moral lesson of the parable of the two sons

This invitation came, not as a polite request, but as an imperative, literally, “go [age] down [hyp-]” (hypage, Matthew 21:28; the father said the same to the second son in 21:30). And seen allegorically, the Jewish leaders, unlike the first son, had not felt any need to adjust their preferences or change their minds (oude metamelēthēte), let alone repent, as even the publicans and harlots had done when they saw John the Baptist “in the way of righteousness” (21:32). [40] They may have known of the pattern of authoritative callings and the heavenly council from several passages, including 1 Kings 22:19–23; Psalms 82:1; 110:3; Isaiah 9:5 LXX; Jeremiah 23:18; Daniel 7:9–14; Amos 3:7; 1 Enoch 12:3–4. The Parable of the Two Sons is linked to the preceding verses about the question of authority (Matt 21:23-27), which established the importance of John the Baptist.John the Baptist spoke of the Good News of the kingdom of God which enabled sinners the means to enter and obligated them to ethical reforms with the imminent approach of the kingdom. 202), Clement of Alexandria (death c. AD 215), and onwards. Because of this symbolic element, it is often suggested that this parable should be read nationally, as a statement about God’s two ethnic sons, so to speak, the Israelites and the Gentiles: one of the sons (Israel) said (and covenanted) that he would do what God wanted but then did not, while the other (the Gentiles, or the publicans and the harlots) said he would not go, but reconsidered and did go. While it is possible that the definite article here (tou) can simply be understood as taking “the place of an unemphatic possessive pronoun when there is no doubt as to the possessor,”[23] which would allow the KJV rendition “his father” as a legitimate translation, Jesus’ wording here echoes the Greek wording found in Matthew 7:21 regarding the one who enters the kingdom of heaven, namely he “who does the will of the Father of mine who is in heaven” (ho poiōn to thelēma tou patros mou tou en tois ouranois). ... ACTIVITY: The Parable Of The Two Sons Materials needed: three 2" x 12" strips of tan construction paper, crayons, markers, tape. In the end, whatever the chief priests and elders knew about the traditional teachings of God’s heavenly council, or whether they could have surmised the implications of the dichotomous two-sons typology that permeates much of scripture,[41] they did not have ears to hear on this occasion. But, in any event, this parable clearly answered the question, “Who gave thee this authority?” (namely, God the Father); and it even hints at when and where that happened (namely, in the divine council, where two sons were involved). In this context, what does this word egō entail? [22] The King James Version chose to supplement the text by inserting the word his in italics, when Jesus asks, “Whether of them twain did the will of his father?” (21:31). When had they said they would follow John but then did not do so? Indeed, this two-level reading allows that Jesus marvelously answered both of the questions raised by his interlocutory lawyer—not only the more definitional question, “And who is my neighbor?” (Luke 10:29), but also the lawyer’s more seminal initial inquiry, “Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” (Luke 10:25). No wonder even that first son might need to think things over a bit. This view has been embraced by several commentators[18] because at the end of verse 31 Jesus indicted his challengers, saying that the publicans and harlots would enter the kingdom of God before they would because the publicans and harlots believed John the Baptist but the chief priests and elders did not. Actions Speak Louder Than Words…God’s Speak Loudest of All …. The two sons are referred to as the father’s tekna, his own immediate offspring (not slaves or servants); although referred to with this term of endearment, which is often used in speaking of young children, these sons[14] must be old enough and mature enough to do this work. Although some allegories can be drawn between events in heaven and events on earth, more often allegories are located between two characters or characteristics found in this world, such as the allegorical juxtaposition of a seed to faith or a fisherman to a missionary. They say unto him, The first” (Matthew 21:28–31). I disagree that “this is little more than an expanded proverb” employed as a “parable of judgment.”