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Matthew 22 · a question people ask

In the parable of the wedding feast, who are the king, his son, and the guests?

In the text

Matthew doesn't say. Jesus begins, "The Kingdom of Heaven is like a certain king, who made a wedding feast for his son" (22:2), and ends, "For many are called, but few chosen" (22:14). Matthew doesn't name the king, the son, the servants, those who were invited, the guests gathered from the highways (22:10), the man without wedding clothing (22:11) or "their city" (22:7), and doesn't say who "them" are in 22:1. These notes don't name them either, and apply none of the parable to any people, city, war or event. Favor's Matthew 20 asks what "For many are called, but few are chosen" (20:16) means, sets 22:14 beside it, and doesn't say who the called or the chosen are; this chapter doesn't ask it again.

The verses

“Jesus answered and spoke to them again in parables, saying, “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a certain king, who made a wedding feast for his son,”
Matthew 22:1-2 · World English Bible
“When the king heard that, he was angry, and sent his armies, destroyed those murderers, and burned their city.”
Matthew 22:7 · World English Bible
“Those servants went out into the highways and gathered together as many as they found, both bad and good. The wedding was filled with guests. “But when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man who didn’t have on wedding clothing,”
Matthew 22:10-11 · World English Bible
“For many are called, but few chosen.””
Matthew 22:14 · World English Bible

From Favor's study of Matthew 22

Matthew 22: A wedding feast for his son

In Matthew, Jesus tells the Sadducees that the words "I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob" were "spoken to you by God" (22:31-32). Asked for the greatest commandment, he gives two, and says, "The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments" (22:40).

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Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. Every answer cites the verses it rests on. What we believe · All Bible questions