The Two Sons | Matthew 21:28-32
by Keith Sharp
From the beginning of His ministry the Lord had spoken of “His hour,” the time of His sacrifice. Previously His hour had not yet come (John 2:4; 7:6,8). Now it had come (John 12:23). Previously He had withdrawn from confrontations that would lead to His death (Matthew 4:12; 12:14-15; 14:13; 15:12,21; John 6:15;10:31,39-40). But now He presses His claims and His denunciations of the leaders of the Jewish nation with the devastating and infuriating force that would lead the scribes, Pharisees, and chief priests to carry out their plot to kill Him.
The purpose of this, His last trip to Jerusalem, was to die for the sins of the world. So He brazenly entered Jerusalem in the role of Messiah (Matthew 21:1-16), asserted His authority by cleansing the Temple of commercial trade (Mark 11:15-18), publicly exposed the moral inability of the chief priests and elders to deal with the question of authority in religion (Matthew 21:23-27), and immediately denounced in a parable their refusal to believe John and obey God (Matthew 21:28-32).
The Master began the parable by letting the Jewish leaders know He wanted them to pass judgment on a case. Of course, in their arrogance, they were more than willing. The result is that they announced their own guilt before the multitude.
Christ spoke of a man who owned a vineyard and had two sons. He told the first son to work in His vineyard, but he rebelliously refused, not even bothering to make an excuse. But afterward this son regretted his sin and went and worked in the vineyard. The father went to the second son and told him the same thing. This son politely, respectfully agreed to work but didn’t do so.
Then the Master sprang the trap. Jesus simply inquired, “Which of the two did the will of his father?” What could the Jewish leaders say? Everyone knew the answer. Perhaps they were too blind to realize the second son was an exact parallel to them. They replied, “The first.”
The Lord immediately and with devastating force applied the lesson of the parable. The tax collectors and prostitutes would enter the kingdom of God rather than the proud, self-righteous Jewish rulers. John the Baptist came preaching the way of righteousness (Matthew 3:1-2). The tax collectors, known for their extortion (Luke 3:12-13), and prostitutes, believed him and were baptized, confessing their sins (Luke 7:29; Matthew 3:5-6). They had been openly defiant of God, but at the preaching of John they repented.
But the self-righteous Jewish leaders, who claimed to love and obey God (Matthew 15:7-8), rejected the preaching of John and refused to obey God by being baptized by John (Matthew 21:25; Luke 7:29-30). Thus, in exonerating the first son and implicitly condemning the second, they publicly proclaimed themselves guilty.
Incidentally, it is interesting that Christ does not employ the usual word for repentance in verses twenty-nine and thirty-two. The same Greek word, “metamellomai,” is translated “regretted” (verse 29) and “relented” (verse 32) in the New King James Version. In the King James Version it is rendered “repented” in both verses. Although this word can be used for “repentance,” this word especially stresses the emotions (Hendriksen. 779). It can be used of regret that leads to despair rather than true repentance (Matthew 27:3-5). Here the Lord obviously uses it to mean real repentance, for the first son went to the vineyard after he “regretted” his rebellion (Matthew 21:29), and if the Jewish leaders had “relented” they would have believed John (verse 32). The Master’s use of the word in this parable describes the emotional regret of a son for having rebelled against his father.
The usual New Testament word for “repent” is “metanaeo.” True repentance always involves three changes. It is a change of mind or will (Matthew 21:28-32; 12:41; Jonah 3:10), preceded by a change of feeling, called “godly sorrow” (2 Corinthians 7:9-10), and leading to a change of conduct (Luke 3:3,8-14).
Repentance is absolutely essential to forgiveness for both an alien sinner (Acts 2:38; 3:19) and an erring child of God (Acts 8:22).
We can talk all we want about loving the Lord, but if we fail to obey Him, regardless of our claims, we will not enter the kingdom of God.
Work Cited
Hendriksen, William, New Testament Commentary (Exposition of the Gospel of Matthew).
