Matthew 22:2
in Matthew 22“The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a certain king, who made a marriage feast for his son,
KJV
The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king, which made a marriage for his son,
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This verse in Matthew 22
Commentary
5 notes on this verseon Matthew 22:1-2
(Chapter 22—Verses 1, 2.) And Jesus answered and spoke to them again in parables, saying: The kingdom of heaven is like a king who made a marriage for his son. The Pharisees, understanding that these parables were about them, sought to seize him and kill him. Knowing their intention, the Lord rebuked them, undeterred by their rage, and without fear, so as to convict the sinners. This king who made a marriage for his son is the almighty God. But it signifies the union of our Lord Jesus Christ and the Church, which is gathered from both Jews and Gentiles.
This site's exposition
spake unto them again by parables
on Matthew 22:1-3
The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king, which made a marriage for his son, and the parable joins Hosea's marriage theology to the bridegroom thread the Gospel has carried since Jesus named himself the bridegroom at 9:15. The king's servants are sent to call them that were bidden, language that assumes a prior invitation already accepted, a normal two-stage custom in that world, and yet they would not come. Coming on the heels of the wicked husbandmen in the chapter just past, this second parable answers the same rejection with a wedding rather than a vineyard, mercy offered again before judgment falls.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
The kingdom of heaven, in respect of Him who reigns there, is like a king; in respect of Him who shares the kingdom, it is like a king's son; in respect of those things which are in the kingdom, it is like servants and guests, and among them the king's armies. It is specified, A man that is a king, that what is spoken may be as by a man to men, and that a man may regulate men unwilling to be regulated by God.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
The kingdom of heaven - In Bereshith Rabba, sect. 62. fol. 60, there is a parable very similar to this, and another still more so in Sohar. Levit. fol. 40. But these rabbinical parables are vastly ennobled by passing through the hands of our Lord. It appears from Luke, Luk 14:15; etc., that it was at an entertainment that this parable was originally spoken. It was a constant practice of our Lord to take the subjects of his discourses from the persons present, or from the circumstances of times, persons, and places.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
The last was a parable of the Old Testament history; and Christ is rather the last and greatest of the line of its prophets and teachers than the founder of a new kingdom. In that, God appears demanding something from men; in this, a parable of grace, God appears more as giving something to them.
The words behind it
13 Greek wordsEvery Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Greek | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ὡμοιώθη | homoiothe | Has become like | G3666 → | 15 times |
| ἡ | he | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| βασιλεία | basileia | kingdom | G932 → | 162 times |
| τῶν | ton | of the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| οὐρανῶν | ouranon | heavens | G3772 → | 272 times |
| ἀνθρώπῳ | anthropo | to a man | G444 → | 549 times |
| βασιλεῖ | basilei | a king | G935 → | 114 times |
| ὅστις | hostis | who | G3748 → | 144 times |
| ἐποίησεν | epoiesen | made | G4160 → | 569 times |
| γάμους | gamous | a wedding feast | G1062 → | 16 times |
| τῷ | to | for the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| υἱῷ | huio | son | G5207 → | 377 times |
| αὐτοῦ. | autou | of him. | G846 → | 5565 times |
ὡμοιώθηHas become like
homoiotheG3666 →15 times
ἡthe
heG3588 →19766 times
βασιλείαkingdom
basileiaG932 →162 times
τῶνof the
tonG3588 →19766 times
οὐρανῶνheavens
ouranonG3772 →272 times
ἀνθρώπῳto a man
anthropoG444 →549 times
βασιλεῖa king
basileiG935 →114 times
ὅστιςwho
hostisG3748 →144 times
ἐποίησενmade
epoiesenG4160 →569 times
γάμουςa wedding feast
gamousG1062 →16 times
τῷfor the
toG3588 →19766 times
υἱῷson
huioG5207 →377 times
αὐτοῦ.of him.
autouG846 →5565 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
2 Corinthians 11:2I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. For I promised you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ.
it leads to
- Hosea 2:19–20
So I will betroth you to Me forever; I will betroth you in righteousness and justice, in loving devotion and compassion.
- Ephesians 5:26–27
to sanctify her, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word,
- Isaiah 54:5
For your husband is your Maker—the LORD of Hosts is His name—the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer; He is called the God of all the earth.
- Hosea 2:19–20
Through
Matthew 13:24Jesus put before them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field.
it leads to
- Matthew 25:1
“At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.
- Matthew 13:47
Once again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was cast into the sea and caught all kinds of fish.
- Matthew 20:1
“For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard.
- Matthew 13:37
He replied, “The One who sows the good seed is the Son of Man.
- Luke 13:20
Again He asked, “To what can I compare the kingdom of God?
- Matthew 25:1
Where this verse is studied
About Matthew
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Matthew; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Origen of Alexandria, Catena Aurea by Aquinas.