Matthew 22:3 - Printer Friendly

ESV: and sent his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding feast, but they would not come.

NIV: He sent his servants to those who had been invited to the banquet to tell them to come, but they refused to come.

NASB: And he sent his slaves to call those who had been invited to the wedding feast, and they were unwilling to come.

CSB: He sent his servants to summon those invited to the banquet, but they didn’t want to come.

NLT: When the banquet was ready, he sent his servants to notify those who were invited. But they all refused to come!

KJV: And sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden to the wedding: and they would not come.

NKJV: and sent out his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding; and they were not willing to come.

Jesus is delivering a parable about a king providing a wedding feast for his son: a great event in any culture or kingdom. The invitations would have gone out in advance, notifying those who would be included in the feast. When the event was ready, the servants would have been sent out to notify the people that the time had come.

In this case, though, the invited wedding guests refused to come to the feast. They did not want to go. The idea that anyone would refuse the king's hospitality and an opportunity to attend a great, royal feast would have been shocking to Jesus' listeners. That none of the invitees accepted is outrageous. This parallels the hyperbole—exaggeration for effect—which Jesus employed in other parables (Matthew 18:23–24).

Given the context of the first two stories (Matthew 21:28, 33), Jesus' meaning is already becoming clear. God is the Father throwing the feast. Entrance into the kingdom of heaven is often described with the metaphor of a great feast (Matthew 8:10–12; 9:15). Jesus Himself is the Son of the King and the Bridegroom for whom the feast is being held. The response of the invited guests will establish a lesson Jesus will continue to expand on in this chapter.

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.