What different questions and answers fill this chapter?

Atlas of Saints · Chapter summary

The marriage parable is followed by questions about tribute, resurrection and the great commandment, then Jesus’ question concerning David’s Lord.

Chapter breakdown

# Matthew 22

Jesus again speaks in parables, likening heaven’s kingdom to a king making a marriage for his son. Invited people refuse the first summons. At a second summons, they are told the dinner, beeves and fatlings are ready; some neglect it for farm or merchandise, while the rest abuse and kill the servants. The angry king sends armies, destroys the murderers and burns their city. Declaring the invitees unworthy, he sends servants to the highways to call everyone found. Both bad and good are gathered, filling the marriage with guests. The king asks a man without a wedding garment how he entered; the man is silent. The king orders him bound hand and foot and cast into exterior darkness, with weeping and gnashing of teeth. Jesus concludes that many are called but few chosen. No garment symbolism is supplied in this span.

Pharisees consult about trapping Jesus in his speech and send their disciples with Herodians. They praise him as truthful, teaching God’s way and not respecting persons, then ask whether paying Caesar tribute is lawful. Knowing their wickedness, he calls them hypocrites and asks for the tribute coin. They offer a penny. Asked whose image and inscription it bears, they answer Caesar’s. He tells them to render Caesar’s things to Caesar and God’s things to God. They wonder and depart. **Source commentary:** the Herodian note describes followers of Herod who supported tribute to the Roman emperor. It separately preserves the opinion of some that a Jewish sect called Herodians held Herod to be the Messias; it does not present that opinion as certain.

That day Sadducees, who deny resurrection, cite Moses’ direction that a brother marry a childless deceased brother’s wife to raise issue. They present seven brothers who successively marry one woman and die without issue; she dies last. They ask whose wife she will be at resurrection. Jesus says they err through ignorance of Scripture and God’s power: at resurrection people neither marry nor are married but are as God’s angels in heaven. He cites God’s identification as the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and says God is of the living rather than the dead. The multitudes admire his doctrine.

After hearing that the Sadducees have been silenced, the Pharisees gather. A doctor of the law tempts Jesus by asking the great commandment. Jesus names loving God with whole heart, soul and mind as the greatest and first; loving one’s neighbor as oneself is the second like it. On these two depend the law and prophets. Jesus then asks whose son Christ is; they say David’s. He asks why David in spirit calls him Lord, citing the saying of sitting at the Lord’s right hand until enemies are made a footstool. If David calls him Lord, how is he his son? Nobody can answer, and from that day nobody dares to ask further questions. The text does not add “merely human” to Jesus’ question.

The story inside

The parable gives two summonses and a gathered feast; the subsequent encounters end with the unanswered question about Christ.

Lessons worth keeping

1
The Herodian sect explanation remains an opinion of some in the note.
2
The garment is described without an added grace-and-charity interpretation.
3
Resurrected people are said to be as angels, not to become angels.

Test your recall

Marriage garment; Caesar’s coin; seven brothers; love of God and neighbor; David’s Lord.

Source edition and notes

Douay–Rheims, revised by Richard Challoner (1749–1752). Project Gutenberg no. 1581. Locators refer to lines in the admitted pg1581.txt edition. Source notes may include Challoner commentary.

Lines 113093–113171
Matthew Chapter 22 The parable of the marriage feast. Christ orders tribute to be paid to Caesar. He confutes the Sadducees, shews which is the first commandment in the law and puzzles the Pharisees. 22:1. And Jesus answering, spoke again in parables to them, saying: 22:2. The kingdom of heaven is likened to a king who made a marriage for his son. 22:3. And he sent his servants to call them that were invited to the marriage: and they would not come. 22:4. Again he sent other servants, saying: Tell them that were invited, Behold, I have prepared my dinner: my beeves and fatlings are killed, and all things are ready. Come ye to the marriage. 22:5. But they neglected and went their ways, one to his farm and another to his merchandise. 22:6. And the rest laid hands on his servants and, having treated them contumeliously, put them to death. 22:7. But when the king had heard of it, he was angry: and sending his armies, he destroyed those murderers and burnt their city. 22:8. Then he saith to his servants: The marriage indeed is ready; but they that were invited were not worthy. 22:9. Go ye therefore into the highways; and as many as you shall find, call to the marriage. 22:10. And his servants going forth into the ways, gathered together all that they found, both bad and good: and the marriage was filled with guests. 22:11. And the king went in to see the guests: and he saw there a man who had not on a wedding garment. 22:12. And he saith to him: Friend, how camest thou in hither not having on a wedding garment? But he was silent. 22:13. Then the king said to the waiters: Bind his hands and feet, and cast him into the exterior darkness. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 22:14. For many are called, but few are chosen. 22:15. Then the Pharisees going, consulted among themselves how to insnare him in his speech. 22:16. And they sent to him their disciples with the Herodians, saying: Master, we know that thou art a true speaker and teachest the way of God in truth. Neither carest thou for any man: for thou dost not regard the person of men. The Herodians.... That is, some that belonged to Herod, and that joined with him in standing up for the necessity of paying tribute to Caesar, that is, to the Roman emperor. Some are of opinion that there was a sect among the Jews called Herodians, from their maintaining that Herod was the Messias. 22:17. Tell us therefore what dost thou think? Is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar, or not? 22:18. But Jesus knowing their wickedness, said: Why do you tempt me, ye hypocrites? 22:19. Shew me the coin of the tribute. And they offered him a penny. 22:20. And Jesus saith to them: Whose image and inscription is this? 22:21. They say to him: Caesar’s. Then he saith to them: Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s; and to God, the things that are God’s. 22:22. And hearing this, they wondered and, leaving him, went their ways.
Lines 113173–113240
22:23. That day there came to him the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection; and asked him, 22:24. Saying: Master, Moses said: If a man die having no son, his brother shall marry his wife and raise up issue to his brother. 22:25. Now there were with us seven brethren: and the first having married a wife, died; and not having issue, left his wife to his brother. 22:26. In like manner the second and the third and so on, to the seventh. 22:27. And last of all the woman died also. 22:28. At the resurrection therefore, whose wife of the seven shall she be? For they all had her. 22:29. And Jesus answering, said to them: You err, not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God. 22:30. For in the resurrection they shall neither marry nor be married, but shall be as the angels of God in heaven. 22:31. And concerning the resurrection of the dead, have you not read that which was spoken by God, saying to you: 22:32. I am the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob? He is not the God of the dead but of the living. 22:33. And the multitudes hearing it were in admiration at his doctrine. 22:34. But the Pharisees, hearing that he had silenced the Sadducees, came together. 22:35. And one of them, a doctor of the law, asked him, tempting him: 22:36. Master, which is the great commandment in the law? 22:37. Jesus said to him: Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart and with thy whole soul and with thy whole mind. 22:38. This is the greatest and the first commandment. 22:39. And the second is like to this: Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 22:40. On these two commandments dependeth the whole law and the prophets. 22:41. And the Pharisees being gathered together, Jesus asked them, 22:42. Saying: What think you of Christ? Whose son is he? They say to him: David’s. 22:43. He saith to them: How then doth David in spirit call him Lord, saying: 22:44. The Lord said to my Lord: Sit on my right hand, until I make thy enemies thy footstool? 22:45. If David then call him Lord, how is he his son? 22:46. And no man was able to answer him a word: neither durst any man from that day forth ask him any more questions.