Matthew 22-23
Matthew 22-23
The Gospels give special attention to the increased emphasis Jesus showed to the training of the twelve as He made His way to Jerusalem; while He healed and taught many, nearing the cross His interest was almost singularly upon those who would carry on Kingdom leadership after His ascension. In the climax of the Gospel-drama, each of the evangelists brings to the fore a significant development of the plot: the Jewish leaders’ increasing fear of Jesus. In these chapters Jesus proclaimed that His Kingdom was not based upon Jewish identity; many of the Jewish leadership fiercely opposed Him—to which He replied in kind.
Mt 22 has two distinct literary elements—both of which make their own contribution to the thrust of the chapter:
- The parable of the wedding banquet (vv. 1-14). This is the last in a series of parables Jesus used to explain His Kingdom (cf. ch 13; 20.1-16)—compared here to a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son. In Jesus’ day, a wedding banquet was a laborious event (vv. 3-4), and to slight an invitation would be insulting to the host (vv. 5-7)—and all the more so if one was invited by the king himself! In the parable, national Israel, and especially the Jewish leadership, correspond to those who scorned the kindness of the king. Thus, the king sent out slaves to invite the Gentiles—even the evil among them (vv. 8-10). In the end though only those “dressed for the wedding,” those hearing the invitation call and responding appropriately, were the chosen of the kingdom (vv. 11-14)
- The Jewish leadership’ interrogation of Jesus, and His response (vv. 15-46). Here Matthew shows the severity of concern Jesus had brought to the hearts of the Jewish elite. The Pharisees, after plotting “how to trap Him by what he said” (v. 15), questioned Jesus about paying taxes to Caesar—perhaps hoping for grounds of accusing Him of insurrection against the Empire—but Jesus answered: “Give back to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s” (v. 21). Matthew notes that “the same day” (v. 23), some Sadducees approached Jesus about the doctrine of the resurrection—which they denied. They quoted Moses’ command that “if a man dies, heaving no children, his brother is to marry his wife and raise up offspring for his brother” (v. 24; cf. Dt 25.5). This command was intended to be a means of provision for the widowed of Israel in Canaan, but the Sadducees employed it as a platform for their hypothetical scenario about marriage and the resurrection. Jesus replied that the Sadducees were mistaken not only in denying that there will be a resurrection, but also in proposing that in the resurrection, all will be just as it is in this age. To make His point, Jesus quoted from Ex 3, where the LORD appeared to Moses in the burning bush, and said: “I am the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob” (v. 32; cf. Ex 3.6, 15-16). Matthew notes that, “When the Pharisees heard that He had silenced the Sadducees, they came together in the same place” (v. 34), attempting to catch Jesus in a lapse of thought about the Mosaic Law (cf. 19.16-22). The fact that the expert in the Law did not reply to Jesus’ statement that the greatest commandment was to love God with all one’s heart, soul, and mind (cf. Dt 6.5)—and to love one’s neighbor as himself (Lev 19.18)—implies that the Pharisee was satisfied with the answer; no one could catch Jesus speaking off key. After this coordinated effort to interrogate Jesus, He—acting as His own defense attorney—began to cross-examine the Pharisees regarding the Messiah’s relationship to King David (vv. 42-45). Unable to clarify how the Messiah could be both David’s Lord, and David’s son, “from that day no one dared to question Him any more” (v. 46)
While Jesus’ query had left His opponents speechless, He was not through; the Jewish leadership’s attempt to grill Him provided another ‘teachable moment’ for the disciples (23.1). Jesus went on to condemn the Pharisees for their hypocrisy and vanity—the very antithesis of the subjects of His Kingdom (23. 11-12; cf. 18.1-9; 19.13-15). The bulk of the ch 23 records eight woes Jesus pronounced against the Pharisees for their evil behavior (vv. 13-36). Yet Jesus was not smiling as He uttered the fate of the Pharisees; the final paragraph of the chapter reveals His anguish: “Jerusalem, Jerusalem!...How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, yet you were not willing!” (23.37)
Jesus’ interaction with the Pharisees in these chapters highlights the historical flow of redemptive history. In the storyline of Scripture, King David is understood to be Jesus’ ‘father;’ that is, Jesus could trace His Jewish lineage from Joseph to David (cf. Mt 1.6; Lk 3.30). But when Jesus questioned the Pharisees in Mt 22.42, asking, “What do you think about the Messiah? Whose Son is He?”, He had more in mind than simply that the Pharisees understand His family tree. He wished them to get right His position of authority. David was understood to be Israel’s greatest ruler; He conquered lands and established Israel as a ‘player’ in the world scene—God put his enemies under his feet (cf. Ps 110.1). In Jesus’ interpretation of Ps 110, the speaker of v. 1 was not a court sage, but King David himself, speaking about the Father’s declaration for the Son (cf. Acts 2.34-35; 1 Cor 15.25; Heb 1.13, 10.13); in effect, Jesus proposed that in Ps 110.1 David described how God spoke to Jesus, saying: “(You, Jesus) sit at My right hand until I put Your enemies under Your feet.” Thus the great King David—second to none in the history of Israel—testified that Jesus was his ‘Lord.’ Jesus’ point was that the Pharisees should recognize that one greater than David had arrived.
*For a complete list of references, please see scripturestoryline.com