Matthew 22
The Voice
22 Jesus went on speaking in parables.
Jesus: 2 The kingdom of heaven is like a king whose son was getting married. The king organized a great feast, a huge wedding banquet. 3 He invited everyone he knew. The day of the wedding arrived, and the king sent his servants into town to track down his guests—but when the servants approached them with the king’s message, they refused to come. 4 So the king sent out another batch of servants.
King: Tell those people I’ve invited to come to the wedding banquet! Tell them I have prepared a great feast! Everything is ready! The oxen and fattened cattle have all been butchered, the wine is decanted, and the table is laid out just so.
5 And off the servants went, and they carried the king’s message to the errant guests—who still paid not a whit of attention. One guest headed into his field to work; another sat at his desk to attend to his accounts. 6 The rest of the guests actually turned on the servants, brutalizing them and killing them. 7 When he learned of this, the king was furious. He sent his army to kill the murderers and burn their towns. 8 But there was, of course, still a wedding to celebrate.
King (to his remaining servants): The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited didn’t rise to the occasion. 9 So go into the streets and invite anyone you see; invite everyone you meet.
10 And the servants did just that—they went into the streets and invited everyone they met, rich and poor, good and bad, high and low, sick and well. Everyone who was invited came, and the wedding hall practically burst with guests.
11 The king looked around the wedding party with glee, but he spotted one man who was not dressed appropriately. In fact, he was dressed rather plainly, in clothes not at all fitting for a fine nuptial feast.
King: 12 Kind sir, how did you get in here without a proper suit of wedding clothes?
The man was speechless. He had been invited in off the street, after all! 13 Getting no response, the king told his servants,
King: Tie him up, and throw him out into the outer darkness, where there is weeping and grinding of teeth.
14 For many are invited, but few are chosen.
15 At that, the Pharisees left. They determined to trap this Jesus with His own words—hang Him by His own rope, you might say. 16 They sent a batch of students to Him, along with a group that was loyal to Herod.
Students: Teacher, we know You are a man of integrity and You tell the truth about the way of God. We know You don’t cotton to public opinion. 17 And that is why we trust You and want You to settle something for us: should we, God’s chosen people, pay taxes to Caesar or not?
18 Jesus knew these men were out to trap Him.
Jesus: You hypocrites! Why do you show up here with such a transparent trick? 19 Bring Me a coin you would use to pay tax.
Someone handed Him a denarius.[a] 20 Jesus fingered the coin.
Jesus: Of whom is this a portrait, and who owns this inscription?
Students: 21 Caesar.
Jesus: Well then, render to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.
22 And those who had come hoping to trick Jesus were confounded and amazed. And they left Him and went away.
23 That same day, a band of Sadducees—a sect of Jewish aristocrats who, among other things, did not expect a resurrection or anticipate any sort of future life at all—put their own question to Jesus.
Sadducees: 24 Teacher, the law of Moses teaches that if a married man dies with no children, then his brother must marry the widow and father children in his brother’s name. 25 Now we knew a family of seven brothers. The eldest brother married and died, and since he had no children, the next brother married his widow. 26 And shortly thereafter, that second brother died and the next until there were seven marriages with the same woman. 27 Eventually the wife died. 28 So now, Teacher, whose wife will she be at the resurrection? Will she have seven husbands, since they were each married to her?
According to Deuteronomy 25:5–6, a family member is supposed to marry a relative’s widow to carry on the deceased’s family name. Each man in this story dies, having fathered no children; that poor widow keeps marrying these brothers, and they keep dying. So in heaven, who is the husband?
Jesus: 29 You know neither God’s Scriptures nor God’s power—and so your assumptions are all wrong. 30 At the resurrection, people will neither marry nor be given in marriage. They will be like the messengers of heaven.
In heaven all will be devoting themselves to praise. It will not be a simple continuation of life on earth.
31 A key to this resurrected life can be found in the words of Moses, which you do claim to read: 32 “I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.”[b] Our God is not the God of the dead. He is the God of the living.
33 And again the crowd was amazed. They were astonished at His teaching.
34 Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, a group of Pharisees met to consider new questions that might trip up Jesus. 35 A legal expert thought of one that would certainly stump Him.
Pharisees: 36 Teacher, of all the laws, which commandment is the greatest?
Jesus (quoting Scripture): 37 “Love the Eternal One your God with all your heart and all your soul and all your mind.”[c] 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is nearly as important, “Love your neighbor as yourself.”[d] 40 The rest of the law, and all the teachings of the prophets, are but variations on these themes.
41 Since the Pharisees were gathered together there, Jesus took the opportunity to pose a question of His own.
Jesus: 42 What do you think about the Anointed One? Whose Son is He?
