1 And Jesus answered and spake unto them again by parables, and said, 2 The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king, which made a marriage for his son,
The Parable of the Husbandmen at the close of the previous chapter (Mat 21:33) predicted the Jewish rejection of their Messiah and the subsequent judgment/destruction of their nation and religion. This companion Parable of the Royal Marriage also describes the Jewish rejection of Christ, but then continues prophetically far beyond that time (Mat 22:7), ending with the consignment of the wicked into outer darkness (Mat 22:13) at the end of the world. The parable is found only in Matthew, although it has similarities to the parable of the Great Supper in Luke 14:16-24. It is likely that Jesus spoke these parables at various times and places during His ministry, varying them slightly to fit the audience and what He intended to teach.
The King is God and the Son is Jesus Christ. The dinner and wedding is the long-planned final reconciliation of Mankind to his Creator which will be consummated after this world has ended (Rev 19:7-9). The wedding garment is a token of salvation. The Jews were first bidden to the wedding, but they made light of it and mistreated the King’s servants, which brought about the terrible destruction of their city. So the King invites others (the Gentiles) to the marriage feast (Mat 21:43) and many come to partake of the good food that He has prepared. At the great day of the wedding however, some are found unworthy to receive the King’s gifts and these are taken and cast into outer darkness.
3 And sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden to the wedding: and they would not come. 4 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. 5 But they made light of it, and went their ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandise: 6 And the remnant took his servants, and entreated them spitefully, and slew them. 7 But when the king heard thereof, he was wroth: and he sent forth his armies, and destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city.
When all was prepared and ready, the King sent out servants to call those who had been invited to the wedding feast. This parallels the case of the Jews, who had the Holy Scriptures and the Abrahamic promises. They knew the Messiah was coming and that they were the invited guests. When the fullness of time had come (Gal 4:4), God sent servants to call the Jews to His new festival. But they refused Him, not wanting Jesus to be their Messiah (see note on John 5:39).
Twice the King sent servants to travel throughout the land, delivering invitations to the wedding, but in spite of the bountiful feast they announced, the invited ones refused to come. Perhaps the first set of servants were John the Baptist and his disciples, and the second set was Jesus with His disciples (Luke 10:1). Most of Twelve were killed by these Jews before the destruction of their city. The chosen, or invited ones, were either uninterested or too consumed with their businesses. Even worse, rather than gracefully declining to attend the wedding feast, they made fun of the King and the marriage, and mistreated and killed the messengers He had sent.
8 Then saith he to his servants, The wedding is ready, but they which were bidden were not worthy. 9 Go ye therefore into the highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage. 10 So those servants went out into the highways, and gathered together all as many as they found, both bad and good: and the wedding was furnished with guests.
When the chosen guests refused to come, the good King invited other guests to the wedding for His Son. These were not the pedigreed Jews of Israel, but strangers and foreigners out on the streets and highways of the world (Eph 2:19). Many of these responded positively and came to the wedding, and the feast was filled with guests, both bad and good. This predicts the large entrance of the tribes and kindreds of the world into the Kingdom of Christ, where both the sincere, righteous followers of Christ and the hypocritical imposters are found. In this the parable agrees with other passages that show the righteous living with the wicked in the house of God (Mat 25:1-13). However, the day will come when the wheat will be separated from the tares (Mat 13:24-30). The good grain will be gathered in, but the bad will be cast out (Mat 13:47-50).
11 And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment: 12 And he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless. 13 Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
The wedding garment is used symbolically to describe righteousness, purity, salvation. At the marriage supper of the Lamb, the guests will be dressed in robes of fine linen, clean and white, which are the righteous acts of the saints (Rev 19:8). The robes are not their own, but are granted to them. Isaiah wrote, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for He hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, He hath covered me with the robe of righteousness (Is 61:10). Salvation is not self-attainable. Every man has sinned and therefore forfeited his chance. But God provided a way for the sinner to be saved, and that is by washing his soiled garments in the blood of the Lamb (Rev 7:13-14). Then the test begins, for the saved one must keep his garment clean until the coming of his Lord (Rev 3:4; 16:15), upon which he will receive a spotless, perfect and heavenly garment fit for eternity. Jesus expects His servants to be found so doing when He comes (Mat 24:46), and every neglectful one will be cut asunder (Mat 24:48-51). On that day, the lazy servant will not be able to rest upon a first commitment to Christ, for that garment was not kept clean; it is now soiled and dirty, unfit to be worn to this royal wedding.
