Matthew 22:41 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question,

NIV: While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them,

NASB: Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question:

CSB: While the Pharisees were together, Jesus questioned them,

NLT: Then, surrounded by the Pharisees, Jesus asked them a question:

KJV: While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them,

NKJV: While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them,

The Pharisees are close to giving up on asking Jesus challenging questions. He defeated their attempts to make Him look bad or get Him arrested. Worse, at least one of their own has started to agree with Jesus (Matthew 22:35–40; Mark 12:32–34). Their mission to "entangle him in his words" (Matthew 22:15) is failing badly. They seem to be huddling together, once again (Matthew 22:34), devising their next move.

Jesus, though, has one more question for these Pharisees gathered in the temple. In the following verses, He asks them a hard question that directly relates to His own identity. He will successfully stump them in the way they have attempted to stump Him. However, in this case, the actual answer to His question would tell them everything they really need to know about Jesus.

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.

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 5/2/2024 4:24:23 AM