9/25/22 Matthew 21:23-32 “Give Me Just 5 More Minutes!”

24 Sep 9/25/22 Matthew 21:23-32 “Give Me Just 5 More Minutes!”

9/25/22    Matthew 21:23-32         “Give Me Just 5 More Minutes!”

Every once in a while, I will be cruising along doing something and I get this nagging feeling that something is not right.  This especially happens when I put together some furniture that comes in pieces in a box.  I think we all know of this type of furniture.  There is 1000 pieces in the box and one little sheet of instructions.  I don’t think that I have ever put one of these together without taking half of it apart again.  And any time I think I’m really cruising along on one of these is when I really get messed up.  We could probably all sit around a coffee pot and swap stories like this, at least all us men could.  But getting something wrong when you think all is good doesn’t just happen when we put together furniture.  This can happen when we go to a store without a list and we get back home to find we forgot what we actually went for.  It can happen in relationships where we think all is well and the other person decides to end it.  This can be devastating.  In today’s reading we are going to find something similar as the Pharisees think everything is rolling along smoothly.  Let’s see if we can find a pretty important message from Jesus concerning this.

John Williams III tells the story of a steeplechase race.  Two farmers had racing stables and a very keen rivalry.  They always entered this certain steeplechase race every year.  One year one of the farmers decided that a professional rider would help him so one was hired.  The race started and it was close.  Finally at the last fence, both horses went down and the riders were unseated.  This did not faze the professional rider as he simply climbed back on the horse and won the race.  He was feeling good as he came back to the paddock until he found the farmer who had hired him in a fuming rage.  “What’s the matter?” the jockey asked.  “I won, didn’t I?”  “Oh, yes,” roared the farmer.  “You won all right, but you won the race on the wrong horse.”  This is kind of a far-fetched idea in racing but in our own personal lives it is something that happens all the time.  We decide what the best way to live is and then somewhere along the line we find that we are wrong.  Smart people will change their ways but many people will just keep on the wrong path.

Today’s reading comes to us in two parts.  I think that it is one of those readings that we like to pass by and not pay any attention.  It seems a little ambiguous and it seems that it really doesn’t apply to us.  But when we look a little closer, we see that is not the case at all.  As a matter of fact, it may apply to everyone to some extent.

The first part of this reading is full of intrigue.  We need to remember that the Pharisees are trying to trap or trick Jesus so that they can arrest Him.  This is probably about the day after He cleared the Temple of all the crooked booths.  This would have made the Pharisees plenty steamed.  So, they ask Him by what authority does He do these things and who gave Him the authority.  These are good questions.

Suppose someone comes knocking on your door and demands to come in and look for something.  The first thing most of us would demand is that by whose authority is this happening.  More importantly, when you are looking for a new pastor or if you need some spiritual help and you are away from home, you will want to know by whose authority is this person talking.  If a religious person is talking on behalf of the church or the world, I would say for you to beware.  So, this is an honest question even if they are looking for revenge.  By what authority does Jesus do these things?

But Jesus isn’t going there.  He tells them that He will answer if they answer one question for Him.  Did John the Baptist’s baptisms come from God or man?  The Pharisees know that no matter how they answer, they will be wrong.  If they answered that it came from God, then Jesus would say, “Well, why didn’t you follow him?”  Instead, they had him beheaded.  Obviously, they were not following God.  If they say that it was from man, then then they will risk a riot because all the people know that Jesus and John both came from God.  They will undermine their own authority.  They only have one choice left and that is to say, “I don’t know,” the coward’s way out.

I don’t know that we come across situations like this very often in our lives but there might be one exception and we have talked about it.  The Pharisees could have gone with the lessor of two bad choices here.  In our world, we are supposed to make these choices all the time.  We like to choose the lessor of two evils and we think it is ok.  Well, it is not.  If two candidates are both bad or both parties are bad, it is wrong for you to vote for either of them.  If your choice is to flood your neighbors here or flood them over there, maybe you should find a third choice.  The Pharisees were smart enough to see their situation and go for the third choice.  When you go for that third choice, you have to be in prayer so that you can make it a good choice.  Good choices only come from Jesus and not from us.  He never wants us to choose the lessor of two evils.

So, then Jesus doesn’t tell them the answer.  Instead, He tells them this parable about the two sons.  How many times have you gone to God and He hasn’t given you the answer?  I would guess that many hands would go up until I remind you that maybe God just didn’t give the answer you wanted.  God is not in the business of granting wishes.  That might be one problem.  God is in the business of running the world.  Sometimes God will answer in a way that we are totally not expecting.  Or He may answer in a way that you might have to do a lot of the work yourself to handle a situation.  He might just give you an idea.  But I think that God always answers and here He answers with a parable.

At first when we look at this story, it almost seems that it has no place here.  This is one of those stories that we might skip over, thinking we might come back to it later and we never do.  But this is a powerful story.

A man has two sons and he tells one to work in the vineyard and he refuses but later decides to go.  Then he tells the other son to go to the vineyard and he says he will but then he doesn’t go.  Which of the two did what the father wanted?  Incidentally, I don’t think that either of these two fellows are really very obedient.  But now Jesus wants the Pharisees to answer this question because they had ducked the last question.

Of course, the Pharisees are just thinking about this on the surface and they say that the first son did what the father wanted.  And they are right.  The first son eventually went and did what he was supposed to do and the second never did.  But Jesus wasn’t talking about a farmer.  He was talking about the Pharisees and He was talking about us.

