Matthew 22
22
Chapter 22
Jesus tells a story about a meal at a marriage
1Jesus continued to teach the people with stories. 2He said, ‘This is what the kingdom of heaven is like. A king prepared a special meal for his son's marriage. 3He asked many people to come. When the meal was ready, he sent his servants out to tell those people to come. But they refused to come.
4So the king then sent out other servants. He said to them, “Tell this message to all those people that I have asked to come. Tell them that the master says, ‘My servants have prepared the meal. They have killed my large oxen and some fat young cows to eat. Everything is ready. Now come to the marriage party!’ ”
5But the people did not think that the king's message was important. They went away to do their own work. One man went to his farm and another man went to his business. 6Other people took hold of the king's servants. They hurt them and then they killed them. 7The king was very angry. He sent his soldiers to the city where those people lived. They killed the people who killed the king's servants. They destroyed their city with fire.
8Then the king said to his other servants, “The meal for my son's marriage is ready. But the people that I had asked to come did not deserve to come. 9So go out now to the town's streets where people meet together. Ask all the people that you find there to come to the marriage party.” 10Then those servants went out into the streets. They brought to the king's house all the people that they met. Some were good people and some were bad people. Very many people came. The room for the marriage was full!
11Then the king came into the room to see all the people. He saw one man who was not wearing the right clothes for a marriage. #22:11 At that time, a man asked his friends to a special meal when he got married. He also gave them special clothes to wear. They wore these clothes when they came in to the meal. In the story, people came in from the streets, so they were not wearing special clothes. One person had not accepted the special clothes that the king gave to him. The special clothes are like what God gives us because of Jesus. Each person must accept what God gives. A person cannot save himself. That is what Jesus is teaching in this story. 12The king said to the man, “How did you come in here, my friend? You are not wearing the right clothes for a marriage.” The man could not answer the king.
13The king said to his servants, “Tie his hands and his feet. Take him and throw him into the dark place outside. There, people will cry and they will bite their teeth together.”
14God asks many people to come to him. But he only chooses a few people to be there with him.’
The Pharisees ask Jesus about taxes
15After the Pharisees heard this, they thought about what they could do. They wanted to ask Jesus difficult questions. They wanted to make him say something wrong about the Roman ruler. 16So the Pharisees sent their own disciples to Jesus. They also sent people who were friends of King Herod. They said to Jesus, ‘Teacher, we know that you only say true things. You teach us what God wants us to do. It does not matter to you what other people think. If someone is important, you do not change your answers to make them happy. 17So tell us your answer to this question: Should we pay our taxes to the Roman ruler, Caesar? Is it right to give that money to him, or not?’
18Jesus knew that these men wanted to do bad things to him. So he said to them, ‘You are asking that question to cause trouble for me. You are not being honest! 19Now, show me the coin that you use for the tax.’ So they brought a coin to him. 20Then Jesus asked them, ‘Whose picture is on this coin? Whose name is on it?’
21They replied, ‘It is Caesar's picture and Caesar's name.’
Jesus said to them, ‘So you should give to Caesar the things that belong to Caesar. And give to God the things that belong to God.’
22When they heard Jesus' answer, they were very surprised. So they left him and they went away.
The Sadducees ask Jesus a question
23On that day, some Sadducees also came to Jesus. Sadducees do not believe that anyone becomes alive again after they die. They wanted to ask Jesus a question. #22:23 The Sadducees were a group of Jewish leaders.
24‘Teacher,’ they said to him, ‘Moses said in the Bible: A man may die and leave behind a wife but no children. Then that man's brother must marry the woman. Then their children will be called the children of the brother who died. 25Once, there were seven brothers who lived here. The oldest brother married a woman. Then he died before they had any children. So the second brother married the woman. 26But then he also died with no children. So a third brother married this woman. And the same thing happened to all the brothers down to the seventh brother. They all died before the woman had any children. 27After all this, the woman also died. 28You teach that one day dead people will become alive again. On that day, whose wife will that woman be? She had married all seven of those brothers.’
29Jesus said to the Sadducees, ‘You are wrong. This is because you do not know the Bible. And you do not know how powerful God is. 30One day, God will raise people up after they have died. They will become alive again. But then men and women will not marry. They will not have husbands or wives. Instead, they will be like the angels in heaven. 31It is true that one day dead people will become alive again. You have read in the Bible about what God said to you: 32“I am the God of Abraham. I am the God of Isaac. And I am the God of Jacob.” God is not the God of people who are dead. He is the God of people who are alive.’ #22:32 See Exodus 3:6.
