And he came to the second, and said likewise. And he answered and said, I go, sir: and went not.
The second son answered his father with respectful willingness to go and work, but he never went and never did the work commanded. In the parable the father stands for God and the vineyard stands for the church, and Christ spoke it to priests, elders and rulers after their professed ignorance about John's baptism to show them their true position. The second son stands for those leaders in their impenitent, self-sufficient pretense of piety, and for all who profess to be sons of God and to keep His commandments while not intending to obey, serve, or surrender the will. Saying yes is not obedience, for words of willingness without deeds earn no credit, and the deceitful professor whose actions contradict his profession is in a worse condition before God than the open transgressor who first refuses but later repents and obeys. The call to go work today must therefore be answered with prompt, self-denying deeds added to words, for profession without faithful action leaves men idle and fruitless like the pretentious fig tree and under fatal deception.
Verse Words and Setting
The second son answered his father with apparent willingness, saying he would go and work in the vineyard, but he did not go and did not do the work commanded. His willing-sounding words without corresponding action were empty, for words alone do not show sincere obedience and earn no credit. The test is whether a person does the father's will, so true obedience requires deeds added to words. In the parable the father is God and the vineyard is the church, and the two sons stand for two classes of people.
The parable belongs with the group of parables in which the Saviour represents the world as a vineyard figured by a vineyard. It comes within the account of His journey to Jerusalem for His triumphal entry, and the chapter calls for careful study. Its lesson warns that a profession of service to God without fruit in the life is empty, like the pretentious fig tree whose name is on church books but whose life bears no fruit to God's glory. Studied rightly it calls for faithful cultivation of the land and disinterested care of buildings by students in schools, practical labor that drives out the love of sports and amusements that brings perplexity into school work and prepares workers to instruct others as they have been instructed in mission fields.
Christ spoke this parable of the two sons to the priests, elders and rulers after their professed ignorance about the character of John's baptism. He did not speak to humiliate them or from gladness at their hard place, but to teach an important lesson, to set before them their true position and to add another warning to the many already given. His hearers themselves answered that the first son did the will of his father, yet their own failure to repent and believe John's message exposed them as like the second son. By contrast the first son stands for those who openly disobeyed God's law and made no profession of piety, as publicans and harlots who at first refused John's teaching but later repented and were converted. Hearing John's call to turn from sin to righteousness they confessed their sins and obeyed, and their response cleared obstacles to the Messiah's work.
Whom Second Son Represents
The second son stands for the Jews, who professed obedience and superior virtue yet rejected God's Son. His promise to work but failure to do so pictures their claim of obedience while they rejected John's message of repentance and conversion. By contrast, those who at first refused but afterward repented and obeyed stand in a more favorable position before God than those whose religious profession is contradicted by their actions.
More particularly he stands for the Pharisees, Sadducees, priests, elders and Jewish leaders as impenitent and self-sufficient, whose religious life had become a mere pretense. His courteous and respectful promise concealed disobedience and made his conduct deceptive, joining profession of obedience to actual disobedience. Like all Israel pledging at Mount Sinai when the law was proclaimed by God's voice that they would obey, and then not keeping it, they claimed religious devotion while refusing the obedience God required, and this continued when Christ came in person with abundant evidence of authority and divine power to set the principles of the law before them and they rejected Him for lack of the spirit that leads to obedience. Called to work in the Lord's vineyard, they claimed obedience yet disobeyed when John came preaching repentance and baptism, refusing to acknowledge that he came from God, treating his message with disdain, refusing to be baptized and thus rejecting God's counsel against themselves, unmoved by his warnings and denunciations to amend.
They made great professions of piety, holiness, obedience to the law, knowledge of God's will, and eager waiting for the promised Messiah, yet their obedience was false, exacting and disobedient, only apparent righteousness and hypocrisy laid bare before God who knows the heart. Their claims of holiness failed the test of deeds, for their words presented them as faithful while their actions revealed lack of true love for the Father, leaving them cold, self-centered and self-righteous without love for God and others. They rejected the work God appointed them and defied His commands, reasoning away His precepts in self-pride, making His command ineffective by their traditions and their worship vain. Though given great light, their works did not correspond to their profession, and they despised and cursed as infidels the tax collectors and sinners who believed John, received conviction of sin and then obeyed by faith and works, so that those despised ones go into the kingdom of God before them.
