09262020 – Matthew 21. 23-32
You gotta love Jesus’ parables. He is the master storyteller… as a matter of fact, some have said, he is the original creator of “the short story.”
Jesus could tell ‘em, alright! He grabbed your attention! People listened!
You never quite knew “what kind of a spin” he would place on things. Or, where they would go. And the people LOVED his stories.
They could RELATE. They UNDERSTOOD. So, they LISTENED INTENTLY. It is like the parable today: The Father with the two sons. EVERY GUY was listening in…
FATHERS had absolute authority over their families. Absolute authority over their household. Absolute authority over all their business concerns. They were NOT TO BE QUESTIONED. EVER!
In a patriarchal system, the father RULED the roost. He ruled SUPREME.
So, when Jesus told THIS STORY…God is the Father, the vineyard is the created world…and the two sons were originally the Chief Priests and the Elders and other assembled sinners.
You may recall the TEMPLE ELITE were “holier than thou.” They were like the legal experts of all things HOLY. They constantly called people “OUT.”
On this occasion, they were attempting to CALL Jesus “OUT” and to totally DISCREDIT him in the eyes of ALL OF the people.
In an HONOR and SHAME society, they were hoping to SILENCE him, once and for all.
In front of ALL THE PEOPLE and his own disciples, they wanted to know WHERE HIS AUTHORITY came from.
He had no advanced degree, of any sort.
No undergraduate degree.
No masters.
No PhD.
No Theological credentials, whatsoever. He was just a country bumpkin from somewhere in Galilee. He was ONE who needed to GO AWAY, permanently.
Their desire was that Jesus be CONFRONTED, KNOCKED OUT, and put on his RIGHTFUL PLACE. They were going to INTIMIDATE HIM into permanent silence. So, they attempted to put Jesus “FRONT AND CENTER, squarely on the HOTSEAT…”
This was a part of the “perpetual icy confrontations” between Jesus and the Temple ELITE. It was simply “on-going.”
The problem was Jesus was too INTELLIGENT, too QUICK-WITTED, too SMART, to be entrapped by their sophomoric questions.
In true Rabbinical style, he answers their question with another question. You tell me, then I will tell you…
And as he spins his story…the Temple elite NOTABLY begin to SQUIRM. As they suspect he is using this story against them.
They are “THE SON.”
They are the son that says, “I WILL…and then doesn’t.” The Temple elite was perfect. They were above reproach. They did not need to repent or to turn their lives around. “THEY” were “good enough.” They were better than good.
They did not like John the baptizer, nor did they appreciate his message. In their estimation, John was far from being “a prophetic voice.” He was NEVER A legitimate AUTHORITY, and neither was this JESUS CHARACTER.
Jesus concluded, the Tax Collectors and the Prostitutes, believed in John and responded to him. THEY repented. They “turned their lives around”. They saw John, as being “a prophet voice.” They believed in the “Good News.” They believed HE was “authoritative…and legitimate.”
So, the Temple elite become the silenced ones…not Jesus. They are publicly shamed…and Jesus’ honor skyrockets in the eyes of ALL THE PEOPLE.
BUT the story DOES NOT end there. Because the people HEARD this story…and the NATURAL QUESTION to ask was WHICH SON AM I?
Am I the son who says “Yes” and then, does not go? Or am I the son who says, “NO” and then, goes anyway?
And you DO understand both children would have DISPLEASED the father. Both sons were in the WRONG. Both sons were DISOBEDIENT to their father.
The story as told by Jesus would have been SHOCKING AND HORRIFIC. EVERYONE would have been concerned about “the outlandish and unacceptable behavior.” How could sons treat their father in such a disrespectful fashion or manner?
So WHICH son are you?
Do you say what people WANT TO HEAR, to APPEASE them…to QUIET them…to make them leave you alone…and then, NOT DO what YOU SAID or promised you would do?
OR,
Do you like to practice your autonomy and freedom and decide for yourself what you WILL DO and what you will NOT DO, and NOT ALLOW OTHERS TO DICTATE TO YOU, then later change your mind and DO IT anyway?
HOW good is your WORD?
What kind of person ARE YOU?
But perhaps the bigger question is, DO WE TOO, GRIEVE our Heavenly Father? And, how often?
Amen.