Matthew 21:28-32
Summary
It’s not what we say, it’s what we do.
The Parable
“’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.’”
Lesson
The chief priests and elders, whom Jesus spoke this to, had rejected John the Baptist, while the common people had heard and believed him. And now, with Jesus, they had done the same.
It isn’t the one who holds a high position, or the one who says he will follow the truth who is acceptable to God, but the one who actually does what He says, Matthew 7:24, for “God shows no partiality,” Acts 10:34.
The religious leaders are the son who said he would go, but then they didn’t actually do the work of God, that is, put it into action in their lives. While the tax collectors and harlots are those who at the first part of their lives refused to believe in God, but when they heard the preaching of John and Jesus truly repented and changed their lives.