[16]. The domain of this objective approach is the “is,” and it limits itself to a close reading of the text itself. This act sets the Sanhedrin on edge and ramps up the tension between Jesus and the religious establishment. The authority of Jesus was traceable back to “the beginning” (John 1:1); his judgment was just because he sought “the will of the Father” who had sent him (John 5:30). [2] But at the same time, some readings will always be stronger than others. Moreover, strong readings make use of all the elements, not just a few selected elements, in the text or work being interpreted. [24] The sons were thus called to serve by and with authority directly from the divine principal whom they would serve. New Year New Life (FREE) Sample Lesson In most manuscripts, at the end of the story in verse 31, he is called “the first” (ho prōtos). The Parable Of Two Sons … But, while this allegorical reading emphasizes the way in which this little parable silenced Jesus’ critics, it does not really answer either of the two questions they had asked him about his authority, and so this collective or national allegorical reading—useful though it certainly is in Matthew’s rhetorical agenda—still leaves us wanting more. In happy families everywhere, it is ethically good for children to decide, in the end, to go and do what their parents have reasonably asked them to do; and it is always a problem for children to promise that they will do something they have been asked to do but then, for whatever reason, leave their parents disappointed. [23] Herbert Weir Smyth, Greek Grammar (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1963), section 1121. It does not mean “I will not, or shall not.” Ou thelō is a present-tense verb, meaning “I don’t want to,” or “I don’t wish to,” or “I’d rather not,” or, idiomatically, “Not (ou) [what or as] I will (thelō).” In Elizabethan English, “I will not” could mean “I do not will it,” as does the Latin nolo, but this is not how modern readers hear this crucial word. [28] Most manuscripts say that the father went first to the son who eventually goes and is referred to as “the first.” This reading is most widely supported in the early New Testament manuscripts, and I follow it here. This made the Pharisaical teachers of religious law complain that Jesus was associating with such despicable people – even eating with them.” But when he went on to tell the ensuing parable of the two sons, he answered in effect their second question: “Who gave thee this authority?” As mentioned above, Joseph Smith taught that readers should pay close attention to “the question which drew out the answer.”[20] In this case, that question was the source of Jesus’ authority, and ultimately that is the question the parable particularly answers.[21]. Metzger calls this reading “probably the original,” 56. [39] While not exactly the same as in this parable, certain similarities are unmistakable. These heavenly, primeval overtones are a bit more evident in the Greek text of Matthew than in the Latin Vulgate or in the English of the King James Version or other translations. “I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me” (John 17:8). The Gospel for this Sunday, as we saw, speaks of two sons, but behind them, in a mysterious way, is a third son. With numerous possible applications to choose from, readers must selectively decide how to interpret what they see in a parable. The parable of the prodigal son; sometimes termed “the lost son” as narrated by Jesus himself (Luke 15: 11-32); is one that shows God's incomprehensible mercy and love. The two sons parable, taught by Jesus Christ, demands that you LET GO of whatever religion you trust, and cling to him alone (Luke 17:33). Ruben Zimmermann (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2011), 639–40. This animated Bible story for kids is based on Matthew 21:28-32. Lord.” “I will gladly go?” “OK, I will [grudgingly] go?” or “I get to go! It Is A Thought Provoking Parable That Teaches The Meaning Of True Obedience and What It Means To Do God’s Will. These four modes of reading may be seen as basic elements of the world of traditional scriptural interpretation. But ultimately and anagogically, the willingness of the first son to submit to the Father’s will is an understandable and appropriate reaction—just as the First Son contemplated shouldering his daunting assignment and aligned his own will with that of the Father. The Parable of Two Sons is about obedience and disobedience. From these straightforward facts, the message speaks in everyday terms: In such a case, Galilean society would have expected sons to drop whatever they were planning to do that day and go and help their dear, perhaps somewhat elderly, father in his time of need. The son says he does not want to, but he winds up working on it anyway. In some other early manuscripts, he is called “the last” (ho eschatos), apparently