Matthew 22 - Printer Friendly

What does Matthew 22 mean?

Chapter Commentary:

Jesus' back-and-forth engagement in the temple with some of Israel's religious leaders (Matthew 21:23) continues in this chapter. It begins with a third devastating parable about them. Then Jesus easily handles questions intended to trip Him up. Finally, He asks them a hard question of His own.

Jesus' third parable goes beyond merely exposing the religious leaders to revealing God's grace for others. Jesus compares the kingdom of heaven to a king throwing a wedding feast for his son. None of the citizens he invites will attend, however, resisting to the point of killing the king's messengers. After destroying the murderers, the king invites as many as can be found on the public roads, and the hall is filled. The king has one guest thrown out, however, when he arrives without a wedding garment. This passage is a close parallel to His parable of the great banquet (Luke 14:12–24) but features a few important distinctions. Christ's words here not only speak to Israel's rejection of the Messiah, they also establish concepts related to salvation by grace (Matthew 22:1–14).

After hearing three parables in which they are pictured as rebelling against God, the Pharisees are ready to be done with Jesus. They hatch a plan to force Jesus to say something that might get Him arrested for rebellion against Rome. Some of the Pharisees' disciples, along with Herodians, begin by flattering Jesus, then asking if paying taxes to Caesar—meaning to the Roman empire—is right according to the Old Testament law. Jesus knows exactly what they are trying to do and calls them hypocrites. He then holds a Roman denarius and asks whose image is on it. He tells the people to give to Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's. This remark establishes the idea that we, as image-bearers of God (Genesis 1:27), ought to give all of ourselves to Him (Matthew 22:15–22).

Next, some from the group known as the Sadducees approach Jesus. This was a more politically connected, aristocratic, and less spiritual sect. Sadducees did not believe in angels, a spiritual world, or an afterlife. They rejected the idea that God's people will be raised from the dead and live eternally. To show why such an idea is absurd to them, they imagine a scenario in which one woman ends up married to each of seven brothers in turn. Each of them dies, one by one, passing her on to be married to the next. Finally, she dies (Matthew 22:23–27).

The Sadducees ask Jesus who the woman will be married to in the resurrection. Jesus rebukes them for misinterpreting Scripture and underestimating God's power. He corrects their misguided question by pointing out that there is no marriage in heaven. This answer also establishes that both angels and the afterlife are real. He then asks them why God would claim to be the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob if He is the God of the living and not the dead? Using their own tactic, and their own Scriptures, He has shown a core belief of the Sadducees to be false. Again, the crowd is greatly impressed by Jesus' teaching (Matthew 22:28–33).

Next Jesus is approached by one of the Pharisees. This man is a "lawyer," meaning he is an expert in the Old Testament and its traditional interpretations. He tests Jesus by asking a simple question debated among the religious leaders: Which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus answers Him directly: that to love God with everything is the primary commandment. The second is to love your neighbor as you love yourself. Everything we think, believe, or do with respect to God is grounded in this fundamental idea (Matthew 22:34–40).

Finally, Jesus asks the Pharisees a challenging question of His own: Whose son is the Christ? They answer rightly that the Christ, the Messiah, is the son of David. Jesus asks how that can be since David called the Christ "my Lord," quoting from Psalm 110:1. This perspective touches on the idea of Messiah's divine nature. None of them can answer, and Jesus silences His opponents yet again (Matthew 22:41–46).

At this point, Jesus will deliver a devastating critique of the Pharisees, leading to His heartfelt mourning over Israel's rejection of God (Matthew 23).

Matthew 22:1–14 contains Jesus' parable of the wedding feast. Jesus compares the kingdom of heaven to a king who threw a banquet for his son. The king's chosen guests refuse to come, to the point of violence against his messengers. So, the king fills the wedding hall with common people he finds out and about; some bad, some good. One guest is thrown out into the darkness, though, for trying to attend the feast without wearing a wedding garment. Jesus summarizes the message with the famous phrase, "Many are called, but few are chosen." This parable touches on Israel's rejection of the Messiah and salvation by grace. This touches on very similar themes to those of the parable of the great banquet (Luke 14:12–24), but with critical differences.

