Thomas J Parlette
“No Good Answer”
Matthew 21: 23-32
9/27/20
Dr. Phil, the well-known television psychologist and celebrity was once asked “If you could interview anyone in the world, past or present, who would it be?”
And Dr. Phil responded, “I would like to sit down and interview Jesus Christ. I would really like to talk to him about the meaning of life.”
I don’t know about that. I think Dr. Phil might want to go back and re-read this passage from Matthew. Because when you start asking questions of Jesus, it usually doesn’t go as you expect. Your question gets turned on its head, Jesus confuses and confounds you and you are likely to get a question back in return, and probably a story as well. It can be dangerous to ask Jesus’ questions.
Our passage this morning comes in two parts. The first part is a confrontation with the Temple leadership in Jerusalem. The second part is a quick parable about two sons being asked to go work in their father’s vineyard.
Jesus has just arrived in Jerusalem. The previous day he entered the city to shouts of “Hosanna, Son of David. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.” Then he goes to the Temple and causes a scene by overturning tables and throwing out all the merchants and moneychangers.
Our passage occurs the next day when Jesus returns to the Temple and the Chief Priests and the elders of the people were waiting. And they had a question for Jesus – “By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority.” Note that they do not say he has no authority, because clearly he does. They want to know where the authority came from.
They are saying, “Look, you just rolled into town and started this commotion in our Temple. Who are you? Where did you go to school? Who did you study with? What are your credentials, are you even board certified to do this, do you have a license to preach and teach?”
And it’s a legitimate question. The Priests own authority in Israel had been given to them in the time of Moses and had been passed down for generations. Now they wanted to know where Jesus’ authority had come from and who gave it to him.
But Jesus cleverly avoids giving an answer, because there is no good answer – the question is a trap. If he answers their question, Jesus risks being rejected by the people and condemned by the religious leaders – or he risks being untrue to what he knows about God.
So, as any good Rabbi would do, Jesus answers their question with a question of his own. “Did the baptism of John come from heaven, or was it of human origin?” Another question with no good answer. Jesus has turned the tables. And the Priests and elders know it. They quickly confer – “If we say from heaven, he will say then why didn’t you believe him. If we say it was of human origin, the crowd will turn on us, they think John was a prophet.”
Since there is no good answer, the Priests and elders shrug their shoulders and say “We don’t know.”
“Then I won’t tell you by what authority I am doing these things… but I have a story for you. What do you think?”
“A man had two sons; he went to the first and said ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today. He answered, ‘I will not’, but later he changed his mind and he went. The father went to the second son and made the same request and the son said, ‘I’m on my way’ but he didn’t go at all. Which of the two did the will of the father?”
This time there is a good answer, and it’s the only answer – obviously the first.
In this parable of the Two Sons, we see two types of people. The response of the first son was defiance. “No, I won’t go. How dare you even ask. I have other plans.”
A lot of people are like that – a little defiant, a bit stubborn.
Former competitive swimmer and nine-time Olympic champion Mark Spitz might have had a touch of that stubbornness and defiance. Spitz, you may remember, won seven gold medals at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, all in world record time. This was an achievement that lasted for 36 years until it was surpassed by Michael Phelps, who won eight gold medals at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.
Some of you may also remember that, in an era when other swimmers were starting to shave their body hair, Spitz swam with a moustache – the Tom Selleck look, before Tom Selleck. When asked why he grew a moustache Spitz said, “I grew it because a coach in college said I couldn’t grow.” We probably all know someone like that – someone who does things just because they were told they weren’t allowed.
A coach from the Soviet Union swim team once asked Spitz whether having a moustache in the pool slowed him down. So Spitz decided to have a little fun with the Russian and said, “No, in fact, it deflects water from my mouth, so it makes me even faster.” Then he added that this was the real reason he was so fast – he owed it all to his moustache. Spitz was just joking, but the Soviet coach took him seriously. And the following year, the entire Soviet team grew moustaches. All because a coach once told Mark Spitz he wasn’t allowed to have one.
We all know people whose first response to anything might be a little defiant. Fortunately though, many of these somewhat stubborn people have good hearts, and when they have time to reconsider and think it over, they come around, in fact, sometimes they become the most valuable workers. The first son in this parable is just like that. He was initially defiant, but after he thought about his father’s request, he changed his mind, put on work clothes and went out into the vineyard.
Now the second son, though he was quite polite, his response was really much worse than his brother’s initial defiance. His response was insincere. The second son was like a lot of us. There are many people who are nice, very friendly, good Christian people who will never argue when asked to do something, never protest, and yet getting them to actually do anything is nearly impossible.
Years ago, the City Commission of Miami, Florida established a municipal beautification committee. They appointed 25 members to the committee. But the word got around town and it seems that everyone wanted to be on that committee – they all wanted a say about the beauty of their city. Nothing wrong with that. Request after request was granted until finally 131 people were appointed to the Miami municipal beautification committee.
Then the committee scheduled their first meeting to get organized and begin the work. Only 19 people showed up. 131 appointed – 19 showed up.
Oh people wanted to be on the committee, but they didn’t want to do the work involved.
That the second son in this parable – he said he would work in the vineyard, but he never showed up. This parable asks us “What’s more important – saying the right words or doing the right action? Words or Actions? Lip service or doing something? What is essential if one is to be judged righteous, is doing the will of God, showing up and doing the work.
During the Revolutionary War, a young man is reported to have come to George Washington and said – “General Washington, I want you to know that I believe in you and your cause. I fully support you.”
Washington graciously thanked him and asked the young man, “What regiment are you in? Who is your commander? What uniform do you wear?”
The young man answered, “Oh, I’m not in the army. I’m just a civilian.”
Washington replied, “Young man, if you believe in me and my cause, then join the army, put on a uniform and join the fight.”
That is what Jesus expects us to do as well. It’s not just lip service, you have to do something, get some skin in the game, support a cause or project that means something to you in bringing about God’s Kingdom on earth.
In her commentary on this passage in the series Connections, Shawnthea Monroe writes:
“What is more important, getting the words right or the work right?... On a personal level, the parable of the Two Sons fills me with hope. My congregation includes many older adults whose children do not attend church. This “lack of faith” is cause for much concern among a generation raised to believe that church attendance is a requirement for salvation. These children are good people who donate to charities, volunteer at homeless shelters, and work at the food pantry, but rarely attend church. I often use this parable as a way to reassure parents that people who do good work are still doing God’s will, even if they will not enter God’s house.”
And we’re seeing this with the millennial generation as well. Monroe goes on to say:
“There is a growing body of evidence that millennials are generous with their time and money. They seek out ways to connect to those in need and have a desire to live out their values, not just write a check or make a pledge. In many ways, they are the first son – they say they will not do the will of the father, but at the end of the day, they do the work.”
And that’s good news! The Christian faith is more than a set of words and ideas – it is a way of acting in the world.
God blesses those who put on their boots and overalls, and show up to work in God’s vineyard.
May God be praised. Amen.
1. Charles Campbell, Feasting on the Word, Westminster John Knox Press, 2011, p. 117.
2. Dynamic Preaching, Vol. XXXVI, No. 3, p. 67.
3. Ibid… p68.
4. Ibid… p69.
5. Shawnthea Monroe, Connections, Westminster John Knox Press, 2020, p. 351.
6. Ibid… p351.
