Note 1 at Mt. 21:28: This parable was given in response to the religious leaders rejecting Jesus' authority (Mt. 21:23; Mk. 11:28; Lk. 20:2). Through this parable, Jesus reveals God's rejection of the Jews in response to their rejection of His Son. Jesus is showing that those who do the will of God are actually the ones invested with God's authority.

These leaders had a form of godliness like this second son (2 Tim. 3:5), but the bottom line was that they were not doing the will of God. The publicans and harlots had no form of godliness, but when confronted with the preaching of John (v. 32), many repented and began to do the will of God like the first son in this story.

These religious Jews, who sat in the seat of Moses (Mt. 23:2), had therefore disqualified themselves from really being God's representatives here on earth by their hypocrisy and hard hearts. Even the publicans and harlots, who repented at John's preaching, were ahead of them. There is no sin more frequent among religious people than that of self-righteousness, which is to honor the Lord with the mouth when the heart is far from Him (Ps. 139:23-24; Mt. 15:8).

Jesus went on to speak another parable (Mt. 21:33-44) which the chief priests and Pharisees perceived that He had spoken against them (Mt. 21:45). He again showed that the unbelieving Jews who refused the Messiah would have all authority taken from them and given to a nation that brought forth the proper fruit (Mt. 21:43).