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You can turn in your Bibles to 
Matthew chapter 21. Continuing our exposition of 
Matthew's gospel, we find ourselves in verses 23 to 32. We'll read the passage, we'll 
pray, and then we'll look at it in detail. Matthew 21, beginning 
in verse 23. Now when he came into the temple, 
the chief priests and the elders of the people confronted him 
as he was teaching and said, by what authority are you doing 
these things? And who gave you this authority? 
But Jesus answered and said to them, I also will ask you one 
thing, which if you tell me, I likewise will tell you by what 
authority I do these things. The baptism of John, where was 
it from? From heaven or from men? And 
they reasoned among themselves, saying, If we say from heaven, 
he will say to us, Why then did you not believe him? But if we 
say from men, we fear the multitude, for I'll count John as a prophet. So they answered Jesus and said, 
We do not know. And he said to them, Neither 
will I tell you by what authority I do these things. But what do 
you think? A man had two sons, and he came 
to the first and said, Son, go work today in my vineyard. He 
answered and said, I will not. But afterward he regretted it 
and went. Then he came to the second and said likewise. And 
he answered and said, I go, sir. But he did not go. Which of the 
two did the will of his father? They said to him, the first. 
Jesus said to them, assuredly, I say to you, that tax collectors 
and harlots enter the kingdom of God before you. For John came 
to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him. 
But tax collectors and harlots believed him. And when you saw 
it, you did not afterward relent and believe him. Amen. Well, let us pray. Father, we 
come to the scripture now, and we ask for the Holy Spirit to 
guide us and to lead us as we study your word. May this indeed 
be an act of worship as we come face to face with the word of 
God. We pray again for the forgiveness of sins and cleansing in the 
blood of Jesus from all that which darkens our understanding 
and how we thank you for the ministry and the aid of the Holy 
Spirit. We do pray for his presence and power among us now. We pray 
for his power to be at work in the hearts of the unconverted. 
We pray, God, that we would see and appreciate the mercy and 
the goodness and the grace of God that tax collectors and harlots 
would enter into the kingdom of God. We praise you for your 
grace and your goodness. We praise you for the gospel 
and we praise you through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Well we 
have seen in this Passion Week thus far the Lord Jesus Christ 
enters Jerusalem triumphantly in chapter 21 at the very beginning. He then goes immediately to the 
temple, which is the focus of Jewish religion and the religious 
life of Israel at this particular time and he cleanses the temple 
and he heals people and then privately with his disciples 
he curses the fig tree and by so doing indicates what he will 
make clear later on this particular night. All this takes place on 
the Tuesday. On Tuesday night when he returns 
to Bethany he sits on the Mount of Olivet and he gives the Olivet 
Discourse and what he is shown by symbolic actions at the beginning 
of chapter 21 He gives, by prophetic word, in chapters 24 and 25, 
concerning the destruction of Jerusalem and its temple in the 
first century. They had rejected Christ, they 
had rejected the prophets, they had delivered him up to be crucified, 
and they would be cut off for their sin. It would be covenantal 
in its significance, and this is what the focus of the emphasis 
is upon in this particular section. From chapter 21 at verse 23 all 
the way to chapter 22 and verse 46, there is a series of confrontations 
between Christ and between the religious leaders. It starts 
here in chapter 21 at verses 23 to 27. They question Jesus 
concerning his authority. He then answers them with three 
parables, and then there's four question and answers. and then 
he poses one. So it's direct confrontation 
with the religious leaders in this particular section. I attach 
this first parable, the parable of the two sons, because it is 
linked with what we find in terms of the question of Jesus' authority. in verses 23 to 27. So we'll 
look at this section under three considerations. First, the confrontation 
with the leaders, verses 23 to 25a. Secondly, the dilemma facing 
the leaders in 25b to 27. And then the parable condemning 
the leaders in verses 28 to 32. Now, if we had sufficient time, 
we would take up the other two parables as well, because the 
three of them are a response to these religious leaders and 
their rejection of Christ, their questioning of his authority, 
and their general disposition of rejection of the Son of God, 
the Lord of Glory, the Son of David, who came to operate as 
Israel's Messiah. Now note first the confrontation. As I mentioned, this is Tuesday, 
verse 23 of the Passion Week. When he came into the temple, 
the chief priests and the elders of the people confronted him 
as he was teaching. So the particular scene, as we've 
seen, is that Jesus goes to the temple in order to teach. Jesus 
goes to the temple in order to discuss doctrine. Jesus goes 
to declare the truth. And in so doing, these religious 
leaders confront him. Chief priests, elders of the 
people. This did not make up the complete Sanhedrin, which 
was the religious council, but it was probably an official delegation. In Luke and Mark, in the parallel 
passages, it indicates that scribes were present as well. And if 
you remember in Jesus' announcements concerning His going to Jerusalem 
to die, in chapter 16 at verse 21, again in chapter 20 at verse 
18, He indicates it would be by the hands of the chief priests, 
the elders, the scribes. It would be the religious leaders 
in Israel, specifically in Jerusalem, that would lead the charge to 
have Jesus executed. And this is the basis, or this 
is the foundation, of what will follow in the Passion. And we 
see by this interchange, and by all that Jesus says after 
this, that the discrepancy, or the dispute, between these religious 
leaders and Jesus wasn't simply a misunderstanding. It's not 
that they were just a bit puzzled by who this Jesus was. They understood 
the claims that he was making. They understood the actions that 
he had taken. They understood these things 
and they rejected Him, they despised Him, and they led the revolt 
against God and against His Christ by calling upon the people to 
vote for or to join them in their statement, away with Him, away 
with Him, crucify Him. So they questioned specifically 
His authority. Notice in verse 23, They confront 
Jesus as he's teaching, and they said, by what authority are you 
doing these things, and who gave you this authority? Now, the 
things in view would have been the triumphal entry when Jesus 
comes into Israel, or comes into Jerusalem, rather. Came down 
from Galilee, goes into Judea, and he goes specifically into 
Jerusalem at the time of the Passover. And they would have 
heard the shouts of the people, saying, Hosanna to the Son of 
David. They would have witnessed Jesus' 
actions in the temple. Remember, when Jesus goes into 
the temple, He cleanses it. Not by gently, kindly caressing 
the people that were violating. but overturning the tables by 
driving out the beasts. In the first temple cleansing, 
he made a scourge, and he used that to drive them out. Gentle 
Jesus, meek and mild, was full of the zeal for the Lord God 
Most High that had eaten him up for the glory of his house, 
and Jesus drives these money changers and these sellers of 
goods away from the temple precincts. These religious leaders saw that. 
