New Testament in a Year

Invitation to the Wedding Feast

22 Yeshua answered and spoke to them again in parables, saying, ² “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who made a wedding feast for his son. ³ He sent out his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding feast, but they wouldn’t come. ⁴ Again he sent out other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who were invited, “Look, I’ve prepared my meal. My oxen and fattened cattle are killed, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding feast!”’

⁵ “But paying no attention, they went away, one to his own farm, another to his business. ⁶ And the rest grabbed his servants, humiliated them, and killed them. ⁷ Now the king became furious! Sending his troops, he destroyed those murderers and set fire to their city.

⁸ “Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding feast is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy. ⁹ So go into the highways and byways, and invite everyone you find to the wedding feast.’ ¹⁰ And those servants went out into the highways and gathered together all they found, both bad and good; and the wedding was filled with guests.

¹¹ “But when the king came in to look over the guests, he saw a man there who wasn’t dressed in wedding clothes. ¹² ‘Friend,’ he said to him, ‘how did you get in here without wedding clothes?’ But the man was silent. ¹³ Then the king said to his servants, ‘Tie him up hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness; in that place will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ ¹⁴ For many are called, but few are chosen.”

A Trap about Paying Taxes

¹⁵ Then the Pharisees went and plotted how they might trap Him with a word. ¹⁶ And they sent to Him some of their disciples, along with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that You are honest and teach the way of God in truth. And what others think doesn’t concern You, for You do not look at men’s appearance. ¹⁷ Tell us therefore, what do You think? Is it permitted to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?”

¹⁸ But Yeshua, knowing their wickedness, said, “Why are you testing Me, you hypocrites? ¹⁹ Show Me the tax money.”

So they brought Him a denarius.

²⁰ And He said to them, “Whose image is this? And whose inscription?”

²¹ “Caesar’s,” they said to Him.

Then He said to them, “Give therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” ²² And hearing this, they were amazed. So they left Him and went away.