Read Matthew 22:1-14

Context is key to making sense of this passage. One of the main errors in studying this passage is to make it a stand-a-lone passage which focuses upon a new concept. The discussion at hand was how that the teachers and leaders of the Jews were not doing their job. They were busy making sure that their positions were safe at the expense of the prophets of the Lord. I may make a few people angry with this discussion. I hope that you will bear with me and read to the end.

Yeshua’s teaching in this passage embraced the marriage feast. It was a common illustration that is found through the entire Old Testament. It was one that was understood very well since the people participated in that feast and understood the rules surrounding the festival. There are several places in the Bible where this festival is used as an illustration, probably the largest area is the “Song of Solomon”.

In our society, an invitation to a wedding feast consist of going for the wedding ceremony, and the dinner afterwards.  In the Jewish ceremony, it was a very large gathering, with festivities going on for a week before the wedding.  The guests were expected to stay for the entire seven days.  At the commencement of the feast, the people were expected to put off their business and totally devote their time to the celebration.  In the case of this parable the people were too busy to stop long enough to celebrate with the king. In a sense, the people at the feast were to be devoted to the feast and to the celebration of a new marriage. If you factor in the feast being thrown by the king, this devotion would be much higher since he is the overseer or ultimate employer of everyone present.

We have learned that Yeshua reached out to the leaders through an answer to their question. He opened the door to enable them to repent of their error and follow Him.

The illustration that Yeshua was giving addressed the narcissistic view of life of the leaders of the Jews. They were not interested in focusing upon God the King and upon His desires. Their focus was upon their own standing. From the illustration that Yeshua gave, we can see that the leaders were going through their own lives, attending their farms and personal business instead of attending to the Lord’s business (Matt 22:5). The prophets and servants that God sent were mistreated and often killed (Matt 22:6). This was evidenced by the discussion that started this entire section, “who was John the Baptist”? They refused to acknowledge John the Baptist as a minister of God. They also refused to recognize Yeshua as one who had any spiritual authority.

Yeshua’s teaching extends the unspoken question, how long will God tolerate his leaders failing to lead? How long will God tolerate those appointed to positions of leadership leading others in their own interest instead of toward God’s plan?

History teaches us that God certainly sent armies to destroy the system that was in place. The entire Jewish system was destroyed when the Roman armies destroyed the temple. This sacrificial system has not started back up since then. Prophecy tells us that it will begin again when the millennial reign of the Messiah takes place. When that happens, it will be done in the manner that God intended it.

Yeshua prophesied that the king would then go into the community and bring in the undesirable and common folk to populate the wedding (Matt 22:10). I believe that this is a direct prophecy that looks forward to the time when the Gentile believers will take up the baton and run with the purpose of God. This is often called the “church age” by commentators. We have to be careful with this though. We are not replacing the Jewish people! We have been “standing in” for the Jewish people. The context of the passage does not teach that the people brought in have been given natural citizenship to the kingdom. It also does not teach that the guests to the wedding will lord over the people of the land. The Gentiles have not replaced the Jews. The Gentiles are still Gentiles, the only difference is that we as Gentiles have stepped temporarily into a role that is beyond our status. Why?

Paul teaches that God placed the Gentiles into a position to move the Jews to jealousy (Ro 11:14). Paul did not teach that Christians should build an entirely new religion. He taught that Christian Gentiles should build a belief in the Messiah that patterned after the Jewish system. Paul taught that every believer should still observe all the Jewish feast and festivals. “Moving the Jews to jealousy” is done by following God better than they were. We are to follow Torah better, devoting our lives to the pure teaching of the Word. In that way the Jewish people will be inspired to pick up the baton again and return to their rightful place as leaders. Christians did not replace the Jews, we are standing in for them as extra’s in a play. Sure, we have been “grafted in” to the Jews so that we draw our life from the system, but we have not replaced them (Ro 11:17-18).

