Matthew 22:1-14

This week presents us with one more parable, as Jesus continues to be hassled by the religious authorities while he is teaching in the temple in Jerusalem. The heat is rising toward the ultimate confrontation among Jesus, the Romans, and the religious authorities. For now, he is teaching a new foundation for who is “in” with God and who is, possibly, “out”.

Read Matthew 22:1-14

We know, by now, that when Jesus refers to “the kingdom of heaven” in Matthew’s Gospel, that is code for the Church. So, his focus is on who is, or can be, part of the Church.

As with last week, the parable seems to be a simple rejection of the religious authorities and a commendation of Christians. But last weeks’ parable, and my interpretation, should caution us not to leap to conclusions!

Given that, how would you sum up the message of this parable? Where might your summary be open to other conclusions? Parables are maddening little puzzles; we ought to hold our conclusions lightly.

This parable has what is called a “gloss” in verse 14. A gloss is a general summary statement: “For many are called, but few are chosen.” Wow! Yikes! You might ask, “Which am I — among the “called” or among the “chosen”? What if the “answer” is simply not to try to answer, but to pray for God’s grace?