Passage
And one of them, a scholar of the Law, asked Him a question, testing Him,
Matthew 22:35 (LSB)
Nearby Context
Matthew 22:33 And when the crowds heard this, they were astonished at His teaching.
Matthew 22:34 But when the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered themselves together.
Matthew 22:35 And one of them, a scholar of the Law, asked Him a question, testing Him,
Matthew 22:36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?”
Matthew 22:37 And He said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’
Study Lenses
The verse centers on "scholar", "asked", "question", and "testing". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "scholar" and "asked", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.
The nearby context moves from verse 34's "But when the Pharisees heard that Jesus..." into verse 36's "Teacher which is the great commandment in...", so "scholar" and "asked" 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 "scholar" and "asked" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.