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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 Matthew 22:7 and Gospel of Thomas 64

New Testament · Nag Hammadi

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Summary

In Matthew, guests refuse a king's banquet and suffer military punishment. In the Gospel of Thomas, business keeps people from a private dinner, so the similar story criticizes their priorities without the royal conflict or violence.

Passages

Matthew 22:7

New Testament
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.
70–90 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Matthew

Gospel of Thomas 64

Nag Hammadi
64 Jesus said, “A man had guests, and when he prepared the dinner, he sent his slave to invite the guests. He went to the first and said to him, ‘My master invites you.’ He said, ‘I have a claim against merchants; they are coming to me this evening. I must go and give orders. I ask to be excused from the dinner.’ He went to another and said, ‘My master invites you.’ He said to him, ‘I have bought a house and I am required for a day. I will not have time.’ He went to another and said, ‘My master invites you.’ He said to him, ‘My friend is getting married, and I am organizing the banquet. I cannot come. I ask to be excused.’ He went to another and said, ‘My master invites you.’ He said to him, ‘I have bought a farm; I am going to collect the rent. I will not be able to come. I ask to be excused.’ The servant returned and said to his master, ‘Those whom you invited to the dinner have asked to be excused.’ The master said to his servant, ‘Go out on the highways; bring those whom you meet, so that they may dine.’ Merchants and traders will not enter the places of my Father.”
135–200 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in the Gospel of Thomas

References

“... There are a number of breaks in the narrative’s surface. After the negative reaction of the guests has been introduced in v. 5 with “one ... another” [...], the collective “the rest” [...] is out of place. The reaction of these “rest” is remarkable. While the invited guests of v. 5 pay no attention to the invitation and go about their business, “the rest” seize the slaves who bring them the invitation and kill them. There is another break in v. 7. Here the king finds the time to send out his armies and to conquer the city (not previously mentioned) of those murderers, while the oxen and fatted animals have already been slaughtered and everything is ready (v. 4) and will again be ready (v. 8). [...] Comparing the variants can help in probing back into the history of the tradition. Alongside Luke 14:16-24 and Matt 22:2-10 there is a third variant in Gos. Thom. 64 that demonstrates a number of contacts with Luke 14:16-24. It reports in detail the excuses of the four guests addressed by the host’s slave—guests who were kept from coming by worldly, mostly financial, affairs. [...] The point of the parable is: “Businessmen and merchants will not enter the places of my Father.” In other words, people of the world do not heed the call of Gnosis. [...] That does not mean, however, that this version can have no old features, especially since it appears not to have been influenced a great deal by the two Synoptic versions. [...] In all probability the original parable spoke of the banquet of a private individual (Luke, Gospel of Thomas) who sends out a single slave to invite the guests (Luke, Gospel of Thomas). When the meal is ready, (Luke, Matthew, Gospel of Thomas) he sends him again to summon the guests who have already been invited. ...”
Ulrich Luz and Helmut Koester, Matthew 21-28: A Commentary (Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress, 2005), 46–49.

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Matthew 22:7 and Gospel of Thomas 64

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