Mat 22:1-14 | Clarke | STEP | The parable of the marriage of a king's son, . The Pharisees and Herodians question him concerning the lawfulness of paying tribute to Caesar, . The Sadducees question him concerning the resurrection, . A lawyer questions him concerning the greatest commandment in the law, . He asks them their opinion of the Christ, and confounds them, .

Matthew 22:1-14

Introduction

The parable of the marriage of a king's son, Mat 22:1-14. The Pharisees and Herodians question him concerning the lawfulness of paying tribute to Caesar, Mat 22:15-22. The Sadducees question him concerning the resurrection, Mat 22:23-33. A lawyer questions him concerning the greatest commandment in the law, Mat 22:34-40. He asks them their opinion of the Christ, and confounds them, Mat 22:41-46. Verse 2

The kingdom of heaven - In Bereshith Rabba, sect. 62. fol. 60, there is a parable very similar to this, and another still more so in Sohar. Levit. fol. 40. But these rabbinical parables are vastly ennobled by passing through the hands of our Lord. It appears from Luke, Luk 14:15; etc., that it was at an entertainment that this parable was originally spoken. It was a constant practice of our Lord to take the subjects of his discourses from the persons present, or from the circumstances of times, persons, and places. See Mat 16:6; Joh 4:7-10; Joh 6:26, Joh 6:27; Joh 7:37. A preacher that can do so can never be at a loss for text or sermon.

A marriage for his son - A marriage feast, so the word γαμους properly means. Or a feast of inauguration, when his son was put in possession of the government, and thus he and his new subjects became married together. See 1Kgs 1:5-9, 1Kgs 1:19, 1Kgs 1:25, etc., where such a feast is mentioned.

From this parable it appears plain,

1. That the King means the great God.

2. His Son, the Lord Jesus.

3. The Marriage, his incarnation, or espousing human nature, by taking it into union with himself.

4. The Marriage Feast, the economy of the Gospel, during which men are invited to partake of the blessings purchased by, and consequent on, the incarnation and death of our blessed Lord.

5. By those who Had Been bidden, or invited, Mat 22:3, are meant the Jews in general, who had this union of Christ with human nature, and his sacrifice for sin, pointed out by various rites, ceremonies, and sacrifices under the law; and who, by all the prophets, had been constantly invited to believe in and receive the promised Messiah.

6. By the Servants, we are to understand the first preachers of the Gospel, proclaiming salvation to the Jews. John the Baptist and the seventy disciples (Luk 10:1), may be here particularly intended.

7. By the Other Servants, Mat 22:4, the apostles seem to be meant, who, though they were to preach the Gospel to the whole world, yet were to begin at Jerusalem (Luk 24:47) with the first offers of mercy.

8. By their making light of it, etc., Mat 22:5, is pointed out their neglect of this salvation, and their preferring secular enjoyments, etc., to the kingdom of Christ.

9. By injuriously using some, and slaying others, of his servants, Mat 22:6, is pointed out the persecution raised against the apostles by the Jews, in which some of them were martyred.

10. By sending forth his troops, Mat 22:7, is meant the commission given to the Romans against Judea; and, burning up their city, the total destruction of Jerusalem by Titus, the son of Vespasian, which happened about forty-one years after.

On this parable it is necessary to remark,

1. That man was made at first in union with God.

2. That sin entered in, and separated between God and man.

3. That as there can be no holiness but in union with God, and no heaven without holiness, therefore he provided a way to reconcile and reunite man to himself.

4. This was effected by Christ's uniting himself to human nature, and giving his Spirit to those who believe.

5. That as the marriage union is the closest, the most intimate, solemn, and excellent, of all the connections formed among mortals, and that they who are thus united in the Lord are one flesh; so that mystical union which is formed between God and the soul through Jesus Christ, by the Eternal Spirit, is the closest, most intimate, solemn, and excellent, that can be conceived; for he who is thus joined unto the Lord is one spirit.

