Matthew 22
22
Parable of the Marriage Feast
1Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying, 2“The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son. 3And he sent his servants to call those who had [previously] been invited to the wedding feast, but they refused to come. 4Then he sent out some other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who have been invited, “Look, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and fattened calves are butchered and everything is ready; come to the wedding feast.” ’ 5But they paid no attention [they disregarded the invitation, treating it with contempt] and went away, one to his farm, another to his business. 6The rest [of the invited guests] seized his servants and mistreated them [insulting and humiliating them] and killed them. 7The king was enraged [when he heard this], and sent his soldiers and destroyed those murderers and burned their city. 8Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding [feast] is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy. 9So go to the main highways that lead out of the city, and invite to the wedding feast as many as you find.’ 10Those servants went out into the streets and gathered together all the people they could find, both bad and good; so the wedding hall was filled with dinner guests [sitting at the banquet table].
11 “But when the king came in to see the dinner guests, he saw a man there who was not dressed [appropriately] in wedding clothes, 12and he said, ‘Friend, how did you come in here without wearing the wedding clothes [that were provided for you]?’ And the man was speechless and without excuse. 13Then the king said to the attendants, ‘Tie him hand and foot, and throw him into the darkness outside; in that place there will be weeping [over sorrow and pain] and grinding of teeth [over distress and anger].’ 14For many are called (invited, summoned), but few are chosen.”
Tribute to Caesar
15Then the Pharisees went and conspired together plotting how to trap Him by [distorting] what He said. 16They sent their disciples to Him, along with the #A Jewish political party loyal to Herod. The Pharisees, who strongly opposed Herod and Roman rule, and the Herodians, who were strong allies of Herod and Rome, set aside their political differences in order to conspire together against Jesus.Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that You are sincere and that You teach the way of God truthfully, without concerning Yourself about [what] anyone [thinks or says of Your teachings]; for You are impartial and do not seek anyone’s favor [and You treat all people alike, regardless of status]. 17Tell us then, what do You think? Is it permissible [according to Jewish law and tradition] to pay a #Every Jew was required to pay the poll-tax. It was considered a sign of subservience to Rome.poll-tax to Caesar, or not?” 18But Jesus, aware of their malice, asked, “Why are you testing Me, you hypocrites? 19Show me the coin used for the poll-tax.” And they brought Him a denarius [a day’s wage]. 20And Jesus said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” 21They said, “[#Tiberius Caesar came to the throne after the death of his stepfather, Augustus, in a.d. 14 and ruled the Roman Empire until his death in a.d. 37. He was a brilliant military general, but an incompetent, irresponsible ruler. Most biblical references to “Caesar” refer to Tiberius.The Emperor Tiberius] Caesar’s.” Then He said to them, “Then pay to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s; and to God the things that are God’s.” 22When they heard this, they were caught off guard, and they left Him and went away.
Jesus Answers the Sadducees
23On that day some Sadducees, who say that there is no resurrection [of the dead], came to Him and asked Him a question, 24saying, “Teacher, Moses said, ‘If a man dies, leaving no children, his brother as next of kin shall #The purpose of this was to carry on the family line and keep property within the family.marry his widow, and raise children for his brother.’ 25Now there were seven brothers among us; the first married and died, and having no children left his wife to his brother. 26The second also [died childless], and the third, down to the seventh. 27Last of all, the woman died. 28So in the resurrection, whose wife of the seven will she be? For they all had married her.”
29But Jesus replied to them, “You are all wrong because you know neither the Scriptures [which teach the resurrection] nor the power of God [for He is able to raise the dead]. 30For in the resurrection neither do men marry nor are women given in marriage, but they are like angels in heaven [who do not marry nor produce children]. 31But as to the resurrection of the dead—have you not read [in the Scripture] what God said to you: 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.” 33When the crowds heard this, they were astonished at His teaching.
