P. S. --- One other time Jesus asked "what
think ye" also! That question also, in Matthew 22:41,
dealt with salvation! "What think ye
of Christ? whose Son is He? They say unto him, The Son of
David." We are dealing with a critically important
issue here.
These are dangerous words, especially when
spoken to the Lord ...
The verb
"answered" is "apokrinomai" and has at its center the word for
"judgment," "krino" in Greek.
The young man in
Jesus' Matthew 21 parable has been called of his father to do
something.
He, having
considered the command, has thoughtfully decided to say no!
So much so that
1st Samuel 15:23 says: "rebellion is as
the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and
idolatry."
BUT Matthew 21:29
thankfully adds more information to the story!
"He answered and said, I will not: but afterward he repented,
and went."
Amen!
Thank God for
that adverb "afterward!" It ("husteron") means "at the last."
The Father in the
parable was filled with grace. He allowed time to transpire and
the young man changed his mind!
Every ex-sinner
reading my words today should praise the Lord for for the "time"
he or she was allowed, time to reconsider the things of God!
But this young
man not only changed his mind (the usual and sometimes accurate
definition of the Bible term "repentance"), he also changed his
heart and even feelings and then his very behavior! Our verb
"repent" here is "metamellomai" and means "to be concerned" or
even "to care deeply" about something.
Then, having
repented, this "changed" son went to the father's vineyard!
I still believe
that repentance is critical. Jesus twice said
"I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent,
ye shall all likewise perish." Luke 13:3,5
This young man
represents a lot of people who at first told the Lord "no!" In
fact, we all did!
But with the
addition of God's Grace, the Holy Spirit is able to "convince"
us of our wrong! With time, another "gift" from God, and a
"dose" of real repentance ... obedience is usually the result!
So it was with
this boy!
This verse is, in
reality, a "miniature" testimony for thousands of us!
"He answered and said, I will not: but afterward he repented,
and went."
There is no
telling what "wrong" he did, what sins he committed against his
father while living in that time of rebellion!
But ... afterward
... when repentance came ... so did forgiveness and the lad is
in communion with his father, even laboring in his fields of
service!
And lest someone
write me and say that this "repentance" is a matter of works and
voids the good grace of God ... I'll just mention one more
verse: "Then hath God also to the
Gentiles granted repentance unto life." Acts 11:18
See! God even
grants repentance to the lost!
Salvation is of
God! It is all of Grace!
Some of us today
ought to fall upon our knees and worship our dear Lord, the One
Who "also hath loved us, and hath given
himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God."
Ephesians 5:2
Praise His Name!
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 3, VERSE 30:
The Lord one day
taught a parable about a man with two sons.
He asked his first son to go work in
the vineyard. They boy said he would not go, but later changed
his mind and went.
Then the Dad asked his second son to
go and help too. That boy said he would go, but did not!
Surely these two young men represent
all of humanity in their different responses to the Father.
Even most
Christians today at first said NO to the Lord's call. We were
born saying no for that matter! But, thank the Lord, after
being convicted and convinced of the Holy Spirit, we changed our
minds and hearts and said yes!
Here's the
Scripture: "But what think ye? A
certain man had two sons; and he came to the first, and
said, Son, go work to day in my vineyard. He answered and said,
I will not: but afterward he repented, and went."
Matthew 21:28-29
But the second
son presents a different picture! "And he
came to the second, and said likewise. And he answered and said,
I go, sir: and went not." Matthew 21:30
That verb "came"
is "proserchomai" and means "to come close" or literally "to
come to the face" of someone. He asks his son personally and
directly to go work in the fields ... and the boy lied to his
Father!
He lied with
forethought too! That verb "answered," as with the first son,
translates "apokrinomai" and means to respond with discernment
or judgment in one's heart.
Notice the
italicized word "go" in our King James Text. It has been
supplied by the translators to clarify the meaning, which it
does. But in the Textus Receptus, from which the King James
Bible is translated, the expression is literally "I, sir!" Much
like an old military response to a commander's voice, the lad
said "Yes Sir!"
But he did not do
what he promised!
No doubt this son
represents many who initially had the appearance of following
the Lord, but who did not follow through on their commitment!
Demas, mentioned
three times in the New Testament, at first said yes to the Lord,
but really meant no! The last we hear of him Paul wrote:
"Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this
present world, and is departed unto Thessalonica." 2nd
Timothy 4:10
Judas the
Disciple said yes ... but for some reason never really obeyed!