6. This contract is made freely: no man can be forced to it, for it is a union of will to will, heart to heart; and it is by willing and consenting that we come unto God through his Son.

7. That if this marriage do not take place here, an eternal separation from God, and from the glory of his power, shall be the fearful consequence.

8. That there are three states in which men run the risk of living without God and losing their souls. 1st. That of a soft, idle, voluptuous life, wherein a man thinks of nothing but quietly to enjoy life, conveniences, riches, private pleasures, and public diversions. They made light of it. 2dly. That of a man wholly taken up with agricultural or commercial employments, in which the love of riches, and application to the means of acquiring them, generally stifle all thoughts of salvation. One went to his own field, and another to his traffic. 3dly. That of a man who is openly unjust, violent, and outrageously wicked, who is a sinner by profession, and not only neglects his salvation, but injuriously treats all those who bring him the Gospel of reconciliation. Seizing his servants, they treated them injuriously, etc. Verse 4

Fatlings - Τα σιτιϚα Properly, fatted rams, or wethers. 2Sam 6:13; 1Chr 15:26. Verse 7

But when the king - Himself or, this very king. I have added εκεινος on the authority of nine of the most ancient MSS. and nearly one hundred others; the later Syriac, six copies of the Itala, and some of the fathers. Several printed editions have it, and Griesbach has received it into the text. Verse 8

Were not worthy - Because they made light of it, and would not come; preferring earthly things to heavenly blessings. Among the Mohammedans, refusal to come to a marriage feast, when invited, is considered a breach of the law of God. Hedayah, vol. iv. p. 91. Any one that shall be invited to a dinner, and does not accept the invitation, disobeys God, and his messenger: and any one who comes uninvited, you may say is a thief, and returns a plunderer. - Mischat ul Mesabih. It was probably considered in this light among all the oriental nations. This observation is necessary, in order to point out more forcibly the iniquity of the refusal mentioned in the text. A man may be said to be worthy of, or fit for, this marriage feast, when, feeling his wretchedness and misery, he comes to God in the way appointed, to get an entrance into the holiest, by the blood of Jesus. Verse 9

Go ye therefore into the highways - Διεξοδους των οδων, cross or by-paths; the places where two or more roads met in one, leading into the city, where people were coming together from various quarters of the country. St. Luke adds hedges, to point out the people to whom the apostles were sent, as either miserable vagabonds, or the most indigent poor, who were wandering about the country, or sitting by the sides of the ways and hedges, imploring relief. This verse points out the final rejection of the Jews, and the calling of the Gentiles. It was a custom among the Jews, when a rich man made a feast, to go out and invite in all destitute travelers. See in Rab. Beracoth, fol. 43.

As many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage - God sends his salvation to every soul, that all may believe and be saved. Verse 10

Gathered together all - both bad and good - By the preaching of the Gospel, multitudes of souls are gathered into what is generally termed the visible Church of Christ.

This Church is the Floor, where the wheat and the chaff are often mingled, Mat 3:12.

The Field, where the bastard wheat and the true grain grow together, Mat 13:26, Mat 13:27.

The Net, which collects of all kinds, both good and bad, Mat 13:48.

The House in which the wise and foolish are found, Mat 25:1, etc.

And the Fold, in which there are both sheep and goats, Mat 25:33; etc. Verse 11

When the king came - When God shall come to judge the world.

Wedding garment - Among the orientals, long white robes were worn at public festivals; and those who appeared on such occasions with any other garments were esteemed, not only highly culpable, but worthy of punishment. Our Lord seems here to allude to Zep 1:7, Zep 1:8, The Lord hath prepared a Sacrifice, he hath Bidden his guests. And it shall come to pass, in the day of the Lord's sacrifice, that I will Punish the princes, and the King's Children, and All Such as are clothed with Strange Apparel. The person who invited the guests prepared such a garment for each, for the time being; and with which he was furnished on his application to the ruler of the feast. It was this which made the conduct of the person mentioned in the text inexcusable; he might have had a proper marriage garment, if he had applied for it.

