November 4

Matthew 22; Mark 12 (biblegateway.com)

Wisdom from the Cornerstone

In Matthew 22 and Mark 12, Jesus teaches in the temple during His final week before the cross. These chapters contain some of His most profound parables and decisive encounters with the religious leaders of Israel. The Parable of the Wedding Feast portrays the kingdom of heaven as a gracious invitation from a king, refused by some and accepted by others. The Pharisees, Sadducees, and scribes attempt to trap Jesus with difficult questions about paying taxes to Caesar, about marriage and the resurrection, and about the greatest commandment. With perfect wisdom, Jesus answers each challenge. Jesus then asks the leaders a question about the Messiah’s identity: “How is it that David calls Him ‘Lord’ if He is also his son?” (Mark 12:35-37). Jesus ends His public teaching by warning against religious hypocrisy.

Matthew 22 — The King’s Invitation and the Challenge of the Kingdom

After confronting the chief priests and Pharisees in the temple, Jesus continues teaching in parables that expose the spiritual blindness of Israel’s leaders and reveal the true nature of God’s kingdom. He begins by saying that “the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son” (v. 1–2). In the Old Testament, a wedding banquet often symbolized joy, covenant fellowship, and the future Messianic celebration promised to God’s people (Isaiah 25:6–9). In this parable, the king represents God the Father, and the son represents Christ, while the wedding feast pictures the joyful union of the Messiah with His redeemed people.

The king sends his servants to summon those who had already been invited, but they refuse to come (v. 3). This first call reflects God’s gracious invitation to Israel through the prophets to receive His covenant promises. A second invitation follows, announcing that everything is prepared, yet the invited guests again reject it, some responding with indifference and returning to their farms and businesses, while others respond with hostility, seizing the servants, mistreating them, and even killing them (v. 4–6). The king’s response is one of righteous judgment; he sends his army, destroys those murderers, and burns their city (v. 7).

This parable portrays Israel’s repeated rejection of God’s messengers and ultimately of His Son. Jesus points to the consequences of the nation’s refusal to receive Him and His kingdom. God extends His covenant invitation through John the Baptist, Jesus, and the disciples, yet much of the nation turns away in unbelief, and those who proclaim the message often face persecution and death. In A.D. 70, the Roman army invaded Jerusalem, destroyed the city, and burned the temple; an extreme judgment for rebellion against the King and a direct fulfillment of Jesus’ warnings about rejecting God’s gracious visitation.

Yet despite this rejection, the king’s purpose remains firm. He declares, “The wedding feast is ready, but those invited were not worthy. Go therefore to the main roads and invite to the wedding feast as many as you find” (v. 8–9). The servants go out and gather all they find, both bad and good, and the banquet hall is filled with guests (v. 10). This reveals the widening of God’s saving invitation beyond the unbelieving majority of Israel, first embracing the overlooked and marginalized within Israel itself, and then extending to the Gentiles, showing the wideness of God’s grace to all who will respond in faith.

In the context of a Jewish wedding, it was customary for two invitations to be given: the first announced the event in advance, and the second informed the guests that all was now ready. The repeated invitations in this parable emphasize God’s patience and mercy, showing that He continues to call and graciously extend the opportunity to enter His kingdom. Yet the parable also makes clear that entering the kingdom requires more than hearing the invitation; it demands a right response of faith expressed through obedience. Many hear the call, but only those who accept it on God’s terms share in the joy of His eternal banquet.

As the king enters to greet the guests, he notices a man who is not wearing a wedding garment (v. 11). In that culture, appropriate garments were provided for guests at such feasts, so his lack of proper clothing indicates a refusal to accept what the king had graciously supplied. The garment represents the righteousness God provides through faith in Christ. The issue is not that the man did not have suitable clothing, but that he chose not to receive what was offered. When confronted, he is speechless, showing he has no excuse (v. 12). Because he rejected the king’s provision, he is cast into outer darkness, a picture of final judgment (v. 13). Jesus concludes, “For many are called, but few are chosen” (v. 14), teaching that while God’s invitation is extended to all, only those who respond in genuine faith, receiving the righteousness He freely gives, enter the joy of His kingdom.

Scripture frequently uses the imagery of clothing to depict the righteousness required to stand in God’s presence. Christ provides this garment of righteousness to all who believe, yet each person must willingly receive it by faith. The parable, therefore, warns against presumption, reminding us that merely being among God’s people or associating with spiritual things is not enough; one must be clothed in Christ through a wholehearted response to the gospel.

