Last updated on October 29, 2024
It’s now Tuesday. Jesus is still in Jerusalem, and it seems that he spends his entire day talking with and about the religious leaders. They are still trying to figure out a way to have him arrested, tried and killed. Remember that they believe that he is a threat to their entire religion and he must be stopped by any means necessary. They don’t like the timing of Passover because they know that the people like Jesus, and they are worried about a riot. But they can’t allow this to continue.
These interactions between Jesus and the religious leaders show the wisdom and overall cunning intelligence of Jesus. He once again tells lots of stories. One of those stories goes like this.
There was a man who had two sons. He told them both to go and work in his vineyard. The first said no, but then he went and did it anyway. The second said yes, but then he didn’t go. Jesus’ question to them was, “Which of the two did what his father wanted?” The answer was obvious. It was the first. Jesus then said, “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him” (Matthew 21:31-32).
What was Jesus getting at? To an ordinary Jewish person, the religious leaders were the ones closest to God. They had degrees. They knew the laws. They talked about God everyday. And the tax collectors and prostitutes were the sinners. They had no shot with God because of their chosen professions. Yet once again Jesus was flipping the script. Those who once had no shot were now ahead of things when it came to entering the kingdom of God.
Why is that? Well, I think it comes down to humility. You can’t have repentance without humility. The tax collectors and prostitutes were never told by the religious leaders that they had a shot with God. John the Baptist gave them that invitation. So too did Jesus. And for many of them, their lives were changed because of that invitation. The religious leaders on the outside looked like the ones closest to God, but their hearts were far from him because they lacked humility. And they were fine simply appearing like good people.