Serving the High Plains

Thinking on the Parable of the Two Sons

A reader asked for my thoughts on the Parable of the Two Sons given in Matthew 21. Anyone can contact me with questions about my articles or any other biblical topic of interest to them; I’ll respond either directly or in an article. My email address is posted with this article, and my home telephone number is listed.

The Parable of the Two Sons is basically a comparison of those who obey God and those who don’t, though they pay lip service. Read the entire context of the parable in Matthew 21:23-32.

The Jewish leaders considered themselves religious because of their external cleanness, practicing an “easy” religion for themselves but making it tough on others (Matthew 15:1-20; 23:1-15). From the beginning, the heart has mattered to God above purely external things because the heart drives the external (Deuteronomy 30:6; Romans 2:28-29).

Otherwise, God doesn’t want salvation to be burdensome, although he does have an expectation of obedience based on faith (Acts 15:1-11; 6:7; 1 Peter 1:22-25; Romans 10:8-17; 1 John 5:1-5; Matthew 11:28-30).

The other side of the issue of obedience in the Parable of the Two Sons were the sinful outcasts of Jewish society. They’d heard Jesus teach and recognized the value of obedience as well as the magnitude and the present and eventual results of their sin, while the Jewish leaders didn’t accept Jesus’ teachings, although they also had heard him (Matthew 7:28-29; 11:9-13; Luke 19:1-9; 19:9-17; 7:36-50).

The first son in the parable initially disobeyed with defiance, but changed his mind and complied, thereby pleasing his father (Ephesians 5:8-10; Hebrews 11:6). We all disobey God at first, but some, like the Prodigal Son, come to our senses and do the right thing based on correct teaching and an honest (noble) heart, though we might have to hit rock bottom first (Luke 15:1-2, 11-32; 8:11-15; Acts 17:11; Proverbs 22:6; 19:18).

The second son, on the other hand, said he’d go but didn’t follow through. Although he might have had the best of intentions, he still disobeyed. He was like those in the Parable of the Sower represented by hard, stony or thorny ground (Luke 8:4-10). Perhaps while on his way to the field, he was distracted by something. The cause of disobedience really doesn’t matter because the end results are pretty much the same (Matthew 25:1-46; Luke 12:23-48; 9:57-62).

It all comes down to a matter of the heart. If we store up good things in our heart, good things will result externally. If we don’t store up the good, even if we don’t store up evil, evil still results from the inside out (2 Timothy 2:15-22; Psalm 119:11; Matthew 12:43-45). We must start with a clean heart, though, through God’s plan of salvation, which isn’t at all burdensome (Colossians 2:9-13; Galatians 2:20-21; 3:26-28). Then, because we’re human and still sin, we must live to keep our hearts continually cleansed (1 John 1:5-9; 3:1-3).

Let me know about any questions I can answer from the Bible.

Leonard Lauriault is a member of the Church of Christ in Logan who writes about faith for the Quay County Sun. Contact him at lmlaur@plateautel.net