19th Sunday after Pentecost
Text: Matthew 21:23
by Vicar Michael Monterastelli
And even when you saw it, you did not afterward have a change of heart and believe him.
Dear friends in Christ, Our Gospel text today takes us to the Temple in Jerusalem. We see Jesus in His Father’s house on Tuesday of what would come to be known as Holy Week. Jesus had recently cleansed His Father’s house and rebuked the greedy money-changers. He had made a fearless and bold confession. The chief priests and elders of the people were indignant. How dare some man come into their Temple and disrupt their way of serving the people! But being nice priests and elders, they gave Jesus a chance to either explain Himself or change His mind about what He was teaching. They asked him to name the authority by which he did these things.
But Jesus didn’t change His mind. He told them a story.
He asked them a question to try and change their minds. His question was so important that He made it an easy one — multiple choice with only two options. His question took them back to where Jesus’ public ministry began — by the Baptism of John which was to fulfill all righteousness. So, “Jesus answered them … The Baptism of John, where did it come from? From heaven or from man?” These noble Jewish leaders were unwilling and afraid to answer His question. They were unwilling to heed the Word of God preached by John. And they were afraid of the crowd who held John to be a prophet. John was the Elijah-like prophet who had said, “He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. His winnowing fork is in His hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”
Knowing their fear, and being the sensitive teacher, Jesus asked the chief priests and elders of the people:
"What do you think? A man had two sons. And he went to the first and said, 'Son, go and work in the vineyard today.' And he answered, 'I will not,' but afterward his heart was changed and he went. And the man went to the other son and said the same. And he answered, 'I go, sir,' but did not go. Which of the two did the will of his father?" They said, "The first."
The first son was openly defiant. He said, ‘no’. Not even ‘maybe later, dad’. Or, ‘after a little while’. Just, ‘No’. Even after all his father had done for and given to him, the first son would not bring himself to submit to this common request. The first son refused to do the work which a son of a vine-grower does. The family business was to grow wine. The livelihood of the family depended on the fruit of these vines.
Without grapes there would be no new wine or fresh bread for the supper table.
But then, after he had time to consider all the implications of his father’s loving request, like a miracle, the rebellious heart of the first son was changed and to the vineyard he went. Repentance, the changing of a rebellious heart, is truly a miracle from God. Our heavenly Father does a mighty act when he softens a hard heart through His loving Word. With His incarnate Word, He can take a greedy and treacherous tax collector and cause him to give half his wealth to the poor and to return four-times the amount he’s ever squeezed out his tax payers (Lk 19). Through the incarnate Word, God can woo an angry mob to put down their stones and forgive a professional adulteress and then command her to give up her dark ways and live in the light of Christ (Jn 8).
The watchman Ezekiel warns us: “When a righteous person turns away from his righteousness and does injustice, he shall die for it; for the injustice that he has done he shall die.” But he also promises us: “Again, when a wicked person turns away from the wickedness he has committed and does what is just and right, he shall save his life. Because he considered and turned away from all the transgressions that he had committed, he shall surely live; he shall not die.
Here we hear what the chief priests and elders of the people knew from the Scriptures. And the Lord through Ezekiel continues:
Yet the house of Israel says, 'The way of the Lord is not just.' O house of Israel, are my ways not just? Is it not your ways that are not just?
So Jesus told these members of the house of Israel, “…"Truly, I say to you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes go into the kingdom of God before you. For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him. And even when you saw it, you did not afterward have a change of heart and believe him.”
We see that Jesus compares the other son, the one who said, “‘I go, sir,’ but did not go” to the chief priests and elders of the people. The other son made his lips speak nice words, but he was unwilling to follow through. The will of this other son was contrary to the will of his father, too. He brought just as much shame on himself and his family as the first son. Neither son was truly good. The goodness was only in the miracle of repentance that God gave the first son.
