Mat 22:1-14 | PNT | STEP | The Marriage of the King's Son; Attempts to Entrap the Savior SUMMARY OF MATTHEW 22: The Marriage Feast. The Invited Guests. The Invitation Rejected. Their Fate. Those in the Highway and Hedges Called. The Man with No Wedding Garment. The Pharisees and Herodians. Paying Tribute to Caesar. The Sadducees and the Resurrection. The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The Lawyer's Question. The Great Commandment. What Think Ye of Christ?. Jesus answered and spoke unto them again . Compare . Mark states that after the parable of the wicked husbandmen, the rulers "left him and went their way" ( ); hence this parable (peculiar to Matthew) was not spoken directly to the rulers.

‏ Matthew 22:1-14

The Marriage of the King's Son; Attempts to Entrap the Savior SUMMARY OF MATTHEW 22: The Marriage Feast. The Invited Guests. The Invitation Rejected. Their Fate. Those in the Highway and Hedges Called. The Man with No Wedding Garment. The Pharisees and Herodians. Paying Tribute to Caesar. The Sadducees and the Resurrection. The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The Lawyer's Question. The Great Commandment. What Think Ye of Christ?.

Jesus answered and spoke unto them again. Compare Mt 13:15-24. Mark states that after the parable of the wicked husbandmen, the rulers "left him and went their way" (Mr 12:12); hence this parable (peculiar to Matthew) was not spoken directly to the rulers. The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king. Its relation to the Jews and Gentiles is likened unto a king which made a marriage for his son. Rendered "marriage feast" in the Revised Version. The scenery of this parable is drawn from the Oriental marriage feast, which assumed a much more important place in the ceremony of marriage than it does in our times. See the wedding feast at Cana, in Joh 2:1-11. The betrothal usually took place many months before, but the marriage rite was consummated by bringing the bride to the home of the bridegroom, and the occasion was celebrated by a feast, to which many were invited. In the parable the King is God, the Son our Lord, the bride is his church, those first invited are the Jews, those invited later are all mankind, the marriage feast is when the Lamb's Bride is taken home to the Father's house, the day named in Revelation, the day of judgment and reward (Re 19:7-9). Sent his servants forth to call them that were bidden to the wedding. It was the custom among the ancients for the guests to be twice invited; or rather first invited that they might prepare themselves, and then summoned a short time before the banquet, that they might be there at the proper time. The first invitation to the Jews was given by the prophets, down to John the Baptist; the second afterwards by the apostles and other disciples in succession. Again, he sent forth other servants. This is a second invitation to those who had previously been invited and "would not come". The Jews were invited first of all, by the Savior and his apostles under the first commission before all things were ready, but they refused the invitation and rejected Christ. Then, after all was made ready by the death and resurrection of Christ and the establishment of the kingdom, they were again invited before the apostles turned to the Gentiles. For seven years from Pentecost, the gospel was preached to Jews alone.

My oxen and [my] fatlings [are] killed. A description drawn from an ancient feast, where the substantial portion of the repast was flesh. But they made light of [it]. There were two classes that refused to heed the invitation. This is the first class, those who are indifferent. And the remnant took his servants and . . . slew [them]. The indifference of the previous class was proof of disloyalty, but the second class resort to open rebellion. This was fulfilled in the persecutions of the apostles and early church stirred by the Jews. See Ac 4:3 5:18,40 7:58 8:3 12:3 14:5,19 16:23 17:5 21:30 23:2; also the Epistles here and there. And when the king heard [of it], he was wroth. He who insults or assails a king's heralds assails the king's majesty.

Destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city. Strikingly fulfilled in the fate of the Jews. The Roman armies were chosen to inflict the retribution upon the Jewish nation. The wedding is ready, but they which were bidden were not worthy. Those who reject the gospel invitation show that they are not worthy. Compare Paul, Ac 13:46. Go ye therefore into the highways. All are now to be invited, not one race or class alone, but the command is,

As many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage. This was fulfilled when the gospel was offered to the Gentiles as well as Jews. So those servants . . . gathered together all . . . both good and bad. The bad are invited, not to remain bad, but in order that they might become good. No one can truly come without a determination to quit sinning. Saw there a man which had not a wedding garment. It is said to be a custom in the East, even at the present day, for the host to present his guests with robes of honor. Every saint is robed, not in his own righteousness, but in the white robes of Christ's righteousness. "As many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ" (Ga 3:27). Abbott, on this passage says: ``The garments we put on when he put on the Lord Jesus Christ by faith in baptism . . . To be without the wedding garments, offered freely to him, implied that the man thought his usual attire good enough. He therefore represents one who, while professing to be for Christ, thought his own righteousness would save him without a trustful obedience to the Savior (Ro 13:14 Ga 3:26-27).'' How camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? The fact that he had not was proof that he had no right to be there. All invited might be very different before, good and bad, but they must be clothed alike when the guests of the Lord. Then said the king, . . . Bind him hand and foot. It is the king's right to exclude all unfit, even at the door of the feast. For many are called, but few [are] chosen. "The many called" embrace all who hear the gospel; the whole Jewish nation, and the Gentiles of every land where the gospel is preached. The chosen are those who choose to accept.