A Story About a Wedding Feast

Jesus again used ·stories [parables] to teach them. He said,

“The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding ·feast [banquet] for his son.

When the ·feast [banquet] was ready, the king sent his servants to ·tell [inform; call] the people who had been invited, but they refused to come.

“Then the king sent other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who have been invited that my ·feast [banquet] is ready. I have killed my best ·bulls [or oxen] and [^Lfattened] calves for the dinner, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding ·feast [banquet].’

“After that, the king said to his servants, ‘The wedding ·feast [banquet] is ready. I invited those people, but they ·were not worthy [do not deserve] to come.

So go to the ·street corners [crossroads; or main roads] and invite everyone you find to come to my ·feast [banquet].’

Those Pharisees and teachers of the law love to have the ·most important seats [places of greatest honor] at ·feasts [banquets] and [^Lthe best seats] in the synagogues.

“So while ·the five foolish bridesmaids [^Lthey] went to buy oil, the bridegroom came. The bridesmaids who were ready went in with the bridegroom to the wedding feast. Then the door was ·closed and locked [^Lshut].

“You know that ·the day after tomorrow [^Ltwo days from now] is the day of the Passover Feast [^Cthe festival during which an unblemished lamb was sacrificed]. On that day the Son of Man will be ·given to his enemies [handed over] to be crucified.”

But they said, “We must not do it during the ·feast [Passover festival], because the people might cause a riot.”

Jesus Eats the Passover Meal

On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the ·followers [disciples] came to Jesus. They said, “Where do you want us to prepare for you to eat the Passover meal?”

Pilate Tries to Free Jesus

Every year at the ·time of Passover [festival/feast] the governor would free [^Lfor the crowd] one prisoner whom the people chose.

They love to have the most important seats in the synagogues and at ·feasts [banquets].

The Plan to Kill Jesus

It was now only two days before the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread [^Cthe annual festival that celebrates God’s rescue of Israel from Egypt; Ex. 12]. The ·leading [^Tchief] priests and ·teachers of the law [scribes] were trying to find a ·trick [secret way] to arrest Jesus and kill him.

But they said, “We must not do it during the feast, because the people might cause a riot.”

Jesus Eats the Passover Meal

It was now the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread when the Passover lamb was sacrificed. Jesus’ ·followers [disciples] said to him, “Where do you want us to go and prepare for you to eat the Passover meal?”

Pilate Tries to Free Jesus

Every year at the ·time of the Passover [festival/feast] the governor would free one prisoner whom the people ·chose [requested].

Jesus as a Boy

Every year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the Passover ·Feast [festival; ^Cannual festival that celebrates God’s rescue of Israel from Egypt; Ex. 12].

When he was twelve years old, they went to the ·feast [festival] ·as they always did [or according to Jewish custom].

After the feast days were over, they started home. The boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but his parents did not know it.

“When someone invites you to a wedding feast, don’t take the ·most important seat [place of honor], because someone more ·important [distinguished; honorable] than you may have been invited.

Instead, when you give a ·feast [banquet], invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind.

And get our ·fat [fattened; ^Cprepared for slaughter] calf and kill it [^Cpeople only occasionally ate meat; such a large animal indicates a major celebration] so we can have a feast and celebrate.

The older son was angry and ·would not [had no desire to] go in to the feast. So his father went out and ·begged [urged; encouraged] him to come in.

But the older son ·said to [answered] his father, ‘[^LLook; ^TBehold] I have served you like a slave for many years and have ·always obeyed [never disobeyed; ^Lnever neglected] your commands. But you never gave me even a young goat to ·have at a feast [celebrate] with my friends.