Matt.22.1 - And Jesus answered and spake unto them again by parables, and said,
Matt.22.2 - The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king, which made a marriage for his son,
Matt.22.3 - And sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden to the wedding: and they would not come.
Matt.22.4 - Again, he sent forth other servants, saying, Tell them which are bidden, Behold, I have prepared my dinner: my oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready: come unto the marriage.
Matt.22.5 - But they made light of it, and went their ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandise:
Matt.22.6 - And the remnant took his servants, and entreated them spitefully, and slew them.
Matt.22.7 - But when the king heard thereof, he was wroth: and he sent forth his armies, and destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city.
Matt.22.8 - Then saith he to his servants, The wedding is ready, but they which were bidden were not worthy.
Matt.22.9 - Go ye therefore into the highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage.
Matt.22.10 - So those servants went out into the highways, and gathered together all as many as they found, both bad and good: and the wedding was furnished with guests.
Matt.22.11 - And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment:
Matt.22.12 - And he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless.
Matt.22.13 - Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Matt.22.14 - For many are called, but few are chosen.
Matt.22.15 - Then went the Pharisees, and took counsel how they might entangle him in his talk.
Matt.22.16 - And they sent out unto him their disciples with the Herodians, saying, Master, we know that thou art true, and teachest the way of God in truth, neither carest thou for any man: for thou regardest not the person of men.
Matt.22.17 - Tell us therefore, What thinkest thou? Is it lawful to give tribute unto Caesar, or not?
Matt.22.18 - But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, Why tempt ye me, ye hypocrites?
Matt.22.19 - Shew me the tribute money. And they brought unto him a penny.
Matt.22.20 - And he saith unto them, Whose is this image and superscription?
Matt.22.21 - They say unto him, Caesar's. Then saith he unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's; and unto God the things that are God's.
Matt.22.22 - When they had heard these words, they marvelled, and left him, and went their way.
Matt.22.23 - The same day came to him the Sadducees, which say that there is no resurrection, and asked him,
Matt.22.24 - Saying, Master, Moses said, If a man die, having no children, his brother shall marry his wife, and raise up seed unto his brother.
Matt.22.25 - Now there were with us seven brethren: and the first, when he had married a wife, deceased, and, having no issue, left his wife unto his brother:
Matt.22.26 - Likewise the second also, and the third, unto the seventh.
Matt.22.27 - And last of all the woman died also.
Matt.22.28 - Therefore in the resurrection whose wife shall she be of the seven? for they all had her.
Matt.22.29 - Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God.
Matt.22.30 - For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven.
Matt.22.31 - But as touching the resurrection of the dead, have ye not read that which was spoken unto you by God, saying,
Matt.22.32 - I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.
Matt.22.33 - And when the multitude heard this, they were astonished at his doctrine.
Matt.22.34 - But when the Pharisees had heard that he had put the Sadducees to silence, they were gathered together.
Matt.22.35 - Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying,
Matt.22.36 - Master, which is the great commandment in the law?
Matt.22.37 - Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
Matt.22.38 - This is the first and great commandment.
Matt.22.39 - And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
Matt.22.40 - On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
Matt.22.41 - While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them,
Matt.22.42 - Saying, What think ye of Christ? whose son is he? They say unto him, The Son of David.
Matt.22.43 - He saith unto them, How then doth David in spirit call him Lord, saying,
Matt.22.44 - The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool?
Matt.22.45 - If David then call him Lord, how is he his son?
Matt.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.

What does Matthew chapter 22 mean?
Jesus' back-and-forth engagement in the temple with some of Israel's religious leaders (Matthew 21:23) continues in this chapter. It begins with a third devastating parable about them. Then Jesus easily handles questions intended to trip Him up. Finally, He asks them a hard question of His own.

Jesus' third parable goes beyond merely exposing the religious leaders to revealing God's grace for others. Jesus compares the kingdom of heaven to a king throwing a wedding feast for his son. None of the citizens he invites will attend, however, resisting to the point of killing the king's messengers. After destroying the murderers, the king invites as many as can be found on the public roads, and the hall is filled. The king has one guest thrown out, however, when he arrives without a wedding garment. This passage is a close parallel to His parable of the great banquet (Luke 14:12–24) but features a few important distinctions. Christ's words here not only speak to Israel's rejection of the Messiah, they also establish concepts related to salvation by grace (Matthew 22:1–14).

After hearing three parables in which they are pictured as rebelling against God, the Pharisees are ready to be done with Jesus. They hatch a plan to force Jesus to say something that might get Him arrested for rebellion against Rome. Some of the Pharisees' disciples, along with Herodians, begin by flattering Jesus, then asking if paying taxes to Caesar—meaning to the Roman empire—is right according to the Old Testament law. Jesus knows exactly what they are trying to do and calls them hypocrites. He then holds a Roman denarius and asks whose image is on it. He tells the people to give to Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's. This remark establishes the idea that we, as image-bearers of God (Genesis 1:27), ought to give all of ourselves to Him (Matthew 22:15–22).

Next, some from the group known as the Sadducees approach Jesus. This was a more politically connected, aristocratic, and less spiritual sect. Sadducees did not believe in angels, a spiritual world, or an afterlife. They rejected the idea that God's people will be raised from the dead and live eternally. To show why such an idea is absurd to them, they imagine a scenario in which one woman ends up married to each of seven brothers in turn. Each of them dies, one by one, passing her on to be married to the next. Finally, she dies (Matthew 22:23–27).

The Sadducees ask Jesus who the woman will be married to in the resurrection. Jesus rebukes them for misinterpreting Scripture and underestimating God's power. He corrects their misguided question by pointing out that there is no marriage in heaven. This answer also establishes that both angels and the afterlife are real. He then asks them why God would claim to be the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob if He is the God of the living and not the dead? Using their own tactic, and their own Scriptures, He has shown a core belief of the Sadducees to be false. Again, the crowd is greatly impressed by Jesus' teaching (Matthew 22:28–33).

Next Jesus is approached by one of the Pharisees. This man is a "lawyer," meaning he is an expert in the Old Testament and its traditional interpretations. He tests Jesus by asking a simple question debated among the religious leaders: Which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus answers Him directly: that to love God with everything is the primary commandment. The second is to love your neighbor as you love yourself. Everything we think, believe, or do with respect to God is grounded in this fundamental idea (Matthew 22:34–40).

Finally, Jesus asks the Pharisees a challenging question of His own: Whose son is the Christ? They answer rightly that the Christ, the Messiah, is the son of David. Jesus asks how that can be since David called the Christ "my Lord," quoting from Psalm 110:1. This perspective touches on the idea of Messiah's divine nature. None of them can answer, and Jesus silences His opponents yet again (Matthew 22:41–46).

At this point, Jesus will deliver a devastating critique of the Pharisees, leading to His heartfelt mourning over Israel's rejection of God (Matthew 23).

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