When Jesus finishes the parable, the religious leaders immediately attempt another strategy to trap Him in His words. The Pharisees, strict in their observance of the law and opposed to Roman influence, join with the Herodians, who support the Roman-backed rule of Herod Antipas. This unlikely alliance reveals the depth of their hostility toward Jesus, for these two groups normally stand in direct theological and political opposition to one another (v. 15–16).

Approaching Jesus with insincere flattery, they said, “Teacher, we know that You are true and teach the way of God truthfully,” attempting to disguise their intentions. They then posed their question: “Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?” (v. 17). Their goal was to force Jesus into a political trap; if He affirmed paying taxes to Caesar, they could accuse Him of disloyalty to Israel; if He denied it, they could accuse Him of rebellion against Rome. This encounter shows the deceitful motives of the Pharisees and Herodians. Though outwardly religious or politically loyal, they were not motivated by a love for truth but by a desire to discredit Jesus. Their alliance underscores how opposition to Christ can unite even those who otherwise have nothing in common.

Perceiving their hypocrisy, Jesus asked them to bring Him a denarius, the standard coin used for the Roman tax. Holding it before them, He asked, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” They answered, “Caesar’s” (v. 18–21). Jesus then gave a response that exposed their trap and revealed a timeless principle: “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” With one statement, He affirmed that civil authority has a rightful place under God’s sovereign order, yet He made clear that earthly obligations must never replace the supreme devotion owed to the Lord.

Jesus’ reply demonstrated that believers live under dual responsibility. As citizens of an earthly nation, they are to fulfill just requirements, such as paying taxes and respecting government (1 Peter 2:13-17). Yet as citizens of God’s kingdom, their highest allegiance is to Him alone, giving to God what bears His image, namely, their worship, obedience, and entire lives. His answer upheld both civic duty and divine authority, leaving His opponents without grounds for accusation. His words silenced those who sought to trap Him, and the crowds marveled at His wisdom (v. 22).

Next, the Sadducees, who denied the resurrection, approached with a question designed to ridicule the idea of life after death (v. 23). They referred to the law of Moses concerning levirate marriage (Deuteronomy 25:5–6) and proposed a hypothetical scenario of seven brothers who each, in turn, married the same woman, dying childless. “In the resurrection,” they asked, “whose wife will she be?” (v. 24–28).

Jesus corrected the Sadducees on two fundamental errors: they neither understood the Scriptures nor the power of God (v. 29). He explained that the resurrection life is not merely an extension of earthly conditions; there will be no marriage in the age to come, for those who are raised will be “like the angels in heaven” in the sense that they will be glorified, eternal, and no longer subject to death, and therefore no longer need to marry or procreate (v. 30). Jesus was not teaching that believers become angels, but that the nature of life after the resurrection is different from earthly life.

He then addressed their denial of the resurrection by appealing to the authority of Scripture. Quoting Exodus 3:6, where God declared to Moses, “I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob” (v. 32), Jesus emphasized the present tense of the statement to show that the patriarchs still live before God. If death ended their existence, the statement would have been “I was the God…,” but God is the God of the living, not the dead. Their failure to understand this revealed their spiritual blindness and demonstrated that the resurrection is firmly rooted in the Old Testament. The crowds were astonished at Jesus’ teaching (v. 33), recognizing that He had decisively silenced the Sadducees and upheld the truth of the resurrection.

When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered again. One of them, a lawyer, tested Him with a question: “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” (v. 34–36). Jesus answered by uniting two passages from the Torah: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” (Deuteronomy 6:5) and “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Leviticus 19:18). On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets (v. 37–40). In these words, Jesus summarized true righteousness, not external rule-keeping but wholehearted love for God and others.

Finally, Jesus turned the discussion by presenting a question to His opponents concerning the identity of the Messiah. He asked, “What do you think about the Christ? Whose Son is He?” and they rightly answered, “The Son of David” (v. 41–42). While this was true, since the Scriptures affirmed that the Messiah would come from David’s lineage, Jesus pressed them to consider more. He quoted Psalm 110:1, where David writes, “The Lord said to my Lord, ‘Sit at My right hand, until I put Your enemies under Your feet.’” Jesus then asked, “If David calls Him ‘Lord,’ how is He his son?” (v. 43–45).

By citing this well-known messianic psalm, Jesus demonstrated that the Messiah must be more than merely David’s physical descendant. David referred to the Messiah as “my Lord,” using a title reserved for God, which indicated divine authority and status. Therefore, the Christ is both the Son of David according to the flesh and David’s Lord according to His divine nature—fully human and fully divine. The Pharisees were unable to answer, for acknowledging this truth would have required them to recognize Jesus’ true identity. Having been silenced at every turn, no one dared to question Him further (v. 46).