The above verses demonstrate the symbolic meaning of the wedding garment, and also the importance of doing all that the Father has commanded (Mat 7:24-27). There is no escaping that place of darkness if we neglect so great salvation (Heb 2:3). The King calls this man a friend, although He clearly does not treat the man as such (compare Mat 26:50). Yet God pre-judges no man. He simply asks this poorly-clad one to give account of his unkempt condition (Rom 14:12). He is speechless, not having one legitimate excuse to give for his shameful behavior. Jesus warned that many church-goers will come to the Judgment Seat of Almighty God thinking that they are saved, when in fact they are not (Mat 7:15-23). He requires purity and fruit (James 1:27). See also Zeph 1:7-8.
14 For many are called, but few are chosen.
In the Scriptures, to be called typically means that one has entered into a covenant bond with God (Rom 1:7; Heb 3:1; Jude 1:1; Rev 17:14). Yet in the context of this parable, it refers to the general call of all men unto repentance (2Pet 3:9). Few will truly seek, find and do the whole will of God (Mat 7:14) and so become the chosen. The Greek word (eklektos) is often used to describe God’s special, elect and precious among men (Mark 13:20; Luke 18:7; Rom 8:33; Col 3:12; 2Tim 2:10; 1Pet 1:2; 2:9). God chooses those who choose Him; it is a mutual decision like a boy and girl who decide to get married.
Many are called but few are chosen. The Greek verbs are harmonious in that tongue: Many are kletos, but few eklektos. The King had sent out servants throughout the land, inviting all to come to the wedding, but many refused to leave their personal pursuits. And even then, some who called themselves guests were found unworthy to attend. Many are called to the truth and grace of the Gospel, but few agree and keep the requirements. Another common word, kaleo, is used similar to kletos in referring to the act of salvation (Rom 8:30; Rom 9:24; 2Tim 1:9). See my note for Mat 20:16 (Titus 1:16).
The general Protestant exposition of this parable is troubled and strained, being contradictory to their doctrinal ideas of salvation. For clearly, it can only be the man’s fault that he be found naked and unclean. He was called and came to the wedding, but he had not kept his garments clean (Rev 16:15). Commentator Barnes diminishes the warning by suggesting that this was a proverbial expression that Jesus occasionally repeated. He is wrong. Outside of Mat 20:16, the phrase is not found in all of the Scriptures. Poole meanwhile, writes that Jesus Christ is the wedding garment. How can the King in the parable also be the wedding garment? Gill shockingly opines concerning the garment: “by which is meant, not good works, or a holy life and conversation, nor any particular grace of the Spirit, as faith, or charity, or humility, or repentance, or any other, nor the whole work of sanctification, nor the Holy Ghost, but the righteousness of Christ…” Ironside says (correctly) that the wedding garment is a figure of salvation, but then speculates that this man had never put it on. These comments are stunningly contrary to the plain reading of this text and the Scriptures we cited earlier – especially Rev 19:1-10, where the wedding and the robes of the guests are angelically interpreted for us.
15 Then went the Pharisees, and took counsel how they might entangle him in his talk. 16 And they sent out unto him their disciples with the Herodians, saying, Master, we know that thou art true, and teachest the way of God in truth, neither carest thou for any man: for thou regardest not the person of men.
Did the Pharisees really believe what they said here? Clearly they were trying to flatter Him into answering foolishly and Jesus saw that immediately (see v18). Yet, I think the Jewish leaders did know that Jesus spoke the Truth. His actions and doctrine simply could not be other than from God (John 3:2). In their hearts, they knew He was honoring God and that they were coveting wealth and authority; they even admitted it in private (John 11:46-48). Of course, Jesus saw right into the Pharisees’ wicked and hypocritical hearts. In the next chapter He exposes their iniquities to all, using some of the harshest words in all of Scripture.
