Gospel of Matthew - Chapter 22
The Story About the Wedding Meal 22:1-14
v1 Jesus told them some more stories. v2 ‘Where God rules, it is like this’, he said. ‘A king prepared a wedding meal for his son. v3 The king had invited people to the special meal. When it was ready, he sent his servants to those people. They went to tell them to come. But the people refused to come. v4 Then the king sent some more servants. “Speak to the people that I have invited”, he said. “Tell them that I have prepared my dinner. I have killed my cows and my fattest young cows. Everything is ready. Come to the wedding meal.”
v5 But the people paid no attention and continued with their own work. One person went away to his field. Another person went away to his business. v6 Other people seized the king’s servants. They hurt the servants and then they killed them. v7 So the king became very angry. He sent his army to destroy those people. The army killed the people who had murdered the king’s servants. Then they burned their city.
v8 Then the king spoke to his servants again. “The wedding meal is ready”, he said. “But the people that I invited did not deserve to eat it. v9 Go out into the streets. And invite anyone that you can find there.”
v10 So the servants went out into the streets. They gathered all the people that they could find. They gathered both good people and bad people. Then the wedding hall became full of guests. v11 The king came into the hall to see the guests. And he noticed a man who was not wearing proper clothes for the wedding. v12 “Friend”, he asked him, “how did you get in here without wearing wedding clothes?” The man could not answer. v13 Then the king told his servants, “Tie up his hands and his feet. Throw him out into the darkness. Out there, people will weep. And they will bite their teeth together.” v14 Many people receive an invitation. But God chooses only a few people,’ Jesus said.
Commentary
Verse 1
Jesus continued telling the chief priests and the religious leaders stories. He started telling those stories in Matthew 21:23 when they questioned His authority.
Verse 2
The Jews thought that there would be a special meal when the Messiah came. Jesus spoke about a king who invited guests to his son’s wedding meal. God was inviting the Jews. He wanted them to receive his Son Jesus. Then they could be very happy.
Verses 3-4
At that time it was the custom to send out two invitations. The first invitation told the guests about the special meal. Then when the meal was ready, the guests received a second invitation. It was time for them to go to eat the special meal.
Verses 5-6
In Jesus’ story, the guests refused to go to eat the meal. They acted as if the king’s invitation did not matter. They went off to look after their own business first. The business itself was not bad. But they put their own business before the king’s invitation. This seriously insulted the king. In the same way, the Jewish leaders were insulting God. They refused the opportunity to come where he rules.
Verses 7-8
The king punished those people who had killed his servants. And he burned their city. These details seem to refer to the events in AD 70. That was when the Romans destroyed Jerusalem.
Verses 9-10
None of the people in the streets expected an invitation to be the king’s guests. They were both ‘good and bad’ ordinary people. Jesus welcomed sinners as well. The new guests were both Jews and foreigners. They gained a place where God rules.
Verses 11-14
These verses have a special meaning. The Jewish teachers told similar stories about a king and wedding clothes. It does not seem fair that the king blamed the man. The man had come in from the street, so he was not wearing special clothes. But the king may have provided wedding clothes for his guests, as that was the custom. The man had come in to the wedding meal without suitable clothes. But he had no excuse because he knew the customs. He had insulted his host. Isaiah says that people try to make themselves good. However, to God, all their efforts are like very dirty clothes (Isaiah 64:6). But God gave Isaiah special clothes because he saved him. So Isaiah praises and thanks God (Isaiah 61:10). Paul urged the Christians at Ephesus to ‘take off’ or leave the old way that they lived. They must ‘put on’ or change to the new way to live. They must obey God (Ephesians 4:22-24).
In this story, the special wedding clothes are picture language. They show that God had saved the person. The man’s clothes were not suitable for a wedding. They are picture language for the bad way that he lived. The other guests had taken off their own clothes and put on the special wedding clothes. This means that God had forgiven them. He had saved them.
Verse 13
God offers to save people. The story refers to the time when God will be the judge. He will punish all the people who have refused his offer. The darkness was something that they should be afraid of. So Jesus warns them about it. The people who are out in the darkness will be very unhappy. They will probably be hurting and angry with themselves. That is why they will be biting their teeth together.
Verse 14
The story shows that God invites many people. But few people completely accept the invitation to enjoy a place where he rules.