Matthew 22:15–22 is a famous event, containing Jesus' response to the issue of taxes. This moment is also depicted in Mark 12:13–17 and Luke 20:20–26. In that context, Jewish people resented being forced to pay those fees to Rome. This makes the challenge a trap: the Pharisees want Jesus to make an unpopular statement or open Himself to arrest for rebellion against the Roman Empire. Instead, Jesus points out that the Roman denarius has Caesar's image on it. He then tells the people to give Caesar what is his and give God what is God's. This subtly implies that we should give ourselves to God, since we bear His image (Genesis 1:27; Matthew 22:37).

Matthew 22:23–33 contains another challenge for Jesus. This one comes from the Sadducees: a Jewish religious group that did not believe in an afterlife. Attempting to prove their view, they describe a hypothetical situation based on a requirement from the Law of Moses. A woman is married to seven brothers, one after another, as each dies and passes her on. Whose wife will she be in the resurrection? Jesus replies that the question is flawed: there is no marriage in the resurrection. He then references Scripture to show that the Lord is God of the living, including faithful patriarchs such as Abraham and Jacob. Parallel accounts are recorded in Mark 12:18–27 and Luke 20:27–40.

Matthew 22:34–40 describes a question to Jesus from a Pharisee described as a lawyer. In this context, this means someone well-versed in the Old Testament. He asks Jesus which is the great commandment in the Law. Jesus upholds Deuteronomy 6:5, indicating that loving God with everything about us is the great and first commandment. Christ then volunteers that the second greatest is closely related: to love your neighbor as yourself. Every command or law from God is distilled from those basic principles. Luke 10:25–28 and Mark 12:28–37 also describe this challenge.

Matthew 22:41–46 records Jesus reversing the dialogue with the Pharisees, who have been asking Him trick questions. He rhetorically asks them whose son the Messiah is—knowing they will rightly answer that Messiah is the Son of David. Jesus then quotes from the Psalms and asks why King David calls the Christ "my Lord" if the Christ is his son. This raises the issue of Christ's divinity and totally stumps the Pharisees. This incident is also mentioned in Mark 12:35–37 and Luke 20:41–44. In fact, religious leaders completely stop asking Him questions from this moment on.

Chapter Summary:

Continuing a dialogue with hostile religious leaders, Jesus tells a parable comparing the kingdom of heaven to a wedding feast which ends up being attended by those not initially invited. He answers trick questions about taxes, marriage, resurrection, and the Law of Moses. These responses are the source of common English idioms such as "render to Caesar…" and "many are called but few are chosen." Finally, Jesus asks how the Messiah can be both the son of David and the Lord of David. None can answer Him, so they stop challenging Him in public.

Chapter Context:

This chapter extends an exchange between Jesus and several groups of religious leaders in the temple. The previous chapter concluded with two parables about the failures of the religious leaders. This chapter begins with a third parable, about chosen guests who refuse to attend a wedding feast. Jesus then fields questions from several religious groups, who fail in their attempts to trip Him up. His wise and profound answers silence all of them. At this point, Jesus launches into a full-throated condemnation of the Pharisees in chapter 23.

The Gospel of Matthew clearly shows the influence of its writer's background, and his effort to reach a specific audience. Matthew was one of Jesus' twelve disciples, a Jewish man, and a former tax collector. This profession would have required literacy, and Matthew may have transcribed some of Jesus' words as they were spoken. This book is filled with references to the Old Testament, demonstrating to Israel that Jesus is the Promised One. Matthew also includes many references to coins, likely due to his former profession. Matthew records extensive accounts of Jesus' teaching, more than the other three Gospels.

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