[Jesus said:] "Now, to what can I compare the people of this day? They are like children sitting in the market place. One group shouts to the other, 'We played wedding music for you, but you would not dance! We sang funeral songs, but you would not cry!' John came, and he fasted and drank no wine, and everyone said, 'He has a demon in him!' The Son of Man came, and He ate and drank, and everyone said, 'Look at this man! He is a glutton and wine-drinker, a friend of tax collectors and outcasts!' God's wisdom, however, is shown to be true by its results."

   Then Jesus began to reproach the towns where He had performed most of His miracles, because the people had not turned from their sins. "How terrible it will be for you, Chorazin! How terrible for you too, Bethsaida! If the miracles which were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, long ago the people there would have put on sackcloth and sprinkled ashes on themselves to show they had turned from their sins! Remember, then, that on the Judgment Day God will show more mercy to the people of Tyre and Sidon than to you! And as for you, Capernaum! You wanted to lift yourself up to heaven? You will be thrown down to hell! If the miracles which were performed in you had been performed in Sodom, it would still be in existence today! Remember, then, that on the Judgment Day God will show more mercy to Sodom, than to you!"

   [Jesus told this story to the religious leaders of His day:] "Tell me what you think about this: There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first son and said, 'Son, go and work today in my vineyard.' The son answered, 'I will not go.' But later the son decided he should go, and he went. Then the father went to the other son and said, 'Son, go and work today in my vineyard.' The son answered, 'Yes, sir, I will go and work.' But he did not go. Which of the two sons obeyed his father?" The priests and leaders answered, "The first son."

   Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth. The tax collectors and the prostitutes will enter the kingdom of God before you do. John came to show you the right way to live. And you did not believe him. But the tax collectors and prostitutes believed John. You saw this, but you still refused to change and believe him."

Taken from Mt. 16, 21, Today's English Version and The Everyday Bible. For free
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