Matthew 22
22
The Great Banquet
(Luke 14.15-24)
1Once again Jesus used stories to teach the people:
2The kingdom of heaven is like what happened when a king gave a wedding banquet for his son. 3The king sent some servants to tell the invited guests to come to the banquet, but the guests refused. 4He sent other servants to say to the guests, “The banquet is ready! My cattle and prize calves have all been prepared. Everything is ready. Come to the banquet!”
5But the guests did not pay any attention. Some of them left for their farms, and some went to their places of business. 6Others grabbed the servants, then beat them up and killed them.
7This made the king so furious that he sent an army to kill those murderers and burn down their city. 8Then he said to the servants, “It is time for the wedding banquet, and the invited guests don't deserve to come. 9Go out to the street corners and tell everyone you meet to come to the banquet.” 10They went out on the streets and brought in everyone they could find, good and bad alike. And the banquet room was filled with guests.
11When the king went in to meet the guests, he found that one of them wasn't wearing the right kind of clothes for the wedding. 12The king asked, “Friend, why didn't you wear proper clothes for the wedding?” But the guest had no excuse. 13#Mt 8.12; 25.30; Lk 13.28. So the king gave orders for this person to be tied hand and foot and to be thrown outside into the dark. That's where people will cry and grit their teeth in pain. 14#2 Esd 8.3. Many are invited, but only a few are chosen.
Paying Taxes
(Mark 12.13-17; Luke 20.20-26)
15The Pharisees got together and planned how they could trick Jesus into saying something wrong. 16They sent some of their followers and some of Herod's followers#22.16 Herod's followers: People who were political followers of the family of Herod the Great (see 2.1) and his son Herod Antipas (see 14.1), and who wanted Herod to be king in Jerusalem. to say to him, “Teacher, we know that you are honest. You teach the truth about what God wants people to do. And you treat everyone with the same respect, no matter who they are. 17Tell us what you think! Should we pay taxes to the Emperor or not?”
18Jesus knew their evil thoughts and said, “Why are you trying to test me? You show-offs! 19Let me see one of the coins used for paying taxes.” They brought him a silver coin, 20and he asked, “Whose picture and name are on it?”
21“The Emperor's,” they answered.
Then Jesus told them, “Give the Emperor what belongs to him and give God what belongs to God.” 22His answer surprised them so much that they walked away.
Life in the Future World
(Mark 12.18-27; Luke 20.27-40)
23 #
Ac 23.8. The Sadducees did not believe people would rise to life after death. So that same day some of the Sadducees came to Jesus and said:
24 #
Dt 25.5. Teacher, Moses wrote that if a married man dies and has no children, his brother should marry the widow. Their first son would then be thought of as the son of the dead brother.
25Once there were seven brothers who lived here. The first one married, but died without having any children. So his wife was left to his brother. 26The same thing happened to the second and third brothers and finally to all seven of them. 27At last the woman died. 28When God raises people from death, whose wife will this woman be? She had been married to all seven brothers.
29Jesus answered:
You are completely wrong! You don't know what the Scriptures teach. And you don't know anything about the power of God. 30#Ws 5.5. When God raises people to life, they won't marry. They will be like the angels in heaven. 31And as for people being raised to life, God was speaking to you when he said, 32#Ex 3.6. “I am the God worshiped by Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”#22.32 I am the God worshiped by Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob: Jesus argues that if God is worshiped by these three, they must still be alive, because he is the God of the living. He isn't the God of the dead, but of the living.
33The crowds were surprised to hear what Jesus was teaching.
The Most Important Commandment
(Mark 12.28-34; Luke 10.25-28)
34After Jesus had made the Sadducees look foolish, the Pharisees heard about it and got together. 35#Lk 10.25-28. One of them was an expert in the Jewish Law. So he tried to test Jesus by asking, 36“Teacher, what is the most important commandment in the Law?”
37 #
Dt 6.5. Jesus answered:
Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind. 38This is the first and most important commandment. 39#Lv 19.18. The second most important commandment is like this one. And it is, “Love others as much as you love yourself.” 40All the Law of Moses and the Books of the Prophets#22.40 the Law of Moses and the Books of the Prophets: The Jewish Scriptures, that is, the Old Testament. are based on these two commandments.
About David's Son
(Mark 12.35-37; Luke 20.41-44)
41While the Pharisees were still there, Jesus asked them, 42“What do you think about the Messiah? Whose family will he come from?”
They answered, “He will be a son of King David.”#22.42 son of King David: See the note at 9.27.
43Jesus replied, “How then could the Spirit lead David to call the Messiah his Lord? David said,
44 #
Ps 110.1. ‘The Lord said to my Lord:
Sit at my right side#22.44 right side: The place of power and honor.
until I make your enemies
into a footstool for you.’
45If David called the Messiah his Lord, how can the Messiah be a son of King David?” 46No one was able to give Jesus an answer, and from that day on, no one dared ask him any more questions.
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Matthew 22: CEVDCI
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Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.
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. 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.