Audio Download

Matthew 22:1–22 The Parable of the Wedding Feast

[Study Aired September 29, 2025]

We shall look at the parable of the wedding feast as our main topic for today. In addition, we shall review the question posed by the Pharisees and the Herodians about whether they should pay tribute to Caesar. 

To make it easier to understand today’s study, we need to know what the wedding feast means spiritually. We know from the word of the Lord that by the things that are made, we are able to understand the Lord’s eternal power and Godhead. 

Rom 1:20  For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: 

One of the significant activities of a wedding feast is the lunch or the dinner where the guests are able to eat to their satisfaction. So the whole wedding feast is about eating. In the scriptures we are going to review today, we are told that the oxen and the fatlings are killed and ready for dinner. 

Mat 22:4  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. 

What this dinner is about is that we are going to eat. Spiritually, this means that we are going to know Christ. So, the wedding feast is about we, His elect, seeing Christ as He is. The word of the Lord says that when we see Him as He is, we shall be like Him. That is what the wedding feast is about. We shall be like Christ because we shall know Him as He is.

1Jn 3:2  Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. 
1Jn 3:3 And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.

The question is, “When does this wedding feast of Christ and His bride begin?” It starts right at the first resurrection, when the Lord’s elect are raised from death with an incorruptible body.

1Th 4:15  For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.
1Th 4:16  For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 
1Th 4:17  Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. 
1Th 4:18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words. 

The story of Isaac’s marriage to Rebekah depicts this marriage feast. 

Gen 24:64  And Rebekah lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Isaac, she dismounted from the camel. 
Gen 24:65  and said to the servant, “Who is that man, walking in the field to meet us?” The servant said, “It is my master.” So she took her veil and covered herself. 
Gen 24:66  And the servant told Isaac all the things that he had done. 
Gen 24:67  Then Isaac brought her into the tent of Sarah his mother and took Rebekah, and she became his wife, and he loved her. So Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death.

When Rebekah saw Isaac, she dismantled from the camel. This means that in the first resurrection, we shall put away this fleshly body (camel which is perishable) and put on a resurrected body (imperishable) just like Christ. Rebekah taking the veil means that we shall see the Lord as He is. 

1Co 15:52  In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. 
1Co 15:53  For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality.  

With this in mind, let’s turn our attention to the details of the parable of the wedding feast.

The Parable of the Wedding Feast

Mat 22:1  And Jesus answered and spake unto them again by parables, and said, 
Mat 22:2  The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king, which made a marriage for his son, 
Mat 22:3  And sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden to the wedding: and they would not come. 

Jesus answering and speaking to them refers to the chief priests and the Pharisees in the previous chapter, who represent our brothers and sisters in the church system of this world or Babylon. They are the many who are not given to understand the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven. That is why Jesus speaks to them in parables.

Mat 13:10  And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?
Mat 13:11  He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. 
Mat 13:12  For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.
Mat 13:13 Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. 

The king who is having a marriage for His son is God, the Father. The son is Jesus Christ, and the marriage is between Jesus Christ and His elect. 

Rev 19:7  Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.
Rev 19:8  And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. 
Rev 19:9 And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.  

The servants in verse 3 signify Moses and the prophets who were sent to the house of Israel. Those bidden to the wedding therefore in verse 3 represent the house of Israel. As indicated in verse 3, not all those invited to the wedding would come. The children of Israel refused to become the Lord’s bride. 

Isa 1:2  Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: for the LORD hath spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me. 
Isa 1:3  The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master’s crib: but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider. 
Isa 1:4 Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the LORD, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward.

Jer 18:6  O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? saith the LORD. Behold, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are ye in mine hand, O house of Israel. 

Mat 22:4  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. 

This category of servants are identified by their message, which is to tell them who are bidden that the dinner is ready as the oxen and fatlings have been killed. The oxen represent our Lord Jesus Christ and His elect. A fatling in the Bible means a young animal, such as a calf, lamb, or kid, that has been deliberately fattened for slaughter, typically for sacrifice or a special feast. The Lord’s fatlings therefore also signify the Lord Jesus and His elect. Our Lord Jesus had to physically die at a young age to deliver us from our sins and to become the source of salvation for us, His elect, and the world. Our death as His elect is a spiritual one as we die daily to the flesh. Our death to the flesh is what makes us ready as the Lord’s bride for the marriage feast.    