They would have seen him heal people. They would have heard 
the children crying out to him, Hosanna to the son of David. 
This is what made them indignant. It was a challenge, ultimately, 
to their authority. Jesus hadn't been to rabbi school. Jesus hadn't been the sort of 
man that was brought up as they would have deemed appropriate. 
As far as they were concerned, Jesus had no hands laid upon 
him to be an ecclesiastical authority. So in one sense, their question 
is somewhat understandable, by what authority are you doing 
these things? But they seize upon this as the opportunity 
to distance themselves further from Him and to alienate the 
people away from Him. Now, they wouldn't have witnessed 
the cursing of the fig tree. That happened specifically with 
the disciples, but these particulars caused them to wonder about these 
two things. By what authority are you doing 
these things, and who gave you this authority? In other words, 
who do you think you are? We are the religious leadership 
in Israel. We are the custodians of the 
Temple in Jerusalem, and you come in here and you mess things 
up. Who do you think you are? Who 
gave you this authority? I like what Ryle says, those 
bitter enemies of all righteousness saw the sensation which the public 
entry into Jerusalem and the cleansing of the temple had produced. 
At once they came about our Lord like bees and endeavored to find 
occasion for an accusation against him. I love that word picture 
because bees don't just sort of float around and hopefully 
they'll get a bite. They swarm, they pounce, they seize. And 
that's what these religious leaders are doing. You've got to ask 
the question, how do we get to chapters 26 and 27 where the 
mob is crying out, away with him, away with him, crucify him? 
When you ponder it, why? What did he ever do? Well, in 
chapter 21 and following, you see what's at the root. It is 
the depravity and the wickedness and the hardness of men's heart. 
And we know the ultimate cause is the predetermined plan of 
God. Christ's death happens according to God's predestination, according 
to His decree. But this does not minimize or 
take away or lessen the reality of second causes and these godless 
hands, these wretched hands of godless men crucified Him to 
the cross. So chapters 21 and following 
sort of fill it out for us. So when we hear the crowd saying, 
away with him, away with him, crucify him, we're not puzzled. We see that these are self-righteous 
men. These are proud men. They probably 
feel some sort of threat to their position, and so they oppose 
Christ at every step of the way. And you know what's intriguing 
as well? Their response to Jesus verifies, confirms, or rather 
illustrates all that he has done preceding. When he cleanses the 
temple, what's the indictment? The temple and its custodians 
aren't doing its job. When Jesus curses the fig tree, 
what is he doing? He is saying that upon the tree 
of Israel, no fruit will ever grow again. And when we get to 
this confrontation concerning his authority, they evidence 
that Jesus is right. They illustrate these deaf ears 
that they have turned, not only to Jesus, but to John the Baptist. They are further showing and 
confirming the reality of the judgment that Jesus will speak 
of in Matthew chapter 24. Notice, specifically, they ask 
the question, Jesus gives the answer. Verses 24 and 25. Jesus says, I also will ask you 
one thing, which if you tell me, I likewise will tell you 
by what authority I do these things. The baptism of John, 
where was it from? From heaven or from men. Now 
some people come here and they say, well, Jesus is evading their 
question. Can Jesus really be the accurate 
truth teller that we all hear that he is? I mean, he's evading 
their question. No, he's not. This was rabbinic 
custom to respond with a question to a question. But as we move 
through the particular section, we'll see that John the Baptist 
is uniquely connected to the question that they ask. John 
the Baptist arises in verse 32 in the parable of the two sons. 
So John's role is primary in this particular section. In other 
words, what they thought of the Baptist will determine what they 
think of him. The two answers go hand in hand, 
and this is why Jesus does this. And on a sideline note, the Lord 
Jesus is infinitely wise. He puts them on the horns of 
a dilemma. He gives them a particular question to put them in this 
quandary where they understand what's happening and they don't 
want to answer. I mean, that's what we ought 
to appreciate. There's not evasion on the part 
of Christ. There's evasion on the part of these religious leaders. 
They don't want to engage this question. They say, well, we 
don't know. Of course they knew. And they knew they knew. They 
had rejected the ministry of John the Baptist, where Matthew 
everywhere makes this clear, as does Luke. But note, specifically, 
our Lord's question. He doesn't engage in evasion. If they affirm John's divine 
authority, then they must acknowledge Jesus' divine authority. What 
was John's purpose? Everybody wake up, think back, 
Matthew 3. What was John's purpose? In accordance 
with the prophets, John came as the forerunner to Christ. What was John's role and function? To build a following for himself? No, to point persons to Jesus. It was John the Baptist who said 
of Jesus, he must increase, but I must decrease. When Jesus comes 
to the Baptist in order to be baptized, John says, what are 
you doing? I shouldn't be baptizing you. 