To afford accidental guests clothing suitable to a marriage feast, was a custom among the ancient Greeks. Homer relates that Telemachus, and the son of Nestor, arriving at Lacedaemon when Menelaus was making a marriage feast for his son and daughter, were accommodated with garments suited to the occasion, after having been bathed and anointed. Τους δ' επει ουν δρωμαι λουσαν και χρισαν ελαιῳ, Αμφι δ' αρα χλαινας ουλας βαλον ηδε χιτωνας, Ες ρα θρονους εζοντο παρ' Ατρειδην Μενελαον

Odyss. l. iv. ver. 49-51

They entered each a bath, and by the hands

Of maidens laved, and oiled, and clothed again

With shaggy mantles and resplendent vests,

Sat both enthroned at Menelaus' side.

Cowper

Among the Asiatics, garments called caftans, great numbers of which each nobleman has ordinarily ready in his wardrobe, are given to persons whom he wishes to honor: to refuse to accept or wear such a dress would be deemed the highest insult.

This marriage feast or dinner (the communication of the graces of the Gospel in this life) prepares for the marriage supper of the Lamb, Rev 19:7-9, the enjoyment of eternal blessedness in the kingdom of glory. Now, as without holiness no man can see the Lord, we may at once perceive what our Lord means by the marriage garment - it is Holiness of heart and life: the text last quoted asserts that the fine, white, and clean linen (alluding to the marriage garment above mentioned) was an emblem of the Righteousness of the Saints. Mark this expression: the righteousness, the whole external conduct; regulated according to the will and word of God. Of the Saints, the holy persons, whose souls were purified by the blood of the Lamb. Verse 12

He saith unto him, Friend - Rather, companion: so εταιρε should be translated. As this man represents the state of a person in the visible Church, who neglects to come unto the master of the feast for a marriage garment, for the salvation which Christ has procured, he cannot be with any propriety called a friend, but may well be termed a companion, as being a member of the visible Church, and present at all those ordinances where Christ's presence and blessing are found, by all those who sincerely wait upon him for salvation.

How camest thou in hither - Why profess to be called by my name while living without a preparation for my kingdom?

He was speechless - Εφιμωθη, he was muzzled, or gagged. He had nothing to say in vindication of his neglect. There was a garment provided, but he neither put it on, nor applied for it. His conduct, therefore, was in the highest degree insulting and indecorous. As this man is the emblem, by general consent, of those who shall perish in the last day, may we not ask, without offense, Where does the doctrine of absolute reprobation or preterition appear in his case? If Christ had never died for him, or if he had applied for the garment, and was refused, might he not well have alleged this in behalf of his soul? - and would not the just God have listened to it? But there is not the smallest excuse for him: Christ died, the sacrifice was offered, for him; the ministers of the Gospel invited him; the Holy Spirit strove with him; he might have been saved, but he was not: and the fault lies so absolutely at his own door that the just God is vindicated in his conduct, while he sends him to hell, not for the lack of what he could not get, but for the lack of what he might have had, but either neglected or refused it.

Then said the king to the servants - To the ministering angels, executors of the Divine will.

Cast him into outer darkness - The Jewish marriages were performed in the night season, and the hall where the feast was made was superbly illuminated; the outer darkness means, therefore, the darkness on the outside of this festal hall; rendered still more gloomy to the person who was suddenly thrust out into it from such a profusion of light. See all this largely treated of on Mat 8:12 (note). Verse 14

Many are called, etc. - This verse is wanting in one of Colbert's MSS., marked 33 in Griesbach. See the note on Mat 20:16. Many are called by the preaching of the Gospel into the outward communion of the Church of Christ; but few, comparatively, are chosen to dwell with God in glory, because they do not come to the master of the feast for a marriage garment - for that holiness without which none can see the Lord. This is an allusion to the Roman custom of raising their militia; all were mustered, but only those were chosen to serve, who were found proper. See the note on Mat 20:16. Reader! examine thy soul, and make sure work for eternity!