“And Jesus answered and spoke to them again by parables and said: ‘The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who arranged a marriage for his son, and sent out his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding; and they were not willing to come. Again, he sent out other servants, saying: Tell those who are invited, ‘See, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and fatted cattle are killed, and all things are ready. Come to the wedding.’ But they made light of it and went their ways, one to his own farm, another to his business. And the rest seized his servants, treated them spitefully, and killed them. But when the king heard about it, he was furious. And he sent out his armies, destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city.” (1-7)
“This passage is particularly significant because of its contextual similarities with Matthew 10:28. We want to know what Jesus meant when He taught that the King of the universe can apollumi both soul and body in hell. In Matthew 22:7, Jesus tells us about a king whose servants were mistreated and killed. This king was furious. His military, says Jesus, destroyed the murderers of his servants and burned up their city. In this context of retribution by a king, apollumi plainly means killed.” (Rescue From Death by Robert Taylor)
Click link to the next study in my sequential chapter study through the Gospel of Matthew. https://www.mymorningmanna.com/post/matthew-23
Traditionalist say that apollumi does not always mean the utter and permanent destruction of the thing. But: “They made light of it, they ignored the offer and occupied themselves with earthly things, such as merchandise. They did the same, what Judah had done after he had with his brethren sold Joseph, he turned a merchant (Gen. 38:1-30). But simple rejection of the gracious offer is not all, ‘the rest (the leaders of the people) laying hold of his bondmen, ill-treated and slew them.’ The Book of Acts show how literally these words of the Lord were fulfilled. The climax was the stoning of Stephen. And after this rejected second offer to the bidden guests, the Jews, comes the punishment sent upon them by God. Their city is destroyed, burned by fire, and these evil men, who are now called murderers, suffer the judgment as well. The Roman army came against Jerusalem, the city is burned; that awful judgment the Lord had predicted when He beheld the city, fell upon Jerusalem and the nation was dispersed. Again we say, what a literal fulfilment! This ends God’s dealing with Israel as a nation for the present age. He will deal with them again ere long; but nationally they are set aside during this age, which, however, does not mean that the individual Jew could not hear and accept the offer of grace.” (Joseph Sutcliffe)
“Then he said to his servants, 'The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy. Therefore go into the highways, and as many as you find, invite to the wedding.' So those servants went out into the highways and gathered together all whom they found, both bad and good. And the wedding hall was filled with guests. "It is now outside of Israel nationally that the grace of God is offered and the invitation to the wedding feast is given. The servants go out into the highways and give the invitation and bring together all as many as they found, both evil and good, so that the wedding feast was furnished.” (Jospeh Sutcliffe) “But when the king came in to see the guests, he saw a man there who did not have on a wedding garment. “So he said to him, 'Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment?' The garment required is not the imputed righteousness of Christ from justification only but also our rghteouess deeds wrought in communion with Him. “And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, "‘Bright’ indicates divine glory… ‘Clean’ reflects purity (cf. Rev. 21:18; 21:21).
“for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.” (Rev 19:8) "Their good deeds, which God’s grace made possible, make them dressed appropriately for their righteous Lord (cf. Matthew 22:1-14).” (Dr. Thomas B. Constable)
“Her readiness does not consist in a curiosity as to when Christ shall come, but in the righteousness which is of God by faith, and all its spiritual results.” (D. S. Clark)
Both "of their justification and sanctification." (John Wesley) "The fine linen here spoken of is not the righteousness of Christ imputed to believers, for it is here called the righteousness of the saints - that which the grace and Spirit of Christ has wrought in them.” (Adam Clarke) This "shocks the ‘faith only’ people, who at once ‘correct this’ by the comment that she made herself ready ‘not by doing anything of her own,’ and pointing out that ‘it was given to her, given by the pure grace of God, that she be clothed.’ We might add that, of course, God gave her the clothes, but she had to put them on! That is what is meant by making herself ready. The whole analogy is beautifully exhibited in Matthew 22:12, where the wedding guests had all received proper wedding garments, but one of them neglected to dress himself, with disastrous results for him; and so it will be for all who neglect to do the good works of the Christian life, which are a moment later identified as the wedding garments. By putting these on, the bride ‘worked out her own salvation’ (Phil 2:12); in this way she made herself ready.” (Coffman Commentary on Rev 19)
"And he was speechless. Then the king said to the servants, 'Bind him hand and foot, take him away, and cast him into outer darkness.' (8-13a) “The Jewish marriages were performed in the night season, and the hall where the feast was made was superbly illuminated; the outer darkness means, therefore, the darkness on the outside of this festal hall; rendered still more gloomy to the person who was suddenly thrust out into it from such a profusion of light.” (Adam Clarke) “There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth,” denoting mixed sentiments of regret and anger for many who were cast out to die the second death. “For many are called, but few are chosen." (13-b-14) “Many are called by the preaching of the Gospel into the outward communion of the Church of Christ; but few, comparatively, are chosen to dwell with God in glory, because they do not come to the master of the feast for a marriage garment - for that holiness without which none can see the Lord.” (Adam Clarke)