But Jesus says, permit it for now. It is necessary that we 
fulfill all righteousness. You see, John's function in redemptive 
history is to point to Jesus. And if these religious leaders 
reject John the Baptist, if they're so unspiritual they miss the 
significance of this Isaiah chapter 40 man that has been ministering 
in the wilderness of Judea, then they do not have the spiritual 
savvy to be able to speak to the issue as to who Jesus is. Christ's response here by bringing 
in the Baptist is absolutely germane to the issue at hand. 
He is not evading, he is not trying to escape, he is simply 
putting them in a position where they must speak. He asks, I also 
will ask you one thing, which if you tell me, I likewise will 
tell you by what authority I do these things. The baptism of 
John stands for the ministry of John. All that John said and 
did, signified chiefly in the baptism. Was it from heaven or 
from men? Heaven means God, just in case 
you missed this. Is it divine in its origin? Or 
is John just an autonomous, self-ruled man that wanted to sort of be 
a minister in Judea, so he got online, he found an internet 
site, he filled out a couple simple questions like name and 
can you breathe, and then they send him a diploma in the mail, 
and he becomes this sort of internet minister sensation in Judea. Is it for men? Is he a self-willed 
man? Is he an unauthorized prophet 
in Israel? You see, Jesus' question is absolutely 
crucial for these men to get their minds wrapped around. If 
they say from heaven, as we'll see, this puts them in one position. 
If they say from man, this puts them in another position. But 
however they view the ministry of John the Baptist directly 
impacts how they'll view the ministry of our Lord Jesus. It's 
absolutely brilliant how he responds to them. Notice that brings us 
to the dilemma facing the leaders. Note their response. Verse 25b, 
they reasoned among themselves saying, first thing we ought 
to observe is they don't care about the truth, do they? These 
guys don't want truth. They want to cover themselves. 
They want to protect themselves. This is a problem with an ecclesiastical 
hierarchy. This is why it's good to have 
a plurality of elders. It's why it's good not only to 
have the scripture, but to have a subordinate authority, say, 
the confession of faith. Because power corrupts, and absolute 
power corrupts absolutely. Do you know that statement was 
initially spoken of the Roman Catholic papacy? There can be 
a Protestant papacy as well if we are not careful We want to 
protect our kingdom. We want to protect our church. 
We want to make sure that no one ever has an ill view or an 
ill thought of us. So we reason among ourselves 
together to formulate the best response, not to pursue and prosecute 
truth, but rather to pursue and prosecute our reputation. Now 
there are legitimate and consistent ways that churches should go 
about that task. First Timothy 5.19, do not receive 
an accusation against an elder except on the basis of two or 
three witnesses. There is a judicial proceeding, there is a process 
involved, and we ought to employ it and utilize it. But what we 
ought to appreciate in this text, in this passage, is ecclesiastical 
abuse. They reason among themselves 
not to pursue the truth, but they reason among themselves 
to protect themselves. That is reprehensible. And note 
how they go. They say, if we say from heaven, 
If we acknowledge the divine authority of John the Baptist, 
then Jesus will say to us, why didn't you believe him? They 
understand the score. They know what's going on. You 
see their difficulty. If we say that John the Baptist 
was, you know, divinely authorized, then why didn't we submit to 
his baptism? Look at Matthew 3. Matthew chapter 
3. Note the various responses to 
the Baptist. He's out there. He's preaching 
in the wilderness of Judea. His message is, repent for the 
kingdom of heaven is at hand. Matthew 3.3, for this is he who 
was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah saying, the voice of one 
crying in the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord, make his 
path straight. That's Isaiah 40. That's why 
he said he's an Isaiah 40 man. Describes John in verse four, 
John himself was clothed in camel's hair with a leather belt around 
his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. It's an interesting 
character, isn't it? He's certainly an Elijah-like 
character, isn't he? Elijah's described in the same 
sort of way in 1 Kings. So what Jesus later says in Matthew 
11, when you went out to the wilderness, what did you expect 
to see? Some limp-wristed, soft, effeminate court preacher? What'd 
you go out to see? Some prissy fellow that would 
simply tell you what you wanted to hear? Jesus says, no, he's 
a great prophet. In this particular passage, notice 
verse five, then Jerusalem, all Judea, and all the region around 
the Jordan went out to him and were baptized by him in the Jordan, 
confessing their sins. But when he saw many of the Pharisees 
and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, brood of vipers, 
They didn't submit. They didn't acknowledge divine 
authority. They didn't confess their sins in the Jordan and 
get baptized by Him. Notice in Luke chapter 7, same 
emphasis. Luke chapter 7, verses 29 and 
30. And when all the people heard him, even the tax collectors 
justified God, having been baptized with the baptism of John. But 
the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the will of God for themselves, 
not having been baptized by him." So back to our passage, you see 
their quandary. If we say from heaven, he's going 
to ask us, why didn't you believe? It's legit, isn't it? Do you acknowledge the divine 
authority of this man who comes in accordance with the prophet 
Isaiah? He announces the coming of the King. He is the forerunner. 
He is the prophetic handpiece or hand tool that God uses to 
prepare the way for the Messiah. Why didn't you listen to Him? 
Why didn't you believe Him? You'll see a close linking between 
John the Baptist and Jesus Christ in this particular passage. You 
might ask the question here, if you believe that Jesus, or 
you think, or you acknowledge that Jesus has divine authority, 
why don't you believe Him? The fact that you're in a Christian 
church on a Sunday morning indicates at least a couple of things. 
One, that you have not totally repudiated the Christian faith. 
That's a good thing. You have not totally rejected 
the Christian faith. You're here where the Bible is 
and where it hopefully is being preached. That is a good thing. 
So if you, on the one hand, acknowledge that the Bible is the Bible, 
the Bible does speak of God, the Bible speaks of Christ who 
came into this world, sinners to save. When I look at my own 
life, I see that I'm a sinner. I don't do what God says to do. 
