Matthew 22:8 (LSB)

Passage

Then he said to his slaves, ‘The wedding is ready, but those who were called were not worthy.

Nearby Context

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

Matthew 22:7 But the king was enraged, and he sent his armies and destroyed those murderers and set their city on fire.

Matthew 22:8 Then he said to his slaves, ‘The wedding is ready, but those who were called were not worthy.

Matthew 22:9 Go therefore to the main highways, and as many as you find there, call to the wedding feast.’

Matthew 22:10 And those slaves went out into the streets and gathered together all they found, both evil and good; and the wedding hall was filled with dinner guests.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "called", "said", "slaves", "wedding", "ready", and "worthy". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "called" and "said", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 7's "But the king was enraged and he..." into verse 9's "Go therefore to the main highways and...", so "called" and "said" 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 "said" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.