What If The Democrat and LGBTQ Enter the Kingdom Before You?

It is Fig Monday, and Jesus has been challenged by the chief priests and elders. They asked by what authority He did and taught the things He did. He did not tell them. Jesus now tells His critics three parables about them. Here is the first.

Matthew 21:28-32

“But what do you think? A man had two sons, and he came to the first and said, ‘Son, go work today in the vineyard.’ And he answered, ‘I will not’; but afterward he regretted it and went. The man came to the second and said the same thing; and he answered, ‘I will, sir’; but he did not go. Which of the two did the will of his father?”

They said, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Truly I say to you that the tax collectors and prostitutes will get 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 prostitutes did believe him; and you, seeing this, did not even feel remorse afterward so as to believe him.”

The question (v. 28-31a)

“But what do you think? A man had two sons, and he came to the first and said, ‘Son, go work today in the vineyard.’ And he answered, ‘I will not’; but afterward he regretted it and went. The man came to the second and said the same thing; and he answered, ‘I will, sir’; but he did not go. Which of the two did the will of his father?”

Jesus responds to the chief priests and elders by asking them a question in parable form. They challenged Jesus. Now, Jesus is challenging them. Such is an appropriate response. Instead of telling them how idiotic they are for not recognizing Him or because they are leading Israel into doctrinal, religious, and political error, Jesus asks them a probing question that they now have to answer because the crowd is watching with anticipation (cf. v. 23).

Jesus presents a scenario in which two sons tell their father one thing but do the opposite. One son made no commitment but did what the father wanted. The other promised to do what the father wanted but did not. Which son did the will of his father? The question is disarming because the answer is in the question. Who did the will of the father? The one who did what the father wanted, which is the definition of will (Θελημα, meaning the wishes of). Here, we see that it is possible for one not to do the wishes of the father, or what the father asks. We cannot discern from this text whether it was because of his depravity or wretchedness.

The detail to remember is that the son who did not commit to the father’s wishes, the nullifidius son, was the one to do them and so honor his father in Jesus’s parable. He did so because of conviction.

The revelation (v. 31b-32)

They said, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Truly I say to you that the tax collectors and prostitutes will get 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 prostitutes did believe him; and you, seeing this, did not even feel remorse afterward so as to believe him.”

The chief priests and elders answer correctly. How could they not? After they answer, Jesus reveals that the second son represents them, and the first son represents tax collectors and prostitutes. Thus, the tax collectors and prostitutes represented will get into the kingdom of God before (here to mean precede positionally, not necessarily chronologically) the chief priests and elders.

The chief priests and elders made a profession of belief and committed themselves to honor God with their lives. They tried to keep the Law and instructed others to do so. They tried to keep the rituals of their religion. Then, when John, the second Elijah (cf. 11:14), came preaching about the Messiah, the religious people did not believe him and did not come to believe his message after initially rejecting it.

The tax collectors and prostitutes, though, neither professed their belief nor committed themselves to honor God with their lives. They lived in sin and caused others to sin; such is the nature of prostitution and tax collection. They did not prioritize the religious rituals of their culture in Judea. When John preached that they could be washed clean from their sin and redeemed by their messiah, they believed him and, thus, would enter the kingdom of heaven before these chief priests and elders of Israel.

The other day, I was sitting with a group of people who were smoking and having beers. One of them misheard another and made a big deal of what he thought he heard, which was something that normally is inappropriate, “Sorry, Andrew. You’re hanging out with a bunch of sinners.” All I could do was smile because I know Jesus—the one who brings prostitutes into His kingdom before religious officers who pretend to be perfect but do not recognize or heed the message of redemption in Christ, by grace, and through faith. What I have to teach from this passage is going to be very offensive to many high-church folks.

Sexual immorality and cheating one’s kinsmen are two of the greatest sins listed in Scripture. Yet, Jesus talks about those who perpetrate such atrocities with lovingkindness and acceptance into the kingdom of heaven. The self-righteous will have to watch as great sinners are given priority by the father because of their obedience. Their eventual obedience is obedience of conviction, not ritual. It is the ritual of the chief priests and elders that causes them to ultimately not honor their confession. God alone saves and gives eternal life. We cannot earn God’s grace by any ritual. Doing the will of the Father, as Jesus taught in 7:21-23, is to be know by Him and not merely to do many things in His name. It is relational, not ritualistic.

Thus, there are many ritualistic and self-righteous people today who believe they are spiritually mature but will see priority given to the worst sinners. They will see the LGBTQ+ individuals entering the kingdom before them. They will see prostitutes, IRS agents, democrats, drunkards, gluttons, foul-mouths, and chainsmokers entering the kingdom before them—and, perhaps, they will be able to enter even if barely through the fire.

There are many people who grew up in some kind of church, made a profession of faith, but never believed the true Gospel. They become judgmental and condescending. Such is the way of the world, and we are seeing it in the woke church and civil activism of our time—bigotry and works-based righteousness that tells people they have to be a certain way or perish. There are many who made no profession of faith but hear the Gospel and believe. They will inherit eternal life. In Jesus’s teaching, here, we see that no one can enter the kingdom of heaven by overcoming his or her sin. Instead, Christ comes to them in the midst of their sin and brings them into His kingdom. I am so glad about that because my sin was much worse than what I see from others.

Keep in mind that not everything ritualistic people call sin is sin according to the Bible. No matter your sin, including sexual sin or anything that overly ritualistic people disdain, you are invited to come to Jesus Christ and enter into the kingdom of heaven. Come to Him in the midst of your sin. Bring Him your burdens. His yoke is easy and burden light. Notice that the first son rejected the father’s command, yet honored the father by conviction rather than ritual. Jesus is not condoning sin. When you come to Jesus, He will change you from the inside out. He takes you in the midst of your sin, but He does not leave you there. He does not force ritualistic change upon you as if you could possibly change yourself. He brings us into obedience by conviction, by changing our hearts and writing His law upon our hearts. I did not stop lusting after women and money before being brought to Jesus. In Christ, I was enlightened and my focus naturally lifted from self-gratification. The whole world, false religions and big tech and bigoted governments included, tells us that we must earn our places by being good enough. We must justify ourselves and honor the current systemic view of justice. When Jesus rode into Jerusalem, He signified that true justice would come through Him. He accomplishes true justice, in part, by justifying sinners rather than requiring them to first become righteous by their work. So, please don’t try to change before coming to Christ. Don’t leave your baggage at the door. Simply come and see. Repent and believe the gospel. Receive life and be changed from the inside out. If your righteousness is based on your piousness, works, or self-justification, be warned. Christ came to call sinners, not the self-righteous.