And through the
years I personally have known dozens who also had the appearance
of saying "yes" to the dear Lord ... only later denying Him by
their disobedience.
Of these two boys
... which is the better?
The answer one
must give to that question is determined by the "finish," by the
"end of the matter" as Daniel would have said.
As bad as it is
to say "no" at first ... if that initial "no" is reconsidered
and repentance follows ... the resulting "yes" is glorious!
However, to
insincerely say "yes," only to later reject the Father's will
and live a life of rebellion is infinitely worse!
To know a man's
heart ... all we can do is observe his life. Even Jesus said:
"For every tree is known by his own fruit.
For of thorns men do not gather figs, nor of a bramble bush
gather they grapes." Luke 6:44
It is that life
which a man or a woman indeed faithfully lives ... year after
year after year ... that most tellingly reflects their love for
the Father!
As Jesus said in
another place: "If ye love Me, keep My
commandments." John 14:15
Even John Apostle
agreed: "And hereby we do know that we
know him, if we keep his commandments." And
"He that saith, I know him, and keepeth
not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him."
Or "This is love, that we walk after his
commandments."
Friend, today, to
which group do you belong?
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 4, VERSE 31:
The Lord not only
included a number of enlightening parables in His preaching, He
often carefully explained them to His followers.
Such is the case with the "Parable
of the Two Sons."
Listen to Jesus preach:
"But what think ye? A certain man
had two sons; and he came to the first, and said, Son, go work
to day in my vineyard. He answered and said, I will not: but
afterward he repented, and went. And he came to the second, and
said likewise. And he answered and said, I go, sir: and
went not." Matthew 21:28-30
Now listen to our
Lord as He explains this little story. Remember, He is talking
to the chief priests and elders, some of His sharpest enemies.
"Whether of them twain did the will of
his father? They say unto him, The first. Jesus saith unto
them, Verily I say unto you, That the publicans and the harlots
go into the kingdom of God before you." Matthew 21:31
Now, folks, that
straight preaching!
Which son, the
finally obedient one or the ultimately disobedient one, followed
his father's desire?
And these
religionists correctly answered Jesus:
"The first," meaning the first son.
Then Jesus,
amplifying their response, explained that the first boy ... the
one who initially said "no" to the command of his father, but
later repented and went to the fields of labor ... was a
"picture" of many folks who also had the appearance of being
rebellious, of saying "no," BUT later repented and lovingly did
their Heavenly Father's will!
The first son is
a picture of such people as Zacchaeus the tax collector or the
Samaritan woman with so many husbands or multitudes of others
who have repented and obeyed, surprising us all!
These people,
outcasts at first, will be in Heaven because of the Love and
Grace of God and the shed Blood of Jesus!
And THEY will go
to heaven long before such people as the hypocritical chief
priests and elders, who at that very moment were "plotting" the
death of Jesus!
Yes, what Jesus
said elsewhere surely applies here: "So
the last shall be first, and the first last." Matthew
20:16
Aren't you glad
the Good God of Heaven gives "time" for repentance?
Aren't you glad
He didn't allow you to die and go to Hell back when you were
still saying "no" to His Plan of Salvation?
Aren't you glad
He loved us even when we were very unlovely?
Aren't you glad
that a bunch of us old sinners, so despised by the world, got
the privilege of really serving in the Lord's vineyards?
Thank God for
this parable!
Someone praise
Him today, the One Who saved you and changed you and is now
using you to His Glory, the Lord Jesus Christ!
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 5, VERSE 31:
The Lord Jesus
could surely be "direct" in His preaching!
Once when He had given a brief
parable, the one about a man with two sons, He applied it
immediately to a group of His enemies who had questioned Him
skeptically.
Here's the parable:
"A certain man had two sons; and he
came to the first, and said, Son, go work to day in my vineyard.
He answered and said, I will not: but afterward he repented, and
went. And he came to the second, and said likewise. And he
answered and said, I go, sir: and went not."
Matthew 21:28-30
Here is Jesus'
application of the parable. Remember, his is speaking to the
Jewish chief priests and elders. "Whether
of them twain did the will of his father? They say unto
him, The first. Jesus saith unto them, Verily I say unto you,
That the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God
before you." Ouch!
The hypocritical
religious leaders of Jesus' day had, at least by their outward
behavior, said "yes" to the Heavenly Father. "Yes, I'll serve
Thee in Thy vineyard." But in reality they did not go! They
did not obey. They instead built a largely man-made set of
rules and followed them!
