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THE EIGHTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST September 27, 2026 Pastor Tom Steers Christ the Saviour Lutheran Church, Toronto Our Bible Readings: Old Testament – Ezekiel 18:1-4, 25-32 Psalm 25:1-10 Epistle – Philippians 2:1-18 Gospel – Matthew 21:23-32 Our Hymn of the Day from Lutheran Service Book is LSB 655, “Lord, Keep Us Steadfast in Your Word” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8ViZi7M5p4&list=RDS8ViZi7M5p4&start_radio=1 THE SERMON – Our Lord makes a startling statement. In our Gospel text, He tells the chief Temple officials and Pharisees that tax collectors and prostitutes are getting into the Kingdom of Heaven before them. The Lutheran Reformation of the Church expressed its beliefs in the Augsburg Confession. Article XII of the Confession says that true repentance has two parts. First, a person recognizes that their situation is utterly broken. The second part is that they believe Jesus is the solution to the problem. False denominations make repentance into our work of salvation. Biblical repentance is recognition and sorrow over sin in which we observe two truths: we have a problem, and Jesus is the solution. As the Apostle Paul wrote in Romans 3:23-24: “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.” At the conclusion of the short parable of the two sons and the vineyard, the Apostle Matthew tells us that the Temple authorities are ready to kill Christ. But this is all working according to the Lord’s plan of redemption. In our Gospel text, Jesus has come to die on Friday of Holy Week. He has come to make the ultimate Passover sacrifice, which will pay for the sins of the world. He needs the authorities to be angry enough to kill Him, and He is well on the way. Some people interpret this Bible passage as solely a moral teaching. But that misses the point. Christ had just driven out the money changers and merchants from the temple. Pastor and Historian Paul Maier estimated that 20 per cent of the city’s population earned their daily bread from the workings of the temple. Jesus has just threatened that. The officials have an angry constituency to contend with, and they are themselves losing money because Jesus threw the robbers out of the temple court. What’s more, the pilgrims who have been bilked by these thieves are all cheering. The temple authorities have a reason to be angry and afraid. And so, they challenge Christ’s authority. Their questions might seem to create a no-win situation for Jesus. If Christ says he has God’s authority, they will say their authority as temple officials is higher. If Jesus claims His own authority, they have a potential rebel on their hands and can have the Romans deal with him. There appears to be no right answer for Christ to give, so He asks them a question instead. And that question is a masterful insight into the hearts and minds of His opponents. The Apostle Matthew wants you to see that Jesus is in control of the events of Holy Week. Christ is not a helpless itinerant preacher, nor a victim caught up in the machinations of power and intrigue. He is in charge here. Jesus has asked an even trickier question than the one asked of Him. The officials are afraid to answer, and Jesus simply then says He will not answer either. Then, as if they weren’t angry enough, and while Jesus is on the subject of sinners and tax collectors, He launches into another parable designed to portray the Temple officials in a bad light. The man ‘with two sons’ mini-parable is pretty straightforward. A Father wants help in His vineyard. One son says “yes” but doesn’t do it. The other son says “no,” but then changes his mind and goes out and works. The Pharisees insisted they were following the laws of Moses. They thought they had said ‘yes’ to God. But Jesus doesn’t have to look far to see how those laws are being broken by them. This pericope teaches essential truths. First, it accuses us: all human beings. But with those same words Christ describes sinners who repent and receive the Good News. The prostitutes and tax collectors knew their sins and desperate need for a Saviour. The temple priests and officials did not. All the while, Jesus is working the system so that the self-righteous will kill him on Good Friday for our failings. And in the process, His words will reveal the very heart of God. Christ willingly dies because He is reaching out with truthful and difficult words. He calls broken human beings to repent and receive the Gospel. Like the Pharisees of old, many today reject the help God offers, convinced that they’re “good people” on their own. The Ten Commandments tell us otherwise. Yet Jesus has come to save, not condemn. He doesn’t delight in the death of sinners, but in their salvation. And though we’re rebellious and sinful by nature, Christ has turned a world-shattering act of rebellion into the very means of redemption – the crucifixion. The men who were His adversaries and murderers on that Friday we call “good,” were also the objects of His intense love and forgiving mercy. Jesus died for people who sought His life. Our obedience has failed us, it is true, but Christ’s obedience is pure and perfect. On the cross, He has given us what He alone accomplished. He’s taken our guilt and sin to Himself, and offers us His righteousness and eternal life, what Martin Luther called the “glorious exchange.” God sees the world this way. We are children of Heaven by His grace through faith in Christ alone. Faith that God creates through the means of grace: His Word and Sacraments. May the Lord’s gift of mercy, grace, and salvation comfort you this day. May the peace that passes all understanding be yours through our crucified and resurrected Saviour, Jesus Christ.