Paul put out a warning that each believer must take into account. If we fail to adhere to the teachings of God, He will certainly cut us off just like He did the Jews (Ro 11:19-21). (Let’s return to the discussion in Matthew now.)

One man at the wedding feast was not dressed in wedding clothes (Matt 22:11-13). This man was at the feast and from the context felt that he deserved to be there. He did not look like one of the participants of the feast, he was not clothed properly. This man was thrown out of the feast into darkness.

Yeshua and Paul gave the same warning. The Gentiles who are called in to “stand in” temporarily for the Jewish people must look the part. We are to embrace Torah and all it entails to the best of our ability so that we “look” like Jews. Through the ages, the church has failed miserably in this area. Through history starting at about 325 AD with Constantine, the Christians have blended Judaism with paganism. This bastardized religion has morphed through the ages to become a social religion that has followed the whims of society. In our modern day the church has come to resemble more of a country club than a religion.

As a whole, the Jewish people are right in claiming that we are not following the same God. Our god does not even resemble the God of the Old Testament. I went all the way through seminary and was not taught anything about the Jewish feasts and festivals. Instead, I was taught the importance of Sunday worship, Christmas and Easter, among others. All of these have replaced the Sabbath, Festivals of the Jews and especially Passover. They have nothing in common. The difference is black and white. It is as if we are comparing paganism to Judaism. Our clothing does not even remotely resemble the clothing of the original occupants of the kingdom.

Matt 22:14 The sober warning that ends this section should inspire every believer. “Many are invited, few are chosen”. If we are to follow our God, then we must make every effort to follow His commands or instructions (John 15:10). Yeshua does not let the issue rest, in the next chapter He will revisit this teaching in a much more specific way (Matthew 23:31-36). We will look at that in more detail later. The prophecy that Yeshua gives in this section is a thumbnail sketch of the “church age”. We have stepped in to “stand in” for the Jews for a short time.

To set your fears to rest: I am not teaching that we do not have salvation. On the contrary, we have been “grafted in” to the Jewish root as we discussed above (Ro 11:17-18). If we have clothed ourselves with the Messiah, then we have become “children of Abraham”, heirs according to promise (Gal 3:27-29). Our immersion into the Messiah has changed our lives so that we have become new creatures through Him (Gal 3:27; 6:15; 2 Cor 5:17; Eph 4:20-24; Col 3:10-11). Since we have become a new creation through being grafted in to the Messiah, our lives have been replaced with His life. What has happened is we have been moved into a place where we are experiencing Salvation. I personally believe that once we have received salvation, it can never be lost.

In the passage above we are talking about religious systems. We are discussing leaders who are looking at their own agenda’s instead of God’s agenda. The overall gist of the passage is not looking at individual salvation, but rather at the shepherds of the flock.

Matthew 22:15-22

Through the study of Matthew, I have stressed over and over that there is nothing new in the New Testament. Yeshua taught a lesson in this section that mirrors what the Jewish people had been doing through many years. Rendering honor to Caesar was not a new thing. This took place many times when the people were captive in various nations all the way back to Egypt. In Egypt they rendered to Pharaoh their work life and to live in the land as slaves. Later when the temple was being restored, not only did they bow down to the king of the land, they received funds from him that were drawn from taxes and from the kings wealth to restore it (Ezra, Nehemiah).  With that in mind, let’s examine the passage.

The Pharisees made it a point to go after Jesus; they joined forces with their enemies in trying to trick Jesus.  The Pharisees were purists; they hated the Herodians because they were supporting Herod.  The Pharisees held that according to history the Jews existed before the Romans, and therefore should not be paying taxes to the Romans, neither should Judaism be influenced by the Romans.  These were two schools of thinking, the traditionalist, and those who were willing to change with the times, the conservatives and the liberals.  In our day it could be compared to the Republicans and the Democrats.  Both groups were openly hostile toward one another, yet in an effort to rid them of Jesus, they made peace temporarily.