I like to do the things that He says not to do. I find myself 
engaged in wicked behavior and wicked activities. Look at that 
Ten Commandments and I'm embarrassed and I'm just amazed at how the 
reality is that I cannot live that way. Well, if you're here 
this morning and you acknowledge at least some of those things, 
then why don't you believe Him? Why don't you believe on the 
Lord Jesus? We appeal to children and young people at least weekly 
at this church. Are you going to continue another 
year rejecting Christ? You're going to continue another 
year acknowledging, yes, there is a Christ, acknowledging, yes, 
there is a God, acknowledging, yes, there is a Bible, but continuing 
in rebellion against him? You say, well, I'm not that big 
of a rebel. I'm not like these tax collectors and harlots that 
people talk about. I'm not like these, you know, 
meth makers and these prostitutes in our own DNA. I'm not really 
bad. Look, either you're in Christ 
or you're outside of Christ. Jesus says it clearly and unequivocally 
in Matthew 12, 30. He who is not with me is what? 
He's against me. Now, you may stand on the street 
corner railing against God as a vile atheist, or you may do 
that in the secrecy of your own heart. But the endgame is the 
same. You're either in Christ, or you're not. The answer is 
to believe on Him. If you acknowledge that Jesus 
has divine authority, then why don't you believe? Why don't 
you come? Why don't you bow down? Well, 
some will say, because God predestines and God elects, and how do I 
know? You believe on Him. You come to the Savior. The apostolic 
preaching of the cross in the book of Acts, they don't sit 
there and sort of debate with persons and say, you gotta make 
sure you're elect, you gotta make sure there's an E on your 
back, you gotta find an E on your neck, and when you find 
that E, no, you believe the gospel. You look and you live. Just as 
Moses lifted the serpent, so must the Son of Man be lifted. 
The implication is, the way they looked and lived under Moses 
is the way you look and live today, by grace, through faith 
in Jesus Christ. So if he's divine in his origin, 
then why don't you believe? Notice as well what they say. 
But if we say from men, then we've got a problem with the 
crowd, because everybody thinks he's a prophet. They really got 
a difficult situation, don't they? You see how masterful and 
wise our Lord Jesus is? He puts them on the horns of 
a dilemma. He doesn't do this maliciously, He does this with 
rhetorical sovereignty, but He does it nonetheless. If we say 
from men, we're afraid of the crowds, because popular belief 
is that John was indeed Certainly it doesn't help them 
in this situation, doesn't get them off the hook for their vile 
rebellion against God and His Christ, but you see their quandary. But if we say, from men we fear 
the multitude, for I'll count John as a prophet. In this they 
imitate Herod. In Matthew 14.5, Herod was afraid 
of John the Baptist as well, because he was held in esteem 
by the people. These men are directed not by 
their pursuit for the truth, but rather by what will make 
people happy. You see, this is an ecclesiastical 
abuse as well. 2 Timothy 4, Paul tells Timothy, 
preach the word, be ready in season and out of season. Convince, 
rebuke, exhort with all long-suffering and teaching. Why? Because the 
time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but 
they will heap up for themselves teachers to tickle their ears. It's unfortunate that there's 
teachers out there that will more than happily tickle person's 
ears. We don't want to dare tell them 
about judgment, or about wrath, or about God's anger, or about 
God's, you know, justice toward the impenitent. So we'll tell 
them things that they want to hear, because we're afraid of 
them, the fiber of our being, and we don't want to offend them. Brethren, it's always a better 
thing to offend men than God. Always. It is more acceptable 
to offend men than to offend God. You be true and faithful 
and pursue those things that the Lord God commands, and you 
worry about Him. Not worry about what delicate 
people might think because you said that God is angry with the 
wicked every day. I don't know why that isn't more 
of a thing in a society like ours. The question ought not 
to be, are we going to see God's judgment? The question is, why 
is He staying the full weight and the fury of His wrath and 
His power? We're a people that have rejected God. We're a people 
that have taken all Ten Commandments and throw them into the dirt. 
We're a people who celebrate lawlessness and wickedness. We're a people who rejoice in 
evil. And we've got the wherewithal 
to say, I wonder if God's going to be angry with us. Oh yes, 
He's angry with the wicked every day. So you see these men's problem. They take the coward's way out. 
Verse 27, they answered Jesus and said, we do not know. Of 
course they knew. Jesus knows they know. The parable 
that he tells illustrates that they know. And then Jesus responds 
to them, neither will I tell you by what authority I do these 
things. The Lord declines to answer them 
directly. The Lord is consistent with his 
own criteria. You tell me whether John the 
Baptist's baptism was from heaven or it was from men. They didn't 
tell them. So why should Jesus respond to them? Why should Jesus 
satisfy their curiosity? Again, it goes back to something 
I said earlier. D.A. Carson alerted me to. They raised 
the question of Jesus' authority. He raised the question of their 
competence to judge such an issue. They miss the Baptist. How in 
the world can they weigh in on the Messiah? They miss the significance 
of this Isaiah 40 prophecy applied before their eyes? Who do they 
think they are that they'll give a righteous judgment concerning 
the source of Christ's authority? That brings us, thirdly, to the 
parable condemning the leaders. The parable proper is found in 
28 to 30, and then the application in 31 to 32. Note first, his 
question, but what do you think? Jesus is a master, isn't he? 
