Matthew 22:22 (DBY)

Passage

And when they heard [him], they wondered, and left him, and went away.

Nearby Context

Matthew 22:20 And he says to them, Whose [is] this image and superscription?

Matthew 22:21 They say to him, Caesar's. Then he says to them, Pay then what is Caesar's to Caesar, and what is God's to God.

Matthew 22:22 And when they heard [him], they wondered, and left him, and went away.

Matthew 22:23 On that day came to him Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection; and they demanded of him,

Matthew 22:24 saying, Teacher, Moses said, If any one die, not having children, his brother shall marry his wife and shall raise up seed to his brother.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "heard", "wondered", "left", "went", and "away". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "heard" and "wondered", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 21's "They say to him Caesar's Then he..." into verse 23's "On that day came to him Sadducees...", so "heard" and "wondered" 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 "heard" and "wondered" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.