Chapter

Matthew 22:35

ESV And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him.
NIV One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question:
NASB And one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him:
CSB And one of them, an expert in the law, asked a question to test him:
NLT One of them, an expert in religious law, tried to trap him with this question:
KJV Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying,
NKJV Then one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying,

What does Matthew 22:35 mean?

A group of Pharisees heard that Jesus' brilliant response to a challenge silenced the group known as Sadducees. This more secular, political wing of Judaism was a rival to the Pharisees. Despite their best efforts, they had no response to Jesus' profound and insightful answer (Matthew 22:23–33). Now the Pharisees appear to want another chance to test Jesus. They pick one of the brightest and most educated of their number to ask Him a hard question. This man is unnamed, but he is a Pharisee and described as a lawyer. In this context, a "lawyer" is someone well versed in Scripture and the traditions built around it.

The "test" here is subtly different than the earlier ones. Those were explicitly designed to trip Jesus up: to trick Jesus into saying something that could be used against Him. The "test" contained in this question seems more aimed at wanting to know how Jesus will answer a hotly debated issue among the religious leaders themselves. It's potentially controversial, but it's not a "bad" question, at all.
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