Matthew 22:1

And Jesus answered and spake unto them again by parables, and said,

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

XXII.

(1) And Jesus answered.—The word implies a connection of some kind with what has gone before. The parable was an answer, if not to spoken words, to the thoughts that were stirring in the minds of those who listened.

Benson Commentary

Matthew 22:1. Jesus spake unto them again by parables — That is, spake with reference to what had just passed: for this parable is closely connected with that of the vineyard, delivered at the close of the preceding chapter. And as our Lord had in that foretold the approaching ruin of the Jewish place and nation, he goes on in this to vindicate God’s mercy and justice in the rejection of that people and the calling of the Gentiles; admonishing the latter, at the same time, of the necessity of holiness, and showing that if they remained destitute of it, they would meet with the same severity of judgment which had befallen the disobedient Jews.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

22:1-14 The provision made for perishing souls in the gospel, is represented by a royal feast made by a king, with eastern liberality, on the marriage of his son. Our merciful God has not only provided food, but a royal feast, for the perishing souls of his rebellious creatures. There is enough and to spare, of every thing that can add to our present comfort and everlasting happiness, in the salvation of his Son Jesus Christ. The guests first invited were the Jews. When the prophets of the Old Testament prevailed not, nor John the Baptist, nor Christ himself, who told them the kingdom of God was at hand, the apostles and ministers of the gospel were sent, after Christ's resurrection, to tell them it was come, and to persuade them to accept the offer. The reason why sinners come not to Christ and salvation by him, is, not because they cannot, but because they will not. Making light of Christ, and of the great salvation wrought out by him, is the damning sin of the world. They were careless. Multitudes perish for ever through mere carelessness, who show no direct aversion, but are careless as to their souls. Also the business and profit of worldly employments hinder many in closing with the Saviour. Both farmers and merchants must be diligent; but whatever we have of the world in our hands, our care must be to keep it out of our hearts, lest it come between us and Christ. The utter ruin coming upon the Jewish church and nation, is here represented. Persecution of Christ's faithful ministers fills up the measure of guilt of any people. The offer of Christ and salvation to the Gentiles was not expected; it was such a surprise as it would be to wayfaring men, to be invited to a royal wedding-feast. The design of the gospel is to gather souls to Christ; all the children of God scattered abroad, Joh 10:16; 11:52. The case of hypocrites is represented by the guest that had not on a wedding-garment. It concerns all to prepare for the scrutiny; and those, and those only, who put on the Lord Jesus, who have a Christian temper of mind, who live by faith in Christ, and to whom he is all in all, have the wedding-garment. The imputed righteousness of Christ, and the sanctification of the Spirit, are both alike necessary. No man has the wedding-garment by nature, or can form it for himself. The day is coming, when hypocrites will be called to account for all their presumptuous intruding into gospel ordinances, and usurpation of gospel privileges. Take him away. Those that walk unworthy of Christianity, forfeit all the happiness they presumptuously claimed. Our Saviour here passes out of the parable into that which it teaches. Hypocrites go by the light of the gospel itself down to utter darkness. Many are called to the wedding-feast, that is, to salvation, but few have the wedding-garment, the righteousness of Christ, the sanctification of the Spirit. Then let us examine ourselves whether we are in the faith, and seek to be approved by the King.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

And Jesus answered and spake unto them again in parables - See the notes at Matthew 13:3. That is, he answered or made reply to the Pharisees, who had been enraged at him for what he had already spoken to them, Matthew 21:45-46. He made a still further statement, to show how the gospel would be received and treated by them. The real answer here, as is frequently the case in the New Testament, refers to what was passing in the mind, or to the conduct of those who were addressed, not to what they said.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

CHAPTER 22

Mt 22:1-14. Parable of the Marriage of the King's Son.

This is a different parable from that of the Great Supper, in Lu 14:15, &c., and is recorded by Matthew alone.Matthew 22:1-14 The parable of the marriage of the king’s son: the

unworthiness of those that were first bidden: others

called in their room: the punishment of one that came

without a wedding garment.

Matthew 22:15-22 The captious question proposed concerning paying

tribute to Caesar, and Christ’s answer.

Matthew 22:23-33 He confutes the Sadducees who questioned him touching

the resurrection.

Matthew 22:34-40 He showeth which are the chief commandments of the law.

Matthew 22:41-46 He proposeth to the Pharisees a knotty question

concerning Christ.

See Poole on "Matthew 22:14".

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

And Jesus answered and spake unto them again,.... Not to the multitude only, but to the chief priests, elders, Scribes, and Pharisees: for though Mark seems to intimate, that upon the delivery of the last parable of the vineyard, they left him, and went their way; yet since he does not relate the following parable, they might not leave him until they had heard that, which is spoken with much the same design as the former, and might increase their resentment the more: or if the chief priests and elders did go away, the Pharisees remained behind, as is clear from Matthew 22:15 to whom he spake

by parables, similitudes, and comparisons, taken from earthly things, and against whom he directed the following one;

and said, as hereafter related.

