Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Matthew 22:9

"Go ye therefore unto the partings of the highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage feast." — Matthew 22:9 (ASV)

The situation having gone beyond that at normal wedding banquets, these shocking developments make their points that much more effectively. The king sends his servant to the forks of the roads, where they would find many people. They extend the king’s invitation to all and succeed in drawing in all kinds of people, “both good and bad.” The superior righteousness (5:20) believers must attain to enter the kingdom is not merely rigorous obedience to law. After all, this gospel promises a Messiah who saves his people from their sins (1:21; 20:28).