The 3rd Son

Title: The Third Son By Pastor Lohn Johnson
Text:    Matthew 21: 31 Which of the two did the will of his father?" They said, "The first." Jesus said to them, "Truly, I say to you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes go into the kingdom of God before you.” INTRODUCTION: My dear friends in Christ, Kevin, that scamp of the Home Alone movies, is mischievous, and just as cute as could be! But what really made Kevin such a memorable character was how he taught us the value of family. We learned that even if we're not always that crazy about the folks we live with, when we're separated from them, it's terrible. But he repented of wishing his family away. When Kevin was reunited with his family and ran into the arms of his mother.  Kevin is an example of what we will call for the purpose of this message “the bad son changed to the good son.” Macaulay Culkin's portrayal of a "good kid" was so convincing that when he played a "bad kid" in a movie called “The Good Son,” the effect was stunning. Macaulay played against his stereotype. He appeared to be an ideal boy; polite, courteous, and obedient. Since he was perceived to be all good, when things went wrong around his house the blame was just naturally placed upon his less charismatic cousin, Mark. It was only at the end of the movie that his parents learned that this son, who appeared to be good, was, in fact, evil.  He is an overboard example of the “good son—who is really the bad son.”   All this applies to our parable because in a way there we see the same two sons.
I. In our text the first son is the Bad Son who is changed to Good Son—like the Home Alone Macauley.
	A. That first son was a real piece of work, wasn’t he?
			1. His father said: “Go, work in the vineyard today, son.”
				a. “No!” he said, “I will not!”  right to his father’s face.   b. That was the way of the prostitutes and tax collectors, and others in Jesus’ day who publicly opposed the will of God.  What God commanded they rejected…for all to see.
			2. Later, God’s Spirit moved them to go his way after all.  Like Macauley Culkin in Home Alone as he repents of his wish to be rid of his family.
	B. We are so often this son whenever we outwardly oppose the will of God.
			1. By our words, by our actions, when you and I reject what God commands we are displaying the very same rebelliousness.  God says, “Do this,” but we say “No!”  God says, “Do not do this,” but we say, “I most certainly will!” 2. Yet God’s Spirit continues to work on us until, perhaps at a time of crisis or despair, we are brought to believe and respond. Then those who were most enslaved and paralyzed in sin may become the most eager and energetic workers in the vineyard.
II. The second Son who looks good but is really bad underneath – like Macauley Culkin in “The Good Son,” where he looked like the good son, but is really evil.
		A. The second child, who so eagerly said yes but then did not go to the vineyard, masterfully depicts unfaithful Israel and especially the religious leaders.
			1. They were quick and proud to profess obedience, but their actions did not match their words. 2. To pretend to obey and then disobey was the way of the Scribes and Pharisees in Jesus’ day.  They said all the right things, but did not follow through.  They recounted the words of God, but did not act on what God had said.
		B. The hypocrisy of the second son lives within us.  We say what God wants to hear, when we’re here in His House, but then we go out and do the opposite.  We promise to be faithful, but we don’t follow through.  Our words count for nothing when our actions show them to be meaningless.
			1. How many of us have made promises and then faltered in keeping them?  In fact, every one of us can most identify with that son who told his father, "Yes, I'll go and work for you." Like him, we get distracted, frustrated, or just "weary of well doing." How many confirmands have promised to remain faithful, yet fall away from the faith.  How many members promise to remain faithful yet when the going gets tough we fall away. We all know what it is like to say one thing and then find ourselves doing another. We are a bundle of inconsistencies. We are all guilty. Jesus' little story hits us right between the eyes. 2. We are too much like... ... the rich young man who was taken to the hospital, critically ill. His condition worsened, and his doctor even told him that he wasn't sure if he'd recover, but that they would do all they could. The man was obviously scared to death, and said to the doctor, "Please, doctor, I don't want to die, I have so much to do yet in life. If you can help me get better, I'll donate $100,000 to the hospital building fund. Fortunately, the young man began to improve and recovered, and a few weeks later was released and went home. Several months later, the doctor happened to see the man at a social function, and after seeing that he was doing very well with no sign of his former illness, the doctor reminded him of his promise. "You remember you said if you got well, you'd like to donate $100,000, and we could really use that now." The young man replied, "Wow, if I said that, I must have been really sick!" (1) There are many in the church like that. They never argue, never criticize, or give others any problems. And yet they never live up to their promises.
