What Makes You Think You're So Special? Matthew 21:23-32

I grew up in a town where one could know fairly easily if one was "above his station" in life. Those who planned to attend college were told early on, by parents or neighbors, that attending college would not make us smarter in any ways that really mattered. Often, if someone purchased a new car more often than every five or six years, others would caustically remark, "Well, aren't you special?"
In Matthew's account of Jesus' experience with the religious leaders of the day, it appears that he was also getting the third degree about why he was hot news. The placement of this text in Matthew follows on the heels of the so-called "temple tantrum" when Jesus had overturned the tables of the merchants and money changers. The religious folks thought that they were being sly by asking Jesus from whence he got his authority, but he threw it right back at them by asking from whence John's authority had come. Jesus promptly gave the elders and chief priests enough rope with which to hang themselves, and they knew it. So, they answered him not.
By understanding the significance of the question of authority that was first asked of Jesus, and then which Jesus expanded by asking about John's authority, we can have a better understanding of what he was getting at with the parable of the two sons. Is it better to behave like the first son, and readily agree to do the chore requested, only to renege on the promise, than to refuse the request outright, only to relent later and carry out the requested task? If the first son could be compared to religious professionals of the day, and the second son to the tax collectors and prostitutes,and that is what was going on here, then the question of authority seems to have less to do with training and more to do with intent of the heart. If that is true, then it becomes evident as to what makes you so special, when you do the will of God. Prostitutes and tax collectors may not get it right the first time, but, perhaps, they eventually have a change of heart. Religious certitude often prevents otherwise righteous folks from doing the right thing. The authority for doing the will of God comes..from God. Diplomas, heritage or station in life have little to do with it.