Matthew 22

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 22:5

The enticement of material interests. "One to his farm, another to his merchandise." These men, as we have seen, were discourteous from mere wilfulness, mere bad nature; but they turned away from the king's servants to their own private affairs, in order to make a show of reasonable excuse. So while it is true that men often are absorbed in their material concerns, and these may explain their neglect of religion, it is even more frequently true that men make their material interests excuse... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 22:6

The remnant. These form the second class of recalcitrant guests. They are actively hostile to the King and his messengers, rejecting them not merely for worldly or interested motives, but from intense hatred to the doctrines which they taught. Such were the scribes and Pharisees, who could not endure to see the Law superseded, and the Gentiles raised to their level; such were the Sadducees, who scoffed at a faith founded on the resurrection, and refused credit to the miraculous with... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 22:7

When the king heard thereof. The text varies here. Some manuscripts have "that king," to whom the rejection of his messengers was a personal insult. The Sinaitic, Vatican, and other authorities omit ἀκου ì σας , "heard thereof," and it may well be a gloss from the human view that the king, not being personally present, must have been informed of the incidents. At the same time, the King, regarded as God, needs no report to acquaint him with what is going on. He was wroth. The... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 22:8

Then saith he. This is supposed to take place after the destruction of the murderers and their city; and, indeed, the final rejection of the Jews and the substitution of the Gentiles were consummated by the overthrow of Jerusalem and the Hebrew polity. The wedding is ready. God's great design is not frustrated by the neglect of those first invited, only the guests are changed. Not worthy. Their unworthiness was proved by their rejection of the gracious call, as the worthiness of those... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 22:9

The highways; τα Ì ς διεξο ì δους τῶν ὁδῶν : exitus viarum ; the partings, or outlets of the ways. The places where roads meet, beyond the city bounds in the country, which would naturally be a centre of concourse. The city where the marriage feast was now held is not named, because it is no longer Jerusalem, but somewhere, anywhere, in the Gentile world; for the call of the Gentiles is here set forth. As many as ye shall find. The invitation is no longer confined... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 22:9

The free invitation of the gospel. There is an immediate reference to those whom our Lord addressed in this parable. He was speaking to men who prided themselves on being in the special favour of God—God's invited guests. Our Lord was bringing home to their hearts the consequences of the Jewish neglect of God's last invitation. 1 . The Jews, as a nation, must be destroyed. 2 . The Gentiles, as individuals, must be drawn into the Divine favour. Those Jews had conceived that the Divine... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 22:10

Highways; ὁδου Ì ς : the roads. Not "the partings of the ways," whither they had been ordered to go. Some see here an intimation of the imperfection of the work of human agents; but it is very doubtful if any such allusion is intended. More probably τα Ì ς ὁδου Ì ς is only a synonym for τα Ì ς διεξο ì δους τῶν ὁδῶν . Both bad and good. The visible Church contains a mixed company, as Christ indicated by more than one parable; e.g. the draw net,... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 22:11

The king came in to see the guests, who by this time had taken their appointed places at table. This second portion of the parable teaches that admission to the visible Church is not all that is required; there is also a scrutiny to be undergone and an award to be made. And that this investigation is keen and searching is denoted by the verb used, θεα ì σασθαι , which means not merely, to see casually, but to gaze upon with the intent of seeing the real nature and character of an... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 22:12

Friend ; ἑταῖρε , as Matthew 20:13 . It was thus that Christ addressed Judas in the garden ( Matthew 26:50 ). The term here has in it something of distrust and disapprobation. How camest thou in hither? The question may mean—How couldst thou presume to approach this solemn festival without the indispensable requisite? Or, how couldst thou elude the vigilance of the servants, and enter in this unseemly garb? The former is doubtless the signification of the inquiry. The... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 22:12

Wilfulness spoiling our blessings. "Not having a wedding garment." The incident is a distinctly Eastern one. So motley a crowd would be very out of place in a king's palace. It was not only kindly consideration which provided an all-covering, handsome robe for guests whose own clothes were shabby; it was a sense of appropriateness which required all the guests to be suitably arrayed. In treating this parable it should be kept in mind that he who gave the feast was a king, and so sent his... read more

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 22:5

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 22:6

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 22:7

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 22:8

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 22:9

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 22:9

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 22:10

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 22:11

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 22:12

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 22:12

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