No-yes is better than yes-no

“But what do you think about this? A man with two sons told the older boy, ‘Son, go out and work in the vineyard today.’ The son answered, ‘No, I won’t go,’ but later he changed his mind and went anyway. Then the father told the other son, ‘You go,’ and he said, ‘Yes, sir, I will.’ But he didn’t go.

“Which of the two obeyed his father?”

They replied, “The first.”

Then Jesus explained his meaning: “I tell you the truth, corrupt tax collectors and prostitutes will get into the Kingdom of God before you do. For John the Baptist came and showed you the right way to live, but you didn’t believe him, while tax collectors and prostitutes did. And even when you saw this happening, you refused to believe him and repent of your sins."

~ Jesus, in Matthew 21:28-32

Last week I shared the story of Joash, who began his reign as king of Judah under the tutelage of the priest Jehoiada and, while Jehoiada was alive, Joash did what was pleasing in the Lord's sight.

However, after Jehoiada died, Joash's faith and faithfulness to God crumbled under pressure from others, for he had never learned to stand on his own two feet as a follower of God. Sadly, this king who began his reign so well ended incredibly poorly and was not even buried in the royal cemetery, a fate suffered only by two other kings in Judah's history.

A few chapters later, we meet Joash's great-great-great-great grandson Manasseh. His story is the opposite to Joash. At just twelve years old he began his reign with infamy.

“Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem fifty-five years. He did what was evil in the Lord’s sight, following the detestable practices of the pagan nations that the Lord had driven from the land ahead of the Israelites."

~ 2 Chronicles 33:1-2

Manasseh rebuilt pagan shrines, set up altars to Baal, erected Asherah poles, worshipped false gods, put pagan altars inside the Temple of the Lord, practiced witchcraft, sorcery, and divination, consulted mediums, and even went so far as to sacrifice his own sons by fire.

The dude was evil, so much so that the Lord used Assyria to capture Manasseh, put a ring in his nose, bind him in chains, and take him captive to Babylon.

But then something interesting happened.

“But while in deep distress, Manasseh sought the Lord his God and sincerely humbled himself before the God of his ancestors. And when he prayed, the Lord listened to him and was moved by his request. So the Lord brought Manasseh back to Jerusalem and to his kingdom. Then Manasseh finally realized that the Lord alone is God!"

~ 2 Chronicles 33:12-13

The transformation in Manasseh was remarkable. This king who had abandoned God and led an entire nation astray reversed his course 180 degrees. He removed the foreign gods and idols from the Lord’s Temple, tore down all the altars he had built and dumped them outside the city, restored the altar of the Lord and sacrificed peace offerings and thanksgiving offerings on it, and encouraged the people of Judah to worship God alone.

That is an amazing example of repentance and, in the words of John the Baptist, "producing fruit in keeping with your repentance" (Luke 3:8). In fitting conclusion, unlike Joash at the end of his life, Manasseh was buried in his palace when he died.

So what do we make of Manasseh's story?

PAUSE and REFLECT: 

Joash and Manasseh provide an excellent real world example of the Jesus's parable of the two sons in Matthew 21.  When asked by their father to work in the field, one son says yes but then does nothing, and the other son says no but then changes his his mind and does what his father asked.

Outwardly, the first son looked good initially (said yes), but the inward truth came out (did nothing). Likewise the second son initially looked bad on the outside (said no to the father) but a different inward truth came out (changed his mind and said yes).

Joash began his life with a "Yes, Lord," and ended with a hard no. In contrast, Manasseh began his life with an emphatic no (and convinced others to say no as well), but ended with a humble, "Yes, Lord, I will."

According to Jesus' parable, it is Manasseh who did the right thing, not Joash. The only difference between the two is the order in which they gave their yes and no.

In Jesus' example, he says to the Pharisees and teachers of the law (who gave the outward appearance of saying yes) that those for whom they had the most disdain (tax collectors and prostitutes who gave the outward appearance of saying no) were the ones entering the kingdom of God before them, because the tax collectors and prostitutes changed their heart while the teachers of the law refused to repent.

What outwardly looked like a "No" life (tax collectors and prostitutes) became a yes, and what outwardly looked like a "Yes" life (Pharisees and teachers of the law) proved itself to be a no.

Meaning, of course, that we may have said no to God many times in our past. Perhaps we are saying no to him in some area of our life right now. However, a change of heart and a humble yes can alter everything. Alternatively, an outward yes means nothing if the heart is not in the right place.

However, I want to also point out that Jesus says to the Pharisees that these tax collectors and prostitutes were entering the kingdom of God "before you do." Those three words indicate hope in their ultimate change of heart. It's never too late to transform our no to yes, or make our outward yes become a heartfelt yes.

Pause to reflect on your spiritual walk these past few months. Ignore your outward actions for a moment. What word is in your heart toward God? Ask the Spirit to show you.

If your heart is burning with a big yes to God, praise the Lord. If the yes has dwindled to cold embers and an indifferent no seems to be growing, perhaps you can take a moment to readjust and ask Jesus to rekindle your yes.

You are loved either way. You are pursued by mercy and kindness either way. But your yes will help you flourish in every way.

Say yes this Advent season.