Tax Collectors and Prostitutes

Day 32: Matthew 21:23-46

“‘Which of the two did the will of his father?’ They said, ‘The first.’ Jesus said to them, ‘Truly, I say to you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes go into the kingdom of God before you.'” - Matthew 21:31

What a bold statement for Jesus to make about these Jewish "experts." How dare Jesus declare that the "sinners" would be welcomed into His kingdom before them. They had done all of the studying. They had memorized all 39 books of the Old Testament. Their entire lives were wrapped up in this system they had created. In Jesus, they saw a threat to unravel all they had accomplished. Little did they know that by killing Him, they would be initiating something that would spread much further and deeper into Jewish culture (and the entire world).

What had the tax collectors and prostitutes done differently? They didn't possess more knowledge. They purely believed (see vs. 32).

Beware of learning for the sake of bolstering your pride. May we always learn to increase our trust in the name of Jesus.

Feel like you don't know enough? Jesus has you right where He wants you. May we "press on to know Him" (Hosea 6:3) for the rest of our lives.

"We must remark that the Lord has no censure for those who sometime were disobedient, but afterwards repented; his rebuke falls on the professors and self-righteous, who ought to have been leaders and guides, and were in truth impious and irreligious. - Spence-Jones, H. D. M. (Ed.). (1909). St. Matthew (Vol. 2, p. 323)