Rom 5:6  For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.
Rom 5:7  For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. 
Rom 5:8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 

Gal 2:20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

Rev 19:7  Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.  

Based on this message of the cross, this category of servants sent by the Lord represents the Lord’s elect in every generation after John the Baptist. 

Mat 22:5  But they made light of it, and went their ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandise: 

Making light the message of the servants sent means neglecting or paying no attention to the word of the Lord. Here in verse 5, we are given a reason why they did not pay heed to the Lord’s words – one went to his farm and another to his merchandise. This implies that the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches, are what rob us of becoming part of the marriage feast. This is what our Lord Jesus has to say about this:

Mat 13:22  He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful.  

In the parable of the great banquet which talks about this same wedding feast of Christ and His bride, we are given more reasons why many refuse to attend this feast. 

Luk 14:16  Then said he unto him, A certain man made a great supper, and bade many: 
Luk 14:17  And sent his servant at supper time to say to them that were bidden, Come; for all things are now ready. 
Luk 14:18  And they all with one consent began to make excuse. The first said unto him, I have bought a piece of ground, and I must needs go and see it: I pray thee have me excused. 
Luk 14:19  And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them: I pray thee have me excused. 
Luk 14:20  And another said, I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come. 
Luk 14:21  So that servant came, and shewed his lord these things. Then the master of the house being angry said to his servant, Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind. 
Luk 14:22  And the servant said, Lord, it is done as thou hast commanded, and yet there is room.
Luk 14:23  And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled. 
Luk 14:24 For I say unto you, That none of those men which were bidden shall taste of my supper.

The excuses given for not attending the great banquet were as follows; I have bought a piece of ground, I have bought five oxen, and I have married a wife. Going to see the piece of ground bought means focusing on the cares of this world at the expense of the Lord. Those who own oxen in the Bible days were wealthy people. Therefore the one who bought five oxen, and as a result refused to go to the wedding feast, stands for those who feel they are spiritually rich but are not. The negative aspect of the number five means famine which brings poverty. 

Gen 45:11  And there will I nourish thee; for yet there are five years of famine; lest thou, and thy household, and all that thou hast, come to poverty. 

This implies that the one who bought five oxen are those who consider themselves as spiritually rich but are spiritually poor. They therefore cannot inherit the kingdom of Heaven. 

Rev 3:17  Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: 
Rev 3:18 I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see. 

The one who had just married a wife symbolizes those who are made worse by the church system of this world (the harlot), making them unfit for the marriage feast. 

2Pe 2:18  For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error. 
2Pe 2:19  While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage.
2Pe 2:20  For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning.
2Pe 2:21  For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them. 
2Pe 2:22 But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire. 

At a certain point in our walk with Christ, we taught we were married to Christ. However, we did not know that we had been deceived by the whore, just as Jacob was deceived to marry Leah. That is why the Lord wants us to leave Babylon or the church system of this world, who, to the natural man, is the bride of Christ, but to the Lord’s elect, she is a whore.

Eze 16:32  But as a wife that committeth adultery, which taketh strangers instead of her husband! 
Eze 16:33 They give gifts to all whores: but thou givest thy gifts to all thy lovers, and hirest them, that they may come unto thee on every side for thy whoredom.  

Mat 22:6  And the remnant took his servants, and entreated them spitefully, and slew them. 

We were all guilty of the blood of the prophets and our Lord Jesus Christ at a stage of our walk in the church system of this world or Babylon. This is what the Lord had to say about this:

Luk 11:49  Therefore also said the wisdom of God, I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they shall slay and persecute: 
Luk 11:50  That the blood of all the prophets, which was shed from the foundation of the world, may be required of this generation;
Luk 11:51 From the blood of Abel unto the blood of Zacharias, which perished between the altar and the temple: verily I say unto you, It shall be required of this generation. 