Neither carest thou for any man. Jesus did not honor the influential and/or educated scholar above any other person (Jam 2:1-5), nor did He avoid saying the truth because it was unpopular and controversial (John 6:67-68). The Herodians were progressive Jews who supported the Roman Empire’s rule in Palestine, while the Pharisees were traditional Jews emphatically opposed to the Romans. What strange allies! Similar alliances against the Truth happen today. Muslims and anti-God liberal activists are one example.
In the previous chapter, Jesus had humiliated the Pharisees by asking them a simple question which they could not answer without incriminating themselves (Mat 21:25-27). The Jews decided to use Jesus’ own strategy against Him. After careful counsel, they came with a question that, regardless of His answer, could be used against Him. But they failed to account for Jesus’ ability to know their thoughts beforehand! Jesus’ answer was so simple and direct that the Pharisees could not take hold of His words before the people, and they went away marveling at His answer (Luke 20:26).
17 Tell us therefore, What thinkest thou? Is it lawful to give tribute unto Caesar, or not? 18 But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, Why tempt ye me, ye hypocrites? 19 Shew me the tribute money. And they brought unto him a penny. 20 And he saith unto them, Whose is this image and superscription? 21 They say unto him, Caesar’s. Then saith he unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s; and unto God the things that are God’s. 22 When they had heard these words, they marvelled, and left him, and went their way.
The question that the Pharisees put forth was a two-door trap. If Jesus answered that it was not lawful for the Jews to give tribute to Caesar, they could quickly have Him imprisoned by the Romans for treason and spreading insurrection among the people (Luke 20:20). The Herodians were present to witness Jesus’ words against Herod. On the other hand, if Jesus answered that the Jews should pay the Roman tax, the people would react angrily against Him. He would be thoroughly and publicly discredited, rejected and forgotten. The proud and jealous Jewish population hated nothing more than to pay the Roman tribute.
Jesus however, came up with a brilliant way to answer their question truthfully without triggering the trap. His quick, confident answer is one of the most astute responses ever given, like unto Solomon asking for a sword to divide the baby in two. The Pharisees metaphorically were rubbing their hands in anticipation, ready to stir up the people if He were to say they should pay the Roman tax; the Herodians waited too, ready to witness His treasonous words. The simple, obvious truth in exhibiting the Roman money was so compelling that the Jews stood there silent, helplessly looking around at one another.
In the context of the day, Jesus’ answer went to the very root of the matter. The Jews would not accept Roman coin for the Temple tax, nor did the Romans accept payment for their taxes in Jewish coin. The moneychangers in the Temple took advantage of the situation, making exorbitant profits by changing the Roman coins into the Jewish religious money which the Temple donations required. The two systems were separate, one was religious and the other secular. Both were valid. Jesus so clearly demonstrated it that nobody could argue or work up an angry response.
“Render to Caesar what is due him, and to God what is due Him.” This answer should form the basis for the Christian and paying taxes today. Render to the government what it asks monetarily. Unfortunately, many have found ways to over-turn Jesus’ words here and refuse to pay some or all of the government’s taxes. Various excuses have been put forward, such as the inconsistency in the Christian giving money which will be used in warfare, or for abortions, or for other wicked activities. Yet, the Roman government of Jesus’ day was no less wicked than world governments today. The Roman Empire was highly militaristic and pantheistic. It promoted sinful activities and even executed Christians for public sport. Remarkably though, Christ and the Apostles required the early Christians to respect the Roman government (Rom 13). Render to Caesar his due.
