Which of the two did the will of his father?” “The first,” they answered. Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God before you.Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said to him, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Most certainly I tell you that the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering into God’s Kingdom before you.Whether of them twain did the will of his father? They say unto him, 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.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.
3 sermons cite this verse
… the man came to his other son and gave the same order. He said in reply, yes, sir, but did not go. Which of the two did his father's will? They answered the first. Jesus said to them, amen. I say to you, tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God before you. When John came to you by way of righteousness, you did not believe him, but tax collectors and prostitutes did. Yet even when you saw that, you did not later change your minds and believe him. The Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, Lord. Wait till you have a seat. so earlier this summer uh i was part of a camp we put on for the diocese it's a called camp survive it's it's for middle schoolers but there's a bunch of high schoolers who serve as junior counselors during the camp and so we have a little training weekend at one of the parishes we had to sleep on the floor this whole training thing it was sunday morning so these high school boys i come up to them they're having breakfast and sit down guys how are you doing and these are these are all high school boys. They're all rising seniors. They're all on the same football team from the same town. Great guys. Like they're giving up a weekend for training. They're giving up a whole week to serve at this camp the entire week. How's it going? Man, this is just, they were so …
… But he did not go. Which of the two did the will of his father? They say, the first. Jesus says to them, truly, truly, I say to you, the tax collectors and prostitutes go into the kingdom of God before you. for John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him and even when you saw it you did not afterward change your minds and believe him that's from the gospel according to Matthew chapter 21 it's the perfect parable for the situation because however they answer Jesus has them Whether they point to the first child or the second child, either way, they're about to get schooled. Neither of the two children in the parable is admirable. Both disrespect their father, one to his face, the other behind his back. It's just that the first one changes his mind. He has a come-to-Jesus moment. Like former prostitutes or ex-tax collectors. Tax collectors, who, by the way, used a legal technicality to get away with stealing from their own people Tax collectors and prostitutes behaved shamefully They had disrespected themselves, their neighbors, and their God Maybe they did it willfully Or maybe they just didn't know what they didn't know Either way, when they tasted that bitter feeling of being exposed They changed their minds like the first child in the story. …
… We don't have to yell it out. Just read it with me so you can hear it yourself and not just my voice. Let's read it together. Jesus said to them, 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. Don't be the group. Hang around the church and the temple all your life and always looking for an excuse not to repent and to believe. Accept God's grace today and just simply say, Lord, I don't know how you're going to do it, but I thank you that you love me enough that you sent Jesus Christ.