Let’s begin by looking at the second son.  He said he was going to do it and he never did.  This pretty much fits the Pharisees to a tee.  These guys are supposed to be men of God.  They are supposed to know God.  They are supposed to help the people know God.  But the fact of the matter is that they don’t know God at all.  They are wrong.  They think they are doing it right and they never get it, even to this day.

Our American society is full of these kinds of people.  I think that something like 75-80% of the people in this country believe in God.  I say ‘so what!”  Satan believes in God and there is no way he will be in heaven.  Our churches are full of people like this and that is ok because we have to help them to know the real Jesus.  Our seminaries have instructors who believe like this.  They have Christian ethics instructors who aren’t even Christian!  I made the comment one time that I really appreciated some of the early writers as you could tell by their writings that they had a relationship with Jesus.  Some of the later writers wrote like they didn’t have a relationship but just believed in God.  There is a big difference.  And I also think some wrote just to fill in space but that is a whole other topic.

Anyway, we all need this relationship with Jesus because just to believe is not enough.  You can feed the poor your whole life and it won’t get you to heaven.  You can be the best person this world has ever seen and it won’t get you there.  You need to have Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, then you are guaranteed a place in heaven.  So, if you don’t have this then ask Jesus into your heart today and begin a life that will be chocked full of good things, great things!

So, these Pharisees are going through all the motions but they don’t know a thing about God.  This is the second son.  The first son says that he will not go and then changes his mind.  Like I said I don’t think either of these boys are very nice to their father.  Anyway, these would be the Pharisees who think that their concepts of God are right, but they change their mind down the road some time.  This is like Nicodemus.  This is the case of God giving these types of people another chance.  This is giving everyone another chance.

This is who we are today in many cases.  We all know people who say that they will come to Christ at some time of their lives, they just don’t have time now.  They keep putting it off and off.  They think that there will be plenty of time.  I have done funerals for people like this.  I don’t know if you have ever thought about this, but how many people do you think that you have known who have died that now wish they could have just 5 more minutes.  Many people like to procrastinate but this is one area where procrastination can get you an eternity where you don’t want to be.

But Jesus is giving the Pharisees and us another chance.  As long as you are alive, you can still come to Jesus.  Notice what Jesus says to these guys.  He says that tax collectors and prostitutes will enter the Kingdom of God ahead of them.  This was a hard slap in their faces because they were the high and mighty Pharisees.  Tax collectors and prostitutes were the lowest of the low of society.  And yet they will get to the Kingdom of God ahead of the Pharisees.  Notice it doesn’t say that they will not get to heaven.  Jesus says that these others will be ahead of them.  Even in this sharp rebuke, Jesus is offering them a way out.  This is the love that He has for all people!  We should all praise the Lord that everyone has a chance until they draw their last breath.

These Pharisees did not believe John the Baptist when he showed them the way.  Therefore, they do not believe Jesus either.  This is part of the rub here.  However, the tax collectors and the prostitutes did believe.  I think that Jesus is referring to all the common people who came and believed in John and Himself.  The Pharisees had seen all the great things that John and Jesus had done and yet they still didn’t repent and believe.  He is trying to tell us to repent, believe and move forward.

There was a great movie out a several of years ago called ‘Fireproof’.  It was about a non-Christian firefighter named Caleb and his non-Christian wife whose marriage is about to end in divorce.  Caleb’s father challenges him to hold off on the divorce until he reads a book called ‘The Love Dare’.  It is a great book that challenges the reader to do something loving for their spouse each day.  After 20 days we find the father and son standing by a fire pit at a Christian camp.  Caleb tells his dad that this thing just isn’t working.  He tells him that he’s washed the car, changed the oil, washed the dishes, cooked dinner and brought her flowers but she has shown very little gratitude.  He says he is giving up and quitting.  He says, “How can I show love to someone over and over when they still reject me?”

The father turns to the cross and says, “Son, that’s a good question.  God loves you even though you don’t deserve it.  God loves you even though you have rejected him over and over and over.  He sent Jesus to die on the cross and take the punishment for your sin because He loves you.”  Caleb was in tears and he accepts Jesus Christ as his Savior.  He had changed his mind and now he was going to have a changed life.

Three weeks later on day 42, Caleb’s wife is home sick in bed and Caleb is caring for her.  Finally, she asks, “Why have you been so different lately?”

Caleb replies, “My father asked me if there was anything inside me that wanted to save our marriage.  Then he gave me a book to read.”  She pulls the book out from under the covers and asks, “Was this it?”  He looked at her and said, “How long have you known?”  She said, “I found it yesterday.  So what day are you on?”  He said, “Day 42.”  She replied, “But there are only 40 days.”  “I know,” he says.  “Who says I have to stop.”

The next day she finds out that Caleb had taken money he had been saving for a new boat and bought a motorized wheel chair for her mother who was disabled.  She then goes to his fire station in tears and says, “I don’t know what has happened to you but I want what you have.”  She too changed her mind, didn’t want the divorce anymore and accepted Jesus Christ as her Savior.  They then joined a church.  This is a great movie and a great book and I highly recommend them, The Love Dare.

Both these people were like the first son.  Jesus will not give up on you ever.  You are so important to Him that He will wait and wait and wait for you.  Go to Him and you will never regret it.  And thank you, Jesus, for first loving us.  Let’s pray.