The Road to Hell is Paved

Matthew 21:23-32 The Road to Hell is Paved With Good…

23When he entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him as he was teaching, and said, "By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?" 24Jesus said to them, "I will also ask you one question; if you tell me the answer, then I will also tell you by what authority I do these things. 25Did the baptism of John come from heaven, or was it of human origin?" And they argued with one another, "If we say, 'From heaven,' he will say to us, 'Why then did you not believe him?' 26But if we say, 'Of human origin,' we are afraid of the crowd; for all regard John as a prophet." 27So they answered Jesus, "We do not know." And he said to them, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.
28"What do you think? A man had two sons; he went to the first and said, 'Son, go and work in the vineyard today.' 29He answered, 'I will not'; but later he changed his mind and went. 30The father went to the second and said the same; and he answered, 'I go, 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 tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are going into the kingdom of God ahead of you. 32For John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him; and even after you saw it, you did not change your minds and believe him.

What is happening in this scripture? – Jesus goes to the temple of his faith. He begins teaching. There is a hierarchy in the temple system. The chief priests and elders come to him, while he is teaching and ask him what gives him the right to teach there in the temple. The message here is “We didn’t give you permission to do this! Who do you think you are?” Jesus counters the question with one of his own. “I will tell you who gives me that authority if you will tell me if the baptizer, John, was anointed by God to preach, or by humans?” The chief priests and scribes argue with each other. The author of Matthew lets us know what is in their minds: “If we say John was ordained by Heaven, Jesus will ask why we did not believe him. If we say he was self-ordained or ordained by humans the people, who loved him and responded to him in droves will do who knows what. The best answer, the safest answer is “We don’t know.” They say this to Jesus and he responds with “That is a non-answer, so I will not give you an answer either.”
Then Jesus offers them, and supposedly the people listening, a parabolic story of a man with two sons. The first son was ordered to go to the vineyard and work. He told his father he would not go, but later he changed his mind and went. The second son promised his father he would go, but did not follow through. Jesus asks who did the will of their father. They answer, the first son. Jesus tells them that even the most marginalized and sinful of their villages, tax collectors and prostitutes, who believed John entered God’s kingdom before the chief priests and elders or those listening who felt they were more righteous. For…”even after you saw it (John’s way of righteousness (the command to ‘turn back to God’) you did not change your minds and believe him.”

How is this happening in our world? - Some questions to ponder:

Where are the temples that Jesus might enter to preach today?

Who are our chief priests and elders?

Who longs to be heard, but are given no authority to proclaim or teach?

By whose authority to those who do get heard, get heard?

What does the parable of the two sons say to you?

How are we, like prostitutes, selling ourselves to the world?

How are we, like tax collectors, doing Herod or Caesar’s dirty work?

How would turning back to God transform the prostitute or the tax collector in us all?

How is this story your story?