his week as we continue our series in the Parables, Jesus begins with "a man had two sons..." This is not the famous Prodigal Son parable, which also begins that way. Instead, here a father comes asking his sons to work in the vineyard. The first says yes, but doesn't do it. The second says no, but changes his mind and goes. Jesus presses his hearers: so who did what his father wanted? Everyone agrees it's the second son. Open-defiance-followed-by-obedience is better than fake-obedience-that-hides-defiance. We get it, Jesus. Lesson over, right? But Jesus then goes scorched earth: "that's why the bad people are going to heaven ahead of you." Wait, what?! If Jesus goal is not merely to humble us but to heal us, what is the surgery he is doing here? How is our half-hearted obedience actively robbing us daily of the joy and healing of heaven? Let's talk about "Yes & No" (Matthew 21:23-32).
