As I noted yesterday, the parable of the two sons is not merely about salvation— that is, of believing on Jesus—but also of Christian service. Christ’s answer is in terms of doing or failing to do the will of the father, rather than other matters.
When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard Jesus’ parables, they knew he was talking about them. They looked for a way to arrest him, but they were afraid of the crowd because the people held that he was a prophet.
What of you? You have listened to the testimony of John and the claims of Jesus. You have seen the evidence for his claims. Will you acknowledge that he is the Son of God and the Savior and follow him as your Lord? Will you become a Christian? If you are hesitating, let me tell you a little bit more about the authority of Jesus Christ.
These things took place on the way from Bethany to Jerusalem on Tuesday and Wednesday of Passover week (compare Mark 11:12-14, 20), and when Jesus entered the city on what was to be his last full day of unhindered teaching he was approached by the chief priests and elders of the people who demanded of him: “By what authority are you doing these things? And who gave you this authority?” (v.23). Mark expands the list to say that Jesus was approached by “the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders” (Mark 11:27). These were the three groups that made up the Sanhedrin. So this was probably an official delegation, and what they were making clear, although their words were in the form of a question, is that they had not authorized either Jesus or his teaching. They were the authorities!
I do not think that Jesus’ disciples got the point of what he was saying at this time, because if they had understood him, it would have been natural for them to have asked something about the failures of the Pharisees or the shallow nature of their religious practices. They didn’t do this. Instead, they were amazed at the speed with which the fig tree withered and asked him to explain it: “How did the fig tree wither so quickly?” (v.20).
