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Afterward
The Parable of the Two Sons in Matthew 21:28-32
Wednesday August 19, 2009 Preached at Brother Bryan Mission
Afterward. It's an important word for the passage we will be looking at tonight, and it is an important word as we consider our own lives. Afterward. It is a word that means, “At a later time.” Books sometimes have afterwards. In a book, an afterward tells what happened to the characters after the main story of the book. “Such and such character,” a book might say, “went on to live a life of peace and prosperity.” Afterward. Tonight I want to ask you what you will do afterward with the Word of God given to you?
Look with me at Matthew 21 and the Parable of the Two Sons. In this parable, we find two very different afterwards: one afterward is good, and one afterward is bad. Read with me this short, but powerful parable beginning in verse 28.
28"But what do you think? A man had two sons, and he came to the first and said, 'Son, go work today in the vineyard.' 29"And he answered, 'I will not'; but afterward he regretted it and went.
30"The man came to the second and said the same thing; and he answered, 'I will, sir'; but he did not go. 31"Which of the two did the will of his father?" They said, "The first."
I want to stop here in the middle of the story to ponder the Parable that Jesus gave. You will notice that in this parable, there is a father, and there are two sons. These two sons remind me of myself as a boy, and I imagine that if you consider the parable, it will remind you of yourself as well. If you are a father, it may also remind you of your own children.
Jesus gives us a picture of a father who asks his sons to complete a task—to go work in the vineyard. When the father comes to the first son, this son is particularly nasty. He is outright defiant, obstinate, and rude. Indeed, he is a son who talks back—deserving of firm discipline in many homes. The son replies to his father, “I will not!” or even sassily, “I don’t want to!” “I don’t feel like it!”
This son is despicable, rebellious and deserving of the discipline of his father. A household simply cannot run—especially on a farm—with such attitudes, and resistance. Chores are delayed, and timely, pertinent, and important work is not done.
But this son had a change of heart. He knew that he was being difficult, and despicable. He knew that he was resisting the will of his father. He knew that he was being rebellious. He knew that he was questioning the very authority of his father. And his father knew as well. So the son repented, and he went into the field to do the work of his father.
Just think for a second about the task in this household. This family lived by their vineyard. If the work did not get done, the family would not eat, or would not eat in the future. The task was a matter of survival—a matter of life and death. But what if the matter was a spiritual matter? What if the matter had eternal consequences? What if the disobedient son’s own eternal future was at stake? What if the family’s eternal destiny was at stake? Wouldn’t this task be of the most vital importance and one which we should give our attention to? And it is. As we will see, these issues of obedience to God the Father are of eternal consequence to both us as we choose to accept or reject Jesus Christ, has eternal consequences also for this great harvest of souls as we do, or do not do the work that the Lord has called us to.
But back to the parable. Even as despicable as this first son was, the second one is even worse. This is the son who says that he will go to work in the vineyard. He is uncannily similar to much of Southern culture: we smile at one another in order to win favor from others, but we lie through our teeth. More than Southern culture, though, it is human nature. When my mother would ask me to finish a chore as a child, in order to get her to stop pestering me, I would tell her that I would do the chore with no intention of doing it. That would buy me some time. I was that son who questioned the authority of my parents—not to their face—but in my heart—in my actions. I was a hypocrite. I was a liar. I was a deceiver.
This deception and rebellion against the authority of the father is harder to detect than the rebellion of the first son. This rebellion is sugar-coated in obedience. It’s like those sour candies coated in sugar. Once the sugar is gone, the sour taste takes over and your face puckers up. This second son looks good on the outside. He may have even convinced himself that he is a good and obedient son. But this son is wicked on the inside.
Jesus asks His audience to answer which of the two sons does the will of the father in the parable. Of course it is the first son. The son who—even though he was openly rebellious and nasty—afterward he regretted it and changed his mind and did the will of the father.
Jesus makes clear to his audience what this parable means. You see, Jesus was in the courts of the Temple teaching the people when the religious leaders came to question the source of Jesus’ authority.
Jesus had done some pretty bold things. He came into the Temple and flipped over the tables of the money-changers because they were not honoring God in the Temple. And He was teaching in the Temple without the approval of the Temple leaders. And these religious leaders—these Pharisees and Sadducees were not happy.
The Pharisees and Sadducees, you will remember, were those highly religious people who held everyone to impossible standards, but did not hold themselves to those same standards. They were those who made themselves look more holy, more godly, more religious, more righteous, more pious, more important, more spiritual, and more privilegedthan they really were.
Just a few years earlier, when the Pharisees and Sadducees came to see that eccentric prophet, John the Baptist in Matthew chapter 3, John the Baptist spoke against them for thinking they were automatically privileged to be called sons of Abraham—the chosen ones of God. John the Baptist knew that those who are chosen of God—those who are true children of God—walk in a manner worthy of God. But these religious leaders were like the second son in the parable who said he would go, but in the end did not go. They were those who talked the talk, but did not walk the walk.
And then there was Jesus. Jesus did not spend His time with these religious rulers—these phonies. He spent His time with sinners—with tax collectors, with prostitutes. He spent time with those who were sick, and knew and confessed that they were sick. He spent time with those who, like the first son, had been openly, honestly and brashly rebellious against God, the Father. But afterward these had changed their way. Afterward, these had repented from their rebellion. And the fact that Jesus spent His time with these sinners, rather than with the religious leaders, drove the religious leaders crazy.
