This is the beginning of a third parable (Matthew 21:28, 33) meant to show how Israel, mostly through its leadership, had rejected God's call to live in righteousness and receive His Son, the Messiah.

Jesus begins as He often has in Matthew: making a comparison to the kingdom of heaven. Parables should not be read too closely, as if every detail of the story is meant to line up perfectly with some real-life counterpart. Instead, parables are meant to illustrate a single main point through analogy.

This time Jesus describes the kingdom of heaven by depicting a king who threw a great wedding feast for his son. The marriage of king's son would call for great celebration in any era. It often raises the question of who will be invited to the feast and who will be left out. Those in the lower classes would never expect an invitation, while the most prominent would anticipate being included. However, this parable approaches the question of what happens when those invited do not wish to come.

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.

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.

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.

Accessed 11/21/2024 10:40:24 AM

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