The Parable of the Yes and No Brothers (Matthew 21:28-32), as it is sometimes called, is fairly straightforward, at least when you compare it to some of Jesus’ other parables. A father asks his two boys to go work in the family vineyard. The first son refuses, but then later changes his mind and dutifully does his part. Meanwhile, the second son agrees to work, but never actually gets around to it. So which brother, asks Jesus, did the will of his father?

It’s a question directed toward the chief priests and elders—and the answer was as obvious to them as it is for us. It’s the first son, of course, because it’s not what either boy said that finally matters, it’s what he did! Actions speak louder than words, right? And if Jesus had just left it at that, he might have gotten away with it.

But what angered the chief priests and elders was Jesus’ insinuation that they were, in fact, the second son. In other words, they were God’s Yes men, who said all the right things, believed all the right things, stood for all the right things … but who steadfastly refused to do the right thing.

Now, they thought they were doing the right thing, mind you. Indeed, the chief priests and elders devoted their entire lives to studying the Law, so that they would always do the right thing. But somewhere along the line they became so attached to their own idea about what the right thing was that they missed the new thing that God was doing in Jesus Christ.

There’s a lesson there for all of us because sometimes we can get so caught up in what we think the right thing is that we stop paying attention to how the Holy Spirit may be trying to move us in a new direction. To quote Soren Kierkegaard, Jesus wants followers, not just admirers—which is precisely why we need to remain open to what Christ is calling us to do next!