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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadBob Utley You Can Understand the Bible - Matthew 21:28 - 21:32
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NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Mat_21:28-32
28"But what do you think? A man had two sons, and he came to the first and said, 'Son, go work today in the vineyard.'29And he answered, 'I will not.'; but afterward he regretted it and went. 30The man came to the second and said the same thing; and he answered, 'I will, sir'; but he did not go. 31Which of the two did the will of his father?" They said, "The first." Jesus said to them, "Truly I say to you that the tax collectors and prostitutes will get into the kingdom of God before you. 32For John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him; but the tax collectors and prostitutes did believe him; and you, seeing this, did not even feel remorse afterward so as to believe him."
Mat_21:28 "a man had two sons" This parable is unique to Matthew. The ancient Greek manuscripts vary on the order of the two son's response. The order is really not significant in seeing the relationship of this parable to Mat_21:23-27. The comparison is made between the religious leaders and the common people of the land.
Mat_21:31 "the tax-collectors and prostitutes will get into the kingdom of God before you" This was such a startling statement to the Jewish leaders of Jesus' day. It must have truly shocked them as Mat_5:20; Mat_8:11-12; Mat_19:24-25; Mat_19:30; Mat_20:16 did. The leaders recognized that Jesus was unambiguously asserting their rejection and the welcoming of sinners and the common person (and by implication the Gentiles).
Matthew predominately used the term "the Kingdom of Heaven," because he was writing to Jewish hearers who were fearful of using God's name; however, in Mat_6:33; Mat_12:28; Mat_21:31, the phrase most common in Mark and Luke was used by Matthew. Possibly it was used to shock the Jews into listening.
Mat_21:32 "for John came to you in the way of righteousness" Jesus and John represented two approaches. John came in the tradition of the elders and was rejected (Mat_21:24-26). Jesus came as a friend of sinners and was accused of being a wine-bibber (cf. Mat_11:19; Luk_7:34). Both of them were rejected!
The term "way" was an OT idiom of a lifestyle of faith (i.e., Exo_32:8; Deu_8:6; Deu_10:12; Deu_11:22; Deu_11:28). It was the first title of the church, "The Way" (cf. Act_9:2; Act_19:9; Act_19:23; Act_22:4; Act_24:22).
▣ "you did not believe him. . .did believe him" Behind this imagery is the need to believe Jesus and it is open to any and all humans made in God's image!