On the other hand
poor sinners like the harlots (in Greek = "porne," women who
"sold" their bodies for sexual purposes) and the publicans ("telones,"
having to do with "tax collecting") who first said "no" to God
... later repented and sought forgiveness at His Hand! They
ultimately obeyed, working diligently in His vineyard!
Such a comparison
no doubt made Jesus' accusers very angry! Such men, chief
priests and and elders, prided themselves in their
righteousness!
For them to have
been categorized second to the harlots and tax collectors would
have been startling ... and probably infuriating too!
Startling or
infuriating, yet accurate!
Jesus is trying
to "shock" these men into realizing the Truth!
Our Lord then
adds: "For John came unto you in the way
of righteousness, and ye believed him not: but the publicans and
the harlots believed him: and ye, when ye had seen it,
repented not afterward, that ye might believe him."
Matthew 21:32
By "John" Jesus
means "John the Baptist."
The ruling
religious crowd of Jerusalem overtly rejected John, his
lifestyle and his message! They did not believe that Jesus was
"The Lamb of God" as John had so clearly preached!
But ... the
publicans and harlots believed!
The "tense" idea
of that verb "believed" ("pisteuo") is aorist. That just
means that at some point in the past, the very moment they got
"saved," they trusted Jesus as their Saviour, as Messiah, as God
the Son!
And of course,
when these religious "bosses" saw such astounding things
(low-down sinners being included among the followers of Jesus)
they were repelled!
They did not
repent!
They did not
believe!
And, as far as we
know, they died in that unbelief, going to an eternal Place of
torment and pain.
And we all know
this. There are yet today quite a number of so-called "elite"
spiritual leaders who have no need for Jesus! I read the
writings of one earlier this week, ever so briefly! He even
denied that Jesus was God! And the man was writing on the
subject of the Atonement at that!
Look! The so
called "outcasts" were "in!"
Saved, having
repented and trusted in Jesus!
And the proud
proper "religionists" were "out!"
Having rejected,
and even planning to crucify, the very Lord of Life!
Friend, are you
saved?
I'm not asking
about your background or your pedigree.
Have you ever
realized your "lostness" before God?
Have you ever
been born again?
Only Jesus can
meet such needs!
Here's how our
Lord put it: "Verily, verily, I say unto
you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me,
hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but
is passed from death unto life." John 5:24
Amen!
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 6:
Our Lord once
shared a parable about a certain man who had two sons.
This account is recorded in Matthew
21:28-32. The Father owned a vineyard. He asked one son to go
work there and, having initially said "no," the boy later
changed his mind and did indeed go!
Subsequently the Father asked the
other son to help too. He said, "I will go, sir." But he did
not do so!
Jesus was illustrating the different
responses to the Word of God.
Most of us, like
that first son, at first rebelled against the Lord and His Ways.
We were born sinners. David wrote, describing us all:
"Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in
sin did my mother conceive me." Psalm 51:5
But, through the
Blood of Jesus and the convicting power of the Holy Spirit, God
saved our lost souls ... and our rebellion was transformed into
sweet willing obedience! Our "no" became a "yes" to the
Father's Will!
Multitudes of
others however will never admit to having said "no" to God! They
inform us that they have always said "yes!" But look at their
lives! Their mouths may have said "I go, sir," but their hearts
and their feet are not in the vineyard of the Lord! They are
out in the mud puddles of the world ... cesspools might be a
better term. In Isaiah 29:13 the Lord described them this way:
"This people draw near Me with
their mouth, and with their lips do honour Me, but have removed
their heart far from Me." They are religious
hypocrites! Fakes!
But while
thinking about this parable recently ... I realized there is a
third category into which One may be placed! There is a son to
this Father Who never once said "no" to the Divine Will! He
could truly say: "And He that sent Me is
with Me: the Father hath not left Me alone;
for I do always those
things that please Him." John 8:29
The Father needed
this beloved Son to go work in His "vineyard!" To die on an old
rugged Cross for the sins of the world! To save men and women
from their sins!
This Son said
"yes."
And He meant
"yes."
And He did what
He promised!
He is, according
to Hebrews 3:2, a faithful Son!
He is Jesus!
That is ... Jesus
the Christ!
God the Son!
"Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling,
consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ
Jesus; Who was faithful to Him that appointed Him."
Amen.
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 7:
Jesus, in His
preaching and teaching, gave us dozens of parables.
One of them mentioned a father who
had two sons. He simply asked one son to go work in his
vineyard. The boy said "no," but later repented and went.
