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. Matthew 21:31 (AMV)
Jesus gives us here in Matthew 21:28-32 an illustration of how we humans react to doing the will of the Father. It seems the common and popular thing to do to read about the Pharisees, Chief Priests and the Elders of Jesus´ time and to accuse them of being dreadfully wrong. This is easy to do because Jesus laid it all out for the world to see.
But perhaps we today should have a little more sympathy for this group of individuals, because much of what we are like and the things we do resemble them closely. If we care to notice and swallow a bit of selfish pride, we may open ourselves to a lot of good healthy instruction as we watch how Jesus dealt with them and exposed their errors.
The true Christian is not the one all cock-sure that he is right in his higher opinion, but the soul honest enough to acknowledge his need for a Savior. If we would join this latter group then we would embrace any ideology which would bring healing and help in spiritual affairs.
Therefore, should we attempt to place ourselves where the mistaken rulers of the people stood, we may see that we are in need of a little adjustment of character.
The rulers of the people in Jesus´ day had religion. They had the promises of the Bible; they had the commandments, traditions and laws to follow. They were much like the average Christian today. They got all they needed to assure their standing with God and their eternal futures too. But that is not what Jesus told them and perhaps if He were to visit us again today, He would have to remind us as well.
In our text today Jesus uses two brothers as an example of who was doing the will of the Father. What was the differing factor? What was the one thing that distinguished between the two brothers?
One brother let the words and wishes of his Father sink down under his skin. His conscious told him that he was wrong and he was moved inside his heart. The other brother failed to do this. This man was happy to say he would honor his Father´s wishes, but all the while he continued to please his own will instead.
Make no mistake, this is a very big problem indeed and the honest will recognize it within his or her own heart. In this we can stand next to the Jewish Elders and hear Jesus´ words saying that the prostitutes and people who have robbed us of money are entering the kingdom ahead of us. These sinners have realized their affront to God and are moved to do His will. As long as we hold back and reserve our hearts from feeling and from turning, we are being the second brother.
Dear Lord, open our eyes to see and our ears to hear. Even if it pains us to learn of the error of our ways, show them to us. We would like to learn and we would like to turn. We would like to repent, feel remorse inside our hearts then go out into Your garden to do Your will. Forgive us for being like the Pharisees and not dropping all our ideals and bowing to You to find healing from our tendencies to our own ways.
In Your name we pray.
Amen
Searching For Christ 
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