Matthew 22 is a continuation of Jesus’ discourses in the temple
just days before He went to the cross. In this chapter Jesus gives instruction
by the parable of the marriage-supper, the rejection of the Jews, the calling of
the Gentiles, and what happened to the one without the wedding-garment. Again
we find discourse with the scribes, Pharisees, and Sadducees concerning paying
tribute to Caesar, the resurrection of the dead, the great commandment of the
law, and the connection of the Messiah to David.
1) Jesus spoke to them again in parables,
saying: 2) "The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet
for his son. 3) He sent his servants to those who had been invited to the
banquet to tell them to come, but they refused to come.
Isn't it
funny how people refuse the things of God? Here we find people being invited to
a wedding banquet yet no one will come! This is a royal wedding also so all the
more reason why one would want to hob-knob with the elite. But we find the same
things happening today as we read about back then no one wants anything to do
with the things of God. Why do people not want the good things God has to offer
them?
This shows the relationship of the Jews to the Gentiles. In this
parable God is the king, the son is Jesus, the bride is the church, and those
first invited are the Jews, then the Gentiles or all of mankind. The wedding
feast is when the Bride of the Lamb will be taken home to the Father's house.
This will be the day of judgment and reward.
Jesus came to the world as
a gift of love from the Father God yet the world He came to refused Him and the
world He died for still refuses Him.
4) "Then he sent some more
servants and said, 'Tell those who have been invited that I have prepared my
dinner: My oxen and fattened cattle have been butchered, and everything is
ready. Come to the wedding banquet.' 5) "But they paid no attention and went
off--one to his field, another to his business. 6) The rest seized his servants,
mistreated them and killed them. 7) The king was enraged. He sent his army and
destroyed those murderers and burned their city.
Now in this next
passage of Scripture we find that the king gives a second invitation sending his
servants to call the people in to the wedding feast and what happens? Again
they refuse to come to the wedding banquet.
We see in this parable of
2000 years ago the same things happening then that happen today. How do most
people treat the Gospel? Most make light of it, the rest just go about their
daily business. The Gospel is treated with very little respect.
Now what
happens next doesn't happen today but I wonder should it? What does the king
do when he finds out his servants were mistreated and killed? He rightfully
submits judgment on them. The king sends his army and destroys them and burns
their city. This is the time of judgment and reward for them.
8)
"Then he said to his servants, 'The wedding banquet is ready, but those I
invited did not deserve to come. 9) Go to the street corners and invite to the
banquet anyone you find.' 10) So the servants went out into the streets and
gathered all the people they could find, both good and bad, and the wedding hall
was filled with guests.
The king seeing that none invited would honor
the invitation sends more servants into the streets telling them to given an
open invitation to anyone that will come. And so the banquet hall was filled.
This is the invitation given by Christ it is one that goes out to the
entire world because the chosen ones did not want any part of Him.
11) "But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man
there who was not wearing wedding clothes. 12) 'Friend,' he asked, 'how did you
get in here without wedding clothes?' The man was speechless. 13) "Then the king
told the attendants, 'Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the
darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.' 14) "For many are
invited, but few are chosen."
It was customary to wear a certain
type of garment when coming to a Royal wedding banquet and so the king examines
the guests finding one to not be clothed properly. I'm sure it was quite easy
to spot this one who was not properly dressed. Since he did not have on the
garment offered by the king one would suppose he felt his own garment better
than the king's robe. So the king had him removed from the banquet.
God,
just as the king, wants to clothe us with His divine nature. Isaiah 6 talks
about how God has clothed us with the garments of salvation and covered us with
a robe of righteousness. This man that came in his own garment was trying to
establish himself by his own merits. God wants us to establish ourselves by His
merits.
The parable here is that any one of us rejecting God's
righteousness will suffer a horrible fate. This man who turned down the king's
robe suffered a terrible fate. I think we find here something much deeper than
proper etiquette at a wedding. We are seeing that the only way to come to God
is by His plan! We cannot come to God through Moses or David or through Paul or
Silas; we can only come through Jesus. We must have that robe of righteousness
that only Christ can give us.
The only ones able to come to the wedding
feast were those that accepted the invitation as given! A sinner might come to
the wedding feast as a sinner but through the righteousness of Christ they do
not remain a sinner.
Question from the Pharisees
15) Then the
Pharisees went out and laid plans to trap him in his words. 16) They sent their
disciples to him along with the Herodians. "Teacher," they said, "we know you
are a man of integrity and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the
truth. You aren't swayed by men, because you pay no attention to who they are.
17) Tell us then, what is your opinion? Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or
not?"
We find here the Pharisees call Jesus teacher and they ask Him
a difficult question. Isn't if funny how after the parable of the wedding the
Pharisees hearts are still hardened? Sin still has a death hold on them. Their
hatred of Jesus can be seen so vividly by their willingness to join forces with
the Herodians to come against Jesus.