He also stands for all who profess piety, boast of knowing God's will and enjoying spiritual privileges, claim to be sons of God and to keep His commandments, yet do not intend to obey, serve, or surrender the will to God. Their words of willingness are not obedience, for they answer God's invitation as though they would serve while in life and character denying the relationship they profess, having not the love of God in their hearts, contenting themselves with promising to go without going or cooperating with those doing God's service, remaining idlers under the fatal deception of self-righteousness which is not true righteousness. The same figure reaches professing Christians and church members who accept the church's covenant in words but do not serve or obey in life, whose apparent obedience lasts only while it costs nothing and who draw back when self-denial and sacrifice are required because they do not surrender the will to God. Their profession of faithfulness hides disobedience as they regard their disobedience as obedience, and this state is more dangerous than that of open unbelievers who make no pretense of obeying, and it marks those who in thought, word or deed belittle the gospel ministry because it does not sustain them in erratic movements, placing them on perilous ground.
False Profession Exposed
Saying yes to the father's call to work is not obedience when the person does not do the work commanded. Words of willingness without deeds do not show sincere obedience, do not prove faithfulness, earn no credit, are not valued by the Lord, and do not fulfill God's claim. The test is whether a person does the father's will, and the call to work in God's vineyard must be answered with faithful, sincere service in response to Christ and with prompt obedience, because delay is unsafe and the invitation may not come again. Such saying covers those who claim to serve God but leave their appointed work undone and use their abilities for themselves.
A promise is not obedience, and smooth words and claims of willingness without corresponding action do not prove faithfulness. True obedience requires deeds as well as words, and a person's conduct is the genuine evidence of character and shows whether belief in Christ is real. The son's profession presented him as faithful while hiding disobedience, but his actions revealed lack of true love for his father. His promise failed the test of deeds, as do claims of holiness and profession of obedience to God by those who do not serve Him.
An affirmative answer must be followed by repentance, forsaking sin, and works of righteousness. Open refusal earns no credit, and openness or lack of hypocrisy does not make a sinner righteous. Safety lies in responding without delay when the Holy Spirit appeals.
Those who repent and obey are in a more favorable position before God than people whose religious profession is contradicted by their actions. The courteous promise that concealed disobedience made the conduct deceptive, professing obedience to God while refusing to keep His commandments and opposing Christ. That deceitful professor is in a worse condition than the open transgressor who first refuses but later repents and does God's will. So it was with those who claimed obedience and virtue yet rejected John's message and God's Son, while publicans and harlots who at first refused John's teaching were later repented and converted.
Sinai John and Christ
The polite promise to go and work repeats the pledge all Israel made when the law was proclaimed by the voice of God on Mount Sinai to obey. That pledge was not kept, and the same failure to turn profession into practice marks the second son. Like ancient Israel at Sinai, the son claims religious devotion while refusing the obedience God requires.
Called to work in the Lord's vineyard, the leaders claimed obedience yet disobeyed when John came preaching repentance and baptism. They rejected his message, refused to be baptized and thus rejected God's counsel against themselves, were not led by his warnings to amend, and did not reform. Their profession was contradicted by refusal to produce the fruits of repentance, sanctification and righteousness. Though Christ came in person to set before them the principles of the law and gave abundant evidence of His authority and divine power, they rejected Him. They rejected Him because they lacked the spirit that leads to obedience, their traditions made God's command ineffective and their worship vain, and their refusal to accept Christ to whom the sacrificial offerings pointed exposed the gap between words and actions.
Even after seeing publicans and harlots repent and believe John, the leaders did not repent and believe. They despised and cursed those believers as infidels, though those tax collectors and sinners received conviction of sin and then obeyed by faith and works. By their actions the professed obedient forfeited God's favor. So those despised ones go into the kingdom of God before them.
Present Call to Obey
The warning falls on all who promise God obedience yet follow rules of their own making and disregard His commandments, including the Sabbath, obeying only while it costs nothing and brings no personal loss, then drawing back when self-denial and sacrifice are required because the will is not surrendered to God. Refusing that self-denial lets conviction fade until known disobedience settles into habit. Safety lies in prompt obedience without delay when the Holy Spirit appeals, for delay is unsafe and the invitation may not come again.