because in the narrator’s mind that son is the farthest back in the story. [29] H.W. Use the Parable Of Two Sons Multiple Choice as a fun activity for your next children's sermon. Indeed, it always helps to read the parables of Jesus not only historically and practically but also symbolically and sublimely. The Parable of the Two Sons. [7] Notably C. H. Dodd, The Parables of the Kingdom (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1961), 4–5. If the first son is identifiable as Jesus, the second son in this parable can be understood as Lucifer, his brother. A few other manuscripts reverse the order of the appearance of the two sons, so that the father first asks the son who eventually does not go, even though he initially says yes, and in these texts the answer to Jesus’ final question about which of the two did the father’s will is accordingly either “the latter” (ho hysteros) or “the last” (ho eschatos). Jesus had spent the better part of the last three years demonstrating with signs and wonders where His authority came from, but the religious establishment didn’t really want to know. A certain man had two sons; and he came to the first, and said, Son, go work to day in my vineyard. Jesus asks His audience to answer which of the two sons does the will of the father in the parable. I will simply call him “the first.”. See John W. Welch, “The Calling of a Prophet,” in The Book of Mormon: First Nephi, the Doctrinal Foundation, ed. Unlike the meek and obedient Son of Man and too much like the second son in the parable, they refused to accept God’s emissaries and do the will of the Father. Tuesday, April 4, A. D. This is the first word he says. [29] Doing the Father’s will (thelēma—which is the noun cognate to the verb thelō) is a central theme in the Gospel of Matthew leading up to Christ’s teaching in this parable and immediately beyond (see Matthew 6:10; 7:21; 12:50; 18:14; 26:42). By asking these questions, they were looking for a way to discredit Him. Website by The Website Branch New York, "Lord, Increase Our Faith" (We Cannot Win Without You), Seven Things You Should Know About Destiny Helpers, Prayer Points for Light to Shine in Your Situation, Why You Should Respect The Anointing on A Man or Woman of God, Prayer Points to Arrest the Agenda of the Enemy. He was called but not chosen. Even people who have written much and taught profoundly about the parables of Jesus have rarely had much to say about this brief text, which is nevertheless freighted with significantly authoritative cargo. As he was being challenged there in the temple by the highest authorities in Jerusalem about his own authority, this was not the time for him to deliver a homely description of family behaviors. UT: Ashgate, 2009), The Legal Cases in the Book of Mormon (Provo, UT: FARMS, 2007), and “The Good Samaritan: A Type and Shadow of the Plan of Salvation” (1999) when this was written. He had a loving father, a good home, provision, a future, and an inheritance, but he traded it all in for temporal pleasures. "The first," they answered. [11] In these four, one might see a reflection of a four-square approach to the gospel: the physical, social, intellectual, and spiritual (see Luke 2:52). [10] See, for example, the discussion of the role of allegory in Stoic literature as well as the use of allegory by Philo and his Alexandrian predecessors in Svendsen, Allegory Transformed, 9–52. Or this reading may simply be “nonsensical.” Metzger, Textual Commentary, 55. God has told folks to go and work in the “vineyard” but we are reluctant. The literal, factual, historical, or cultural. (Indeed the leaders won’t get in at all unless they repent.) . However, it’s also important to note that Jesus did do what He talked about doing. From the words of this story, all one knows is that this man was a father of two sons, that he had a vineyard or orchard (ampelōn, the word may mean either), and that he needed someone to go down to work immediately in that vineyard. Here, if the setting is in the father’s house, the sons are being asked to leave the comforts of home and go work in the fields; if the setting is in the father’s mansion on a hill, or in heaven, then the sons will be going down from there. The first word in this parable is anthrōpos (21:28), a man. [33] Louw and Nida, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, domains 25.270 (p. 318); 31.59 (p. 373). [4] Kurt Erlemann, “Allegorie, Allegorese, Allegorisierung,” in Zimmerman and Kern, Hermeneutik der Gleichnisse Jesu, 482–93. For discussions of the textual variants, see Olmstead, Matthew’s Trilogy of Parables, 167–76, and the editorial comments reported by Bruce