They joined together and approached Jesus with flattering words, trying to entrap Him in His own words.  Look at the words that they use to describe Jesus, they give Him the respected title of “Teacher”, then describe Him as a good and truthful teacher, teaching the absolute truth of God.  On the surface it looks like they are believers, they probably thought they could fool Him by approaching Him as if they were His disciples.  They used the words that any disciple sitting under Jesus would use, and they threw in a little flattery to boot.  What they did not understand is that Jesus knew the motives of their hearts.

The question about the poll tax was brilliantly designed; either answer, yes or no would offend either the Pharisees, or the Herodians.  It would either make Him an enemy of the state, or an enemy of Judaism.

First, Jesus called their bluff by calling them hypocrites.  The word hypocrite means an actor and is referring to someone who is playing a role that they are not holding.

Then He answers their questions. Although they were asking under false pretenses, the opportunity to teach this vital truth has been critical for believers since them. These were the disciples of the Pharisees, which meant that they were learners (Matt 22:16). They were sitting under the Pharisees with the intention of being taught. They were zealous enough to go against Jesus perceiving Him to be a threat to their beliefs. What they encountered was a teacher that went beyond the traditional teachings of the Pharisees.

Jesus asked for a coin used for the poll-tax specifically.  There were two forms of money used in Jerusalem, they had their own which was stamped out of copper, and they had the Roman coins which were stamped out of gold and silver.   When tax was paid to Rome, it had to be paid with Roman coins, which bore an inscription declaring that Caesar was god.  You can imagine the irritation that this caused the Jews.

One thing that they did not realize was that through the centuries the Jews were constantly being taken into slavery because of their disobedience to God.  During the Roman rule, the Jews were still not their own independent nation; they were required to follow Roman law.  In effect the Roman government had the Jews under a form of slavery, placing restrictions upon their lives.

Caesar was the ruler of the land, so they were required to pay taxes to him.  God was the ruler of the Jews, so they were expected to give to God.  Both answers worked together, the revelation amazed the questioners.  This was not the answer that Pharisees and Herodians had wanted their disciples to have.  They were supposed to go away offended and irritated at the answer of Jesus.  Yet they were literally filled with wonder at His answer (Matt 22:22).

The statement that they were filled with wonder is rather an understatement. These students that posed the question were filled with “ethaumasan” (Greek transliteration). This is where we get our word “enthusiasm”. The idea carries amazement or wonder with a purpose. This could carry the idea of a “wow” factor. The text indicates that these students were not only in agreement with the revelation, but walked away changed because of it.

I often have the opportunity to speak with members of various “Christian” religions that have been dubbed “cults”. My discussion with them is not to convert them, but rather to point them along a path to truth. Introduction of the truth of scripture in context goes further than arguing about bits of doctrine. Redirection along the path to truth will infect their minds with God’s truth. Questioning a simple truth or teaching a different aspect backed up with the contextual Word sows seeds that will eventually grow in their hearts.

Does this work? I will leave it up to you to decide. My thinking on it is simple. The cults teach their people to battle oppositions of Christians much the same as Christians teach how to evangelize or lead others to the Messiah. When we engage with arguments with them, we are stepping right into what they are trained for. By  teaching truth, we are stepping beyond their defenses. We are teaching them the truth of scripture and allowing the Holy Spirit to work on their hearts for permanent change. This is where God moves in and takes over.

This is also where each of us should broaden our knowledge of the scriptures. If we stick to the memorized scriptures that lead others to the Messiah, this is good. However, it is for baby Christians that are not well versed in the scriptures. Broadening our understanding of the scriptures offers the opportunity to step outside of the scripts that are taught by those with strange views. Don’t misunderstand me on this. The salvation verses are always excellent to have on hand! My point is that if we can steer the conversation away from the argument into the area of teaching, this adds the “wow” factor that comes from the revealed truth of the Word. When the “wow” factor is in place, we have an open door to teach the salvation verses.

