Bible Strands
Matthew 22:35
One of them, an expert in the law, tested Him with a question:
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — One expert in the law addresses Jesus immediately after the Pharisees gather together in response to Jesus silencing the Sadducees. He poses a direct question to probe Jesus' understanding of the Law.
The words — The Greek participle πειράζων (peirazōn) literally means testing, denoting an attempt to trap or examine Jesus. The noun νομικός (nomikos) identifies the speaker specifically as a legal expert or lawyer.
The thread — This pattern of legal experts testing Jesus appears in Luke 10:25 when a lawyer asks about inheriting eternal life and in Luke 11:45 when one accuses Jesus of insulting them. The Pharisees' coordinated gathering mirrors the opposition recorded in Luke 7:30.
Why it lands — The text records a deliberate challenge that demands a precise answer regarding the Law's hierarchy. It requires the reader to evaluate how authoritative teaching responds to calculated examination without evasion.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying,
Cross-references
- Luke 7:30 But the Pharisees and experts in the law rejected God’s purpose for themselves, because they had not been baptized by John.
- Luke 10:25 One 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 One of the experts in the law told Him, “Teacher, when You say these things, You insult us as well.”
- Luke 11:52 Woe 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.”
- Luke 14:3 So Jesus asked the experts in the law and the Pharisees, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not?”
- Matthew 22:18 But Jesus knew their evil intent and said, “You hypocrites, why are you testing Me?
- Titus 3:13 Do your best to equip Zenas the lawyer and Apollos, so that they will have everything they need.
- Mark 10:2 Some Pharisees came to test Him. “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” they inquired.