		C. At this point we should note that the response of both sons is imperfect. One says no and then on second thought decides to go, and the other says yes but for some reason never enters the fields. Neither response is ideal from the father’s perspective. But given a choice one has to say the first response is preferable to the last.
III.  I’m sure that this father was wanting to ask:  Do I have any other sons out there?  And the answer is…yes.  There is one more son (the third Son).  The Son who told the parable.  The Son of God, Jesus Christ.  When the Father said, “Go,” He said, “I will,” and He did.  No rebelliousness here.  No disobedience of any kind.  This Son obeyed the Father’s voice.
			A. God called Jesus to work in His vineyard.  And that vineyard is Israel or today we would call it the church.  This Son answered His Father with humility and respect.  He said, “I’ll go.”  He gave an open and honest answer to His Father.   There was no deceit or guile.  B. And He went.  He didn’t just speak some agreeable words to keep down conflict.  He was called and He went willingly.
				1. He came from heaven to be born in a lowly stable.  It would be a humbling experience to do this at best.  He was a Son who was also God and man together.  This was the only way a son could be perfect today. 2. He lived a perfect life.
					a. He kept all of the Father’s commands.  Jesus was tempted but did not sin.  b. The perfect Son was sitting there telling this parable – working in the vineyard as He spoke.
				3. He was so obedient that he willingly went to the cross.
					a. That was His major work in the vineyard.  b. On that cross He suffered hell for us.  Only He had infinite value to pay for an almost infinite amount of sin.  On that cross God punished Him for our sin.  And He died there on that cross.  But on the third day He rose from the dead.
			C. He, the obedient Son, did all this for mankind.   And now this work is carried to mankind in Word and sacrament.  Jesus, Himself, was carrying his deeds to those listeners as He spoke the words of this parable.  Now because of this third Son the vineyard’s gate stands open to all who are brought to repent and believe. But does it matter that the gate to the Vineyard is open?
				1. You know, for many people it does not.  They live as if there was no third Son—no Son of God who lived, suffered, died, and rose again for them…even though He did.  2. But for you who are baptized into that “third Son,” it means everything.  It means that even though the first two sons live within you, with all their wickedness and rebelliousness, so does the “third Son.”  And He, Christ, puts an end to their rule within your heart.  3. Jesus brings you to repent of your sins against God’s will, and He leads you into the vineyard where He gives you the cup of forgiveness to drink.
					a. He brings you to sorrow over your sin so that you believe the words:  I forgive you.  b. That forgiveness changes everything like this:... .... Two brothers were found guilty of stealing sheep.  In that time and country, the punishment they received was to have their foreheads branded with the letters S and T, standing for “Sheep Thief.”  The first brother was so embarrassed and bitter that he fled to another country.  He nursed the resentment the rest of his life and died there buried in a forgotten grave.  His brother, however, repented of his crime and decided not to leave home.  His attitude was this: “I can’t run away from the fact that I stole sheep.  I’ll say here and hopefully some day I will win back the respect of my neighbors.”  As the years passed, he did establish a reputation for honesty and integrity.  One day a stranger came into town and saw the brand on his forehead.  He asked one of the local people what it stood for.  After thinking a while, the man answered, “It all happened so long ago, I can’t really remember the details.  But I think the letters are the abbreviation for ‘Saint!” Jesus does much the same for us.  He changes us to live as His saints—or sons like Him.
CONCLUSION: We have seen three sons this morning – two represent the reactions men can have to God’s overature to us in Christ.  The first was the bad son who was turned good.  He responded badly they thought better of it.  The second was the good son who was really the bad son, who says one thing and does another.  But God’s third Son was the good Son through and through.  He went when told and followed through.  He worked salvation for us all.  Now He comes to us through Word and sacrament and makes us like Him.  Honest workers in God’s vineyard.  Workers who respond well and follow through.  Amen.