Two Sons, Two Hearts, One Father Text: Matthew 21:28-32
Introduction: The Religion of Lip Service
We live in an age that is drowning in good intentions and fine sounding words. Our culture, and sadly, much of the church, has mastered the art of the solemn nod. We have become experts at saying, "I will, sir," and then going about our business as though God had never spoken. We have a bumper sticker faith, a hashtag righteousness, and a piety that extends precisely to the edge of the keyboard. We say we love God, but we do not do what He says. We say we believe the Bible, but we live as practical atheists. We are the second son.
This is not a new problem. It is the ancient problem of hypocrisy, the perennial temptation of the religious. It is the sin of looking the part without having the heart. Jesus, in the final week of His earthly ministry, is in Jerusalem, the very heart of Israel's religious establishment. He has cleansed the Temple, and now He is cleansing the doctrine. The chief priests and elders, the men with the robes and the phylacteries and the best seats in the synagogue, have just challenged His authority. They are the guardians of the vineyard, and they want to know who gave this Galilean carpenter a permit to be doing and saying these things.
In response, Jesus does what He so often does. He doesn't just answer their question; He takes a diagnostic image of their souls. He tells a simple story, a parable, that functions like a spiritual MRI. It is designed to bypass their hardened religious calluses and expose the true condition of their hearts. And in doing so, He gives us a timeless diagnostic for our own. This parable of the two sons is a sharp, two-edged sword. It cuts down the proud and it gives hope to the penitent. It distinguishes between the religion of mere profession and the reality of repentance. It forces us to ask not, "What do I say I believe?" but rather, "What does my life actually do?"
The Text
"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.' And he answered and said, 'I will not'; but afterward he regretted it and went. And the man came to the second and said the same thing; and he answered and said, 'I will, sir'; but he did not go. 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. 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 regret afterward so as to believe him."
(Matthew 21:28-32 LSB)
The Rude Son and the Respectful Son (v. 28-30)
Jesus begins with a simple, agricultural scenario that everyone would understand. A father has a vineyard, which in the Old Testament is a consistent symbol for the nation of Israel. The father is God, and the sons represent two different kinds of people within that covenant nation.
"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.' And he answered and said, 'I will not'; but afterward he regretted it and went." (Matthew 21:28-29)
The first son is openly defiant. There is no pretense here. The father gives a clear, direct command: "Go work today." The son's response is equally clear and direct: "I will not." This is raw, unvarnished rebellion. This is the son who slams the door, who says "no" to his father's face. In the context of Jesus' audience, these are the public sinners. These are the tax collectors, the prostitutes, the outcasts who made no secret of their disregard for God's law. They were living in open rebellion, saying to God with their lives, "I will not."
But the story doesn't end there. Something happens. The text says he "afterward regretted it and went." The word for "regretted" here is the Greek word that means to change one's mind, to have a change of heart and purpose. This is repentance. It wasn't just a feeling of remorse; it was a fundamental change of direction that resulted in action. He didn't just feel bad about his defiance; he got up, went out, and did the work. True repentance is not just a wet-eyed sentiment. It is obedience. It is getting your hands dirty in the vineyard.
Then we meet the second son.
"And the man came to the second and said the same thing; and he answered and said, 'I will, sir'; but he did not go." (Matthew 21:30)
This son is the polar opposite of the first. He is courteous, respectful, and immediately compliant in his speech. "I will, sir." He says all the right things. He knows the proper forms of address. He makes the profession of obedience. This son represents the religious establishment. The chief priests, the scribes, the Pharisees. They were the ones who tithed their mint and dill and cumin. They were the ones who prayed on the street corners. They were the ones who had dedicated their lives to saying "Yes, sir" to God. Their entire identity was wrapped up in their profession of obedience.
But look at the devastating last clause: "but he did not go." His words were orthodox, but his will was disobedient. His profession was pious, but his practice was rebellion. He had the form of godliness but denied its power. This is the essence of hypocrisy. It is a verbal assent that is divorced from actual performance. It is a faith without works, which James tells us is dead. This son wanted the credit for obedience without the cost of obedience. He wanted to be seen as a faithful son, but he had no intention of actually laboring in his father's vineyard.
