This coming Sunday is the 28th Sunday of Ordinary Time. The king patiently responds to the refusal to attend the banquet, but patience goes so far. Some ignored the invitation and went away, one to his farm, another to his business. The rest laid hold of his servants, mistreated them, and killed them. (Mt 22:5-6)

Upon hearing that the servants have been, in some cases, murdered, the king responds. While the feast continues to wait, the king wages war (v.7). Those who had dishonored and rebelled against him were put to the sword while their cities burned. The vocabulary reflects Matthew’s theology: “destroyed” (apollymi) is the same verb used in 21:41; “murderers” reflects the same view as 23:31, 35. Matthew is thinking in terms of his view of salvation history, not of an actual king who waged war while dinner waited. Most scholars see this as Matthew’s retrospective view of the destruction of Jerusalem, understood as a judgment on rebellious Israel, who had rejected the Messiah. The rebellious first group has been judged as unworthy (v.8), but the feast is still a celebration awaiting guests.

“Go out, therefore….” and so a third group of servants is sent onto the “main road” (diexodos hodos) – a reasonable translation, but then again, something is lost. The term diexodos describes the road that leaves the city crossing over into the countryside.  In the allegorical setting, this would mean to leave Jerusalem and the center of Judaism, going out to the land of the Gentiles as well as Jews considered not worthy of the Covenant. The language used here shares vocabulary with the Great Commission of 28:12-20. The invitation is no longer restricted to those who had accepted the previous invitation, but is extended to all. Those who are “gathered in” are both bad and good, corresponding to Matthew’s realistic picture of the church known to him (see 13:24–30 and 13:47–50).

Image Credit: Parable of the Great Banquet by Brunswick Monogrammist (circa 1525) National Museum, Warsaw | Public Domain