The
Parable Of The Wedding Banquet
Jesus
spoke to them again in Parables,
Saying:
2
THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN IS LIKE A KING
WHO
PREPARED A WEDDING BANQUET FOR HIS SON.
3
He sent his Servants
To
those who had been Invited to the Banquet
To
tell them to come, but they Refused to come.
4
The He sent some more Servants and said,
'Tell
those who have been Invited
That
I have prepared My Dinner:
My
oxen and fattened cattle have been butchered,
AND
EVERYTHING IS READY.
COME
TO THE WEDDING BANQUET.'
5
BUT THEY PAID NO ATTENTION
And
went off—one to his field,
Another
to his business.
6
The rest seized his Servants,
Mistreated
them and Killed them.
7
THE KING WAS ENRAGED.
He
sent His army and Destroyed those Murderers
And
Burned their City.
8
Then He said to His Servants,
'THE
WEDDING BANQUET IS READY,
BUT
THOSE I INVITED DID NOT DESERVE TO COME.'
9
'Go to the street corners
And
Invite to the Banquet anyone you find.'
10
So the Servants went out into the streets
And
gathered all the people they could find,
Both
Good and Bad,
And
the Wedding Hall was filled with Guests.
11
But when the King came in to see the Guests,
He
noticed a man there
Who
was not wearing Wedding Clothes.
12
Friend, He asked,
'HOW
DID YOU GET IN HERE
WITHOUT
WEDDING CLOTHES?'
THE
MAN WAS SPEECHLESS.
13
THEN THE KING TOLD THE ATTENDANTS,
'TIE
HIM HAND AND FOOT,
AND
THROW HIM OUTSIDE,
INTO
THE DARKNESS,
WHERE
THERE WILL BE WEEPING
AND
GNASHING OF TEETH.'
14
FOR MANY ARE INVITED,
BUT
FEW ARE CHOSEN.'
Paying
Taxes To Caesar
15
Then the Pharisees went out
AND
LAID PLANS TO TRAP HIM IN HIS WORDS.
16
They sent their disciples to Him
Along
with the Herodians.
'Teacher,'
they said,
'We
know You are a man of Integrity
And
that You Teach the Way of God
In
accordance with the Truth.
You
aren't Swayed by men,
Because
You pay no attention to who they are.
17
Tell us then,
What
is Your Opinion?
Is
it right to Pay Taxes to Caesar or not?'
18
BUT JESUS, KNOWING THEIR EVIL INTENT,
Said,
'YOU HYPOCRITES,
WHY
ARE YOU TRYING TO TRAP ME?
19
Show Me the coin used for Paying the Tax.'
They
brought him a denarius,
20
And He asked them,
'Whose
Portrait is this?
And
whose Inscription?'
21
'Caesar's,' they replied.
Then
He said to them,
'GIVE
TO CAESAR WHAT IS CAESAR'S,
AND
TO GOD WHAT IS GOD'S.'
22
When they heard this,
They
were Amazed.
So
they left Him and went away.
Marriage
At The Resurrection
23
That same day the Sadducees,
Who
say there is no Resurrection,
Came
to Him with a question.
24
'Teacher,' they said,
'Moses
told us that if a man dies
Without
having children,
His
brother must marry the widow
And
have children for him.
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 same thing happened
To
the Second and Third brother,
Right
on down to the Seventh.
27
Finally, the woman died.
28
Now then, at the Resurrection,
Whose
wife will she be of the seven,
Since
all of them were married to her?'
29
Jesus replied,
'YOU
ARE IN ERROR
BECAUSE
YOU DO NOT KNOW THE SCRIPTURES
OR
THE POWER OF GOD.
30
AT THE RESURRECTION
PEOPLE
WILL NEITHER MARRY
NOR
BE GIVEN IN MARRIAGE;
THEY
WILL BE LIKE THE ANGELS IN HEAVEN.
31
BUT ABOUT THE RESURRECTION OF THE DEAD--
HAVE
YOU NOT READ WHAT GOD SAID TO YOU,
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 Astonished at His Teaching.
The
Greatest Commandment
34
Hearing that Jesus had Silenced the Sadducees,
The
Pharisees got together.
35
One of them, and Expert in the Law,
Tested
Him with this question:
36
'Teacher, which is the Greatest Commandment
In
the Law?'
37
Jesus replied:
'LOVE
THE LORD YOUR GOD
WITH
ALL YOUR HEART
AND
WITH ALL YOUR SOUL
AND
WITH ALL YOUR MIND.'
38
THIS IS THE FIRST AND GREATEST COMMANDMENT.
39
And the Second is like it:
'LOVE
YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.'
40
ALL THE LAW AND THE PROPHETS
HANG
ON THESE TWO COMMANDMENTS.'
Whose
Son Is The Christ
41
While the Pharisees were gathered together,
Jesus
asked them,
42
'WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THE CHRIST?
WHOSE
SON IS HE?'
THE
SON OF DAVID THEY REPLIED.
43
He said to them,
'HOW
IS IT THEN THAT DAVID,
SPEAKING
BY THE SPIRIT,
CALLS
HIM LORD'?
For
He says,
44
The Lord said to my Lord:
'SIT
AT MY RIGHT HAND
UNTIL
I PUT YOUR ENEMIES UNDER YOUR FEET.'
45
IF THEN DAVID CALLS HIM 'LORD,'
HOW
CAN HE BE HIS SON?'
46
No one could say a word in reply,
And
from that day on
No
one dared to ask Him any more questions.
(Matthew
22)
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