Matthew 22 – Parables, Challenges, and the Greatest Commandment

Overview: The Invitation and the Greatest Commandment

🔹 Timeframe: The final week of Jesus’ ministry before the crucifixion.

🔹 Setting: Public debates in Jerusalem.

🔹 Theme: God’s Kingdom is open to all, but only those who respond in faith will enter.

The Greatest Commandment & The Ten Commandments – A Unified Law of Love

Jesus’ declaration in Matthew 22:37-40 summarizes the entire Law into two foundational commands:

📖 Matthew 22:37-40 – “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”

🔎 This was not a new law, but a divine clarification. The Ten Commandments given to Moses (Exodus 20:1-17) are divided into two categories:
✔ The first four (1-4) concern love for God.
✔ The last six (5-10) concern love for others.

Understanding “On These Two Commandments Hang All the Law and the Prophets” (Matthew 22:40)

📖 Matthew 22:40 – “On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”

When Jesus made this statement, He revealed that the entire Old Testament—both the Law (Torah) and the Prophets (Nevi’im)—is built upon these two principles:
✔ Loving God with all your heart, soul, and mind.
✔ Loving your neighbor as yourself.

This means that every commandment, law, and prophetic message ultimately serves one of these two purposes: to align people with God in love or to guide them in loving others.

Breaking It Down: The Law & The Prophets

1️⃣ The Law (Torah) – The Foundation of Commandments

🔹 The Law (Torah) refers to Genesis through Deuteronomy, where God gave commandments to Israel.
🔹 The Ten Commandments (Exodus 20) summarize moral laws, and many civil and ceremonial laws flow from them.
🔹 Every command in the Law ultimately points to either love for God or love for others.

2️⃣ The Prophets (Nevi’im) – The Call to Return to Love

🔹 The Prophets (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, and others) rebuked Israel when they failed to love God (idolatry) or love others (oppression, injustice).
🔹 Every prophetic warning was a call to return to these two great commandments.

🔄 The Connection to the Ten Commandments

Jesus was summarizing what was already revealed in the Torah:
📖 Deuteronomy 6:5 – “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.” (First four commandments)
📖 Leviticus 19:18 – “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” (Last six commandments)

Thus, when Jesus said “on these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets,” He meant:
✔ The entire Old Testament is structured around these two principles.
✔ Every law given by God was designed to teach love for Him or love for others.
✔ Every prophetic rebuke was a call back to these foundational truths.

Prophetic Fulfillment in Christ

🔮 Jesus fulfilled both commandments perfectly – He loved God fully and gave Himself for others.
🔮 The cross is the ultimate display of both laws – Jesus’ sacrifice satisfied God’s justice and expressed love for all humanity.
🔮 The New Covenant doesn’t abolish the Law but fulfills it in love – Paul confirms this in:
📖 Romans 13:10 – “Love worketh no ill to his neighbor: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.”

Key Takeaways

🔑 God invites all to His Kingdom, but many reject Him.

🔑 True greatness is found in loving God and others.

🔑 Jesus’ wisdom exposes hypocrisy and silences His opponents.

🔑 The Messiah is both David’s Son and David’s Lord.

Prophetic Patterns & Dual Fulfillment

🔮 The Wedding Feast & Israel’s Rejection – Echoes Isaiah 25:6-9, where God invites all to His banquet.

🔮 The Cornerstone Rejected – Fulfilled in Psalm 118:22-23, where the rejected stone becomes the foundation.

🔮 Love as the Foundation of the Law – Foretold in Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18.

Historical & Cultural Context

📜 Marriage Feasts in Jewish Culture – Royal weddings were grand events, symbolizing honor and joy.

📜 Pharisees vs. Sadducees – The Pharisees upheld tradition, while the Sadducees denied resurrection and angels.

📜 Roman Taxation – Paying tribute to Caesar was a heavily debated topic among Jews.

💡 Final Reflection: Are We Accepting God’s Invitation?

Matthew 22 confronts us with a choice—will we respond to God’s invitation with faith or rejection?

📌 Are we seeking wisdom from God, or trying to outthink Him?
📌 Do we truly love God with all our heart, soul, and mind?
📌 Are we living out love for our neighbors?

🚀 The invitation to the Kingdom is open—how will we respond?

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. 
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. 
Mat 22:5  But they made light of it, and went their ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandise: 
Mat 22:6  And the remnant took his servants, and entreated them spitefully, and slew them. 
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. 
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. 
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. 
Mat 22:14  For many are called, but few are 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? 
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. 

Sadducees Ask About the Resurrection
Mat 22:23  The same day came to him the Sadducees, which say that there is no resurrection, and asked him, 
Mat 22:24  Saying, Master, Moses said, If a man die, having no children, his brother shall marry his wife, and raise up seed unto his brother. 
Mat 22:25  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: 
Mat 22:26  Likewise the second also, and the third, unto the seventh. 
Mat 22:27  And last of all the woman died also. 
Mat 22:28  Therefore in the resurrection whose wife shall she be of the seven? for they all had her. 
Mat 22:29  Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God. 
Mat 22:30  For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven. 
Mat 22:31  But as touching the resurrection of the dead, have ye not read that which was spoken unto you by God, saying, 
Mat 22:32  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. 
Mat 22:33  And when the multitude heard this, they were astonished at his doctrine. 

The Great Commandment
Mat 22:34  But when the Pharisees had heard that he had put the Sadducees to silence, they were gathered together. 
Mat 22:35  Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying, 
Mat 22:36  Master, which is the great commandment in the law? 
Mat 22:37  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. 
Mat 22:38  This is the first and great commandment. 
Mat 22:39  And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 
Mat 22:40  On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. 

Whose Son Is the Christ?
Mat 22:41  While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, 
Mat 22:42  Saying, What think ye of Christ? whose son is he? They say unto him, The Son of David. 
Mat 22:43  He saith unto them, How then doth David in spirit call him Lord, saying, 
Mat 22:44  The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool? 
Mat 22:45  If David then call him Lord, how is he his son? 
Mat 22:46  And no man was able to answer him a word, neither durst any man from that day forth ask him any more questions.