Mat 22:7  But when the king heard thereof, he was wroth: and he sent forth his armies, and destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city. 

The city here in verse 7 is the same as the harlot woman who is Babylon. The murderers refer to all in Babylon of which we were part, during our sojourn in the churches of this world. As indicated earlier, we were responsible for the blood of all the prophets. 

Rev 17:3  So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. 
Rev 17:4  And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication: 
Rev 17:5  And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. 
Rev 17:6 And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration. 

Rev 17:18  And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth. 

In this age, it is Babylon within us, His elect, which is being destroyed through the fiery trials we are enduring. In the fullness of time, Babylon will be destroyed outwardly for all to see.  

Rev 18:8  Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her. 
Rev 18:9  And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication and lived deliciously with her, shall bewail her, and lament for her, when they shall see the smoke of her burning, 
Rev 18:10 Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come. 

Mat 22:8  Then saith he to his servants, The wedding is ready, but they which were bidden were not worthy. 
Mat 22:9 Go ye therefore into the highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage. 

Our brothers and sisters in the church system of this world or Babylon, are not worthy of attending the marriage feast of Christ and His bride. We, His elect, were also not worthy to be at this marriage feast at a certain stage of our walk with Christ. However, through the mercies of the Lord, He has made us worthy to attend this marriage feast. The highways represent all those who have escaped from the city of the harlot woman or Babylon. As we are aware, the Lord is urging His elect, to leave Babylon.

Jdg 20:32  And the children of Benjamin said, They are smitten down before us, as at the first. But the children of Israel said, Let us flee, and draw them from the city unto the highways.  

Rev 18:4  And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues. 

We, His elect, are those on the highways who have escaped from the city of Babylon. We are therefore, the Lord’s bride and are going to be part of this marriage feast of Christ and His bride. 

Mat 22:10  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. 
Mat 22:11  And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment: 
Mat 22:12  And he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless. 
Mat 22:13  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. 

As indicated, those on the highways represent the Lord’s elect who have escaped from the city Babylon. However, leaving Babylon does not mean we are perfected. The fact that there are both good and bad on the highways invited means that we have to work out our salvation with fear and trembling to be on the good side.  This implies that we can be the Lord’s elect and yet miss out on wearing the appropriate wedding garment for the wedding feast. We know from the word of the Lord that on a positive note, a garment represent righteousness. The appropriate wedding garment to put on therefore is the righteousness of Christ which is attained through the Lord’s judgment of our old man or flesh. Without the righteousness of Christ, we shall be disqualified from attending this wedding feast of Christ. The verses below show us how we can be disqualified from this wedding feast: 

Heb 10:26  For if we sin willfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remained no more sacrifice for sins, 
Heb 10:27  But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries. 
Heb 10:28  He that despised Moses’ law died without mercy under two or three witnesses: 
Heb 10:29 Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden underfoot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?  

We are, however, encouraged by the Lord to keep our confidence of making it to the wedding feast. This is because He who has started preparing us for this wedding feast will see to its completion. 

Heb 10:35  Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. 
Heb 10:36  For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised. 
Heb 10:37  For, “Yet a little while, and the coming one will come and will not delay; 
Heb 10:38  but my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him.” 
Heb 10:39 But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls. 

In verse 13, the man without the appropriate garment for the wedding feast is cast into outer darkness where there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. The outer darkness is a condition where we are not given the light of Christ to understand His words. The weeping and gnashing of teeth speak of the sorrow we experience when we realize that we have missed the blessing, just like Esau.  

Heb 12:15  Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled; 
Heb 12:16  Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright. 
Heb 12:17 For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears. 

Mat 22:14  For many are called, but few are chosen. 

Right from the beginning of creation to date, the Lord has been calling many to come and work in His vineyard. However, it is the few who came after Christ who are chosen to receive everlasting life first. The few who are given everlasting life means that they are given to know Christ first in this age. This is what the parable of the laborers in the Lord’s vineyard seeks to illustrate. 