Geneva Study Bible

And {1} Jesus answered and spake unto them again by parables, and said,

(1) Not all of the whole company of those that are called by the voice of the gospel are the true Church before God: for the most part of them would rather follow the conveniences of this life: and some persecute very cruelly those that call them: but they are the true Church who obey when they are called, such as for the most part are those whom the world despises.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Meyer's NT Commentary

Matthew 22:1. Καὶ ἀποκρ. ὁ Ἰης. πάλιν εἶπεν, κ.τ.λ.] In the full consciousness of His mission and His own superiority, Jesus replied (ἀποκρ., see note on Matthew 11:25) to their hostile ζητεῖν, which only fear of the people kept in check, by adding another parabolic address (ἐν παραβ. plural of the category). Olshausen and Keim are not justified in doubting this connection on the ground that Matthew 21:45 f. is, as they suppose, the formal conclusion. The parable as given in Luke 14:16 ff. is not a Pauline modification of the one before us (Baur, Hilgenfeld), but is rather to be regarded as representing an imperfect version of it which had found its way into the document consulted by Luke. Others are of opinion that the parable in Luke 14:16 ff. is the more original of the two, and that here it is interwoven with another (Matthew 22:8 ff.), the introduction to which, however, has disappeared, and that, in the process, still a third feature (Matthew 22:6-7) has been added from the parable which precedes (Ewald, Schneckenburger, de Wette, Strauss, Weizsäcker, Keim, Scholten). But coming as it does after the remark of Matthew 21:45 f., a somewhat copious parable such as that before us, so far from being a mere heaping of passage upon passage, is intended to serve as a forcible concluding address directed against His obdurate enemies,—an address, too, which does not interrupt the connection, since it was delivered before those for whom it was intended had had time to withdraw (Matthew 22:15). As, in presence of such obduracy, thoughts of the divine love and of the divine wrath could not but crowd into the mind of Jesus; so, on the other hand, there could not fail to be something corresponding to this in their parabolic utterance.

Expositor's Greek Testament

Matthew 22:1-14. The royal wedding.—This parable is peculiar to Mt., and while in some respects very suitable to the situation, may not unreasonably be suspected to owe its place here to the evangelist’s habit of grouping kindred matter. The second part of the parable referring to the man without a wedding robe has no connection with the present situation, or with the Pharisees who are supposed to be addressed. Another question has been much discussed, viz., whether this parable was spoken by Jesus at all on any occasion, the idea of many critics being that it is a parable of Christ’s reconstructed by the evangelist or some other person, so as to make it cover the sin and fate of the Jews, the calling of the Gentiles, and the Divine demand tor righteousness in all recipients of His grace. The resemblance between this parable and that of the Supper, in Luke 14:16-24, is obvious. Assuming that Jesus uttered a parable of this type, the question arises: which of the two forms given by Mt. and Lk. comes nearer to the original? The general verdict is in favour of Luke’s. As to the question of the authenticity of Mt.’s parable, the mere fact that the two parables have a common theme and many features similar is no proof that both could not proceed from Jesus. Why should not the later parable be the same theme handled by the same Artist with variations so as to make it serve a different while connected purpose, the earlier being a parable of Grace, the later a parable of Judgment upon grace despised or abused? If the didactic aim of the two parables was as just indicated, the method of variation was preferable to the use of two parables totally unconnected. “What is common gives emphasis to what is peculiar, and bids us mark what it is that is judged” (The Parabolic Teaching of Christ, p. 463). The main objections to the authenticity of the parable are its allegorical character, and its too distinct anticipation of history. The former objection rests on the assumption that Jesus uttered no parables of the allegorical type. On this, vide remarks on the parable of the Sower, chap. 13.

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

Ch. Matthew 22:1-14. The Parable of the Royal Marriage Feast. Peculiar to St Matthew

The parable recorded by St Luke (Luke 14:16-24), though similar to this in some respects, differs in its context and special teaching and in many details.

As of the other parables of the Passion, the primary intention of this regards the present and the immediate future. The parable falls into two divisions, (1) Matthew 22:1-7; (2) Matthew 22:8-14. In the first (1) the servants are John Baptist and the first disciples of Christ; the feast is the Kingdom of God, or the Christian Church; the invited guests, who refuse to come, are the Jews; the vengeance taken was literally fulfilled at the siege of Jerusalem, a. d. 70. (2) This division relates to the preaching of the Gospel to the Gentiles. As in the Net (ch. Matthew 13:47) or in the Corn-field (ch. Matthew 13:24), worthy and unworthy are mingled until the King separates.

Bengel's Gnomen

Matthew 22:1. Ἀποκριθεὶς, answering) Not only he who has been questioned, but he also to whom a reason for speaking has been given, may rightly be said to answer.—πάλιν, again) construe this word with ἐν παραβολαῖς, in parables, i.e. with the design of putting forth more.

Pulpit Commentary

Verses 1-14. - Parable of the marriage of the king's son. (Peculiar to St. Matthew.) Verse 1. - Jesus answered and spake unto them. After they had heard our Lord's words at the end of the last chapter, the Pharisees, according to St. Mark, "left him, and went their way," so that this parable was spoken in the audience of the disciples and the attendant multitude alone, without the former disturbing element. This fact may account for its exhibiting certain merciful and gracious features, setting forth the privilege rather than the duty of obeying the gospel call. The term "answered" often does not signify a reply given to some distinct question, but is equivalent to "took occasion to observe" (comp. Matthew 11:25, etc.). Here the occasion was the insidious schemes of his enemies. Again. With reference to the two parables in the preceding chapter. Parables. The plural denotes the class to which the discourse belongs; or it may refer to the many parabolic details contained herein. Only one parable follows. This bears great resemblance to the parable of the great supper (Luke 14.), which, however, was spoken at an earlier period, in another locality, and with a different object, and disagrees in many details, especially in the absence of the wedding garment. Christ, doubtless, often repeated his parables with variations in particulars to suit time, audiences, and circumstances. Matthew 22:1