Matthew 21:23-32: Help Wanted!

Presented to Swift Current Corps 01 August 2010
and CFOT 15 November 2006
by Captain Michael Ramsay

Have you ever really needed a job? I can remember a short time in my life when, you know the expression, it seemed like I couldn’t buy a job. Because of this – and other things- I am forced to piece together a contract here and a week or two of work there, in order to make ends meet. Every week I go around with Cory, a friend of mine, to speak to potential employers and bid on various contracts. We were in our late teens or very early twenties at this time and I should make one thing clear: Yes we do need the work but we are young then and we are still somewhat picky. Generally we try not to work for less than a certain wage and I generally try to avoid too much manual labour.

Well, one day Cory and I are offered a job at the Esquimalt Navy base. It is only for 2 days and it will be really hard, boring work with a lot of non-stop heavy lifting, and it pays about minimum wage (everything that I didn’t want in a job!). Oh well. Cory says he’ll do it and tries to convince me that we should take the job but I am probably a little too immature back then and I don’t want any job that much so I say ‘thanks’ but ‘no thanks’.

That night I arrive home, check my answering machine, and a better contract; a job that I have been hoping for… does not come through. I open my mail and you notice that there is one thing that always comes through in a crisis though – the bills! And I now have a stack of them! So I call the about the base contract: “sure I can be there. 7 am, okay. Work boots, fine. DREP Building, okay.”

Cory, who told me he wanted to work there, decides to pass on the contract. He doesn’t show up for work. I do go into work that day and the next day. I persevere and finish the 2-day job and at the end of it, I am called into the Boss’ office. He says I can have a new contract if I want to keep working there… with no heavy lifting… about double the pay… an office and a staff of my own, and I can take time off whenever I want. It really paid to go into work that day! I’m glad I took the job. The boss invited us to work for him; I’m glad I didn’t pass on the contract. That reminds me of a parable that Jesus told.

Please refer with me back to Matthew 21:28-31, where Jesus tells this parable about working for God to the religious leaders:
Verse 28, "What do you think? A man had two sons; he went to the first and said, "Son, go and work in the vineyard today.' He answered, "I will not'; but later he changed his mind and went. The father went to the second and said the same; and he answered, "I will go, sir'; but he did not go. [Jesus asks the religious leaders] Which of the two did the will of his father?" (pause) They said, "The first." Jesus said to them, "Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are going into the kingdom of God ahead of you!

The Pharisees and scribes do not go to work that day; they pass on the contract; they pass on getting into God’s Kingdom of Heaven ahead of even the tax collectors and the prostitutes. God himself offers them work and they pass up this opportunity to work for God.

Jesus is, through this parable of the two sons (Matthew 21:28-32), as with the parable of the vineyard that we looked at last week (Matthew 21:33-45), and the parable of the King’s banquet, he is answering the Pharisees and Scribes question which is recorded for us in verse 23, "By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?"[1] (Matthew 21:23-23; cf. Mark 11:27-33; Luke 20:1-8) Jesus is letting the very important religious leaders of his day know not only that He exercises His authority in doing His Father’s work (cf. Matthew 10-12; Mark 3; Luke 11; John 5:17, 5:36, 10, 14-15) but also that the religious authorities do not have any real authority because they are not working for God (cf. Matthew 3:7; chapters 10-12; 23:33; Mark 3; Luke 3:7; chapter 11; John 8:39).

It is like with us. When Susan, John Duncan (or CFS Director) or I call up social workers, the prosecutors, RCMP, other churches or businesses in town; when we are organising food drives or when doing advocacy work for people, we don’t derive our authority from who we are. We derive our authority from whom we work for: The Salvation Army (and ultimately God!). If John - who is still fairly new in his position - calls up a business that doesn’t know that he works here and begins asking for information and forgets to mention who he works for, do you think they would give him the information? I hope not. We derive our authority from whom we work for not from ourselves.

