 Well today we're continuing our study by looking at two parables. We're in Matthew chapter 21 and we're going to begin together by looking at verses 28 through 32. And so I'm going to do something in this particular study. I'm going to actually do the first parable verses 28 through 32 and we're going to take a momentary break and I have a video then I'm going to be showing you that I believe accentuates the message that we have in verses 28 through 32. And then we're going to pick up at verse 33 and conclude the chapter by looking at the second parable. So the first parable we're looking at found here in Matthew 21 verses 28 through 32 has been called the parable of the two sons. So let's begin reading together here. Matthew 21 at verse 28 we'll read to verse 32 and get into our study. Matthew writes, Jesus speaking, 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. So let's set the context for us and then we'll go into the parable and look for the interpretation of it and then illustrate it through that video. We know that Jesus was teaching and preaching as he was walking through the temple courts. They're in the Jewish temple there in Jerusalem. He's in the porch of the temple that was commonly used by rabbis to teach their disciples. And while he was there, he was confronted by a group of religious leaders and they came with a question. Actually it was a single question broken into two parts. They had said in verse 23, by what authority are you doing these things and who gave you this authority? And so I mentioned to you last time that his authority to do and to say these things didn't come from man, did not originate through rabbinic schools or mentoring, but his authority to do and say the things that he was doing and saying came from his father. And Jesus had made that clear in his teachings that he was sent by God. In John 7.16 it reads there, Jesus speaking, my teaching is not my own. It comes from him who sent me. So because he had his father's authority, he didn't need to seek recognition from them. And in that he pitted himself directly in opposition to their system and their authority. So to deal with their question, Jesus actually had replied with the question. We saw that in verses 24 and 25. The question was simple. Was John's ministry from God or was it from man? So his point was simple. Are you willing to recognize heavenly authority? And so by asking that question, Jesus drove them into a corner. They didn't answer him. So he did not respond to them. So that's what's going on at this point. And now he moves on and asks a question when he says in verse 28. 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. Here's Jesus's question, verse 31. Which of the two did the will of his father? And so Jesus is speaking concerning this and he's contrasting the responses, two responses to his message. One son, as we look at this parable, one son initially refuses to go but later repents and obeys. But the other one, notice with me, the other one lies. He gives the false impression that he will obey, but he never intended to. He only wants to appear to be obedient. So what we have here is Jesus contrasting the self-righteousness with sincere repentance. And his point was simple. Doing is more important than simply saying. It's easy to be outwardly obedient, but inwardly to remain rebellious. The religious leaders of the time of Christ had the appearance of righteousness, but they were not righteous. They claimed to be obedient, but they were actually rebellious. They had a tendency of doing their religious deeds to be seen by men. They would pray so that people would see them. They would give so that people would see them. They would fast so that people would see them. And Jesus approaches that numerous times. He pointed out that the religious authorities were actually hypocrites. Later on in Matthew 23, we'll see it in verses one through three, how Jesus spoke to the multitudes and to his disciples saying, the scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat. Therefore, whatever they tell you to observe, that observe and do. But do not do according to their works, for they say and do not do. So Jesus was speaking concerning the religious hypocrisy of the leaders. So ones who said, I go, sir, and then didn't go. And he's contrasting it with the people who say at first in a rebellious way, I will not go and ultimately relent and do go. You see, the rejection of Jesus was openly revealed when he asked them about John. And their response revealed that they rejected the one God had sent to them. On the other hand, there were many who had made no claim to have faith in God. They lived in open sin and rebellion. They did not obey God's word. But many of them would listen to him. When Jesus came, they would crowd around him to hear him speak. They followed after him and he was very popular. And his popularity as we've gone through Matthew and you see it in the other gospels was increasing steadily. Mark chapter 12 verse 37 tells us the common people heard him gladly. It was the religious people who wondered why Jesus would eat with publicans and sinners. It was the religious people who had a problem with the Lord Jesus Christ and how he would reach the outcast and how he would speak to those whom they considered to be the most sinful in society. They were the ones who would say, why does your master eat with these people? Why does he drink with these people? Why does he spend time with these people? They were the ones who thought that they were obedient when, in fact, they were not. They were the ones who thought they were righteous when, in fact, they were hypocrites. In John 9, 39 through 41, Jesus said this. He said, for judgment I have come into this world that those who do not see may see and that those who see may be made blind. Then some of the Pharisees who were with him heard these words and said to him, are we blind also? Jesus said to them, if you were blind, you would have no sin. But now you say we see. Therefore, your sin remains. You see, the sinners knew they needed help, but the self-righteous refused to come to him. It is the sinners that heard the message of John, the message of repentance, and it's the sinners who relented. It's the sinners who responded. You