Matthew 22
22
A Story About a Wedding Feast
1Jesus used stories to tell other things to the people. He said, 2“The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding feast for his son. 3The king invited some people to the feast. When the feast was ready, the king sent his servants to tell the people to come. But they refused to come to the feast.
4“Then the king sent other servants. He said to them, ‘Tell those who have been invited that my feast is ready. I have killed my best bulls and calves for the dinner. Everything is ready. Come to the wedding feast.’
5“But the people refused to listen to the servants. They went to do other things. One went to work in his field, and another went to his business. 6Some of the other people grabbed the servants, beat them, and killed them. 7The king was very angry. He sent his army to kill the people who had killed his servants. And the army burned their city.
8“After that, the king said to his servants, ‘The wedding feast is ready. I invited those people, but they were not worthy to come. 9So go to the street corners and invite everyone you see. Tell them to come to my feast.’ 10So the servants went into the streets. They gathered all the people they could find, both good and bad. And the wedding hall was filled with guests.
11“Then the king came in to see all the guests. He saw a man there who was not dressed in the right clothes for a wedding. 12The king said, ‘Friend, how were you allowed to come in here? You are not wearing the right clothes for a wedding.’ But the man said nothing. 13So the king told some servants, ‘Tie this man’s hands and feet. Throw him out into the darkness. In that place, people will cry and grind their teeth with pain.’
14“Yes, many are invited. But only a few are chosen.”
The Pharisees Try to Trap Jesus
15Then the Pharisees left the place where Jesus was teaching. They made plans to trap Jesus with a question. 16They sent some of their own followers and some men from the group called Herodians.# A political group that followed Herod and his family. These men said, “Teacher, we know that you are an honest man. We know that you teach the truth about God’s way. You are not afraid of what other people think about you. All men are the same to you. 17So tell us what you think. Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”
18But Jesus knew that these men were trying to trick him. So he said, “You hypocrites! Why are you trying to trap me? 19Show me a coin used for paying the tax.” The men showed him a silver coin.# A Roman denarius. One coin was the average pay for one day’s work. 20Then Jesus asked, “Whose picture is on the coin? And whose name is written on the coin?”
21The men answered, “Caesar’s.”
Then Jesus said to them, “Give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s. And give to God the things that are God’s.”
22The men heard what Jesus said, and they were amazed. They left him and went away.
Sadducees Try to Trick Jesus
23That same day some Sadducees came to Jesus. (Sadducees believe that no person will rise from death.) The Sadducees asked Jesus a question. 24They said, “Teacher, Moses told us that a married man might die without having children. Then his brother must marry the widow and have children for him. 25There were seven brothers among us. The first one married but died. He had no children. So his brother married the widow. 26Then the second brother also died. The same thing happened to the third brother and all the other brothers. 27The woman was last to die. 28But all seven men had married her. So when people rise from death, whose wife will she be?”
29Jesus answered, “You don’t understand because you don’t know what the Scriptures say. And you don’t know about the power of God. 30When people rise from death, there will be no marriage. People will not be married to each other. They will be like the angels in heaven. 31Surely you have read what God said to you about the rising from death? 32God said, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’# Quotation from Exodus 3:6. God is the God of living people, not dead people.”
33All the people heard this. They were amazed at Jesus’ teaching.
The Most Important Command
34The Pharisees learned that the Sadducees could not argue with Jesus’ answers to them. So the Pharisees met together. 35One Pharisee was an expert in the law of Moses. That Pharisee asked Jesus a question to test him. 36The Pharisee asked, “Teacher, which command in the law is the most important?”
37Jesus answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and mind.’# Quotation from Deuteronomy 6:5. 38This is the first and most important command. 39And the second command is like the first: ‘Love your neighbor as you love yourself.’# Quotation from Leviticus 19:18. 40All the law and the writings of the prophets depend on these two commands.”
Jesus Questions the Pharisees
41While the Pharisees were together, Jesus asked them a question. 42He asked, “What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he?”
The Pharisees answered, “The Christ is the Son of David.”
43Then Jesus said to them, “Then why did David call him ‘Lord’? David was speaking by the power of the Holy Spirit. David said,
44‘The Lord said to my Lord:
Sit by me at my right side,
until I put your enemies under your control.’ Psalm 110:1
45David calls the Christ ‘Lord.’ So how can he be David’s son?”
46None of the Pharisees could answer Jesus’ question. And after that day no one was brave enough to ask Jesus any more questions.