What do you think? This is an evident, this is a 
case where he's giving them enough rope to hang themselves. What 
do you think? I want you to weigh in. I want 
you to get your mind around this. I want you to ponder this particular 
parable. You see, we look at the wisdom 
of Nathan the prophet when he stands before David and he tells 
him that beautiful little story. David gets all worked up and 
he gets all angry. And then Nathan says, you are 
the man! And David is just crushed. It's 
not a glorious passage of scripture. Not because David sinned so grievously, 
but because God showed grace so abundantly to him. Nathan 
had a wisdom there. It's like he threw out the hook 
and he reels David in. And David just gets all fightin' 
mad. I've often thought, how did Nathan 
do it? Thou art the man! Did he have 
one of those John Knox pointing things? You know, the picture 
of the Banner of Truth often carries John Knox hanging over 
a pulpit and pointing, I think, at the Queen of England, or Scotland. 
Was Nathan like that? How did he say it? I don't know. 
But he said, Thou art the man to David. And it crushed him. This is what Jesus is doing. 
What do you think? This is a convention he uses 
in his ministry elsewhere. What do you think? I want you 
to enter in. I want you to ponder this. I 
want you to think through this. I want you to understand. When I lower the boom, you will 
have nothing to say in terms of your defense. Notice. He speaks of these particulars. A man had two sons and he came 
to the first and said, now the father in the parable is God. 
So we don't mistake what's going on in this particular parable. 
The father in the parable is God. The first son represents 
the tax collectors and the harlots. This will be clear as we move 
to the application. The second sign illustrates the 
Jews, specifically the religious leaders. Now, early interpreters 
thought it was a Jew-Gentile motif going on. In fact, the 
history of interpretation with reference to verse 28 shows some 
interesting things. If you have the older New American 
Standard Version, the roles are different. It's the first sign 
that says yes, but doesn't. There's just a bit of a reversal 
and different ways to explain that. But suffice it to say, 
it's not the Jew-Gentile motif that is going on. It's the Israel 
that has saved and unsaved. The Apostle Paul in Romans 9 
verse 6 says, not all Israel is Israel. In other words, when 
you look at Old Covenant Israel, not everybody in Old Covenant 
Israel was saved. You had Jacob's and you had Esau's. 
You had Isaac's, you had Ishmael's. You had the saved and the unsaved. 
And in this particular parable, you have those who affirm their 
allegiance to the law, but don't do what God says. It's the religious 
leaders in the context, isn't it? And then you have those, 
like tax collectors and the harlots, when they hear the law, they 
say, no way, I don't want anything to do with that. But then by 
the grace of God, they regret and they repent and they come 
to the Savior. So those are the particulars 
in this parable. Notice the instruction given 
to the first son. What do you think? A man had 
two sons. He came to the first and said, son, go work today 
in my vineyard. He answered and said, I will 
not. But afterward, he regretted it and went. Pretty simple and 
straightforward, isn't it? The father has a son. He says, 
go work in the vineyard. The son says, no, I'm not going 
to do it. This would be pretty scandalous 
in this particular environment, in this context. I'd like to 
think it'd be scandalous in our homes if we said, son, go wash 
the dishes. And he said, no! What do we say? Okay, son. Unfortunately, that's 
what's happening today. Okay, son. No, you gently, graciously, 
and firmly exercise some pressure upon that son so that he'll go 
wash the dishes. We're letting kids get away with 
murder because we don't want to hurt their feelings. In this 
particular instance, the first son says no. But afterward, he 
comes to his senses. Afterward, he regrets his decision. Afterward, he repents and he 
goes and does what the father commanded. That's good, isn't 
it? I mean, it'd be better if he 
said yes and then did it. I mean, that's the optimum solution 
in this passage. If you're a kid today, don't 
go, well, at least I did it. Yeah, but you said no. You shouldn't 
say no. Kids, you should say yes and do what you're told. 
Yes and do what you're told. That's the answer that we are 
looking for as parents and grandparents. But in the story, it illustrates 
the particulars with reference to these two groups. The Jewish 
religious leaders and the rabble of society. Tax collectors and 
harlots. Do you understand how scandalous 
Jesus' words are? Carson points out elsewhere that 
in our generation, right now, right here, there is essentially 
soft porn coming through television sets. There is soft porn at the 
checkout counters in our grocery stores with some of the magazines. 
The idea of a harlot in this particular context would have 
scandalized these men. Tax collectors and harlots entering 
into the kingdom of God, you've got to be crazy. You've got to 
be out of your mind. You have got to be off your rocker. He's using this powerful language 
to bring home a powerful truth. And I will seek to drive this 
one home later. Sometimes self-righteousness 
is more of a damning delusion than an outward wickedness. Take heed. That's another problem 
that I think we face with children and young people being brought 
up in the church. Yes, you are in the right place 
at the right times. Yes, you do have an external 
form of compliance and you ultimately get the job done. Yes, you're 
not out smoking crack. Yes, you're not out engaged in 
those sorts of things. But one of the byproducts, if 
there is not regeneration in the heart, is a self-righteousness. It is this idea that everybody 
out there is horrible and wicked and despicable. If you are not in Christ, you're 
on the same side with them. If you have not by grace believed 
the gospel, if you have not repented of your sins, if you have not 
come to the Savior, that self-righteousness will send you to hell just like 
crack, unrepentant of, will send the crack dealer to hell. Why 
is it that we have this sort of category of what Bridges calls 
respectable sins? As long as we're not engaged 
in harlotry, as long as we're not engaged in what being a tax 
collector meant in this situation, we can gossip, we can slander, 
we can engage in all those sorts of things. Why? How did you ever 
get the idea that a gossip won't go to hell? How did you ever 
get it in your head or mind that a rebellious child is going to 
go to heaven? You see, brethren, Jesus is scandalizing 
his audience in this particular instance. The first son says 
no, but he goes and he serves. Notice what the second son says. 
