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Matthew 21:31
ESV Which of the two did the will of his father?" They said, "The first." Jesus said to them, "Truly, I say to you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes go into the kingdom of God before you.
NIV "Which of the two did what his father wanted?" "The first," they answered. Jesus said to them, "Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you.
NASB 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.
CSB Which of the two did his father’s will?" They said, "The first." Jesus said to them, "Truly I tell you, tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God before you.
NLT Which of the two obeyed his father?' They replied, 'The first.' Then Jesus explained his meaning: 'I tell you the truth, corrupt tax collectors and prostitutes will get into the Kingdom of God before you do.
KJV 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.
NKJV Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said to Him, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you that tax collectors and harlots enter the kingdom of God before you.

What does Matthew 21:31 mean?

After defusing their attempted trap (Matthew 21:23–27), Jesus has asked some chief priests and elders another question, this time about a parable (Matthew 21:28–30). He has described two sons whose father separately instructs them to go work in the vineyard.

The first son is openly defiant, telling his father he won't obey. Later, however, he changes his mind and does exactly as he was told. The second son gives the polite, seemingly obedient answer, but never actually does what his father commanded.

Here Jesus asks these religious leaders His question: Which son did his father's will? They answer the only way they can: The son who did the work, even though he first said no, is the one who did the father's will. The father wanted action, not just words. The one who acted obeyed. Despite the first son's initial rudeness, his change of heart meant he came to obey and honor his father. The second son, on the other hand, never really honored his father, as proven by the fact that he only talked about obedience—he did not actually obey (John 14:15).

Now Jesus lowers the boom. His statement would have landed like a slap in the face. The examples of prostitutes and Jewish men who collected taxes for the Romans were not random choices by Jesus. Combined, these stereotypes summed up the worst of the worst in Israel's sense of religious purity: wretched, wicked, traitorous, dirty, and despicable. In fact, they were considered outsiders to Israel's religious community. They were lower than nobodies.

And yet, Jesus is claiming those very people would enter God's kingdom ahead of the most religious and powerful men in Israel. The parable just given, further explained in the next verse (Matthew 21:32), shows Jesus is still talking about belief in the message of John the Baptist. Many prostitutes and tax collectors believed and repented—moving from defiance of God to submission (1 Corinthians 6:9–11). The Jewish religious leaders would merely pretend to submit, but never really obey (John 5:39–40; Matthew 23:27).
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