Likewise, if an acquaintance knocks on your door either when you are very busy or in the middle of the night, you might not be so inclined to answer the door. If, however, you peer out the window and see red and blue lights lit atop her car and she in her blue constable’s uniform, you will probably race to the door to see what she wants. Her authority comes from whom she works for.

This is true for all of us: our authority is not our own it is derived from whom we work. We only have real authority if we work for God and Jesus is stating that He does have real authority because He works for God but that the Pharisees, the religious leaders don’t have that real authority because they don’t work for God.

Look with me back at verse 28. The religious leaders know that Jesus is talking to them, they know what he is telling them: that they don’t have God’s authority. They know the man in the parable represents God. They know that Jesus is talking about them because Jesus spells it out for them! Look in verses 31 and 32: “the tax collectors and the prostitutes are going into the kingdom of God ahead of you.” Jesus says of the religious leaders and “even after you saw it (the way of righteousness), you did not change your minds and believe.” By what authority does Jesus operate, they ask, not the same authority as you do, he replies! Jesus works for God.

Jesus, through this parable, tells the religious leaders that God asked them to come to work for him and, after saying they would (presumably by means of their religious vows), they aren’t working for Him. Now this is significant! This isn’t just Joe Blow on the street who knows nothing about anything that Jesus is speaking to and about here. These are the religious leaders and these religious leaders are the people with apparent authority on earth. These are the people who know the scriptures. These are the people who pray everyday. These are the people in society who fast and are involved in all the religious ceremonies. These are the people who are seemingly trying to please God. These are the religious authorities and they do not have God’s authority because they are refusing God’s invitation to work with Him and they are not going to make it into heaven ahead of even the prostitutes and the tax collectors.

In our society today, who are the apparent religious authorities? Our religious leaders are our pastors, our clerical hierarchy, televangelists and the religious authors. Do you have a favourite author: Someone whose writings really resonate with you? Someone who is popular? Someone who is quoted by others and even gets invited to visit the Pope, our Queen, or the US President? If they have a following, they are a religious leader. And the leaders mentioned in Matthew 21 don’t have the authority that comes from working for God. Today why do our leaders publish their books, is it for God or money? Why do they write their songs? Is it for God or is it for fame? For whom are they working? From whom do they get their authority?

And what about us, you and I here? Will we get into heaven ahead of the tax collectors and prostitutes? If the religious leaders who walked the earth at the same time as Jesus and his disciples seemingly aren’t even working for God, how can we? How can we? When we showed up for church today did we do so to worship God or to see our friends or for some other reason? When we pray, do we really speak to God or do we just roll rote ‘graces’ off our tongues before we eat – if even that. Maybe we don’t even bother to say grace when we are out in public? Are we any better than the religious authorities of Jesus’ day; are we any better than so-named ‘tax collectors and prostitutes’?

And about the fact that the religious leaders of Jesus’ day themselves are missing the point and failing to work for Him and not making it into heaven ahead of tax collectors and prostitutes, I read about some pretty scary things happening with our own religious authorities who don’t seem to be working for God. Did you know that there is even a Bible that they are publishing now which has big sections that have been intentionally taken out of it? In keeping with the ever-prevalent prosperity heresy to which many North Americans seem to fall prey, in this Bible they have removed the sections where God calls for action around money, justice or affluence... “We don't use those passages anyway”, the publisher of this ‘Bible’ says, “There's no single Christian selling his possessions and giving them to the poor.” He goes on, explaining the apparent North American hypocrisy, “Many Christians accept the Western lifestyle, including the degradation of creation and the injustice of our trade, and they only take the easy parts of the gospel.”[2] So then, I ask us today, if this evil is true, which it seems to be of our own society, who are we working for in our country and in our congregation? And will any of us here get into heaven ahead of transvestites or those who sell their bodies for money?

