Matthew 21:23-32 Dear Partner in Preaching, Just a few thoughts as the week suddenly grows short. Actually, maybe just two. But first, and to set the scene, let’s keep in mind that the story before us revolves around the question of authority. From where, in particular, does Jesus draw his authority not just to question but totally up-end the status quo, at least as far as religious power and customs are concerned. Just to remind us of the context, Jesus has just entered Jerusalem, greeted and hailed by the crowds with the messianic title, “Son of David.” His first action after such acclamation is to drive out the money...

Matthew 21:23-32 Dear Partner in Preaching, Sometimes, when I’m working with a passage, I like to clarify what I know and what I don’t know about what’s going on. I’ll start with those things I/we don’t know, focusing in particular on the parable and treating it as a deepened, if also parabolic (and therefore not transparent), response to the question of authority. Okay, here goes: We don’t know if this behavior was typical of the sons or extraordinary. We don’t know what interaction or conversation the sons may have had with each other (or with their father) after their initial response. We don’t know what may have prevented...