Matthew 22
22
The Parable of the Wedding Feast.#This parable is from Q; see Lk 14:15–24. It has been given many allegorical traits by Matthew, e.g., the burning of the city of the guests who refused the invitation (Mt 22:7), which corresponds to the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in A.D. 70. It has similarities with the preceding parable of the tenants: the sending of two groups of servants (Mt 22:3, 4), the murder of the servants (Mt 22:6), the punishment of the murderers (Mt 22:7), and the entrance of a new group into a privileged situation of which the others had proved themselves unworthy (Mt 22:8–10). The parable ends with a section that is peculiar to Matthew (Mt 22:11–14), which some take as a distinct parable. Matthew presents the kingdom in its double aspect, already present and something that can be entered here and now (Mt 22:1–10), and something that will be possessed only by those present members who can stand the scrutiny of the final judgment (Mt 22:11–14). The parable is not only a statement of God’s judgment on Israel but a warning to Matthew’s church. 1#Lk 14:15–24. Jesus again in reply spoke to them in parables, saying, 2“The kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king who gave a wedding feast#Wedding feast: the Old Testament’s portrayal of final salvation under the image of a banquet (Is 25:6) is taken up also in Mt 8:11; cf. Lk 13:15. for his son. 3#Servants…other servants: probably Christian missionaries in both instances; cf. Mt 23:34. He dispatched his servants to summon the invited guests to the feast, but they refused to come. 4A second time he sent other servants, saying, ‘Tell those invited: “Behold, I have prepared my banquet, my calves and fattened cattle are killed, and everything is ready; come to the feast.”’ 5Some ignored the invitation and went away, one to his farm, another to his business. 6#21:35. The rest laid hold of his servants, mistreated them, and killed them. 7#See note on Mt 22:1–14. The king was enraged and sent his troops, destroyed those murderers, and burned their city. 8Then he said to his servants, ‘The feast is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy to come. 9Go out, therefore, into the main roads and invite to the feast whomever you find.’ 10The servants went out into the streets and gathered all they found, bad and good alike,#Bad and good alike: cf. Mt 13:47. and the hall was filled with guests. 11#A wedding garment: the repentance, change of heart and mind, that is the condition for entrance into the kingdom (Mt 3:2; 4:17) must be continued in a life of good deeds (Mt 7:21–23). But when the king came in to meet the guests he saw a man there not dressed in a wedding garment. 12He said to him, ‘My friend, how is it that you came in here without a wedding garment?’ But he was reduced to silence. 13#Wailing and grinding of teeth: the Christian who lacks the wedding garment of good deeds will suffer the same fate as those Jews who have rejected Jesus; see note on Mt 8:11–12. #8:12; 25:30. Then the king said to his attendants, ‘Bind his hands and feet, and cast him into the darkness outside, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.’ 14Many are invited, but few are chosen.”
Paying Taxes to the Emperor.#The series of controversies between Jesus and the representatives of Judaism (see note on Mt 21:23–27) is resumed. As in the first (Mt 21:23–27), here and in the following disputes Matthew follows his Marcan source with few modifications. 15#Mk 12:13–17; Lk 20:20–26. Then the Pharisees#The Pharisees: while Matthew retains the Marcan union of Pharisees and Herodians in this account, he clearly emphasizes the Pharisees’ part. They alone are mentioned here, and the Herodians are joined with them only in a prepositional phrase of Mt 22:16. Entrap him in speech: the question that they will pose is intended to force Jesus to take either a position contrary to that held by the majority of the people or one that will bring him into conflict with the Roman authorities. went off and plotted how they might entrap him in speech. 16They sent their disciples to him, with the Herodians,#Herodians: see note on Mk 3:6. They would favor payment of the tax; the Pharisees did not. saying, “Teacher, we know that you are a truthful man and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. And you are not concerned with anyone’s opinion, for you do not regard a person’s status. 17#Is it lawful: the law to which they refer is the law of God. Tell us, then, what is your opinion: Is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or not?” 18Knowing their malice, Jesus said, “Why are you testing me, you hypocrites? 19#They handed him the Roman coin: their readiness in producing the money implies their use of it and their acceptance of the financial advantages of the Roman administration in Palestine. Show me the coin that pays the census tax.” Then they handed him the Roman coin. 20He said to them, “Whose image is this and whose inscription?” 21#Rom 13:7. They replied, “Caesar’s.”#Caesar’s: the emperor Tiberius (A.D. 14–37). Repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar: those who willingly use the coin that is Caesar’s should repay him in kind. The answer avoids taking sides in the question of the lawfulness of the tax. To God what belongs to God: Jesus raises the debate to a new level. Those who have hypocritically asked about tax in respect to its relation to the law of God should be concerned rather with repaying God with the good deeds that are his due; cf. Mt 21:41, 43. At that he said to them, “Then repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.” 22When they heard this they were amazed, and leaving him they went away.