Saying yes to the Master while leaving appointed work undone and turning abilities to self-serving ends is still disobedience. The same empty assent appears in church members who profess willingness to serve yet refuse to bear burdens or cooperate in the work, leaving them idle and fruitless. Such profession hinders others and shows the lack of a personal experience controlled by the Holy Spirit, exalting self instead of Jesus. To agree verbally to Christ's invitation yet fail to come to Him in full surrender is to fail to abide in Him who alone gives life and peace and joy.
Profession without faithful, disinterested action leaves a person like the pretentious fig tree, with a name on the church books but no fruit to God's glory. No true Christian who has received light and bears responsibility for God's work can remain idle, for God looks for fruit from the labor of His workers. Practical service in God's work gives evidence of fitness and qualifications.
The call to go work today must be answered by adding deeds to words, putting all knowledge to faithful, disinterested work for the Owner of the vineyard. That answering means uniting with Christ in His work for the saving of the world instead of contenting oneself with promising to go while remaining an idler who will not cooperate with those doing God's service. It means promulgating the truth in many ways, caring more for the salvation of souls than for wages received, working under the Holy Spirit's guidance stripped of all selfishness, and laboring with earnest, patient, persevering effort that converts souls and pleases the Lord. Self-righteousness is not true righteousness, and clinging to it while only promising leaves its holders under fatal deception, unable to withstand the Judge's inspection and facing the final reckoning as last and least.
The lesson reaches children who promise to do appointed work and then neglect it, who must be held accountable because overlooking such neglect trains them in unfaithfulness. It calls students to faithful cultivation of the land and disinterested care of buildings, practical labor that drives out the love of sports and amusements that perplexes school work and prepares workers to instruct others as they have been instructed in mission fields. It also stands against those who in thought, word, or deed belittle or disparage the gospel ministry because it does not sustain them in erratic movements, for regarding their disobedience as obedience is more dangerous than open unbelief and puts them on perilous ground.
The second son answered his father with respectful willingness to go and work, but he never went and never did the work commanded. In the parable the father stands for God and the vineyard stands for the church, and Christ spoke it to priests, elders and rulers after their professed ignorance about John's baptism to show them their true position. The second son stands for those leaders in their impenitent, self-sufficient pretense of piety, and for all who profess to be sons of God and to keep His commandments while not intending to obey, serve, or surrender the will. Saying yes is not obedience, for words of willingness without deeds earn no credit, and the deceitful professor whose actions contradict his profession is in a worse condition before God than the open transgressor who first refuses but later repents and obeys. The call to go work today must therefore be answered with prompt, self-denying deeds added to words, for profession without faithful action leaves men idle and fruitless like the pretentious fig tree and under fatal deception.
Verse Words and Setting
The second son answered his father with apparent willingness, saying he would go and work in the vineyard, but he did not go and did not do the work commanded. His willing-sounding words without corresponding action were empty, for words alone do not show sincere obedience and earn no credit. The test is whether a person does the father's will, so true obedience requires deeds added to words. In the parable the father is God and the vineyard is the church, and the two sons stand for two classes of people.
The parable belongs with the group of parables in which the Saviour represents the world as a vineyard figured by a vineyard. It comes within the account of His journey to Jerusalem for His triumphal entry, and the chapter calls for careful study. Its lesson warns that a profession of service to God without fruit in the life is empty, like the pretentious fig tree whose name is on church books but whose life bears no fruit to God's glory. Studied rightly it calls for faithful cultivation of the land and disinterested care of buildings by students in schools, practical labor that drives out the love of sports and amusements that brings perplexity into school work and prepares workers to instruct others as they have been instructed in mission fields.
Christ spoke this parable of the two sons to the priests, elders and rulers after their professed ignorance about the character of John's baptism. He did not speak to humiliate them or from gladness at their hard place, but to teach an important lesson, to set before them their true position and to add another warning to the many already given. His hearers themselves answered that the first son did the will of his father, yet their own failure to repent and believe John's message exposed them as like the second son. By contrast the first son stands for those who openly disobeyed God's law and made no profession of piety, as publicans and harlots who at first refused John's teaching but later repented and were converted. Hearing John's call to turn from sin to righteousness they confessed their sins and obeyed, and their response cleared obstacles to the Messiah's work.