“Then the Pharisees went and plotted how they might entangle Him in His talk. And they sent to Him their disciples with the Herodians, saying, ‘Teacher, we know that You are true, and teach the way of God in truth; nor do You care about anyone, for You do not regard the person of men. Tell us, therefore, what do You think? Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?’ But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, ‘Why do you test Me, you hypocrites? Show Me the tax money.’ So they brought Him a denarius. And He said to them, ‘Whose image and inscription is this?’ They said to Him, ‘Caesar’s.’ And He said to them, ‘Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God’s.’ When they had heard these words, they marveled, and left Him and went their way.” (15-22) "Jesus’ response is not some witty way of getting out of a predicament; rather, it shows his full awareness of a major development in redemption history. Jesus does not side with the Zealots or with any who expect His messiahship to bring instant political independence from Rome. The messianic community He determines to build (16:18) must render to whichever Caesar is in power whatever belongs to that Caesar, while never turning from its obligations to God. The lesson was learned by both Paul and Peter (Romans 13:1–7; 1Peter 2:13–17). Of course, Jesus’ reply is not a legal statute resolving every issue. Where Caesar claims what is God’s, the claims of God have priority (Ac 4:19; 5:29; much of Revelation, when homage will be again demanded by papal Rome, as by the state in that day). Nevertheless, Jesus’ pithy words not only answer His enemies but also lay down the basis for the proper relationship of his people to government. The profundity of his reply is amazing (v.22), but some of his enemies, no doubt disappointed at their failure to ensnare him, later on lie to pretend that their snare had worked (Lk 23:2).” (D. A. Carson)
“The same day the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Him.“
Many Christians have a theology without the resurrection of the body for, in their minds, the believer goes immediately to heaven. But: “The Sadducees were the sophisticated materialists of their day, relatively few in number, but holding most of the important offices of the Jewish system. They despised spiritual things, especially anything bordering on the supernatural, and were thoroughly detested and hated by the Pharisees who made common cause with them only in opposition to Christ.” (Coffman Commentary) To the future resurrection state, "indeed, the references are exceedingly distinct; as when Job (allowing such to be his meaning) revels in the thought of a resurrection, or Isaiah glowingly foretells it, or David speaks of going to the child, or Solomon declares that the ‘spirit of man goth upward,’ while that of the beast ‘goth downward;’ and again that the ‘dust shall return to the earth as it was, and the spirit shall return to God who gave it;’ which, of course, does not prove either the everlasting happiness, or duration of the human spirit, any more than it proves the endless sleep and dissolution of the human body. Enough that the spirit returns to God for judgment: what if the issue be, that it shall then depart from God for ever?” (The Perishing Soul According to Scripture; with Reference Also to Ancient Jewish Belief, and the Christian Writings of the First Two Centuries by J M. Denniston)
“‘And asked Him, saying: ‘Teacher, Moses said that if a man dies, having no children, his brother shall marry his wife and raise up offspring for his brother. Now there were with us seven brothers. The first died after he had married, and having no offspring, left his wife to his brother. Likewise the second also, and the third, even to the seventh. Last of all the woman died also. Therefore, in the resurrection, whose wife of the seven will she be? For they all had her." (23-28) "The Sadducees' statement of Moses' position on the Levirate marriage was correct, as witnessed by the case of Boaz and Ruth (from the Book of Ruth). Yet, in the reply that followed at once, Christ, as always, resolved the issue, not on the basis of what Moses said, but upon what God said, affirming, in effect, that it was not Moses but God whom they were quoting." (Coffman Commentary)
“But Jesus answered and said unto them, ‘You do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God.’ Certainly, the Scriptures teach the resurrection. Many passages, such as Daniel 12:2; Job 19:25-27; etc., plainly indicate the resurrection; and the Sadducees' disbelief of it was due to their ignorance [and disbelief] of the Scriptures. As for their objection that a resurrection would be impossible because of the absurdities it would create, Christ disposed of that by attributing it to their ignorance of the power of God. They were practical atheists and made light of such things as the resurrection. ‘For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as angels in heaven.’ The Sadducees' ideas were founded on ignorance and a common and vulgar view of all spiritual things, including the resurrection. Christ, in refutation of their false views, unveiled some of the glories of the future state. Men shall not marry. They will have no such need or desire. All earthly ties and relationships shall have been outgrown, their purpose ended, and no longer needed or desirable. Like the holy angels, men shall have an existence in God, apart from all limitations and necessities of the flesh" (Coffman Commentary)
"But as touching the resurrection of the dead, have ye not read that which was spoken unto you by God, saying, 'I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob?' God is not the God of the dead, That is, in the Sadducees’ sense, utterly dead and extinct for ever; but in St Paul’s sense, Romans 14:9- 'For to this end Christ died and rose and lived again, that He might be Lord of both the dead and the living.'" (John Trapp)— "'but of the living.' For if He be not the God of the dead but of the living, and yet was called the God of the Fathers who were sleeping, then they do indubitably live to God, and have not passed out of existence, since they are the children of the resurrection." (Pyrenaeus) "And when the multitudes heard this, they were astonished at His teaching"as one with authority.
