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 

 

In our current reading, Jesus has made His Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem, the day we celebrate as Palm Sunday.  Yesterday we read that then 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 to us that, since Christ is not a Levitical priest, the chief priests and the elders challenge His authority to cleanse the temple.  As Christ is careful not to reveal Himself to scoffers, He instead offers them a different question about John, confounding them.  Both the elders' question and Christ's question require the same answer.  They would therefore lead a person to confess that Jesus has come from heaven.  My study Bible cautions us to note that by not answering them directly, Jesus is teaching us not to answer 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 suggests that these elders, using their own principles, actually convict themselves in their answer to Christ's parable.  

We've all heard the old adage, "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me."  But words have meaning and power, and Christ Himself is the Word, an indication of the true power behind language properly used -- and therefore the false and destructive power of language improperly used.  Today's reading is all about the use of words, and how powerful and important they truly are.  For words convey to us meaning.  If that meaning is distorted and turned to lies, that is surely a destructive power.  But when language is used for truth, especially with the spiritual power of truth that is in Christ, then it becomes a powerful and important tool indeed.  In these passages from today's reading, Jesus shows His exceptional skill with language, and also teaches us how powerful it is, showing us that to be careful with our words is essential and important -- for it is clearly so to Him.  The elders in the temple come to Him with an assumption about authority, an accusation with which Christ has already become familiar:  "By what authority are You doing these things?  And who gave You this authority?"  They are couching their language in terms with which they're on familiar ground, a sense of authority which they can hold over others in what they do.  But Christ has a heavenly authority they can't point to nor perhaps apprehend sufficiently to recognize; indeed, their desire is to obliterate that powerful effect Christ has in His preaching and healing among the people.  Jesus refuses to answer on their terms, and instead poses to them a question about John the Baptist.  John, we know, was widely revered as a holy man, as indeed the Gospel reports these elders saying among themselves, that if they deny John's authority, "we fear the multitude, for all count John as a prophet."  So, instead, they take a kind of cowardly refuge in refusing to answer Jesus, saying instead, "We do not know."  Note how nothing in their response is truth; everything is sparked by the fear of losing their own position and authority; their fear of the people's response guides everything.  But Jesus' own effective use of language, unmasking their fear and deceit, is pure truth in and of itself.  The power of His words means that He can effectively respond to them, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things."  In the parable that follows, it goes without saying that Christ is the premiere Wordsmith we know.  His parables are deceptively simple, yet powerful in their own right.  This parable works as a kind of riddle ("riddle" is one meaning given to the word parable).  With such a clever parable, Jesus makes the point, not only defending His own ministry the religious leaders have criticized ("eating with tax collectors and sinners"), but also that of John the Baptist:  "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."  Importantly for us, Christ's emphasis here is on repentance, "change of mind."  Although their words are chosen out of fear, their hearts are far away from Christ.  But perhaps ironically, this is the one thing they need, for repentance is a cure for error -- and it is the tax collectors and harlots who could show them the way by example.  Jesus did not come into the world in order to find sinners to punish.  He came to save.  Indeed, at the very time when the Pharisees criticized Him for eating with tax collectors and sinners, Jesus replied, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.  But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy and not sacrifice.'  For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance" (Matthew 9:12-13).  John's Gospel tells us, "For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved" (John 3:17).  But those who are self-righteous, blind to their own error, cannot repent -- even though this is the one thing they need to find Him and the life they could have in His kingdom.  Repentance is the key to the gospel; all Jesus wants is for us to find our way back to Him, and the way is very simple.  Prior to giving the parable of the Lost Sheep, in which the Shepherd will leave the ninety-nine at risk to seek the one lost, Jesus taught, "For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost."  If we observe these religious leaders, we see their drive to obfuscate, to entrap, to twist language, even to the point of finding false witnesses whose stories trip over one another in order to try to condemn Jesus to death.  But Christ's words and truth go to the heart of the matter, and His truth is what they need to embrace in order to simply repent and find their way to His life and salvation.  Let us consider the ways we can use language to obscure and even to lie to ourselves, covering up the one simple thing we need: repent by turning to truth and toward Him.  His powerful but simple words remind us that the strength of His truth is always present to us, and it is only there in which we need to rest and take our stand, as does He.