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22:1  Jesus again used ·stories [parables] to teach them. He said,
22:2  “The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding ·feast [banquet] for his son.
22:3  When the ·feast [banquet] was ready, the king sent his servants to ·tell [inform; call] the people who had been invited, but they refused to come.
22:4  “Then the king sent other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who have been invited that my ·feast [banquet] is ready. I have killed my best ·bulls [or oxen] and [L fattened] calves for the dinner, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding ·feast [banquet].’
22:5  “But the people ·refused to listen [paid no attention] to the servants and ·left to do other things [went their own way]. One went to ·work in his field [his field/farm], and another went to his business.
22:6  ·Some of the other people [or The rest] grabbed the servants, ·beat [mistreated; insulted] them, and killed them.
22:7  The king was furious and sent his army to ·kill [destroy] the murderers and burn their city [C probably an allusion to the destruction of Jerusalam in ad 70].
22:8  “After that, the king said to his servants, ‘The wedding ·feast [banquet] is ready. I invited those people, but they ·were not worthy [do not deserve] to come.
22:9  So go to the ·street corners [crossroads; or main roads] and invite everyone you find to come to my ·feast [banquet].’
22:10  So the servants went into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, both good and ·bad [evil]. And the wedding hall was filled with guests.
22:11  “[L But] When the king came in to see the guests, he saw a man who was not dressed ·for a wedding [in wedding clothes].
22:12  The king said, ‘Friend, how were you allowed to come in here? You are not dressed for a wedding.’ But the man ·said nothing [was speechless/silent].
22:13  So the king told some servants, ‘Tie this man’s hands and feet. Throw him out into the ·darkness [darkness outside; or outermost darkness], where ·people will cry and grind their teeth with pain [L there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth; C symbols of agony and torment].’
22:14  “·Yes [L For], many are ·invited [called], but only a few are chosen.”
22:15  Then the Pharisees left that place and ·made plans [plotted] to ·trap [catch] Jesus in ·saying something wrong [his words].
22:16  They sent some of their own ·followers [disciples] and some people from the group called Herodians [C a political group that supported king Herod and his family]. They said, “Teacher, we know that you are ·an honest man [true; sincere] and that you teach ·the truth [with sincerity/honesty] about God’s way. You are not ·afraid of [L concerned about] what other people think about you, because you ·pay no attention to who they are [play no favorites; are impartial; aren’t swayed by appearances].
22:17  So tell us what you think. Is it ·right [permissible; lawful] to pay taxes to Caesar or not?” [C Saying “yes” would anger Jews who hated Roman rule; saying “no” could result in being charged with insurrection.]
22:18  But knowing ·that these leaders were trying to trick him [their evil/malicious motives], Jesus said, “You hypocrites! Why are you ·trying to trap [testing] me?
22:19  Show me a coin used for paying the tax.” So the men ·showed him a coin [L brought him a denarius; C a Roman coin worth a day’s wages].
22:20  Then Jesus asked, “Whose ·image [likeness; portrait] and ·name [inscription] are on the coin?”
22:21  The men answered, “Caesar’s.” [C Ironically, the religious leaders were carrying coins bearing the idolatrous image of Caesar.] Then Jesus said to them, “·Give [T Render] to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and give to God the things that are God’s.”
22:22  When the men heard what Jesus said, they were amazed and left him and went away.
22:23  That same day some Sadducees came to Jesus and asked him a question. (Sadducees believed that people would not rise from the dead.)
22:24  They said, “Teacher, Moses said if a married man dies without having children, his brother must marry the widow and ·have children [L raise up offspring/seed] for him [Deut. 25:5].
22:25  Once there were seven brothers among us. The first one married and died. Since he had no ·children [offspring], his brother married the widow.
22:26  Then the second brother also died. The same thing happened to the third brother ·and all the other brothers [L down to the seventh].
22:27  Finally, the woman died.
22:28  Since all seven men had married her, ·when people rise from the dead [L at the resurrection], whose wife will she be?”
22:29  Jesus answered, “You ·don’t understand [are mistaken/deceived], because you don’t know what the Scriptures say, and you don’t know about the power of God.
22:30  [L For] ·When people rise from the dead [L At the resurrection], they will not marry, nor will they be given to someone to marry. They will be like the angels in heaven.
22:31  ·Surely you have read [L Have you not read…?] what God said to you ·about rising [concerning the resurrection] from the dead.
22:32  God said, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob [Ex. 3:6; C God is still the God of the patriarchs, so they must have a continued existence after death].’ God is the God of the living, not the dead.”
22:33  When the people heard this, they were ·amazed [astounded] at Jesus’ teaching.
22:34  When the Pharisees learned that ·the Sadducees could not argue with Jesus’ answers to them [L Jesus had silenced the Sadducees], the Pharisees met together.
22:35  One Pharisee, who was an expert on the law of Moses, asked Jesus this question to ·test [trap] him:
22:36  “Teacher, which command in the law is the ·most important [greatest]?”
22:37  Jesus answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind [Deut. 6:5].’
22:38  This is the first and ·most important [greatest] command.
22:39  And the second command is like the first: ‘Love your neighbor as you love yourself [Lev. 19:18].’
22:40  All the law and the ·writings of the prophets [L prophets] ·depend [are based; L hang] on these two commands.”
22:41  While the Pharisees were together, Jesus asked them,
22:42  “What do you think about the ·Christ [Messiah]? Whose ·son [descendant] is he?” They answered, “The Son of David [see 2 Sam. 7:12].”
22:43  Then Jesus said to them, “Then why did David call him ‘Lord’? David, speaking ·by the power of the Holy Spirit [L in/by the Spirit], said,
22:44  ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit by me at my right ·side [L hand; C the place of greatest honor beside the king], until I put your enemies ·under your control [L beneath your feet; C meaning defeated or made subject to your authority; Ps. 110:1].”’
22:45  David calls ·the Christ [the Messiah; L him] ‘Lord,’ so how can ·the Christ [the Messiah; L he] be his son?”
22:46  ·None of the Pharisees [L No one] could answer ·Jesus’ question [a word], and after that day no one ·was brave enough [dared] to ask him any more questions.