Matthew Chapter 22
Showing all 46 verses for Matthew Chapter 22.
The People's Bible is written by people, for the people. Each verse below shows:
"And Jesus answered and spake unto them again by parables, and said, "
"Jesus went on speaking to them in parables, and said:"
I keep telling the truth even when my listeners are getting angry, because backing off from honesty to keep the peace isn't real peace at all.
"The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king, which made a marriage for his son, "
"The kingdom of heaven is like a king who held a wedding banquet for his son."
I compare what I'm offering to a wedding feast, not a funeral, because following me is meant to bring you into joy, not weigh you down with more rules.
"And sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden to the wedding: and they would not come. "
"He sent his servants to tell the invited guests to come to the wedding, but they refused to come."
I notice that the hardest rejection isn't outright hostility, it's people who nod along and then just don't show up when it actually costs them something - don't let that be you.
"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. "
"Again he sent other servants, saying: Tell those who were invited, Look, I've prepared my dinner, my oxen and fattened cattle have been killed, everything is ready - come to the wedding."
I keep the door open and keep inviting, even after you've turned me down once, because I'd rather chase you with generosity than abandon you to your excuses.
"But they made light of it, and went their ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandise: "
"But they paid no attention and went off - one to his farm, another to his business."
I warn you that the most common way people miss what I'm offering isn't rebellion, it's just staying too busy with work and routine to notice the invitation at all.
"And the remnant took his servants, and entreated them spitefully, and slew them. "
"The rest seized his servants, mistreated them, and killed them."
I know that some people respond to an invitation to change not with a shrug but with real hostility, and I don't pretend that won't happen - but it doesn't stop me sending the invitation.
"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 king was furious. He sent his army, destroyed those murderers, and burned down their city."
I don't sugar-coat the fact that turning away from love and truth, again and again, eventually has real consequences - I tell you this because I want you to take the invitation seriously, not to frighten you.
"Then saith he to his servants, The wedding is ready, but they which were bidden were not worthy. "
"Then he said to his servants: The wedding is ready, but those who were invited didn't deserve it."
I don't let anyone's refusal shrink what I'm offering - the invitation still stands, wide open, for whoever will actually come.
"Go ye therefore into the highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage. "
"So go out to the main roads and invite everyone you find to the wedding."
I don't check your credentials before I invite you in - I want everyone I find, no exceptions and no gatekeeping.
"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. "
"So the servants went out onto the roads and gathered everyone they found, both bad and good, and the wedding hall was filled with guests."
I welcome you in whatever state you arrive - I'm not running an exclusive club for people who've already got their lives sorted.
"And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment: "
"But when the king came in to look at the guests, he noticed a man who wasn't wearing wedding clothes."
I care not just that you show up, but whether you actually let yourself be changed by being here - come as you are, but don't stay exactly as you were.
"And he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless. "
"He said to him: Friend, how did you get in here without wedding clothes? The man had nothing to say."
I ask you to be honest with yourself about whether you've actually accepted what's offered, or just shown up expecting a place without any real change on your part.
"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. "
"Then the king told the servants: Tie him up hand and foot and throw him outside into the darkness, where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth."
I don't threaten you to scare you into obedience, but I am honest that pretending to accept me while refusing to actually change is not a neutral, cost-free position.
"For many are called, but few are chosen. "
"For many are invited, but few are chosen."
I invite everyone without exception, but I want you to know that hearing about me and actually living in response to me are two different things - make sure you do the second one.
"Then went the Pharisees, and took counsel how they might entangle him in his talk. "
"Then the Pharisees went off and plotted how to trap Jesus in his own words."
I can always tell the difference between someone genuinely searching for truth and someone just looking for a way to trap or discredit me - and I answer honestly either way.
"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. "
"They sent their disciples to him along with the Herodians, saying: Teacher, we know you are honest and teach the way of God truthfully. You don't care what people think of you, because you don't show favouritism."
I see through flattery even when every word of it happens to be true, because the question isn't whether praise is accurate, it's whether it's sincere.
"Tell us therefore, What thinkest thou? Is it lawful to give tribute unto Caesar, or not? "
"So tell us what you think: is it right to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?"
I recognise when a question is designed to force me into an impossible corner, and I refuse to be cornered into a false choice that isn't the real issue at all.
"But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, Why tempt ye me, ye hypocrites? "
"But Jesus saw through their malice and said: Why are you testing me, you hypocrites?"
I call out manipulation directly rather than pretending I haven't noticed it, because letting dishonesty go unnamed only helps it work.
"Shew me the tribute money. And they brought unto him a penny. "
"Show me the coin used for the tax. They brought him a denarius."
I like to bring big, tangled questions down to something concrete and simple, because clarity usually comes from looking directly at what's actually in front of you.
"And he saith unto them, Whose is this image and superscription? "
"He asked them: Whose image and inscription is this?"
I often answer a hard question with a question, because leading you to see the answer yourself sticks far better than me simply telling you what to think.
"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. "
"They replied: Caesar's. Then he said to them: So give back to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and to God what belongs to God."
I don't ask you to reject ordinary responsibilities in society in order to follow me, but I do ask you to remember that your deepest loyalty, the core of who you are, belongs to something bigger than any government or system.
"When they had heard these words, they marvelled, and left him, and went their way. "
"When they heard this, they were amazed. They left him and went away."
