Matthew 22
New Living Translation
Parable of the Great Feast
22 Jesus also told them other parables. He said, 2 “The Kingdom of Heaven can be illustrated by the story of a king who prepared a great wedding feast for his son. 3 When the banquet was ready, he sent his servants to notify those who were invited. But they all refused to come!
4 “So he sent other servants to tell them, ‘The feast has been prepared. The bulls and fattened cattle have been killed, and everything is ready. Come to the banquet!’ 5 But the guests he had invited ignored them and went their own way, one to his farm, another to his business. 6 Others seized his messengers and insulted them and killed them.
7 “The king was furious, and he sent out his army to destroy the murderers and burn their town. 8 And he said to his servants, ‘The wedding feast is ready, and the guests I invited aren’t worthy of the honor. 9 Now go out to the street corners and invite everyone you see.’ 10 So the servants brought in everyone they could find, good and bad alike, and the banquet hall was filled with guests.
11 “But when the king came in to meet the guests, he noticed a man who wasn’t wearing the proper clothes for a wedding. 12 ‘Friend,’ he asked, ‘how is it that you are here without wedding clothes?’ But the man had no reply. 13 Then the king said to his aides, ‘Bind his hands and feet and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
14 “For many are called, but few are chosen.”
Taxes for Caesar
15 Then the Pharisees met together to plot how to trap Jesus into saying something for which he could be arrested. 16 They sent some of their disciples, along with the supporters of Herod, to meet with him. “Teacher,” they said, “we know how honest you are. You teach the way of God truthfully. You are impartial and don’t play favorites. 17 Now tell us what you think about this: Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”
18 But Jesus knew their evil motives. “You hypocrites!” he said. “Why are you trying to trap me? 19 Here, show me the coin used for the tax.” When they handed him a Roman coin,[a] 20 he asked, “Whose picture and title are stamped on it?”
21 “Caesar’s,” they replied.
“Well, then,” he said, “give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and give to God what belongs to God.”
22 His reply amazed them, and they went away.
Discussion about Resurrection
23 That same day Jesus was approached by some Sadducees—religious leaders who say there is no resurrection from the dead. They posed this question: 24 “Teacher, Moses said, ‘If a man dies without children, his brother should marry the widow and have a child who will carry on the brother’s name.’[b] 25 Well, suppose there were seven brothers. The oldest one married and then died without children, so his brother married the widow. 26 But the second brother also died, and the third brother married her. This continued with all seven of them. 27 Last of all, the woman also died. 28 So tell us, whose wife will she be in the resurrection? For all seven were married to her.”
29 Jesus replied, “Your mistake is that you don’t know the Scriptures, and you don’t know the power of God. 30 For when the dead rise, they will neither marry nor be given in marriage. In this respect they will be like the angels in heaven.
31 “But now, as to whether there will be a resurrection of the dead—haven’t you ever read about this in the Scriptures? Long after Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had died, God said,[c] 32 ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’[d] So he is the God of the living, not the dead.”
33 When the crowds heard him, they were astounded at his teaching.
The Most Important Commandment
34 But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees with his reply, they met together to question him again. 35 One of them, an expert in religious law, tried to trap him with this question: 36 “Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?”
37 Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’[e] 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[f] 40 The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”
Whose Son Is the Messiah?
41 Then, surrounded by the Pharisees, Jesus asked them a question: 42 “What do you think about the Messiah? Whose son is he?”
They replied, “He is the son of David.”
43 Jesus responded, “Then why does David, speaking under the inspiration of the Spirit, call the Messiah ‘my Lord’? For David said,
44 ‘The Lord said to my Lord,
Sit in the place of honor at my right hand
until I humble your enemies beneath your feet.’[g]
45 Since David called the Messiah ‘my Lord,’ how can the Messiah be his son?”
46 No one could answer him. And after that, no one dared to ask him any more questions.
Matthew 22
International Standard Version
The Parable about a Banquet(A)
22 Again Jesus spoke to them in parables. He said, 2 “The kingdom from[a] heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son. 3 He sent his servants to call those who had been invited to the wedding, but they refused to come. 4 So[b] he sent other servants after saying, ‘Tell those who have been invited, “Look! I’ve prepared my dinner. My oxen and fattened calves have been slaughtered. Everything is ready. Come to the wedding!”’ 5 But they paid no attention to this and went away, one to his farm, another to his business. 6 The rest grabbed the king’s[c] servants, treated them brutally, and then killed them. 7 Then the king became outraged. He sent his troops, and they destroyed those murderers and burned their city.
