What is your opinion? A man had two sons. He came to the first and said, ‘Son, go out and work in the vineyard today.’ 29 He said in reply, ‘I will not,’ but afterwards he changed his mind and went. 30 The man came to the other son and gave the same order. He said in reply, ‘Yes, sir,’ but did not go. 31 Which of the two did his father’s will?” They answered, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Amen, I say to you, tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God before you. 32 When John came to you in the way of righteousness, you did not believe him; but tax collectors and prostitutes did. Yet even when you saw that, you did not later change your minds and believe him.
Jesus tells this parable while speaking with the chief priests and elders in the Temple. Just before this passage, they questioned His authority, and Jesus asked them whether John the Baptist’s ministry came from heaven or from human beings (Matthew 21:23–27). Their unwillingness to answer becomes the background for the parable.
A father asks each of his two sons to work in his vineyard. The vineyard was a familiar biblical image for God’s people (Isaiah 5:1–7; Jeremiah 12:10). The first son openly refuses his father, but later “changed his mind and went.” The second son gives the respectful answer, “Yes, sir,” but does not go. Jesus asks which son actually did the father’s will. They answer, “The first.” His initial refusal was wrong, but it was not his final response. He changed his mind, and that change led to obedience.
The second son shows the opposite problem. His words express obedience, but his actions do not. Earlier in Matthew, Jesus taught the same truth: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven” (Matthew 7:21). Faithful obedience is shown not only by what we say, but by what we actually do.
Jesus then applies the parable directly to the way people responded to John the Baptist. Tax collectors and prostitutes had been living in ways contrary to God’s will, but many responded to John’s call to repentance. Like the first son, their hearts changed, and they turned toward God. John had proclaimed, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” (Matthew 3:2), and they believed his message.
The religious leaders, by contrast, outwardly appeared to be those who said ‘yes’ to God. They knew the Law and held positions of religious responsibility. Yet when John came “in the way of righteousness,” calling people to repentance and preparing them for God’s saving work, they did not believe him. Even after seeing others repent and turn to God, they still did not change their minds and believe.
Jesus is not praising the former sins of the tax collectors and prostitutes. He is praising their response to God’s call. Their past refusal did not have to remain their final answer. They repented, believed, and began to do the Father’s will.
This is also why Jesus’ words remain a call to every disciple. Repentance means more than regretting what we have done. It is a genuine change of mind and heart that leads us to turn toward God and obey Him. True obedience grows from conversion of heart.
The parable therefore gives both a warning and a hope. Words of faith must become a life of faith, but even a person who has long resisted God can still change. What finally matters is that we hear His call, repent, believe, and do the will of the Father.
Lord Jesus, give us hearts that are ready to repent and believe. Help us not only to profess our faith in words, but to do the will of the Father in our daily lives. When we have resisted You, give us the grace to change our hearts and follow where You lead. Amen.
______________________
Sources and References
- The New American Bible, Revised Edition. Washington, DC: Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, 2011. Notes on Matthew 21:28–32.
- Hahn, Scott, and Curtis Mitch. The Ignatius Catholic Study Bible: New Testament. San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2010. 45.
- Casciaro, Jose Maria, gen. ed. The Navarre Bible: New Testament, Expanded Edition. Dublin: Four Courts Press; New York: Scepter Publishers, 2008. 121.
- Brown, Raymond E., Joseph A. Fitzmyer, and Roland E. Murphy, eds. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1990. 664–665, para. 128.
- Curtis Mitch and Edward Sri. The Gospel of Matthew. Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2010. 275–276.
- Aguilar Chiu, Jose Enrique, et al., eds. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. New York: Paulist Press, 2018. 951–952.
- Collins, John J., Gina Hens-Piazza, Barbara Reid, OP, and Donald Senior, CP, eds. The Jerome Biblical Commentary for the Twenty-First Century. Third Fully Revised Edition. London: T&T Clark, 2022. 1217.
Comments