The second son says he will go and serve, but he rejects his 
father's will. You see, it's pretty obvious, 
even without verses 31 and 32, It's obvious what's going on 
here. Tax collectors and the harlots hear the preaching of 
righteousness and they say, no way. I want to be a tax collector. I want to be a harlot. I want 
to engage in this sort of rebellion. I want to live my life the way 
I want to live my life. Do you know how miserable a position 
that is? I want to live my life the way 
I want to live my life. God is the creator. You are the 
creature. He has absolute authority and 
right over you. And he commands you to live in 
a particular way. But I don't want to. I want to do my own 
thing. That's the mantra of our generation. Do your own thing. 
That's what this tax collectors and harlots or these tax collectors 
and harlots said. But then they repent. They see that this was 
not the right way. They see that this was wicked. 
They see that this does not bring peace. This is the end result, 
isn't it? Someone wants to do what is right 
in their own eyes. They think that living and doing 
their own thing is going to bring all this joy and happiness and 
peace, and it usually ends in misery and depression and sorrow. By God's grace, He shows us the 
Savior. We come to Christ and we understand 
what peace and joy and happiness and life is all about. Isn't 
it beautiful that God deals with us in such mercy and with such 
grace? But the second son is the Jewish 
leaders. And by extension, the nation 
that followed their leaders. We'll see that in a minute. It's 
not just the leaders. The whole city is destroyed. 
The whole temple is destroyed. They're the ones who pay lip 
service. Of course we'll do what the will of the Father is. Of 
course we'll go work the field. Of course we'll subscribe to 
Torah. Of course we'll hold to the law of God. And they didn't 
do it. They rejected it. The Father 
goes along and he sees them throwing dice instead of working the field. 
He sees them engaged in all manner of lawlessness after having said 
that we will do what you say, Father. This is a wicked position 
to be in. Now notice the application. Verse 
31, Jesus says, which of the two did the will of his father? 
Even a Pharisee, a scribe, and an elder of the people gets this 
right. We say what we will about them. 
They weren't that foolish. They could pick the right answer 
out of the obvious one. Which of the two did the will 
of his father? They said the first. Of course 
the first, the one who said no, but then he repented. He did 
the will of the Father versus the second who said yes, but 
never did what he was supposed to do. Now note what Jesus does. He brings it to bear upon them. 
He brings it home. This is application. This is 
taking the word of truth and screwing it into their consciences. 
He said, assuredly I say to you that tax collectors and harlots 
enter the kingdom of God before you. Spurgeon says, with reference 
to the question, Jesus made the hypocritical ecclesiastic judges 
in a case which was their own. This is akin to Nathan guiding 
David by the hand to make this admission that you are the man. 
This is Jesus' you are the man moment with these particular 
men. Assuredly, he underscores it. 
I say to you that tax collectors and harlots enter the kingdom 
of God before you. Now I don't take before you there 
in terms of priority. It'll be first the tax collectors 
and the harlots and then you. I take it in terms of exclusion. 
A couple different ways persons can go here. I opt for exclusion. Jesus is not teaching them that 
they'll be third in the line when it comes to entrance into 
the kingdom of God. I think it's a convention that 
indicates exclusion from the kingdom. In other words, the 
tax collectors and the harlots will enter the kingdom, but you 
yourselves won't. Again, imagine how that made 
them feel. You want to know why they're 
so angry with Jesus? Do you have any reason as to 
consider why they're so upset with him? He's essentially telling 
them that everybody they've ever looked down upon, everybody they 
think they're better than, everybody that they think is a waste of 
time and space in their precious society, all those dregs are 
entering the kingdom of God, and they aren't. That's what 
Christ is saying. Assuredly, amen, I say to you, 
that tax collectors and harlots enter the kingdom of God before 
you. Now, tax collectors were notorious. They were bad people. So were harlots. They're really 
harlots. They really did what harlotry 
means. And most likely, as some suggest, with Roman soldiers. 
The tax collectors worked for the Roman government. So not 
only were they sinners, notorious sinners, but they had the added 
criminality of participating with the Roman government. I 
mean, they were three-time losers, if ever there was any. But Jesus 
says, these tax collectors and these harlots are entering the 
kingdom of God before you. And then he gives this reason 
why. For John came to you in the way of righteousness. See 
why Jesus asked about the baptism of John? Jesus knows what he's 
doing. He knows he's going to tell this parable, and he knows 
he's going to indict them for their lawlessness. And here's 
John again. For John came to you in the way 
of righteousness, and you did not believe him. But tax collectors 
and harlots believed him, and when you saw it, you did not 
afterward relent and believe him. So Jesus clearly explains 
the parable in case you've missed it. The first son is the tax 
collectors and the harlots. The second son is the religious 
leaders. This is why this turn of events 
has come. John the Baptist came in the 
way of righteousness and he preached and you did not believe him. 
You rejected him. You said no to his authority. 
He said no to his ministry. By so doing, he said no to the 
ministry of Isaiah the prophet because he foretold John's coming. 
He said no to the Lord God Most High because he sent John in 
this particular capacity. And as a result, they are saying 
no to the Lord Jesus Christ. Because if John pointed to Christ, 
to reject John is to reject Christ. And it's intriguing. Tax collectors 
and harlots believed him, and when you saw it, you did not 
afterward relent and believe him." I wonder if there's an 
underscoring of their culpability here. It doesn't tell us in the 
parable that when the second son saw the response of the first 
son, what he did. But here it tells us that these 
Pharisees, these scribes, these elders of the people rejected 
John twice. They not only rejected him when 
he was preaching in the wilderness of Judea, but they rejected him 
when they saw his effect upon the sinners, upon the needy in 
society. They would see a woman that at 
one time was a harlot that was no longer a harlot. They would 
see a tax collector, Matthew particularly, that was no longer 
a tax collector. They would see the visible, evident 
fruit of repentance in the lives of people and they still would 
not believe the Baptist. They doubly reject John when 
he comes preaching in the wilderness and when God manifests fruit 
through his proclamation. The second son, we have no comment 
concerning in the parable. We don't know what he said about 
the first son's repentance. But in this instance, and when 
you saw it, you did not afterward relent. The word carries not 
only relent, which has regret, but also repentance, the idea 
being that to feel bad ends in genuine repentance. That's what 
he says concerning these men. You did not afterward relent 
and believe him. So there's our exposition, a 
few thoughts in conclusion. In the first place, the question 
of Christ's authority is huge in this section and in the sections 
to follow. We are on a journey with the 
evangelist Matthew, and in order to properly understand what happens 
in the Passion, we have to understand all of this foundational information. 
