Matthew 22-23

Amplified Bible

Parable of the Marriage Feast

22 Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying, ² “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son. ³ And he sent his servants to call those who had [previously] been invited to the wedding feast, but they refused to come. ⁴ Then he sent out some other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who have been invited, “Look, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and fattened calves are butchered and everything is ready; come to the wedding feast.”’ ⁵ But they paid no attention [they disregarded the invitation, treating it with contempt] and went away, one to his farm, another to his business. ⁶ The rest [of the invited guests] seized his servants and mistreated them [insulting and humiliating them] and killed them. ⁷ The king was enraged [when he heard this], and sent his soldiers and destroyed those murderers and burned their city. ⁸ Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding [feast] is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy. ⁹ So go to the main highways that lead out of the city, and invite to the wedding feast as many as you find.’ ¹⁰ Those servants went out into the streets and gathered together all the people they could find, both bad and good; so the wedding hall was filled with dinner guests [sitting at the banquet table].

¹¹ “But when the king came in to see the dinner guests, he saw a man there who was not dressed [appropriately] in wedding clothes, ¹² and he said, ‘Friend, how did you come in here without wearing the wedding clothes [that were provided for you]?’ And the man was speechless and without excuse. ¹³ Then the king said to the attendants, ‘Tie him hand and foot, and throw him into the darkness outside; in that place there will be weeping [over sorrow and pain] and grinding of teeth [over distress and anger].’ ¹⁴ For many are called (invited, summoned), but few are chosen.”

Tribute to Caesar

¹⁵ Then the Pharisees went and conspired together plotting how to trap Him by [distorting] what He said.^{(A) 16} They sent their disciples to Him, along with the ^[a]Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that You are sincere and that You teach the way of God truthfully, without concerning Yourself about [what] anyone [thinks or says of Your teachings]; for You are impartial and do not seek anyone’s favor [and You treat all people alike, regardless of status]. ¹⁷ Tell us then, what do You think? Is it permissible [according to Jewish law and tradition] to pay a ^[b]poll-tax to Caesar, or not?” ¹⁸ But Jesus, aware of their malice, asked, “Why are you testing Me, you hypocrites? ¹⁹ Show me the coin used for the poll-tax.” And they brought Him a denarius [a day’s wage]. ²⁰ And Jesus said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” ²¹ They said, “[^[c]The Emperor Tiberius] Caesar’s.” Then He said to them, “Then pay to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s; and to God the things that are God’s.” ²² When they heard this, they were caught off guard, and they left Him and went away.

Jesus Answers the Sadducees

²³ On that day some Sadducees, who say that there is no resurrection [of the dead], came to Him and asked Him a question,^{(B) 24} saying, “Teacher, Moses said, ‘If a man dies, leaving no children, his brother as next of kin shall ^[d]marry his widow, and raise children for his brother.’^{(C) 25} Now there were seven brothers among us; the first married and died, and having no children left his wife to his brother. ²⁶ The second also [died childless], and the third, down to the seventh. ²⁷ Last of all, the woman died. ²⁸ So in the resurrection, whose wife of the seven will she be? For they all had married her.”

²⁹ But Jesus replied to them, “You are all wrong because you know neither the Scriptures [which teach the resurrection] nor the power of God [for He is able to raise the dead]. ³⁰ For in the resurrection neither do men marry nor are women given in marriage, but they are like angels in heaven [who do not marry nor produce children]. ³¹ But as to the resurrection of the dead—have you not read [in the Scripture] what God said to you: ³² ‘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.”^{(D) 33} When the crowds heard this, they were astonished at His teaching.

³⁴ Now when the Pharisees heard that He had silenced (muzzled) the Sadducees, they gathered together.^{(E) 35} One of them, a lawyer [an expert in Mosaic Law], asked Jesus a question, to test Him: ³⁶ “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”^{(F) 37} And Jesus replied to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’^{(G) 38} This is the first and greatest commandment. ³⁹ The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself [that is, unselfishly seek the best or higher good for others].’^{(H) 40} The whole Law and the [writings of the] Prophets depend on these two commandments.”

⁴¹ Now while the Pharisees were [still] gathered together, Jesus asked them a question:^{(I) 42} “What do you [Pharisees] think of the Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed)? Whose Son is He?” They said to Him, “^[e]The son of David.” ⁴³ Jesus asked them, “How is it then that David by the inspiration of the Spirit, calls Him ‘Lord,’ saying,

⁴⁵ So then, if David calls Him (the Son, the Messiah) ‘Lord,’ ^[f]how is He David’s son?” ⁴⁶ No one was able to say a word to Him in answer, nor from that day on did anyone dare to question Him again.