33The crowd heard this. They were very surprised about what Jesus was teaching.
Jesus teaches the Pharisees about the most important Law
34The Pharisees heard that Jesus had said these things to the Sadducees. Now the Sadducees could not say anything more to him. So the Pharisees met together. They decided what they would say to Jesus.
35One of the Pharisees had studied God's Law very well. He asked Jesus a question to see how he would answer. 36He said, ‘Teacher, which of God's Laws is the most important rule for us to obey?’
37Jesus replied to him, ‘You should love the Lord your God completely: Love him with all your mind. Love him with all that you are. Love him in all that you think. 38This is the greatest rule and the most important of all God's Laws. 39The second rule is also important, like the first one. You should love other people as much as you love yourself. 40All God's Laws that Moses gave us come from these two rules. All the things that the prophets wrote also come from them.’
Jesus teaches people about the Messiah
41While the Pharisees met together with Jesus, he asked them, 42‘What do you think about the Messiah? Whose son is he?’
The Pharisees replied, ‘He will be King David's son.’
43Jesus said to them, ‘So think about this: God's Holy Spirit helped King David to call the Messiah his Lord. David said, 44“The Lord said to my Lord:
Sit at my right side until I win against your enemies.
Then you will be able to put your feet on them.”
45We know that King David calls the Messiah his Lord. So can you really say that the Messiah is David's son?’ 46Nobody could answer the question that Jesus asked. After this, everyone was afraid to ask Jesus any more questions.
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Matthew 22: EASY
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MissionAssist 2018
S. Matthew 22
22
1And Jesus answered and spake again in parables unto them, saying, 2The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a certain king, which made a marriage feast for his son, 3and sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden to the marriage feast: and they would not come. 4Again he sent forth other servants, saying, Tell them that are bidden, Behold, I have made ready my dinner: my oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready: come to the marriage feast. 5But they made light of it, and went their ways, one to his own farm, another to his merchandise: 6and the rest laid hold on his servants, and entreated them shamefully, and killed them. 7But the king was wroth; and he sent his armies, and destroyed those murderers, and burned their city. 8Then saith he to his servants, The wedding is ready, but they that were bidden were not worthy. 9Go ye therefore unto the partings of the highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage feast. 10And those servants went out into the highways, and gathered together all as many as they found, both bad and good: and the wedding was filled with guests. 11But when the king came in to behold the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding-garment: 12and he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding-garment? And he was speechless. 13Then the king said to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and cast him out into the outer darkness; there shall be the weeping and gnashing of teeth. 14For many are called, but few chosen.
15Then went the Pharisees, and took counsel how they might ensnare him in his talk. 16And they send to him their disciples, with the Herodians, saying, Master, we know that thou art true, and teachest the way of God in truth, and carest not for any one: for thou regardest not the person of men. 17Tell us therefore, What thinkest thou? Is it lawful to give tribute unto Caesar, or not? 18But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, Why tempt ye me, ye hypocrites? 19Shew me the tribute money. And they brought unto him a penny. 20And he saith unto them, Whose is this image and superscription? 21They say unto him, Caesar's. Then saith he unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's; and unto God the things that are God's. 22And when they heard it, they marveled, and left him, and went their way.
23On that day there came to him Sadducees, which say that there is no resurrection: and they asked him, 24saying, Master, Moses said, If a man die, having no children, his brother shall marry his wife, and raise up seed unto his brother. 25Now there were with us seven brethren: and the first married and deceased, and having no seed left his wife unto his brother; 26in like manner the second also, and the third, unto the seventh. 27And after them all the woman died. 28In the resurrection therefore whose wife shall she be of the seven? for they all had her. 29But Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God. 30For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as angels in heaven. 31But as touching the resurrection of the dead, have ye not read that which was spoken unto you by God, saying, 32I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living. 33And when the multitudes heard it, they were astonished at his teaching.
34But the Pharisees, when they heard that he had put the Sadducees to silence, gathered themselves together. 35And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, 36Master, which is the great commandment in the law? 37And he said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 38This is the great and first commandment. 39And a second like unto it is this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 40On these two commandments hangeth the whole law, and the prophets.
41Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question, 42saying, What think ye of the Christ? whose son is he? They say unto him, The son of David. 43He saith unto them, How then doth David in the Spirit call him Lord, saying, 44The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, Till I put thine enemies underneath thy feet? 45If David then calleth him Lord, how is he his son? 46And no one was able to answer him a word, neither durst any man from that day forth ask him any more questions.
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historical text maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society