The Parable of the Two Sons

Godspell rehersals are going pretty well. Perhaps the worst part happened the other day went our Jesus jumped off a box and fell through the stage. It was funny and he is fine; if that's the worst thing that has happened, then the show's in pretty good shape.

Anyway, it's really important to me as an actor (not to mention Christian) to understand what's the parables we're acting out mean. And, I ran into a thinker that had me going, "What? Huh?" It's Matthew 21:28-32 - The Parable of the Two Sons. I had been having serious trouble understanding the meaning of this parable.

Jesus is being questioned by the Pharisees when he tells them this:

28What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, "Son, go and work today int he vineyard."
29"I will not," he answered, but later he changed his mind and went.
30Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, "I will, sir," but he did not go.
31Which of the two did what his father wanted?

The Pharisees answer "The First" and Jesus begins to tell them how "tax collectors and prostitutes" will reach the kingdom of Heaven before them.

32For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness and you didn't believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him.

I had been interpretting this to mean that the Pharisees got it wrong. So, with that assumption, I was under the impression that Jesus was saying something completely different. It didn't make sense to me that the second son was doing what the father had asked because he didn't.

Obviously, I was wrong. The Pharisees answered correctly and JC was basically saying "Yeah, ok. You got the answer right. But, you still don't believe. So, you heaven for you!" He was admonishing them.

So, I get that now... Oscar Time!