“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.”

                                                                                                            Matthew 21:31-32

Today: Read Matthew 21

Today we have another situation in which Jesus is dealing with the religious leaders of His day. These leaders of the church were challenging Jesus’ authority for His actions. It’s important for us to understand that these were the very men who had been entrusted with the duty of guiding people in their spiritual lives. If you had a need for counseling or spiritual guidance during that era, you would have gone to these men. They were the teachers and the authority on all things scriptural. Yet they had a major flaw…they valued statutes and laws over people. While attempting to doctrinally defend God and His righteousness, the Creator of the universe came to earth, stood right in front of them, and they didn’t even recognize Him. In addition, their zeal for the Law prohibited them from seeing hurting people around them and responding appropriately. Just in case you might think we are overstating this, here are just a few examples of the Pharisees’ spiritual shortsightedness.

A broken woman sits at the feet of Jesus. As she cries, she washes the feet of Jesus with her hair. Christ would later identify her as a woman “whose sins were many.” The Bible simply refers to her as an immoral woman. She draws two reactions, one from a religious leader and one from Jesus. The Pharisee saw a woman with which he was not willing to associate. His distain for her is evident in his statement, “If this man were a prophet He would know who and what sort of person this woman is who is touching Him, that she is a sinner.” What is this woman’s story? How did she get to this point in her life? He didn’t care about the answers to those questions because, quite frankly, he didn’t care about her. Contrast that to Jesus pronouncement of salvation over her life, “Your faith has saved you, go in peace.” So this woman was the recipient of two reactions: condemnation from one, salvation, forgiveness, and spiritual freedom from Jesus (Luke 7:36-50).

A blind man sits begging. He has been blind for his entire life. He has never seen the sky, the faces of his parents, or even himself. He lives in physical darkness…that is until Jesus arrives. Jesus heals the man of his blindness, astonishing the crowd of people around him. However, the religious leaders did not celebrate with him, quite the contrary. In an attempt to trap Jesus, they questioned the man. They wanted this recently healed individual to “give glory to God”, yet in the same breath they were accusing Jesus of being “a sinner.” The Pharisees accused the man of being a disciple of Jesus (which would indicate salvation) only to acknowledge their own allegiance to the Law by declaring themselves disciples of Moses (which, ironically, would indicate spiritual deadness). Apparently, they were so angry and frustrated over seeing this man’s recent good fortune that they reviled him, accused him of being “born entirely in sin”, and then throwing him out. So this blind man, now seeing, was the recipient of two reactions: condemnation from one group, healing and restoration from Jesus (John 9:1-34).

A woman caught in the very act of adultery stands before Jesus. She has been brought here by the ravenous Pharisees. They are ready to see “justice” served. Knowing that the Law demands stoning for such an offense, they are awaiting Jesus’ response. Jesus, seeing straight into their hearts, deals with them by saying, “He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” One by one the crowd disperses, being very aware of their own unworthiness. With all of her accusers gone, the woman stands alone before Jesus and he declares, “I do not condemn you, either. Go. From now on sin no more.” So one adulterous woman is the recipient of two reactions: condemnation from the Pharisees, forgiveness and restoration from Jesus (John 8:1-11).

So why is it that the chief priests and the elders pushed back against Jesus while sinful, hurting people ran to Him? I believe the key is found in today’s passage. Jesus said that tax collectors and prostitutes were going to enter the kingdom before these religious leaders. The reason? The tax collectors and prostitutes believed and the religious did not (v 32). As believers, we all need to acknowledge that we are as spiritually poor as anyone else, including tax collectors (thieves) and prostitutes. We need to remember that our spiritual life comes by faith when we place our trust in Christ. In turn, we are able to see the hurting people around us and respond to them in a Christ-like way, not a religious one. Our goal for others should be redemption and restoration, not condemnation and condescension. Jesus is our advocate and understands us completely (Hebrews 4:15-16). As believers we should reflect the same attitude. Do you see hurting people in your life? What are you willing to do about it?