In the name of Christ Jesus, dear fellow redeemed people of God,

Would you rather have a boss who keeps promising to give you a raise, but never actually gives it, or would you rather have a boss who tells you that he isn't going to give you a raise, and then unexpectedly does? We'd rather have a boss who gives the raise than a boss who is just all talk, right?

Would a child prefer a Dad who is always promising to play with him, but never actually does, or would a child prefer to have a Dad who actually finds time and does it? Empty promises frustrate children too.

Now, suppose that you are inviting someone to attend the Bible Basics class. Would you rather have a person say, "Yes," and never show up, or would you rather have a person say, "No," and then attend? I know which one I would prefer. This is the sort of thing that Jesus is talking about in today's parable. But what does he mean? Let us now...

There is a point here. God doesn't want empty words. Jesus is going to apply this to the chief priests and elders. They claimed to be God's people. They claimed to be so upright. But they really weren't, as we will see. But first, let us apply these words to ourselves. Do we ever give God empty promises?

We communicants made a promise on our Confirmation day. We promised to receive God's Word and Sacrament regularly. How well do we keep that promise? When we see communicants fail to attend church regularly, we must wonder, what were those words spoken at the Lord's altar? Were those empty words? God knows the truth. But know this: God doesn't want empty words! We all promised to be faithful stewards. We promised to support the preaching and teaching of God's Word here and abroad. How well are we keeping that promise? God knows if we are sincere or not. He knows what our circumstances really are. But know this: God doesn't want empty words.

When we confessed our sins in the beginning of today's service, were you thinking about the words? If not, I suggest that you reread them. We don't want to be mouthing empty words. God doesn't want empty words. When we pray, we should think about what we are saying, because God doesn't want empty words. When we sing hymns, let's be sure that we think about what we are saying, because God doesn't want empty words. If we don't think about the words, we become hypocrites. We look good on the outside, but God knows that we are not sincere on the inside. When we just show up, but don't pay attention, when we just mouth the words but don't think about them, we become hypocrites.

That's what Jesus is going to say about these Jewish leaders. They looked like upstanding religious leaders, but they were really hypocrites. Deep down inside, in their hearts, they really weren't sorry for their sins. Deep down inside, God could see unbelief. Though they looked very religious on the outside, but they were unbelievers on the inside. And you know what God does with unbelievers, don't you?

2.(31-32) Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him." They must have taken this as an insult. Jesus was telling them that those hated tax collectors were going to heaven. Jesus was saying that the repentant prostitutes were going to heaven ahead of these Jewish leaders. In fact, these Jewish leaders were not on the road to heaven at all. That must have been the biggest shock of all!

John the Baptist came preaching the Word of God. He came to show them "the way of righteousness." He pointed his finger at their sin, then he pointed his finger at Jesus as their Savior. He said, "you are all sinners!" And then he said, "Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world." But the Jewish leaders did not believe him. Jesus said, "you did not believe him." The tax collectors believed what John said. They repented and believed in Jesus. The prostitutes believed what John said. They repented of their sins and believed in Jesus. But these fine, upstanding Jewish leaders did not believe John's words. They did not repent of their sins. They did not believe in Jesus. And as things stood, they were not entering the kingdom of God at all!

And even after seeing all this, after seeing these tax collectors and prostitutes repenting, he said, "you did not repent and believe him." Even after seeing these sinners repenting of their sins and believing in their Savior, the Jewish leaders did not believe John's words. They did not believe in Jesus as their Savior.

The lesson is that God desires contrition and faith. Contrition is godly sorrow. There is a difference between being sorry that you got caught and being sorry that you have broken God's laws. God desires godly sorrow over sin. He works this godly sorrow through the preaching of his law. God does not want a bunch of excuses. He won't accept them. He doesn't even want to listen to them. They only get in the way. Save your excuses! God desires contrition and faith. Faith is trust that Jesus Christ has won our forgiveness. God works this faith through the preaching of the gospel.

God worked through John's message and he will work through the message we proclaim today. Our message is essentially the same as John's message. Like him, we proclaim that all have sinned. The tax collectors were sinners. The prostitutes were sinners. The Jewish leaders were all sinners. You are a sinner, and so am I. Like John, we point to Jesus and say, "Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world." God so loved the world that he sent his one and only Son to be our Savior. Jesus Christ entered the fray on our behalf and lived a perfect life for us. Jesus went to the cross for us, as a Lamb of sacrifice, and died to pay for every single one of our sins. Jesus rose from death because he had won complete forgiveness for all of our sins. Repent of your sins and believe in Jesus Christ as your Savior, and you will enter the eternal kingdom of God. Believe in Jesus and you will go to heaven.

As we hear the good news that Jesus took our sins away, the Holy Spirit uses that message to work faith in our hearts. By his divine power, we can say, "I believe in Jesus as my Savior!" May we say that and mean it. May God keep us from ever mouthing empty words! May the Holy Spirit work powerfully through His saving Word so that we have true contrition and godly sorrow over our sins, and saving faith in Jesus Christ. And then, when the good Lord calls us to go and work in his vineyard, let us gladly serve our Savior with contrition and faith, and with true humility and with godly faithfulness. Amen.