The Story of the Wedding Dinner

22 Jesus told them more stories. He said, ² “Here is what the kingdom of heaven is like. A king prepared a wedding dinner for his son. ³ He sent his slaves to those who had been invited to the dinner. The slaves told them to come. But they refused.

⁴ “Then he sent some more slaves. He said, ‘Tell those who were invited that I have prepared my dinner. I have killed my oxen and my fattest cattle. Everything is ready. Come to the wedding dinner.’

⁵ “But the people paid no attention. One went away to his field. Another went away to his business. ⁶ The rest grabbed his slaves. They treated them badly and then killed them. ⁷ The king became very angry. He sent his army to destroy them. They killed those murderers and burned their city.

⁸ “Then the king said to his slaves, ‘The wedding dinner is ready. But those I invited were not fit to come. ⁹ So go to the street corners. Invite to the dinner anyone you can find.’ ¹⁰ So the slaves went out into the streets. They gathered all the people they could find, the bad as well as the good. Soon the wedding hall was filled with guests.

¹¹ “The king came in to see the guests. He noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. ¹² ‘Friend,’ he asked, ‘how did you get in here without wedding clothes?’ The man couldn’t think of anything to say.

¹³ “Then the king told his slaves, ‘Tie up his hands and feet. Throw him outside into the darkness. Out there people will weep and grind their teeth.’

¹⁴ “Many are invited, but few are chosen.”

Is It Right to Pay the Royal Tax to Caesar?

¹⁵ The Pharisees went out. They made plans to trap Jesus with his own words. ¹⁶ They sent their followers to him. They sent the Herodians with them. “Teacher,” they said, “we know that you are a man of honor. You teach the way of God truthfully. You don’t let others tell you what to do or say. You don’t care how important they are. ¹⁷ Tell us then, what do you think? Is it right to pay the royal tax to Caesar or not?”

¹⁸ But Jesus knew their evil plans. He said, “You pretenders! Why are you trying to trap me? ¹⁹ Show me the coin people use for paying the tax.” They brought him a silver coin. ²⁰ He asked them, “Whose picture is this? And whose words?”

²¹ “Caesar’s,” they replied.

Then he said to them, “So give back to Caesar what belongs to Caesar. And give back to God what belongs to God.”

²² When they heard this, they were amazed. So they left him and went away.

Marriage When the Dead Rise

²³ That same day the Sadducees came to Jesus with a question. They do not believe that people rise from the dead. ²⁴ “Teacher,” they said, “here is what Moses told us. If a man dies without having children, his brother must get married to the widow. He must provide children to carry on his brother’s name. ²⁵ There were seven brothers among us. The first one got married and died. Since he had no children, he left his wife to his brother. ²⁶ The same thing happened to the second and third brothers. It happened right on down to the seventh brother. ²⁷ Finally, the woman died. ²⁸ Now then, when the dead rise, whose wife will she be? All seven of them were married to her.”

²⁹ Jesus replied, “You are mistaken, because you do not know the Scriptures. And you do not know the power of God. ³⁰ When the dead rise, they won’t get married. And their parents won’t give them to be married. They will be like the angels in heaven. ³¹ What about the dead rising? Haven’t you read what God said to you? ³² He said, ‘I am the God of Abraham. I am the God of Isaac. And I am the God of Jacob.’ (Exodus 3:6) He is not the God of the dead. He is the God of the living.”

³³ When the crowds heard this, they were amazed by what he taught.

The Most Important Commandment

³⁴ The Pharisees heard that the Sadducees weren’t able to answer Jesus. So the Pharisees got together. ³⁵ One of them was an authority on the law. So he tested Jesus with a question. ³⁶ “Teacher,” he asked, “which is the most important commandment in the Law?”

³⁷ Jesus replied, “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. Love him with all your mind.’ (Deuteronomy 6:5) ³⁸ This is the first and most important commandment. ³⁹ And the second is like it. ‘Love your neighbor as you love yourself.’ (Leviticus 19:18) ⁴⁰ Everything that is written in the Law and the Prophets is based on these two commandments.”

Whose Son Is the Messiah?

⁴¹ The Pharisees were gathered together. Jesus asked them, ⁴² “What do you think about the Messiah? Whose son is he?”

“The son of David,” they replied.

⁴³ He said to them, “Then why does David call him ‘Lord’? The Holy Spirit spoke through David himself. David said,

⁴⁵ So if David calls him ‘Lord,’ how can he be David’s son?” ⁴⁶ No one could give any answer to him. From that day on, no one dared to ask him any more questions.

