Matthew 22:34 (YLT)

Passage

and the Pharisees, having heard that he did silence the Sadducees, were gathered together unto him;

Nearby Context

Matthew 22:32 I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not a God of dead men, but of living.'

Matthew 22:33 And having heard, the multitudes were astonished at his teaching;

Matthew 22:34 and the Pharisees, having heard that he did silence the Sadducees, were gathered together unto him;

Matthew 22:35 and one of them, a lawyer, did question, tempting him, and saying,

Matthew 22:36 `Teacher, which <FI>is<Fi> the great command in the Law?'

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "pharisees", "having", "heard", "silence", "sadducees", "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 having heard the multitudes were astonished..." into verse 35's "and one of them a lawyer did...", 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.