Matthew 22
22
The Story of the Wedding Dinner
1Jesus told them more stories. He said, 2“The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son. 3He sent his slaves to the guests he’d invited to tell them to come, but they refused.
4“Then he sent out some more slaves. He said, ‘Tell those who were invited that I’ve prepared my dinner. I’ve killed the oxen and the fattened cattle. Everything is ready, so come to the wedding banquet.’
5“But the people paid no attention. One went off to his field and another went to his business. 6The rest grabbed his slaves, treated them badly, and killed them. 7This made the king so angry that he sent his army to destroy those murderers and burn down their city.
8“Then the king said to his slaves, ‘The wedding banquet is ready, but the people I invited didn’t deserve to come. 9Go to the street corners and invite anyone you can find to come to the dinner.’ 10So the slaves went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, the bad as well as the good. Soon the wedding hall was filled with guests.
11“When the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who wasn’t wearing wedding clothes. 12‘Friend,’ he said, ‘how’d you get in here without wedding clothes?’ But the man had no excuses.
13“Then the king told his slaves, ‘Tie him up by his hands and feet and throw him outside into the darkness, where people will weep and grind their teeth.’
14“Many are invited, but few are chosen.”
Is It Right to Pay the Royal Tax to Caesar?
15The Pharisees went out and made a plan to trap Jesus with his own words. 16They sent their disciples to him with some of the Herodians. “Teacher,” they said, “we know that you’re a man of integrity and that you teach the way of God truthfully. You don’t let others influence what you do or say, no matter how important they are. 17Tell us, then, what do you think? According to the law of Moses, should we pay the royal tax to Caesar?”
18But Jesus knew they had bad motives for asking. He said, “You hypocrites! Why are you trying to trap me? 19Show me the coin people use for paying the tax.” They brought him a silver coin, and he asked them, 20“Whose picture is on this coin? And whose name and titles?”
21“Caesar’s,” they replied.
Then he said to them, “So give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and give to God what belongs to God.”
22When they heard this, they were amazed. They left him and went away.
Marriage After the Dead Rise
23That same day the Sadducees, who don’t believe that people rise from the dead, came to Jesus with a question. 24“Teacher,” they said, “Moses told us that if a man marries but dies without having children, his brother has to marry the widow so she can have children to carry on her late husband’s name. 25There were seven brothers among us. The first one got married, but he died without having any children, so the next brother married his widow. 26But then the same thing happened to him, and to the third brother, right on down to the seventh brother. 27Finally, the woman died. 28Now then, when the dead rise, whose wife will she be? All seven brothers were married to her.”
29Jesus replied, “You’re going wrong here because you don’t know the Scriptures and you don’t know the power of God. 30When the dead rise, people won’t get married, and parents won’t arrange marriages for their children. Everyone will be like the angels in heaven. 31But as for whether people rise from the dead, haven’t you read what God said to you? 32‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ He isn’t the God of the dead; he’s the God of the living.”
33When the crowds heard this, they were amazed by what Jesus taught.
The Most Important Commandment
34The Pharisees heard that the Sadducees hadn’t able to answer Jesus. So they got together, 35and one of them, an authority on the law, tested Jesus with a question. 36“Teacher,” he asked, “which commandment in the Law is the greatest?”
37Jesus answered, “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38That is the first and most important commandment. 39And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as you love yourself.’ 40Everything written in the Law and the Prophets is based on these two commandments.”
Whose Son Is the Messiah?
41While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, 42“What do you think about the Messiah? Whose son is he?”
“The son of David,” they replied.
43He said to them, “Then why does David, speaking by the Spirit, call him ‘Lord’? David said,
44“ ‘The Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit at my right hand
until I put your enemies
under your control.” ’
45So if David calls him ‘Lord,’ how can he be David’s son?” 46No one knew how to answer him, and from that day on, no one dared ask him any more questions.
