A Parable of Two Sons: Yes and No (Matthew 21:28-32)

Class Outline:

Thursday October 2, 2025

 

Main idea: Every person has a choice to heed God’s call and God gives us grace enough to say yes.

 

Intro: As He often did, once He exposed a flaw, He taught. His teaching, especially during this last week, would openly condemn the leaders, but there was grace in them as well.

 

He is going to use parables, a style that those who listened to Him had become familiar with. He will teach three of them, the simplest one first, which would hold the key to the next two.

 

MAT 21:28-32, the Parable of the Two Sons.

 

We’re going to look at it in three ways: The contrast of the obedience of the two sons in doing. The grace of God in saving those who have faith. The opportunity of choice that is before all people in all ages.

 

1. The contrast of 2 sons and the setting of a master’s or father’s vineyard for them to work in.

 

The issue is obedience by doing.

 

Obviously, words alone are not doing the will of the father.

 

The chief priests and elders have been saying the things that make it look like they obey. They have been doing this for a long time. They are the fig tree as representatives of the nation of Israel who claim authority over the temple (leaves and no fruit; robes and no mercy).

 

He is the King. It is His city. It is His Father’s house.

 

Jesus does not in fact “say” He is Messiah. He does the things that show Him to be Messiah.

 

Now that His hour has come, and He proclaims His identity publicly through actions (riding the donkey, cleansing the temple, coming again to the temple to teach, and now to tell three parables right at the leaders while they are all surrounded by the crowd). By His doing, He throws the first punch.

 

We must do and not just say (JAM 2:26 Faith without works is dead.)

 

Think of the results, or lack of, if Jesus does not do what He does and say what He says.

 

Obedience to the father is doing and has definite results: blessing or curse.

 

Our love of individualism and self-expression make us resist imperatives.

 

The tax collectors and prostitutes, the untouchables, repented by faith in John’s ministry. Faith is the key that unlocks the power of God (HEB 11:6).

 

Jesus’ question is yet another offer.

 

MAT 21:31-32

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.  32 "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 feel remorse afterward so as to believe him.

 

This is an offer. You still did not change your hearts.

 

The grace of God allows us the time and the ability to change our thinking and say yes to God.

 

Think of Saul of Tarsus:

Acts 7:51

But Saul began ravaging the church, entering house after house, and dragging off men and women, he would put them in prison.

 

Peter:

MAT 16:22

"God forbid it, Lord! This shall never happen to You."

 

MAT 26:74

Then he began to curse and swear, "I do not know the man!" And immediately a rooster crowed.

 

In light of our remembrance of Paul and Peter and so many others in the Bible we should conclude to never forget to give grace to others. And never forget to give grace to yourself. Because of what Christ will do when He finishes this week out, you who have believed in Him will be able to always say that He is your Lord, so close to you that He lives in you forever.

 

We all fall into the things we are to avoid. By the grace of God we are forgiven and we must confess and move out of the pit and into life.

 

2. The grace of God saves: the greatest in the kingdom is the child.

 

Jesus states that these “lasts” will enter before you - first.

 

In the plan of God, the lowest are first. Blessed are the poor in spirit. Blessed are those that mourn. Blessed are the meek. Why is this? Have you seen yet that all are this, if they know who they really are before the Almighty and before His King?

 

PSA 2:10-12

Now therefore, O kings, show discernment;

Take warning, O judges of the earth.

11 Worship the Lord with reverence

And rejoice with trembling.

12 Do homage to the Son, that He not become angry, and you perish in the way,

For His wrath may soon be kindled.

How blessed are all who take refuge in Him!

 

Yes, He has all authority. He will lay it down because darkness has enveloped those He loves.

 

Darkness overwhelms every person by sin and ignorance - and mankind copes with it by pride.

 

Pride - a man made lamp in the world’s darkness.

 

PRO 21:4

Haughty eyes and a proud heart,

The lamp of the wicked, is sin.

 

The tax collectors and prostitutes lived in that darkness and were themselves filled with pride. But then a light from John shined upon them and their faith opened their souls to the grace of God. They heard, “Repent for the kingdom of heaven is near,” and so the King was near.

 

John, as the humble forerunner he was, pointed to the greater light, who was the light shining in the darkness. Both the voice and the light were prophesied to come and at that time they were there because God is faithful.

 

MAT 4:15-16

"The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,

By the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles — 

16 "The people who were sitting in darkness saw a great light,

And to those who were sitting in the land and shadow of death,

Upon them a light dawned."

 

PRO 20:27

The spirit of man is the lamp of the Lord,

Searching all the innermost parts of his being.

 

The lowest adult class in Israel saw the great light, the promised King, and they went to work in His vineyard.

 

The upper class saw it all and heard it all, and motivated by their little lamp of pride, by their desire to maintain their elite positions, they rejected John and the Lord.

 

3. A contrast of choice - two sons: examples in the Scripture.

 

The Bible contains many stories about sons, and often two sons who take two very different paths. Knowing that the Scripture is inspired by God and inerrant, we understand these many parallels to be shown to us for a purpose.

 

The first set: Ishmael and Isaac. Isaac was the son of the promise through Sarah.

 

The next set of brothers are not only full brothers but twins: Jacob and Esau. Esau cared nothing for his birthright as the eldest, but his heel catcher brother, though a liar and a scoundrel, did care for it. And though the younger, the least, he became first by faith.

 

The next set of brothers are 12; Jacob’s sons who would become the 12 tribes of Israel. Joseph was destined to be first, but he was a little arrogant brat at the beginning. But after 20 years of suffering, first by the hands of his brothers and then Egypt, Joseph became first and his brothers remained paranoid.

 

Jesus famous parable of the prodigal son would be in a framework very familiar to His listeners. Brothers splitting from one another - who are similar in their relationship to the parable we’re hearing today.

 

The story of David leads to a most faithful son, who had his issues and failures, but to whom an eternal promise would be made. His Son is with His people during His last week on earth and He has started a fight that He indeed is going to end, but not in the way that anyone imagined.

 

Our Lord would be tempted in all things, even as we are, Jesus’ brothers opposed Him.

 

JOH 7:1-9

After these things Jesus was walking in Galilee, for He was unwilling to walk in Judea because the Jews were seeking to kill Him. 2 Now the feast of the Jews, the Feast of Booths, was near. 3 Therefore His brothers said to Him, "Leave here and go into Judea, so that Your disciples also may see Your works which You are doing. 4 "For no one does anything in secret when he himself seeks to be known publicly. If You do these things, show Yourself to the world." 5 For not even His brothers were believing in Him. 6 So Jesus said to them, "My time is not yet here, but your time is always opportune.  7 "The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me because I testify of it, that its deeds are evil.  8 "Go up to the feast yourselves; I do not go up to this feast because My time has not yet fully come."  9 Having said these things to them, He stayed in Galilee.

 

A substory of the Bible is lasts and firsts. The lasts are the lasts because only the Almighty God is first. The firsts of this world only think they are, and that is only because they have lit their little lamps called pride and they have shined a man made light upon themselves, a light of their own making, and thought themselves worthy.

 

Only the light of Christ can break through it. Then we discover that we are not our own. We discover that we were bought with a price and that we are to glorify God in our bodies. You then throw off self-expression and you put on Christ - and then you go and work in His vineyard. And do you know what you find in that work? Joy.