Matthew 22:1-5

Mat 22:1 (KJB)
And Jesus answered and spake unto them again by parables, and said,

Jesus continues His teaching of the religious leaders with more parables. In their heart they wanted to take Him but knew that they could not because they feared the crowd. These were probably delegates from the Sanhedrin since they were now in the proximity of Jerusalem. Therefore it would not be days or weeks before the Sanhedrin would get their report.

Mat 22:2 (KJB)
The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king, which made a marriage for his son,

Unlike the marriage ceremonies of today where they are held in churches or somewhere else, the marriage took place in the home of the bridegroom because the grooms parents were responsible for giving the feast. Here the parable begins with a certain King, which would be God the Father. The marriage He is making for His Son is to the body of believers. (John 6:37 KJV) All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. They were otherwise known as the bride of Christ. (Rev 21:9 KJV) And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will show thee the bride, the Lamb's wife.

Mat 22:3 (KJB)
And sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden to the wedding: and they would not come.

Bidden - Those who were invited

Normally a general invitation would be sent and then afterwards as the time drew close, a final notice would be sent as to the exact time and place of the wedding. From the parable, it looks like the initial invitation had gone out and now the time of the wedding drew close, so the servants were dispatched to those previously invited as to the time and place. When the servants had notified these invited guests, they had now begun to turn down the invitation and refused to come. These invited guests was the nation of Israel and the notification was in the Scriptures that the Messiah was coming to them. They had the signs such as the star, the wise men, Herod’s edict of murder, and the religious leaders knew exactly where He would be born. The people of Israel were invited but refused to come because they feared the religious leaders and the religious leaders would not see themselves as secondary to anyone plus they did not want to lose their positions and source of wealth.

Mat 22:4 (KJB)
Again, he sent forth other servants, saying, Tell them which are bidden, Behold, I have prepared my dinner: my oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready: come unto the marriage.

The first set of servants were turned down by those who were invited so the king sends out a second group of servants informing them to tell those invited of the urgency of the timing of the wedding. The dinner was prepared and the oxen plus all the fattened animals which were prepared for this feast had been killed and prepared. All things are now ready so come unto the marriage. Within a few days the Lord Jesus Christ is going to be crucified and then He will rise the third day. Then 50 days afterward on Pentecost, the Holy Spirit will descend upon all true believers. This is how close the wedding was and that is why there was an urgency to bring in the invited guests.

Mat 22:5 (KJB)
But they made light of it, and went their ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandise:

Made light of it - Disregarded, neglected, did not care for

This group of servants met the same type of opposition the first group met. This group had disregarded the wedding and cared nothing about it. They all went their way, one to the farm and another to his merchandise. These invited guests were more concerned with their worldly life than with their eternal life. They concerned themselves with riches and their business and gave no thought to their spiritual life. The invited guests of Israel did not care the Messiah had come because they wanted things to continue as they were. The religious leaders held sway over the people and they did not want that to come to an end. They had neglected their own prophesied Messiah.

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