Opening Prayer
Lord, give us grace to hear and obey Your call.
Text: Matthew 21:28-32
“But what do you think? A man had two sons, and he came to the first and said, ‘Son, go, work today in my vineyard.’ He answered and said, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he regretted it and went. Then he came to the second and said likewise. And he answered and said, ‘I go, sir,’ but he did not go. Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said to Him, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you that tax collectors and harlots enter the kingdom of God before you. For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him; but tax collectors and harlots believed him; and when you saw it, you did not afterward relent and believe him.”
Devotion
“Tax collectors and harlots enter the kingdom of God before you,” that is, they enter, but you do not – let this judgment not overtake us, dear brothers and sisters! We want to put Satan to shame and become blessed spoils of Christ. We want tax collectors and harlots to be cleansed and sanctified and enter the kingdom of heaven, but neither do we want to be outside with the dogs and sorcerers and idolaters and deceivers. What should we do then? Well, obey the Lord’s Word, go and work in His vineyard. Let us who hear and read God’s Word gather around it and confess it, us church-goers and partakers of the Lord’s Supper, who both are called Christians and want to be such, let us go out and do what the Lord says! It is common that the world complains about the lives of the saints and accuses them of hypocrisy, pride, and greed. And in this way worldly people comfort themselves in their sin. Let this drive us to examine ourselves and to strive for holy sincerity in faith and life; let us not ignore it! There may be some truth in it and reason to correct ourselves. Then the world shall see that we have a living Savior who purifies for Himself His own people, zealous for good works, able to silence those who mock them. Go to work in the Lord’s vineyard: His kingdom on earth, the Christian Church! To enter is to repent and believe, but to work there is to do everything in faith, to the glory of the Lord and the blessing of mankind. Tax collectors and harlots believed John the Baptizer, took to heart his sermon of repentance, confessed their sin and came to Jesus. From then on they lived a new life and served Him. The main thing is to believe God’s Word. The obedience of the heart means repentance of the heart at the words: “You are a lost sinner,” and at the words: “Jesus has saved you from sin, death, and the devil.” This obedience of the heart involves obedience in word and deed, so that you live before the Lord, and then you work in His vineyard. So do everything with the assurance that you yourself belong to Him, and that all people are His, bought at a price, and that they have the salvation of their soul, as well as their temporal welfare, their cure and comfort and joy as the measure of your work. Then it shall be said that you were willing and did the Lord’s work. Remember that Christ unceasingly served us in obedience to the Father’s Word, and that through His obedience you have become His own, made free from sin and the Law, a child of God and an heir of salvation. Now in return serve others in love, obediently and gladly, always and everywhere before the Lord.
Closing Prayer
Help us do this, gracious God. Give us obedience under the discipline of Your Word, so that we acknowledge our sin; and help us to believe Your Gospel, so that we rightly enter into the freedom of grace. Make us rich in love, so that we become a blessing. Amen.
Hymn
Lord, I am lamenting,
All my days repenting,
Of my shame and sin!
For Thy will I’m yearning,
Yet my flesh, returning,
Still would live in sin;
I transgress In my weakness;
So I Thee am not contenting,
Therefore I’m lamenting.
Lord, I must now pray Thee
For the strength to stay me,
Strength to keep me whole!
Strength to be believing,
Faithful in my living
With a willing soul!
Spirit’s pow’r In troubled hour
In my heart Thou dost prepare me;
Therefore I must pray Thee.
Timm: Herre! jeg maa klage L 510:1.4 tr. DeGarmeaux;
tune: Jesu meine Freude (ELH 263); alternate hymn: Lord, to Thee I make confession ELH 450:1-2