see, even if one initially refuses to obey, they can change their mind. And they initially did refuse to listen, but they finally listened. And because of God's promises and because they exercised faith, they were entering into the kingdom. But the religious leaders, on the other hand, they refused to believe. Though malding faith, they still were excluded from the kingdom of God. So Jesus made it very clear, you religious leaders are like the second son. You say you're obedient, but you're obedient only in words. You're not obedient in action. And that's why Jesus says in verse 31, 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. You know, the hardest person to speak to is the self-righteous one. The hardest person to speak to is the one who thinks they don't have a need. But you can speak to the alcoholic when they're in a sober moment, and you can speak to them, and you can say, you realize you're killing yourself, you're destroying your family, you're breaking up your marriage, your children are a lot. You realize that, look what's happening. You can do so with love if they respect you enough to listen to you. And many times what they will do is they will cry and they will say, you know, I am in bondage and I'm in pain. It's the difficult one. The one who says, what are you talking about? I go to church. What are you talking about? I pray. What are you talking about? You know, I'm not as bad. Look at some of the people that you hang around with. Look at some of those people. You know, I don't swear. You know, I'm a good person. You know, the hardest person to reach is the one who thinks that they've already been reached. But the Lord has a way of reaching into our hearts. I mean, if I gave you an opportunity to stand up and say, this is what I was and this is what I am, not one of you would stand up and say, I was perfect and now I'm more perfect. Every one of us would say, I was lost, but now I'm found. I was blind, but now I see. I was deaf, but now I hear. I was broken, but now I'm made well. How that happened to you. I recognized my need for a Savior. I recognize that I'm not perfect. I recognize that I'm destructive, not only to others, but to myself, too. I've destroyed families. I've destroyed friendships. I've destroyed relationships. I've done it all because my evil that I have in my heart, I've lived it out. But when I heard that that Christ could forgive sins, I actually believed that I received that. And because I did, my life has been changed. For the Word of God says, if any man be in Christ, he's a new creation. Old things are passed away. Behold, all things are becoming new. God has a way of changing lives, doesn't he? He has a way of transforming people, doesn't he? He has a way of taking the outcast and bringing them into the family. The person who's unloved can be caused to realize that there's no one who loves them more than Jesus Christ himself. God loves you and it transforms your life. And that's what the gospel promises. And righteous people don't receive it. I want to show you a video at this point here to illustrate this, how God transforms lives and how that you, you and I, we who've come to faith in Christ, what we were and what we can become. And that's what I wanted to illustrate when Jesus said, tax collectors and harlots enter the kingdom of God before you. Why? Because they heard the message of repentance and came to faith in Christ. Let me show you an illustration of that in our video. Yes, Jesus saves and he transforms and he reaches out to those people who are willing to hear the message of the gospel of grace. And so somebody can say that they are righteous, but they're not righteous without him. And so Jesus came to save sinners. And even as Paul said, even as he said, I am the chief of sinners, his grace is sufficient. And so when Jesus was speaking to these, these religious leaders who refused to hear the message of repentance, he said, the sad fact is, is you are not willing to hear the message that will transform your life. These people that are looked at as the off scouring, the ones who are referred to as the tax gatherers, the harlots, they will enter into the kingdom of God before you. Why? Because they heard the message of repentance and they changed. And that's what it takes. And so that's the first parable. The second one is found in verse 33 following. He said, here another parable. There was a certain landowner who planted a vineyard and set a hedge around it, dug a wine press in it and built a tower. And he leased it to vine dressers and went into a far country. Now, when vintage time drew near, he sent his servants to the vine dressers that they might receive its fruit. And the vine dressers took his servants, beat one, killed one, stoned another. Again, he sent other servants more than the first. And they did likewise to them. Then last of all, he sent his son to them saying, they will respect my son. But when the vine dressers saw the son, they said among themselves, this is the heir. Come, let us kill him and seize his inheritance. So they took him and cast him out of the vineyard and killed him. Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those vine dressers? They said to him, he will destroy those wicked men miserably and lease his vineyard to other vine dressers who will render to him the fruits and their seasons. Jesus said to them, have you never read the scriptures? The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. This was the Lord's doing. It is marvelous in our eyes. Therefore, I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it. And whoever falls on this stone will be broken, but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder. Now when the chief priests and Pharisees heard his parables, they perceived that he was speaking of them. But when they sought to lay hands on him, they feared the multitudes because they took him for a profit. And so Jesus now gives another parable. It's a parable that illustrates the rebellion that these people had against God as well as their rejection of the Lord. And so he illustrates the kingdom of God by using the picture of a vineyard. And so I'll give you some of the details, build a little bit further on that and then go into application. So what