Faith in Jesus Christ - Matthew 22

“And Jesus answered and spoke to them again by parables and said: ‘The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who arranged a marriage for his son and sent out his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding; and they were not willing to come. Again, he sent out other servants, saying, tell those who are invited, see, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and fatted cattle are killed, and all things are ready. Come to the wedding. But they made light of it and went their ways, one to his own farm, another to his business. And the rest seized his servants, treated them spitefully, and killed them. But when the king heard about it, he was furious. And he sent out his armies, destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city. Then he said to his servants, the wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy. Therefore go into the highways, and as many as you find, invite to the wedding. So those servants went out into the highways and gathered together all whom they found, both bad and good. And the wedding hall was filled with guests.’” Matthew 22:1-10

Matthew 21:45-46, the last two verses of chapter 21, say, “When the chief priests and Pharisees heard His parables, they perceived that He was speaking of them. But when they sought to lay hands on Him, they feared the multitudes, because they took Him for a prophet.”

Matthew 22:1 begins with Jesus speaking to the chief priests and Pharisees. In the previous parable of Matthew 21:33-41, the landowner’s property managers were wicked men who slew his messengers and his son. In the parable of Matthew 22:1-10, some invitees to a king’s son’s wedding refuse his invitation. Some arrest his messengers, mistreat and kill them. So, what did the king do? He sent his armies to slay the people and burn down their city.

When Jesus cleansed the temple of the money-changers in Matthew 21:12-13, He quoted Jeremiah 7:11. Now, in Matthew 22:1-10, Jesus prophesies that what happened to Jerusalem in Jeremiah’s days would happen again. And it did! In 70 AD, Roman Emperor Titus came with his army to Jerusalem and set siege against it. An estimated 1.1 million Jews died during the siege. Titus burned Jerusalem down. He turned 97,000 of Jerusalem’s residents into Roman slaves. [1]

After the king destroyed the city, he sent his messengers to the highways to invite both bad and good people to the wedding of his son. Here, Jesus referred to the Gentiles. In the Book of Acts, the Lord sent His disciples to the people beyond Jerusalem, and thousands believed in Him.

“But when the king came in to see the guests, he saw a man there who did not have on a wedding garment. So he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless. Then the king said to the servants, bind him hand and foot, take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. For many are called, but few are chosen.’” Matthew 22:11-14

Holding an invitation to the wedding was not enough. There was a decorum to observe. The invitees were to wear a wedding garment.

Charles Spurgeon wrote, “The banquet was intended to honor the King’s Son, but this man meant nothing of the kind. He was willing to eat the good things set before him, but in his heart there was no love either for the King or His well-beloved Son.”

This parable demonstrates that those whose hearts have not been changed by the Gospel are out-of-place at the wedding banquet of the king’s son. The king’s servants bound him hand and foot. Then, they threw him into outer darkness where souls weep and gnash their teeth

“Then the Pharisees went and plotted how they might entangle Him in His talk. And they sent to Him their disciples with the Herodians, saying, ‘Teacher, we know that You are true, and teach the way of God in truth; nor do You care about anyone, for You do not regard the person of men. Tell us, therefore, what do You think? Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?’ But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, ‘Why do you test Me, you hypocrites? Show Me the tax money.’ So, they brought Him a denarius. And He said to them, ‘Whose image and inscription is this?’ They said to Him, ‘Caesar’s.’ And He said to them, ‘Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.’ When they had heard these words, they marveled and left Him and went their way.” Matthew 22:15-22

Talk about mad! The Pharisees wanted to “bag” Jesus as a hunter “bags” a prized animal’s head for his trophy room. They schemed to get a soundbite from Jesus that they could use to destroy Him. They even put aside their hatred of Herodians to include their people in this effort. The Herodians were a political faction. They were Jews that were for Rome and Herod.

What did the Jewish populace hate? They hated paying taxes. When they asked Jesus a baited question about taxes, He perceived their wickedness. He called them hypocrites – bad actors. He asked them why they tested Him. His answer silenced them and caused them to retreat.

“The same day the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Him and asked Him, saying: ‘Teacher, Moses said that if a man dies, having no children, his brother shall marry his wife and raise up offspring for his brother. Now there were with us seven brothers. The first died after he had married, and having no offspring, left his wife to his brother. Likewise the second also, and the third, even to the seventh. Last of all the woman died also. Therefore, in the resurrection, whose wife of the seven will she be? For they all had her.’” Matthew 22:23-28

The Sadducees want their whack at destroying Jesus. They asked Jesus to answer a hypothetical question about marriage in heaven. Whose wife will a woman be in heaven?

Do you see a pattern here? The religious leaders are concerned about possessions. What about our money? What about our brides? They are not asking Jesus for insights on how to lead an unbelieving world to faith in God.

“Jesus answered and said to them, ‘You are mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God. For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage but are like angels of God in heaven. But concerning the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God, saying, I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.’ And when the multitudes heard this, they were astonished at His teaching.” Matthew 22:29-33

Jesus told them that their question stemmed from not knowing God and God’s Word. God says in Hosea 4:6, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.” Jesus told them that people in heaven are like angels. They are not married and don’t have marriages. This statement by Jesus refutes what the Mormons teach about the afterlife. “Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believe that marriages performed by priesthood authority in temples are sealed for time and all eternity.” [2] They are wrong. Jesus Christ is right.

From the time of Abraham until now, Jewish believers have referred to God as “the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” Jesus used this common form of address to say to them that Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were resurrected and alive from the dead.

The Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection. They were wrong. Jesus Christ is right.

The question that the Sadducees engineered to alienate people from Jesus helped to increase amazement with His teachings.

“But when the Pharisees heard that He had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. Then one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying, ‘Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?’ Jesus said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: you shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.’” Matthew 22:34-40

Next, a lawyer from among the Pharisees thinks he can expose Jesus as a false teacher by asking Him which is the greatest commandment in the Law. Jesus gives them the right answer.

“While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, saying, ‘What do you think about the Christ? Whose Son is He?’ They said to Him, ‘The Son of David.’ He said to them, ‘How then does David in the Spirit call Him Lord, saying: the Lord said to my Lord, sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool? If David then calls Him Lord, how is He his Son?’ And no one was able to answer Him a word, nor from that day on did anyone dare question Him anymore.” Matthew 22:41-46

The Pharisees stopped questioning Jesus. So, He questioned them. His question hit the bullseye of their heresy. They rejected the One that God sent to save them. They rejected God’s Messiah! Various people in need have been professing Jesus as the Son of David which is another way of addressing Him as Messiah. Matthew refers to Jesus as the Son of David ten times in his Gospel. For example, in Matthew 9:27, Jesus healed two blind men who professed Him as the Son of David. In Matthew 15:22, Jesus set a demon-possessed daughter free from her demons. Her Gentile mother addressed Jesus as, “Lord, Son of David.” In Matthew 20:30-31, Jesus healed two more blind men after they prayed to Him, saying, “Have mercy on us, O Lord, Son of David!” These people did not receive theological training like the Pharisees received, but they received the truth that the Pharisees refused to see.

What stage are you at with Jesus? Do you doubt Him? Do you have more questions for Him than faith in Him? In the Gospels, Jesus answered many hard questions. He can answer yours as well. Just ask Him.

The unforgiveable sin is to reject Christ as your Savior. God forgives your sins when you believe in His Son Jesus Christ. Faith in Jesus Christ is necessary for salvation. Acts 4:12 says, “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” In John 14:6, Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” I pray that God, by His Word and His Spirit, and by His grace, will help you to believe in Jesus Christ with all your heart, mind, soul and strength.


[1] Google sources
[2] Ibid