They came to trap Him. The chief priests and elders approached Jesus in the temple with confidence, their questions sharpened, and arguments ready. They were the religious authorities. The experts. And they wanted to shut Him down.
It didn’t go the way they planned. They asked him, by what authority are you doing these things (Matthew 21:23)?
Jesus answered their question with a question of His own, as to whether John the Baptist had authority to call him the Lamb of God, the Messiah. The experts were scrambling. They couldn’t answer without it costing them the goodwill of the gathering crowd who believed John the Baptist a true prophet. So, they said, we do not know (Matthew 21:27). And that said everything.
These were men who had built their lives around the appearance of knowing God, and when Truth stood right in front of them, they refused to engage. Not because they couldn’t. Because they wouldn’t. Their faith was never really about God. It was about position, reputation, and control.
So, Jesus told them a story about two sons whose father had asked both to work in the vineyard. One said “yes,” and did nothing. One said “no,” but went anyway. Which of the two did the will of his father (Matthew 21:31)? The answer was obvious and devastating.
Jesus wasn’t just talking about two sons. He was talking about two kinds of people – those whose faith is all surface and no root, and those whose lives, however imperfect, are genuinely surrendered to God. Religious performance without real submission isn’t faith. It’s a fig tree full of leaves with no fruit.
The religious leaders weren’t irreligious people. They were temple people. They knew the right words, kept the right calendar, wore the right robes, and they missed Jesus entirely.
That should make every one of us pause. It is entirely possible to be busy in the things of God while being distant from the heart of God. Jesus isn’t interested in the leaves. He’s looking for the fruit.
Ask yourself today:
Is my faith rooted in truth or in appearance? When my beliefs are challenged, do I draw closer to God? Or do I retreat into what’s comfortable, like men who said “we do not know” because knowing would cost them too much?
JESUS IS STILL ASKING THE HARD QUESTIONS. HE’S WAITING, NOT FOR THE RIGHT ANSWER, BUT FOR AN HONEST HEART.
