Church Fathers Commentary Matthew 21:28-32

"But what think ye? A man had two sons; and he came to the first, and said, Son, go work to-day in the vineyard. And he answered and said, I will not: but afterward he repented himself, and went. And he came to the second, and said likewise. And he answered and said, I [go], sir: and went not. Which of the two did the will of his father? They say, The first. Jesus saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, that the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you. For John came unto you in the way of righteousness, and ye believed him not; but the publicans and the harlots believed him: and ye, when ye saw it, did not even repent yourselves afterward, that ye might believe him." — Matthew 21:28-32 (ASV)

St. Jerome: With this preface, the Lord brings forward a parable to convict them of their impiety and show them that the kingdom of God would be transferred to the Gentiles.

Pseudo-Chrysostom: He appeals to those who are to be judged in this cause to be the judges themselves, so that by condemning themselves, they might be shown to be unworthy of being acquitted by any other. It shows great confidence in the justice of a cause to entrust it to an adversary's decision. But He veils the reference to them in a parable so they would not perceive that they were passing sentence on themselves: "A certain man had two sons."

Who is this but God, who created all men? Though by nature Lord of all, He would rather be loved as a father than feared as a Lord. The elder son was the Gentile people and the younger was the Jews, since Gentiles had existed from the time of Noah. And he came to the first and said, "Son, go work today in my vineyard." "Today" means during this present age. He spoke to him not face to face as a man, but to his heart as God, instilling understanding through the senses. To work in the vineyard is to do what is righteous. As for cultivating the whole of it, I do not know if any one person is sufficient.

St. Jerome: He speaks to the Gentile people first, through their knowledge of the law of nature: "Go and work in my vineyard;" that is, "What you would not have done to you, do not do to others" (Tobit 4:15). He answers haughtily, "I will not."

Pseudo-Chrysostom: For the Gentiles, from the beginning, left God and his righteousness and went over to idols and sins. They seem to answer in their thoughts, "We will not do the righteousness of God."

St. Jerome: But when, at the coming of the Savior, the Gentile people repented and labored in God's vineyard, they atoned by their labor for the stubbornness of their refusal. This is what is meant by, "But afterward he repented and went." The second son is the Jewish people who answered Moses, "All that the Lord has said to us we will do" (Exodus 24:3).

Pseudo-Chrysostom: But afterward, turning their backs, they lied to God, according to the verse in the Psalms, "The sons of the strangers have lied unto me" (Psalm 18:44). This is what is said: "But he went not." The Lord accordingly asks, "Which of the two did the will of his father?" They say to him, "The first."

See how they have passed sentence on themselves, saying that the elder son, that is, the Gentile people, did the will of his father. For it is better not to promise righteousness before God and to do it, than to promise and to fail.

Origen of Alexandria: From this we may gather that in this parable the Lord spoke to those who promise little or nothing, but whose works shine forth, and against those who promise great things but do none of the things they have promised.

St. Jerome: It should be known that in the correct copies it is read not "The last," but "The first," so that they might be condemned by their own sentence. But if we prefer to read "The last," as some copies have it, the explanation is obvious: that the Jews understood the truth but concealed it, and would not say what they thought, just as, although they knew John's baptism was from heaven, they would not say so.

Pseudo-Chrysostom: The Lord abundantly confirms their decision, whence it follows, "Jesus said to them, Truly I say to you, that the tax collectors and the harlots will go into the kingdom of God before you." This is as if to say, "Not only are the Gentiles before you, but even the tax collectors and the harlots."

Rabanus Maurus: Yet the kingdom of God may be understood to refer to the Gentiles, or to the present Church, in which the Gentiles go before the Jews because they were more ready to believe.

Origen of Alexandria: Nevertheless, the Jews are not shut out from ever entering the kingdom of God; but, "when the fullness of the Gentiles has come in, then all Israel will be saved."

Pseudo-Chrysostom: I suppose that the "tax collectors" here represent all sinful men, and "the harlots" all sinful women, because avarice is the most prevailing vice found among men, and fornication among women. A woman's life is passed in idleness and seclusion, which are great temptations to that sin.

A man, on the other hand, is constantly occupied in various active duties and so falls readily into the snare of covetousness, but not so commonly into fornication. The anxieties of manly cares tend to preclude thoughts of pleasure, which more often engage the young and idle.

Then follows the reason for what He had said: "For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him."

Rabanus Maurus: John came preaching the way of righteousness because he pointed to Christ, who is the fulfillment of the Law.

Pseudo-Chrysostom: Or, it is because his venerable conduct struck the hearts of sinners, as it follows, "But the tax collectors and the harlots believed him." Notice how the good life of the preacher gives force to his preaching, so that it subdues unsubdued hearts. "And you, when you saw it, did not afterward repent and believe him." This is as if to say, "They have done the greater thing by believing him, while you have not even repented, which is the lesser thing."

But in this interpretation, which we have set forth according to the thinking of many interpreters, something seems inconsistent to me. For if the two sons are to be understood as the Jews and Gentiles, then as soon as the priests had answered that the first son did his father's will, Christ should have concluded His parable with these words: "Truly I say to you, that the Gentiles will go into the kingdom of God before you." But He says, "The tax collectors and the harlots," a class belonging more to the Jews than to the Gentiles. Unless this is to be taken as was said above: "The Gentile people please God so much more than you, that even the tax collectors and harlots are more acceptable to Him than you are."

St. Jerome: For this reason, others think that the parable does not relate to Gentiles and Jews, but simply to the righteous and to sinners. The latter, by their evil deeds, had rejected God's service, but afterward received the baptism of repentance from John. Meanwhile, the Pharisees, who made a show of righteousness and boasted that they kept the law of God, despised John's baptism and did not follow his teachings.

Pseudo-Chrysostom: He brings this in because the priests had asked not to learn, but to test Him. But many of the common people had believed, and for that reason He brings forward the parable of the two sons, showing them in it that the common people, who from the beginning professed secular lives, were better than the priests, who from the beginning professed the service of God.

This is because the people at last turned to God in repentance, but the priests, being unrepentant, never stopped sinning against God. And the elder son represents the people, because the people do not exist for the sake of the priests, but the priests exist for the sake of the people.