Whom Second Son Represents
The second son stands for the Jews, who professed obedience and superior virtue yet rejected God's Son. His promise to work but failure to do so pictures their claim of obedience while they rejected John's message of repentance and conversion. By contrast, those who at first refused but afterward repented and obeyed stand in a more favorable position before God than those whose religious profession is contradicted by their actions.
More particularly he stands for the Pharisees, Sadducees, priests, elders and Jewish leaders as impenitent and self-sufficient, whose religious life had become a mere pretense. His courteous and respectful promise concealed disobedience and made his conduct deceptive, joining profession of obedience to actual disobedience. Like all Israel pledging at Mount Sinai when the law was proclaimed by God's voice that they would obey, and then not keeping it, they claimed religious devotion while refusing the obedience God required, and this continued when Christ came in person with abundant evidence of authority and divine power to set the principles of the law before them and they rejected Him for lack of the spirit that leads to obedience. Called to work in the Lord's vineyard, they claimed obedience yet disobeyed when John came preaching repentance and baptism, refusing to acknowledge that he came from God, treating his message with disdain, refusing to be baptized and thus rejecting God's counsel against themselves, unmoved by his warnings and denunciations to amend.
They made great professions of piety, holiness, obedience to the law, knowledge of God's will, and eager waiting for the promised Messiah, yet their obedience was false, exacting and disobedient, only apparent righteousness and hypocrisy laid bare before God who knows the heart. Their claims of holiness failed the test of deeds, for their words presented them as faithful while their actions revealed lack of true love for the Father, leaving them cold, self-centered and self-righteous without love for God and others. They rejected the work God appointed them and defied His commands, reasoning away His precepts in self-pride, making His command ineffective by their traditions and their worship vain. Though given great light, their works did not correspond to their profession, and they despised and cursed as infidels the tax collectors and sinners who believed John, received conviction of sin and then obeyed by faith and works, so that those despised ones go into the kingdom of God before them.
He also stands for all who profess piety, boast of knowing God's will and enjoying spiritual privileges, claim to be sons of God and to keep His commandments, yet do not intend to obey, serve, or surrender the will to God. Their words of willingness are not obedience, for they answer God's invitation as though they would serve while in life and character denying the relationship they profess, having not the love of God in their hearts, contenting themselves with promising to go without going or cooperating with those doing God's service, remaining idlers under the fatal deception of self-righteousness which is not true righteousness. The same figure reaches professing Christians and church members who accept the church's covenant in words but do not serve or obey in life, whose apparent obedience lasts only while it costs nothing and who draw back when self-denial and sacrifice are required because they do not surrender the will to God. Their profession of faithfulness hides disobedience as they regard their disobedience as obedience, and this state is more dangerous than that of open unbelievers who make no pretense of obeying, and it marks those who in thought, word or deed belittle the gospel ministry because it does not sustain them in erratic movements, placing them on perilous ground.
False Profession Exposed
Saying yes to the father's call to work is not obedience when the person does not do the work commanded. Words of willingness without deeds do not show sincere obedience, do not prove faithfulness, earn no credit, are not valued by the Lord, and do not fulfill God's claim. The test is whether a person does the father's will, and the call to work in God's vineyard must be answered with faithful, sincere service in response to Christ and with prompt obedience, because delay is unsafe and the invitation may not come again. Such saying covers those who claim to serve God but leave their appointed work undone and use their abilities for themselves.
A promise is not obedience, and smooth words and claims of willingness without corresponding action do not prove faithfulness. True obedience requires deeds as well as words, and a person's conduct is the genuine evidence of character and shows whether belief in Christ is real. The son's profession presented him as faithful while hiding disobedience, but his actions revealed lack of true love for his father. His promise failed the test of deeds, as do claims of holiness and profession of obedience to God by those who do not serve Him.
