Matthew 21:28-31

THE TWO SONS

‘A certain man had two sons.… Whether of them twain did the will of his Father?’

Matthew 21:28

The originals of these two pictures are before us every day. An utterly godless man, who virtually says to God, ‘I do not wish to be pious’; and the good moral man who is just on the borders of being, if he is not quite, a Christian.

I. The command.—The same word is said to the two men. They are both—just what you are—‘sons.’ The call is to ‘work.’ Our Lord’s calls almost always were, in the first instance, to ‘work.’ Are there not hundreds of minds which would be better reached, and more influenced, if the ‘work’ were placed before them at once?

II. The first son.—A strong and almost violent opposition to God, and His truth, is not always so bad a thing as you may think. I would certainly rather have to do with opposition than a heartless, meaningless, aimless acquiescence! It is the weak people who ultimately do the worst things. Where there is great resistance, there is generally some material to work upon. The first son answered and said, ‘I will not: but afterwards he repented, and went.’

III. The second son.—The most dangerous interval of life is the space between a resolution and the first act which follows it: between a plain command, and the act which steps forward to obey it: between a sorrow and a prayer: between a conviction and an amendment: between ‘I go, sir,’ and the going. Make that interval always as short as you possibly can. Be very jealous of the delay, even of a moment. Clench a good thought by some one instant movement—lest it be, ‘I go, sir’; ‘I will go presently’; ‘I will go sometime’; ‘I will go never!’

And what is the whole will of God? ‘Work’ and ‘repentance.’ Why ‘Repentance?’ Because we all need it for our sins. And why ‘Work?’ Because ‘Work’ is the intention and end of our being.

—The Rev. James Vaughan.

(SECOND OUTLINE)

PERSONAL RELIGION

Religion is here represented as—

I. A practical service.—It is something that has to be done, and it involves labour, or as the analogy (vineyard) suggests, labour, skill, and patience combined. It is—

(a) Special in its character. The term ‘vineyard’ used of the theocratic kingdom of God, and implying a peculiar relation to Him.

(b) Demanding immediate attention. It has, like vine-culture, its seasons, each requiring a kind of work suitable to itself, and not admitting of delay.

II. A filial obligation.—It is a Father who makes the request, and who has a right to expect not only obedience, but reverence and affection.

III. A test of real obedience.—This is the lesson of the whole parable. The service is not universally or uniformly rendered. There is a defect of obedience in both sons, but that of the one is only postponement, that of the other seems to be an utter failure to do anything. But, although the one is accepted rather than the other, God desires both—the cheerful obedience and the actual service.

(a) Let Christians realise the relation in which they stand to their Heavenly Father through Jesus Christ, and seek to render an instant and willing service.

(b) Let them be ready to look for and acknowledge good even in the worst, and labour earnestly to call it forth.

The Rev. St. John A. Frere.