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
The Parable of the Wedding Feast.#This parable is from Q; see Lk 14:15–24. It has been given many allegorical traits by Matthew, e.g., the burning of the city of the guests who refused the invitation (Mt 22:7), which corresponds to the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in A.D. 70. It has similarities with the preceding parable of the tenants: the sending of two groups of servants (Mt 22:3, 4), the murder of the servants (Mt 22:6), the punishment of the murderers (Mt 22:7), and the entrance of a new group into a privileged situation of which the others had proved themselves unworthy (Mt 22:8–10). The parable ends with a section that is peculiar to Matthew (Mt 22:11–14), which some take as a distinct parable. Matthew presents the kingdom in its double aspect, already present and something that can be entered here and now (Mt 22:1–10), and something that will be possessed only by those present members who can stand the scrutiny of the final judgment (Mt 22:11–14). The parable is not only a statement of God’s judgment on Israel but a warning to Matthew’s church. 1#Lk 14:15–24. Jesus again in reply spoke to them in parables, saying, 2“The kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king who gave a wedding feast#Wedding feast: the Old Testament’s portrayal of final salvation under the image of a banquet (Is 25:6) is taken up also in Mt 8:11; cf. Lk 13:15. for his son. 3#Servants…other servants: probably Christian missionaries in both instances; cf. Mt 23:34. He dispatched his servants to summon the invited guests to the feast, but they refused to come. 4A second time he sent other servants, saying, ‘Tell those invited: “Behold, I have prepared my banquet, my calves and fattened cattle are killed, and everything is ready; come to the feast.”’ 5Some ignored the invitation and went away, one to his farm, another to his business. 6#21:35. The rest laid hold of his servants, mistreated them, and killed them. 7#See note on Mt 22:1–14. The king was enraged and sent his troops, destroyed those murderers, and burned their city. 8Then he said to his servants, ‘The feast is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy to come. 9Go out, therefore, into the main roads and invite to the feast whomever you find.’ 10The servants went out into the streets and gathered all they found, bad and good alike,#Bad and good alike: cf. Mt 13:47. and the hall was filled with guests. 11#A wedding garment: the repentance, change of heart and mind, that is the condition for entrance into the kingdom (Mt 3:2; 4:17) must be continued in a life of good deeds (Mt 7:21–23). But when the king came in to meet the guests he saw a man there not dressed in a wedding garment. 12He said to him, ‘My friend, how is it that you came in here without a wedding garment?’ But he was reduced to silence. 13#Wailing and grinding of teeth: the Christian who lacks the wedding garment of good deeds will suffer the same fate as those Jews who have rejected Jesus; see note on Mt 8:11–12. #8:12; 25:30. Then the king said to his attendants, ‘Bind his hands and feet, and cast him into the darkness outside, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.’ 14Many are invited, but few are chosen.”
Paying Taxes to the Emperor.#The series of controversies between Jesus and the representatives of Judaism (see note on Mt 21:23–27) is resumed. As in the first (Mt 21:23–27), here and in the following disputes Matthew follows his Marcan source with few modifications. 15#Mk 12:13–17; Lk 20:20–26. Then the Pharisees#The Pharisees: while Matthew retains the Marcan union of Pharisees and Herodians in this account, he clearly emphasizes the Pharisees’ part. They alone are mentioned here, and the Herodians are joined with them only in a prepositional phrase of Mt 22:16. Entrap him in speech: the question that they will pose is intended to force Jesus to take either a position contrary to that held by the majority of the people or one that will bring him into conflict with the Roman authorities. went off and plotted how they might entrap him in speech. 16They sent their disciples to him, with the Herodians,#Herodians: see note on Mk 3:6. They would favor payment of the tax; the Pharisees did not. saying, “Teacher, we know that you are a truthful man and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. And you are not concerned with anyone’s opinion, for you do not regard a person’s status. 17#Is it lawful: the law to which they refer is the law of God. Tell us, then, what is your opinion: Is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or not?” 18Knowing their malice, Jesus said, “Why are you testing me, you hypocrites? 19#They handed him the Roman coin: their readiness in producing the money implies their use of it and their acceptance of the financial advantages of the Roman administration in Palestine. Show me the coin that pays the census tax.” Then they handed him the Roman coin. 20He said to them, “Whose image is this and whose inscription?” 21#Rom 13:7. They replied, “Caesar’s.”#Caesar’s: the emperor Tiberius (A.D. 14–37). Repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar: those who willingly use the coin that is Caesar’s should repay him in kind. The answer avoids taking sides in the question of the lawfulness of the tax. To God what belongs to God: Jesus raises the debate to a new level. Those who have hypocritically asked about tax in respect to its relation to the law of God should be concerned rather with repaying God with the good deeds that are his due; cf. Mt 21:41, 43. At that he said to them, “Then repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.” 22When they heard this they were amazed, and leaving him they went away.
