Monday, October 7, 2024

The Parable of the Two Sons: Practical Action Unlocks the Kingdom




Have you ever wrestled with God on something? I’m sure most of us here have done that. God tells us to do something and we don’t want to do it.

There comes a fear and a resistance to what God is saying. This fear and resistance to God is a result of the fall of man in the garden of Eden.

We try to play God, and so we distrust what God is saying to us. We want to do it our own way.

But have you ever heard the saying: everything you desire is on the other side of fear?

It’s always kind of scary when we try something new, whether it’s accepting Jesus as our savior for the first time, or letting go of a sin in our lives, or taking a step of faith.

Push through the fear. Dare to trust in God. And dare to do what God is asking you to do.

Today we’re going to be looking at the parable of the two sons. And we’re going to see how practical action unlocks God’s kingdom. Our words matter, but our actions matter just as much.

Every one of these parables we’ve looked at so far unlocks a different door of God’s kingdom.

The same is true here.

Let’s get into it. In Matthew 21:28: “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.’

There are three primary persons in the parable Jesus is telling us. The father, the first son, and the second son.

So we’re going to break it down and look at each person in the parable and what it means to us today.


Firstly, the man. He’s the father of the two sons. And he is the owner of the vineyard.

He is God almighty in this parable. And he has given us commands in his word. And those commands tell us to and work in the vineyard. The vineyard is the world.

The father gives the command to the two sons, “Go and work today.”

Notice that word, today. The Christian life is one day at a time. You can’t stress about following God tomorrow. Focus in on today. You can serve him today.

Let’s see how the sons respond.

Verse 29, the first son says: “I will not,’ he answered, but later he changed his mind and went.”

The first son says no. And he leaves. But he sits down and thinks about it. He weighs the pros and cons, he wrestles with God about it, and finally decides, you know what, I’m going do what dad said.

So a bit later, he goes out and starts working in the vineyard.

For a lot of us today, we’re like the first son. We initially said no to God, we said no to the gospel, and we did our own thing. But God kept speaking to us, kept working on our heart, and eventually we realized, I need God, and I need to serve God.

So we changed our mind.

You too can change your mind whenever you decide you want to. God will help you of course. But, I’ve done it a million times in my life.

You don’t have to stay stuck on your old opinion about God, the Bible, and Jesus. You can change your mind, based on data, based on evidence, and say, you know what, I’m in for this Jesus thing.

It’s just that simple. Change your mind. Decide that your old opinion is gonna change.


We do this all the time. We think one thing, then we get some new data, and we realize, actually, my old opinion was wrong, and I’m going to embrace a new opinion.

Usually it’s hard because we don’t like to admit that we weren’t correct about something. So we tend to do it quietly. But it’s fine. We change our mind. For years I felt college was a waste. But my girlfriend at the time tried to convince me that it would be good for me. And eventually I changed my mind. I used to not believe in God. But eventually I saw God working, people shared the gospel with me, and I changed my mind, when I realized, there really is a God.

It often takes wrestling though. I’m sure the first son wrestled in his heart and mind about what to do, do I go to the vineyard, or do I not go?

Invite God into your wrestling. Invite God to reveal himself to you. If you’re wrestling, or stuck on something, invite God into the struggle. He will show up and work on your heart and mind.

Take a look at the diagram. We all wrestle with God. Where are you at in your wrestling?


Next, in verse 30: “Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, ‘I will, sir,’ but he did not go.”

So the second son is told by the father to go into the vineyard. And the son says “yes!” But then he never shows up. It reminds of many people I’ve invited to church and they say yes, but then they never come. And I don’t condemn them, I understand it can be a bit intimidating to walk into a new place. Joining a new church can be daunting. But I hope we here will always be very welcoming to new people.

If you see someone new, introduce yourself. Ask them about themselves. Get to know them better.

The second son said yes, but never actually went. He is a hypocrite. He said one thing, and did another.

Many people in the church who claim to be Christians aren’t actually in it. They are religious. They are moralists. But, they aren’t really believers. They don’t really know Jesus Christ and His love and truth. They in fact are trying to do it without Jesus. They are trying to prove to God that they don’t need God. They are trying to be good without God. And that is not the way of Christ. That is the way of death. We can’t ever succeed if we try to be good without God. We need God to live within us, and make us good through Jesus.

Jesus is specifically calling out the Pharisees, the religious leaders of his time. They had seen all he and John the Baptist did, but they refused to believe. They claimed to follow God, but it wasn’t really true. Just like the second son, who said yes, but never went.

Hypocrites. Its tough, but, by the way, you don’t have any right to hate a hypocrite. You should pray for them. That they would accept Jesus. God can do anything. Love them.

So Jesus poses a question to the Pharisees:

Verse 31 “Which of the two did what his father wanted?”

The Pharisees respond by saying: “The first,” they answered.

The first son did what the father asked. Similarly, we today want to be like the first son.

This parable is all about practical application. It’s all about obedience and follow through.

Do I really believe what I say I believe? Then it will be evidenced in my actions. We have to figure out how to take what the Bible says and apply it to what we do when we leave on Sunday after church is over.