The Question About the Resurrection.#Here Jesus’ opponents are the Sadducees, members of the powerful priestly party of his time; see note on Mt 3:7. Denying the resurrection of the dead, a teaching of relatively late origin in Judaism (cf. Dn 12:2), they appeal to a law of the Pentateuch (Dt 25:5–10) and present a case based on it that would make resurrection from the dead ridiculous (Mt 22:24–28). Jesus chides them for knowing neither the scriptures nor the power of God (Mt 22:29). His argument in respect to God’s power contradicts the notion, held even by many proponents as well as by opponents of the teaching, that the life of those raised from the dead would be essentially a continuation of the type of life they had had before death (Mt 22:30). His argument based on the scriptures (Mt 22:31–32) is of a sort that was accepted as valid among Jews of the time. 23#Mk 12:18–27; Lk 20:27–40. On that day Sadducees approached him, saying that there is no resurrection.#Saying that there is no resurrection: in the Marcan parallel (Mk 12:18) the Sadducees are correctly defined as those “who say there is no resurrection”; see also Lk 20:27. Matthew’s rewording of Mark can mean that these particular Sadducees deny the resurrection, which would imply that he was not aware that the denial was characteristic of the party. For some scholars this is an indication of his being a Gentile Christian; see note on Mt 21:4–5. They put this question to him, 24#Gn 38:8; Dt 25:5–6. saying, “Teacher, Moses said, ‘If a man dies#‘If a man dies…his brother’: this is known as the “law of the levirate,” from the Latin levir, “brother-in-law.” Its purpose was to continue the family line of the deceased brother (Dt 25:6). without children, his brother shall marry his wife and raise up descendants for his brother.’ 25Now there were seven brothers among us. The first married and died and, having no descendants, left his wife to his brother. 26The same happened with the second and the third, through all seven. 27Finally the woman died. 28Now at the resurrection, of the seven, whose wife will she be? For they all had been married to her.” 29#The sexual relationships of this world will be transcended; the risen body will be the work of the creative power of God. Jesus said to them in reply, “You are misled because you do not know the scriptures or the power of God. 30At the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage but are like the angels in heaven. 31And concerning the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was said to you#Cf. Ex 3:6. In the Pentateuch, which the Sadducees accepted as normative for Jewish belief and practice, God speaks even now (to you) of himself as the God of the patriarchs who died centuries ago. He identifies himself in relation to them, and because of their relation to him, the living God, they too are alive. This might appear no argument for the resurrection, but simply for life after death as conceived in Wis 3:1–3. But the general thought of early first-century Judaism was not influenced by that conception; for it human immortality was connected with the existence of the body. by God, 32#Ex 3:6. ‘I am the God of Abraham, 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.
The Greatest Commandment.#The Marcan parallel (Mk 12:28–34) is an exchange between Jesus and a scribe who is impressed by the way in which Jesus has conducted himself in the previous controversy (Mk 12:28), who compliments him for the answer he gives him (Mk 12:32), and who is said by Jesus to be “not far from the kingdom of God” (Mk 12:34). Matthew has sharpened that scene. The questioner, as the representative of other Pharisees, tests Jesus by his question (Mt 22:34–35), and both his reaction to Jesus’ reply and Jesus’ commendation of him are lacking. 34#Mk 12:28–34; Lk 10:25–28. When the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together, 35and one of them [a scholar of the law]#[A scholar of the law]: meaning “scribe.” Although this reading is supported by the vast majority of textual witnesses, it is the only time that the Greek word so translated occurs in Matthew. It is relatively frequent in Luke, and there is reason to think that it may have been added here by a copyist since it occurs in the Lucan parallel (Lk 10:25–28). Tested: see note on Mt 19:3. tested him by asking, 36“Teacher,#For the devout Jew all the commandments were to be kept with equal care, but there is evidence of preoccupation in Jewish sources with the question put to Jesus. which commandment in the law is the greatest?” 37#Dt 6:5. He said to him,#Cf. Dt 6:5. Matthew omits the first part of Mark’s fuller quotation (Mk 12:29; Dt 6:4–5), probably because he considered its monotheistic emphasis needless for his church. The love of God must engage the total person (heart, soul, mind). “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. 38This is the greatest and the first commandment. 39#Lv 19:18; Jas 2:8. The second is like it:#Jesus goes beyond the extent of the question put to him and joins to the greatest and the first commandment a second, that of love of neighbor, Lv 19:18; see note on Mt 19:18–19. This combination of the two commandments may already have been made in Judaism. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40#The double commandment is the source from which the whole law and the prophets are derived. #Rom 13:8–10; Gal 5:14. The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.”
The Question About David’s Son.#Having answered the questions of his opponents in the preceding three controversies, Jesus now puts a question to them about the sonship of the Messiah. Their easy response (Mt 22:43a) is countered by his quoting a verse of Ps 110 that raises a problem for their response (43b–45). They are unable to solve it and from that day on their questioning of him is ended. 41#Mk 12:35–37; Lk 20:41–44. While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus questioned them,#The Pharisees…questioned them: Mark is not specific about who are questioned (Mk 12:35). 42#David’s: this view of the Pharisees was based on such Old Testament texts as Is 11:1–9; Jer 23:5; and Ez 34:23; see also the extrabiblical Psalms of Solomon 17:21. How, then…saying: Jesus cites Ps 110:1 accepting the Davidic authorship of the psalm, a common view of his time. The psalm was probably composed for the enthronement of a Davidic king of Judah. Matthew assumes that the Pharisees interpret it as referring to the Messiah, although there is no clear evidence that it was so interpreted in the Judaism of Jesus’ time. It was widely used in the early church as referring to the exaltation of the risen Jesus. My lord: understood as the Messiah. saying, “What is your opinion about the Messiah? Whose son is he?” They replied, “David’s.” 43He said to them, “How, then, does David, inspired by the Spirit, call him ‘lord,’ saying:
44#Ps 110:1; Acts 2:35; Heb 1:13. ‘The Lord said to my lord,
“Sit at my right hand
until I place your enemies under your feet”’?
45#Since Matthew presents Jesus both as Messiah (Mt 16:16) and as Son of David (Mt 1:1; see also note on Mt 9:27), the question is not meant to imply Jesus’ denial of Davidic sonship. It probably means that although he is the Son of David, he is someone greater, Son of Man and Son of God, and recognized as greater by David who calls him my ‘lord.’ If David calls him ‘lord,’ how can he be his son?” 46#Lk 20:40. No one was able to answer him a word, nor from that day on did anyone dare to ask him any more questions.
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Matthew 22: NABRE
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Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc
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.