Matthew 22:4 (DBY)

Passage

Again he sent other bondmen, saying, Say to the persons invited, Behold, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and my fatted beasts are killed, and all things ready; come to the wedding feast.

Nearby Context

Matthew 22:2 The kingdom of the heavens has become like a king who made a wedding feast for his son,

Matthew 22:3 and sent his bondmen to call the persons invited to the wedding feast, and they would not come.

Matthew 22:4 Again he sent other bondmen, saying, Say to the persons invited, Behold, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and my fatted beasts are killed, and all things ready; come to the wedding feast.

Matthew 22:5 But they made light of it, and went, one to his own land, and another to his commerce.

Matthew 22:6 And the rest, laying hold of his bondmen, ill-treated and slew [them].

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "all things", "again", "sent", "other", "bondmen", "saying", "persons", and "invited". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "all things" and "again", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 3's "and sent his bondmen to call the..." into verse 5's "But they made light of it and...", so "all things" and "again" belong inside that flow. In Matthew context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "all things" and "again" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.