Those that sell themselves for money, the prostitutes; what about them? …And the tax collectors for that matter, what about them? See verse 32. God invites them into his kingdom. He invites them to work for him. He invites them and they believe. They believe. The prostitutes -remember Rehab from Joshua and the battle of Jericho (Joshua Chapters two and six) in the Old Testament? - and the tax collectors - remember Levi (the writer of the book of Matthew) – they believe.[3]

Now, this is shocking for the religious authorities to hear that prostitutes are a part of the Kingdom of God and they aren’t. Today, we are not necessarily so shocked by prostitutes[4] but the religious leaders of Jesus’ day are. Revenue Canada seems like a good job to us. But the tax collectors of Jesus’ day were working for their occupying forces. Some people see them as traitors to their country. And we know what happens to traitors working for occupying forces today – they get killed! But it is these people (even though they may have said ‘no’ to God their whole life) it is these people who Jesus is saying that as they repent[5] and come to work for God they will enter the kingdom even ahead of even the religious authorities”[6]

The prostitutes and the tax collectors believe[7] – and this is important – they don’t just say they’ll work for God. God invites them and they do it! This is great. Even the people who are among the most looked down on in their society - God wants them to work for him and THEY do! They repent and, like the second son in our parable, they go to work for God. They enter the Kingdom of Heaven! They have His authority. Isn’t this great? It doesn’t matter what they have done; it doesn’t matter what they have done to this point. It doesn’t matter. They believe Jesus, they change, they stop what they are doing and they go to work for God and in so doing they enter heaven even ahead of the religious leaders of their day.

And how about us in our day? God wants us to work for Him. Really! And we can, no matter what our resumes look like. This is true. He wants us to experience the full authority that comes from working for Him. I have another friend, Mike. Mike once in his wanderings pulled the trigger on a bank teller at point blank range. Mike is now out of jail and has the full authority that comes from having been working for God solidly for the last decade or so.

Think about it. It doesn’t matter what we have done. It doesn’t matter that we have committed what we might think to be the worst of all sins. God loves us. It doesn’t matter what we have done, how many times we have said ‘no’ to God, as long as we repent. God is inviting each of us to change our minds and work for Him. We are invited to turn and enter the Kingdom of Heaven even ahead of the possibly much more knowledgeable religious leaders of Jesus’ own day and maybe even some of our own day.

It is not too late to work for God. We can still represent God’s full authority. The contract is up for tender. It is not a minimum wage job. It has great benefits. We can work for God. You can work for God. Isn’t this great? Really! Isn’t this great? He really wants us. He wants you to work for him. So, if you are not already, Jesus is asking you to come to work with Him. God has asked you to come to work. If you have said yes, come to work; if you have said no, come to work. Come to work. It is not too late. Even if you have said no up until now, it is not too late to come and work for Jesus.

If you have never said yes to God, or if you have said you would work for him and aren’t. Whatever the reason; whatever you have done, we have a place up here called the mercy seat where you can come and meet God. Come now and work for God.

Let us pray.

Song: Come to Jesus.

www.sheepspeak.com

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[1] Cf . Douglas R.A. Hare, Interpretation: Matthew. (Louisville, Kentucky: John Knox Press, 1993), 245.
[2] Captain Stephen Court. Armybarmy Blog: Sunday, October 22, 2006. [Cited 22 10 2006]. No Pages. On-line: http://www.fao.org/es/ess/index_en.asp
[3] Cf . Donald A. Hagner, Word Bible Commentary. Vol. 33B. (Dallas, Texas: Word Books, 1995), 614
[4] Expositor's Bible Commentary, The, Pradis CD-ROM:Matthew/Exposition of Matthew/VI. Opposition and Eschatology: The Triumph of Grace (19:3-26:5)/A. Narrative (19:3-23:39)/8. Opening events of Passion Week (21:1-23:39)/d. Controversies in the temple court (21:23-22:46)/(2) The parable of the two sons (21:28-32), Book Version: 4.0.2
[5] Ibid.
[6] Ibid.
[7] Gail R. O’Day, The New Interpreter’s Bible. Vol. 9. (Nashville, Tenn.: Abingdon Press, 1995), 841; cf Donald A. Hagner, p. 614