Matthew 22 forms a powerful climax in Jesus’ public teaching. Through the parable of the wedding feast, He revealed both the generosity of God’s invitation and the peril of rejecting it. Through the question of tribute, He established the believer’s dual responsibility to government and to God. Through His answers to the Sadducees and Pharisees, He displayed divine wisdom that confounded human pride.

For believers, this chapter calls for an active response to God’s gracious call. Like the invited guests, we must choose to accept His invitation with repentance and faith, clothed in the righteousness of Christ rather than our own. True discipleship requires loving God completely and loving others sincerely. Just as Jesus’ final question revealed His divine authority, our faith must rest on His identity as both Lord and Savior, the One in whom all Scripture finds its fulfillment.

Mark 12 — The Authority of the Son and the Heart of the Kingdom

As Jesus continues teaching in the temple during His final week, He speaks in parables that expose the hypocrisy and unbelief of Israel’s religious leaders. He begins with the parable of the tenants (v. 1–12), describing a man who planted a vineyard, set a hedge around it, dug a winepress, and built a tower, then leased it to tenants and went to another country. The vineyard imagery recalls Isaiah 5:1-7, where Israel is pictured as God’s vineyard, entrusted with bearing fruit for Him. When harvest time came, the owner sent servants to receive some of the fruit, but the tenants beat one, mistreated another, and killed others (v. 2–5). These servants represent the prophets whom God sent to call Israel back to Himself, yet they were repeatedly rejected.

Finally, the owner sent his beloved son, saying, “They will respect my son” (v. 6). But the tenants, recognizing him as the heir, conspired, “Let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours” (v. 7). They seized him, killed him, and cast him out of the vineyard (v. 8), foreshadowing the rejection and death of Jesus, God’s Son.

Jesus then asked the crowd, “What will the owner of the vineyard do?” He answered that the owner would come, bring judgment on those tenants, and give the vineyard to others (v. 9). Here, Jesus declared that God would remove spiritual stewardship from Israel’s unbelieving leaders and entrust His kingdom to others who would bear its fruit, pointing to a people composed of those who truly believe, including faithful Jews and later Gentiles. To show that this outcome was foretold in Scripture, Jesus cited Psalm 118:22-23: “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes” (v. 10–11).

By quoting this passage, Jesus identified Himself as the rejected “stone” whom Israel’s leaders would cast aside, yet whom God would exalt as the cornerstone, the essential foundation of His saving work. The imagery shifts from a vineyard to a building to show that the rejection of the Messiah would not hinder God’s plan; instead, God would use it to establish a new work, building a redeemed people upon Christ. Their rejection would lead to judgment for unbelief but also to the triumph of God’s redemptive purpose in Christ.

The religious leaders rightly understood that the parable was spoken against them, exposing their unfaithfulness and their intent to reject God’s Son. Enraged, they sought to arrest Jesus, but they feared the crowd, who regarded Him as a prophet (v. 12).

Soon after, representatives of the Pharisees and Herodians came to trap Him with a question about paying taxes to Caesar (v. 13). They began with flattery, calling Him truthful and impartial, then asked, “Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?” (v. 14). Their goal was to force Him into a political trap: if He opposed the tax, He could be accused of rebellion; if He approved it, He could be charged with disloyalty to Israel. Jesus, perceiving their hypocrisy, asked for a denarius and inquired, “Whose image and inscription is this?” When they answered, “Caesar’s,” He replied, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s” (v. 15–17). His answer exposed their duplicity and affirmed the principle that civic duty and divine devotion need not conflict, as earthly authorities deserve respect, but ultimate allegiance belongs to God alone. The crowd marveled at His wisdom.

Next, the Sadducees approached Jesus with a question designed to undermine and mock the doctrine of the resurrection (v. 18). Mark notes that the Sadducees denied key biblical truths: they rejected the resurrection of the dead, the reality of angels and spirits, and future judgment (Acts 23:6-8). They accepted only the Pentateuch, the five Books of Moses, as authoritative Scripture and dismissed the oral traditions held by the Pharisees. This is Mark’s sole reference to the Sadducees, and it highlights their theological opposition to both the Pharisees and to Jesus.

Appealing to the Mosaic instruction on levirate marriage (Deuteronomy 25:5–6), they presented a hypothetical case involving seven brothers. Each brother, in succession, married the same woman and died without leaving children. “In the resurrection,” they asked, “when they rise, whose wife will she be?” (v. 19–23). Their intention was not to seek truth but to make the resurrection appear absurd.

