Matthew 21:23 He went into the Temple area; and as he was teaching, the head cohanim and the elders of the people approached him and demanded, “What s’mikhah (authority) do you have that authorizes you to do these things? And who gave you this s’mikhah?” 24 Yeshua answered, “I too will ask you a question. If you answer it, then I will tell you by what s’mikhah I do these things. 25 The immersion of Yochanan — where did it come from? From Heaven or from a human source?” They discussed it among themselves: “If we say, ‘From Heaven,’ he will say, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’ 26 But if we say, ‘From a human source,’ we are afraid of the people, for they all regard Yochanan as a prophet.” 27 So they answered Yeshua, “We don’t know.” And he replied, “Then I won’t tell you by what s’mikhah I do these things.
28 “But give me your opinion: a man had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work today in the vineyard.’ 29 He answered, ‘I don’t want to’; but later he changed his mind and went. 30 The father went to his other son and said the same thing. This one answered, ‘I will, sir’; but he didn’t go. 31 Which of the two did what his father wanted?” “The first,” they replied. “That’s right!” Yeshua said to them. “I tell you that the tax-collectors and prostitutes are going into the Kingdom of God ahead of you! 32 For Yochanan came to you showing the path to righteousness, and you wouldn’t trust him. The tax-collectors and prostitutes trusted him; but you, even after you saw this, didn’t change your minds later and trust him.
We have all been tasked with working in the vineyard. Some say yes, others don’t want to.
This parable deals with #1 and #4. The rebellious and repentant.
I think we all want to serve God. When asked, we are even eager to please.
Then something happens. We get caught up in our own lives and somehow forget what it was we were tasked to do. People start pushing and pulling on us, and our focus then turns to bouncing around within our responses, both verbal and silent. Somewhere in the mix we get hit with a trigger and we revert back into a painful state. This leads us into sedating ourselves with anything to numb the pain: Netflix, porn, alcohol, video games. Now we’re just trying to survive.
Oh, other people? Working the vineyard? Oops, I forgot about that.
What do you do when you come out of this fog?
Ask forgiveness? You likely feel bad you got duped and pulled out of the vineyard. So you sincerely apologize and genuinely feel bad. This is why regular contact with a believing community is so important. At least you get to dial back in once per week instead of spiraling out of complete control.
You know the real problem, though? It’s possible you even forgot what it was you told Him you would do. You remember committing but not quite sure what you committed to. You go back to square one and start over. Net movement: Zero.
You’ve done nothing for your Father. You agreed but never delivered.
Sounds like son #2.
At this instant, in the eyes of the Father, son #1 was in the exact same boat when he said he didn’t want to work the vineyard. Which means there is zero difference between someone who refuses to do Abba’s work and someone that chooses not to do His work.
However, there is a sliver of hope here.
Did you know it was possible to repent? Not just apologize but actually turn from where you were going.
It’s one thing to be sorry about not keeping your word. It’s another to do something about it.
This is the place we are called to dwell. In fact, you’d be better off being a tax-collector or prostitute than someone that “just gets busy and forgets” to do what you said you’d do.
Why is that?
When you know for certain you’re unworthy, it’s easier to see the difference between your current life and the life you are called into. When you think you are living the life you are called into, you will be chock full of reasons and excuses because you are already forgiven. You can’t see your miserable state because you’ve convinced yourself you are so much better than you really are.
And based on where you came from, you probably are better off. That’s what stinks about this whole thing.
It’s completely reasonable to see the life you had versus where you are today and think you’re in a good place. Just because you are better than someone else (including your previous self) does not mean you are someplace good. There is an illusion there that since someone is worse than you, you must be ok. But you aren’t. Not even close.
As for the tax-collector and prostitute, there isn’t much lower they can go. These are considered the lowest people on earth in some (most) circles. The comparison with anyone else always puts them in a worse position. As such, they can actually see themselves for who they are -- lowly sinners in need of salvation.
So when they realize where they are and where they are headed, they change their mind. They quickly move to the vineyard and get to work.
They have repented. They didn’t forget. They moved into obedience.
And now they are moving into the Kingdom ahead of you.
What are your triggers?
What are those things that cause you to lose hours, days, weeks of your life?
Do you really believe the work in the vineyard is less important than your work in the world? Is it less important than those time sinks you create for yourself?
We all know the right answer and yet it’s near impossible to live the right answer.
But it isn’t, really. It’s near impossible to quit living the wrong answer.