Matthew 22:4 (LSB)

Passage

Again he sent out other slaves saying, ‘Tell those who have been called, “Behold, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and my fattened livestock are all butchered and everything is ready; come to the wedding feast.”’

Nearby Context

Matthew 22:2 “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son.

Matthew 22:3 And he sent out his slaves to call those who had been called to the wedding feast, and they were unwilling to come.

Matthew 22:4 Again he sent out other slaves saying, ‘Tell those who have been called, “Behold, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and my fattened livestock are all butchered and everything is ready; come to the wedding feast.”’

Matthew 22:5 But they paid no attention and went their way, one to his own farm, another to his business,

Matthew 22:6 and the rest seized his slaves and mistreated them and killed them.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "called", "again", "sent", "other", "slaves", "saying", "tell", and "been". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "called" and "again", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 3's "And he sent out his slaves to..." into verse 5's "But they paid no attention and went...", so "called" 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 "called" and "again" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.