Assuredly, I say to you that tax collectors and harlots enter the kingdom of God before you

 

 Now when He came into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people confronted Him as He was teaching, and said, "By what authority are You doing these things?  And who gave You this authority?"  But Jesus answered and said to them, "I also will ask you one thing, which if you tell Me, I likewise will tell you by what authority I do these things:  The baptism of John -- where was it from?  From heaven or from men?"  And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "If we say, 'From heaven,' He will say to us, 'Why then did you not believe him?'  But if we say, 'From men,' we fear the multitude, for all count John as a prophet."  So they answered Jesus and said, "We do not know."  And He said to them, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.  But what do you think?  A man had two sons, and he came to the first and said, 'Son, go, work today in my vineyard.'  He answered and said, 'I will not,' but afterward he regretted it and went.  Then he came to the second and said likewise.  And he answered and said, 'I go, sir,' but he did not go.  Which of the two did the will of his father?"  They said to Him, "The first."  Jesus said to them, "Assuredly, I say to you that tax collectors and harlots enter the kingdom of God before you.  For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him; but tax collectors and harlots believed him; and when you saw it, you did not afterward relent and believe him."

 

- Matthew 21:23-32 

 

Yesterday we read that, following His Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem, Jesus went into the temple of God and drove out all those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves.  And He said to them, "It is written, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer,' but you have made it a 'den of thieves.'"  Then the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and He healed them.  But when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that He did, and the children crying out in the temple and saying, "Hosanna to the Son of David!" they were indignant and said to Him, "Do You hear what these are saying?"  And Jesus said to them, "Yes.  Have you never read, 'Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have perfected praise'?"  Then He left them and went out of the city to Bethany, and He lodged there.  Now in the morning, as He returned to the city, He was hungry.  And seeing a fig tree by the road, He came to it and found nothing on it but leaves, and said to it, "Let no fruit grow on you ever again."  Immediately the fig tree withered away.  And when the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying, "How did the fig tree wither away so soon?"  So Jesus answered and said to them, "Assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but also if you say to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea,' it will be done.  And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive."

 

Now when He came into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people confronted Him as He was teaching, and said, "By what authority are You doing these things?  And who gave You this authority?"  But Jesus answered and said to them, "I also will ask you one thing, which if you tell Me, I likewise will tell you by what authority I do these things:  The baptism of John -- where was it from?  From heaven or from men?"  And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "If we say, 'From heaven,' He will say to us, 'Why then did you not believe him?'  But if we say, 'From men,' we fear the multitude, for all count John as a prophet."  So they answered Jesus and said, "We do not know."  And He said to them, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things."  My study Bible explains that since Christ is not a Levitical priest, the chief priests and the elders challenge His authority to cleanse the temple.  It notes that as He is careful not to reveal Himself to scoffers, He confounds them with a different question about John.  Both questions require the same answer; they would lead a person to confess that Jesus has come from heaven.  But by not answering them directly, Jesus teaches us not to answer to people who come asking about holy things with a malicious intent.

 

 "But what do you think?  A man had two sons, and he came to the first and said, 'Son, go, work today in my vineyard.'  He answered and said, 'I will not,' but afterward he regretted it and went.  Then he came to the second and said likewise.  And he answered and said, 'I go, sir,' but he did not go.  Which of the two did the will of his father?"  They said to Him, "The first."  Jesus said to them, "Assuredly, I say to you that tax collectors and harlots enter the kingdom of God before you.  For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him; but tax collectors and harlots believed him; and when you saw it, you did not afterward relent and believe him."  My study Bible says that, using their own principles, the elders convict themselves in their answer to Christ's parable.  

Christ's parable is interesting, as it illustrates for us something that we touched upon in yesterday's reading and commentary.  It is an illustration of Jesus' earlier quotation to the religious leadership of the words of Isaiah:  "This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me" (see Matthew 15:8-9, Isaiah 29:13-14).  If we finish that quotation from Isaiah and take it further, we see the action of the Lord:  "Therefore, behold, I will again do wonderful things with this people, with wonder upon wonder; and the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the discernment of their discerning men shall be hidden" (Isaiah 23:14).  In a sense, it is a prophecy of the ministry of Jesus, in which wonders are openly performed, and yet the wisdom of the wise is perishing with this leadership, for they have no discernment, and are far too busy protecting their positions to honor the wisdom of Christ.  It's also a quotation that echoes through the centuries regarding our own attitudes and hearts when we do the same.  There is always a challenge of valuing the wisdom of God over our conventional or worldly attitudes about what is expedient and desirable.  So often we look for faith simply to affirm whatever it is that we are currently living, to help us to accept what seems to be the zeitgeist of our current affairs or events in our lives, to make our lives easier and less bumpy.  But if we take a look at Christ, the last thing He seems to do is make the lives of His disciples "less bumpy," so to speak.  No, He draws them out of the conventions of their world and into a new life, in which their own identity is realized through His wisdom and where the Spirit will lead them.  Isaiah affirms this as proper in his words, that we must draw near to God with our hearts:  what we offer to God is nothing less than ourselves, and God will shape an identity in us, draw out what is possible, help us to define and correct misconceptions, and draw us toward something new and possibly a self-identity we could not expect in our limited perspectives otherwise.  So often this is true in the lives of the faithful, and we can see it illustrated throughout the Bible, and especially in the lives of the Twelve.  Jesus' parable of the two sons illustrates how we can draw near to God with our lips, and yet our hearts are far away.  It is also a vivid illustration of how faith is more than confession, but must also be lived.  There is no separation between what is in the heart and what we do, but our lives are rather both together, and so our lives are lived out.  Everyone else may not clearly understand the meaning of our actions, but in the long run it is the true state of the heart that plays out, for good or ill, for the love of God or the love of something else.  In today's reading, Jesus shows us what it is to stand up for truth, even when one wants to avoid casting pearls before those who will simply trample upon them.  A great feat, indeed.  Let us remember that it is Christ who is our true Judge, who knows the heart -- and that ultimately it is the heart that must be open to His truth.