Tyndale Open Study Notes

Verse 1

22:1-14 In this parable, Israel, having repeatedly rejected God’s word in the past, rejects the Messiah and is judged as a result. In Israel’s place, God raised up the church (16:17-19; 21:43), of which righteousness is also expected (Rom 11:11-24).

Verse 2

22:2 The king represents God, whose son is Jesus (Gal 4:4; Heb 1:1-2). • The feast represents the Kingdom of the Messiah.

Verse 3

22:3-5 Those who were invited refers to the nation of Israel, who ignored God’s servants, the prophets (see study note on Matt 21:33-46).

Verse 7

22:7 Jesus was alluding to the coming destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70 (see 23:37-39; 24:2).

Verse 8

22:8 Those who reject God’s invitation aren’t worthy to enter his Kingdom (cp. 3:8; 10:13, 37-38).

Verse 9

22:9 everyone you see: God’s invitation is no longer restricted to the nation of Israel (see 28:16-20; cp. 10:5-6; 15:21-28).

Verse 10

22:10 good and bad alike: See 13:24-50.

Verse 11

22:11 The proper clothes correspond to spiritual fruit that demonstrates real faith (see 7:13-27).

Verse 13

22:13 Weeping and gnashing of teeth express the intense pain and sorrow that result from condemnation for sin and unbelief (see 8:12; 13:42, 50; 24:51; 25:30). • Outer darkness is a metaphor for eternal punishment.

Verse 14

22:14 While many people are called—they hear the invitation to the Kingdom—few are actually chosen by God and respond in faithful obedience to Jesus.

Verse 15

22:15-22 Roman taxation was a controversial issue in first-century Palestine (see also 17:24-27).

Verse 16

22:16 The Pharisees, strict nationalists who resented Roman rule, were normally at odds with the supporters of Herod. Here, the unlikely alliance arose from a mutual hatred of Jesus.

Verse 17

22:17 Is it right . . . or not? The question was designed to trap Jesus. If he answered no, he could be arrested for rebellion against Rome. If he answered yes, he could be accused of supporting Roman oppression.

Verse 18

22:18 You hypocrites! See study note on 23:13.

Verse 20

22:20 The poll tax had to be paid using the denarius coin, which bore the picture and title of Caesar. Old Testament prohibitions against images (Exod 20:4; Lev 26:1; Deut 4:15-24) made the use of this coin controversial among Jews (see Josephus, War 2.9.2-3). Some Roman procurators apparently produced coins without images for use in Palestine in order not to offend the Jewish conscience.

Verse 21

22:21 Jesus outwitted his opponents by affirming the honor due to Caesar, while clearly differentiating it from the supreme honor and allegiance due to God. Loyalty to God does not necessarily entail disloyalty to the governing authorities. Jesus was acknowledging two dominions, Caesar’s and God’s, the latter having priority (Acts 4:19).

Verse 23

22:23-33 The resurrection was an important issue of Jesus’ day, but the question was raised only to trap Jesus.

22:23 The Sadducees (see 3:7) described a situation involving levirate marriage (see Gen 38:6-11; Deut 25:5-6), which they considered proof that resurrection from the dead is not possible.

Verse 29

22:29 The power of God most likely refers to God’s ability to raise the dead.

Verse 30

22:30 like the angels in heaven: Jesus was not teaching genderlessness (i.e., androgyny) nor disparaging the divine order of marriage and sexuality; rather, he was affirming that people will be transformed into a glorious new existence (see 1 Cor 15:35-49; 2 Cor 5:1-5) in which aspects of the present order, such as marriage, will not be present.

Verse 31

22:31-32 Since God spoke of being the God of Abraham in the present tense, this proves that Abraham still lives and thus that there is a resurrection.

Verse 36

22:36 Since many strict Jews saw all commandments as equally binding, a careless response to this question could lead to the accusation of undermining the law of God.

Verse 37

22:37 Jesus answers from the Shema (Deut 6:4-9), one of the core statements of God’s covenant with Israel (The first Hebrew word of Deut 6:4-9 is shema‘, “hear”).

Verse 39

22:39 Love your neighbor as yourself: Lev 19:18; see also Rom 13:9; Gal 5:6, 14; Jas 2:8.

Verse 40

22:40 are based on: Jesus’ statement affirmed the unity and coherence of God’s will, as recorded in Scripture.

Verse 41

22:41-46 Having successfully defended himself against his opponents’ traps (21:23–22:40), Jesus questioned them as to how the Messiah can be called both the son of David and, at the same time, the Lord of David (Ps 110:1).

Verse 42

22:42 the son of David: See study note on Matt 9:27; see also 2 Sam 7:12-14; Pss 2:7-9; 110; Isa 11:1, 10; Jer 23:5-6.

Verse 44

22:44 The quotation is from Ps 110:1, which is frequently cited by New Testament authors to describe Jesus (see Acts 2:34-35; 1 Cor 15:25; Heb 1:13; 2:8; 10:12-13; Rev 3:21).

Verse 45

22:45 how can the Messiah be his son? The answer is that Jesus is more than the son of David: He is the Son of God (14:33).

Verse 46

22:46 No one could answer him because they had never thought the Messiah would be God as a human being in the flesh (see John 1:1-14).