Mat 20:8  So when even was come, the lord of the vineyard saith unto his steward, Call the labourers, and give them their hire, beginning from the last unto the first. 
Mat 20:9  And when they came that were hired about the eleventh hour, they received every man a penny. 
Mat 20:10  But when the first came, they supposed that they should have received more; and they likewise received every man a penny. 
Mat 20:11  And when they had received it, they murmured against the goodman of the house,
Mat 20:12  Saying, These last have wrought but one hour, and thou hast made them equal unto us, which have borne the burden and heat of the day. 
Mat 20:13  But he answered one of them, and said, Friend, I do thee no wrong: didst not thou agree with me for a penny? 
Mat 20:14  Take that thine is, and go thy way: I will give unto this last, even as unto thee. 
Mat 20:15  Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? Is thine eye evil, because I am good? 
Mat 20:16 So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen.  

Paying Taxes to Caesar

Mat 22:15  Then went the Pharisees, and took counsel how they might entangle him in his talk. 
Mat 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. 
Mat 22:17  Tell us therefore, What thinkest thou? Is it lawful to give tribute unto Caesar, or not? 
Mat 22:18  But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, Why tempt ye me, ye hypocrites? 

After failing to ensnare our Lord Jesus Christ through His conduct, the Pharisees in league with the Herodians attempted to trap Jesus in His speaking. The Herodians were not a religious sect. They were political foes of the Pharisees, differing on the best way to navigate Jewish life between their Jewish faith and Hellenistic cultural influences, which they often chose to compromise with. The Pharisees coming together with the Herodians to entrap Jesus is to highlight the fact that all humanity including His elect, were involved in the murder of our Lord Jesus Christ. At a certain stage of our walk, we were just like the Pharisees and the Herodians trying to kill Jesus and His elect. 

Psa 2:1  Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? 
Psa 2:2  The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed, saying, 
Psa 2:3  Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us. 
Psa 2:4 He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision. 

In verse 16, we see some of the qualities of our Lord Jesus when He lived here on earth. He was true, taught the way of God in truth and was no respecter of persons. As He is, so are we. When people see us, they must see us as genuine in our conduct as we teach the way of the Lord in truth. We must not be respecter of persons. 

Eph 4:1  I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, 
Eph 4:2  With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love;
Eph 4:3 Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 

Another characteristic of our Lord Jesus Christ while He walked here on earth was His ability to discern the intent of people who come to Him as if they want to know the truth. In verse 17 and 18, the Pharisees and the Herodians asked Jesus a question about paying tribute to Caesar, but the Lord was able to see their inward wicked motive. If Jesus says that the Jews should not pay tribute to Caesar, it makes Jesus a rebel to Rome. Saying that the Jews should pay, makes Him a traitor to the Jews. Jesus made it clear their intent by exposing them as hypocrites.    

As He is, so are we. We are sometimes approached by our brothers and sisters in Babylon about our understanding of the word of the Lord. On the surface, it seems as if they want to know the truth. However, they really want to entrap us by our words. May the Lord help us to discern the motives of such people  who come to entrap us by our words. 

Pro 6:2  Thou art snared with the words of thy mouth, thou art taken with the words of thy mouth.

Pro 6:5  Deliver thyself as a roe from the hand of the hunter, and as a bird from the hand of the fowler. 

Mat 22:19  Shew me the tribute money. And they brought unto him a penny. 
Mat 22:20  And he saith unto them, Whose is this image and superscription? 
Mat 22:21  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. 
Mat 22:22  When they had heard these words, they marvelled, and left him, and went their way. 

Jesus’ response that we should render to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and unto God the things that are God’s, shows us how we are to live in this world as His elect. Being God’s children, we must not interfere with politics. However, we are to submit to our governments as we pay our taxes and obey the rules of the government. On the other hand, we must render to the Lord what is due Him in this life. This implies offering ourselves as a living sacrifice to the Lord. We do this by not conforming to the standards of this world, as we are transformed by the renewing of our minds daily. 

Rom 12:1  I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. 
Rom 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.   

May the Lord be merciful to us as He makes us ready for this marriage feast. Amen!!