Buried Treasure index

BURIED TREASURE: Exploring The Parables Of Jesus

by J. W. Jepson, D.Min.

Copyright © 1997 by J. W. Jepson

All rights reserved, including the right to grant the following permission and to prohibit the misuse thereof:

The Author hereby grants permission to reproduce the text of this article, without changes or alterations*, as a ministry, but not for commercial or non-ministry purposes.

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24.

THE SURE TEST

A certain man had two sons: and he came to the first, and said, Son, go work today in my vineyard.

He answered and said, I will not: but afterward he repented, and went.

And he came to the second, and said likewise. And he answered and said, I go, sir: and went not.

Whether of them twain did the will of his father?

--Matthew 21:28-32

THE SURE TEST

As I begin to write, my wife and I are in a waiting area on the tenth floor of the University Of Oregon Health Sciences Center in Portland, Oregon. We are here because my wife's elderly father is having some extensive eye tests. His ophthalmologist detected the possibility of a serious eye problem, but he wants to be sure. "These tests will tell us for certain," he assured us.

We all recognize that accurate medical tests are very important. Medically speaking, life itself can depend on a correct early diagnosis. When it comes to our health, we want no guesswork.

But what about our souls? Must we leave our spiritual well-being to guess-work, or has God provided a test that will give us an accurate diagnosis of our spiritual condition?

Certainly God would not leave such a vital issue to chance. No indeed! In fact, He has given us a totally reliable and accurate test. It is the test of obedience.

The Bible says, "And hereby we do know that we know him if we keep his commandments. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoso keepth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him. (1 John 2:3-5).

Jesus put it in the form of a parable. In Jerusalem, just a few days before His crucifixion, the chief priests and elders came to Him with this question: "By what authority doest thou these things? and who gave thee this authority?" (Matthew 21:23).

Jesus turned the question around by asking them about the baptism that John the Baptist administered: "Whence was it? from heaven, or of men?" (verse 25).

They were afraid to answer either way. The Lord's point was this: if John's conduct was above reproach, why then did they reject him and his testimony concerning Jesus?

The parable was a double-barreled blast. It was about a man who had two sons.

In contrast to the big commercial spread portrayed in the parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard, our Lord here paints the picture of a small family farm. Success depended on the participation of all members of the family. Though it was the father's vineyard, it was everyone's responsibility. All had a stake in the outcome. All depended on the harvest.

The well-being of all required the commitment of all. Also someday the sons would inherit that vineyard.

In view of all this, the father should not have needed to ask his sons to work in the vineyard. The obligation to do so should have been obvious. If their priorities were in order, they would have gone to work with no thought of being asked to do so. The fact that they had to be asked should have shamed them.

But what is this? What is the first son saying? "I will not." Curt, shameless brazen disobedience! Look at the kind of person he had allowed himself to become. This does not develop overnight. Character is formed by constantly confirmed choices.

No doubt the father had suffered this boorish insolence before. But he decided to try once more, to give this irresponsible delinquent another opportunity to be something different.

But, no. The answer was the same. The father's forbearance only brought him another insult, another deep pain.

But look again! Who is that going out to the vineyard? The same son! Something must have gotten through to him. Maybe it was the hurt look on his father's face. Maybe his conscience made him so miserable he could not tolerate his disobedience any longer.

What joy rewarded the gracious, patient father! The material worth of the son's labor was small compared to the value of his obedience.

But the father had a second son. He, too, had been directed to the vineyard.

"I go, sir," he replied glibly. But the Bible says he "went not."

No, he was not the rude, obnoxious person his brother had turned out to be. He knew what his father wanted to hear. So he had a ready answer. He knew all the right words. He was a nice boy, very polite and proper in his response to his father. But it meant nothing. It was empty pretense. He was living a lie.

His hypocrisy was as great an insult to his father as was his brother's insolence. Perhaps it made him feel good to say, "I go, sir." If so, good feelings were all he had. He accomplished nothing.

Which son did the will of his father? The answer is obvious.

Really, neither son obeyed as he should have. Both should have replied, "I go, sir," and then have gone immediately to work.

Both showed a callous disregard for the effects of their selfishness. Neither cared about the interests of their father, the success of the harvest, or even for their own real interests. The best either of them gave their father was obedience following repentance. Even the repentant son had wasted the early part of the day, a loss he could never recover.

So it is with us. Only Christ always obeyed the Father. "All we like sheep have gone astray" (Isaiah 53:6). For that reason none of us can boast. All we can offer our Heavenly Father is full obedience after repentance. We cannot be justified by works because we have not been obedient all our lifetime. Only His grace has granted us the opportunity of repentance and the privilege of serving Him from that point on.

No doubt the first son knew his brother was a hollow hypocrite. Character develops and displays itself over the years. He had come to despise hypocrisy. At least his father knew exactly where he stood and how he felt. "At least I'm no hypocrite," was his inner boast.

How often we hear it. "At least I'm no hypocrite!" Then what is the person who makes that claim? Is the open sinner any better than the hypocrite?

It was easy for each of the brothers to justify himself by condemning the other. It's an old game, isn't it? It is called, "Better than you." People feel less condemnation if they can point to someone they think is behaving worse than they are.

The truth is that each brother needed to get his eyes off the other and take a good look at himself. Both needed to repent.

And one of them did! How do we know? Because he went into the vineyard. Obedience is the proof. Repentance produced something. It put him into the vineyard.

True religion is more than words. It is a decision, and decision produces action--obedience. What counts is not so much what we know, but what we obey.

The prophet said, Wherewith shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before the high God? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves of a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He hath showed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?" (Micah 6:6-8).

Jesus found it necessary to issue this warning: "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven" (Matthew 7:21).

Am I a Christian? Here is the test: Am I obeying God? If not, my profession is worthless. We have only what we obey. That is the way truth is.

Let us ask ourselves, Am I the first son? Does my disobedience bring constant grief to my Heavenly Father? If so I must waste no more time, but repent and obey.

Or am I the second son? Do I have a form of godliness without the reality? A profession but no possession? Am I playing at Christianity? Then I too, need to repent.

Some who are staggering on the streets and lying in the gutters will repent and enter the kingdom of God before some who are sitting in church pews.

Jesus said the publicans and the harlots will go into the kingdom of God before the self-righteous (verse 31). Actually, He calls both classes--all classes--of people to repentance. He reached out and saved both Matthew the publican and Saul the Pharisee. He wants all--the outcasts and the hypocrites--to repent, believe and be saved.

The Father is calling. What is our answer?

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25. Murdering Farmers And Arrogant Builders

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