Study of Matthew

Matthew Chapter 22

Matthew 22:1 And Jesus answered and spake unto them again by parables, and said,
2 The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king, which made a marriage for his son,
3 And sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden to the wedding: and they would not come.
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.
5 But they made light of it, and went their ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandise:
6 And the remnant took his servants, and entreated them spitefully, and slew them.
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.
8 Then saith he to his servants, The wedding is ready, but they which were bidden were not worthy.
9 Go ye therefore into the highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage.
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.
11 And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment:
12 And he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless.
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.
14 For many are called, but few are chosen.

This is serious teaching here. We see that to take God lightly is dangerous to one's eternal soul. In this parable we see that the people in this kingdom did not show respect unto the king and did not consider it an honor to be invited to his son's wedding. They made light of it and went their own way. In the past if a group of people showed that kind of disrespect to a king, they would have been wiped out literally. In the days of emperors and kings, they had power over their subjects and could do as they please.

Jesus was showing us that the gospel was first preached to the Jewish people similar to an invitation of a king's wedding. The gospel of the kingdom was simply to believe in the plan of salvation given through the Son of God, Jesus Christ. To believe this gospel will cause one to have eternal life and be partaker of the coming Kingdom of Heaven that God is setting up. Renouncing sin and believing in Jesus Christ as the savior from sin makes one part of this kingdom. To make light of this is to deny one's own eternal life and make oneself unworthy of the coming kingdom.

The ones first invited to this kingdom are the Jewish people. He (meaning Jesus) came unto His own (people) and they did not receive Him. They did not believe in Him as the Messiah or Christ that God sent to save them from sin. Of course we know that all Jews did not deny Him because all 12 disciples were Jews and a few others who did follow Him but the religious hierarchy as a whole denied Him. Many among the poor received His message.

The gospel then went to the Gentile nations which we see represented by those in the highways and byways. Even then one found without a wedding garment was rejected. We must not trust in our own righteousness and think we can save ourselves by our own works apart from Christ and expect to enter into His kingdom. We must be clothed with the righteousness of Christ. The wedding garment was provided freely. They had to accept it and wear it to the wedding. Someone came in and tried to have things their own way, showing much disrespect similar to those who made light of it at the beginning and did not heed the wedding invitation.

This is a warning not to neglect the only way of salvation given to all mankind to be saved. It is a warning not to take the gospel of Jesus Christ lightly or with disrespect also by trying to obtain salvation our own way and neglecting the gift provided by God. We must come His way and be covered by the righteousness of Jesus Christ. Remember though His righteousness does not cover us if we are still in our sins. We must come to Christ by faith but true faith will cause us to renounce sin and believe in Christ.

Hebrew 2:1 Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip.
2 For if the word spoken by angels was stedfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompence of reward;
3 How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him;

We see so many today doing this very thing and refusing to believe the gospel. Even more serious is those that claim to believe but take it very lightly and do not obey from their heart the teachings and commandments of Jesus. They claim they have the wedding garment of faith but in their works they deny Him.

Titus 1:16 They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate.

If we claim to be trusting in Jesus for our salvation, we deny this by not living by the teachings of our savior. So many have twisted the gospel of grace so much so that if a person tries to live by the teachings of the bible, they will claim they have fallen from grace and are trusting in works to save them. So in a subtle way they are saying that to trust in Christ is to not worry about living right but trust in Him to provide salvation no matter how we live. They may not come right out and say those words but the words they say give this message to those listening.

When Paul speaks of being saved by grace and not by works, he isn't referring to sin or putting away sin. For to put away sin is a big part of repentance. Peter and Jesus both taught us that repentance is necessary for salvation. How can Jesus save us from sin if we continue sinning willfully? The works Paul is speaking of is the rituals and ceremonial rites of the law that were put in place until the sacrificial death of Jesus was fulfilled. We are not saved by circumcising all males, confessing to a priest, ceremonial cleansing, animal sacrifices and such. We are saved now by trusting in Christ alone for salvation.

To really trust in Christ though is to partake of His holiness, be sanctified by the Holy Spirit and live by His word. He came to save us from our sins so we forsake our sins and follow Christ. That is salvation. Granted, we can't obtain salvation just by deciding that we are not going to sin any longer because at one time or another we would have sinned and that sin has to be covered by the shed blood of Jesus in order for that sin not to be counted against us on the day of judgment. If we do not believe in Jesus to take away our sins, we will die in our sins and face eternity without God.

This is why Jesus came to die for sins and cleanse us from the thing that was separating us from God. No where in the New Testament does the grace of God give anyone a license to go back into willful sin and expect to enter into heaven.

Matthew 22:15 Then went the Pharisees, and took counsel how they might entangle him in his talk.

The Pharisees knew that Jesus had spoken this parable against them. They were convicted by the Holy Spirit of their sin but in their case they did not yield to that conviction but resisted the Holy Spirit. It is similar to those people that made light of the wedding invitation or ignored it altogether. So these Pharisees went about to catch Jesus at His words and sought occasion to accuse Him. Many times when we are in the wrong, we will seek someone else to blame in order to try to justify ourselves in the wrong we do.

True repentance comes when we accept our guilt and turn away from sin. If we attempt to blame someone else because of our sin, it will not bring us genuine repentance. For instance one could ask God to forgive them for committing adultery against his wife but then say, "Lord she didn't love me or Lord she did this or that and that is why I sinned with another woman." When we do this we take back our confession of sin. It is not true repentance. If we sin against God, it is us who sinned. The other person must confess his or her own sin. We cannot blame them for our own sin.

Matthew 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.
17 Tell us therefore, What thinkest thou? Is it lawful to give tribute unto Caesar, or not?
18 But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, Why tempt ye me, ye hypocrites?

