OET-RV MAT Chapter 22

22 Yeshua, still answering them, told another parable: 2 “The kingdom of the heavens is like a king who prepared the wedding reception for his son 3 and he sent out some of his slaves to remind those who’d been invited, but they didn’t want to come. 4 So he sent out some other slaves, instructing them, ‘Tell those who’re invited: Listen, I’ve prepared the dinner, including some of my grain-fed beef and everything’s now ready. Come to the wedding and celebrate.’ 5 But they ignored the message and went their various ways—one went off to his field to work and another went into his business. 6 Still others grabbed the slaves and mistreated them, and even killed them.

7 “Now the king was angry and sent in his soldiers to destroy those murderers and to burn their city. 8 Then he told his slaves, ‘Well, the wedding reception is ready but those that were invited aren’t worthy to come. 9 So spread out on the roads and invite everywhere that you find to come to the reception.’ 10 So those slaves went out onto the roads and invited everyone they found—both evil and good people, and then the seats at the wedding reception were all full.

11 “But when the king came into to meet the seated guests, he saw a man there who wasn’t dressed in the proper clothes for a wedding, 12 and demanded, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without the right clothes?’ But the man had nothing to say. 13 [ref]So the king told his servants, ‘Tie up the man’s hands and feet and throw him outside into the darkness, and there’ll be weeping and much anguish out there.’

14 Because many are invited, but few are selected.”

15 Then the members of the Pharisees went away and had a discussion to try to figure out how to trap him into saying something wrong. 16 Afterwards, they sent some of their apprentices along with some supporters of Herod and asked, “Teacher, we know that you are honest and that you teach God’s ways in all honesty irrespective of what people might say, because you don’t care about people’s opinions. 17 So then, tell us what you think: should we pay the poll tax to Caesar or not?”

18 But Yeshua knew how wicked they were and asked, “Why are you testing me, you hypocrites? 19 Show me the coin used to pay the poll tax.” So they brought a coin to him. 20 Then he asked, “Whose image is this on the coin, and the inscription?”

21 “Caesar’s,” they answered.

“Then give Caesar’s things to Caesar and God’s things to God,” Yeshua responded.

22 When they heard that, they were amazed, and left him and went away.

23 [ref]On that day some from the Sadducee sect (who claim there’s no resurrection) approached Yeshua and asked, 24 [ref]“Teacher, Moses wrote that if a married man dies childless, his brother should marry the widow and so raise up children for his deceased brother. 25 Well, there were seven brothers amongst up, and the first one got married and then died childless. So his brother married the widow. 26 The same happened for the second brother, and the third, all the way to the seventh. 27 Finally the woman died. 28 Now then, in the resurrection, which of the brothers will she be the wife of, because they were all married to her?”

29 “You’ve got it wrong,” Yeshua answered, “because you don’t understand either the scriptures or God’s power, 30 because in the resurrection, there’ll be no marrying or getting engaged, because they’ll be like the messengers in heaven. 31 But as for the resurrection of the dead, isn’t it written in the scriptures that God said, 32 [ref]‘I am Abraham’s God and Isaac’s God and Yacob’s God.’? So God is not the god of the dead, but of the living.”

33 When the crowds heard his answer, they were amazed at his teaching.

34 But when the Pharisees party heard that Yeshua had silenced the Sadducees, they decided to work together, 35 so a lawyer among them tested him by asking, 36 “Teacher, which is the most important commandment from Moses?”

37 [ref]“You should love the master, your God, with all of your heart and your soul and your mind. 38 That’s the first and most important commandment. 39 [ref]The next is similar to it: You should love your neighbour like yourself. 40 [ref]Everything from the Torah and the writings of the prophets just follows on from those two commandments.”

41 Since all from the Pharisees’ party were gathered together, Yeshua asked them a question, 42 “How do you interpret the scriptures about the messiah? Who will he be a descendant of?”

“A descendant of King David,” they answered.

43 “Then how could David,” he continued, “under the inspiration of God’s spirit, call him ‘master’ when he said,

44 [ref]‘The master said to my master:

“Sit there on my right

until I conquer your enemies.”

45 So if David is calling him ‘master’, how could he be his descendant?”

46 No one was able to answer his question, and after that day they didn’t dare ask him anything else.