Matthew 22:2 - Exposition

The kingdom of heaven is like (comp. Matthew 20:1 . This parable supplements that of the wicked husbandmen. As that referred to Jewish times, so this refers to gospel times. The householder in the one becomes the king in the other; one demands work and duty, the other bestows gifts and blessings; one is angered at ingratitude for favours received, the other punishes for contempt of offered bounty. A certain king; ἀνθρω ì πῳ βασιλεῖ : a man a king, even God the Father, the expression denoting "the Almighty's wonderful condescension, as assimilating himself to our infirmities in his dispensations towards us" (I. Williams). Made a marriage; γα ì μους : marriage festivities; the plural perhaps denoting the days consumed in the celebration (see Genesis 29:27 ; 14:12 ; Tobit 8:19, 20). Morison compares our English word "nuptials." In the Old Testament, Jehovah is the Husband of his Church; in the New, Christ is represented as married to the spiritual Israel, which takes the place of the older dispensation. For his son. Jesus Christ, whose intimate union with his Church is often represented under the figure of a marriage (see Matthew 9:15 ; John 3:29 ; 2 Corinthians 11:2 ; Ephesians 5:23 , Ephesians 5:32 ; Revelation 19:7 ).