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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The Parable of the Wedding Feast and Jesus' Teachings 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 in0:34 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,0:57 and he is 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 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 join forces to try and entrap Jesus with what amounts to a Morton's fork, a dilemma offering 22:32 equally dangerous outcomes. Look at the question they post. 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 could accuse him of sedition and get the government on it. So this account this encounter is recorded in verses 15 through 22. And we're gonna3:20 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 background3:54 is 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 makes4:06 their 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 establish4:21 Verse 29. Jesus answered and said to them, you are mistaken, not knowing the scriptures nor the power of God. For in the resurrection, they neither marry nor are given in4:33 marriage, but are like angels of God in heaven. Now they're not gonna be angel. We're not gonna be angels. It's like angels, meaning there's no procreation. That's the reference there. But concerning4:45 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, the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living. Well, if4:57 there was no resurrection, he could not be the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Next up is another Pharisee, an expert in the law, who asked Jesus this question in verse5:09 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, and with all your mind. This is the first in the great commandment.5:22 And the second is like it. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these 2 commandments hang all the law and the prophets. Now what Jesus does here is he combines Deuteronomy5:33 chapter 6 verse 5, which is part of the Shema used by the Jews in their daily prayer. And and then he combines with that Leviticus 19 18.5:46 And and these 2 verses together summarizes the 2 tablets of the 10 commandments, love God, love people. But notice what comes first. Right? And the first tablet is this way, and Jesus puts it first as5:58 well. It's the love of God. Our relationship with God is the wellspring of life, and it directs and colors everything else in our lives. Chapter 23 is aHypocrisy of the Pharisees and the Call to Serve 6:10 passage that, theological liberals and those who have created a more affirming Jesus ignore. Alright? In this chapter, Jesus warns his followers to listen to the teachings6:22 of the Pharisees as they taught for Moses, but not follow their example. Rather, this is what he says they should do. Verse 11, but he who is greatest among you shall6:33 be your servant, and whoever exalts himself will be exalted. See, the kingdom of God is counterintuitive. It is the opposite of the world. Alright. After that,6:46 Jesus lays bare the hypocrisy of the Pharisees. Verse 13, but woe to you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites. Woah. Pretty strong language. For you shut up the kingdom of6:57 heaven against men, for you neither go in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in. So much for a Jesus who affirms everyone and everything.7:10 He is very specific and goes after them for their hypocrisy. Alright. That's all I'm gonna say about chapter 23. You can read all of it. I I wanna go now to, back to7:22 verse 15 of Matthew chapter 22. And as Jesus was giving this conversation about return about, rendering to Caesar. Verse 15.7:34 Then the Pharisees went and plotted how they might entangle him in his talk. And they sent him to him their disciples with the Herodians saying, teacher, we know that you are true and teach the way of God in7:46 truth, nor do you care about anyone, for you do not regard the person of men. Tell us therefore what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not? But Jesus7:58 perceived their wickedness and said, why do you test me, you hypocrites? Show me the tax money. Show me the money, Jesus says. So they brought him a denarius,8:10 and he said to them, whose image and inscription is this? They said to him, Caesar's. And he said to them, render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's8:22 and to god the things that are god's. Now this is profound. When they heard these things, they marveled, and they left him and went their way. Right? I mean, it's like8:34 tails tucked beneath their legs, and they took off. So here we have the Pharisees and the Herodians teaming up to present a question that would box Jesus and create this dilemma for him. The Pharisees were, as I8:45 said, they were zealous for the independence of the Jewish people. They resented Roman authority and the occupation. Okay? The Herodians, on the other hand, were a8:57 political party among the Jews that they were for peace at all at any price. Alright? They they advocated for submission to the Roman authorities through Herod. Their focus9:09 was reconciling the people to Roman subjugation. Jesus stepped over their trap and provided an understanding of how we are to live as9:21 citizens of the earth while living in the kingdom of God. The words contained in this 1 verse this 1 verse have been the subject of untold,9:33 thesis that have been written for for doctoral thesis and and expounded upon with thousands of words. Just these few words. Render or return to Caesar that9:44 which is Caesar. Now Caesar represents the civil government. In our country, we're blessed with a government that was established or intended to be a government of the people, by the9:56 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 some merit. However, we have a constitution, which10:08 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 in effect amended by decisions of the judiciary.10:21 There's a process to amend so important because it is the agreement by which we agree to be governed. So we are to give to the government that which it has a10:33 rightful claim to, taxes being among them. We are we are to pay our taxes. The determining factor is not not whether we agree with it or not, but what10:45 is rightful under the domain of government. And Jesus is saying that here. But notice there's more to Jesus's instruction and to god the things that10:56 are god's. We are to return to the civil authorities that which belongs to that realm, but we're to render or return to god that which belongs to that realm,11:08 which, by the way, encompasses Caesar's. As the psalmist wrote in Psalm 24 1, the earth is the lord's and all its fullness, the world and those who11:20 dwell therein. Early church theologian Tertullian wrote this, regarding this passage. Render to Caesar, yes, the image of Caesar which is11:32 on the coin and to god, the image of god, which is in man so that you give the money to Caesar and yourself to god. Yes.11:44 We are to return to government, civil government, that which rightfully belongs to that realm, but we must yield to God that which bears his image and rightfully belongs to him. And if and11:56 when the 2 are in conflict, it is the greater to which our allegiance belongs. Father, thank you for your word and the the wisdom12:08 that we see in the words of Jesus. I just I pray, Lord, the Holy Spirit would continue to open our eyes and our understanding12:25 father, guide us, direct us, continue to be with us on 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 frc dot org slash bible. By following along in just a few minutes a day, you12:50 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 The Parable of the Wedding Feast and Jesus' Teachings6:08 Hypocrisy of the Pharisees and the Call to Serve
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