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Matthew 22
22
The Parable of the Wedding Feast
(Lk 14.15–24)
1Jesus again used parables in talking to the people. 2“The Kingdom of heaven is like this. Once there was a king who prepared a wedding feast for his son. 3He sent his servants to tell the invited guests to come to the feast, but they did not want to come. 4So he sent other servants with this message for the guests: ‘My feast is ready now; my bullocks and prize calves have been butchered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding feast!’ 5But the invited guests paid no attention and went about their business: one went to his farm, another to his shop, 6while others grabbed the servants, beat them, and killed them. 7The king was very angry; so he sent his soldiers, who killed those murderers and burnt down their city. 8Then he called his servants and said to them, ‘My wedding feast is ready, but the people I invited did not deserve it. 9Now go to the main streets and invite to the feast as many people as you find.’ 10So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, good and bad alike; and the wedding hall was filled with people.
11 “The king went in to look at the guests and saw a man who was not wearing wedding clothes. 12‘Friend, how did you get in here without wedding clothes?’ the king asked him. But the man said nothing. 13#Mt 8.12; 25.30; Lk 13.28Then the king told the servants, ‘Tie him up hand and foot, and throw him outside in the dark. There he will cry and grind his teeth.’ ”
14And Jesus concluded, “Many are invited, but few are chosen.”
The Question about Paying Taxes
(Mk 12.13–17; Lk 20.20–26)
15The Pharisees went off and made a plan to trap Jesus with questions. 16Then they sent to him some of their disciples and some members of Herod's party. “Teacher,” they said, “we know that you tell the truth. You teach the truth about God's will for people, without worrying about what others think, because you pay no attention to anyone's status. 17Tell us, then, what do you think? Is it against our Law to pay taxes to the Roman Emperor, or not?”
18Jesus, however, was aware of their evil plan, and so he said, “You hypocrites! Why are you trying to trap me? 19Show me the coin for paying the tax!”
They brought him the coin, 20and he asked them, “Whose face and name are these?”
21“The Emperor's,” they answered.
So Jesus said to them, “Well, then, pay the Emperor what belongs to the Emperor, and pay God what belongs to God.”
22When they heard this, they were amazed; and they left him and went away.
The Question about Rising from Death
(Mk 12.18–27; Lk 20.27–40)
23 #
Acts 23.8
That same day some Sadducees came to Jesus and claimed that people will not rise from death. 24#Deut 25.5“Teacher,” they said, “Moses said that if a man who has no children dies, his brother must marry the widow so that they can have children who will be considered the dead man's children. 25Now, there were seven brothers who used to live here. The eldest got married and died without having children, so he left his widow to his brother. 26The same thing happened to the second brother, to the third, and finally to all seven. 27Last of all, the woman died. 28Now, on the day when the dead rise to life, whose wife will she be? All of them had married her.”
29Jesus answered them, “How wrong you are! It is because you don't know the Scriptures or God's power. 30For when the dead rise to life, they will be like the angels in heaven and will not marry. 31Now, as for the dead rising to life: haven't you ever read what God has told you? He said, 32#Ex 3.6‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ He is the God of the living, not of the dead.”
33When the crowds heard this, they were amazed at his teaching.
The Great Commandment
(Mk 12.28–34; Lk 10.25–28)
34When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they came together, 35#Lk 10.25–28and one of them, a teacher of the Law, tried to trap him with a question. 36“Teacher,” he asked, “which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”
37 #
Deut 6.5
Jesus answered, “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38This is the greatest and the most important commandment. 39#Lev 19.18The second most important commandment is like it: ‘Love your neighbour as you love yourself.’ 40The whole Law of Moses and the teachings of the prophets depend on these two commandments.”
The Question about the Messiah
(Mk 12.35–37; Lk 20.41–44)
41When some Pharisees gathered together, Jesus asked them, 42“What do you think about the Messiah? Whose descendant is he?”
“He is David's descendant,” they answered.
43 “Why, then,” Jesus asked, “did the Spirit inspire David to call him ‘Lord’? David said,
44 #
Ps 110.1
‘The Lord said to my Lord:
Sit here on my right
until I put your enemies under your feet.’
45 If, then, David called him ‘Lord’, how can the Messiah be David's descendant?”
46No one was able to give Jesus any answer, and from that day on no one dared to ask him any more questions.
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Good News Bible with Deuterocanonicals/Apocrypha. Scripture taken from the Good News Bible (r) (Today's English Version Second Edition, UK/British Edition). Copyright © 1992 British & Foreign Bible Society. Used by permission.