Matthew 22:34 (DBY)

Passage

But the Pharisees, having heard that he had put the Sadducees to silence, were gathered together.

Nearby Context

Matthew 22:32 *I* am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not God of [the] dead, but of [the] living.

Matthew 22:33 And when the crowds heard [it] they were astonished at his doctrine.

Matthew 22:34 But the Pharisees, having heard that he had put the Sadducees to silence, were gathered together.

Matthew 22:35 And one of them, a lawyer, demanded, tempting him, and saying,

Matthew 22:36 Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "pharisees", "having", "heard", "sadducees", "silence", "gathered", and "together". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "pharisees" and "having", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 33's "And when the crowds heard it they..." into verse 35's "And one of them a lawyer demanded...", so "pharisees" and "having" 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 "pharisees" and "having" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.