Mat 22 | BSB | STEP | [Once] again, Jesus spoke to them in parables:

Matthew 22

The Parable of the Banquet

1 [Once] again, Jesus spoke to them in parables: 2 “The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son. 3 He sent his servants to call those he had invited to the banquet, but they refused to come. 4 Again, he sent other servants [and] said, ‘Tell those who have been invited that I have prepared my dinner. My oxen and fattened cattle have been killed, and everything [is] ready. Come to the wedding banquet.’ 5 But they paid no attention [and] went away, one to his field, another to his business. 6 The rest seized his servants, mistreated [them] , and killed [them] . 7 The king was enraged, and he sent his troops to destroy those murderers and burn their city. 8 Then he said to his servants, ‘ - The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited were not worthy. 9 Go therefore to the crossroads and invite to the banquet as many as you can find.’ 10 So the servants went out into the streets [and] gathered everyone they could find, both evil and good, and the wedding hall was filled with guests. 11 But when the king came in to see the guests, he spotted a man [who was] not dressed in wedding clothes. 12 ‘Friend,’ he asked, ‘how did you get in here without wedding clothes?’ But [the man] was speechless. 13 Then the king told the servants, ‘Tie him hand and foot [and] throw him outside into the outer darkness, [where] there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ 14 For many are called, but few [are] chosen.”

Paying Taxes to Caesar

15 Then the Pharisees went out [and] plotted to trap [Jesus] in His words. 16 They sent their disciples to Him along with the Herodians. “Teacher,” they said, “we know that You are honest and [that] You teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. You defer to no one, because You pay no attention to external appearance. 17 So tell us what You think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not?” 18 But Jesus knew their evil intent [and] said, “You hypocrites, why are you testing Me? 19 Show Me the coin used for the tax.” And they brought Him a denarius. ^{▼▼A denarius was customarily a day's wage for a laborer (see Matthew 20:2)} 20 “Whose image [is] this,” He asked, “and whose inscription?” 21 “Caesar’s,” they answered. So [Jesus] told them, “Give to Caesar what [is] Caesar’s, and to God what [is] God’s.” 22 And when they heard [this] , they were amazed. So they left Him [and] went away.

The Sadducees and the Resurrection

23 That [same] day [the] Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to [Jesus] and questioned Him. 24 “Teacher,” they said, “Moses declared that if a man dies without having children, his brother is to marry the widow and raise up offspring for [him] . 25 Now there were seven brothers among us. The first [one] married and died without having children. [So] he left his wife to his brother. 26 The same thing happened to the second and third [brothers] , down to the seventh. 27 And last of all, the woman died. 28 In the resurrection, then, whose wife will she be of the seven? For all of them were married to her.” 29 Jesus answered, “You are mistaken [because] you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God. 30 In the resurrection, [people] will neither marry nor be given in marriage. Instead, they will be like [the] angels ^{▼▼SBL, BYZ and TR the angels of God} in heaven. 31 But concerning the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what God said to you: 32 ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob?’ ^{▼▼Exodus 3:6} He is not the God of [the] dead, but of [the] living.” 33 When the crowds heard [this] , they were astonished at His teaching.

The Greatest Commandment

34 And [when] the Pharisees heard that [Jesus] had silenced the Sadducees, they themselves gathered together. 35 One of them, an expert in the law, tested Him with a question: 36 “Teacher, which commandment [is the] greatest in the Law?” 37 [Jesus] declared, “‘Love [the] Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ ^{▼▼Deuteronomy 6:5} 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And [the] second [is] like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ ^{▼▼Leviticus 19:18} 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

Whose Son is the Christ?

41 While the Pharisees were assembled, Jesus questioned them: 42 “What {do} you think about the Christ? Whose son is He?” “ - David’s,” they answered. 43 [Jesus] said to them, “How then {does} David in [the] Spirit call Him Lord? [For] he says: 44 ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, until I put Your enemies under Your feet.”’ ^{▼▼Psalm 110:1} 45 So if David calls Him Lord, how can He be [David’s] son?” 46 No one was able to answer a word, [and] from that day [on] [no one] dared to question Him [any] further.