An affirmative answer must be followed by repentance, forsaking sin, and works of righteousness. Open refusal earns no credit, and openness or lack of hypocrisy does not make a sinner righteous. Safety lies in responding without delay when the Holy Spirit appeals.
Those who repent and obey are in a more favorable position before God than people whose religious profession is contradicted by their actions. The courteous promise that concealed disobedience made the conduct deceptive, professing obedience to God while refusing to keep His commandments and opposing Christ. That deceitful professor is in a worse condition than the open transgressor who first refuses but later repents and does God's will. So it was with those who claimed obedience and virtue yet rejected John's message and God's Son, while publicans and harlots who at first refused John's teaching were later repented and converted.
Sinai John and Christ
The polite promise to go and work repeats the pledge all Israel made when the law was proclaimed by the voice of God on Mount Sinai to obey. That pledge was not kept, and the same failure to turn profession into practice marks the second son. Like ancient Israel at Sinai, the son claims religious devotion while refusing the obedience God requires.
Called to work in the Lord's vineyard, the leaders claimed obedience yet disobeyed when John came preaching repentance and baptism. They rejected his message, refused to be baptized and thus rejected God's counsel against themselves, were not led by his warnings to amend, and did not reform. Their profession was contradicted by refusal to produce the fruits of repentance, sanctification and righteousness. Though Christ came in person to set before them the principles of the law and gave abundant evidence of His authority and divine power, they rejected Him. They rejected Him because they lacked the spirit that leads to obedience, their traditions made God's command ineffective and their worship vain, and their refusal to accept Christ to whom the sacrificial offerings pointed exposed the gap between words and actions.
Even after seeing publicans and harlots repent and believe John, the leaders did not repent and believe. They despised and cursed those believers as infidels, though those tax collectors and sinners received conviction of sin and then obeyed by faith and works. By their actions the professed obedient forfeited God's favor. So those despised ones go into the kingdom of God before them.
Present Call to Obey
The warning falls on all who promise God obedience yet follow rules of their own making and disregard His commandments, including the Sabbath, obeying only while it costs nothing and brings no personal loss, then drawing back when self-denial and sacrifice are required because the will is not surrendered to God. Refusing that self-denial lets conviction fade until known disobedience settles into habit. Safety lies in prompt obedience without delay when the Holy Spirit appeals, for delay is unsafe and the invitation may not come again.
Saying yes to the Master while leaving appointed work undone and turning abilities to self-serving ends is still disobedience. The same empty assent appears in church members who profess willingness to serve yet refuse to bear burdens or cooperate in the work, leaving them idle and fruitless. Such profession hinders others and shows the lack of a personal experience controlled by the Holy Spirit, exalting self instead of Jesus. To agree verbally to Christ's invitation yet fail to come to Him in full surrender is to fail to abide in Him who alone gives life and peace and joy.
Profession without faithful, disinterested action leaves a person like the pretentious fig tree, with a name on the church books but no fruit to God's glory. No true Christian who has received light and bears responsibility for God's work can remain idle, for God looks for fruit from the labor of His workers. Practical service in God's work gives evidence of fitness and qualifications.
The call to go work today must be answered by adding deeds to words, putting all knowledge to faithful, disinterested work for the Owner of the vineyard. That answering means uniting with Christ in His work for the saving of the world instead of contenting oneself with promising to go while remaining an idler who will not cooperate with those doing God's service. It means promulgating the truth in many ways, caring more for the salvation of souls than for wages received, working under the Holy Spirit's guidance stripped of all selfishness, and laboring with earnest, patient, persevering effort that converts souls and pleases the Lord. Self-righteousness is not true righteousness, and clinging to it while only promising leaves its holders under fatal deception, unable to withstand the Judge's inspection and facing the final reckoning as last and least.
The lesson reaches children who promise to do appointed work and then neglect it, who must be held accountable because overlooking such neglect trains them in unfaithfulness. It calls students to faithful cultivation of the land and disinterested care of buildings, practical labor that drives out the love of sports and amusements that perplexes school work and prepares workers to instruct others as they have been instructed in mission fields. It also stands against those who in thought, word, or deed belittle or disparage the gospel ministry because it does not sustain them in erratic movements, for regarding their disobedience as obedience is more dangerous than open unbelief and puts them on perilous ground.