It is a tragic truth that our mouths say ‘yes’ to God’s will but our hearts do not follow through. Whether it is the ‘yes’ of confirmation – “I’ll suffer all, even death, rather than fall away from this confession and Church.” Or the ‘yes’ of marriage, “I’ll love you no matter what till death parts us.” Or the ‘yes’ of forgiving or trusting or caring or serving or loving or obeying or picking up and carrying our cross. When we say ‘yes’ to God’s will, the pressure is on for our hearts to fulfill it.It is the truth of God’s grace that He changes selfish hearts set on evil or unrighteousness so that they desire His good will, His righteousness, and life in His kingdom. He seizes the hearts of greedy tax collectors and unfaithful prostitutes, the hearts of husbands and wives, children and students; pastors, vicars, and pre-seminarians; and changes them.
To give us this very necessary change of heart, God, the heavenly Father, sent His Son. His Son has done what the Son of God does. The Son of God submits His will to His Father’s. He goes even further and submits to Jews and Gentiles as He was staked to a cross. The Son of God took on our shame and guilt. He took on our sin. He took on death. Without the fruit of His death, there is no life-sustaining body or life-giving blood for the Lord’s Supper-table. This third Son, the Son of God, who came into His Father’s vineyard by becoming the Son of Man, worked Himself to death. Obedient unto death, he defeated death and was raised from the dead. He was lifted up by His Father who was pleased with Him. Now God speaks His ‘yes’ to you through the crucified and risen Christ!
By dying with your sin, He destroyed your sin. Your adulterous, greedy, sanctimonious sin is now (like the chaff) burning with unquenchable fire. The new life He’s poured over you in Baptism has both quenched the fire of God’s wrath against you and completely refreshed you. His Name is now above every name and your name, O Christian, is like His.
The Lord understands what you’re going through. He knows your struggles with saying ‘yes’ and sticking with it. He knows the eternal consequence of our foolish ‘no.’ Therefore, He lifts you up, you His humbled ones. He builds up the walls of His holy city for you. He binds up your wounds. He heals your broken heart by giving you a new one. The strong, purifying blood of Christ cleanses you from all those failed “YES’s” and gives you strength to turn from all those fatal “NO’s”. In Christ, you are healed! In Christ your heart is changed. He said ‘YES!’ Yes, even now — for you.
by Vicar Michael Monterastelli
And even when you saw it, you did not afterward have a change of heart and believe him.
Dear friends in Christ, Our Gospel text today takes us to the Temple in Jerusalem. We see Jesus in His Father’s house on Tuesday of what would come to be known as Holy Week. Jesus had recently cleansed His Father’s house and rebuked the greedy money-changers. He had made a fearless and bold confession. The chief priests and elders of the people were indignant. How dare some man come into their Temple and disrupt their way of serving the people! But being nice priests and elders, they gave Jesus a chance to either explain Himself or change His mind about what He was teaching. They asked him to name the authority by which he did these things.
But Jesus didn’t change His mind. He told them a story.
He asked them a question to try and change their minds. His question was so important that He made it an easy one — multiple choice with only two options. His question took them back to where Jesus’ public ministry began — by the Baptism of John which was to fulfill all righteousness. So, “Jesus answered them … The Baptism of John, where did it come from? From heaven or from man?” These noble Jewish leaders were unwilling and afraid to answer His question. They were unwilling to heed the Word of God preached by John. And they were afraid of the crowd who held John to be a prophet. John was the Elijah-like prophet who had said, “He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. His winnowing fork is in His hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”
Knowing their fear, and being the sensitive teacher, Jesus asked the chief priests and elders of the people:
"What do you think? A man had two sons. And he went to the first and said, 'Son, go and work in the vineyard today.' And he answered, 'I will not,' but afterward his heart was changed and he went. And the man went to the other son and said the same. And he answered, 'I go, sir,' but did not go. Which of the two did the will of his father?" They said, "The first."
The first son was openly defiant. He said, ‘no’. Not even ‘maybe later, dad’. Or, ‘after a little while’. Just, ‘No’. Even after all his father had done for and given to him, the first son would not bring himself to submit to this common request. The first son refused to do the work which a son of a vine-grower does. The family business was to grow wine. The livelihood of the family depended on the fruit of these vines.
Without grapes there would be no new wine or fresh bread for the supper table.
