Three Sons

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Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ!

In the events that led up to the sermon text for today, a multitude followed Jesus. Some were true followers, that is, His disciples. Others there were people in desperate need of the Savior’s healing Word. It seems likely there were people in attendance from the previous day’s Palm Sunday entry into Jerusalem. No doubt there were children whose lips had offered praise. There were also known sinners like tax-collectors and prostitutes. And there were the chief priests and elders who sought to discredit and rid themselves of Jesus by arresting Him.

These chief priests and elders were examples of men who were inside the Church but outside the kingdom. They refused to receive the gift of repentance and they were hardening their own hearts. When they questioned Jesus’ authority in the temple, he turned the tables by asking them a question about John the Baptist, a question they feared answering. Then Jesus spoke this parable:

“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.’

“And he answered, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he changed his mind and went.

“And he went to the other son and said the same. And he answered, ‘I go, sir,’ but did not go.

“Which of the two did the will of the 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. 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.”

Now, let’s be honest about our initial reactions to this parable. This first son with his bold backtalk gets our blood boiling. Imagine the reaction in the home or in school or at work when someone says to the governing authority: “I will not!” What a spoiled, disrespectful child! Surely, he needs to be punished by his parents, serve an in-school suspension, or be called in by management for coaching.

The second son says, “I go, sir.” Oh, now there’s a response that will make a parent proud, a teacher thankful, a boss pleased, and a nation grateful. We have a law-abiding citizen, model member of society, promising to be obedient. Why, I’ll bet he even stands when the national anthem is played!

As we first look at those two sons, what they say, it seems apparent—one is a disgrace while the other is an upstanding example to us all. But this is not where the parable ends. Let’s follow these two sons further.

Consider the second son first, the one who sounds so obedient, so polite. The father calls him and says, “Son, go and work in the vineyard today.” The second son replies, “I go, sir,” but does not go. With whom might this son be compared? The examples are many but let’s list a few.

The second son, the one who said, “I go, sir,” but did not go may be likened to the elders and Pharisees who were so proud of their strict interpretation and keeping of the Law. Each said, “I will listen, Lord,” but when called to repentance, they simply continued to carry on in the same old hypocritical way.

The second son, the one who said, “I go, sir,” but did not go may also be likened to a teenager whose dad tells her to go to her room and write a thank you note to someone who has given her a gift. She says, “I will, father,” but she goes up to her room and starts texting her friends instead.

... or to a catechumen who is told to go home and memorize a part of the catechism. He says, “I will, sir,” but he comes back next week without a clue.

... or to a confirmed member of the congregation who is asked if she will, by the grace of God, suffer all things, even death, rather than fall away from the Lord. She promises, “I will,” but doesn’t.

... or to a member of the congregation who is invited to come to the Divine Service and partake of Holy Communion. He replies, “I’ll be there this Sunday,” and doesn’t make it this Sunday or the next or the hundred Sundays following.

... or to a pastor who, on his ordination day, is asked if he will perform the duties of the pastoral office in accordance with the Lutheran Confessions and that all his teaching and his administration of the Sacraments shall be in conformity with the Holy Scriptures and the Lutheran Confessions. He says, “I do,” but he does not do that which he promised.

So much for the second son.  Now, let’s look at the third son.

And you wonder, “Did Pastor misspeak? I thought there is were only two sons in Jesus’ parable. Where’s this third son come in?”

Ahh! He is the one who is speaking this parable. He’s the one that says the right thing and does the right thing. From eternity the Father said, “Son, go and work in the vineyard today.” The Son said, “I will,” and He went and did exactly, completely, and perfectly what His Father wanted Him to do. Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, was perfectly obedient, even to the point of death.

On the cross, the Son defeated Satan for you. He defeated death for you when He rose again from the dead. He sent the Holy Spirit to convict the world of sin, to cause the apostles and evangelists to write down the very Word of God, and to work repentance in the individual. The Spirit causes the inscription of the Words of Jesus, the Son of God, in the Book and in the heart.

What words? Well, words like these: “A man had two sons. And he went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’ And he answered, ‘I will not,’ but afterward changed his mind and went.”

Yes, we return to that first son. He was told to come into the vineyard to work and he replied that he would not. But then, afterward, he changed his mind and went into the vineyard. With whom might he be likened?

He may be likened to the tax collectors and prostitutes, who, by their sinful lives had said, “I will not,” to God’s call to the way of righteousness, but are given the gift of repentance, receive forgiveness and enter the kingdom of God.

... or to the catechumen who is told to go home and memorize a part of the Small Catechism. He says, “I will not,” but then, in repentance wrought by the Holy Spirit, looks up the memory work and learns it by heart.

... or to the teenager whose dad tells her to go to her room and write a thank you note to someone who has given her a gift. She says, “I will not go, father,” but then returns to the Lord and gives thanks to Him for His Word of mercy and love.

... or to a confirmed member of the congregation who is asked if she will, with the help of God, suffer all things, even death, rather than fall away from the Lord. Soon distracted by worldly voices and her own sinful flesh, she replies, “I will not,” but then, conscience stricken by the Holy Spirit working through the Law, she repents, and falls at the feet of the Redeemer who came to seek and save.

... or to a longtime member of the congregation who is invited to come to the Divine Service and partake of Holy Communion. Hanging up, he says to himself, “No way!” But then, led by the Holy Spirit, comes to the Table of the Lord to receive the very body and blood given and shed for the forgiveness of all his sins.

... or to a pastor who is asked if all his teaching and his administration of the Sacraments will continue to be in conformity with the Holy Scriptures and the Lutheran Confessions. By his actions or inaction, before he even realizes it, he answers, “I will not.” But as he is proceeding down the wrong path, he is turned by the Lord and is fed the Word of forgiveness even as he feeds the children of God on the same.

  The third Son, Jesus, then asks a question concerning the two sons of the parable—the first son who said he wouldn’t go and then repented; and the second son who said he would go but didn’t. The question was intended for all within His hearing to ponder personally and to reply collectively, for surely there is but one answer and it is an easy answer. “Which of the two did what his father wanted?”

The answer was obvious, for Jesus constructed and told the parable in such a way that the answer was clear. “The first,” they answered. Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes go 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 the prostitutes believed him. And even when you saw it, you did not afterward change your minds and believe him.”

And why is this so? Because, even though these manifest breakers of God’s Law are by nature sinful and unclean and sinned against God in thought, word, and deed, they change their minds and believe, they receive the gift of repentance and trust in Christ for forgiveness, and are welcomed into His kingdom with great joy.

And that those obvious, repentant sinners are going into the kingdom of God before the second son speaks of both Law and Gospel. The Law has not yet done its work on these chief priests and elders, so they will hear no Gospel. They are not to the point where they acknowledge that they have not kept the Law. Though they are of Israel and sons of Abraham, they are not in the kingdom of God.

Still, it is certainly true that the Lord wants the Good News to be proclaimed to them and that they would enter the kingdom of God, too. For Christ wants all, especially the unrepentant, to hear the words that bring eternal life and salvation. What words? The Gospel, of course. But what words? Well, those of you who are in the kingdom of God know them well: “You are forgiven for all of your sins.”

In the name of the Father and of the (+) Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.