Matthew 22-24

New King James Version

The Parable of the Wedding Feast^(A)

22 And Jesus answered ^(B)and spoke to them again by parables and said: ² “The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who arranged a marriage for his son, ³ and sent out his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding; and they were not willing to come. ⁴ Again, he sent out other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who are invited, “See, I have prepared my dinner; ^(C)my oxen and fatted cattle are killed, and all things are ready. Come to the wedding.” ’ ⁵ But they made light of it and went their ways, one to his own farm, another to his business. ⁶ And the rest seized his servants, treated them ^[a]spitefully, and killed them. ⁷ But when the king heard about it, he was furious. And he sent out ^(D)his armies, destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city. ⁸ Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not ^(E)worthy. ⁹ Therefore go into the highways, and as many as you find, invite to the wedding.’ ¹⁰ So those servants went out into the highways and ^(F)gathered together all whom they found, both bad and good. And the wedding hall was filled with guests.

¹¹ “But when the king came in to see the guests, he saw a man there ^(G)who did not have on a wedding garment. ¹² So he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was ^(H)speechless. ¹³ Then the king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, ^[b]take him away, and cast him ^(I)into outer darkness; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

^14 (J)“For many are called, but few are chosen.”

The Pharisees: Is It Lawful to Pay Taxes to Caesar?^(K)

^15 (L)Then the Pharisees went and plotted how they might entangle Him in His talk. ¹⁶ And they sent to Him their disciples with the ^(M)Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that You are true, and teach the way of God in truth; nor do You care about anyone, for You do not ^[c]regard the person of men. ¹⁷ Tell us, therefore, what do You think? Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?”

¹⁸ But Jesus ^[d]perceived their wickedness, and said, “Why do you test Me, you hypocrites? ¹⁹ Show Me the tax money.”

So they brought Him a denarius.

²⁰ And He said to them, “Whose image and inscription is this?”

²¹ They said to Him, “Caesar’s.”

And He said to them, ^(N)“Render^[e] therefore to Caesar the things that are ^(O)Caesar’s, and to God the things that are ^(P)God’s.” ²² When they had heard these words, they marveled, and left Him and went their way.

The Sadducees: What About the Resurrection?^(Q)

^23 (R)The same day the Sadducees, ^(S)who say there is no resurrection, came to Him and asked Him, ²⁴ saying: “Teacher, ^(T)Moses said that if a man dies, having no children, his brother shall marry his wife and raise up offspring for his brother. ²⁵ Now there were with us seven brothers. The first died after he had married, and having no offspring, left his wife to his brother. ²⁶ Likewise the second also, and the third, even to the seventh. ²⁷ Last of all the woman died also. ²⁸ Therefore, in the resurrection, whose wife of the seven will she be? For they all had her.”

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

The Scribes: Which Is the First Commandment of All?^(Y)

^34 (Z)But when the Pharisees heard that He had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. ³⁵ Then one of them, ^(AA)a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying, ³⁶ “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?”

³⁷ Jesus said to him, ^(AB)“‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ ³⁸ This is the first and great commandment. ³⁹ And the second is like it: ^(AC)‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ ^40 (AD)On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”

Jesus: How Can David Call His Descendant Lord?^(AE)

^41 (AF)While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, ⁴² saying, “What do you think about the Christ? Whose Son is He?”

They said to Him, “The ^(AG)Son of David.”

⁴³ He said to them, “How then does David in the Spirit call Him ‘Lord,’ saying:

⁴⁵ If David then calls Him ‘Lord,’ how is He his Son?” ^46 (AI)And no one was able to answer Him a word, ^(AJ)nor from that day on did anyone dare question Him anymore.

Woe to the Scribes and Pharisees^(AK)

23 Then Jesus spoke to the multitudes and to His disciples, ² saying: ^(AL)“The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. ³ Therefore whatever they tell you ^[h]to observe, that observe and do, but do not do according to their works; for ^(AM)they say, and do not do. ^4 (AN)For they bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers. ⁵ But all their works they do to ^(AO)be seen by men. They make their phylacteries broad and enlarge the borders of their garments. ^6 (AP)They love the ^[i]best places at feasts, the best seats in the synagogues, ⁷ greetings in the marketplaces, and to be called by men, ‘Rabbi, Rabbi.’ ^8 (AQ)But you, do not be called ‘Rabbi’; for One is your ^[j]Teacher, ^[k]the Christ, and you are all brethren. ⁹ Do not call anyone on earth your father; ^(AR)for One is your Father, He who is in heaven. ¹⁰ And do not be called teachers; for One is your Teacher, the Christ. ¹¹ But ^(AS)he who is greatest among you shall be your servant. ^12 (AT)And whoever exalts himself will be ^[l]humbled, and he who humbles himself will be ^[m]exalted.

¹³ “But ^(AU)woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; for you neither go in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in. ^14 [n]Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! ^(AV)For you devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense make long prayers. Therefore you will receive greater condemnation.

¹⁵ “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel land and sea to win one proselyte, and when he is won, you make him twice as much a son of ^[o]hell as yourselves.

