Skip to content The Wedding Feast Parable: Our Righteous Attire in Christ through Matthew 22 & 23 Jun 25 · 13 min ...more
The Wedding Feast Parable: Our Righteous Attire in Christ through Matthew 22 & 23
June 25, 2025 · 13 min
Dive into the depths of Matthew 22-23 to uncover the wisdom Jesus imparted before His crucifixion.
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Render to Caesar and to God 0:10 Well, good morning, and welcome to Stand on the Word. Today, our journey takes us to Matthew chapters 22 and 23 verse 21 of chapter 22. And he said to them, render therefore to Caesar the0:22 things that are Caesar's and to God the things that are God's. So in chapters 21 through 27 of Matthew, what we have are the events and the words recorded of Jesus in0:33 his last week prior to his crucifixion, his burial, and his resurrection. What we're gonna look at here beginning in verse, 10 of chapter 22 is 1 of the parables that Jesus talked0:45 about, and this was the parable of the wedding feast. And what this represents is, God is turning from the Jewish people who had rejected the prophets and the Messiah, and he's prophets and the Messiah,0:57 and he's now opening up the kingdom to the Gentiles. Verse 10. So those servants went out into the highways and gathered together all whom they found, both bad and good. And the wedding hall was filled with1:09 guests. But when the king came in to see the guest, he saw a man there who did not have on a wedding garment. So he said to him, friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment? And he was speechless.1:21 Then the king said to his servants, bind him hand and foot, take him away, and cast him into outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. For many are called, but few are chosen.1:33 So the wedding garment, which was provided by the host, represents the righteousness of Jesus with which believers are clothed by grace through faith. We1:45 put on the righteousness of Christ. That's how we enter into the kingdom of God. So next up in verse 15, we see an unlikely alliance, the the Pharisees1:57 and the Herodians. In verse 15, then the Pharisees went and plotted how they might entangle him, that is Jesus, in his talk. And they sent to him their disciples with the2:08 Herodians saying, teacher, we know that you are true and teach the way of God God in truth, nor do you care about anyone, for you do not regard the person of men. They're a little backhanded2:20 compliment there. So these 2 groups were on the opposite end of the political spectrum, but they joined forces to try and trap Jesus with what amounts to a Morton's fork, a dilemma offering 22:32 equally dangerous outcomes. Look at the question they posed. Verse 17. Tell us therefore, what do you think? Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not?2:44 So here's the dilemma. If Jesus answers in the affirmative about paying tribute to Caesar, he risked alienating the Jewish people who saw Roman2:56 taxation as a form of oppression and bondage. And this would give the Pharisees grounds to stir up the public against him. But if he denies Rome's right to3:08 tax, the Herodians, loyal to the Roman authorities, verses 15 through 22, and we're3:20 gonna return to this in just a moment because this is gonna be really the primary focus of our our time today. But I wanna move on and cover the rest of the passage first. So next, what this looks like a tag team effort3:31 because we have the Sadducees put forth their question to try and baffle Jesus. Now this encounter is recorded in both the gospels of Mark and Luke. Their question was about a woman who had married3:42 7 brothers in succession upon the death of each brother, which was according to Jewish custom. The question was, whose wife would she be in the resurrection? Now I think a little background is3:54 in order on the Sadducees. They were a smaller group than the Pharisees, but they were well educated. They were wealthy, and they were influential. Also, they did not believe in the bodily resurrection, which makes their4:06 question suspect from the start. You know, what they were trying to do was undermine the resurrection, the idea of a resurrection, because that would establish untenable4:18 polygamy in heaven. But Jesus quickly resolved the issue. Verse 29. Jesus answered and said to them, you are mistaken, not knowing the scriptures nor the power of God.4:30 For in the resurrection, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels of God in heaven. Now they're not gonna be angel. We're not gonna be angels. As like angels, meaning there's no procreation.4:42 That's the reference there. But concerning the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God saying, I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, Isaac, the God of Jacob. God4:54 is not the God of the dead, but of the living. Well, if there was no resurrection, he could not be the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Next up is another Pharisee, an5:06 expert in the law, who asked Jesus this question in verse 36. Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said to him, you shall love the lord your god with all your heart, with all your soul,5:18 and with all your mind. This is the first in the great commandment. And the second is like it. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these 2 commandments hang all the law and the prophets. Now5:30 what Jesus does here is he combines Deuteronomy chapter 6 verse 5, which is part of the Shema used by the Jews in their daily prayer. And and5:42 then he combines with that Leviticus 19 18. And and these 2 verses together summarizes the 2 tablets of the 10 commandments, love God, love people. But notice what comes5:53 first. Right? And the first tablet is this way, and Jesus puts it first as well. It's the love of God. Our relationship with God is the wellspring of life, and it directs and colors everything else in6:05 our lives. Chapter 23 is a passage that, theological liberals and those who have created a more affirming Jesus ignore. Alright? In this6:17 chapter, Jesus warns his followers to listen to the teachings of the Pharisees as they taught for Moses, but not follow their example. Rather, this is6:29 what he says they should do. Verse 11, but he who is greatest among you shall be your servant. Who humbles himself will be exalted. See, the kingdom of God is6:41 counterintuitive. It is the opposite of the world. Alright. After that, Jesus lays bare the hypocrisy of the Pharisees. Verse 13, but woe to you scribes and Pharisees,6:53 hypocrites. Woah. Pretty strong language. For you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men, for you neither go in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go7:05 in. So much for a Jesus who affirms everyone and everything. He is very specific and goes after them for their hypocrisy. Alright. That's all I'm gonna say about chapter 23. You can7:16 read all of it. I I wanna go now to, back to verse 15 of Matthew chapter 22. And as Jesus was giving this conversation7:28 about return about, rendering to Caesar. Verse 15. Then the Pharisees went and plotted how they might entangle him in his talk. And they sent him7:40 to him their disciples with the Herodians saying, teacher, we know that you are true and teach the way of God in truth, nor do you care about anyone, for you do not regard the person of men. Tell us7:52 therefore, what do you think? Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not? But Jesus perceived their wickedness and said, why do you test me, you hypocrites?8:04 Show me the tax money. Show me the money, Jesus says. So they brought him a denarius, and he said to them, whose image and inscription is this? They said to him,8:16 Caesar's. And he said to them, render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's and to God the things that are God's. And this is profound. When they heard these things,8:28 they marveled, and they left him and went their way. Right? I mean, it's like tails tucked beneath their legs, and they took off. So here we have the Pharisees and the Herodians teaming up to8:40 present a question that would box Jesus and create this dilemma for him. The Pharisees were, as I said, they were zealous for the independence of the Jewish people. They resented Roman authority8:52 and the occupation. Okay? The Herodians, on the other hand, were a political party among the Jews that they were for peace at all at any price. Alright? They9:04 they advocated for submission to the Roman authorities through Herod. Their focus was reconciling the people to Roman subjugation. Jesus stepped over their trap9:16 and provided an understanding of how we are to live as citizens of the earth while living in the kingdom of God. The words contained in this 19:28 verse this 1 verse have been the subject of untold, thesis that have been written for for doctoral thesis and and and expounded upon with thousands of9:39 words. Just these few words. Render or return to Caesar that which is Caesar. Now Caesar represents the civil government. In our country, we're blessed with a government that9:51 was established or intended to be, government of the people, by the people, and for the people. You know, 1 could argue that that's not how we are always in practice, and that argument would have some10:03 merit. However, we have a constitution, which is the agreement by which we, the people, agree to be governed. That's why the constitution is so important and why we cannot allow it to be unilaterally changed or, in10:15 effect, amended by decisions of the agree to be governed. So we are to give to the government10:26 that which So we are to give to the government that which it has a rightful claim to. Taxes being among them. We are we are to pay our taxes.10:39 The determining factor is not not whether we agree with it or not, but what is rightful under whether we agree with it or not, but what is rightful under the domain of government, and Jesus is saying that here. But10:50 notice there's more to Jesus's instruction and to God the things that are God's. We are to return to the civil authorities that which belongs to that realm,11:03 but we're to render or return to God that which belongs to that realm, which, by the way, encompasses Caesar's. As the psalmist wrote in Psalm 24 1, the earth11:16 is the Lord's and all its fullness, the world and those who dwell therein. Early church theologian, Tertullian, wrote this, regarding this11:27 passage. Render to Caesar, yes, the image of Caesar which is on the coin, and to God the image of God which is in man, so that you give the11:39 money to Caesar and yourself to God. Yes. We are to return to government, civil government, that which rightfully belongs to that realm, but we must yield to God that which11:51 bears his image and rightfully belongs to him. And if and when the 2 are in conflict, it is the greater to which our allegiance belongs.12:03 Father, thank you for your word and the the wisdom that we see in the words of Jesus. I just I pray, Lord, the Holy Spirit would continue to open our eyes and our understanding that we12:15 might walk in these principles and in these truths, knowing how they apply to us even today in the world in which we live. So father, guide us, direct us, continue to be with us on12:27 this journey, and we pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. Alright. Thanks for joining me this morning. And until next time, keep standing on the word.12:38 Today's study comes from the Stand on the Word Bible Reading Plan available for free at f r c dot o r g slash bible. By following along in just a few minutes a day, you12:49 can read through the entire Bible in just 2 years. Learn more and request the free reading guide at frc dot org slash bible.In this video 0:00 Render to Caesar and to God
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