Charles Spurgeon Commentary Matthew 21:31-32

"Which of the two did the will of his father? They say, The first. Jesus saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, that the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you. For John came unto you in the way of righteousness, and ye believed him not; but the publicans and the harlots believed him: and ye, when ye saw it, did not even repent yourselves afterward, that ye might believe him." — Matthew 21:31-32 (ASV)

Jesus made the hypocritical religious leaders judges in a case that was indeed their own. He asked them, “Whether of them twain did the will of his father?” Only one reply was possible. They answered him, “The first.” It was clear that the first son, despite his rough refusal when he first heard his father’s command, was ultimately the doer of the father’s will.

Then Jesus pointed out that the tax collectors and the prostitutes were like the first son, while the chief priests and elders of the people, with all their fine professions, were deceitful and disobedient like the second son. They had professed great reverence for the divine Word, but when it came through John, they did not repent so that they might believe him. Open sinners, who had seemed to refuse the voice of God, actually believed him, and so by heeding John’s ministry of righteousness, went into the kingdom of God before those considered more likely.

What must these self-satisfied priests and elders have thought when they heard tax collectors and prostitutes placed before them? Gnashing their teeth, they planned murder in their hearts.