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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadPaul Kretzmann Commentary - Matthew 21:31 - 21:32
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The application:
v. 31. Jesus saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you.
v. 32. 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 had seen it, repented not afterward, that ye might believe him.
By giving the answer to the question of Jesus, the rulers of the Jews had pronounced their own sentence. John, in his message and in his life, was a preacher of righteousness, none greater than he. Yet the outcasts of Jewish society, those that had been expelled from the synagogue and were no longer members of the Jewish Church, they gave heed to his admonition to repent. They were, after all, obedient to the will of the heavenly Father. But the Pharisees and scribes, the chief priests and elders, heeded neither the preaching of John nor that of Christ. They made a practice of having God's Word and Law in their mouths, but their heart was far from real obedience to the will of the Father in heaven. A mere head-and-mouth Christianity is actually nothing but disobedience to God. But a poor sinner that realizes his guilt and repents of his sin, is acknowledged and treated by God as an obedient child, and his former sins are no longer remembered.