We have to see that the actions of our Lord Jesus Christ were 
a challenge to the status quo in Israel in the first century. 
I mean, brethren, if somebody marched in here right now and 
started flipping pews and pushing the piano outside of the sanctuary 
and, you know, knocked over the pulpit and did all that, we'd 
say, by what authority are you doing this? Well, if he's the 
Messiah of God, he's got the authority. I'm not suggesting 
that's going to happen. He's going to come again in glory 
to judge the living and the dead. He's not going to come to flip 
this pulpit over. I mean, that might be an afterthought or that 
might be an effect of what he does in the glory of his coming. 
Do you see the point? He was a challenge to the status 
quo and they did not like that. They liked everything tame, they 
liked everything controlled, they liked everything under their 
thumb. Ecclesiastical authority or the 
abuse thereof is a genuine problem that elders, that churches, that 
confessions all serve to help curtail. As well, the response 
of Jesus via this parable and the exchange demonstrates further 
his authority in their wickedness. He is answering their question. 
It's interesting, the three parables here, the parable of the two 
sons, the parable of the vineyard, and the parable of the wedding 
feast. You have indictment, the parable 
of the sons. You have sentence in the parable 
of the vineyard, and you have execution in the parable of the 
wedding feast. I owe that observation to Blomberg. 
I think that's accurate. A parable of indictment. Here's 
what you are. Here's how you violated. Here's 
how you have rejected the will of God. The parable of sentence 
in the vineyard. This is what's going to happen. 
The kingdom will be taken from you and given to another. And 
then the parable of execution in the wedding feast. They are 
excluded into that place where there's weeping and gnashing 
of teeth. See, this is Jesus' response to the challenge of 
His authority. It is to further condemn them 
and to further illustrate that the coming judgment that is coming 
to them is just, it is legitimate, and it is consistent. As well, 
the leaders are the primary target here, but those who followed 
in Israel were culpable as well. 2143, the kingdom is being taken 
from you and given to a nation bearing fruit. transferred from 
Old Covenant Israel to New Covenant Israel, which is the church. 
In chapter 22, we see that it's the city that is the focus of 
destruction. In chapter 24, the temple and 
all that it stands for. And in chapter 21 of Luke's gospel, 
when you see Jerusalem surrounded by enemies, know that its desolation 
is near. So the leaders instigate this, 
but they had a whole host of followers as well. And as a result, 
when Jesus speaks on all of that concerning the destruction of 
Jerusalem, it's the whole body politic that is under the judgment 
of God Most High. Notice in this passage as well, 
the folly of the leaders. Sought to bring out the wisdom 
of our Lord. I don't think we'll ever be as 
wise as what is displayed in this particular passage. You 
just don't see Facebook dialogues like this. Well, you're just 
dumb! That's what you see on Facebook. 
You don't see this kind of wisdom. You don't see this ingenuity. 
You don't see this sort of rhetorical sovereignty that our Lord displays 
here. It's beautiful to behold, though. 
Notice, you can be firm and you can be right without calling 
people names. Now later, Jesus will call them 
names. He'll call them a brood of vipers. He'll call them hypocrites. That's true. They really were. 
Notice the folly of these leaders. They rejected John the Baptist 
and the Lord Jesus. They feared man. And they show 
themselves and demonstrate themselves to be excluded from the kingdom 
of God. Isn't this horrible? These are 
the custodians of the temple. These are the leaders in Israel. 
These are the heirs of Moses, so-called, and yet they themselves 
are excluded from the kingdom of God. Not all that glitters 
is gold, brethren. Not everything is as it appears. 
A place in ecclesiastical leadership does not mean a place in the 
kingdom of God. This particular event, or this 
particular situation, evidences that. And then as well, we ought 
to appreciate the importance of the parable. It answers the 
leaders, it rebukes the leaders, and then I think, and this is 
where I'd like to end this morning, it demonstrates the goodness 
and the kindness and the mercy of God. Doesn't your heart swell 
with joy and happiness when Jesus says, Assuredly, I say to you, 
the tax collectors and harlots enter the kingdom of God? Isn't 
that good news? Isn't that gospel? Isn't that 
joyful? Isn't that the reality? You're 
going to enter into the kingdom of God, not because you're a 
good person, not because you've earned right, not because you 
have obeyed the law, but because Christ obeyed the law. Christ 
died as a sacrifice. Christ was raised the third day. 
And by God's grace, we have looked to Christ in faith, and as a 
result, we will enter the kingdom of God. That's good news! Tax collectors, harlots, sinners 
is who Jesus came to save. Remember I said that Jesus and 
John are very similar and very close. Jesus had a similar instance 
in Matthew 9, after he saves Matthew. Throws a supper, a feast, 
a party at his house. And tax collectors and sinners 
come and they sit with Jesus to eat. Matthew wants to get 
the gospel to them. The Pharisees standing outside 
are grumbling and they're complaining and they're saying, why is this 
man eating with these tax collectors and sinners? And Jesus answers 
them in a three-fold way. First of all, He reproves them. 
He reproves them. You need to go and learn what 
Hosea means. I desire mercy. Secondly, he 
tells them a self-evident truth. It's the sick who need a physician. 