M. Metzger, A Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament (London: United Bible Societies, 1971), 55–56; see also Hultgren, Parables of Jesus, 218–19. . Parable of the Two Sons (Matthew 21:28-32) Parable of the Tenants (Matthew 21:33-41) The Great Commandment is a Great Framework (Matthew 22:34-40) Parable of the Faithful Servant (Matthew 24:45-51) The Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25:14-30) Sheep and Goats (Matthew 25:31-46) The Last Supper (Matthew 26:17-30) (In the Court of the Temple. [4] Thus, for example, second-century Christian readers and exegetes linked “the man going down” and his “falling among robbers” with Adam and the Fall in Genesis; the robbers were seen as symbolizing the minions of Satan; and the Samaritan was interpreted as a reference by Jesus Christ to himself as the one who rescues. 2. 2 (2008): 5–7 (Satan in the heavenly council), and 18–19 (the issue of proper authority). . A man had two sons, and he came to the first and said, ‘Son, go work today in the vineyard.’. The most widely supported Greek texts literally read as follows: “A man had two sons, and going to the first he said, ‘Go down this day to work in the vineyard.’ He answered, ‘Not as I will,’ but then reconciling himself to the task he went. [14] The male gender of these children becomes clear in the male adjectives, “the first” and “the other.”. The domain of this social approach is the “ought,” and it adds to the discussion the implications of cultural mores and expectations. Monte S. Nyman and Charles D. Tate Jr. (Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, 1988), 41, 46; Hugh W. Nibley, “Treasures in the Heavens: Some Early Christian Insights into the Organizing of Worlds,” Dialogue 8, no. Isaac had two sons, Jacob and Esau; the one wrestled with God and received an eternal blessing, and the other sold his birthright. At the same time, there was another son. See Abot 5:15, discussed in Brad H. Young, The Parables: Jewish Tradition and Christian Interpretation (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1998), 265 (quick to learn, quick to forget; slow to learn, slow to forget; slow to learn, quick to forget; quick to learn, slow to forget). Let's take a look at 3 key points from this story of the Bible. Jesus, however, simply “answered like unto the Son of Man: Here am I, send me” (Abraham 3:27), adding, “Father, thy will be done” (Moses 4:2; emphasis added). ?” “I have been chosen! . At a deep level, this parable calls to mind a particular dichotomy of enduring eternal character and consequence. Lord.”[37] All of these are possibilities. Although he declined to say directly by what authority he did these things (see 21:27), he immediately[13] went on to answer their question indirectly by giving this trenchant parable about two sons—one of whom ultimately was willing and the other not. The two brothers were each other's keeper. [39] See generally Jeffrey M. Bradshaw and Ronan James Head, “Mormonism’s Satan and the Tree of Life,” Element: The Journal of the Society for Mormon Philosophy and Theology 4, no. Matt. Although some have discounted the allegorical nature of the parables of Jesus,[7] the roots of the allegorical mode of interpretation reach deeply into the earliest Hebrew and Christian literature; it was commonly used at least from the times of Jesus (who often spoke of such things as the brazen serpent[8] or the sign of Jonah[9] as analogies of himself) and Philo (20 BC–AD 50),[10] as well as in the writings of Irenaeus (c. AD 140–c. Indeed, Joseph Smith taught that the hidden meanings of all the parables were “plainly elucidated” by Jesus to his disciples. Just as the two boys in my story, one son answered, "No," but went and worked. Those with authority do not take that authority upon themselves but are “called of God, as was Aaron” (Hebrews 5:4). The anagogical. Jesus began by saying: There was once a man who had two sons. In addition, one further tool was given to the Church by the Prophet Joseph Smith. ?” “I will do it;” I want the glory! A man had two sons. Was it “from heaven, or of men?” (21:25). 28 “What do you think? 185 Heber J. These words were used by Jesus himself in referring to his own going away or departure, as a euphemism for his impending death and descent into the spirit prison: “Then said the Jews, Will he kill himself? As I have discussed elsewhere in connection with the parable of the good Samaritan in Luke 10,[3] Jesus’ parables have long been profitably read as comprising bundles of extended symbolic messages. Indeed, Jesus was remembered as having purposefully intended his parables to be seen at least at two levels. But again, this is hardly the time for Jesus to offer an object lesson about filial duties. Brigham Young University . In response to this question, Jesus tells The Parable of the Tenants. Here one finds a strong reading of this text, conceptually engaging all of its elements. Most manuscripts call him “the other” (ho heteros),[34] while some call him “the second (ho deuteros).”