But then, after he had time to consider all the implications of his father’s loving request, like a miracle, the rebellious heart of the first son was changed and to the vineyard he went. Repentance, the changing of a rebellious heart, is truly a miracle from God. Our heavenly Father does a mighty act when he softens a hard heart through His loving Word. With His incarnate Word, He can take a greedy and treacherous tax collector and cause him to give half his wealth to the poor and to return four-times the amount he’s ever squeezed out his tax payers (Lk 19). Through the incarnate Word, God can woo an angry mob to put down their stones and forgive a professional adulteress and then command her to give up her dark ways and live in the light of Christ (Jn 8).
The watchman Ezekiel warns us: “When a righteous person turns away from his righteousness and does injustice, he shall die for it; for the injustice that he has done he shall die.” But he also promises us: “Again, when a wicked person turns away from the wickedness he has committed and does what is just and right, he shall save his life. Because he considered and turned away from all the transgressions that he had committed, he shall surely live; he shall not die.
Here we hear what the chief priests and elders of the people knew from the Scriptures. And the Lord through Ezekiel continues:
Yet the house of Israel says, 'The way of the Lord is not just.' O house of Israel, are my ways not just? Is it not your ways that are not just?
So Jesus told these members of the house of Israel, “…"Truly, I say to you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes go into the kingdom of God before you. For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him. And even when you saw it, you did not afterward have a change of heart and believe him.”
We see that Jesus compares the other son, the one who said, “‘I go, sir,’ but did not go” to the chief priests and elders of the people. The other son made his lips speak nice words, but he was unwilling to follow through. The will of this other son was contrary to the will of his father, too. He brought just as much shame on himself and his family as the first son. Neither son was truly good. The goodness was only in the miracle of repentance that God gave the first son.
It is a tragic truth that our mouths say ‘yes’ to God’s will but our hearts do not follow through. Whether it is the ‘yes’ of confirmation – “I’ll suffer all, even death, rather than fall away from this confession and Church.” Or the ‘yes’ of marriage, “I’ll love you no matter what till death parts us.” Or the ‘yes’ of forgiving or trusting or caring or serving or loving or obeying or picking up and carrying our cross. When we say ‘yes’ to God’s will, the pressure is on for our hearts to fulfill it.It is the truth of God’s grace that He changes selfish hearts set on evil or unrighteousness so that they desire His good will, His righteousness, and life in His kingdom. He seizes the hearts of greedy tax collectors and unfaithful prostitutes, the hearts of husbands and wives, children and students; pastors, vicars, and pre-seminarians; and changes them.
To give us this very necessary change of heart, God, the heavenly Father, sent His Son. His Son has done what the Son of God does. The Son of God submits His will to His Father’s. He goes even further and submits to Jews and Gentiles as He was staked to a cross. The Son of God took on our shame and guilt. He took on our sin. He took on death. Without the fruit of His death, there is no life-sustaining body or life-giving blood for the Lord’s Supper-table. This third Son, the Son of God, who came into His Father’s vineyard by becoming the Son of Man, worked Himself to death. Obedient unto death, he defeated death and was raised from the dead. He was lifted up by His Father who was pleased with Him. Now God speaks His ‘yes’ to you through the crucified and risen Christ!
By dying with your sin, He destroyed your sin. Your adulterous, greedy, sanctimonious sin is now (like the chaff) burning with unquenchable fire. The new life He’s poured over you in Baptism has both quenched the fire of God’s wrath against you and completely refreshed you. His Name is now above every name and your name, O Christian, is like His.
The Lord understands what you’re going through. He knows your struggles with saying ‘yes’ and sticking with it. He knows the eternal consequence of our foolish ‘no.’ Therefore, He lifts you up, you His humbled ones. He builds up the walls of His holy city for you. He binds up your wounds. He heals your broken heart by giving you a new one. The strong, purifying blood of Christ cleanses you from all those failed “YES’s” and gives you strength to turn from all those fatal “NO’s”. In Christ, you are healed! In Christ your heart is changed. He said ‘YES!’ Yes, even now — for you.
posted by Luther Memorial Chapel at
9/26/2005