They wanted to find occasion to accuse Jesus of not paying his taxes to get Him in trouble with the authorities. This would justify their own unbelief in their own minds. However, whether or not we are right with God does not depend upon the righteousness of the messenger. The word of God is true whether or not the person that brings us the word is faithful or not. However we see that Jesus while He walked upon the earth obeyed the law of the land in which He lived unless that law went against the law of God. We must do the same.

Matthew 22:19 Shew me the tribute money. And they brought unto him a penny.
20 And he saith unto them, Whose is this image and superscription?
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.

There are certain laws that we must obey while we live in a certain city, township or nation until the day when Jesus rules and reigns. Until then we are to obey the laws of the land. The only exception would be if the law contradicts God's law. For instance if they passed a law forbidding us to preach the gospel, we would have to risk being arrested rather than disobey the higher law of God which says, "Go into the whole world and teach all nations."

Matthew 28:19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

Sometimes we miss this message. We read verse nineteen and stop there. We are to teach all things He spoke. This means things like the sermon on the mount, and all words that He spoke and were recorded in Matthew, Mark, Luke, John and Revelation. Added to that are the words of the apostles that followed Him and taught us things they Lord taught them. We must obey this commandment whether or not the local government allows us to do so. The higher law of God is greater than the laws of man. Other than God's law though, we must obey our government in order to have law and order.

Matthew 22:22 When they had heard these words, they marvelled, and left him, and went their way.
23 The same day came to him the Sadducees, which say that there is no resurrection, and asked him,
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.
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:
26 Likewise the second also, and the third, unto the seventh.
27 And last of all the woman died also.
28 Therefore in the resurrection whose wife shall she be of the seven? for they all had her.
29 Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God.
30 For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven.

I believe this means that in the coming kingdom there will be no need for marriages like we have now. In that respect we are like the angels. I don't believe we will be like the angels in appearance or body but like them in the fact that we do not marry. There will be no need for marriage after receiving our new bodies in the future resurrection.

Matthew 22:31 But as touching the resurrection of the dead, have ye not read that which was spoken unto you by God, saying,
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.

To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. The minute we die, our bodies only decay, our spirit and soul are with God if we are saved. We go to hell if we are lost. At the resurrection, the soul and spirit is united with the body but the body is changed into a body that cannot ever die or suffer pain. It is new like Jesus has now. Jesus was the first fruits of the resurrection.

We can read more on this in 1 Corinthians chapter 15. Paul explains this in detail. We must labor to be counted worthy to obtain this resurrection we call the 1st resurrection.

Luke also says it this way:

Luke 20:34 And Jesus answering said unto them, The children of this world marry, and are given in marriage:
35 But they which shall be accounted worthy to obtain that world, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry, nor are given in marriage:
36 Neither can they die any more: for they are equal unto the angels; and are the children of God, being the children of the resurrection.

In Luke we see that we are equal to the angels, not exactly like them. To obtain this resurrection we must be accounted worthy.

Revelation 20:6 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.

To be worthy of the 1st resurrection, we are to be in Christ, having completely believe in all He said.

Matthew 22:33 And when the multitude heard this, they were astonished at his doctrine.
34 But when the Pharisees had heard that he had put the Sadducees to silence, they were gathered together.
35 Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying,
36 Master, which is the great commandment in the law?
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.
38 This is the first and great commandment.
39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

If we could keep these commandments we would be in a sense keeping them all. To love God with all the heart is to believe in God but also the one He sent to die for our sins. Jesus is God (the son) and to love God is to love the Son.

Jesus is the only way to eternal life so to love Him with all the heart would cause us to believe Him, turn from sin and obey His words.

When we believe the Father and the Son in the form of the Holy Spirit comes to abide within us.
Proof:

John 14:23 Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.
24 He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father's which sent me.

To love God is to obey God. So we can't say we believe in Jesus and trust in Him and then go back into willful sin and expect to enter the kingdom of God. This is a latter day false doctrine. One person went so far as to say that if we believe otherwise, we have fallen from grace. In a subtle way they are saying that if we trust in Christ but try to obey His word and (not sin) we have fallen from grace. This is nonsense. Read the book of Jude.

To really believe in Christ is to turn from sin because the Spirit of God automatically convicts of sin when we first believe. When Peter was preaching about the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus, his message caused the listeners to cry out, "What must we do to be saved?"

Acts 2:37 Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?
38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
39 For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.

If we could love our neighbor as ourselves, we would be able to keep all the other commandments that refer to our relationship with other people. We would not steal, we would not commit adultery against our spouses, we would not kill and so forth.

If we want to be clean from all the junk and trash the world accepts as normal, we must repent and allow the blood of Jesus to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Matthew 22:41 While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them,
42 Saying, What think ye of Christ? whose son is he? They say unto him, The Son of David.
43 He saith unto them, How then doth David in spirit call him Lord, saying,
44 The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool?
45 If David then call him Lord, how is he his son?
46 And no man was able to answer him a word, neither durst any man from that day forth ask him any more questions.

David was speaking of the Son of God that would come from His own lineage. Glory to God in the highest. He was speaking of the coming King and Messiah Jesus Christ. He came to give us victory over the sin that was eternally separating us from our Creator. He came to bring us back into fellowship with God. David saw this way back when He wrote the Psalms. Yes, David sinned but David repented. He didn't try to blame his sin with Bathsheba on her. He didn't even mention her. He got right with God because he was truly sorry for his sin. He had to lose his son and suffer judgment before he saw it but he was a man after God's own heart because he genuinely repented once his sin was pointed out to him. It then grieved him.

God didn't have the bible written for us to ignore it and claim salvation by grace. He had it written to show us the way to Christ and be sanctified by the Holy Spirit. He came to show us a new and living way. He came to give us living water and eternal life.

-Dorna

Matthew 23