The Question About the Resurrection.#Here Jesus’ opponents are the Sadducees, members of the powerful priestly party of his time; see note on Mt 3:7. Denying the resurrection of the dead, a teaching of relatively late origin in Judaism (cf. Dn 12:2), they appeal to a law of the Pentateuch (Dt 25:5–10) and present a case based on it that would make resurrection from the dead ridiculous (Mt 22:24–28). Jesus chides them for knowing neither the scriptures nor the power of God (Mt 22:29). His argument in respect to God’s power contradicts the notion, held even by many proponents as well as by opponents of the teaching, that the life of those raised from the dead would be essentially a continuation of the type of life they had had before death (Mt 22:30). His argument based on the scriptures (Mt 22:31–32) is of a sort that was accepted as valid among Jews of the time. 23#Mk 12:18–27; Lk 20:27–40. On that day Sadducees approached him, saying that there is no resurrection.#Saying that there is no resurrection: in the Marcan parallel (Mk 12:18) the Sadducees are correctly defined as those “who say there is no resurrection”; see also Lk 20:27. Matthew’s rewording of Mark can mean that these particular Sadducees deny the resurrection, which would imply that he was not aware that the denial was characteristic of the party. For some scholars this is an indication of his being a Gentile Christian; see note on Mt 21:4–5. They put this question to him, 24#Gn 38:8; Dt 25:5–6. saying, “Teacher, Moses said, ‘If a man dies#‘If a man dies…his brother’: this is known as the “law of the levirate,” from the Latin levir, “brother-in-law.” Its purpose was to continue the family line of the deceased brother (Dt 25:6). without children, his brother shall marry his wife and raise up descendants for his brother.’ 25Now there were seven brothers among us. The first married and died and, having no descendants, left his wife to his brother. 26The same happened with the second and the third, through all seven. 27Finally the woman died. 28Now at the resurrection, of the seven, whose wife will she be? For they all had been married to her.” 29#The sexual relationships of this world will be transcended; the risen body will be the work of the creative power of God. Jesus said to them in reply, “You are misled because you do not know the scriptures or the power of God. 30At the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage but are like the angels in heaven. 31And concerning the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was said to you#Cf. Ex 3:6. In the Pentateuch, which the Sadducees accepted as normative for Jewish belief and practice, God speaks even now (to you) of himself as the God of the patriarchs who died centuries ago. He identifies himself in relation to them, and because of their relation to him, the living God, they too are alive. This might appear no argument for the resurrection, but simply for life after death as conceived in Wis 3:1–3. But the general thought of early first-century Judaism was not influenced by that conception; for it human immortality was connected with the existence of the body. by God, 32#Ex 3:6. ‘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.” 33When the crowds heard this, they were astonished at his teaching.
The Greatest Commandment.#The Marcan parallel (Mk 12:28–34) is an exchange between Jesus and a scribe who is impressed by the way in which Jesus has conducted himself in the previous controversy (Mk 12:28), who compliments him for the answer he gives him (Mk 12:32), and who is said by Jesus to be “not far from the kingdom of God” (Mk 12:34). Matthew has sharpened that scene. The questioner, as the representative of other Pharisees, tests Jesus by his question (Mt 22:34–35), and both his reaction to Jesus’ reply and Jesus’ commendation of him are lacking. 34#Mk 12:28–34; Lk 10:25–28. When the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together, 35and one of them [a scholar of the law]#[A scholar of the law]: meaning “scribe.” Although this reading is supported by the vast majority of textual witnesses, it is the only time that the Greek word so translated occurs in Matthew. It is relatively frequent in Luke, and there is reason to think that it may have been added here by a copyist since it occurs in the Lucan parallel (Lk 10:25–28). Tested: see note on Mt 19:3. tested him by asking, 36“Teacher,#For the devout Jew all the commandments were to be kept with equal care, but there is evidence of preoccupation in Jewish sources with the question put to Jesus. which commandment in the law is the greatest?” 37#Dt 6:5. He said to him,#Cf. Dt 6:5. Matthew omits the first part of Mark’s fuller quotation (Mk 12:29; Dt 6:4–5), probably because he considered its monotheistic emphasis needless for his church. The love of God must engage the total person (heart, soul, mind). “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. 38This is the greatest and the first commandment. 39#Lv 19:18; Jas 2:8. The second is like it:#Jesus goes beyond the extent of the question put to him and joins to the greatest and the first commandment a second, that of love of neighbor, Lv 19:18; see note on Mt 19:18–19. This combination of the two commandments may already have been made in Judaism. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40#The double commandment is the source from which the whole law and the prophets are derived. #Rom 13:8–10; Gal 5:14. The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.”
The Question About David’s Son.#Having answered the questions of his opponents in the preceding three controversies, Jesus now puts a question to them about the sonship of the Messiah. Their easy response (Mt 22:43a) is countered by his quoting a verse of Ps 110 that raises a problem for their response (43b–45). They are unable to solve it and from that day on their questioning of him is ended. 41#Mk 12:35–37; Lk 20:41–44. While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus questioned them,#The Pharisees…questioned them: Mark is not specific about who are questioned (Mk 12:35). 42#David’s: this view of the Pharisees was based on such Old Testament texts as Is 11:1–9; Jer 23:5; and Ez 34:23; see also the extrabiblical Psalms of Solomon 17:21. How, then…saying: Jesus cites Ps 110:1 accepting the Davidic authorship of the psalm, a common view of his time. The psalm was probably composed for the enthronement of a Davidic king of Judah. Matthew assumes that the Pharisees interpret it as referring to the Messiah, although there is no clear evidence that it was so interpreted in the Judaism of Jesus’ time. It was widely used in the early church as referring to the exaltation of the risen Jesus. My lord: understood as the Messiah. saying, “What is your opinion about the Messiah? Whose son is he?” They replied, “David’s.” 43He said to them, “How, then, does David, inspired by the Spirit, call him ‘lord,’ saying:
44#Ps 110:1; Acts 2:35; Heb 1:13. ‘The Lord said to my lord,
“Sit at my right hand
until I place your enemies under your feet”’?
45#Since Matthew presents Jesus both as Messiah (Mt 16:16) and as Son of David (Mt 1:1; see also note on Mt 9:27), the question is not meant to imply Jesus’ denial of Davidic sonship. It probably means that although he is the Son of David, he is someone greater, Son of Man and Son of God, and recognized as greater by David who calls him my ‘lord.’ If David calls him ‘lord,’ how can he be his son?” 46#Lk 20:40. No one was able to answer him a word, nor from that day on did anyone dare to ask him any more questions.
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