Belief, Authority and Behavior
Matthew 21:23-32
by Jim Westmoreland
A father once tried to talk to his son about how college was going. Some of you may have had a similar conversation with a son or daughter. The father said, "How are things going?" The son said, "Good." The father said, "And the dormitory?" He said, "Good." The father said, "How are your studies going?" He said, "Good." The father said, "Have you decided on a major yet?" He said, "Yes." "Well, what is it?" asked the father. The son said, "Communication."(1)
There is a story about a group of military leaders who succeeded in building a super computer that also had some communication issues. Now, this super computer was able to solve any problem--large or small, strategic or tactical. These military leaders assembled in front of the new machine for a demonstration. The engineer conducting the demonstration instructed these officers to feed a difficult tactical problem into it. The military leaders proceeded to describe a hypothetical situation to the computer and then asked the critical question: should we attack or retreat? This enormous super computer hummed away for an hour and then printed out its one-word answer . . . YES.
The generals looked at each other, somewhat stupefied. Finally, one of them submitted a second request to the computer: YES WHAT? Instantly the computer responded: YES, SIR.(2)
The Pharisees, like these generals, were accustomed to people saying "Yes, sir" to them. They were the religious authorities. They were used to being treated as such. But there was a new teacher in town, a teacher who was threatening their authority.(3) The Pharisees were alarmed. They feared Jesus' popularity, his ability to heal and to perform miracles. In their eyes, Jesus was preaching heresy and leading people away from the religious traditions that defined the Jews. The Pharisees wanted to expose him as a fraud.
It was in this context that Jesus told a story about a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, "Son, go and work today in the vineyard." The boy immediately said, "No." Later he changed his mind and went. Then the father went to his other son and said the same thing. This one answered, "O.K." but he never got out to the vineyard. Then Jesus asked a simple question: "Which of the two did what his father wanted?" "The first," they answered.
Then Jesus delivered the punch line, "I tell you the truth, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. 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." (NIV)
That really was a punch line, and the Pharisees were the ones who were punched. I imagine Jesus heard some gasps and "How dare he!" from the crowd that day. It was unthinkable to compare the righteous Pharisees to blatant sinners like the tax-collectors and prostitutes. Didn't he know that the Pharisees were too good to be lumped together with the likes of them? Didn't he know that only those people with the right "credentials," so to speak, would make it into the Kingdom of God? What was Jesus talking about and why was he so hard on the best people in town?
There is an old Japanese legend that tells of a man who died and went to heaven. Heaven was beautiful--full of lush gardens and glittering mansions. But then the man came to a room lined with shelves. On the shelves were stacked piles of human ears! A heavenly guide explained that these ears belonged to all the people on earth who listened each week to the word of God, but never acted on God's teachings. Their worship never resulted in action. When these people died, therefore, only their ears ended up in heaven.(4)
Jesus is dealing with a bunch of "earless" religious folk in this passage, and it would be to our benefit to listen in on the conversation. It's so easy to mistake self-righteous attitudes for true belief in Jesus as Savior. Any one of us can be guilty of it. This passage packs a powerful message. It makes us think about our beliefs, our attitudes and our behavior.
We, too, are faced with the age-old temptation to be more concerned with appearances than with truth, more concerned with looking good than being good, more concerned with what we look like than with what we really are.
The temptation to be more concerned with externals and appearances certainly was central to the conflict between the Scribes and Pharisees and Jesus. What was the result of their beliefs, attitudes and behavior?
Basically Jesus tells "the chief priests and the elders of the people" that they missed the boat. They dropped the ball. The plane took off without them. They were left standing at the boarding area with ticket in hand. The music played, they were invited to dance but they just stood there.
In other words they SAW but they didn't BELIEVE! They were threatened by Jesus. They were defensive and they rejected Him. But their religious appearances and self-deception were in tact. Remember the parable Jesus told them. A father asked two sons to go work in the vineyard. The first son said "No," but he changed his mind and did go work. The second son outwardly said everything that was expected, but he did not go work. One said "No, but yes." The other said "Yes, but no." Though he initially said "No," the first son's behavior was the "yes" the father wanted to hear! The confirmation of our belief is our obedience to God. It is too easy for us to profess our belief and yet remain uninvolved in our service to others.
The Pharisees thought they knew more than Jesus. They thought they knew more about God and what God wanted than Jesus. They certainly saw themselves as superior to the prostitutes and tax collectors. They remind me of the "older man" in the following story.
A little boy was standing on the sidewalk in the middle of a city block. He was obviously waiting for something. An older man approached him and asked for what he was waiting. The little boy confidently told the older man that he was waiting for the bus. The man laughed and said the bus stop was in the next block. The boy acknowledged that fact but insisted the bus would stop for him right here.
The older man became annoyed at what he thought was a lack of respect and arrogance. He raised his voice and told the little boy that he'd better start walking if he hoped to ride that bus. The boy politely turned down the suggestion and said he would wait for the bus right where he stood.
The man fumed at the little boy and started walking off. But before he was too far away, he heard the screeching of brakes. He turned around and couldn't believe his eyes. The bus was actually stopping for the little boy. The bus door opened and the boy started climb aboard. But just before he did, he turned toward the man down the street and yelled, "My daddy is the bus driver."(5)
When we know the one who is not only the bus driver, but also our creator and savior, then regardless of our initial reaction, we will eventually be out in the vineyard doing the work that God has called us to do. Our community has needs that God is expecting us to be involved with. Our church has ministry needs, leadership needs in our Sunday School and in our evening ministry with children and youth that God is expecting us to be involved with.
Do we come to worship each week to say, "Yes Lord" in our singing and prayers and then go away and do nothing? Or, is God causing us to grow in our belief, attitudes and behavior so that, when He causes our hearts to stir in response to the task or ministry He wants us to do, we find ourselves changing from saying "No, I'm not interested," or "No, I'm too busy for that," to saying, "OK, God, I'll do it, and I'll trust you to guide me and to bless my efforts."
This morning, are we standing with the Pharisees and the older gentleman arguing about where the bus can and cannot go, or are we standing with the little boy and the prostitutes and tax collectors who are trusting Jesus to tell us where to go and what to be doing? Amen.
Century Christian Church, September 25, 2005 - Sermon by Jim Westmoreland
www.centurychristian.org
1. William J. Carl III, Church People Beware!, C.S.S. Publishing, 1992.
2. From Illustrations for September 25, 2005, from esermons.com.
3. Ibid.
4. Ibid.
5. Billy D. Strayhorn, in a sermon, "Seeing is Believing," September 29, 2002.