The Parable of the Wedding Banquet

22 Once more Jesus spoke to them in parables: ² “The kingdom of heaven^(A) may be compared to a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son.^{(B) 3} He sent out his slaves to summon those invited to the banquet,^(C) but they didn’t want to come. ⁴ Again, he sent out other slaves, and said, ‘Tell those who are invited: Look, I’ve prepared my dinner; my oxen and fattened cattle have been slaughtered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.’^(D)

⁵ “But they paid no attention and went away, one to his own farm, another to his business. ⁶ And the others seized his slaves, treated them outrageously and killed them. ⁷ The king^[a] was enraged, so he sent out his troops, destroyed those murderers, and burned down their city.

⁸ “Then he told his slaves, ‘The banquet is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy.^{(E) 9} Therefore go to where the roads exit the city and invite everyone you find to the banquet.’^{(F) 10} So those slaves went out on the roads and gathered everyone they found, both evil and good. The wedding banquet was filled with guests.^{[b] 11} But when the king came in to view the guests, he saw a man there who was not dressed for a wedding.^{(G) 12} So he said to him, ‘Friend,^(H) how did you get in here without wedding clothes?’ The man was speechless.

¹³ “Then the king told the attendants, ‘Tie him up hand and foot,^[c] and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

¹⁴ “For many are invited, but few are chosen.”^(I)

God and Caesar

¹⁵ Then the Pharisees went and plotted how to trap Him by what He said.^{[d](J) 16} They sent their disciples to Him, with the Herodians.^(K) “Teacher,” they said, “we know that You are truthful and teach truthfully the way of God. You defer to no one, for You don’t show partiality.^{[e](L) 17} Tell us, therefore, what You think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar^(M) or not?”

¹⁸ But perceiving their malice, Jesus said, “Why are you testing Me, hypocrites? ¹⁹ Show Me the coin used for the tax.” So they brought Him a denarius. ²⁰ “Whose image and inscription is this?” He asked them.

²¹ “Caesar’s,” they said to Him.

Then He said to them, “Therefore give back to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”^{(N) 22} When they heard this, they were amazed. So they left Him and went away.

The Sadducees and the Resurrection

²³ The same day some Sadducees,^(O) who say there is no resurrection, came up to Him and questioned Him:^{(P) 24} “Teacher, Moses said, if a man dies, having no children, his brother is to marry his wife and raise up offspring for his brother.^{(Q)[f] 25} Now there were seven brothers among us. The first got married and died. Having no offspring, he left his wife to his brother. ²⁶ The same happened to the second also, and the third, and so to all seven.^{[g] 27} Then last of all the woman died. ²⁸ In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife will she be of the seven? For they all had married her.”^[h]

²⁹ Jesus answered them, “You are deceived, because you don’t know the Scriptures or the power of God. ³⁰ For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage but are like^[i] angels in heaven.^{(R) 31} Now concerning the resurrection of the dead, haven’t you read what was spoken to you by God: ³² I am the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob?^(S)[j] He^[k] is not the God of the dead, but of the living.”

³³ And when the crowds heard this, they were astonished at His teaching.

The Primary Commands

³⁴ When^(T) the Pharisees heard that He had silenced the Sadducees, they came together. ³⁵ And one of them, an expert in the law, asked a question to test Him:^{(U) 36} “Teacher, which command in the law is the greatest?”^[l]

³⁷ He said to him, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.^{(V)[m] 38} This is the greatest and most important^[n] command. ³⁹ The second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.^{(W)[o] 40} All the Law and the Prophets depend^[p] on these two commands.”^(X)

The Question about the Messiah

⁴¹ While the Pharisees were together, Jesus questioned them,^{(Y) 42} “What do you think about the Messiah? Whose Son is He?”

“David’s,” they told Him.

⁴³ He asked them, “How is it then that David, inspired by the Spirit,^[q] calls Him ‘Lord’^(Z):

⁴⁵ “If David calls Him ‘Lord,’ how then can the Messiah be his Son?” ⁴⁶ No one was able to answer Him at all,^[t] and from that day no one dared to question Him anymore.^(AB)