we have here is a parable where a rich landowner plants a vineyard. We know that that vineyard would represent what was an actually a common crop in the nation of Israel. So he plants a vineyard. He puts a hedge around it. And the way you would hedge your vineyard would be by either piling up rocks or cultivating a hedge of thorns in order to keep the animals out in order to hinder thieves from mentoring in. Then he dug what is called a wine press. This sometimes was dug out of bedrock. It would be elevated. The grapes would be crushed. The juice would run down a trough and be placed in bottles or skins, and then it would be stored. He went on to say that he built a tower. So the tower would serve as a lookout post against thieves and could also be used as a shelter for workers as well as providing storage. So all of this is intended to communicate to us that this took a great deal of care as well as attention. So when everything is in order, Jesus says, he leased out his property to tenants and left the country. Verses 34 and 35 tell us vintage time, junior. And his servants came to collect rent on the property. But the tenants took his servants, beat one, killed one, stoned another. In verse 36, he sent other servants more than the first, but they did likewise to them. So he repeats the action a second time with the same results. But when he gets to verse 37, he says, last of all, he sent his son saying, they will respect my son. The phrase last of all gives to us a sense of more than this is just the last in chronological order. This is really something that he's saying that is filled with emotion. And Mark tells us in chapter 12 that he said, Jesus said he had one left to send, a son whom he loved. He sent him last of all saying, they will respect my son. So this is a son of his heart. There's no longer anyone else that he can send to these tenants. So the son of his heart is one in all his only surely they will respect this one whom I love so dearly. But what was their response? Verses 38 and 39 says, when they saw the son, they said, this is the heir, let's kill him, sees the inheritance. So they conspired to kill him in order to steal the inheritance. Now originally they were swatters, but now they're murderers and now they're thieves. Now the murder of the son is presented to us as being cold and premeditated. They didn't confuse him as one of the servants. They intentionally killed him, and that's the point that Jesus is making. It reveals their calloused, murderous hearts. Those who are willing to kill the son, but it also illustrates the grace and amazing patience of the landowner. And so he asks the question in verse 40, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those vine dressers? So there's a question, giving them an opportunity to respond. What will he do? Well in verse 41, they give the answer. He will destroy those wicked men miserably. And so in giving this answer, they're condemning themselves. They are actually trapped by their own words, and they don't see themselves being portrayed in this. Remember what Jesus said in Matthew 12, 37, by your words, you'll be justified by your words, you will be condemned. Well, what will he do? Well, he'll destroy them. They were actually putting a noose around their own neck in answering, honestly, the way that they did. And so we'll look at this now a little more in a little more detail. Notice in verse 42, how Jesus asked that question, have you never read in the Scriptures? Once again, you who pride yourself in your knowledge of Scripture, have you never read and understood what this means? You see, as you look at this, you see that the owner obviously would be God, the vineyard would be the kingdom of God, the tenants would represent the nation of Israel, the servants are the prophets calling the nation to repentance throughout its history, the son obviously is Jesus Christ, and the death of the son would be Jesus's death on the cross. And so the point that he's about to make is that you're going to reject Messiah and in turn, you yourselves will also be rejected. Now, when he says in verse 42, have you never read in the Scriptures the stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone? This was the Lord's doing and it is marvelous in our eyes. He's reminding them of their history. You see, for centuries Israel had been the chief stone in God's redemptive plan. God had called a man out of Ur of the Chaldees in Mesopotamia, a man by the name of Abram, and he had said, leave everything and go to a land that I'm about to give you. You know your history, you know the history of Israel, how in Genesis 12 Abram went out, God made some promises to him concerning what he would do, gave to him promises concerning the future for these people that would come out of his loins. He originally was known as Abram. The name Abram can be translated High Father, but he became Abraham, which means a father of many nations. He had a wife by the name of Sarai. Well, the name Sarai, it literally means dominator or dominative, but she became Sarah, which means princess. And between Abram and Sarai, we have Abraham and Sarah. And God gave to them a child of promise, Isaac, who was the laughter of the heart, the joy of the heart of this old man Abraham. And Isaac had sons and the sons continued on until there were 12 sons born to him and the nation of Israel was birthed from them. And so the nation of Israel was given by God special promises in a world that was filled with the rejection of God, in a world that was filled with multi-God's paganism. I mean, they would worship to this day, they still do. They would worship spirits in the trees or rocks themselves. They would worship nature. They would worship man. They worship so many things, but they didn't worship the true God. Well, God was a God who gave to the nation of Israel a special relationship with him. And as God began to work through them, God gave them so many advantages and they were supposed to be a holy people. They were supposed to be lights in a sin-darkened world. The people of the world were to know that God was amongst the Jews and he gave them tremendous advantages. All you need to do is look into the writings from the old to the new. And I think Paul says it well in