Matthew 22:1-22

Jesus used stories to tell other things to the people. He said, “The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding feast for his son. The king invited some people to the feast. When the feast was ready, the king sent his servants to tell the people to come. But they refused to come to the feast. “Then the king sent other servants. He said to them, ‘Tell those who have been invited that my feast is ready. I have killed my best bulls and calves for the dinner. Everything is ready. Come to the wedding feast.’ “But the people refused to listen to the servants. They went to do other things. One went to work in his field, and another went to his business. Some of the other people grabbed the servants, beat them, and killed them. The king was very angry. He sent his army to kill the people who had killed his servants. And the army burned their city. “After that, the king said to his servants, ‘The wedding feast is ready. I invited those people, but they were not worthy to come. So go to the street corners and invite everyone you see. Tell them to come to my feast.’ So the servants went into the streets. They gathered all the people they could find, both good and bad. And the wedding hall was filled with guests. “Then the king came in to see all the guests. He saw a man there who was not dressed in the right clothes for a wedding. The king said, ‘Friend, how were you allowed to come in here? You are not wearing the right clothes for a wedding.’ But the man said nothing. So the king told some servants, ‘Tie this man’s hands and feet. Throw him out into the darkness. In that place, people will cry and grind their teeth with pain.’ “Yes, many are invited. But only a few are chosen.” Then the Pharisees left the place where Jesus was teaching. They made plans to trap Jesus with a question. They sent some of their own followers and some men from the group called Herodians. These men said, “Teacher, we know that you are an honest man. We know that you teach the truth about God’s way. You are not afraid of what other people think about you. All men are the same to you. So tell us what you think. Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?” But Jesus knew that these men were trying to trick him. So he said, “You hypocrites! Why are you trying to trap me? Show me a coin used for paying the tax.” The men showed him a silver coin. Then Jesus asked, “Whose picture is on the coin? And whose name is written on the coin?” The men answered, “Caesar’s.” Then Jesus said to them, “Give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s. And give to God the things that are God’s.” The men heard what Jesus said, and they were amazed. They left him and went away.