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Matthew 22

1Jesus again spoke to them in parables, saying, 2“The kingdom of heaven is like a king who held a wedding feast for his son. 3He sent his slaves to call those invited to the wedding feast, but they did not want to come. 4Again he sent other slaves, saying, ‘Tell those invited: Look, I have prepared my meal. My bulls and fattened animals have been slaughtered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding feast.’ 5But they paid no attention and went away, one to his own field, another to his business. 6The rest seized his slaves, mistreated them, and killed them. 7The king was angry. He sent his troops, destroyed those murderers, and burned their city. 8Then he said to his slaves, ‘The wedding feast is ready, but those invited were not worthy. 9So go to where the roads lead out, and invite everyone you find to the wedding feast.’ 10Those slaves went out into the roads and gathered everyone they found, both evil and good, and the wedding feast was filled with reclining guests.

11“When the king came in to look at the reclining guests, he saw there a person who was not dressed in wedding clothes. 12He said to him, ‘Friend, how did you come in here without wedding clothes?’ But he was speechless. 13Then the king said to the attendants, ‘Bind his feet and hands and throw him into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and grinding of teeth there.’ 14For many are called, but few are chosen.”

15Then the Pharisees went and took counsel about how to trap him in what he said. 16They sent their disciples to him with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that you are truthful and teach God's way in truth. You are not swayed by anyone, for you do not judge by people's faces. 17So tell us what you think. Is it lawful to pay the tax to Caesar or not?” 18Jesus knew their wickedness and said, “Why are you testing me, hypocrites? 19Show me the coin for the tax.” They brought him a denarius. 20He said to them, “Whose image and inscription is this?” 21They said to him, “Caesar's.” Then he said to them, “So give Caesar's things back to Caesar, and God's things to God.” 22When they heard this, they marveled, left him, and went away.

23That day Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, approached him and asked him, 24“Teacher, Moses said, ‘If someone dies without children, his brother must marry his wife and raise up offspring for his brother.’ 25Now there were seven brothers among us. The first married and died, and since he had no offspring, he left his wife to his brother. 26The second did the same, and the third, down to the seventh. 27After them all, the woman died. 28So in the resurrection, whose wife of the seven will she be? For they all had her.” 29Jesus answered them, “You are mistaken, because you know neither the Scriptures nor God's power. 30For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels of God in heaven. 31As for the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what God said to you: 32‘I am the God of Abraham and 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.

34When the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. 35One of them, an expert in the law, asked him a question to test him: 36“Teacher, which commandment is great in the law?” 37He said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38This is the great and first commandment. 39A second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40On these two commandments hang the whole Law and the Prophets.”

41While the Pharisees were gathered, Jesus asked them, 42“What do you think about the Messiah? Whose son is he?” They said to him, “David's.” 43He said to them, “How then does David in the Spirit call him Lord, saying,

44‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet”’?

45“So if David calls him Lord, how is he his son?” 46No one could answer him a word, and from that day no one dared to question him any longer.

Translation notes 6

22:2–14 — Invitation and judgment. The same Greek word family connects inviting and calling; “called” in verse 14 echoes the earlier invitations. The king's slaves are distinguished from the attendants at verse 13, which uses a different word. The story does not state that the king supplied wedding clothes. Its violence, the gathering of evil and good alike, and the guest's expulsion remain explicit.

22:9 — Roads. The phrase can describe places where roads lead out, meeting points, or intersections. The exact location is uncertain; the instruction reaches people beyond the original guest list.

22:16–21 — Faces and Caesar. Looking at people's faces is an idiom for being influenced by status or appearance. The denarius is a Roman coin. “Give back” reflects the verb's repayment sense; the answer does not explicitly define the complete boundary between Caesar's claims and God's.

22:24–30 — Brothers, offspring, and angels. The question recalls the brother-in-law marriage provision in Deuteronomy 25:5–6. “Raise up offspring” preserves its line-of-descent language. The two marriage verbs distinguish marrying and being given in marriage. The base includes “of God” after angels; several other critical editions omit those words. Jesus says the raised are like angels, not that they become angels.

22:35–40 — Law and love. The question asks which commandment is “great,” with “greatest” a possible contextual rendering. The answer keeps heart, soul, and mind rather than reducing them to a general inward attitude. The quotations are Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18; “hang” preserves the image for the law and prophets' dependence on them.

22:43–45 — David's Lord. The quotation is Psalm 110:1. “In the Spirit” identifies the source or sphere of David's speech. The base has “under your feet,” not “a footstool for your feet.” The question about David's son and Lord is left as a question.