True Obedience

Sunday, May 31st, 2026

3:31 pm

Good afternoon! I hope everyone has had a good day so far! It has been a good day, pretty good weekend. Got some nice, much needed rain. Hopping on here a little late, I ran out of time before church, and after church had to go get groceries and stuff. Sundays tend to be busy days for me. I wish I was one of those people that woke up at the same time everyday, I just can't seem to get on that type of schedule. I really like sleeping in on the weekends. Maybe one day. Oh well, lets get started.

Today I am in Matthew 21:28-32. Jesus is still talking to the leading priests and elders in the Temple. He tells them a parable about a man with two sons. The man goes to the oldest son and tells him to go work out in the vineyard. The son answered, "No, I won't go." But later he changed his mind and went anyway. The father went to the other son, and told him to go work in the vineyard also. The son told him, "Yes sir, I will." But he never went. Jesus asked the priests which son obeyed the father. They replied the first son. Jesus told them, "I tell you the truth, corrupt tax collectors and prostitutes will get into the Kingdom of God before you do." He tells them that John the Baptist had come and shown them the right way to live, but they refused to believe him, while the tax collectors and prostitutes did. They even saw it happen, and they still refused to believe and repent of their sins.

This was definitely a harsh statement for the leading priests and elders in the Temple. You could definitely understand why they would be mad at Jesus. Jesus called them out right there in front of everybody. Jesus compared the younger son to the religious leaders. The religious leaders claimed to know everything about God, claimed that they obeyed God, but they refused to listen and believe Jesus. They even had the evidence of people's lives being changed completely. People who the religious leaders at the time deemed unworthy, not good enough. Those people that they thought were unworthy, accepted Jesus and John the Baptist, repented and turned to God. They would enter the Kingdom of heaven before the religious leaders.

The corrupt tax collectors and prostitutes showed true obedience because they accepted Jesus' message and obeyed. The religious leaders were all talk and no follow through, they did not obey. When we choose to follow Jesus, we must follow through in our actions. Obeying Him and what He tells us to do. We won't get into heaven based on our actions, no, but our actions show where our hearts are. If we truly put our faith in trust in Jesus, our actions will show it. And other people will know who we follow by our actions. The more we walk and follow the Lord, the more He will guide us on how to act, how to respond. When God starts changing our hearts and minds, we are able to help people better. We are able to lead others to Him more. God is so good. I love how He works in our lives. It is amazing. The more you follow Him, the more He will show you.