8 “Then he told his servants, ‘The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy. 9 So go into the roads leading out of town and invite as many people as you can find to the wedding.’ 10 Those servants went out into the streets and brought in everyone they found, evil and good alike, and the wedding hall was packed with guests.
11 “When the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. 12 He asked him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without wedding clothes?’ But the man[d] was speechless. 13 Then the king told his servants, ‘Tie his hands and feet, and throw him into the darkness outside!’ In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth,[e] 14 because many are invited, but few are chosen.”
A Question about Paying Taxes(B)
15 Then the Pharisees went and planned how to trap Jesus[f] in conversation. 16 They sent their disciples to him along with the Herodians.[g] They said, “Teacher, we know that you are sincere and that you teach the way of God truthfully. You don’t favor any individual, because you pay no attention to external appearance. 17 So tell us what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”
18 Recognizing their wickedness, Jesus asked, “Why are you testing me, you hypocrites? 19 Show me the coin used for the tax.”
They brought him a denarius.[h] 20 Then he asked them, “Whose face and name is this?”
21 They told him, “Caesar’s.”
So he told them, “Then give back to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”
22 When they heard this, they were amazed. Then they left him and went away.
A Question about the Resurrection(C)
23 That same day some Sadducees, who claim there is no resurrection, came to Jesus[i] and asked him, 24 “Teacher, Moses said, ‘If a man dies having no children, his brother must marry the widow and have children for his brother.’[j] 25 Now there were seven brothers among us. The first one married and died, and since he had no children, he left his widow to his brother. 26 The same thing happened with the second brother, and then the third, and finally with the rest of the brothers.[k] 27 Finally, the woman died, too. 28 Now in the resurrection, whose wife of the seven will she be, since all of them had married[l] her?”
29 Jesus answered them, “You are mistaken because you don’t know the Scriptures or God’s power, 30 because in the resurrection, people[m] neither marry nor are given in marriage but are like the angels[n] in heaven. 31 As for the resurrection from the dead, haven’t you read what was spoken to you by God when he said, 32 ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’?[o] He[p] is not the God of the dead, but of the living.”
33 When the crowds heard this, they were amazed at his teaching.
The Greatest Commandment(D)
34 When the Pharisees heard that Jesus[q] had silenced the Sadducees, they met together in the same place. 35 One of them, an expert in the Law, tested him by asking, 36 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”
37 Jesus[r] told him, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’[s] 38 This is the greatest and most important[t] commandment. 39 The second is exactly like it: ‘You must love your neighbor as yourself.’[u] 40 All the Law and the Prophets depend on these two commandments.”
A Question about David’s Son(E)
41 While the Pharisees were still[v] gathered, Jesus asked them, 42 “What do you think about the Messiah?[w] Whose son is he?”
They told him, “David’s.”
43 He asked them, “Then how can David by the Spirit call him ‘Lord’ when he says,
44 ‘The Lord[x] told my Lord,
“Sit at my right hand,
until I put your enemies under your feet.”’?[y]
45 If David calls him ‘Lord’, how can he be his son?”
46 No one could answer him at all,[z] and from that day on no one dared to ask him another question.
Footnotes
- Matthew 22:2 Lit. of
- Matthew 22:4 Lit. Again
- Matthew 22:6 Lit. his
- Matthew 22:12 Lit. he
- Matthew 22:13 I.e. extreme pain
- Matthew 22:15 Lit. him
- Matthew 22:16 I.e. Royal party sympathizers
- Matthew 22:19 The denarius was the usual day’s wage for a laborer.
- Matthew 22:23 Lit. him
- Matthew 22:24 Cf. Deut 25:5-6
- Matthew 22:26 Lit. with the seven
- Matthew 22:28 The Gk. lacks married
- Matthew 22:30 Lit. they
- Matthew 22:30 Other mss. read God’s angels
- Matthew 22:32 Cf. Exod 3:6
- Matthew 22:32 Other mss. read God
- Matthew 22:34 Lit. he
- Matthew 22:37 Lit. He
- Matthew 22:37 Cf. Deut 6:5
- Matthew 22:38 Or first
- Matthew 22:39 Cf. Lev 19:18
- Matthew 22:41 The Gk. lacks still
- Matthew 22:42 Or Christ
- Matthew 22:44 MT source citation reads Lord
- Matthew 22:44 Cf. Ps 110:1; MT source citation reads Lord
- Matthew 22:46 Lit. a word
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