Jesus tells us about the parable of the two sons in Matthew 21:28-32. Jesus asks the priests “What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work today in the vineyard.’ “‘I will not,’ he answered, but later he changed his mind and went. “Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, ‘I will, sir,’ but he did not go. “Which of the two did what his father wanted?” “The first,” they answered. Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him.”
The parable of the two sons is pretty much the story of all humanity. You can divide the whole world into two categories. In the first category are those who like the first son end up following Jesus after initially disobeying him and in the second category are those who say they follow him but do not obey his will like the second son. We have all been in the shoes of both sons at some point in our lives. What we choose to do is what ultimately determines our relationship with Jesus.
Jesus uses this parable while speaking to the priests in the temple cause he knew what was in their hearts. They claimed to be obedient to God and follow him but their hearts were set on following their own will and not that of God. This parable actually connects very well with what Jesus says in John 15:1-4 where he says “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.”
In order to bear any fruit, we must follow Jesus and be obedient to him. We can all say we follow Jesus and claim to be his followers but actually obeying and following him is not easy to do. It takes perseverance and commitment and ultimately our obedience. The only difference between those that follow Jesus and those that do not is obedience and a heart that is willing to follow him. No one is perfect and we are all sinners so we will fail to obey God’s will in our life on many occasions. Jesus knows this and this is He stresses the importance of what we do vs what we say via the parable of the two sons.