Others follow a more legalistic path, and take pride in paying more tax than what Caesar asks, typically by not taking lawful deductions. They think it best to err on the side that benefits the government. Is that what Jesus would want? As stewards of God’s possessions, let us not give unto Caesar’s kingdom what would be better used in God’s Kingdom. Good stewards will use His money in His Kingdom, and not give it to governments who will use it against the Gospel. Give what is required to the government in which we are strangers and pilgrims, then give the rest for use in God’s work. The reason we pay taxes is not because we agree with the government’s ideals and goals, but for the sake of an honest and meek witness to those who are without (1Pet 2:13-15; Rom 13:1-8). The parallel passages are in Mark 12:13-17 and Luke 20:20-26.
23 The same day came to him the Sadducees, which say that there is no resurrection, and asked him, 24 Saying, Master, Moses said, If a man die, having no children, his brother shall marry his wife, and raise up seed unto his brother. 25 Now there were with us seven brethren: and the first, when he had married a wife, deceased, and, having no issue, left his wife unto his brother: 26 Likewise the second also, and the third, unto the seventh. 27 And last of all the woman died also. 28 Therefore in the resurrection whose wife shall she be of the seven? for they all had her. 29 Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God. 30 For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven.
A different group of Jews came to put Jesus to trial. The Sadducees were the liberals of the day who did not even believe in life after death (Acts 23:8). They came with a new strategy of proposing an after-death scenario so difficult and confusing that any answer would give rise to even harder questions. Their question requires a basic understanding of the Mosaic laws of inheritance and genealogical succession. Under Joshua, the land of Israel had been allocated to tribes and families in perpetuity. While a property might be “sold,” at the 49-year jubilee it was to be returned to the original owner (Lev 25:8-16). So the same family that Joshua had awarded a particular tract of land would still possess it many centuries later.
The property laws of Judaism required special treatment in the case of a family who had no heir, for that would result in the land belonging to nobody. So to keep the family lineages and property titles intact, the Law stipulated that if a man were to die without leaving any sons, then the widow’s brother-in-law was to take her in marriage. Her first child was then to be named after her first husband and that son would continue the dead man’s name and inherit his property. The story of Ruth took place on account of these laws. Boaz took Ruth as his wife when a closer kinsman than he refused to marry the Moabitess (Ruth 4:1-10). This was allowed by law, but was viewed very negatively (see Deut 25:5-10).
Taking these laws in consideration, the Sadducees concocted a wild tale of seven brothers who all had the same woman to wife, each one dying before the woman bore a child. “In the resurrection,” they wondered, “whose wife would she be?” Remember that these people didn’t even believe there would be a resurrection from the dead and might have used this very sketch to illustrate the incompatibility of a bodily resurrection with the Law. It apparently had never crossed their minds that marriage might not even exist in heaven! Yet that is exactly what Jesus teaches. Their whole scenario is suddenly rendered fatally flawed. For good measure, Jesus then demolished the idea that there is no resurrection by citing their own Scriptures! The Sadducees were thoroughly silenced and the multitude was astonished at His doctrine.
Ye do err. Jesus made quick work of the Sadducees and also revealed some interesting details of life in heaven. At the resurrection, the power of God will change this present world into an entirely new and different realm – and for eternity. There will be no husbands and wives in that heavenly life, nor will there be families with missing sons and daughters to mourn. There will be no confusing relationships like adoptions and re-marriages. The souls of the redeemed will be like the angels of God in heaven (see 1Cor 15:35-50).
Will there even be male and female in heaven? Jesus did not directly say. Some say that angels are male because the Scriptures always use the masculine article when referring to them. However, it does not necessarily follow that all angels are male. This passage implies that there is no distinction at all. And Gal 3:28 seems to agree. The parallel passages of this account are found in Mark 12:24-25; Luke 20:34-36.
31 But as touching the resurrection of the dead, have ye not read that which was spoken unto you by God, saying, 32 I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living. 33 And when the multitude heard this, they were astonished at his doctrine.
Jesus shows that even the Jews’ ancient Scriptures testify of the resurrection of the dead. He cites the case Moses’ call to lead the children of Israel out of Egypt, when God referred to the long-dead ancestors of Moses in the present tense, indicating that they were living and that He was still their God. If they had really ceased to exist, God would have said, “I was the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.” Since He is God of the living, then Abraham, Isaac and Jacob are alive even though their bodies have decayed into dust. The Sadduceean idea that upon death a man ceases to exist is false. The soul and spirit of a man continue after the body dies, but at the final resurrection these three will be united in a glorified, celestial, incorruptible body.
