude us from eventually doing God's will. A genuine change of heart is more than a possibility at any time. This parable is good news for those of us who have refused to do what God wants us to do. Real change can take place with anyone. Our past doesn't determine our future. It affects it, but it doesn't determine it. A bad decision or hastily spoken word doesn't set us outside of God's grace. Even though we refuse God's call, we can reconsider it.
On the surface, tax collectors and prostitutes may not look much like God's people, especially when compared to the pious religious authorities, but they are identified with the first son - the one who does the will of the father - and the religious authorities are identified with the second - the one who doesn't show up for work. The difference is in their response to the message of repentance. The sinners repent and the religious authorities resist. The sinners are able to recognize spiritual authority better than those steeped in religion. They are also more aware of their own sinfulness.
The second son is like many of us who boldly declare our loyalty to Christ but who exhibit little consistency between words and deeds. We are called to do the will of the father - to go to work in the fields - and not sit on the sidelines.
When you think about it, I'll bet most of you can relate to both sons. As respectable church people, we may be counting more on our previous commitment than with God's call to go to work now. Our "goodness" may make it difficult for us to hear God's call to repentance.
Another positive from this story is that people who may seem aloof from God can be caught up in a fresh movement of the Spirit. Those who no longer seek spiritual truth can be insensitive to the Spirit of God in our midst. Spiritually hungry people benefit the church and vice versa.
One thing I noticed in this parable is that both the repentant sinners and the religious leaders enter the Kingdom of God, but the repentant sinners enter first. Another observation is that both the obedient son and the disobedient son are children of the Father.
If our faith doesn't result in faithful actions, it's just talk. The truth of our commitment lives in our heart and what we do is the best measure of what's in our heart. Jesus' audience fell into the trap of thinking that words were enough - of thinking they were pleasing God with their religious activities, when they really weren't being faithful.
By telling this parable, Jesus opens the possibility for repentance for those with ears to hear. He forces them to admit that the first son who said he wouldn't work in the vineyard but later changed his mind was the one who did the will of the father.
The past is the past. God is concerned with the present. We have daily opportunities to say yes or no - to do or to leave undone. This afternoon you will hear a report from the Vision Team. At a later date you will have an opportunity to accept or reject the vision. However, if the vision is to be a successful guide, we must offer more than lip service. We must offer enthusiasm and self-sacrifice. We must go to work!