Jesus replied that their error stemmed from not knowing “the Scriptures nor the power of God” (v. 24). He taught that life in the resurrection is not a continuation of earthly conditions. Those who rise “neither marry nor are given in marriage” but “are like angels in heaven” (v. 25), not becoming angels, but sharing a glorified existence beyond death and the need for procreation. Marriage, a God-given institution for this life, will not be necessary in the eternal state where relationships are perfected.

To affirm the resurrection from the very Scriptures the Sadducees claimed to uphold, Jesus cited Exodus 3:6, where God declares to Moses, “I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” God’s self-identification in the present tense shows that the patriarchs still live in a covenant relationship with Him. Jesus concluded, “He is not God of the dead, but of the living” (v. 27). His reasoning affirmed that those who belong to God continue in conscious existence after death and will one day be raised. The Sadducees’ challenge was silenced, and Jesus upheld both the authority of Scripture and the truth of the resurrection with divine clarity and power.

One of the scribes, impressed by Jesus’ answers, asked which commandment was the most important (v. 28). Jesus replied by quoting the Shema from Deuteronomy 6:4–5: “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength” (v. 29–30). Then He added a second commandment from Leviticus 19:18: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (v. 31). No other commandment, He said, is greater than these. The scribe agreed, acknowledging that to love God and one’s neighbor “is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices” (v. 32–33). Jesus affirmed him, saying, “You are not far from the kingdom of God” (v. 34). His understanding was close to saving faith, but closeness alone was not enough; he still needed to embrace Jesus as Lord.

After this exchange, Jesus raised a crucial theological question to those listening in the temple: “How can the scribes say that the Christ is the son of David?” (v. 35). The common understanding, rightly drawn from Scripture, was that the Messiah would be a descendant of David, a truth firmly rooted in passages such as 2 Samuel 7:12–16, Isaiah 9:6–7, and Jeremiah 23:5–6. Yet Jesus showed that this truth, while accurate, was incomplete. He cited Psalm 110:1, where David, speaking under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, declares, “The Lord said to my Lord, ‘Sit at My right hand, until I put Your enemies under Your feet’” (v. 36). In this psalm, David refers to the Messiah not merely as his son, but as “my Lord,” a title of divine authority.

Jesus then applied the Scripture directly: if David himself calls the Messiah “Lord,” how can the Christ be only his son? (v. 37) The implication was clear: Messiah is both David’s Son according to the flesh, and David’s Lord according to His divine nature. He is truly man and truly God, the promised King who would sit at the Father’s right hand with all authority and rule over His enemies. The crowd listened with interest and delight, recognizing the depth and authority of His teaching, while the religious leaders were silenced, unable to refute Him. Jesus’ question subtly yet unmistakably revealed His identity as the promised Son of David and the eternal Lord of glory.

Turning to the crowd, Jesus warned against the hypocrisy of the scribes (v. 38–40). They loved to walk in long robes, seek greetings in the marketplaces, occupy the best seats in the synagogues, and take places of honor at banquets. Yet beneath their religious appearance, they exploited the vulnerable, “devouring widows’ houses” and offering lengthy prayers for show. Such hypocrisy, He declared, would bring greater condemnation.

Finally, Jesus sat near the temple treasury, observing how people gave their offerings (v. 41). Many wealthy individuals contributed large sums, but a poor widow came and dropped in two small copper coins worth only a fraction of a penny (v. 42). Calling His disciples, Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she, out of her poverty, has put in everything she had, all she had to live on” (v. 43–44). Her gift demonstrated wholehearted devotion and sacrificial faith. While others gave what they would not miss, she gave all in trust to God’s care.

Mark 12 reveals both the grace and the demand of the kingdom. The rejected Son is the cornerstone of God’s new work. Those who refuse Him face judgment; those who receive Him enter into life. True faith is seen not in outward display but in inward surrender, and loving God fully, loving others sincerely, and trusting Him completely with all one’s heart.

For believers, this chapter calls for genuine discipleship: to render to God what belongs to Him, including our devotion, resources, and obedience, and to guard against religious pretense. The widow’s offering reminds us that God measures faith not by amount but by sacrifice. The rejected stone, now exalted, remains the foundation of all who believe. To follow this King means humbly receiving His authority and joyfully living for His glory.

Conclusion

Matthew 22 and Mark 12 display the divine wisdom and authority of Jesus, the Cornerstone rejected by men but chosen by God. Every question and parable points to His identity as the true King and Savior. His words remind believers that the heart of the Christian life is love, complete devotion to God, and sincere care for others. These chapters challenge us to examine our motives: are we honoring God with our lips while our hearts are far from Him, or are we living out the love that fulfills His law? For believers today, the call is clear: to build our lives on the Cornerstone, to walk in humble obedience, and to love as Christ has loved us.