Some think the Sadducees accepted only the Pentateuch as inspired and for that reason Jesus used Exodus instead of quoting clearer passages of the resurrection, such as Job 19:26; Gen 15:15; Ps 17:15; Is 26:19; Dan 12:2; 1Sam 2:6. The Pharisees and Sadducees were constantly arguing about the dead rising again (see Act 23:6-7). Likely then, this question of the Sadducees had probably been contentiously and interminably argued by these two groups in the past. Judging by the response of the scribes (Luke 20:39), Jesus’ answer was a proof that they had never seen or heard before.
34 But when the Pharisees had heard that he had put the Sadducees to silence, they were gathered together. 35 Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying, 36 Master, which is the great commandment in the law?
The Pharisees, Herodians and the Sadducees had given their best efforts to trip Jesus and each had failed. Stinging from their defeats, these rival Jewish sects gathered together to collectively plot new ways to stump Him and cause the people to be disenchanted with Him. They would be doomed to fail again and again.
On this occasion, a lawyer, or scholar highly educated in the Old Testament Law (Luke 7:30), tested Jesus by asking which was the greatest commandment in all of the OT Law. The parallel passage in Mark 12:28-34 seems to disconnect this lawyer from the conniving group of Jewish scribes, revealing him as a wiser, more honorable man who recognized Jesus’ superior wisdom. In contrast to the others, this lawyer was asking honestly and in sincerity. Jesus saw into this man’s heart and He kindly pushed him closer to the gate, saying, Thou art not far from the Kingdom of God (Mark 12:34).
37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
The highest rule of life is to love (1Cor 13:13), and that is true in both Testaments. Love God above all else, then love one another; not just by saying the words, but in sincerity, in actual deed and in truth (1John 3:18). Every other commandment in the Scripture has its foundation upon this single principle of living (Mat 7:12; Rom 13:10). After a similar discussion with a different Jewish lawyer, Jesus gave the parable of the Samaritan (see Luke 10:25-29), in which He demonstrated that true love is decisions/actions, not feelings/emotions. And the account of the rich young ruler finishes with the same principle of love as the highest end of the Law (see note Mat 19:21).
Jesus recited the Law in support of the Greatest Commandment (Deut 6:5; 10:12; Lev 19:18). He did not quote the table of Ten Commandments, although these also fall naturally into the two categories of Love. The first four commandments speak of loving God and the last six are rules for loving one’s fellow man (see note at Mat 12:8).
Love God without measure, with all the heart, soul, mind…and strength (see parallel passage in Mark 12:28-34). These four might be made to correlate with the three parts of Man and be beneficially studied, yet be careful to retain the important general thought: love God entirely and with your whole being. In the Scriptures, the heart is a spiritual organ which contains the thoughts, motives and desires of a person’s innermost being (Pro 4:23). Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also (Mat 6:21). To love God with the heart means to honestly love Him, out of sincere and deep affection, reverence and honor, as opposed to robotically out of duty.
The soul is your inner being or personality, the emotions, intellect and character of a person; the real essence of You. To love God with all your soul is to love Him unfeignedly (2Cor 6:6); purely and fervently (1Pet 1:22). To love God with the mind is to love by choosing Him over Self, by logical discernment, in seeking the very Truth. In order for this to happen, the natural mind must be transformed by the power of God (Rom 12:2). Finally, to love God with all one’s might is to determine to love Him in spite of cost, in very action and in keeping His commands (1John 5:3); not just hearing His words, but doing them (James 2:15-16). It is consciously denying one’s own wishes and desires in order to do the will of our Master.