Pharisaism Exposed

23 Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to His disciples, ² saying: “The scribes and Pharisees have seated themselves in Moses’ chair [of authority as teachers of the Law]; ³ so practice and observe everything they tell you, but do not do as they do; for they preach [things], but do not practice them. ⁴ The scribes and Pharisees tie up ^[g]heavy loads [that are hard to bear] and place them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves will not lift a finger [to make them lighter]. ⁵ They do all their deeds to be seen by men; for they make their ^[h]phylacteries (tefillin) wide [to make them more conspicuous] and make their ^[i]tassels long.^{(K) 6} They love the place of distinction and honor at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues [those on the platform near the scrolls of the Law, facing the congregation], ⁷ and to be greeted [with respect] in the market places and public forums, and to have people call them Rabbi. ⁸ But do not be called Rabbi (Teacher); for One is your Teacher, and you are all [equally] brothers. ⁹ Do not call anyone on earth [who guides you spiritually] your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven. ¹⁰ Do not let yourselves be called leaders or teachers; for One is your Leader (Teacher), the Christ. ¹¹ But the greatest among you will be your servant. ¹² Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be raised to honor.

Eight Woes

¹³ “But woe (judgment is coming) to you, [self-righteous] scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you shut off the kingdom of heaven in front of people; for you do not enter yourselves, nor do you allow those who are [in the process of] entering to do so.^{(L) 14 [j]}[Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you swallow up widows’ houses, and to cover it up you make long prayers; therefore you will receive the greater condemnation.]

¹⁵ “Woe to you, [self-righteous] scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel over sea and land to make a single proselyte (convert to Judaism), and when he becomes a convert, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are.

¹⁶ “Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘Whoever swears [an oath] by the sanctuary of the temple, that is nothing (non-binding); but whoever swears [an oath] by the gold of the temple is obligated [as a debtor to fulfill his vow and keep his promise].’ ¹⁷ You fools and blind men! Which is more important, the gold or the sanctuary of the temple that sanctified the gold?^{(M) 18} And [you scribes and Pharisees say], ‘Whoever swears [an oath] by the altar, that is nothing (non-binding), but whoever swears [an oath] by the offering on it, he is obligated [as a debtor to fulfill his vow and keep his promise].’ ¹⁹ You [spiritually] blind men, which is more important, the offering, or the altar that sanctifies the offering? ²⁰ Therefore, whoever swears [an oath] by the altar, swears both by it and by everything [offered] on it. ²¹ And whoever swears [an oath] by the sanctuary of the temple, swears by it and by Him who dwells within it.^{(N) 22} And whoever swears [an oath] by heaven, swears both by the throne of God and by Him who sits upon it.

²³ “Woe to you, [self-righteous] scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you give a tenth (tithe) of your mint and dill and cumin [focusing on minor matters], and have neglected the weightier [more important moral and spiritual] provisions of the Law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the [primary] things you ought to have done without neglecting the others. ²⁴ You [spiritually] blind guides, who strain out a gnat [consuming yourselves with miniscule matters] and swallow a camel [ignoring and violating God’s precepts]!^(O)

²⁵ “Woe to you, [self-righteous] scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the plate, but inside they are full of extortion and robbery and self-indulgence (unrestrained greed). ²⁶ You [spiritually] blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and of the plate [examine and change your inner self to conform to God’s precepts], so that the outside [your public life and deeds] may be clean also.

²⁷ “Woe to you, [self-righteous] scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which look beautiful on the outside, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and everything unclean. ²⁸ So you, also, outwardly seem to be just and upright to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.^(P)

²⁹ “Woe to you, [self-righteous] scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build tombs for the prophets and decorate and adorn the monuments of the righteous, ³⁰ and you say, ‘If we had been living in the days of our fathers, we would not have joined them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ ³¹ So you testify against yourselves that you are the descendants of those who murdered the prophets. ³² Fill up, then, the [allotted] measure of the guilt of your fathers’ sins. ³³ You ^[k]serpents, you spawn of vipers, how can you escape the penalty of hell?

³⁴ “Therefore, take notice, I am sending you prophets and wise men [interpreters, teachers] and scribes [men educated in the Mosaic Law and the writings of the prophets]; some of them you will kill and even crucify, and some you will flog in your synagogues, and pursue and persecute from city to city, ³⁵ so that on you will come the guilt of all the blood of the righteous shed on earth, from the blood of righteous ^[l]Abel to the blood of Zechariah [the priest], the son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.^{(Q) 36} I assure you and most solemnly say to you, [the judgment for] all these things [these vile and murderous deeds] will come on this generation.^(R)

Lament over Jerusalem

³⁷ “^[m]O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who murders the prophets and stones [to death] those [messengers] who are sent to her [by God]! How often I wanted to gather your children together [around Me], as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling.^{(S) 38} Listen carefully: your house is being left to you desolate [completely abandoned by God and destitute of His protection]!^{(T) 39} For I say to you, you will not see Me again [ministering to you publicly] until you say, ‘Blessed [to be celebrated with praise] is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’”^(U)