Now let’s look back at our text and see how Jesus applies this Parable. Read with me in verse 31:
[Jesus asked:] 31"Which of the two [of these sons] did the will of his father?" 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.
32For John [that is, John the Baptist] 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.
The religious leaders had seen the changes in the lives of the sinners. They had seen how some tax-collectors no longer stole from people. They had seen how prostitutes no longer sold themselves for sex. They saw how lives were flipped upside-down and right-side up. They saw the blind receive sight, the lame walk and the deaf hear. But afterward—afterward—they did not repent and do the will of the Father who is in Heaven.
Have you had your own ‘afterward’ moment—that moment of decision? That moment after the Lord calls you to do His will, and you have to make a decision? Have you come to that place where you were mired in your sin? Entangled in your rebellion? Held captive by your lusts, but now—now, afterward you have chosen to live a life for God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ?
I know some of you have. I have spoken to many of you. Many of you are from many different walks of life and have lived lives of sin and rebellion. Some of you were unrighteous. Some of you were like the Corinthians: “fornicators, idolaters, adulterers, effeminate, homosexuals, thieves, covetous, drunkards, revilers, swindlers.” But you had your ‘afterward’—your change of heart, your changed heart. “But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.” Praise be to Him who still walks with repentant sinners!
But still, there may be some here, tonight, who have not had the moment of afterward. You are still in your sin. You are still in your open rebellion against God. Do not be deceived, my friends, Scripture teaches that “the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God.” Let tonight be your afterward. Let tonight be the night that you change your ways—or rather, the night where you surrender and let God, the Lord Jesus Christ, change your way—change your heart. For Scripture says that “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature. The old has passed away. Behold, the new is come!”
And what if you are like the second son. If we are honest with ourselves, most of us are like this second son in ways big and small. We are quick to say, “Yes, Lord” but so slow to go. There is always our reply: “I will go…” “In a minute!” or “Not yet,” or “I just need to figure some things out before I follow you, Lord.” or “Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father.” But Jesus is asking for you now. These, “in a minute”s become life-times. And soon, we find that our ‘afterward’ is written the same as the religious leaders: “afterward you did not feel remorse” or “afterward you did not regret it” or “afterward you did not repent.” Your time is now. You may never have another chance. Do not delay any longer what the Lord is calling you to. He is calling you to repent and believe in Him. He is calling you to be a laborer in His harvest, in His kingdom. He is calling you to, as Jesus said, “Allow the dead to bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim everywhere the kingdom of God” (Luke 9:60).
I do not know exactly what the Lord has called you to. He calls each of us to faith and trust in Him. But perhaps the Lord has given you a command. Perhaps it was last week, perhaps it was last month, perhaps it was yesterday, perhaps it is tonight. Do not delay any longer. Stop putting off what the Lord has called you to. His work is of utmost importance for your own soul, and for the souls of those around you.
This parable give me trouble. No longer am I allowed to live a life of disobedience and be comfortable. I must live a life of obedience under the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ. But this parable gives me some other trouble as well—perhaps just from a preaching point of view. You see, I am troubled that there are only two sons in this parable. There is one son who says he will not do the will of his father, and goes on to do it. Then there is the one who says he will go, and he does not. While it is clearly better to be the one who actually does the will of the father, I am still troubled that in this story, there is not a son who both says he will go, and he goes. But as this has troubled me, it has become clear to me. There is another Son. A Third Son. Or perhaps we should call Him the first Son. The Only Begotten Son. The First-born of all creation.
Indeed, this Son was the very story-teller, Jesus. It was He who said He would obey, and afterward He did obey. It was Him who had come up to Jerusalem—who had come up to the Temple—knowing that He had been sent there by His Father for the purpose of dying a most terrible death. And He said to His Father, “Not My will, but Yours be done” (Luke 22:42). This Son was sent into the Father’s vineyard, the world—this great harvest—because God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him, should not perish, but have eternal life. And afterward, afterward, this Son made His way through flogging and spitting and Crucifixion and death.
He came for that wicked and rebellious son who defied his Father, the God Almighty, to His face. He came for the sinner, the unrighteous—the one who is barred from the kingdom of God without the righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ, the Son of God. He came to die for sinners like you and for me—for all who believe on His name.
He came for that son, who though he has been a hypocrite, though he had talked the talk, but he has not walked the walk. He came even for he who has been self-righteous, who has appeared righteous, but is really like a whitewashed tomb that holds a rotting body. He came even for him who repents from his sin and turns to Jesus Christ—Jesus Christ, the only righteous One who also makes those who believe righteous. But Jesus is calling on us all to stop making promises we have absolutely, positively no intention of keeping.
And it is this Jesus, who because of His obedience, even obedience to the point of death, gives us hope. For in His obedience, those who believe on His name are freed from the eternal penalty of sin, and we are freed to live lives of obedience. “He died for all,” 2 Corinthians 5 tells us, “so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf.”
What will you do afterward? You have heard the Word and commands of God. What will you do afterward? Have you had the moment when God has called you, but you have not done what He has asked? Will you be merely a hearer of the Word, but not a doer? Come, now. Be a doer! Let your afterward, be an afterward of obedience. Let these words never be said of you: “Afterward, he did not even feel remorse so as to believe in Him—to believe in Jesus Christ.” As Paul wrote to the Corinthians, so I say to you tonight: “You who began, not only to do this—this Word—but you also desired to do it. … Now finish doing it also, … so that you may complete it according to your ability” (2 Cor. 8:10-11). Let obedience to the Lord Jesus Christ be your afterward. Amen.