AUGUST 23 THE JESUS QUESTIONS JQ#25-01 >>> Lessons, Lifestyle, and Parables of Jesus <<< JQ#25 “Which of the two did the will of the father?” (Matthew 21:31)

LIVING FOR JESUS --- Daily Devotional

AUGUST 23  THE JESUS QUESTIONS  JQ#25-01  >>> Lessons, Lifestyle, and Parables of Jesus <<<  JQ#25  “Which of the two did the will of the father?”  (Matthew 21:31)

 236 of 365 - Prayers to JESUS    

Jesus, my Redeemer, my Savior, the Only Begotten of the Most High God. There is no name like the Holy Matchless Name of Jesus. Lord, Savior, Friend, all praise is Yours. Your Kingdom will know no end, You will forever be the King of kings and Lord of lords. Jesus, I give my life to lift up Your Holy Name in Praise and Honor. I know that if I could completely abandon my selfish and sinful ways that the Holy Spirit would fill me and Your Love and Grace would spill over to the world so grant it Lord that I can be strong enough to let go, wise enough to let You fill me with Your knowledge, and Lord, weak enough to yield completely to the indwelling of Your Holy Spirit.   AMEN

THE JESUS QUESTIONS

AUGUST 23  THE JESUS QUESTIONS  JQ#25-01  >>> Lessons, Lifestyle, and Parables of Jesus <<<  JQ#25  “Which of the two did the will of the father?”  (Matthew 21:31)       Jesus began Teaching further about “authority” with three consecutive parables, the first of which is the parable of the two sons. Jesus had the chief priests and elders thinking about the “baptism of John” so Jesus confronts them with: “But what do you think?” (Matthew 21:28) and then Jesus told the parable  where the man asked his two sons to go work in his vineyard, one son said he would go but never went and the second son said he would not go but “afterward he regretted it and went…” (Matthew 21:29) — the parable ends with the question “Which of the two did the will of his father?” (Matthew 21:31) The chief priests and elders that were confronting Jesus with His “authority” gave the obvious answer that the one that went and worked in the vineyard was the one that did the father’s will. Jesus immediately tied this parable to John the Baptist who came in the Name of the Father preaching “Repentance” ——— Jesus confirmed that all who believed John and repented will inherit the kingdom of God, but those that did not do the will of the Father simply would not enter the kingdom of God. Jesus has been saying in His ministry that He is doing the “works that His Father” had sent Him to do. When Jesus told this parable it should have been obvious that Jesus was talking about God’s chosen people Israel and that God had “brought them out of Egypt” and had led them to a “land of milk and honey” but as the children of Israel they had a responsibility to “work in [God’s] vineyard”. (Matthew 21:28) The point that Jesus is making to the religious rulers was that God had invited them to work in His vineyard and it really doesn’t matter what they “said” they would do, the important thing was that they did the “works” of the father. Jesus could not have made it any clearer to the religious leaders that God had given them a job and those that did the will of the father would be rewarded. By tying this parable to the baptism of John, Jesus is stating that God sent John to prepare the way for Jesus who IS the Messiah  and if they refused to listen to the father and do his will that they will not “enter the kingdom of God”. Jesus then makes a direct connection to the rulers to John as He said, “for John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him; but tax collectors and harlots believed him, and when you saw it you did not afterward relent and believe him.” (Matthew 21:32) So with this parable Jesus is describing to the chief priests and elders the will of the Father: “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He hath sent.” (John 6:29) God has called all to [repent and] enter into His labors and it is our responsibility to get busy doing “the will of the father.”