Go and work in the vineyard. You can show up to church as much as you want. What are you doing the rest of the week? Are you sharing the gospel with others? Are you using your Facebook and Instagram to glorify God? Are you giving food to the homeless? Are you visiting the elderly and the orphans? Are you volunteering here at the corps?

I want to live out my faith in real ways. I’ve wrestled for years to understand what does it mean to live a Christian out there in the world. So many Christians hardly do anything. I mean virtually nothing. I refuse that path. I’m going to help others. I’m going to serve. I want to make sure I’m really living this, otherwise I’m like the second son, who said yes with his mouth, but never actually did anything. He stayed home. Not me!

I’m supposed to serve Jesus, pray for people daily, and meet needs as I’m able. If my heart belongs to God, and I’ve put God’s word into my heart, I will want to do these things. If I’m lukewarm, it will be a battle. If I’m spiritually supercharged, doing the big three, then I’ll be energized for service.

So if you think to yourself, I’m not energized like I should be. We have to look at the big three.


Let’s take a look at the diagram on the screen. The big three are these: Prayer, Bible Reading, and Church attendance.

So if you’re thinking to yourself, I want to be more energized in my faith. I want to want to do these things, then let’s get into the growth chart here. How do we grow? Step by step, as we seek God, we will grow.

Lord, help us to pray. We struggle to pray. Help us God to slow down and pray. Build our prayer times, from a few minutes, to an hour and longer, in Jesus name, amen.

Lord, help us to dive into the word. Lord make it jump off the page into our hearts. We admit we haven’t studied your word like we should. Give us a hunger for it God, in Jesus name, amen.

Lord, help us to get more involved in the church. We admit we’ve stayed on the sidelines too long. Help us to dive into ministry work. In Jesus name, amen.

Lastly, we see in verse 31, Jesus explains to the Pharisees what he’s been saying to them through this parable.

Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you.”

These are the religious leaders, they fast twice a week, they tithe on every penny they have, they have memorized giant chunks of scripture, they do everything just right. But their hearts are so very far from God.

They don’t really love God. And I had to admit recently that my heart was upset with God. Angry with God.

So recently I simply had to pray and ask God’s forgiveness and help, to reset my heart, to soften my heart toward him.

Having a hard heart means we resist what God is saying to us. We may even try to act religious, but our heart is disconnected from God. We refuse to believe what God says.

Jesus continues in verse 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.”

The tax collectors and prostitutes repented when they heard John the Baptist’s message. The religious leaders however did not believe John’s message. Yet even when the Pharisees saw the most sinful people becoming faithful, they still refused to believe the message of truth.

We’ve seen how Jesus changes people’s lives. Millions of Christians have testimonies of what God did in their lives, myself included. We’ve seen the evidence, it’s real. It’s not perfect, people make mistakes. But, the change is real. Jesus is real.

Let’s not make the mistake of the Pharisees, and refuse to believe this simple message of salvation. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Ask Him to be your savior. Let His love come in. Open your heart to Him now. Believe in Jesus. He is the real savior!

In conclusion today, this whole scenario reminds me of certain people in recovery groups. One man would go on and on about how great and blessed recovery was. He was so excited, talking about faith, hope, and renewal. But the next week he was gone, he’d relapsed on the drink.

Then there was the second guy, he was kind of irritable, kind of tired, but he honestly talked about his struggle. He said I don’t really want to be here, but I know I need to be here. I’m doing the program, but I don’t fully understand it.

We’d all expect the excited guy to stay sober, but actually, the second guy is the one who stayed sober. He was honest, he was real, he wasn’t playing games, and that authenticity is a huge asset in recovery.

Words don’t matter in the kingdom as much as actions. I can talk all day about how much I love God, or how much I love sharing the gospel. But my actions speak volumes.

Action isn’t always easy. We see it on the page, we want to do it, but we don’t know how. That’s why mentorship in the body of Christ is so important. If we see someone else doing it, we can mimic what they are doing. The Apostle Paul said imitate me as I imitate Christ (1 Cor 1:11). The example of a godly man or woman is like gold. If you want to make a difference, model an action to another saint, let them see you do it, so they can learn to do it too.

When I see a Christian handing out a tract, or speaking on a street corner, or writing a blog, or making a video, it gives me permission to do it too.

The Blessing: The blessing is that God calls us to work in his field which is the world.

The Challenge: The challenge is that words are not enough, action unlocks God’s kingdom, and translating the word into action isn’t as easy as it seems.

Next Steps:
A. Invite a fellow Christian to go do ministry with you, or volunteer somewhere with you.

B. Read the Book Evangelism Is… by Dave Earley & David Wheeler to learn more about methods to share the faith.

C. Read the word of God with the mindset of constantly considering how the truth in question can be lived out in your daily life.

Discussion Questions:
1. Describe a time when you had a hard time translating a biblical truth into practical action.

2. Share about a time when you shared the gospel with someone.

3. Why is practical action so important in God’s kingdom?

4. Why are words alone not enough?

5. How can you help other Christians translate their faith into action?