The father also asked the other son
to do the same thing. He at first said "yes," but then did not
obey!
I began to take those two young men
and compare them to others in the Bible.
For example, the
young man Demas was given the opportunity to travel with Paul!
What a privilege! Three times in Scripture he is associated
with the Apostle! But his initial "yes" somehow became a "no"
and he deserted the elderly Preacher at a very critical time.
While Paul was in jail!
However Jonah the
Prophet, when called of God to go to Nineveh, immediately said
"no" to the Lord. But after one choppy sea voyage and one
fierce storm and one whale experience Brother Jonah was clearly
saying "yes!"
But then I
thought about John Mark! He was asked to accompany Paul and
Barnabas on their very first missionary journey. He said "yes,"
then ... when things got dangerous ... said "no," turning back
and going home to Jerusalem! But here's the good news! A few
years later in his life he was given yet another opportunity and
he enthusiastically said "yes" once more! This time he meant
it! Even Paul then called him "profitable in the ministry!"
2nd Timothy 4;11
Come to think of
it, even the greatest preacher of all ... outside of the Lord
Jesus of course ... said "no" to the grace of God. He was a
persecutor of the Church. But one day, on the road to Damascus,
his "no" of rebellion became a clear "yes" of submission!
There sure are a
lot of "yes" and "no" responses in our Lesson today!
The terrible ones
say "yes" to Jesus ... but mean "no."
But thank God
some, even after first saying "no," do repent!
And once they
have truly repented ... they are ready to do anything for Jesus!
They are indeed "yes" men thereafter!
But lest anyone
reading our lesson today has had a whole life of "no," then
"yes," then "no" again ... and maybe back to another wavering
"yes" ... let me say this: Quit that!
Stop that
wavering back and forth!
Don't be
double-minded! James tells us: "A double
minded man is unstable in all his ways." James 1:8
Be more like
Jesus, Whose very Name is FAITHFUL! "And I
saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat
upon him was called
Faithful and True." Revelation 19:11
Aren't you
thrilled that Jesus did not say "yes" then "no" to Calvary?
Aren't you glad
He did not waver when saving your lost soul?
Aren't you
grateful He has kept all His promises?
Paul reminds us:
"For all the promises of God in Him
(Jesus) are yea,
and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us." 2nd
Corinthians 1:20
That "yea" means
YES!
Since Jesus never
said anything to His Father but "I go," maybe we had best do the
same!
What do you
think, Isaiah?
"Also I heard the voice of the Lord,
saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?
Then said I, Here am I;
send me." Isaiah 6:8
And Isaiah meant
it!
He never reversed
His "yes" to a "no!"
How about you and
me?
Will someone
today repent and keep that promise?
Will YOU go work
in the Father's vineyard?
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 8, VERSE 32:
In Acts 28:24
Luke wrote these words: "And some believed
the
things which were spoken, and some believed not."
"And some believed!"
"And some believed not!"
The "fruit" of Paul's preaching
ministry at Rome is being described.
The same outcome is true wherever
the Gospel is proclaimed!
In Matthew 21:32
Jesus clearly illustrated this truth. He, speaking to the chief
priests and elders of Israel, said: "For
John came unto you in the way of righteousness, and ye believed
him not: but the publicans and the harlots believed him: and ye,
when ye had seen it, repented not afterward, that ye might
believe him."
By the name John
here Jesus means John the Baptist.
John preached
righteousness!
And ... some
believed!
Others believed
not!
The amazing thing
in Jesus' observation is this: the type of people who believed!
They were publicans (tax-gatherers) and harlots (sellers,
prostitutes)!
Also surprising
are the ones who believed not: the very religious priests and
elders of the land!
Jesus once said
the day would come when: "the last shall
be first, and the first last." Matthew 20:16
Former harlots in
Heaven, having believed on Jesus!
Proud priests in
Hell, not having repented or believed!
See it?
The "last" folks
you would have ever thought to be in Heaven (publicans and
harlots) will be among the "first" there!
This surprising
outcome to the preaching of John the Baptist is mentioned in
connection with a parable Jesus taught, the parable of the two
sons. There too the results are unexpected!
God's Grace is an
amazing thing!
You just can't
predict its progress!
All I know is
that I sure am glad it appeared to me one day, the day I got
saved!
Can someone else
today say "amen" to this?
"For by grace are ye saved through faith;
and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works,
lest any man should boast." Ephesians 2:8-9
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