¹⁶ “Woe to you, ^(AW)blind guides, who say, ^(AX)‘Whoever swears by the temple, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple, he is obliged to perform it.’ ¹⁷ Fools and blind! For which is greater, the gold ^(AY)or the temple that ^[p]sanctifies the gold? ¹⁸ And, ‘Whoever swears by the altar, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gift that is on it, he is obliged to perform it.’ ¹⁹ Fools and blind! For which is greater, the gift ^(AZ)or the altar that sanctifies the gift? ²⁰ Therefore he who ^[q]swears by the altar, swears by it and by all things on it. ²¹ He who swears by the temple, swears by it and by ^(BA)Him who ^[r]dwells in it. ²² And he who swears by heaven, swears by ^(BB)the throne of God and by Him who sits on it.

²³ “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! ^(BC)For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and ^(BD)have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone. ²⁴ Blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!

²⁵ “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! ^(BE)For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and ^[s]self-indulgence. ²⁶ Blind Pharisee, first cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, that the outside of them may be clean also.

²⁷ “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! ^(BF)For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. ²⁸ Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

^29 (BG)“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! Because you build the tombs of the prophets and ^[t]adorn the monuments of the righteous, ³⁰ and say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.’

³¹ “Therefore you are witnesses against yourselves that ^(BH)you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. ^32 (BI)Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers’ guilt. ³³ Serpents, ^(BJ)brood^[u] of vipers! How can you escape the condemnation of hell? ^34 (BK)Therefore, indeed, I send you prophets, wise men, and scribes: ^(BL)some of them you will kill and crucify, and ^(BM)some of them you will scourge in your synagogues and persecute from city to city, ^35 (BN)that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, ^(BO)from the blood of righteous Abel to ^(BP)the blood of Zechariah, son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. ³⁶ Assuredly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.

Jesus Laments over Jerusalem^(BQ)

^37 (BR)“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets ^(BS)and stones those who are sent to her! How often ^(BT)I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks ^(BU)under her wings, but you were not willing! ³⁸ See! Your house is left to you desolate; ³⁹ for I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, ^(BV)‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’ ”

Jesus Predicts the Destruction of the Temple^(BW)

24 Then ^(BX)Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and His disciples came up to show Him the buildings of the temple. ² And Jesus said to them, “Do you not see all these things? Assuredly, I say to you, ^(BY)not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down.”

The Signs of the Times and the End of the Age^(BZ)

³ Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, ^(CA)the disciples came to Him privately, saying, ^(CB)“Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?”

⁴ And Jesus answered and said to them: ^(CC)“Take heed that no one deceives you. ⁵ For ^(CD)many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ ^(CE)and will deceive many. ⁶ And you will hear of ^(CF)wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for ^[v]all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. ⁷ For ^(CG)nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be ^(CH)famines, ^[w]pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. ⁸ All these are the beginning of sorrows.

^9 (CI)“Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. ¹⁰ And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. ¹¹ Then ^(CJ)many false prophets will rise up and ^(CK)deceive many. ¹² And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow ^(CL)cold. ^13 (CM)But he who endures to the end shall be saved. ¹⁴ And this ^(CN)gospel of the kingdom ^(CO)will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.

The Great Tribulation^(CP)

^15 (CQ)“Therefore when you see the ^(CR)‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place” ^(CS)(whoever reads, let him understand), ¹⁶ “then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. ¹⁷ Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house. ¹⁸ And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes. ¹⁹ But ^(CT)woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! ²⁰ And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath. ²¹ For ^(CU)then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. ²² And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; ^(CV)but for the ^[x]elect’s sake those days will be shortened.

^23 (CW)“Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There!’ do not believe it. ²⁴ For ^(CX)false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, ^(CY)if possible, even the elect. ²⁵ See, I have told you beforehand.

²⁶ “Therefore if they say to you, ‘Look, He is in the desert!’ do not go out; or ‘Look, He is in the inner rooms!’ do not believe it. ^27 (CZ)For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. ^28 (DA)For wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered together.

The Coming of the Son of Man^(DB)

^29 (DC)“Immediately after the tribulation of those days ^(DD)the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. ^30 (DE)Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, ^(DF)and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. ^31 (DG)And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His ^[y]elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

The Parable of the Fig Tree^(DH)

³² “Now learn ^(DI)this parable from the fig tree: When its branch has already become tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near. ³³ So you also, when you see all these things, know ^(DJ)that ^[z]it is near—at the doors! ³⁴ Assuredly, I say to you, ^(DK)this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place. ^35 (DL)Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.

No One Knows the Day or Hour^(DM)

^36 (DN)“But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of ^[aa]heaven, ^(DO)but My Father only. ³⁷ But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. ^38 (DP)For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, ³⁹ and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. ^40 (DQ)Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken and the other left. ⁴¹ Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left. ^42 (DR)Watch therefore, for you do not know what ^[ab]hour your Lord is coming. ^43 (DS)But know this, that if the master of the house had known what ^[ac]hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. ^44 (DT)Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.

The Faithful Servant and the Evil Servant^(DU)

^45 (DV)“Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his master made ruler over his household, to give them food ^[ad]in due season? ^46 (DW)Blessed is that servant whom his master, when he comes, will find so doing. ⁴⁷ Assuredly, I say to you that ^(DX)he will make him ruler over all his goods. ⁴⁸ But if that evil servant says in his heart, ‘My master ^(DY)is delaying ^[ae]his coming,’ ⁴⁹ and begins to beat his fellow servants, and to eat and drink with the drunkards, ⁵⁰ the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him and at an hour that he is ^(DZ)not aware of, ⁵¹ and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites. ^(EA)There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.