The Story of Ten Bridesmaids

25 “Here is what the kingdom of heaven will be like at that time. Ten bridesmaids took their lamps and went out to meet the groom. ² Five of them were foolish. Five were wise. ³ The foolish ones took their lamps but didn’t take any olive oil with them. ⁴ The wise ones took oil in jars along with their lamps. ⁵ The groom did not come for a long time. So the bridesmaids all grew tired and fell asleep.

⁶ “At midnight someone cried out, ‘Here’s the groom! Come out to meet him!’

⁷ “Then all the bridesmaids woke up and got their lamps ready. ⁸ The foolish ones said to the wise ones, ‘Give us some of your oil. Our lamps are going out.’

⁹ “ ‘No,’ they replied. ‘There may not be enough for all of us. Instead, go to those who sell oil. Buy some for yourselves.’

¹⁰ “So they went to buy the oil. But while they were on their way, the groom arrived. The bridesmaids who were ready went in with him to the wedding dinner. Then the door was shut.

¹¹ “Later, the other bridesmaids also came. ‘Sir! Sir!’ they said. ‘Open the door for us!’

¹² “But he replied, ‘What I’m about to tell you is true. I don’t know you.’

¹³ “So keep watch. You do not know the day or the hour that the groom will come.

The Story of Three Slaves

¹⁴ “Again, here is what the kingdom of heaven will be like. A man was going on a journey. He sent for his slaves and put them in charge of his money. ¹⁵ He gave five bags of gold to one. He gave two bags to another. And he gave one bag to the third. The man gave each slave the amount of money he knew the slave could take care of. Then he went on his journey. ¹⁶ The slave who had received five bags of gold went at once and put his money to work. He earned five bags more. ¹⁷ The one with the two bags of gold earned two more. ¹⁸ But the man who had received one bag went and dug a hole in the ground. He hid his master’s money in it.

¹⁹ “After a long time the master of those slaves returned. He wanted to collect all the money they had earned. ²⁰ The man who had received five bags of gold brought the other five. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you trusted me with five bags of gold. See, I have earned five more.’

²¹ “His master replied, ‘You have done well, good and faithful slave! You have been faithful with a few things. I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’

²² “The man with two bags of gold also came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you trusted me with two bags of gold. See, I have earned two more.’

²³ “His master replied, ‘You have done well, good and faithful slave! You have been faithful with a few things. I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’

²⁴ “Then the man who had received one bag of gold came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man. You harvest where you have not planted. You gather crops where you have not scattered seed. ²⁵ So I was afraid. I went out and hid your gold in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’

²⁶ “His master replied, ‘You evil, lazy slave! So you knew that I harvest where I have not planted? You knew that I gather crops where I have not scattered seed? ²⁷ Well then, you should have put my money in the bank. When I returned, I would have received it back with interest.’

²⁸ “Then his master commanded the other slaves, ‘Take the bag of gold from him. Give it to the one who has ten bags. ²⁹ Everyone who has will be given more. They will have more than enough. And what about anyone who doesn’t have? Even what they have will be taken away from them. ³⁰ Throw that worthless slave outside. There in the darkness, people will weep and grind their teeth.’

The Sheep and the Goats

³¹ “The Son of Man will come in all his glory. All the angels will come with him. Then he will sit in glory on his throne. ³² All the nations will be gathered in front of him. He will separate the people into two groups. He will be like a shepherd who separates the sheep from the goats. ³³ He will put the sheep to his right and the goats to his left.

³⁴ “Then the King will speak to those on his right. He will say, ‘My Father has blessed you. Come and take what is yours. It is the kingdom prepared for you since the world was created. ³⁵ I was hungry. And you gave me something to eat. I was thirsty. And you gave me something to drink. I was a stranger. And you invited me in. ³⁶ I needed clothes. And you gave them to me. I was sick. And you took care of me. I was in prison. And you came to visit me.’

³⁷ “Then the people who have done what is right will answer him. ‘Lord,’ they will ask, ‘when did we see you hungry and feed you? When did we see you thirsty and give you something to drink? ³⁸ When did we see you as a stranger and invite you in? When did we see you needing clothes and give them to you? ³⁹ When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

⁴⁰ “The King will reply, ‘What I’m about to tell you is true. Anything you did for one of the least important of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

⁴¹ “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘You are cursed! Go away from me into the fire that burns forever. It has been prepared for the devil and his angels. ⁴² I was hungry. But you gave me nothing to eat. I was thirsty. But you gave me nothing to drink. ⁴³ I was a stranger. But you did not invite me in. I needed clothes. But you did not give me any. I was sick and in prison. But you did not take care of me.’

⁴⁴ “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty and not help you? When did we see you as a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison and not help you?’

⁴⁵ “He will reply, ‘What I’m about to tell you is true. Anything you didn’t do for one of the least important of these, you didn’t do for me.’

⁴⁶ “Then they will go away to be punished forever. But those who have done what is right will receive eternal life.”