What does Matthew 21:32 mean?

The contrast between Jesus Christ and His critics in this passage is striking. When they attempted to trap Jesus, He proved that they were too cowardly to tell the truth about their beliefs (Matthew 21:23–27). Jesus immediately follows that lesson with a parable that contrasts pretentious hypocrisy with eventual submission. Then, He boldly tells the most respected and powerful men in Israel that prostitutes and traitorous tax collectors will find heaven before they do. His ability to fearlessly speak hard truth comes as their cowardly answer to His challenge is still hanging in the air.

Jesus' parable (Matthew 21:28–30) contrasted two sons. The first defied his father at first, then obeyed. The second seemed to agree, at first, but never complied. Obviously, it was the first, and not the second, who was truly obedient. With this in mind, Jesus has pointed out that tax collectors and the prostitutes have heeded the message of John the Baptist. They repented from their sin and were baptized by John. They initially said no to the commands of God—evidenced by lives of sin and selfishness—and then turned and began to obey Him (1 Corinthians 6:9–11).

The Jewish religious leaders did exactly the opposite. They publicly and repeatedly said yes to God in every way they could, but this was ultimately all for show (Matthew 23:27). When God sent John the Baptist to them as a prophet and called them to repent from their sinful actions, these religious men refused to do so. Even when the people dismissed by society as despicable sinners believed and repented, the elders, scribes, and Pharisees refused to do so. They would not believe and obey (John 5:39–40).

Jesus tells them that John came to them in the way of righteousness. This means that, unlike them, John truly lived righteously before God. He did not merely say the right words and look good standing in the temple. He did what God told Him to do, and he kept doing it. From that position of righteous living, John called the Israelites to repent and join Him. Again, the religious leaders refused to do so.