23 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.
28 “What do you think? A man had two sons. And he went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’ 29 And he answered, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he changed his mind and went. 30 And he went to the other son and said the same. And he answered, ‘I go, sir,’ but 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, the tax collectors and the prostitutes go 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 the prostitutes believed him. And even when you saw it, you did not afterward change your minds and believe him.
(ESV)
STOP! Think a little 🤔 What is God saying to you?
- What is the writer saying?
- How do I apply this to my life?
The chief priests and the elders of Israel approach Jesus and challenge His authority (to cleanse the template, teach in the temple, and accept worship). They want to know what authority He has and who gave it to Him. As was Jesus’ pattern, He doesn’t simply answer them but shines a light on their character and motives. Jesus poses them a question and promises to answer their question if they’ll answer His. He asks them where John the Baptist’s authority to baptise came from, was it from heaven or from man. The chief priests and elders are in a tough spot because if they answer that John’s baptism came from heaven, then they have to explain why they did not believe him, but if they say it came from man (which is what they clearly think) then they would have to deal with an uprising of the people who believed John to be a prophet. So they cop out and say they don’t know. If they weren’t prepared to be ensnared by His question, Jesus refuses to be ensnared by their question.
Jesus then challenges their position through a parable of two sons. A man had two sons whom he asked to go and do some work in his vineyard that day. The one son refused to go but later had a change of heart (repented) and went and worked. The other son agreed to go but didn’t. Jesus asked the leaders which son did the will of his father? The leaders replied that it was the first son. Tax collectors and prostitutes (sinners) were going into the kingdom of heaven before the religious leaders because they had not obeyed God, but at John’s call for the nation to repent, they were making a change. The religious leaders, even though they were the ones meant to be doing God’s work, weren’t. And even after hearing John’s message they did not change their minds and believe him.
How often do you find yourself like the second son, saying “Lord I’ll obey” or “Lord I’ll go” or “Lord I’ll do” but then don’t? Thankfully God is full of grace and love and always ready to restore relationship with those who turn and say, “sorry,” and then do what He asked them to do. Let’s make the switch like the first son today.
I think everyone can act as both sons in the parable did but are more likely to act as the second son. It’s easy to say yes I’ll do it but we don’t.
I just thought of the fact that we often think that when someone becomes a Christian when little they are a “better” Christian than someone who becomes one later in their life but this passage proves that this is wrong
Just something little that I noticed was that Jesus could have told them under who’s authority he was doing things, but he didn’t it wasn’t the right time.