Matthew 22 :: New Living Translation (NLT)

Parable of the Great Feast

(Luk 14:15–24 )

Mat 22:1Jesus also told them other parables. He said,

Mat 22:2“The Kingdom of Heaven can be illustrated by the story of a king who prepared a great wedding feast for his son.

Mat 22:3

Mat 22:3When the banquet was ready, he sent his servants to notify those who were invited. But they all refused to come!

Mat 22:4

Mat 22:4“So he sent other servants to tell them, ‘The feast has been prepared. The bulls and fattened cattle have been killed, and everything is ready. Come to the banquet!’

Mat 22:5

Mat 22:5But the guests he had invited ignored them and went their own way, one to his farm, another to his business.

Mat 22:6

Mat 22:6Others seized his messengers and insulted them and killed them.

Mat 22:7

Mat 22:7“The king was furious, and he sent out his army to destroy the murderers and burn their town.

Mat 22:8

Mat 22:8And he said to his servants, ‘The wedding feast is ready, and the guests I invited aren’t worthy of the honor.

Mat 22:9

Mat 22:9Now go out to the street corners and invite everyone you see.’

Mat 22:10

Mat 22:10So the servants brought in everyone they could find, good and bad alike, and the banquet hall was filled with guests.

Mat 22:11

Mat 22:11“But when the king came in to meet the guests, he noticed a man who wasn’t wearing the proper clothes for a wedding.

Mat 22:12

Mat 22:12‘Friend,’ he asked, ‘how is it that you are here without wedding clothes?’ But the man had no reply.

Mat 22:13

Mat 22:13Then the king said to his aides, ‘Bind his hands and feet and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

Mat 22:14

Mat 22:14“For many are called, but few are chosen.”

Taxes for Caesar

(Mar 12:13–17; Luk 20:20–26 )

Mat 22:15

Mat 22:15Then the Pharisees met together to plot how to trap Jesus into saying something for which he could be arrested.

Mat 22:16

Mat 22:16They sent some of their disciples, along with the supporters of Herod, to meet with him. “Teacher,” they said, “we know how honest you are. You teach the way of God truthfully. You are impartial and don’t play favorites.

Mat 22:17

Mat 22:17Now tell us what you think about this: Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”

Mat 22:18

Mat 22:18But Jesus knew their evil motives. “You hypocrites!” he said. “Why are you trying to trap me?

Mat 22:19

Mat 22:19Here, show me the coin used for the tax.” When they handed him a Roman coin,[fn]

Mat 22:20

Mat 22:20he asked, “Whose picture and title are stamped on it?”

Mat 22:21

Mat 22:21“Caesar’s,” they replied. “Well, then,” he said, “give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and give to God what belongs to God.”

Mat 22:22

Mat 22:22His reply amazed them, and they went away.

Discussion about Resurrection

(Mar 12:18–27; Luk 20:27–40 )

Mat 22:23

Mat 22:23That same day Jesus was approached by some Sadducees—religious leaders who say there is no resurrection from the dead. They posed this question:

Mat 22:24

Mat 22:24“Teacher, Moses said, ‘If a man dies without children, his brother should marry the widow and have a child who will carry on the brother’s name.’[fn]

Mat 22:25

Mat 22:25Well, suppose there were seven brothers. The oldest one married and then died without children, so his brother married the widow.

Mat 22:26

Mat 22:26But the second brother also died, and the third brother married her. This continued with all seven of them.

Mat 22:27

Mat 22:27Last of all, the woman also died.

Mat 22:28

Mat 22:28So tell us, whose wife will she be in the resurrection? For all seven were married to her.”

Mat 22:29

Mat 22:29Jesus replied, “Your mistake is that you don’t know the Scriptures, and you don’t know the power of God.

Mat 22:30

Mat 22:30For when the dead rise, they will neither marry nor be given in marriage. In this respect they will be like the angels in heaven.

Mat 22:31

Mat 22:31“But now, as to whether there will be a resurrection of the dead—haven’t you ever read about this in the Scriptures? Long after Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had died, God said,[fn]

Mat 22:32

Mat 22:32‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’[fn] So he is the God of the living, not the dead.”

Mat 22:33

Mat 22:33When the crowds heard him, they were astounded at his teaching.

The Most Important Commandment

(Mar 12:28–34; Luk 10:25–28 )

Mat 22:34

Mat 22:34But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees with his reply, they met together to question him again.

Mat 22:35

Mat 22:35One of them, an expert in religious law, tried to trap him with this question:

Mat 22:36

Mat 22:36“Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?”

Mat 22:37

Mat 22:37Jesus replied, “‘You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’[fn]

Mat 22:38

Mat 22:38This is the first and greatest commandment.

Mat 22:39

Mat 22:39A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[fn]

Mat 22:40

Mat 22:40The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”

Whose Son Is the Messiah?

(Mar 12:35–37; Luk 20:41–44 )

Mat 22:41

Mat 22:41Then, surrounded by the Pharisees, Jesus asked them a question:

Mat 22:42

Mat 22:42“What do you think about the Messiah? Whose son is he?”
They replied, “He is the son of David.”

Mat 22:43

Mat 22:43Jesus responded, “Then why does David, speaking under the inspiration of the Spirit, call the Messiah ‘my Lord’? For David said,

Mat 22:44

Mat 22:44‘The LORD said to my Lord,
Sit in the place of honor at my right hand
until I humble your enemies beneath your feet.’[fn]

Mat 22:45

Mat 22:45Since David called the Messiah ‘my Lord,’ how can the Messiah be his son?”

Mat 22:46

Mat 22:46No one could answer him. And after that, no one dared to ask him any more questions.

See the NLT Preface (Especially for Parenthesis, Brackets, & Asterisks).

NLT Footnotes

Greek a denarius.

Greek read about this? God said.

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For more information on this translation, see the NLT Preface.