The Question About Taxes 22:15-22
v15 Then the Pharisees went away and met together. They made plans to make Jesus say something bad. v16 So they sent some of their disciples to him along with some people called Herodians. ‘Teacher’, they said, ‘we know that you are an honest man. The things that you teach about God’s way are true. You respect everybody. You do not take notice of how important they are. v17 Tell us then, what do you think? Is it right for us to pay taxes to the Roman king called Caesar. Or is it not right?’
v18 But Jesus knew their evil plan. ‘You are not being honest’, he replied. ‘You are trying to test me. v19 Show me the coin that people use to pay the tax.’ So they brought him a silver coin. v20 ‘Whose picture and name are on this coin?’ he asked them. v21 ‘It is Caesar’s’, they replied. ‘Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar’, Jesus told them. ‘And give to God what belongs to God.’ v22 When they heard this, they were astonished. So they left him and they went away.
Commentary
Verses 15-17
The Herodians were friends with King Herod’s family. They did not usually join with the Pharisees. They did not want to obey all the rules that the Pharisees obeyed. What they said about Jesus was true. He always said what God wanted. He did not allow other people to change what he taught. The Pharisees praised Jesus. But they only wanted to make their question sound sincere. They thought that they could test Jesus. They thought that their plan was very clever. And they thought that they would succeed. Whatever answer Jesus gave would cause people to be angry.
The Jews hated to pay taxes to their Roman rulers. It reminded them that they were not a free nation. Some Jews thought that it was against God’s commands. They were paying money to people who did not believe God, they said. Jesus might agree with them. Then he would say that it was not right to pay the tax. That would cause trouble with the Romans. Jesus might say that they should pay the tax. Then the people would be angry. And they would stop listening to Him.
Verses 18-19
But Jesus realized what the Pharisees were trying to do. The coin that he asked for was called a ‘denarius’. It was a silver coin. It was equal to a man’s wage for one day’s work. There was a picture of Tiberius Caesar’s head on one side. On the other side, the words described him as a high priest of the Roman religion.
Verses 20-21
The Pharisees had to say that the picture and name were Caesar’s on the coin. So Jesus told them to pay to Caesar what belonged to him. It was the payment that they owed him. The state provided security, good roads, and other public services. So a Christian has a duty to pay his taxes. He is a citizen of the country in which he lives. But a Christian is also a citizen of heaven. He has a duty to God as well. A good citizen where God rules will be a good citizen in their own country on earth too. They will pay what they owe to both God and to other people.
Verse 22
The plan had failed. So the Pharisees went away.
The Question About Life After Death 22:23-33
v23 On that same day, some Sadducees came to Jesus to ask him a question. The Sadducees say that there is no life after death. v24 ‘Teacher’, they said, ‘this is what Moses told us about a married man who dies. If he has no children, his brother must marry the widow. Then the brother can have children on behalf of the dead man. v25 Now there were 7 brothers among us. The first one married, but then he died. Since he had no children, his brother married the dead man’s wife. v26 But the same thing happened to the man’s brother. The same thing happened seven times as each brother married the woman. v27 At the end, the woman died. v28 Now then, whose wife will she be when they all live again after death? All 7 of the brothers married her.’
v29 Jesus replied to them. ‘You are wrong’, he said. ‘You do not know the scriptures. And you do not know God’s power. v30 When people live again after death, they will not marry. And parents will not give their sons or daughters for marriage. People will be like God’s messengers in heaven. v31 But God has spoken about the life after death. Surely, you have read what God said to you. v32 “I am Abraham’s God. I am Isaac’s God and I am Jacob’s God.” He is not the dead people’s God. He is the living people’s God.’ v33 The crowds heard what Jesus taught. And what he taught astonished them.
Commentary
Verse 23
The Sadducees were the rich Jewish leaders. Many of them were priests. They worked with the Roman rulers in order to keep their own power. And they were afraid that Jesus might cause a difficult political situation. Then the Romans would be angry, and the Sadducees might lose their power. They did not believe that people would live again after death. And they did not believe that God has angels (see Acts 23:8). They hoped that Jesus would not be able to answer their question. Then he would look foolish, and so the crowd would lose interest in him. They would no longer listen to what he taught.
Verses 24-28
They told a story about marriage and the Jewish Law (see Deuteronomy 25:5-6). A husband may die. But if he has no children, his brother or a close relative must marry his widow. The first son of the widow and her new husband would continue the dead man’s family name. People would also consider that he was the first husband’s son. The Sadducees told a story about a woman who had married seven brothers in turn. But none of them had children. Whose wife would she be when they all lived again after death? They thought that such a situation would be impossible to solve. They thought that Jesus could never give a satisfactory answer.
Verses 29-30
Jesus showed that their question had no meaning. The Sadducees thought that life in heaven would be the same as life on earth. They did not know God’s power. God is able to give people a new life. There will be no marriage in heaven and people will not need to continue the human race. People will be like God’s messengers, who do not die. In heaven, God will give people a new life. And he will provide bodies that are suitable.