How do we get there? In my opinion, the only way to get to the area of having a broad understanding of the Word of God is to read it. I do not know how many times I have read through the Bible, cover to cover. Every year, starting sometime in September, I begin a new reading plan. My method is to read one passage from the Old Testament and one passage from the New Testament daily. This keeps me balanced and constantly focused on the full truth of the Bible. Most importantly, it has proved to steer me away from the canned teachings that are based upon Christian tradition. The only way to know if we are following the true teachings of God is to study His Word. On that same argument, the only way to direct people to God is to teach them His Word.

Read Matthew 22:23-33

To start with, the Sadducees firmly believed that there was no resurrection.  They did not believe in life after death.  And the question that they approached Jesus with was borrowed from rabbinical writings Keener noted:

“The Sadducees borrow the story line from the Jewish book of Tobit, where righteous Sarah’s first seven husbands died, slain by the jealous demon Asmodeus. Some second-century rabbis proposed that a two- or three-time widow should not marry again, lest she bring harm on her next husband too (cf. Gen 38:11). Teachers commonly proposed hypothetical situations when defining Jewish law.”^[1]

It is important to remember the setting. This was a group of Hebrew scholars who knew both the scriptures and the writings of the prophets. Let’s expand on that just for a moment. At that time the Hebrew Bible had not been canonized yet. The writings of apocryphal books were considered to be valid.

Jesus demonstrated for them that He did not just have command of the Jewish Scriptures, but He also had command of the Rabbinical writings as well, the response that He gives is almost word for word out of the Apocryphal book of 4 Maccabees:

4 Maccabees 7:18–19 (NRSV)

¹⁸ But as many as attend to religion with a whole heart, these alone are able to control the passions of the flesh, ¹⁹ since they believe that they, like our patriarchs Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, do not die to God, but live to God.

4 Maccabees 16:24–25 (NRSV)

²⁴ By these words the mother of the seven encouraged and persuaded each of her sons to die rather than violate God’s commandment. ²⁵ They knew also that those who die for the sake of God live to God, as do Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the patriarchs.

Exodus 3:6 (KJV)

⁶ Moreover he said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God.

He took the Old Testament Scriptures and tied it to the rabbinical writings making it very clear what the intention of God was on life. The way that Yeshua talked about the patriarchs was not as dead men, but as men who are still alive. This has been a good tool for me to clarify between the Pharisees and Sadducees.  They did not believe in resurrection, so they were “sad you see”.

What do we know about heaven?  God is the only one who knows what it is really like.  If Jesus say’s there is no marriage in Heaven, no one can dispute His claim either direction. No one has died, gone to heaven and returned in order to validate His teaching. Rabbinnical writings do not give insight since there is no material to draw from. Therefore, it comes down to faith in Yeshua. I believe He is the God that He claims to be, so I consider His claim to be truth. The Sadducees had no ground to argue from, so their argument was stopped cold.

Logically speaking though, His argument was irrefutable. Torah taught that if a woman’s husband died, the next of kin was to step in and assume the role of the husband. Think that through. Why would God create a situation on earth that would cause conflict in Heaven? God set up instructions to take care of widows. He displayed a special fondness for widows (Isa 54). This is abundantly clear with the situation with Tamar (Gen 38:6-30). Her first husband Er was evil and died. The second husband spilled his seed on the ground, God killed him. The third husband was withheld by Judah. The story unwinds where Tamar became pregnant by Judah in the end. She was justified in her actions. The principle of multiple husbands was built into Torah for the exact scenario that they put forth. Without a doubt, Torah held  a higher authority than the extrabiblical writings.

As a side note on the Apocrypha: It was not placed as canon in the Bible, and should not be considered as so.  However, it is a very valuable resource for historical perspectives.  Yeshua quoted from the apocryphal book of 4 Maccabees to answer a question from Tobit, so, I wouldn’t completely toss out the Apocrypha.  I have read some of the Apocrypha in the past, it does not read like the Bible, it reads like a novel.  The early church fathers discerned that they did not meet the qualifications to be included in the canon of the Bible for good reason.