34Now when the Pharisees heard that He had silenced (muzzled) the Sadducees, they gathered together. 35One of them, a lawyer [an expert in Mosaic Law], asked Jesus a question, to test Him: 36“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” 37And Jesus replied to him, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38This is the first and greatest commandment. 39The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself [that is, unselfishly seek the best or higher good for others].’ 40The whole Law and the [writings of the] Prophets depend on these two commandments.”
41Now while the Pharisees were [still] gathered together, Jesus asked them a question: 42“What do you [Pharisees] think of the Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed)? Whose Son is He?” They said to Him, “#The Pharisees may have thought of the Messiah merely as a human descendant of David.The son of David.” 43Jesus asked them, “How is it then that David by the inspiration of the Spirit, calls Him ‘Lord,’ saying,
44 ‘The Lord (the Father) said to my Lord (the Son, the Messiah),
“Sit at My right hand,
Until I put Your enemies under Your feet” ’?
45 So then, if David calls Him (the Son, the Messiah) ‘Lord,’ # See note Mark 12:35. how is He David’s son?” 46No one was able to say a word to Him in answer, nor from that day on did anyone dare to question Him again.
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Matthew 22
22
A Story About a Wedding Feast
1Jesus again used stories to teach them. 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, but they refused to come.
4“Then the king sent other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who have been invited that my feast is ready. I have killed my best bulls and calves for the dinner, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding feast.’
5“But the people refused to listen to the servants and left 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 furious and sent his army to kill the murderers and burn 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 find to come to my feast.’ 10So the servants went into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, both good and bad. And the wedding hall was filled with guests.
11“When the king came in to see the guests, he saw a man who was not dressed for a wedding. 12The king said, ‘Friend, how were you allowed to come in here? You are not dressed 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, where people will cry and grind their teeth with pain.’
14“Yes, many are invited, but only a few are chosen.”
Is It Right to Pay Taxes or Not?
15Then the Pharisees left that place and made plans to trap Jesus in saying something wrong. 16They sent some of their own followers and some people from the group called Herodians. They said, “Teacher, we know that you are an honest man and that you teach the truth about God’s way. You are not afraid of what other people think about you, because you pay no attention to who they are. 17So tell us what you think. Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”
18But knowing that these leaders were trying to trick him, Jesus said, “You hypocrites! Why are you trying to trap me? 19Show me a coin used for paying the tax.” So the men showed him a coin. 20Then Jesus asked, “Whose image and name are 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.”
22When the men heard what Jesus said, they were amazed and left him and went away.
Some Sadducees Try to Trick Jesus
23That same day some Sadducees came to Jesus and asked him a question. (Sadducees believed that people would not rise from the dead.) 24They said, “Teacher, Moses said if a married man dies without having children, his brother must marry the widow and have children for him. 25Once there were seven brothers among us. The first one married and died. Since he had no children, his brother married the widow. 26Then the second brother also died. The same thing happened to the third brother and all the other brothers. 27Finally, the woman died. 28Since all seven men had married her, when people rise from the dead, 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 the dead, they will not marry, nor will they be given to someone to marry. They will be like the angels in heaven. 31Surely you have read what God said to you about rising from the dead. 32God said, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ God is the God of the living, not the dead.”
33When the people heard this, they were amazed at Jesus’ teaching.
The Most Important Command
34When the Pharisees learned that the Sadducees could not argue with Jesus’ answers to them, the Pharisees met together. 35One Pharisee, who was an expert on the law of Moses, asked Jesus this question to test him: 36“Teacher, which command in the law is the most important?”
37Jesus answered, “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ 38This is the first and most important command. 39And the second command is like the first: ‘Love your neighbor as you love yourself.’ 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, 42“What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he?”
They answered, “The Christ is the Son of David.”
43Then Jesus said to them, “Then why did David call him ‘Lord’? David, speaking by the power of the Holy Spirit, 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 the Christ be his son?”
46None of the Pharisees could answer Jesus’ question, and after that day no one was brave enough to ask him any more questions.
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The Holy Bible, New Century Version, Copyright © 2005 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.