Matthew 22
22
The Great Banquet
(Luke 14.15-24)
1Once again Jesus used stories to teach the people:
2The kingdom of heaven is like what happened when a king gave a wedding banquet for his son. 3The king sent some servants to tell the invited guests to come to the banquet, but the guests refused. 4He sent other servants to say to the guests, “The banquet is ready! My cattle and prize calves have all been prepared. Everything is ready. Come to the banquet!”
5But the guests did not pay any attention. Some of them left for their farms, and some went to their places of business. 6Others grabbed the servants, then beat them up and killed them.
7This made the king so furious that he sent an army to kill those murderers and burn down their city. 8Then he said to the servants, “It is time for the wedding banquet, and the invited guests don't deserve to come. 9Go out to the street corners and tell everyone you meet to come to the banquet.” 10They went out on the streets and brought in everyone they could find, good and bad alike. And the banquet room was filled with guests.
11When the king went in to meet the guests, he found that one of them wasn't wearing the right kind of clothes for the wedding. 12The king asked, “Friend, why didn't you wear proper clothes for the wedding?” But the guest had no excuse. 13#Mt 8.12; 25.30; Lk 13.28. So the king gave orders for this person to be tied hand and foot and to be thrown outside into the dark. That's where people will cry and grit their teeth in pain. 14#2 Esd 8.3. Many are invited, but only a few are chosen.
Paying Taxes
(Mark 12.13-17; Luke 20.20-26)
15The Pharisees got together and planned how they could trick Jesus into saying something wrong. 16They sent some of their followers and some of Herod's followers#22.16 Herod's followers: People who were political followers of the family of Herod the Great (see 2.1) and his son Herod Antipas (see 14.1), and who wanted Herod to be king in Jerusalem. to say to him, “Teacher, we know that you are honest. You teach the truth about what God wants people to do. And you treat everyone with the same respect, no matter who they are. 17Tell us what you think! Should we pay taxes to the Emperor or not?”
18Jesus knew their evil thoughts and said, “Why are you trying to test me? You show-offs! 19Let me see one of the coins used for paying taxes.” They brought him a silver coin, 20and he asked, “Whose picture and name are on it?”
21“The Emperor's,” they answered.
Then Jesus told them, “Give the Emperor what belongs to him and give God what belongs to God.” 22His answer surprised them so much that they walked away.
Life in the Future World
(Mark 12.18-27; Luke 20.27-40)
23 #
Ac 23.8. The Sadducees did not believe people would rise to life after death. So that same day some of the Sadducees came to Jesus and said:
24 #
Dt 25.5. Teacher, Moses wrote that if a married man dies and has no children, his brother should marry the widow. Their first son would then be thought of as the son of the dead brother.
25Once there were seven brothers who lived here. The first one married, but died without having any children. So his wife was left to his brother. 26The same thing happened to the second and third brothers and finally to all seven of them. 27At last the woman died. 28When God raises people from death, whose wife will this woman be? She had been married to all seven brothers.
29Jesus answered:
You are completely wrong! You don't know what the Scriptures teach. And you don't know anything about the power of God. 30#Ws 5.5. When God raises people to life, they won't marry. They will be like the angels in heaven. 31And as for people being raised to life, God was speaking to you when he said, 32#Ex 3.6. “I am the God worshiped by Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”#22.32 I am the God worshiped by Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob: Jesus argues that if God is worshiped by these three, they must still be alive, because he is the God of the living. He isn't the God of the dead, but of the living.
33The crowds were surprised to hear what Jesus was teaching.
The Most Important Commandment
(Mark 12.28-34; Luke 10.25-28)
34After Jesus had made the Sadducees look foolish, the Pharisees heard about it and got together. 35#Lk 10.25-28. One of them was an expert in the Jewish Law. So he tried to test Jesus by asking, 36“Teacher, what is the most important commandment in the Law?”
37 #
Dt 6.5. Jesus answered:
Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind. 38This is the first and most important commandment. 39#Lv 19.18. The second most important commandment is like this one. And it is, “Love others as much as you love yourself.” 40All the Law of Moses and the Books of the Prophets#22.40 the Law of Moses and the Books of the Prophets: The Jewish Scriptures, that is, the Old Testament. are based on these two commandments.
