Matthew 22:4 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Again he sent other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who are invited, "See, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding feast."’

NIV: "Then he sent some more servants and said, ‘Tell those who have been invited that I have prepared my dinner: My oxen and fattened cattle have been butchered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.’

NASB: Again he sent other slaves, saying, ‘Tell those who have been invited, 'Behold, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and my fattened cattle are all butchered and everything is ready. Come to the wedding feast!'?’

CSB: Again, he sent out other servants and said, ‘Tell those who are invited: See, I’ve prepared my dinner; my oxen and fattened cattle have been slaughtered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.’

NLT: So he sent other servants to tell them, ‘The feast has been prepared. The bulls and fattened cattle have been killed, and everything is ready. Come to the banquet!’

KJV: Again, he sent forth other servants, saying, Tell them which are bidden, Behold, I have prepared my dinner: my oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready: come unto the marriage.

NKJV: Again, he sent out other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who are invited, “See, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and fatted cattle are killed, and all things are ready. Come to the wedding.” ’

Jesus' parable has taken a surprising turn. The central event is special, but not uncommon: a king throws a great wedding feast for his son. Usually, this raises the question of who will be allowed to attend. Shockingly, in this case, those invited refused to come (Matthew 22:3).

So, the king sends out another group of servants with a better description of what those invited can expect to find at the feast. The dinner is ready! The king has slaughtered his own royal oxen and fattened calves to serve to his guests. In other words, the king has gone to great lengths to make sure this will be a meal for the ages, a great party, a fantastic time. This is special.

Despite offering good reasons to attend the great banquet, however, the king has also told this groups of servants to deliver the invitation as a command: "Come to the wedding feast." There is benefit and blessing involved, but ignoring the invitation is to defy the clear will of the king.

And yet, in this parable, the invited guests still will not 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.