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One of them, an expert in the law, tested Him with a question:
Matthew 22:35 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB One of them, a lawyer, asked him a question, testing him.
  • 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,
  • NASB And one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him:
  • NLT One of them, an expert in religious law, tried to trap him with this question:

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

A lawyer among them tests Jesus with a question. The inquiry, though a test, draws out a profound answer.

Overview

An expert in the Mosaic law steps forward to probe Jesus, continuing the pattern of hostile testing. Though his motive is to challenge, the question about the law's heart gives Jesus opportunity to summarize true righteousness. Even an adversarial question becomes the occasion for enduring teaching.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 8

  • Luke 7:30But the Pharisees and experts in the law rejected God’s purpose for themselves, because they had not been baptized by John.
  • Luke 10:25–37One day an expert in the law stood up to test Him. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
  • Luke 11:45–46One of the experts in the law told Him, “Teacher, when You say these things, You insult us as well.”
  • Luke 14:3So Jesus asked the experts in the law and the Pharisees, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not?”
  • Luke 11:52Woe to you experts in the law! For you have taken away the key to knowledge. You yourselves have not entered, and you have hindered those who were entering.”
  • Matt 22:18But Jesus knew their evil intent and said, “You hypocrites, why are you testing Me?
  • Titus 3:13Do your best to equip Zenas the lawyer and Apollos, so that they will have everything they need.
  • Mark 10:2Some Pharisees came to test Him. “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” they inquired.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (3)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Matthew videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Matthew 22:35YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on MatthewMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

Matthew presents Jesus as the promised King — son of David, son of Abraham — the new Moses and true Israel in whom every prophecy reaches 'that it might be fulfilled.'

How Matthew 22:35 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.