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Parable of the Wedding Feast

22 And Jesus answered and spoke to them again in parables, saying, (A)The kingdom of heaven [a]may be compared to [b]a king who [c]gave a (B)wedding feast for his son. And he (C)sent out his slaves to call those who had been called to the wedding feast, and they were unwilling to come. Again he (D)sent out other slaves saying, ‘Tell those who have been called, “Behold, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and my fattened livestock are all butchered and everything is ready; come to the wedding feast.”’ But they paid no attention and went their way, one to his own [d]farm, another to his business, and the rest seized his slaves and mistreated them and killed them. But the king was enraged, and he sent his armies and destroyed those murderers and set their city on fire. Then he *said to his slaves, ‘The wedding is ready, but those who were called were not worthy. Go therefore to (E)the main highways, and as many as you find there, call to the wedding feast.’ 10 And those slaves went out into the streets and gathered together all they found, both evil and good; and the wedding hall was filled with [e]dinner guests.

11 “But when the king came in to look over the dinner guests, he saw (F)a man there who was not dressed in wedding clothes, 12 and he *said to him, ‘(G)Friend, how did you come in here without wedding clothes?’ And the man was speechless. 13 Then the king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into (H)the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ 14 For many are [f](I)called, but few are (J)chosen.”

Taxes to Caesar

15 (K)Then the Pharisees went and took counsel together about how they might trap Him [g]in what He said. 16 And they *sent their disciples to Him, along with the (L)Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that You are truthful and teach the way of God in truth, and [h]defer to no one; for You are not partial to any. 17 Therefore, tell us, what do You think? Is it [i]lawful to give a (M)tax to (N)Caesar, or not?” 18 But Jesus, knowing their wickedness, said, “Why are you testing Me, you hypocrites? 19 Show Me the (O)coin used for the tax.” And they brought Him a [j]denarius. 20 And He *said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” 21 They *said to Him, “Caesar’s.” Then He *said to them, (P)Therefore, render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s; and to God the things that are God’s.” 22 And hearing this, they marveled, and (Q)leaving Him, they went away.

The Sadducees and the Resurrection

23 (R)On that day some (S)Sadducees (who say (T)there is no resurrection) came to Jesus and asked Him a question, 24 saying, “Teacher, Moses said, ‘(U)If a man dies having no children, his brother as next of kin shall marry his wife and raise up a seed for his brother.’ 25 Now there were seven brothers with us; and the first married and died, and having no [k]seed, he left his wife to his brother; 26 so also the second, and the third, down to the seventh. 27 And last of all, the woman died. 28 In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife of the seven will she be? For they all had married her.”

29 But Jesus answered and said to them, “You are mistaken, (V)not [l]understanding the Scriptures nor the power of God. 30 For in the resurrection they neither (W)marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. 31 But regarding the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God, saying, 32 (X)I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not the God of the dead but of the living.” 33 And when the crowds heard this, (Y)they were astonished at His teaching.

The Foremost Commandment

34 (Z)But when the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced (AA)the Sadducees, they gathered themselves together. 35 And one of them, (AB)a scholar of the Law, asked Him a question, testing Him, 36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And He said to him, “‘(AC)You shall love the [m]Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the great and [n]foremost commandment. 39 And the second is like it, ‘(AD)You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 (AE)On these two commandments hang the whole Law and the Prophets.”

41 (AF)Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question, 42 saying, “What do you think about [o]the Christ, whose son is He?” They *said to Him, “(AG)The son of David.” 43 He *said to them, “Then how does David [p](AH)in the Spirit call Him ‘Lord,’ saying,

44 (AI)The [q]Lord said to my Lord,
Sit at My right hand,
Until I put Your enemies beneath Your feet”’?

45 Therefore, if David calls Him ‘Lord,’ how is He his son?” 46 (AJ)And no one was able to answer Him a word, nor did anyone dare from that day on to ask Him [r]another question.

Footnotes

  1. Matthew 22:2 Lit was compared to
  2. Matthew 22:2 Lit a man, a king
  3. Matthew 22:2 Lit made
  4. Matthew 22:5 Or field
  5. Matthew 22:10 Lit those reclining at the table
  6. Matthew 22:14 Or invited
  7. Matthew 22:15 Lit in word
  8. Matthew 22:16 Lit it is not a concern to You about anyone;
  9. Matthew 22:17 Or permissible
  10. Matthew 22:19 A Roman silver coin, approx. a laborer’s daily wage
  11. Matthew 22:25 Or offspring
  12. Matthew 22:29 Or knowing
  13. Matthew 22:37 In OT, Yahweh, cf. Deut 6:5
  14. Matthew 22:38 Or first
  15. Matthew 22:42 Messiah
  16. Matthew 22:43 Or by inspiration
  17. Matthew 22:44 In OT, Yahweh, cf. Ps 110:1
  18. Matthew 22:46 Lit any longer

The Parable of the Wedding Banquet

22 Once more Jesus spoke to them in parables: “The kingdom of heaven(A) may be compared to a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son.(B) He sent out his slaves to summon those invited to the banquet,(C) but they didn’t want to come. 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)

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

“Then he told his slaves, ‘The banquet is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy.(E) 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):

44 The Lord declared to my Lord,
‘Sit at My right hand
until I put Your enemies under Your feet’?[r](AA)[s]

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)

Footnotes

  1. Matthew 22:7 Other mss read But when the (that) king heard about it he
  2. Matthew 22:10 Lit those reclining (to eat)
  3. Matthew 22:13 Other mss add take him away
  4. Matthew 22:15 Lit trap Him in [a] word
  5. Matthew 22:16 Lit don’t look on the face of men; that is, on the outward appearance
  6. Matthew 22:24 Dt 25:5
  7. Matthew 22:26 Lit so until the seven
  8. Matthew 22:28 Lit all had her
  9. Matthew 22:30 Other mss add God’s
  10. Matthew 22:32 Ex 3:6,15-16
  11. Matthew 22:32 Other mss read God
  12. Matthew 22:36 Lit is great
  13. Matthew 22:37 Dt 6:5
  14. Matthew 22:38 Lit and first
  15. Matthew 22:39 Lv 19:18
  16. Matthew 22:40 Or hang
  17. Matthew 22:43 Lit David in Spirit
  18. Matthew 22:44 Other mss read until I make Your enemies Your footstool
  19. Matthew 22:44 Ps 110:1
  20. Matthew 22:46 Lit answer Him a word