How can Jesus answer this question
given Him? If He says they should pay the taxes then He risks the chance of
being accused of denying the sovereignty of God and this of course would make
Him an enemy of the Jews. But on the other hand if says the taxes should not be
paid then He displays Himself as an enemy of Caesar!
18) But Jesus,
knowing their evil intent, said, "You hypocrites, why are you trying to trap me?
19) Show me the coin used for paying the tax." They brought him a denarius, 20)
and he asked them, "Whose portrait is this? And whose inscription?" 21)
"Caesar's," they replied. Then he said to them, "Give to Caesar what is
Caesar's, and to God what is God's." 22) When they heard this, they were amazed.
So they left him and went away.
Now the way Jesus replies is so
beautiful. He takes complete control of the situation and rebukes their
wickedness. He calls them hypocrites and asks them to show Him the coin used
for paying these taxes. They brought it to Him and He said who is on this coin
and they answered Caesar! Jesus then said “give to Caesar what is Caesar's and
to God what is God's.
23) That same day the Sadducees, who say there
is no resurrection, came to him with a question. 24) "Teacher," they said,
"Moses told us that if a man dies without having children, his brother must
marry the widow and have children for him. 25) Now there were seven brothers
among us. The first one married and died, and since he had no children, he left
his wife to his brother. 26) The same thing happened to the second and third
brother, right on down to the seventh. 27) Finally, the woman died. 28) Now
then, at the resurrection, whose wife will she be of the seven, since all of
them were married to her?"
The Sadducees also wanting to see Jesus
trapped in a mistake ask Him a very difficult question. We know from Biblical
history that the Sadducees only use the first five books, The Torah, so many
things the Pharisees believe in the Sadducees do not.
We find that
Jesus is a little more soft spoken here and does not come right out showing them
all their wrongs but instead he focuses on one issue. Knowing that the Torah is
something both the Pharisees and Sadducees believe Jesus draws from those five
books.
29) Jesus replied, "You are in error because you do not know
the Scriptures or the power of God.
Jesus looks at them and says you
do not know the Scriptures or the power of God! In other words we can be as
highly educated as money will allow and it means nothing if we do not know the
power of God and His Scriptures.
30) At the resurrection people will
neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven.
31) But about the resurrection of the dead--have you not read what God said to
you, 32) 'I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'? He
is not the God of the dead but of the living." 33) When the crowds heard this,
they were astonished at his teaching.
Now after telling them that
they did not know the Scriptures or the power of God Jesus next tells them that
the resurrection life will be quite different from this life we now live. We
will not just continue on living like we are now but it will be totally
different from our way of life. None of us know what heaven will be like. We
have many ideas from the Word of God but none of us know first hand what it will
be like. One thing we can be sure of though is that it will be the greatest
thing we've ever experienced.
Jesus then goes on to use God's Word from
the Torah saying that when God spoke He said, “I am the God of Abraham, the God
of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” In other words He is not a God of the dead but
a God of the living. If God did not want to represent present time He would
have said “I was the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
So still not
content or willing to give up their quest to catch Jesus in something the
Pharisees pose another question. The hatred the Pharisees have for Jesus is a
hatred that feeds on its self.
34) Hearing that Jesus had silenced
the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. 35) One of them, an expert in the
law, tested him with this question: 36) "Teacher, which is the greatest
commandment in the Law?" 37) Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all
your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' 38) This is the first
and greatest commandment. 39) And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as
yourself.' 40) All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."
Jesus could have easily chosen one command above another but He knew
what they were trying to do. He knew they were trying to tempt Him into picking
one over another. So what Jesus does is gives truly the greatest command of all
by saying “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and
will all your mind.” And then He goes on to say and the second is like it, “love
your neighbor as yourself.”
These are the greatest commandments because
this is what God wants to make real in our lives today.
Now in the next
two verses we find that Jesus turns the tables on them and asks them a
question.
41) While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus
asked them, 42) "What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he?" "The son
of David," they replied.
Jesus asks them who they think He is! And
this question is still being asked every day by Jesus to us. Our answer to that
question determines where we will spend eternity.
The Pharisees reply,
“The son of David.”
43) He said to them, "How is it then that David,
speaking by the Spirit, calls him 'Lord'? For he says, 44) " 'The Lord said to
my Lord: "Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet." ' 45)
If then David calls him 'Lord,' how can he be his son?"
The Jews,
remember thought that the Messiah would be an earthly king. They also thought
that Jerusalem would be the center of that kingdom. Jesus though is preparing
to show them just how little they really know of Him or the Word of God. You
see not only is Jesus totally a man but He is also totally Divine and if we do
not accept Him as that we cannot accept Him as our Savior.
46) No
one could say a word in reply, and from that day on no one dared to ask him any
more questions.
As always the truth wins out and the questions and
tricks could not deceive Jesus and so now they leave Him alone for a while. We
all know though what they resort to next violence and deceitfulness.
