MAKING TOO EASY TOO HARD

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

“What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work today in the vineyard.’”

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

“Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, ‘I will, sir,’ but he did not go.”

“Which of the two did what his father wanted?”

“The first,” they answered.

Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him.”

Matthew 21:28-32

This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Here’s a news flash: Not everyone is going to heaven.

It’s an unfortunate truth because it doesn’t have to be that way. Not at all.

You see, God made it easy to be able to spend forever with Him and He did so because He loved each and every person He ever created. All one has to do is believe in Jesus as Savior and they will gain eternal life.

That’s it.

So why would anyone pass this up?

Because many people have a way of making too easy too hard. Rather than admit they have no chance of saving themselves, repenting of their sin, and accepting the salvation God offers through His Son, they want to cling to their own self-reliance and arrogance self-pride. It’s little wonder why the scriptures tell us this about the consequences of pride:

Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall. Proverbs 16:18

Need a biblical example of this on full display?

We’ve been looking at the attitude of the Jewish religious leaders of Jesus’ time and how they refused to place their belief in Him, even though they projected themselves as the foremost authorities of Mosaic Law and in special, intimate spiritual relationships with God. Unfortunately, words are cheap as the old saying goes and it was obvious that the actions of the Pharisees, chief priests, elders, and teachers of the law failed to measure up to their claims.

Point in case was the exchange we looked at in yesterday’s devotion. The Jewish religious authorities decided to challenge Jesus, asking by what authority He was teaching and who had granted such authority. In response, you’ll recall that Jesus asked them a few questions, promising that if they answered them, then He would answer theirs. Here’s what He asked:

“John’s baptism—where did it come from? Was it from heaven, or of human origin?”

The answer should have been easy. Surely these Jewish religious experts would know to go to God for guidance to make sure they were responding in the way He desired, right?

Well, that didn’t happen for they chose to deliberate among themselves, relying on their own understanding and wisdom. They were so self-centered and arrogant (or what was the word in Proverbs, haughty?)

That they couldn’t look outside of themselves. Their eyes and ears were closed to God and their hearts and minds were so hardened that even the Holy Spirit couldn’t soften them and incline them toward Jesus, the Messiah the prophets had promised would come.

Today, we have a lot of people who are the same way. They are modern day representations of those Jewish synagogue leaders who opposed Jesus, refusing to turn to God for affirmation of the deliverance they can so easily receive through His Son. Instead, they look to themselves of others, those who are no less sinners than they are, for their hope and sadly miss out on their chance for eternity.

Back to the scriptures where the chief priests, elders, and teachers of the law decide to not give Jesus an answer but rather plead ignorance, simply replying, “We don’t know”, a response which led Jesus to not answer their question either. These so-called God-experts were anything but. They merely just put on an external show which masked a spiritually dead interior, something Jesus laid bare as He continued to address them, Look again at today’s passage as Jesus resorts to a teaching tool He loved, the parable:

“What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work today in the vineyard.’”

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

“Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, ‘I will, sir,’ but he did not go.”

“Which of the two did what his father wanted?”

“The first,” they answered.

Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him.”

First of all, for readers who might not be as knowledgeable of the Bible as others, a parable was simply a story which could be translated into a teaching lesson, paralleled with a point the teacher was attempting to make. Pastors follow the lead of Jesus all the time, using illustrations to reinforce a point in their sermon.

So what was Jesus trying to get across here?

Let’s break the parable down to the core meanings.

First, we need to know that in Jewish cultural circles, people were expected to do what they said they would do. Period. You weren’t supposed to go back on your word and there are excerpts in the Bible that talk about the critical importance of keeping vows. We’re not going into those today but keep the cultural expectations in mind as we turn to the two sons.

For starters, the first son was asked by his father to do something but he refused. This would have also been viewed as blatantly disrespectful but note the son decided to change his mind and went and worked in the vineyard as he was asked.  

The second son on the other hand told his father he would work in the vineyard but then didn’t keep his word. His father thought the son was at work but he really wasn’t. The son had no intention of doing what he was asked to do but he put on a front for the father.

So given these two scenarios, Jesus posed another question to the Jewish religious authorities who were with Him in the temple courts:

“Which of the two did what his father wanted?”

Unlike the prior question on John’s baptism, the Jewish leaders answered quickly without needed debate, saying:

“The first.”

The paradox was amazing. On one instance, the Jewish religious authorities couldn’t answer simple question regarding John’s baptism but could easily spot a cultural correction (a son refusing at first but then having a change of heart) as being appropriate.

Jesus highlights the inconsistency through His final words, words that must have cut through the hearts of the chief priests, elders, and teachers of the law who were gathered.

“Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him.”

John was baptizing sinners, bring them to repentance and preparing them for their coming Savior Jesus, long before this parable was told. His work was common knowledge among the Jewish leaders but they refused to acknowledge the righteous and holy work he did. They were like the second son in the parable, asserting they believed in God but not making good on their words when the chips were down.

Meanwhile, there were tax collectors and prostitutes, two of the most despised occupations in the eyes of the Jewish religious aristocracy, who did listen to John, changed their paths, repented, and believed. They found their way to salvation and the kingdom of God, well ahead of the chief priests, elders, and teachers of the law who had yet to place their faith, trust, and hope in Jesus. The path to eternal life was right before them and they chose not to walk it.

They made too easy too hard.

So where do you stand today as you read this message? Which son would you relate most to?

Are you the one who externally gives the appearance they are on their way to heaven when they are really on their way to damnation because they opted to stubbornly reject the Savior God sent?

Or are you the Son who may have first rejected the kingdom offer from God but later changed their mind, repented, and believed in Jesus as Savior, securing their place with God and His Son forever?

My prayer is that you won’t make a too easy salvation offer too hard and miss your chance at heaven as a result.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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