Pharisees: But, of course, He is the Son of David.
Jesus: 43 Then how is it that David—whose words were surely shaped by the Spirit—calls Him “Lord”? For in his psalms David writes,
44 The Master said to my master
“Sit here at My right hand,
in the place of honor and power,
And I will gather Your enemies together,
lead them in on hands and knees,
and You will rest Your feet on their backs.”[e]
45 How can David call his own Son “Lord”?
46 No one had an answer to Jesus’ question. And from that day forward, no one asked Him anything.
Footnotes
- 22:19 A Roman coin, equivalent to a day’s wage
- 22:32 Exodus 3:6
- 22:37 Deuteronomy 6:5
- 22:39 Leviticus 19:18
- 22:44 Psalm 110:1
Matthew 22
English Standard Version
The Parable of the Wedding Feast
22 And again Jesus (A)spoke to them in parables, saying, 2 (B)“The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave (C)a wedding feast for his son, 3 and (D)sent his servants[a] to call those who were invited to the wedding feast, but they would not come. 4 (E)Again he sent other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who are invited, “See, I have prepared my (F)dinner, (G)my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding feast.”’ 5 But (H)they paid no attention and went off, one to his farm, another to his business, 6 while the rest seized his servants, (I)treated them shamefully, and (J)killed them. 7 The king was angry, and he sent his troops and (K)destroyed those murderers and burned their city. 8 Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding feast is ready, but those invited were not (L)worthy. 9 Go therefore to the main roads and invite to the wedding feast as many as you find.’ 10 And those servants went out into the roads and (M)gathered all whom they found, both bad and good. So the wedding hall was filled with guests.
11 “But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there (N)a man who had no wedding garment. 12 And he said to him, (O)‘Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless. 13 Then the king said to the attendants, ‘Bind him hand and foot and (P)cast him into the outer darkness. In that place (Q)there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ 14 For many are (R)called, but few are (S)chosen.”
Paying Taxes to Caesar
15 (T)Then the Pharisees went and plotted how (U)to entangle him in his words. 16 And they sent (V)their disciples to him, along with (W)the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, (X)we know that you are true and teach (Y)the way of God truthfully, and you do not care about anyone's opinion, for (Z)you are not swayed by appearances.[b] 17 Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay (AA)taxes to (AB)Caesar, or not?” 18 But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, “Why (AC)put me to the test, you hypocrites? 19 Show me the coin for the tax.” And they brought him a denarius.[c] 20 And Jesus said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” 21 They said, “Caesar's.” Then he said to them, (AD)“Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's.” 22 When they heard it, they marveled. And they (AE)left him and went away.
Sadducees Ask About the Resurrection
23 The same day (AF)Sadducees came to him, (AG)who say that there is no resurrection, and they asked him a question, 24 saying, “Teacher, Moses said, (AH)‘If a man dies having no children, his brother must marry the widow and raise up offspring for his brother.’ 25 Now there were seven brothers among us. The first married and died, and having no offspring left his wife to his brother. 26 So too the second and third, down to the seventh. 27 After them all, the woman died. 28 In the resurrection, therefore, of the seven, whose wife will she be? For they all had her.”
29 But Jesus answered them, “You are wrong, (AI)because you know neither the Scriptures nor (AJ)the power of God. 30 For in the resurrection they neither (AK)marry nor (AL)are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. 31 And as for the resurrection of the dead, (AM)have you not read what was said to you by God: 32 (AN)‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not God of the dead, but of the living.” 33 And when the crowd heard it, (AO)they were astonished at his teaching.
The Great Commandment
34 (AP)But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced (AQ)the Sadducees, they gathered together. 35 (AR)And one of them, (AS)a lawyer, asked him a question (AT)to test him. 36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And he said to him, (AU)“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And (AV)a second is like it: (AW)You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 (AX)On these two commandments depend (AY)all the Law and the Prophets.”
Whose Son Is the Christ?
41 (AZ)Now while the Pharisees (BA)were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question, 42 saying, “What do you think about (BB)the Christ? Whose son is he?” They said to him, (BC)“The son of David.” 43 He said to them, “How is it then that David, (BD)in the Spirit, calls him Lord, saying,
44 (BE)“‘The Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit at my right hand,
until I put your enemies under your feet”’?
45 If then David calls him Lord, (BF)how is he his son?” 46 (BG)And no one was able to answer him a word, (BH)nor from that day did anyone dare to ask him any more questions.
Footnotes
- Matthew 22:3 Or bondservants; also verses 4, 6, 8, 10
- Matthew 22:16 Greek for you do not look at people's faces
- Matthew 22:19 A denarius was a day's wage for a laborer
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