And then he tells them his particular mission. The Son of Man came 
not to call the righteous to repentance, but sinners. You see, John's ministry, Jesus' 
ministry was the same. And notice in this passage the 
emphasis on justification by faith alone. One of the disturbing 
things in reading commentaries is to see men trying to pit Matthew 
against Paul, or worse, Jesus against Paul. The idea goes is 
that Paul was the great innovator of the doctrine of justification 
by faith. Jesus and Matthew in the Gospel 
records record for us Torah obedience. You just do what God says in 
order to enter the kingdom of God. Look how Jesus specifies 
what entering or what doing the will of God is in the passage. 
Verse 31, which of the two did the will of his father? Note 
verse 32, for John came to you in the way of righteousness and 
you did not what? You didn't believe him. The harlots and 
the tax collectors, they believed. It's justification by faith. 
Action follows. Good works result. They are the 
consequence, but they are not the condition. This is akin to 
what we find in Matthew 7, 21 to 23, not everyone who says 
to me, Lord, Lord. It's interesting, the second 
son addresses the father in the same way. He calls him Lord. 
Same thing. Jesus says, it's not what you 
say you've done, but it's doing the will of my Father who is 
in heaven. What is the will of my Father in heaven? John 6, 
40. This is the will of my Father who is in heaven, that you believe 
in Him whom He sent. We're justified freely by His 
grace through faith in Christ. How do tax collectors and harlots 
enter the kingdom of God? By grace alone, through faith 
alone. How do you lawless sinners enter into the Kingdom of God? 
By grace alone, through faith alone. I don't mean you lawless 
sinners as if I'm not. I've got a buddy who used to 
visit here and he can tell me, he tells me that one time I said 
in this congregation, You scum-sucking sinners. I really don't think 
I ever said that. I could be wrong. I don't think 
it ever actually happened. But if it did, it's not far off 
the mark. We got problems. We've offended 
God. We run through the commandments 
and what do we find? We've had other gods before him. 
We have become idolaters. We have the glory of the Creator, 
and we worship and serve the creature. We blaspheme his holy 
name. That name which is esteemed, 
that name which is glorious, that name which is hallowed, 
and we use it as a curse word or as filler. We break his Sabbath 
days. In fact, today you see this in 
the church. Ah, the Sabbath! What do you mean God calls us 
to come in and out of the world for one day to bask in his presence 
and in his courts? Isn't that a blessed gift given 
by God? Why do we rail against it? Why 
do we complain about it? But we do. We are told in the 
scripture, we are told in the law to honor our parents. Why wouldn't we? They gave us 
life. They gave us food. They make 
sure we get hot showers. They make sure the lights stay 
on. Parents, show your kids what a hydro bill looks like sometime 
and plead with them not to be wasters. But we are insubordinate. We're told in the scripture to 
honor life. You say, well, I never actually 
ended somebody's life. But you hate people in your heart. 
We are told in the scripture the sanctity of marriage. There's 
only one legitimate expression for sexuality and that is in 
the covenant confines of marriage. Not us. Internet porn. All sorts of wickedness. Sodomy. Lawlessness. Perversion. Paraded on our streets. We get 
to the eighth word. We're not supposed to steal. 
It's a good rule, isn't it? Not for us. We steal. We steal 
time, if anything. We steal from our employers. 
We steal from society. We steal from others. We're told 
not to bear false witness. Have you told the truth every 
instance in your life? I don't even want to go there. 
Just in case we can say with that rich young ruler, all these 
things I've kept from my youth, what one thing do I lack? The 
tenth word. Who can maintain fidelity with 
do not covet? You see, brethren, this is the 
good news. This is the gospel. This is the 
glory of our Lord Jesus. He lived. He died. He rose again. So that when we believe, we are 
saved. We are justified. Our sins are 
forgiven. We receive an alien righteousness, 
a foreign righteousness. Something outside of ourselves 
is imputed to us and received by faith alone. The glory of 
the gospel is found in this particular section, which of the two did 
the will of his father? It was the one who by the grace 
of God believed. Now, as I said, true belief will 
always issue forth in good works. As our confession says, faith 
in Christ is the alone instrument of justification, which, of course, 
is not alone in the person justified, but is ever accompanied with 
all other saving graces and is no dead faith but worketh by 
love." If you discuss the sermon this afternoon or you think about 
this again sometime in the coming week, realize this, that if God, 
in Christ, brought tax collectors and harlots into the kingdom 
of God, there is hope for you. If Jesus could scandalize that 
first century context by speaking of the two groups that were most 
thoroughly despised and hated by society as a whole, And Jesus 
can say, they entered the Kingdom of God. There's hope for you. Think through this. Do not continue. It's customary to wish each other 
a Happy New Year. My wish to you is a Christ-centered 
New Year. My wish to you is that you will 
believe these things. If it is the case that I'm properly 
expounding the scripture and explaining the gospel, then believe 
it. Don't continue in rebellion. 
Don't continue in unbelief. Don't continue in rejection. As the prophet said to Israel 
of old, why will you die? Repent! Believe! The Lord of 
Glory is the Savior for tax collectors and harlots. He is certainly 
able and capable of saving sinners in Chiloate in the 21st century. Well, let us pray. Our Father 
in Heaven, we thank you for the Word of God and we thank you 
for its clarity in this passage and for the absolute purity of 
our Lord's Gospel. We thank you that you made Him 
who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the 
righteousness of God in Him. I pray that all in this place 
would reflect upon these things, that all in this place would 
look to Christ and be saved. And may you indeed convince us 
again that self-righteousness is wicked, miserable, horrible 
sin, and give us grace to flee to the Savior. And we pray through 
Christ our Lord. Amen.