Matthew 22 · WEB
Wedding Feast and Tested Questions
Listen — WEB narration 0:00 / 0:00 Narration: World English Bible (David Williams), public domain — AudioTreasure.
Tap a verse to copy it, open the Greek, or write a note.
Jesus answered and spoke to them again in parables, saying,
2"The Kingdom of Heaven is like a certain king, who made a wedding feast for his son,
3and sent out his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding feast, but they would not come.
4Again he sent out other servants, saying, 'Tell those who are invited, "Behold, I have prepared my dinner. My cattle and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready. Come to the wedding feast!"'
5But they made light of it, and went their ways, one to his own farm, another to his merchandise,
6and the rest grabbed his servants, and treated them shamefully, and killed them.
7When the king heard that, he was angry, and sent his armies, destroyed those murderers, and burned their city.
8"Then he said to his servants, 'The wedding is ready, but those who were invited weren't worthy.
9Go therefore to the intersections of the highways, and as many as you may find, invite to the wedding feast.'
10Those servants went out into the highways, and gathered together as many as they found, both bad and good. The wedding was filled with guests.
11But when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man who didn't have on wedding clothing,
12and he said to him, 'Friend, how did you come in here not wearing wedding clothing?' He was speechless.
13Then the king said to the servants, 'Bind him hand and foot, take him away, and throw him into the outer darkness. That is where the weeping and grinding of teeth will be.'
14For many are called, but few chosen."
15Then the Pharisees went and took counsel how they might entrap him in his talk.
16They sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, "Teacher, we know that you are honest, and teach the way of God in truth, no matter whom you teach, for you aren't partial to anyone.
17Tell us therefore, what do you think? Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?"
18But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, "Why do you test me, you hypocrites?
19Show me the tax money." They brought to him a denarius.
20He asked them, "Whose is this image and inscription?"
21They said to him, "Caesar's." Then he said to them, "Give therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's."
22When they heard it, they marveled, and left him, and went away.
23On that day Sadducees (those who say that there is no resurrection) came to him. They asked him,
24saying, "Teacher, Moses said, 'If a man dies, having no children, his brother shall marry his wife, and raise up offspring for his brother.'
25Now there were with us seven brothers. The first married and died, and having no offspring left his wife to his brother.
26In the same way, the second also, and the third, to the seventh.
27After them all, the woman died.
28In the resurrection therefore, whose wife will she be of the seven? For they all had her."
29But Jesus answered them, "You are mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures, nor the power of God.
30For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like God's angels in heaven.
31But concerning the resurrection of the dead, haven't you read that which was spoken to you by God, saying,
32'I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living."
33When the multitudes heard it, they were astonished at his teaching.
34But the Pharisees, when they heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, gathered themselves together.
35One of them, a lawyer, asked him a question, testing him.
36"Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the law?"
37Jesus said to him, "'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.'
38This is the first and great commandment.
39A second likewise is this, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'
40The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments."
41Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question,
42saying, "What do you think of the Christ? Whose son is he?" They said to him, "Of David."
43He said to them, "How then does David in the Spirit call him Lord, saying,
44'The Lord said to my Lord, sit on my right hand, until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet'?
45"If then David calls him Lord, how is he his son?"
46No one was able to answer him a word, neither did any man dare ask him any more questions from that day forward.
✶
Summary
Jesus tells the parable of the wedding feast, showing that those who reject God's invitation will be replaced by anyone willing to come — yet they must come dressed appropriately in righteousness. He then deftly answers three trap questions about taxes, resurrection, and the greatest commandment, before turning the tables and asking the Pharisees about the identity of the Christ. By quoting Psalm 110, he reveals that the Messiah is greater than David himself.
Themes
- The open invitation of the kingdom and the necessity of righteousness
- Civic responsibility and ultimate allegiance to God
- The reality and nature of the resurrection
- Love for God and neighbor as the heart of the law
- The deity and lordship of the Messiah
Key verses
- Matt 22:14 — “For many are called, but few chosen.”
- Matt 22:21 — “Give therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's.”
- Matt 22:32 — “God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.”
- Matt 22:37-39 — “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart... You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
Context & background
This chapter takes place in the temple courts of Jerusalem (modern Israel) during the final week of Jesus' ministry. The Pharisees were strict religious legalists, while the Sadducees were the priestly aristocracy who rejected the resurrection — these two groups normally opposed each other but united against Jesus. The Herodians were political supporters of Herod and Rome, making the tax question a trap from both sides. Caesar at this time was Tiberius (reigned AD 14-37), and the denarius bore his image with an inscription claiming his divinity, making the coin offensive to devout Jews.
Cross-references
- Deut 6:5 — "Love the Lord your God with all your heart" — quoted by Jesus as the greatest commandment
- Ex 3:6 — "I am the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob" — Jesus' proof of resurrection from the Torah
- Lev 19:18 — "Love your neighbor as yourself" — quoted as the second great commandment
- Ps 110:1 — "The Lord said to my Lord" — quoted by Jesus to show the Messiah is David's Lord
- Rev 19:7-9 — The marriage supper of the Lamb, fulfillment of the wedding feast imagery