Life Recovery Bible - Flipbook - Page 45
M atthew 2 2 / Page 1231
leased the vineyard to tenant farmers and
moved to another country. 34 At the time of
the grape harvest, he sent his servants to collect his share of the crop. 35 But the farmers
grabbed his servants, beat one, killed one,
and stoned another. 36 So the landowner sent
a larger group of his servants to collect for
him, but the results were the same.
37
“Finally, the owner sent his son, thinking, ‘Surely they will respect my son.’
38
“But when the tenant farmers saw his
son coming, they said to one another, ‘Here
comes the heir to this estate. Come on, let’s
kill him and get the estate for ourselves!’ 39 So
they grabbed him, dragged him out of the
vineyard, and murdered him.
40
“When the owner of the vineyard returns,” Jesus asked, “what do you think he
will do to those farmers?”
41
The religious leaders replied, “He will put
the wicked men to a horrible death and lease
the vineyard to others who will give him his
share of the crop after each harvest.”
42
Then Jesus asked them, “Didn’t you ever
read this in the Scriptures?
‘The stone that the builders rejected
has now become the cornerstone.
This is the Lord’s doing,
and it is wonderful to see.’*
I tell you, the Kingdom of God will be
taken away from you and given to a nation
that will produce the proper fruit. 44 Anyone who stumbles over that stone will be
broken to pieces, and it will crush anyone
it falls on.*”
45
When the leading priests and Pharisees
heard this parable, they realized he was telling the story against them—they were the
wicked farmers. 46 They wanted to arrest him,
but they were afraid of the crowds, who considered Jesus to be a prophet.
43
CHAPTER 22
Parable of the Great Feast
Jesus also told them other parables. He said,
2
“The Kingdom of Heaven can be illustrated by the story of a king who prepared
a great wedding feast for his son. 3 When the
banquet was ready, he sent his servants to
notify those who were invited. But they all
refused to come!
4
“So he sent other servants to tell them,
‘The feast has been prepared. The bulls and
fattened cattle have been killed, and every
thing is ready. Come to the banquet!’ 5 But
the guests he had invited ignored them
and went their own way, one to his farm,
another to his business. 6 Others seized
his
m essengers and insulted them and
killed them.
7
“The king was furious, and he sent out his
army to destroy the murderers and burn their
town. 8 And he said to his servants, ‘The wedding feast is ready, and the guests I invited
aren’t worthy of the honor. 9 Now go out to
the street corners and invite everyone you
see.’ 10 So the servants brought in everyone
they could find, good and bad alike, and the
banquet hall was filled with guests.
11
“But when the king came in to meet the
guests, he noticed a man who wasn’t wearing
the proper clothes for a wedding. 12 ‘Friend,’
he asked, ‘how is it that you are here without
wedding clothes?’ But the man had no reply.
13
Then the king said to his aides, ‘Bind his
hands and feet and throw him into the outer
darkness, where there will be weeping and
gnashing of teeth.’
14
“For many are called, but few are chosen.”
Taxes for Caesar
15
Then the Pharisees met together to plot
how to trap Jesus into saying something for
which he could be arrested. 16 They sent some
of their disciples, along with the supporters
of Herod, to meet with him. “Teacher,” they
said, “we know how honest you are. You
teach the way of God truthfully. You are impartial and don’t play favorites. 17 Now tell us
what you think about this: Is it right to pay
taxes to Caesar or not?”
18
But Jesus knew their evil motives. “You
hypocrites!” he said. “Why are you trying to
trap me? 19 Here, show me the coin used for
the tax.” When they handed him a Roman
coin,* 20 he asked, “Whose picture and title
are stamped on it?”
21:42 Ps 118:22-23. 21:44 This verse is not included in some early manuscripts. Compare Luke 20:18. 22:19 Greek
a denarius.
22:1-10 When the king’s servants brought everyone they could find to the wedding feast, there
were good and bad people. The offer was open to anyone who wanted to come. So it is with
heaven: Everyone is invited, and anyone can refuse the offer. The same principles apply to recovery. God wants everyone to lead a healthy, productive, godly life; but anyone can refuse to start
the recovery process. Will we be like the first group of guests and suffer for our decision, or will
we be like the second group and enjoy what God offers us?