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Matthew 22: ICB
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Copyright © 2015 by Tommy Nelson™, a Division of Thomas Nelson, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
Matthew 22
22
1 AND AGAIN Jesus spoke to them in parables (comparisons, stories used to illustrate and explain), saying,
2 The kingdom of heaven is like a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son
3 And sent his servants to summon those who had been invited to the wedding banquet, but they refused to come.
4 Again he sent other servants, saying, Tell those who are invited, Behold, I have prepared my banquet; my bullocks and my fat calves are killed, and everything is prepared; come to the wedding feast.
5 But they were not concerned and paid no attention [they ignored and made light of the summons, treating it with contempt] and they went away–one to his farm, another to his business,
6 While the others seized his servants, treated them shamefully, and put them to death.
7 [Hearing this] the king was infuriated; and he sent his soldiers and put those murderers to death and burned their city.
8 Then he said to his servants, The wedding [feast] is prepared, but those invited were not worthy.
9 So go to the thoroughfares where they leave the city [where the main roads and those from the country end] and invite to the wedding feast as many as you find.
10 And those servants went out on the crossroads and got together as many as they found, both bad and good, so [the room in which] the wedding feast [was held] was filled with guests.
11 But when the king came in to view the guests, he looked intently at a man there who had on no wedding garment.
12 And he said, Friend, how did you come in here without putting on the [appropriate] wedding garment? And he was speechless (muzzled, gagged).
13 Then the king said to the attendants, Tie him hand and foot, and throw him into the darkness outside; there will be weeping and grinding of teeth.
14 For many are called (invited and summoned), but few are chosen.
15 Then the Pharisees went and consulted and plotted together how they might entangle Jesus in His talk.
16 And they sent their disciples to Him along with the Herodians, saying, Teacher, we know that You are sincere and what You profess to be and that You teach the way of God truthfully, regardless of consequences and being afraid of no man; for You are impartial and do not regard either the person or the position of anyone.
17 Tell us then what You think about this: Is it lawful to pay tribute [levied on individuals and to be paid yearly] to Caesar or not?
18 But Jesus, aware of their malicious plot, asked, Why do you put Me to the test and try to entrap Me, you pretenders (hypocrites)?
19 Show me the money used for the tribute. And they brought Him a denarius.
20 And Jesus said to them, Whose likeness and title are these?
21 They said, Caesar's. Then He said to them, Pay therefore to Caesar the things that are due to Caesar, and pay to God the things that are due to God.
22 When they heard it they were amazed and marveled; and they left Him and departed.
23 The same day some Sadducees, who say that there is no resurrection [of the dead], came to Him and they asked Him a question,
24 Saying, Teacher, Moses said, If a man dies, leaving no children, his brother shall marry the widow and raise up a family for his brother. [Deut. 25:5.]
25 Now there were seven brothers among us; the first married and died, and, having no children, left his wife to his brother.
26 The second also died childless, and the third, down to the seventh.
27 Last of all, the woman died also.
28 Now, in the resurrection, to which of the seven will she be wife? For they all had her.
29 But Jesus replied to them, You are wrong because you know neither the Scriptures nor God's power.
30 For in the resurrected state neither do [men] marry nor are [women] given in marriage, but they are like the angels in heaven.
31 But as to the resurrection of the dead–have you never read what was said to you by God,
32 I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? He is not the God of the dead but of the living! [Exod. 3:6.]
33 And when the throng heard it, they were astonished and filled with [glad] amazement at His teaching.
34 Now when the Pharisees heard that He had silenced (muzzled) the Sadducees, they gathered together.
35 And one of their number, a lawyer, asked Him a question to test Him.
36 Teacher, which kind of commandment is great and important (the principal kind) in the Law? [Some commandments are light–which are heavy?]
37 And He replied to him, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind (intellect). [Deut. 6:5.]
38 This is the great (most important, principal) and first commandment.
39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as [you do] yourself. [Lev. 19:18.]
40 These two commandments sum up and upon them depend all the Law and the Prophets.
41 Now while the Pharisees were still assembled there, Jesus asked them a question,
42 Saying, What do you think of the Christ? Whose Son is He? They said to Him, The Son of David.
43 He said to them, How is it then that David, under the influence of the [Holy] Spirit, calls Him Lord, saying,
44 The Lord said to My Lord, Sit at My right hand until I put Your enemies under Your feet? [Ps. 110:1.]
45 If then David thus calls Him Lord, how is He his Son?
46 And no one was able to answer Him a word, nor from that day did anyone venture or dare to question Him.
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