[35] This son stood in utter contrast to the first, as in the expression “on the one hand, or on the other hand.” He is more than numerically second; he also stands in contradistinction, being the “other,” being of another mind or having some other purpose. John W. Welch was the Robert K. Thomas Professor of Law at Brigham Young University, editor in chief of BYU Studies Quarterly, and author of books and articles including The Sermon on the Mount in the Light of the Temple (Burlington. When an allegory or parable leads the mind and the soul upward, projecting worldly events, human relations, and natural purposes onto a higher metaphysical or celestial level, the linkage is anagogical. John W. Welch, “Symbolism in the Parable of the Willing and Unwilling Two Sons in Matthew 21,” in Let Us Reason Together: Essays in Honor of the Life’s Work of Robert L. Millet, ed. The domain of this elevating approach is the “vertical.” It is open to impressions that transcend the strict or obvious meaning of the text. He proved He is worthy of our trust and love, and we can live in joy because of that. He was eager at first, but in the end he would not serve his father. If that was all that was intended by Jesus, a simpler story involving only one son who at first disregarded his father’s wishes but then changed his mind might have been sufficient and more appropriate in showing that those sinners had ultimately done the right thing by repenting and following John. In what did you believe and trust? Each of these parables is told to the Jewish religious leaders, each illustrates their rejection of Jesus, and each pronounces judgment on Israel for their rejection of their Messiah. Consistent with this allegorical reading, it is clear that Jesus intended the chief priests and elders to see themselves and their own failure to do the will of the Father in this little parable, as Jesus concluded this part of his conversation with them by saying, “Verily I say unto you, that the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you” (Matthew 21:31), and by extension this point of judgment would fall upon anyone else who had rejected John. When they were unwilling to respond, Jesus used this as an opportunity to address the fundamental issue of authority. Eber also had two sons, Peleg and Joktan, and in their days the earth was “divided” (Genesis 10:25). A Summary Of The Parable Of Two Sons Is Presented, Along with A Reflection On The Parable. One level was for ordinary listeners, who might be edified by the publicly accessible, straightforward narrative value of the story; the other was only for those with eyes to see and ears to hear (Matthew 13:11, 16),[5] and to them Jesus may frequently have unfolded or discussed his deeper meanings in private conversations (as he did in Matthew 13:19–23, 36–43; 19:10–11). Parable of Two Sons (Matthew 21:23-32) Sunday School Lesson for Kids. The Greek word used here is not the ordinary verb used to mean “repent” (metanoeō),[32] but rather metamelomai, which does not primarily mean “to repent.” In the Septuagint and in Koine Greek, with rare exception, it always means to feel sad about something or to change one’s mind;[33] in Classical Greek it means to regret, or to change one’s purpose or line of conduct; or, as one might say, to reconcile oneself to the task of serving a difficult part in a larger plan. [13] Commentators often assert that this parable has been taken out of its original context in some Galilean village setting and inserted here, where it does not really belong. Let’s consider the three sons found in this parable. Moreover, it is unclear which group was actually asked by John the Baptist first. Significantly, when this other son answered, he did not actually say, “I go, Lord,” as the KJV reads, following the Vulgate, which uses the words “eō [I go], domine.” The word “go,” however, is italicized in the KJV because it is actually not present in the strongest Greek manuscripts. With a yes and no ordinary moral lesson of the parable of the two sons, he [ the father gives.! Comparative approach is typically the “ vineyard ” but we are reluctant parable certain! Of Modern English Usage ( London: Oxford University Press, 1963 ), Clement of Alexandria ( death AD! Of reading may simply be “ nonsensical. ” metzger, Textual Commentary,.. 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