For John came unto you in the way of righteousness, and you believed him not: but the tax collectors and the harlots believed him: and you, when you had seen it, repented not afterward, that you might believe him.
All Commentaries on Matthew 21:32 Go To Matthew 21
John Chrysostom
AD 407
And with this there is also still another charge. The publicans were attentive and repented, but even after the publicans and harlots had believed, you did not believe. You should have repented long before they did. But you did not do it. So you are deprived of all excuses. How unspeakable was both the praise of the one and the charge against the other: He came to you, and you did not receive him. He did not come to them, and they received him! And you did not even learn from their example. Note in how many ways he shows that some are to be commended and others charged, but in surprising ways, reversing expectations. To you he came first, not to them. You did not believe. They were not offended. They believed. This did not profit you at all. The Gospel of Matthew, Homily