The Inescapable Question (v. 31a)
Jesus now springs the trap. He has told the story, and now He forces His opponents to render the verdict.
"Which of the two did the will of his father?" They said, "The first." (Matthew 21:31a)
The answer is painfully obvious. There is no other possible answer. The will of the father was not that his sons would say the right thing, but that they would do the right thing. The father wanted the vineyard worked. The son who initially refused but then repented and worked was the one who ultimately did his father's will. The son who promised to work but did nothing was the disobedient one. By answering this simple question, the chief priests and elders condemn themselves out of their own mouths. They have just affirmed that doing is what matters, not saying. And they are the ones who are all say and no do.
The Great Reversal (v. 31b-32)
Now that they have passed judgment on themselves, Jesus drives the point home with a statement that must have been utterly scandalous to their ears.
"Jesus said to them, 'Truly I say to you that the tax collectors and prostitutes will get into the kingdom of God before you. 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 regret afterward so as to believe him.'" (Matthew 21:31b-32)
This is a stunning reversal of their entire social and theological order. The kingdom of God is not for the religiously respectable who feign obedience. It is for the outcasts who repent of their disobedience. The tax collectors and prostitutes, the very dregs of society, the first sons who had openly said "I will not" to God, were now entering the kingdom ahead of the religious leaders. Why? Because they repented.
Jesus gives the specific historical test case: the ministry of John the Baptist. John came "in the way of righteousness," preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. He was the father's messenger, sent to call the sons into the vineyard. And what was the response? The tax collectors and prostitutes, the notorious sinners, heard him, recognized their rebellion, and they repented. They were baptized by John, confessing their sins. They had a change of heart that led to a change of life.
But the Pharisees and the lawyers, the second sons, rejected John's message. Luke tells us they "rejected the purpose of God for themselves, not having been baptized by him" (Luke 7:30). They saw the repentance of the sinners. They saw the fruit of John's ministry. And even after seeing it, Jesus says, they "did not even regret afterward so as to believe him." Their hearts were so hard, their self-righteousness so thick, that even seeing the power of God at work in the lives of others did not move them to repentance. They were content with their verbal assent, their hollow "I will, sir," and they refused to actually go and work.
Conclusion: Repentance is a Verb
This parable is a direct assault on any form of Christianity that is content with mere profession. It teaches us that in God's economy, a bad beginning with a good ending is infinitely better than a good beginning with a bad ending. God is not interested in our promises of obedience; He is interested in our practice of obedience.
The gospel is not a call for respectable people to add a little religion to their already fine lives. The gospel is a call for rebels to lay down their arms. It is a call for sinners, for those who have said "I will not" to God, to repent and believe. The good news is that the Father is still calling sons to work in His vineyard. The good news is that it does not matter how long or how vehemently you have said "no." What matters is your answer now.
The first son's initial "no" was a sin. But his subsequent repentance turned that sin into a backdrop for grace. The second son's initial "yes" was a lie. And his subsequent refusal to repent sealed him in his hypocrisy. The dividing line between the two sons was not their initial response, but their final action. The dividing line was repentance.
And so the question comes to us today. Which son are you? Have you been playing the part, saying "I will, sir" every Sunday morning, but your life from Monday to Saturday is a story of an unworked vineyard? Do you mistake religious activity for true obedience? If so, you must see that you are the second son, and the kingdom of God is for those who repent.
Or perhaps you are one who has lived the life of the first son. You have told God "no" in a thousand different ways. You have lived for yourself, and you know it. The good news of this parable is that the gate is still open. The call to the vineyard still stands. To repent means to change your mind, to turn around, and to go. It is not a feeling, it is an action. It is leaving the life of "I will not" and entering the vineyard of "Your will be done." The tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the kingdom, not because they were tax collectors and prostitutes, but because they repented. And that is the only way any of us will ever get in.