I let my answers speak for themselves rather than gloating over anyone who tried to trap me - the truth doesn't need me to rub it in.
"The same day came to him the Sadducees, which say that there is no resurrection, and asked him, "
"That same day the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to him and asked a question."
I welcome even hostile, sceptical questions about what happens after death, because honest doubt deserves an honest, thoughtful answer, not dismissal.
"Saying, Master, Moses said, If a man die, having no children, his brother shall marry his wife, and raise up seed unto his brother. "
"They said: Teacher, Moses said that if a man dies without children, his brother must marry the widow and have children to carry on his brother's name."
I take questions rooted in real scripture seriously, engaging with the actual text rather than dodging it, even when I can see where the question is really heading.
"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: "
"Now there were seven brothers among us. The first married and died childless, leaving his wife to his brother."
I don't get distracted by an elaborate hypothetical designed to overwhelm rather than illuminate - I look past the complexity to the real question underneath.
"Likewise the second also, and the third, unto the seventh. "
"The same thing happened to the second brother, then the third, all the way to the seventh."
I notice when repetition is being used to manufacture outrage or absurdity rather than genuine insight, and I don't let volume substitute for substance.
"And last of all the woman died also. "
"Finally, the woman died too."
I see the person at the centre of this hypothetical - a woman treated only as a plot device in their argument - and I remember that real people, not just clever puzzles, are what matter.
"Therefore in the resurrection whose wife shall she be of the seven? for they all had her. "
"So in the resurrection, whose wife will she be, since all seven were married to her?"
I show that a clever-sounding argument can still rest on a false assumption, and the way to answer it isn't to accept its terms but to question the assumption underneath.
"Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God. "
"Jesus answered: You are mistaken, because you don't know the scriptures or the power of God."
I'm willing to tell even confident, educated people that they've misunderstood something important, because respect for someone doesn't mean agreeing they're right when they're not.
"For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven. "
"For in the resurrection, people neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like the angels in heaven."
I want you to know that whatever comes after this life isn't simply more of the same, so don't try to map every earthly expectation onto it - trust that it's good in ways you can't fully picture yet.
"But as touching the resurrection of the dead, have ye not read that which was spoken unto you by God, saying, "
"Now, about the resurrection of the dead - haven't you read what God said to you?"
I meet you within the framework of what you already believe, using your own trusted sources to show you something you'd missed, rather than demanding you accept something foreign first.
"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. "
"I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. God is not the God of the dead, but of the living."
I want you to know that the people you love who have died are not simply gone and forgotten - the God who holds all of life still holds them too.
"And when the multitude heard this, they were astonished at his doctrine. "
"When the crowds heard this, they were astonished at his teaching."
I care most about reaching the honest, ordinary people listening in, not just winning arguments against those trying to trip me up.
"But when the Pharisees had heard that he had put the Sadducees to silence, they were gathered together. "
"When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together."
I notice when people are more interested in winning a contest than in learning from what just happened - don't let rivalry blind you to a lesson right in front of you.
"Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying, "
"One of them, an expert in religious law, asked him a question to test him:"
I answer even a question with mixed motives fully and honestly, because the value of a true answer doesn't depend on the purity of the person asking.
"Master, which is the great commandment in the law? "
"Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the law?"
I welcome the question of what actually matters most, because life gets overwhelming when every rule feels equally urgent - I want to give you one clear centre to hold onto.
"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. "
"Jesus told him: Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind."
I ask for all of you, not a fraction - your feelings, your will, and your thinking all pointed in the same direction, because a divided life is an exhausting one.
"This is the first and great commandment. "
"This is the first and greatest commandment."
I give you one clear priority to organise your whole life around, so that when things get complicated, you always know what comes first.
"And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. "
"And the second is like it: Love your neighbour as yourself."
I won't let you separate loving me from loving the people around you - if you say you love God but treat people badly, something has gone wrong, because the two are meant to be one movement.
"On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. "
"All the law and the prophets depend on these two commandments."
I give you a simple test for any rule or teaching you're unsure about: does it flow from love of God and love of people? If it does, it's on solid ground.
"While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, "
"While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question:"
I don't just respond to challenges, I also take the initiative to raise the question that matters most - who do you actually think I am?
"Saying, What think ye of Christ? whose son is he? They say unto him, The son of David. "
"What do you think about the Christ - whose son is he? They answered: The son of David."
I want you to hold your understanding of who I am loosely enough to be corrected and deepened - being right about part of the truth isn't the same as seeing the whole picture.
"He saith unto them, How then doth David in spirit call him Lord, saying, "
"He said to them: Then how does David, speaking by the Spirit, call him Lord, when he says:"
I want you to notice the details in scripture that don't quite fit the simple story, because those details are often exactly where the deeper truth is hiding.
"The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool? "
"The Lord said to my Lord: Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool under your feet."
I am asking you to see me as more than just a good teacher or a historical figure descended from a great king - I am asking you to reckon with who scripture itself says I actually am.
"If David then call him Lord, how is he his son? "
"So if David calls him Lord, how can he be David's son?"
I want you to be comfortable with mystery when it comes to who I am - I don't fit into a single simple box, and that's exactly the point.
"And no man was able to answer him a word, neither durst any man from that day forth ask him any more questions. "
"No one could answer him a word, and from that day on, no one dared to ask him any more questions."
I won't force you to agree with me, but I will always meet a genuine challenge with a clear and honest answer - the silence that follows truth speaks for itself.