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MATTHEW 21:31 — KING JAMES VERSION 0
Matt 21:30Matt 21:32
“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 said: the first. And Jesus said to them: truly, I say to you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes go into the kingdom of God before you. The religious leaders' correct answer — the first — is turned against them: the tax collectors and prostitutes who initially refused but repented at John's preaching are entering the kingdom before the chief priests and elders who said yes but did not go. The before you is not an exclusion but a priority: the religious establishment is last; the repentant sinners are first.

Church Fathers on Matthew 21:31

Thus much prefaced, the Lord brings forward a parable, to convict them of their irreligion, and shew them that the kingdom of God should be transferred to the Gentiles.

Jerome · 4th century

Those who are to be judged in this cause, He applies to as judges, that condemning themselves they might be shewn to be unworthy to be acquitted by any other. It is high confidence of the justness of a cause, that will entrust it to the decision of an adversary. But He veils the allusion to them in a parable, that they might not perceive that they were passing sentence upon themselves; 'A certain man had two sons.' Who is he but God, who created all men, who being by nature…

Pseudo-Chrysostom · 5th century

Whence we may gather, that in this parable the Lord spoke to such as promise little or nothing, but in their works shine forth; and against those who promise great things but do none of these things that they have promised.

Origen · 3rd century
Read all 16 entries in the readerCatena Aurea · St. Thomas Aquinas, tr. J. H. Newman · public domain
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