Matthew 22:1-14
Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying, "The kingdom of heaven is like a king who held a wedding feast for his son. And he sent his slaves to call those who had been invited to the wedding feast, and they were unwilling to come. Again he sent other slaves, saying, 'Tell those who have been invited, "Behold, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and my fattened cattle are all butchered and everything is ready; come to the wedding feast."' But they paid no attention and went their separate ways, one to his own farm, another to his business, and the rest seized his slaves and treated them abusively, and then killed them. Now the king was angry, and he sent his armies and destroyed those murderers and set their city on fire. Then he said to his slaves, 'The wedding feast is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy. So go to the main roads, and invite whomever you find there to the wedding feast.' Those slaves went out into the streets and gathered together all they found, both bad and good; and the wedding hall was filled with dinner guests.

"But when the king came in to look over the dinner guests, he saw a man there who was not dressed in wedding clothes, and he said to him, 'Friend, how did you get in here without wedding clothes?' And the man was speechless. Then the king said to the servants, 'Tie his hands and feet, and throw him into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.' For many are called, but few are chosen."

† The parable of the wedding feast pointed directly to Israel's rejection of Christ. Those invited refused and abused the king's messengers.
† The burning of the city clearly symbolized the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70, fulfilling the warning.
† The Gentiles were invited in, but covenant faith still required righteousness, pictured by the wedding garment.

Matthew 22:15-22
Then the Pharisees went and plotted together how they might trap Him in what He said. And they sent their disciples to Him, along with the Herodians, saying, "Teacher, we know that You are truthful and teach the way of God in truth, and do not care what anyone thinks; for You are not partial to anyone. Tell us then, what do You think? Is it permissible to pay a poll-tax to Caesar, or not?" But Jesus perceived their malice, and said, "Why are you testing Me, you hypocrites? Show Me the coin used for the poll-tax." And they brought Him a denarius. And He said to them, "Whose image and inscription is this?" They said to Him, "Caesar's." Then He said to them, "Then pay to Caesar the things that are Caesar's; and to God the things that are God's." And hearing this, they were amazed; and they left Him and went away.

† The Pharisees and Herodians united in hypocrisy to trap Jesus.
† His answer revealed the principle of rendering earthly things to rulers but ultimate loyalty to God.
† This silenced His enemies and exposed their malice.

Matthew 22:23-33
On that day some Sadducees (who say there is no resurrection) came to Him and questioned Him, asking, "Teacher, Moses said, 'If a man dies having no children, his brother as next of kin shall marry his wife, and raise children for his brother.' Now there were seven brothers among us; and the first married and died, and having no children, left his wife to his brother. It was the same also with the second, and the third, down to the seventh. Last of all, the woman died. In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife of the seven will she be? For they all had her." But Jesus answered and said to them, "You are mistaken, since you do not understand the Scriptures nor the power of God. For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. But regarding the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God: 'I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'? He is not the God of the dead, but of the living." When the crowds heard this, they were astonished at His teaching.

† The Sadducees denied resurrection, so they tested Jesus with a hypothetical.
† Jesus affirmed the reality of resurrection and rebuked their ignorance of Scripture.
† He declared that God is the God of the living, proving the covenant faithfulness fulfilled in Christ.

Matthew 22:34-40
But when the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. And one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him: "Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?" And He said to him, "‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' Upon these two commandments hang the whole Law and the Prophets."

† Jesus summed up the Law and Prophets in love for God and neighbor.
† This was the true heart of covenant faith, fulfilled in Christ and carried forward in the New Covenant.
† All of Scripture pointed to love as its essence.

Matthew 22:41-46
Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question: "What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is He?" They said to Him, "The son of David." He said to them, "Then how does David in the Spirit call Him 'Lord,' saying, 'The Lord said to my Lord, "Sit at My right hand, Until I put Your enemies under Your feet"'? Therefore, if David calls Him 'Lord,' how is He his son?" No one was able to answer Him a word, nor did anyone dare from that day on to ask Him any more questions.

† Jesus revealed that the Messiah was not merely David's son but David's Lord.
† Psalm 110 pointed to His enthronement at God's right hand.
† His enemies were silenced, foreshadowing their coming judgment.

How it applies to us today:
† Matthew 22 shows that the kingdom was taken from Israel's leaders and given to others who bore fruit. The fulfilled perspective reminds us that the burning of the city points to Jerusalem's destruction in AD 70. The parables, debates, and teachings confirm that Jesus is the exalted Lord who fulfilled the Law and the Prophets. Today, in the fulfilled kingdom, we live out covenant love, render all to God, and rest in Christ's finished work.

† This is the fulfilled perspective we proclaim at Fulfilled Prophecies †

Source Index
† Josephus, Wars 6.4; Antiquities 18.5.2
† Tacitus, Histories 5.13
† Justin Martyr, Dialogue with Trypho 118
† Irenaeus, Against Heresies 4.36.2