chapter 9 when he speaks of these advantages. Chapter 9 of the book of Romans where he said this, he said, I speak the truth in Christ. I'm not lying. My conscience confirms it in the Holy Spirit. I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart for I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, those of my own race, the people of Israel. There's is the adoption as sons. There's the divine glory, the covenants, the receiving of the law, the temple worship and the promises. There's are the patriarchs and from them is traced the human ancestry of Christ who is God over all for ever praised. Amen. What an abundance of advantages the nation of Israel had and yet the nation of Israel in the Old Testament was regarded as a stone which the builders rejected and even though it had become the chief cornerstone. So in one way that would be referring to the nation of Israel, but it had a deeper, deeper meaning. It had a deeper prophetic image because in reality Jesus is ascribing that to himself. In Acts chapter 4 verse 10, we read, be it known unto you all and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him does this man stand here before you whole. This is the stone which was set at not of you builders, which has become the head of the corner. Neither is there salvation in any other, for there is none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved. In 1 Peter 2 6 through 8 the apostle writes in Scripture it says, see I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame. Now to you who believe the stone is precious but to those who do not believe the stone the builders rejected has become the capstone and a stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall. They stumble because they disobey the message which is also what they were destined for. So Jesus is speaking to them and saying, listen John came in a wilderness preaching a baptism of repentance preparing people to meet the Lord. There were people who listened to John and they followed after his message and ultimately came to faith in Messiah but you say that you see and because you continue saying I see you remain blind because here you are asking me who gave me authority to say and to do the things that I'm doing but when I asked you was John's ministry did it originate with God or did it originate with man was God's ministry of of man or God you refused to answer. You are like that son who says I'll go and work for you dad but in fact you're lying and only want to give the appearance that you're righteous. You're the ones who pray, you're the ones who fast, you're the ones who teach the nation of Israel, you are the ones who say follow the things that we teach you but you will not lift up a single finger to remove one of the burdens that you place on other people and yet you've got harlots and you've got these tax gatherers who are making their fortune off the people ripping them off these thieves who are willing to come to faith in Christ they're being transformed. You on the other hand you refuse to listen so this nation that at one time you had great prominence in well it is going to be removed this message of salvation that at one time had been entrusted to Israel and through the priesthood it is going to be handed to others who will take the message of truth the gospel of Jesus Christ proclaiming it throughout the world and that's what's about to happen because you refuse to come to the one that God sent to you you think that because you have the outer appearance of righteousness that you're making it into the kingdom of God but it is being taken from you and it's being handed to the harlots it's being handed to the tax gatherers because they heard the message and received Jesus Christ and that's what he's saying to them here see again the hardest person to speak to is the self-righteous one the one who says I don't need God and Jesus had said it he had made it clear again he had said only the sick will go to a doctor the well won't I didn't come call to call the the the perfect because the perfect reject me I came to call the sick because they'll come to me because they know that within them there's an aching void within them there's a pain and within them there's there's no cure and that's why they come to me and that's why you came to christ that's why I did is because religion did not fill the void in my heart there was a like it was said in the past there was a god shaped hole in my heart that only god himself could feel and you try and fill it up with the alcohol and you try and fill it up with the relationships and you try and fill it up with all the good things that you do you try to fill it with so many things and and it never can fill it up but when you enter into a relationship with god god fills that void in your life see that's called christianity we are not involved in simply a philosophy of like we are involved in a relationship with the god of this universe who has transformed our lives and filled the void and is given to us purpose that's called christianity and what we're making a mistake today and it's amazing to me that we the cycle has turned and we're coming back to that again as we have tried to to make religion the answer for our problems and it never has been it actually very often creates even more problems but when we have a relationship with christ it's not as if the problems disappear but we have an answer to the problems and we can deal with them we can solve them we can hand the things that we have no control over to the god who has control and we can learn to trust him because his works are good his plans for me are good his power is inexhaustible and he is capable of transforming my life and that's what he does and that's what he's done to you but if you try and transform your own life the picture that you paint of yourself will never be accurate but the lord jesus christ on the other hand when he's speaking to these people he's saying to them no you haven't come to the one that god sent and as a result well he said in verse 43 he says the kingdom of god will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it i'm about to ordain a new means of reaching the world i'm going to create what is called the church and its purpose will be to bear fruit that reveals