Charles Ellicott Commentary Matthew 22

And Jesus answered — The word "answered" implies a connection with what has just happened. The parable was a response, if not to spoken words, then to the thoughts stirring in the minds of those who were listening.

Which made a marriage for his son — The seed of the thought that forms the basis of this parable is found in a brief reference in Luke 12:36: When he shall return from the wedding. Here, for the first time, it appears in a fully developed form.

The parable of Luke 14:15-24 is not specifically connected with the idea of a wedding feast. The thought itself was based, at least in part, on the language of the older prophets. They spoke of God as the Bridegroom and Israel as His bride (Isaiah 62:5), and they viewed Israel’s idolatry as the adultery of a faithless wife (Jeremiah 3:1–4) who had abandoned the love of her youthful devotion (Jeremiah 2:2).

In this parable, the prominent idea is that of the guests who are invited to the feast. The interpretation, at this point, lies almost on the surface. The king is none other than God, and the wedding is between Christ and His Church, the redeemed and purified Israel (Revelation 19:7–9).

We must also remember a truth that the form of the parable excludes: the guests themselves, insofar as they obey the call and are clothed in the wedding garment, become, in their collective unity, the Church which is the bride .

Sent forth his servants — As in the parable of the Vineyard (Matthew 21:33–46), the servants represent the collective work of the prophets up to the time of John the Baptist. The refusal of guests invited to such a great honor may seem, at first, so contrary to human nature that it lacks dramatic probability.

We must remember, however, that this refusal would be quite natural for subjects who were rebellious and disloyal at heart; this is precisely the character the parable was intended to portray. The summons, it should be noted, first came to those who had long before been “invited” to the wedding.

The proclamation of the kingdom was addressed to the Jews, who, as such, had always been the children of the kingdom.

My dinner—The Greek word points to a morning meal, as contrasted with the “supper,” or evening meal; but, like all such words (for example, our own word “dinner”), it was applied over time to meals at very different hours. In Homer, it is used for food taken at sunrise; in later authors, for the noon meal.

My oxen and my fatlings are killed—These words point, using imagery that Isaiah had already used (Isaiah 25:6), to the spiritual blessings of peace and joy that Christ came to offer. The word for “fatlings” is nearly the same as the one used for the “fatted calf” in Luke 15:30.

They made light of it — The words point to the attitude of neglect that slights the offer of the kingdom of God and prefers the interests of this world. This was one form of neglect. Another ran parallel with it, developing into open antagonism.