 We have a habit of expecting the Bible to do something we never do ourselves. We don't always mean exactly the same precise thing when we use a phrase, do we? Neither does the Bible. Normally, some would take this phrase to mean the publicans and the harlots would go to heaven before the priests and elders of Judah, or if not heaven, at least to be in the resurrection and the kingdom of God. But in context, is that how Jesus uses the terms?