salvation and it's its purpose to reveal the fact that god is with them it's like what paul said in romans 14 verse 17 when he said the kingdom of god is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness peace and joy in the holy spirit joy in the holy spirit that joy that comes that is so unbelievable when you when you come to christ and and you say to god be merciful to me i'm a sinner many times people think you know that is a real downer no that is where you actually get the joy from is that recognition it's like when ceas lewis one of the thinkers of the christian church and in the 20th century he climbed into a taxi cab and he said i entered into the taxi cab as a as a theist somebody who believed there's a god but i exited that taxi cab as a christian because he began to think through what he had been reading and what he had been studying and he was surprised and he writes it in his his autobiography surprised by joy he writes and says i was surprised at the joy that i experienced when i gave my heart to jesus christ and the burdens were rolled off of his shoulder and he finally was able to lift his hands and say god you've been merciful to me i'm a sinner washed by the blood of christ and the joy of god just overwhelms you it does it does you know my wife marie when she came to faith in christ as before we were married she came to faith in christ and and once we were married she spoke to me on one occasion she said to me she said you know i i i know your testimony and she says i she said i didn't experience that kind of overwhelming joy that you did and i said part of the reason probably is is because you weren't so evil as i was because i tell you man we every evil person in here knows what i just said you know what i just said we have our testimony then we have the one we tell people right we have our testimony and we have the one we tell others god knows my real testimony he knows the depth i can say i did drugs or i did this or i did that that's easy to say but god knows what else i did that i would never tell you god knows you he sees you he's aware of you and guess what guess what he loves you and you imagine that can you imagine that and he loves you imagine that you know and he will transform you he doesn't love what you're doing by the way he doesn't love your sin he hates it he hates your sin so much he gave his son jesus to take it upon himself he hates the fact that you rebel against him but he loves you enough to retrieve you and so that's what jesus is speaking about here john spoke the truth he said you need to repent you rejected him again you are like that that brother who said oh that son who said oh i go but in reality you were only acting like you're going to go when in fact you didn't so the kingdom will be taken from you and it's handed to others when he says in verse 44 whoever falls on this stone will be broken but on whomever it falls it will grind him to powder somebody once said if you will not have him as deliverer you will have him as destroyer if you will not have him as deliverer you will have him as destroyer how do you come to faith in christ you're broken you're broken you've heard the term he's a broken man she's a broken woman it talks about what we've gone through we're broken indeed we are broken life can break you but there's a voluntary brokenness that you have too where you say god be merciful to me i'm a sinner god forgive me i've sinned against you in word and in thought and in action lord i am completely overwhelmed by my sin and there is no hope for me i am a broken broken person and you know one of the things that i've discovered about the lord is the most the most beautiful vessel in the hand of god will always be the one that is broken because he can work in your life and the fragrance of his grace can pour out of you and the way that you come to faith in christ is a simple admission god i have sinned i have i have broken your law lord i'm not a perfect person i know that there are sins that i'm doing that i don't even know our sins right now but the things that i'm aware of i know that i'm wrong i know what i've done is wrong i know what i've done is violated your standards i have lied i have stolen i have cheated lord i have been violent i've i have engaged in sexual activity that i know is wrong lord i i have been an evil person forgive me a sinner and god will say yes i do that's why i sent jesus but some people refuse that and that's why if you don't come and be broken by him you will be judged by him the gracious loving christ that we all know is also the final judge if you do not come to me in faith i will deal with you injustice and so jesus took upon himself my sin he became the offering on my behalf and and he poured his blood out to take care of that and poured his blood over me to make me presentable to his father that's how salvation occurred when i received that promise by faith well first 45 and 46 in closing when the chief priests and Pharisees heard his parables and they perceived that he was speaking of them and when they sought to lay hands on him they feared the multitudes because they took him for a profit mark tells us in chapter 12 verse 12 they looked for a way to arrest him because they knew he had spoken the parable against them but they were afraid of the crowd so they left him and went away jesus made it very clear to have a relationship with him was to repent to not just say i go but to actually go even if initially you rejected it's not the initial that matters it's the conclusion that does at first you heard the gospel first time you heard it you may not have responded you may have said oh this is a joke i don't believe this but later on you heard it again and maybe later on you heard it again and you finally heard the voice of god in that message so you at first were saying nope nope nope i'm not going to go but you relented but you said yes to jesus as a result of that you enter into the kingdom of heaven but the ones who keep saying no i don't need it they're going to die in that hardened condition and again the one who brought words of life will ultimately speak their final judgment so the wisest thing to do is to receive the offering that he's given to us the gift of eternal life through him