“But when the Pharisees heard that He had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. Then one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying, ‘Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?’ Jesus said to him, 'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets." (34-40) “Jesus came to reveal the Father to a broken world. He went to where people lived, broke bread with them, heard their concerns, answered their questions, healed the sick, brought sight to the blind, demonstrated the magnificence of God’s grace at Calvary, and brought hope of immortality by rising from the dead. Josh McDowell would call it evidence that demands a verdict. McDowell writes, ‘My heart and head were created to work and believe together in harmony. Christ commanded us to ‘...love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind’ (Matthew 22:37). When Jesus Christ and the apostles called upon a person to exercise faith, it was not a ‘blind faith’ but rather an ‘intelligent faith.’...
I took the evidence that I could gather and put it on the scales. The scales tipped the way of Christ being the Son of God and resurrected from the dead. It was so overwhelming leaning to Christ that when I became a Christian, it was a ‘step into the light’ rather than a ‘leap into the darkness.’ [247– Evidence That Demands A Verdict by Josh McDowell]
The penalty for sin that Jesus rescues believers from is not only part and parcel of the Gospel but is an expression of divine justice and a revelation of God’s character. How could it not be essential evidence that demands a verdict?
Constable continues, ‘But they who tell us to wait in faith wholly miscalculate the real position of the question before us. They suppose faith in God is to sustain the mind against the appearance of injustice in God’s dealings with men. They reverse the mode of God’s own proceeding. They suppose faith first to exist, and this faith is to withstand and subdue all that may appear unjust. The exact opposite to this is the way in which God deals with man. He has come to an unbelieving and alienated world and put his character before them to win their fear, their repentance, and their love…. It was to a world of unbelievers that God was proposed as a God of justice, as well as pity and of love. To this world, which had no faith, God was proposed for acceptance…. God’s character and conduct are to win faith; not to be sustained by faith against appearances. The missionary tells the unbeliever what kind of God the God of the Christian is, to convert the unbeliever to the faith.’ [248– Escape From Reason by Francis Schaeffer)
If believers who grew up in traditionalist churches struggle with ECT, how much more problematic is ECT when it comes to evangelism? Blind faith in the justice of ECT collides with the realities of evangelism. It is the goodness of God that leads to repentance (Rom. 2:4). God ‘did not leave Himself without witness, in that He did good’ (Acts 14:17). ‘We love Him because He first loved us’ (1 John 4:19). These truths are so powerful that most traditionalists abandon ECT when asking the unsaved to believe in Christ.” (Rescue from Death by Robert Taylor)
“While the Pharisees were gathered together— none could “suggest a new question, another temptation. All their attempts had proven futile. The Lord now approaches them. He has a question for them. 'What do you think about the Christ? Whose Son is He? They said to Him, 'The Son of David.' They were professed teachers of Israel and still they did not understand the Scriptures. He said to them: How then does David in the Spirit call Him 'Lord,' saying: 'The Lord said to my Lord, ‘Sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool'? (Ps. 110:1) If David then calls Him 'Lord,' how is He his Son? (41-45) It is from the 110th Psalm the Lord draws His question. This Psalm is one of the great messianic prophecies in the OT. It is very prominent in the Epistle to the Hebrews, where it is quoted a number of times as being fulfilled in Him, who is now the man of glory, seated at the right hand of the majesty on high, waiting till His enemies are made His footstool.” (Gaebelein)
Listen to the rest of the Psalm for its fulfillment in in this Messianic promise: "Yahweh shall send the rod of Your strength out of Zion. Rule in the midst of Your enemies! Your people shall be volunteers in the day of Your power; in the beauties of holiness, from the womb of the morning, You have the dew of Your youth. Yahweh has sworn and will not relent, 'You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.' Yahweh is at Your right hand; He shall execute kings in the day of His wrath. He shall judge among the nations, He shall fill the places with dead bodies, He shall execute the heads of many countries. He shall drink of the brook by the wayside; therefore He shall lift up the head." (Ps. 110:2-7)"So swiftly shall He march to conquest that He shall not stay for refreshment, but drink as He hastens on. Like Gideon's men that lapped, He shall throw His heart into the fray and cut it short in righteousness, because a short work will the Lord make in the earth..." (C. H. Spurgeon) making them dust. “And no one was able to answer Him a word, nor from that day on did anyone dare question Him anymore.” (Matt. 22:46) “The reason was, they did not rightly understand His character.” (Justin Edwards)
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