Mark states (Matthew 12:12) that, after the parable of the wicked husbandmen the rulers ‘left Him and went their way; ‘hence this parable (peculiar to Matthew) was not spoken directly to the rulers. Matthew 22:1, however, indicates that it was aimed at their thoughts and designs. The parable in Luke... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 22:1. ANSWERED. See above. AGAIN IN PARABLES; not necessarily, in a number of parables, but in parabolic discourse.... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 22:2. A MAN THAT WAS A KING. Evidently God: the householder of the former parable. A MARRIAGE FEAST FOR HIS SON. The word includes any great feast, but here a marriage feast is meant, since the word ‘son' must not be thrown into the background. It was Christ's marriage, _i.e._, with His cov... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 22:3. HIS SERVANTS. In this prophetic parable, not the prophets but the first messengers of the gospel. TO CALL THEM THAT WERE BIDDEN. The Oriental custom was to invite twice: first to the feast generally (‘bidden'), then to the beginning of the feast itself (‘call'). Those ‘bidden' were t... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 22:4. OTHER SERVANTS, with a plainer message, probably the Apostles and Evangelists, as they proclaimed the full gospel to the Jews from the day of Pentecost. I HAVE MADE READY MY DINNER (not ‘supper,' Luke 14:16). The series of wedding feasts began with a dinner, preceding the actual marr... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 22:5. BUT THEY MADE LIGHT OF IT. All had a guilty contempt for the invitation which was manifested however in two distinct forms: Some WENT AWAY, in indifferent worldliness; others became persecutors of the messengers (Matthew 22:6). Many refer ‘made light of it' to the indifferent class alo... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 22:6. BUT THE REST. Representing the fanatical rulers of the Jews, the Pharisees. TREATED THEM SHAMEFULLY AND SLEW THEM. Literally fulfilled, in case of the Apostles and Evangelists. Indifference often passes into hostility, as the more consistent attitude.... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 22:7. HE SENT HIS ARMIES. The Roman armies which destroyed Jerusalem were the unconscious instruments of God's (the king's) wrath. Comp. Isaiah 10:5; Isaiah 13:5; Jeremiah 25:9; Joel 2:25. DESTROYED THESE MURDERERS. Both the indifferent and hostile, alike guilty. BURNED THEIR CITY. Jerusa... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 22:8. NOT WORTHY. Compare Paul's language to the Jews at Antioch in Pisidia (Acts 13:46): ‘judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life.'... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 22:9. THE PARTINGS OF THE HIGHWAYS. Places where streets meet, public squares, etc., in the king's city, God's world, not Jerusalem. Some refer it to the outlets of country-roads, of highways, in the English sense, applying it to the going out into the distant world to invite the Gentiles. I... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 22:10. AND THOSE SERVANTS. Including all gospel messengers ever since. BOTH BAD AND GOOD. All kinds of people, without regard to their apparent moral character. The acceptance of the invitation was (and is) the great concern of the king's servants. AND THE WEDDING WAS FILLED WITH GUESTS.... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 22:11. TO LOOK UPON THE GUESTS. The Pharisees and all legalists think the opening of the doors leads to unrighteousness, there follows therefore a hint of the gospel method of righteousness. The coming in judgment (comp. Zephaniah 1:7-8) is represented as taking place at the feast, and hence... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 22:12. FRIEND. The word used in chap. Matthew 20:13, and addressed to Judas (chap. Matthew 26:50). It means ‘companion,' without implying friendship. HOW CAMEST THOU! It was a bold intrusion, a despising of the king, to appear in his own ordinary dress. This points to the pride of self-rig... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 22:13. THE ATTENDANTS. A different word from that used before, referring not to the ‘servants' who invited, nor to the guests, but probably to angels, as ministers of judgment. BIND HIM HAND AND FOOT. For secure transfer to his place of punishment. The best authorities omit, ‘and take him... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 22:14. FOR MANY ARE CALLED. A proverbial expression; see chap. Matthew 20:16. Here the application is more general. The ‘called' are all those invited, both Jews and Gentiles. BUT FEW CHOSEN. The general sense is: Few pass safely through the two stages of sifting. The one man in the parabl... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 22:15. THEN WENT THE PHARISEES. The main element, no doubt, in the deputation which had assailed Him. ENSNARE HIM IN SPEECH. This mode of attack was adopted in view of the complete failure of the last attempt, and was the most artful of all.... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 22:15-22. THE ATTACK OF THE YOUNG PHARISEES AND THE HERODIANS, attempting to involve Him in political difficulty.... [ Continue Reading ]