Matthew 22:34-46

The shift of tactics takes place when the Sadducees were silenced. Rather than approach a hypothetical question, the Pharisees try to trip Yeshua up on Torah. Their tactic was to ask a question regarding the scriptures and then formulate their attack. This was a much more careful and wiser approach. The focus of the Pharisees up to this point was to prove that Yeshua was not keeping Torah. Since He was healing on the Sabbath, they may have thought that He was not following Torah at all. His answer may have shocked them.

To this day, it still shocks the religious among us. His answer challenges the idea that the “law” has been done away with. The reason is simple. If His answer is true, then the instructions of God that were based on the two principles are still in effect… Torah is the instructions that God gave for His people to live by, we have redefined Torah as “law”.  So what was originally good instructions is now considered bad law. Are you following? His answer in Mark is a little more complete:

Mark 12:29–31 (NET)

²⁹ Jesus answered, “The most important is: ‘Listen, Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. ³⁰ Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’³¹ The second is: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”

Let’s look at this a little closer. The Complete Jewish Bible translates it this way:

Deuteronomy 6:4–5 (CJB)

⁴ “Sh’ma, Yisra’el! Adonai Eloheinu, Adonai echad [Hear, Isra’el! Adonai our God, Adonai is one]; ⁵ and you are to love Adonai your God with all your heart, all your being and all your resources.

As Christians, we do not understand the significance of this verse. This is the one verse that Jews worldwide quote three times or more daily. It is quoted at morning prayers, afternoon prayers and at gatherings.

I have done some extensive studies on these verses in the past. The gist of the word “sh’ma” or “hear” is the idea of putting into action what you are hearing. Nike’s phrase catches the idea best, “just do it”.  The idea is that God is only one God, you are to live according to His instructions and immerse yourself in them. Yeshua said that this one commandment was the greatest of all.

The second command was buried under miscellaneous instructions from the book of Leviticus. This section dealt with relationships between people. It dealt with interpersonal relationships and instructions to take care of the unfortunate (Lev 19:9-18). This verse carried with it the importance of taking care of others.

Leviticus 19:18 (KJV)

¹⁸ Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the LORD.

How important are this commandment? This was the reason that Sodom and Gomorrah received judgment. Homosexuality was a symptom of the root problem. They had abandoned God and became their own gods, and they no longer took care of the poor and needy. The result of these actions was the abominations they were famous for:

Ezekiel 16:49–50 (KJV)

⁴⁹ Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fulness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. ⁵⁰ And they were haughty, and committed abomination before me: therefore I took them away as I saw good.

God’s judgment on the heathen nation hinged on the fact that they no longer took care of the poor and needy. The root of the problem was pride, abundance, and leisure. This is a message that should cause the majority of Americans to shake in their boots.

It is also a message that torpedoed home and made a direct hit on the Pharisees. They were not able to reply.

Matt 22:42-46 Yeshua asked them a question in reply.

The word transliterated as “Christ” in the Greek is the word meaning “Messiah” in the Hebrew. The Pharisees were quick to answer that the Messiah would be a son of David. Yeshua gave them a bit of Bible study in response. The first “Lord” according to Psalm 110:1 is the name of God “YHVH”. The second “Lord” is the name of God “Adonai”.

Yeshua asked a simple question. If David refers to the Messiah as God, how can this be David’s son? We do not often think of the undercurrent of accusation that surrounded Yeshua. The Pharisees considered Yeshua to be an illegitimate child, they did not buy the idea of the virgin birth. This is abundantly clear when they accuse Yeshua of being an illegitimate child born out of fornication (John 8:41). Yeshua’s response to their statement is very revealing.

The Pharisees considered Yeshua to be tainted because of the fact that Joseph was not His father. The quote from Psalm 110 established that the Messiah would certainly be God and the Son of David. It gave them something to think about.

I am going to close here, all thoughts and comments are welcomed.

Joe Turner.

^[1] Craig S. Keener, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1993), Mt 22:25–27.