Which Son?
Matthew 21:28-32 “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.’ 29 “‘I will not,’ he answered, but later he
changed his mind and went. 30 “Then the father went to the other son and said
the same thing. He answered, ‘I will, sir,’ but he did not go. 31 “Which of the
two did what his father wanted?” “The first,” they answered. Jesus said to
them, “I tell you the truth, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are
entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. 32 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.”
JESUS’ parable of the father and two sons pointedly
illustrates, “Repent and be saved.” Repentance is a heart change that leads to true
righteousness, a life that deliberately doing what God says to do. Jesus used
the example of the repentant tax collectors and prostitutes to point the elders
and priests to true lives versus pretend lives.
To the priests and
elders – and to the culture – there were no greater sinners than tax collectors
and prostitutes. Surely God rejected them! But they heard John’s call to
repent. Their lives changed from wrong to right in the favor of God’s forgiveness.
The elders and
priests were like many today who say, “I’m faithful to God.” But like the
second son, their lives are based on their own convenience and not their heart’s
obedience. Only in their self-view are they righteous, thinking “I’m good.” when
really they are not.
Which son are you?
The one who did right or the one who didn’t?
LIFE Link: Right hearts
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