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Matthew

About this book
Chapter 22

1 Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying: 2 “The kingdom of heaven can be compared to a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son.⁠ 3 He sent his slaves to summon those who had been invited to the banquet, but they would not come. 4 Again he sent other slaves, saying, ‘Tell those who have been invited, “Look! The feast I have prepared for you is ready. My oxen and fattened cattle have been slaughtered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.”’ 5 But they were indifferent and went away, one to his farm, another to his business. 6 The rest seized his slaves, insolently mistreated them, and killed them. 7 The king was furious! He sent his soldiers, and they put those murderers to death and set their city on fire.⁠ 8 Then he said to his slaves, ‘The wedding is ready, but the ones who had been invited were not worthy. 9 So go into the main streets and invite everyone you find to the wedding banquet.’ 10 And those slaves went out into the streets and gathered all they found, both bad and good, and the wedding hall was filled with guests. 11 But when the king came in to see the wedding guests, he saw a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes.⁠ 12 And he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without wedding clothes?’ But he had nothing to say.⁠ 13 Then the king said to his attendants, ‘Tie him up hand and foot and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth!’⁠ 14 For many are called, but few are chosen.”⁠ 15 Then the Pharisees went out and planned together to entrap him with his own words. 16 They sent to him their disciples along with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that you are truthful and teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. You do not court anyone’s favor because you show no partiality. 17 Tell us then, what do you think? Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”⁠ 18 But Jesus realized their evil intentions and said, “Hypocrites! Why are you testing me? 19 Show me the coin used for the tax.” So they brought him a denarius. 20 Jesus said to them, “Whose image is this, and whose inscription?”⁠ 21 They replied, “Caesar’s.” He said to them, “Then give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”⁠ 22 Now when they heard this they were stunned, and they left him and went away. 23 The same day Sadducees (who say there is no resurrection) came to him and asked him, 24 “Teacher, Moses said, ‘If a man dies without having children, his brother must marry the widow and father children for his brother.’ 25 Now there were seven brothers among us. The first one married and died, and since he had no children he left his wife to his brother. 26 The second did the same, and the third, down to the seventh. 27 Last of all, the woman died. 28 In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife of the seven will she be? For they all had married her.” 29 Jesus answered them, “You are deceived because you don’t know the scriptures or the power of God. 30 For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.⁠ 31 Now as for the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God,⁠ 32 ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not the God of the dead but of the living!”⁠ 33 When the crowds heard this, they were amazed at his teaching. 34 Now when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they assembled together. 35 And one of them, an expert in religious law, asked him a question to test him: 36 “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” 37 Jesus said to him, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’⁠ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 The second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 All the law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.”⁠ 41 While the Pharisees were assembled, Jesus asked them a question: 42 “What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he?” They said, “The son of David.” 43 He said to them, “How then does David by the Spirit call him ‘Lord,’ saying, 44 “‘The Lord said to my lord, “Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet”’? 45 If David then calls him ‘Lord,’ how can he be his son?” 46 No one was able to answer him a word, and from that day on no one dared to question him any longer.

Texts in conversation

Compare Wisdom of Solomon 17:2 and Matthew 22:13

Deuterocanon · New Testament

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Summary

In Matthew 22, Jesus describes the condemned being thrown into outer darkness, echoing traditional language also found in the Wisdom of Solomon where the unrighteous are described as captives of darkness and prisoners of a long night.

Passages

Wisdom of Solomon 17:2

Deuterocanon
1 For your judgments are great, and hard to interpret; therefore undisciplined souls went astray. 2 For when lawless men had supposed that they held a holy nation in their power, they, prisoners of darkness, and bound in the fetters of a long night, kept close beneath their roofs, lay exiled from the eternal providence. 3 For while they thought that they were unseen in their secret sins, they were divided from one another by a dark curtain of forgetfulness, stricken with terrible awe, and very troubled by apparitions. 4 For neither did the dark recesses that held them guard them from fears, but terrifying sounds rang around them, and dismal phantoms appeared with unsmiling faces.
50 BCE – 50 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in the Wisdom of Solomon

Matthew 22:13

New Testament
11 But when the king came in to see the wedding guests, he saw a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. 12 And he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without wedding clothes?’ But he had nothing to say. 13 Then the king said to his attendants, ‘Tie him up hand and foot and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth!’ 14 For many are called, but few are chosen.” 15 Then the Pharisees went out and planned together to entrap him with his own words.
70–90 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Matthew

References

"... Darkness is a symbol employed throughout scripture, with a great diversity of significations. In this context the following should be kept in mind: the person who sins blinds himself and in turn is imprisoned in darkness. “You shall grope at noonday, as the blind grope in darkness, and you shall not prosper in your ways” (Deuteronomy 28:29). Darkness of mind and heart can stem from human beings who inflict it upon themselves, but God can also withhold illumination as a form of warning, perhaps in order to invite repentance: “that thou shouldst have broken us in the place of jackals, / and covered us with deep darkness” (Psalm 44:19). The symbol of darkness is also employed to signify the threat of death and nothingness: “Before I go whence I shall not return, / to the land of gloom and deep darkness” (Job 10:21). Wisdom of Solomon 17:2–3 contains an especially profound recollection in this respect. The Egyptians sought to hide themselves from the light of God, taking their own counsel as the most ultimate light to guide their behavior. But in doing so, they darkened their own intellects and lived in separation or alienation from the true light that saves ..."
Thomas Joseph White, Brazos Theological Commentary on the Bible: Exodus (Grand Rapids: Brazos, 2016), 126.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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Wisdom of Solomon 17:2 and Matthew 22:13

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