The above grouping is not static, for the tripartite nature of Man (spirit, soul, body) is a mystery we shall never understand in this life. God alone can correctly divide them (Heb 4:12; Ps 84:2). In fact, the three parts of Man might be compared to three beings just as God is three Persons in one. Thus, the body, soul and spirit are each capable of praise (Is 61:10; Luke 1:47; Ps 63:5), of intelligent thought, of desire and choice. Nevertheless, each specialize in particular areas even as the three Beings of Trinity. In general terms then, we might say that the soul is to love God consciously and voluntarily and the spirit should love Him honestly and reverently. And the body is called to love God by choice and action.
41 While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, 42 Saying, What think ye of Christ? whose son is he? They say unto him, The Son of David. 43 He saith unto them, How then doth David in spirit call him Lord, saying, 44 The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool? 45 If David then call him Lord, how is he his son? 46 And no man was able to answer him a word, neither durst any man from that day forth ask him any more questions.
Here Jesus stumps the top experts of the scribes and Pharisees by asking them to explain a Davidic prophecy which intimates that the Messiah would be God incarnate. The Jews so firmly believed that the Messiah would be in the lineage of David that they commonly called Him, the son of David (Mat 9:27; 12:23; 15:22; 20:30; 21:9). While that title is never so found in the Old Testament, they were correct. For prophecies such as 2Sam 7:12-13 clearly depict the Messiah as a descendant of David. Why then did David call Messiah his Lord? Here are his exact words: Jehovah said unto my Adonai, sit at My right hand until I make Your enemies Your footstool (Ps 110:1). Jehovah and Adonai are common Hebrew titles for God (Ps 8:9), so David was saying that the Messiah would be God (Is 9:6). Incidentally, that was the stated reason the Jews sought to kill Jesus: Thou, being a man, makest thyself God (John 10:33).
The Hebrew word Adonai means Master or Lord, as in Joshua 3:11, the ark of the covenant of the Adonai of all the earth. Yet it is not exclusively a title of deity, for it sometimes refers to human leaders. Another commonly-cited Messianic prophecy named the coming Messiah as Adonai: and the Adonai, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to His temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, He shall come, saith Jehovah of hosts.
The Jews of course, thought the Messiah would be a powerful king and leader who would deliver the nation from the Romans, but they did not believe He would be God incarnate, as this Psalm indicates. In citing it, Jesus backed the Jewish leaders into an impossible corner, for they surely saw that to acknowledge David’s prophetic words would be to acknowledge that Jesus of Nazareth was the Messiah. After all, His stated claim was that He was the Son of God come down from heaven (John 10:36; 6:38). And the Gospels bear witness of His actions which powerfully confirm that statement.
Even today there are religious people who, like the Jews, cannot accept that Jesus Christ is God by nature. These “Arians” claim that in saying Adonai, David meant nothing more than that the Messiah would be his human superior. Why then didn’t the Pharisees bring forth that argument? Such an easy answer, yet the lawyers and experts of the Old Testament Scriptures were not able to answer Him a word. The fact is, the Jewish scholars knew that David’s language meant the Messiah would be God, but didn’t understand it. The Hebrew Scriptures had been translated into Greek as the Septuagint, the primary Scriptures of that day, and its version of Ps 110:1 is: The Lord (Kurios) said to my Lord (Kurios)… No wonder they could not answer. This is no inference, but bare, direct words – two persons, both the Lord. Present-day Arians should be embarrassed to use an argument that even the Jews knew could not stand before the court of truth nor in public opinion! They are literally standing with the Pharisees and arguing against Jesus Christ.
Jesus’ question to the Jews continues to ring through the halls of time, “David calls the Messiah his LORD; how can Messiah then be David’s son?” Only Jesus the Nazarene can fit this amazing prophetic detail! He was born a human being in the lineage of King David, but in reality HE WAS AND IS GOD. This particular prophecy is found 5 more times in the NT (Mark 12:36; Luke 20:42; Acts 2:34; Heb 1:13). Note that just as Exodus 3:6 showed Abraham to be alive (see Mat 22:32), so does Ps 110:1 show the pre-existence of the Messiah. The parallel passages are in Mark 12:35-37; Luke 20:21-24.