Matthew 22:1-46 King James Version

Themes of the Kingdom of Heaven, Obedience to God, The Nature of the Messiah, and Responsibilities of Believers

Matthew 22:1-46 King James Version. Matthew chapter 22 contains a series of parables and teachings of Jesus that address themes of the Kingdom of Heaven, obedience to God, the nature of the Messiah, and the responsibilities of believers.

Matthew 22 teaches about the nature of the Kingdom of Heaven, the importance of being prepared and worthy for it, the balance of civic and divine responsibilities, the reality of the resurrection, the centrality of love in God’s commandments, and the true identity of the Messiah. These teachings challenge the listeners to reexamine their understanding and commitment to God’s will.

Parable of the Wedding Banquet – Verses 1-14

• Jesus tells a parable about a king who prepares a wedding banquet for his son. Those invited refuse to come, mistreating and killing the king’s servants. The king then destroys those murderers and invites others from the streets, both good and bad, to fill the banquet hall.
• A man without wedding clothes is thrown out, symbolizing those unprepared or unworthy to enter the Kingdom of Heaven.

This parable illustrates God’s invitation to His Kingdom, initially extended to Israel but then to all people due to Israel’s rejection. The wedding clothes represent the righteousness required to enter the Kingdom, emphasizing that many are invited, but few are chosen.

Paying the Imperial Tax to Caesar – Verses 15-22

• The Pharisees and Herodians try to trap Jesus by asking if it is lawful to pay taxes to Caesar. Jesus asks for a denarius and points out Caesar’s image on it, saying, “Give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”

Jesus skillfully avoids the trap, teaching the principle of fulfilling civic duties while prioritizing devotion to God. It emphasizes the dual responsibilities of Christians to both earthly authorities and divine obligations.

Marriage at the Resurrection – Verses 23-33

• The Sadducees, who deny the resurrection, present a hypothetical scenario about a woman who marries seven brothers in succession. They ask whose wife she will be in the resurrection.
• Jesus replies that in the resurrection, people will neither marry nor be given in marriage but will be like angels. He also affirms the resurrection by citing God as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, who are living.

Jesus corrects the Sadducees’ misunderstanding of the resurrection, affirming its reality and revealing that earthly institutions like marriage do not apply in the same way in the afterlife. He underscores the eternal nature of God’s relationship with His people.

The Greatest Commandment – Verses 34-40

• A Pharisee, an expert in the law, asks Jesus which commandment is the greatest. Jesus replies, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind,” and “Love your neighbor as yourself.” All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.

Jesus encapsulates the essence of the Law and the Prophets in two fundamental commandments, emphasizing that love for God and for others is the foundation of all religious and moral obligations.

Whose Son is the Messiah? – Verses 41-46

• Jesus questions the Pharisees about the identity of the Messiah, asking how David’s son can also be his Lord. He quotes Psalm 110:1, where David calls the Messiah “Lord.” The Pharisees are unable to answer, and no one dares to question Jesus further.

Jesus highlights the divine nature of the Messiah, revealing that the Messiah is not merely David’s descendant but also his Lord, pointing to His own divine identity and authority.

Matthew 22:1-46 King James Version

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,
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.
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.
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.
14 For many are called, but few are chosen.

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.
17 Tell us therefore, What thinkest thou? Is it lawful to give tribute unto Cæsar, 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, Cæsar’s. Then saith he unto them, Render therefore unto Cæsar the things which are Cæsar’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.
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.
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.
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?
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.
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.