About David's Son
(Mark 12.35-37; Luke 20.41-44)
41While the Pharisees were still there, Jesus asked them, 42“What do you think about the Messiah? Whose family will he come from?”
They answered, “He will be a son of King David.”#22.42 son of King David: See the note at 9.27.
43Jesus replied, “How then could the Spirit lead David to call the Messiah his Lord? David said,
44 #
Ps 110.1. ‘The Lord said to my Lord:
Sit at my right side#22.44 right side: The place of power and honor.
until I make your enemies
into a footstool for you.’
45If David called the Messiah his Lord, how can the Messiah be a son of King David?” 46No one was able to give Jesus an answer, and from that day on, no one dared ask him any more questions.
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Matthew 22: CEVDCI
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Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.
Matthew 22
22
A Story About a Wedding Feast
1Jesus used stories to tell other things to the people. He said, 2“The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding feast for his son. 3The 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.
4“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.’
5“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. 6Some of the other people grabbed the servants, beat them, and killed them. 7The king was very angry. He sent his army to kill the people who had killed his servants. And the army burned their city.
8“After that, the king said to his servants, ‘The wedding feast is ready. I invited those people, but they were not worthy to come. 9So go to the street corners and invite everyone you see. Tell them to come to my feast.’ 10So 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.
11“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. 12The 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. 13So 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.’
14“Yes, many are invited. But only a few are chosen.”
The Pharisees Try to Trap Jesus
15Then the Pharisees left the place where Jesus was teaching. They made plans to trap Jesus with a question. 16They sent some of their own followers and some men from the group called Herodians.# A political group that followed Herod and his family. 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. 17So tell us what you think. Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”
18But Jesus knew that these men were trying to trick him. So he said, “You hypocrites! Why are you trying to trap me? 19Show me a coin used for paying the tax.” The men showed him a silver coin.# A Roman denarius. One coin was the average pay for one day’s work. 20Then Jesus asked, “Whose picture is on the coin? And whose name is written on the coin?”
21The 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.”
22The men heard what Jesus said, and they were amazed. They left him and went away.
Sadducees Try to Trick Jesus
23That same day some Sadducees came to Jesus. (Sadducees believe that no person will rise from death.) The Sadducees asked Jesus a question. 24They said, “Teacher, Moses told us that a married man might die without having children. Then his brother must marry the widow and have children for him. 25There were seven brothers among us. The first one married but died. He had no children. So his brother married the widow. 26Then the second brother also died. The same thing happened to the third brother and all the other brothers. 27The woman was last to die. 28But all seven men had married her. So when people rise from death, whose wife will she be?”
29Jesus answered, “You don’t understand because you don’t know what the Scriptures say. And you don’t know about the power of God. 30When people rise from death, there will be no marriage. People will not be married to each other. They will be like the angels in heaven. 31Surely you have read what God said to you about the rising from death? 32God said, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’# Quotation from Exodus 3:6. God is the God of living people, not dead people.”
33All the people heard this. They were amazed at Jesus’ teaching.
The Most Important Command
34The Pharisees learned that the Sadducees could not argue with Jesus’ answers to them. So the Pharisees met together. 35One Pharisee was an expert in the law of Moses. That Pharisee asked Jesus a question to test him. 36The Pharisee asked, “Teacher, which command in the law is the most important?”
37Jesus answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and mind.’# Quotation from Deuteronomy 6:5. 38This is the first and most important command. 39And the second command is like the first: ‘Love your neighbor as you love yourself.’# Quotation from Leviticus 19:18. 40All the law and the writings of the prophets depend on these two commands.”
Jesus Questions the Pharisees
41While the Pharisees were together, Jesus asked them a question. 42He asked, “What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he?”
The Pharisees answered, “The Christ is the Son of David.”
43Then Jesus said to them, “Then why did David call him ‘Lord’? David was speaking by the power of the Holy Spirit. David said,
44‘The Lord said to my Lord:
Sit by me at my right side,
until I put your enemies under your control.’ Psalm 110:1
45David calls the Christ ‘Lord.’ So how can he be David’s son?”
46None of the Pharisees could answer Jesus’ question. And after that day no one was brave enough to ask Jesus any more questions.
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