Matthew 22:1

Spake unto them. [The Man Without a Wedding Garment, Matt. 22:1-14. See on parables pp. 203-207.] Compare on Luke 14:16-24. For circumstances leading to the giving of this parable see on Matt. 21:12, 23, 28, 33. Undoubtedly ch. 22 is simply a continuation of ch. 21, and therefore represents events occurring on the Tuesday before the crucifixion.

The parable of the Marriage Feast has much in common with the parable of the Great Supper (Luke 14:16-24). Some critical scholars have concluded that the similarities point to a basic identity of the two parables. Their conclusion denies Christ the privilege of relating the same story on different occasions and varying its details to suit the needs of the truth He designed to teach on each occasion.

The following differences seem to indicate clearly the separateness of the two parables: (1) The parable of the Great Supper was given in the home of a Pharisee; that of the Marriage Feast in the Temple courts. (2) The first banquet was given by an ordinary man; the second by a king. (3) The first was simply a social occasion; the second a marriage feast in honor of the king’s son. (4) In the first, emphasis is placed upon the flimsy excuses offered by those who declined the invitation; in the second, upon the preparation necessary on the part of invited guests. (5) In the first, excuses are offered; in the second, no excuses are given. (6) In the first, indifference was shown the messengers; in the second, some were abused and killed. (7) In the first, the only penalty imposed upon those who declined the invitation was exclusion from the feast; in the second, those who declined were destroyed.

Again. This expression implies that the parable was given upon the same occasion as the other parables recorded in ch. 21, as its setting in Matthew’s Gospel indicates. This word would seem inappropriate if the parable actually belonged in the setting given the parable of the Great Supper in Luke, as critics claim.