<p>21:28&nbsp;<em>But what do you think? A man</em>- God.</p><p><em>Had two sons, and he came to the first, and said</em>- In the form of John, who &ldquo;came unto you&rdquo; (:32- a related word is used for &ldquo;come&rdquo;). God was manifest in the preaching of John, just as He personally comes to men through our preaching. This accounts for the special sense of Divine presence which we have in our efforts to preach His Son and appeal to men. Paul can speak of how God Himself appeals to people through us (2 Cor. 5:20; 6:1).</p><p><em>Son</em>- These people were already in the family of God. They represent those to whom John the Baptist came (:32).</p><p><em>Today</em>- The suggestion is that there is urgent work to do, presumably harvest was ripe and what was not gathered today would be lost. The refusal to work was therefore rooted in a refusal to appreciate the significance of their work. Without it, harvest would be lost, and they would all be the poorer.</p><p><em>Go and work</em>- The Lord&rsquo;s interpretation is that the &ldquo;work&rdquo; required was belief and repentance (:32). The work of God is indeed to&nbsp;<em>believe</em>&nbsp;in the Lord Jesus (Jn. 6:29). This definition of &lsquo;works&rsquo; was so different to that held by Judaism, according to which &lsquo;works&rsquo; were physical acts of obedience to specific legal regulations. And yet clearly the Christian call is to action, to &ldquo;works&rdquo;, without which any profession of faith is &ldquo;dead&rdquo;. We are to &ldquo;go trade&rdquo; s.w. &ldquo;go work&rdquo; with the talents given us, and the man who does not so work with them will be condemned (Mt. 25:16). Paul&rsquo;s apparent deprecation of &ldquo;works&rdquo; in Romans (Rom. 4:4,5; 6:23) is surely to be understood with reference to &ldquo;the works of the Law&rdquo; of Moses (Rom. 3:27; 9:32; Gal. 2:16; 3:2,5,10), i.e. works done in obedience to that legislation in the hope of salvation upon that basis. The call is to work in response to the call. Not simply assent to theology, the specific doctrines of a Christian denomination, join a Christian social club; but work, labour, toil for Him in His service.</p><p><em>In the vineyard-&nbsp;</em>The vineyard must refer to the means of bringing forth spiritual fruit, according to the Lord's use of the vine figure in Jn.15. Being in the vineyard is therefore all about bringing forth the fruits of spirituality, showing forth the moral likeness of God. This is the intended &ldquo;work&rdquo; we are asked to do. And yet the idea of being called by God to work in His vineyard Israel was language used in Judaism for the call of the priestly class to do the work of religious specialists amongst the nation of Israel, God&rsquo;s vineyard. But the parable teaches that this is God&rsquo;s invitation to everyone in the new system of things which He is developing.</p>