Mooroolbark Uniting Church

Pentecost 18, 27 September, 2026

Sermon – Howard N Wallace

Matthew 21:23-32

Having looked at the Gospel reading from Matthew for today, it struck me that the reading is a bit like a trifle, that delicious dessert made with plain cake soaked in sherry or orange juice, then covered with fruit, jelly, custard and finally topped with cream. The text, like trifle, is one layer upon another but when you dig into it and taste all of it together, something new and different is revealed. The text, beyond its layers speaks ultimately of something that is not a trifling matter.

Jesus has just come to Jerusalem. The previous day he had upset the money changers tables in the temple and now he goes back into the temple and begins to teach. The chief priests and elders quiz him” ‘By what authority does he do this?’ But Jesus, choosing to be rude on this occasion, asks a question in return: ‘Was the baptism of John from heaven or of human origin?’ A trick question which puts the priests and elders in a bind. Whichever way they answer they will only weaken their own position. If they say from heaven, then they deny their former opposition to John. If they say from human origin, then they run the risk of the ire of the crowd who regarded John as a prophet. So they gave a good fence sitting answer: ‘We do not know.’ In the end, Jesus refuses to answer his opponents.

But then Jesus begins to tell them a parable. Normally Jesus tells parables as tools in teaching his disciples but here he uses one as a way of replying to his opponents. A father has two sons. He asks the first to work in the vineyard and he says he wouldn’t – too occupied with his iPhone no doubt. But later he changes his mind and goes to work. The father then asks the second son who says he will but he does not. So, Jesus asks his opponents who did the father’s will and of course they say the first. Then we return to John the Baptist as Jesus points out how the tax collectors and prostitutes believed John and heeded his message of repentance and will enter the Kingdom of God ahead of the chief priests and elders who, even though they had witnessed this transformation in the people, had not changed their minds and believed John.

One layer of the story upon another. What does the story reveal as a whole and how does it relate to us? First, though, we should note some important points in the story. It would be too simple just to presume the chief priests and elders were merely jealous and protective of their own authority when they question Jesus about his authority. There may be a good bit of that involved but their position is more complex. They were the ones with the training and knowledge to preserve the traditions of the past, to interpret the law of Moses, to settle disputes and determine guilt or innocence, to declare forgiveness or otherwise, to conduct rituals in the temple etc. Their question does not just arise from self-interest and this is why the Gospel writer recalls it here, because the question of authority to teach is as important for Jesus as for the priests and elders. Secondly, Jesus’ parable also needs to be unpacked a little. The people of Jesus’ time would have had ears to hear what he was speaking about beneath the surface, and I suspect we have heard enough of his parables to also understand that any story about a vineyard is really a story that speaks about the people of Israel. Ancient Israel is the vineyard. And a parable that mentions a father is likely speaking about God’s relation to the people. Jesus’ parable is quite clear here: the second son is the chief priests and elders; the first is like the so-called ‘sinners’ within society – the tax collectors and prostitutes, those regarded least.

But there is another point about this story which takes our thoughts a little deeper. The story is about authority and by what authority Jesus teaches and acts. We have already mentioned one authority in ancient Israel, the law of Moses, of which the chief priests and elders were custodians. There was always the question of interpretation of that law.

But then another ‘law’ had arisen in Israel which, while considered secondary to the law of Moses, was also important – the word of the prophets. Note Jesus’ question back to his interrogators: tell me first where you think John’s authority came from, heaven or human? And that is what this story is all about – from where does one’s authority come. There are the chief priests and the elders with their more rigid interpretation of the law of Moses, for example in this case about tax collectors and prostitutes, over against Jesus who is siding with John the Baptist, referred to as a prophet. The prophets had arisen in ancient Israel speaking an authoritative word from God. It was often critical of the words of the religious authorities and more compassionate and understanding towards those at the margins of society.

A lot of water has passed under the bridge since the days of Jesus. We are Christian not ancient Jews. Religious authority for us is quite different to that in Jesus’ day. In fact our modern, largely secular society has eroded much religious authority at a community level. Nevertheless, authority is important for us as people of faith. What is the basis of your faith? On what basis do you hold particular beliefs? Whose religious counsel do you follow and trust?

Earlier in Matthew’s Gospel, in the Sermon on the Mount Jesus had said: ‘Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves…. You will know them by their fruits…’ He goes on, ‘Good trees bear good fruit, bad trees bear bad fruit.’ That is what Jesus is saying in his parable in today’s reading. The chief priests and elders could not see the goodness in what John had done and by implication what Jesus was doing. They were like the second son whose words were betrayed by a lack of action.

But wherein lies our authority to produce good fruit? The basic answer is given in the passage from the New Testament Epistles set for this week but which we did not read. In Philippians 2:4-5 Paul says: ‘Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus.’ The life of Jesus, his way and his teaching are our authority and guide. We may not always echo the life of Jesus in our own lives. We will struggle at times to have the same mind as was in Jesus. But we remember the message of the Gospel readings of recent weeks about forgiveness and hear of those whose lives were transformed through the message of John which Jesus mentions. The Kingdom of God, or eternal life as it is called elsewhere, begins as Paul implies with the conforming of a life to that of Christ, or as Jesus himself says, bearing good fruit. Ultimately it begins with the heart turning toward the heart of God. Discipleship of Jesus is the way of growing into the capacity to understand and appreciate the grace and compassion that is in the heart of God. To hear the call to discipleship is to heed the authority of God found in Jesus.

Amen