Verses 31-32 The Old Testament tells us about life after death. But the Sadducees denied it. Jesus said that they did not know what God has said. The Sadducees thought that the five books about the Law were the most important part (the first five books in the Bible). Jesus reminded them about a statement in Exodus, which was one of these books. God spoke to Moses. “I am the God that Abraham worships. I am Isaac’s God and Jacob’s God” (Exodus 3:6). Jews who lived long ago are alive with God. He said, “I am”. He did not say, “I was”. Nothing can end the relationship with God. It begins on earth and it continues after physical death. (The Pharisees believed about God’s messengers and life after death.)
Verse 33
The Sadducees tried to make Jesus less popular, but they failed. The people in the crowd were astonished at the clever way that Jesus had answered the question.
The Greatest Command 22:34-40
v34 Jesus had shown that the Sadducees were wrong. The Pharisees heard about it, so they gathered together. v35 One of them was an expert about the Law and he tested Jesus with a question. v36 ‘Teacher, which is the greatest command in the Law?’ he asked. v37 Jesus replied to him. ‘ “Love God with your whole person – all of your heart, all of your inner person, and all of your mind.” v38 This is the first and most important command. v39 And the second important command is like it. “Love your neighbor as much as you love yourself.” v40 Everything that God’s special servants have written in the Law and in their other books depends on these two commands.’
Commentary
Verses 34-36
Jesus had answered the Sadducees. Now the Pharisees (the other Jewish leaders) prepared to test Jesus. The Jewish teachers said that the Law contained 613 commands from God. Some of these laws were more important than other laws. The expert about the Law asked Jesus which was the most important command.
Verses 37-38
Jesus used words from Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18. The most important command is part of what the Jews call the Shema. It is their statement of what they believe. So Jews say the Shema every day. The most important of God’s commands is that people should love him. They should love him with their whole soul - the whole of their thoughts, all of their feelings, and their entire life.
Verse 39
Jesus added a second command. When people really love God, then they love other people. We should love other people as much as we love ourselves, Jesus said.
Verse 40
The man had asked about the Law and Jesus had replied from the Law books. But he added the other books that God’s special servants wrote. The Law and these other books are the two great divisions in the Old Testament which is the Jewish Bible. So these two commands are the sum of all that the Old Testament taught.
The Question About David’s Son 22:41-46
v41 While the Pharisees were there together, Jesus asked them a question. v42 ‘What do you think about the Christ? Whose family does he belong to?’ ‘He is David’s son’, they replied.
v43 Jesus spoke to them again. But David called him “Lord,” because the Holy Spirit spoke through David long ago.
v44 “The Lord spoke to my Lord:
Sit by my right side,
until I put your enemies under your feet,” he said.
v45 So if David calls him “Lord”, how can he be David’s son?’
v46 Nobody could answer Jesus. And from that day on, nobody dared to ask him any more questions.
Commentary
Verses 41-42
Jesus asked this question after the Pharisees had been asking him questions. He wanted them to think more about Christ, their Messiah. They should be thinking about the kind of Christ (Messiah) that they were expecting. They believed that he would belong to King David’s family. But the popular idea was that he would be a soldier like David. The Messiah would free Israel’s people from their Roman rulers and he would defeat other nations. Then Israel would have great political power in the world.
Verses 43-45
Jesus agreed that he belonged to David’s family. But he reminded them about Psalm 110:1. This psalm showed that Jesus was more important than David. The Jews knew that David wrote many psalms. And Psalm 110 was about the Messiah. The first words, ‘The Lord’, refer to God. So God is inviting the man whom David called ‘my Lord’. David’s Lord is the Messiah, Christ, and God is giving him the most important place next to him. He would remain with God until God had defeated all his enemies.
Verse 45
David called the Messiah “Lord”. So Jesus wanted to know how the Messiah could be David’s son. Jesus wanted to show that the Messiah was not a military hero like David. He was a different kind of king who had come to rule with peace. He would invite people to enter where he rules. He was someone much greater than David, so he received a place of honor in heaven with God.
Peter also used the message from Psalm 110:1 when he spoke to the crowd on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:34-35). He said that Jesus was ‘both Lord and Christ’, like the words from Psalm 110.
And Paul used this message when he wrote to the Christians at Corinth. Christ will destroy all his enemies, including the last enemy, which is death (1 Corinthians 15:25-26).
Verse 46
The people who opposed Jesus had asked him many questions. He answered them all with great wisdom. They had not been able to win this battle of words. And now they had no answer to his question. So they could not ask him any more questions and they went away.
|
|
