Matthew, Chapter 22

One of my favorite parables of Jesus is the parable of the wedding feast. To me, it is a wonderful illustration of Christ’s entire ministry as well as an unfortunate picture for those that reject the gift of His salvation. The banquet itself is supposed to represent the kingdom of Heaven. This is something the Father has worked painstakingly hard for his followers. It is a gift to us. It is a celebration of our lives and a sign of His eternal covenant with us. Those that reject the invitation to the feast here are those that reject God, so he destroys them. By sending the invitation out to basically anyone at the end of the parable, we see that God is not willing that anyone should miss out on the kingdom of Heaven.

8"Then he said to his servants, 'The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come. 9Go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.' 10So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, both good and bad, and the wedding hall was filled with guests. – Matthew 22:8-10

In this parable we also see a prelude to the Great Commission, given at the end of the book of Matthew. As followers of Christ, we are the servants that He refers to in this parable. Therefore, it is our responsibility to go forth and bring more guests to this wedding banquet. Not only is the wedding banquet then a celebration for us, it is a celebration for those that we bring to the kingdom. It is our responsibility to make sure others don’t miss out on this.

29Jesus replied, "You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God. 30At the resurrection people will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven. 31But about the resurrection of the dead—have you not read what God said to you, 32'I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'? He is not the God of the dead but of the living." – Matthew 22:29-32

Chapter 22 takes a dramatic turn here. Jesus was speaking to the Sadducees in the temple as they were trying to make fun of the idea of the Resurrection. They did not believe that such a thing could occur, but as usual, Jesus was there to correct them. This is an allusion to what will occur after Christ Himself rises from the dead a week later. Because He rose and conquered the grave, there is no longer true death. There is only life in Christ if we accept the gift of salvation. This is why Christ says here that God is the God of the living, not the dead. By saying that He was the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, he is implying that it is a current, ongoing relationship.

TODAY’S QUESTIONS:

1. Why would some still reject the gift of this wedding feast?
2. Why did the Pharisees try to trap Jesus on the tax issue?
3. Why are the two commandments in verses 38-39 the greatest?