The defeated and embittered Pharisees send the Herodians to ensnare our Lord with a political question. The reply sends them away in astonishment (Matthew 22:15-21). The Sadducees now appear with a flippant question, probably intended to provoke a new conflict with the Pharisees. The answer produces... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 22:16. THEIR DISCIPLES WITH THE HERODIANS. A political party supporting the Roman rule. These two classes were antagonistic, yet they united in opposition to Christ. Luke (Luke 20:20) as more detailed in his account, calling the deputation ‘spies' of the rulers. This part was probably assign... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 22:17. IS IT LAWFUL. According to Jewish law. TRIBUTE, the poll-tax which had been levied since Judea became a province of Rome. Cesar, the Roman Emperor, at that time. Tiberius. To say Yes, would alienate the people, who hated the Roman yoke; to say No, would have given good ground for acc... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 22:18. THEIR WICKEDNESS. As just explained. HYPOCRITES. They were such, both in their flattering address (Matthew 22:16) and in their cunning question (Matthew 22:17). Men may rightly carry their religious convictions into politics, and religious questions may become political ones; but wh... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 22:19. THE TRIBUTE MONEY. The Roman coin in which the poll-tax was paid. Mark and Luke intimate that He called for A PENNY, i.e. _,_ a Roman DENARIUS. See chap. Matthew 20:2.... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 22:20. WHOSE IS THIS IMAGE. The likeness of the ruler at the date of the coin. Superscription. The name, etc., on the coin.... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 22:21. Cesar's. Imperial money was current among them. ‘Wherever any king's money is current, there that king is lord;' is reported as a Rabbinical saying. The standard currency is an indication or symbol of the civil authority; the right to coin has usually implied the right to exact tribut... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 22:22. They marvelled. Probably both confounded and impressed.... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 22:23-33. THE ASSAULT OF THE SADDUCEES. Matthew 22:23. SADDUCEES. See note on chap. Matthew 3:5. SAYING, the correct reading points to what was said at that time. THERE IS NO RESURRECTION. Comp. Acts 23:8, where their views are shown to include a denial of the immortality of the soul as... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 22:24. MOSES SAID. Deuteronomy 25:5, freely quoted; comp. the regulations added in that chapter. Such a marriage was called a Levirate marriage. The object was to preserve families, a matter of great importance in the Jewish economy. See chap. 1. SEED TO HIS BROTHER. The first-born son wou... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 22:25. THERE WERE WITH US. Probably a purely fictitious case, notwithstanding this statement.... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 22:26. UNTO THE SEVENTH, lit., ‘the seven.'... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 22:28. IN THE RESURRECTION, i.e. _,_ in the state after the resurrection. WHOSE WIFE SHALL SHE BE OF THE SEVEN? The point of the entangling question is now evident. They had quoted the law of Moses and then given an example of obedience to it, to prove the absurdity of the doctrine of the... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 22:29. YE DO ERR. How, is immediately added. NOT KNOWING THE SCRIPTURES. ‘In that ye do not understand the Scriptures,' _i.e.,_ the Old Testament, which they professed to hold free from tradition. That Scripture plainly implies the resurrection. _N_ OR THE POWER OF GOD. His power to raise... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 22:30. NEITHER MARRY, spoken of the man; NOR ARE GIVEN IN MARRIAGE, of the woman, since the father gave away the bride in marriage. This relation is not to be reestablished in the state after the resurrection, because those raised up ARE AS ANGELS IN HEAVEN. Comp. especially the fuller answe... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 22:31. BUT TOUCHING THE RESURRECTION OF THE DEAD. Proof that the doctrine was implied in the writings of Moses. Luke 20:37 is against the view that our Lord only makes an authoritative statement without really basing His proof on the passage quoted. SPOKEN UNTO YOU BY GOD. Christ assumes t... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 22:32. I AM THE GOD OF ABRAHAM, etc. Exodus 3:6. Spoken to Moses from the burning bush. The name given by Jehovah to Himself, setting forth His self-existence and eternity (Exodus 3:14-15), supports the doctrine of our immortality, body and soul. God continues (‘I am,' not ‘I was') in covena... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 22:34. BUT THE PHARISEES HEARING. Even their gratification at the defeat of their usual opponents, the Sadducees (Mark 12:28; Luke 20, did not diminish their enmity. Hence a renewal of the assault.... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 22:34-40. THE LAST QUESTION OF THE PHARISEES.... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 22:35. THEN ONE OF THEM, A LAWYER, an expounder of the law, ‘one of the scribes' (Mark). Luke 10:25-37 refers to another though similar occurrence. TEMPTING HIM. The statements of Mark (Mark 12:28) and Luke (Luke 20:39), do not indicate any specially hostile purpose on the part of this ‘law... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 22:36. WHAT COMMANDMENT IS GREAT IN THE LAW? _i.e._, the Mosaic law. Not merely greater than the rest, but ‘great,' as including the rest. Comp. Matthew 22:38; Matthew 22:40. If there was a reference to the disputes of the Rabbins about great and small commandments, the meaning would be: ‘Wh... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 22:37. THOU SHALT LOVE THE LORD THY GOD, etc. Quoted from the Septuagint version of Deuteronomy 6:5. WITH ALL THY HEART, literally, ‘in all thy heart.' The whole is a demand for supreme affection. If we distinguish between the phrases, the first refers to ‘the whole energy of the reason an... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 22:38. THIS IS THE GREAT AND FIRST COMMANDMENT. ‘Great' as embracing all the others; first' as preceding the other table in the Decalogue. Our Lord here declares the unity of the first table of the law, its absolute greatness. Hence no part of this table (the first five commandments) can be... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 22:39. AND A SECOND LIKE UNTO IT IS THIS. Our Lord thus exalts the second table to an equality with the first God's moral law has unity: though one table is ‘great and first,' the ‘second' is ‘like unto it' Pharisaism puts the second in a lower place, thinking that seeming service of God can... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 22:40. DOTH HANG. Like a door on its hinges. The ‘cardinal precepts have a common principle. THE WHOLE LAW, _i.e.,_ all the Mosaic economy, AND THE PROPHETS, the subsequent revelations of God. Between the law, which they used as a snare, and the prophets, who foretold of Christ, there was... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 22:41. NOW WHILE THE PHARISEES WERE GATHERED TOGETHER. Probably as they gathered after the last attack. JESUS ASKED THEM. Fuller and more exact than Mark and Luke, who seem to imply that the question was put concerning the scribes. This probably took place while His audience was changing:... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 22:41-46. THE FINAL ENCOUNTER. in which our Lord by His question respecting the Messiah, puts an end to further attempts to ‘ensnare Him by a word.' Mark and Luke say: ‘No man after that' (_i.e.,_ the encounter of Matthew 22:34-40) ‘durst ask Him any question,' while Matthew, in accordance w... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 22:42. WHAT THINK YE OF THE CHRIST? ‘The Messiah.' The Pharisees included the acknowledged interpreters of the Old Testament. Our Lord would prove the insufficiency of their interpretation on a point which they rightly deemed of most importance. What they thought of Him, He does not ask them... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 22:43. HOW THEN DOTH DAVID IN THE SPIRIT, _i.e._, by the inspiration of the Holy Ghost; comp. Mark 12:36: ‘by the Holy Ghost' CALL HIM LORD. Solemnly designate Him thus, implying superiority.... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 22:44. THE LORD (Jehovah) SAID TO MY LORD. From Psalms 110:1, entitled, ‘a Psalm of David,' probably written after the prophetic address of Nathan, 2 Samuel 7:12. It is quoted frequently in the New Testament as referring to Christ. The Jews referred it to the Messiah, since no objection was... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 22:45. HOW IS HE HIS SON? The solution is not given here; but plainly preached by the Apostles from the day of Pentecost: the Messiah was Son of David according to the flesh, yet the preexistent eternal Son of God: the God-man (comp. Romans 1:3-4). If the Pharisees were ignorant of this solu... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 22:46. AND NO ONE WAS ABLE, etc. They left Him. Pharisaical Judaism and Christ parted company forever at this point. Henceforth they sought to kill Him by treachery. The next chapter shows the character of those who cherished such hostility against One who claimed to be the Son of God, their... [ Continue Reading ]