Matthew 22:1-14

| Matt 22 |

The Parable of the Wedding Feast

22 And again Jesus o spoke to them in parables, saying, 2 p “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave q a wedding feast for his son, 3 and r sent his servants [1] to call those who were invited to the wedding feast, but they would not come. 4 s Again he sent other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who are invited, See, I have prepared my t dinner, u my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding feast.’ 5 But v they paid no attention and went off, one to his farm, another to his business, 6 while the rest seized his servants, w treated them shamefully, and x killed them. 7 The king was angry, and he sent his troops and y destroyed those murderers and burned their city. 8 Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding feast is ready, but those invited were not z worthy. 9 Go therefore to the main roads and invite to the wedding feast as many as you find.’ 10 And those servants went out into the roads and b gathered all whom they found, both bad and good. So the wedding hall was filled with guests.

11 “But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there c a man who had no wedding garment. 12 And he said to him, d ‘Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless. 13 Then the king said to the attendants, ‘Bind him hand and foot and e cast him into the outer darkness. In that place e there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ 14 For many are f called, but few are f chosen.”

Translation Notes

[1] 22:3 Greek bondservants; also verses 4, 6, 8, 10

My Notes

ESV Study Bible Notes

Sign in or register to access ESV Study Bible notes or save your personal notes and highlights.

Your email address:

Have you created a password for the ESV Study Bible?


Forgot Your Password?

Enjoy this free preview of the ESV Study Bible notes.

Matt. 21:1–23:39 The Messiah Asserts His Authority over Jerusalem. Jesus' authority over Jerusalem is revealed in his triumphal entry (21:1–11), actions in the temple (21:12–17), cursing the fig tree (21:18–22), debates with religious leaders (21:23–22:46), and woes pronounced on the teachers of the law and the Pharisees (23:1–39).

Matt. 21:23–22:46 Controversies in the Temple Court over Jesus' Authority. On Tuesday of Holy Week, Jesus presents three extended parables showing God's judgment on the leaders for not encouraging the people to accept Jesus' invitation to the kingdom of heaven (21:28–22:14). This is followed by a series of four interactions as the religious leaders try to trap Jesus, who in turn reveals his true identity as the Son of God (22:15–46).

Matt. 22:1–14 The parable of the wedding feast describes the consequences that will befall the derelict religious leaders.

Matt. 22:1–2 wedding feast. In this case, a countrywide celebration that would have continued for several days. This “feast” represents enjoying fellowship with God in his kingdom, and coming to the feast thus represents entering the kingdom.

Matt. 22:3 they would not come. To refuse a direct invitation from the king would be an extreme insult and a dangerous affront to his authority.

Matt. 22:7 burned their city. An extreme punishment reserved for serious treason and revolt against the king; possibly an allusion to the forthcoming destruction of Jerusalem in a.d. 70.

Matt. 22:9 The wedding invitation to those not previously invited anticipates the spread of the gospel to the Gentiles (28:18–20; Acts 1:8; Rom. 1:16). Cf. note on Matt. 15:24.

Matt. 22:11 a man who had no wedding garment. Everyone was invited, but proper wedding attire was still expected. There are two possibilities for what this means: (1) There is some evidence in the ancient world for a king supplying garments for his guests (cf. Gen. 45:22; Est. 6:8–9), and, more broadly, there is the story of God clothing his unworthy people in beautiful garments (Ezek. 16:10–13). Jesus could thus be alluding to imputed righteousness, which Paul elaborates later (e.g., Rom. 3:21–31; 4:22–25). Thus by not wearing the garments provided, this guest has highly insulted the host. (2) The wedding garment may refer to a clean garment, symbolizing evidence of righteous works (see note on Matt. 5:20). In either case, the man lacks something that is essential for being accepted at the wedding feast.

Matt. 22:13 weeping and gnashing of teeth. A common description of eternal judgment (cf. 8:12; 13:42, 50; 24:51; 25:30).

Matt. 22:14 Many (Gk. polloi) are called means that many have been invited to the wedding feast. But not all those invited are actually the ones who are supposed to be there, because few are chosen. This has been described as the doctrine of a “general calling”: the gospel is proclaimed to all people everywhere, both those who will believe and those who will not. However, Paul also mentions another kind of calling, an effective calling from God that comes powerfully to individuals and brings a positive response. When the gospel is proclaimed, only some are effectively called—that is, those who are the elect, who respond with true faith (1 Cor. 1:24, 26–28). This is consistent with Jesus' statement that “few are chosen,” for the ones “chosen” (Gk. eklektos, “selected, chosen”) are “the elect,” a term used by Jesus to refer to his true disciples (cf. Matt. 11:27; 24:22, 24, 31; on the theme of election, see note on Rom. 9:11).