Luke 10:28

28 And he said, You have given the right answer: do this and you will have life.

Luke 10:28 Meaning and Commentary

Luke 10:28

And he said unto him, thou hast answered right
It is so written, and read; and this, as if he should say, is the sum and substance of the law, and what that requires men should do; wherefore,

do this, and thou shalt live;
for the bare reading of it was not sufficient; though these men placed great confidence in reading this passage, or in reciting their phylacteries, of which this was a part, morning and night. Our Lord intimates by this, that, according to the tenor of the law, eternal life was not to be had without a complete and perfect performance of the duties of love to God, and to the neighbour, contained in these words; and this he suggests, in order to convict him of the impossibility of obtaining life by the works of the law, since such a performance cannot be made by man.

Luke 10:28 In-Context

26 And he said to him, What does the law say, in your reading of it?

27 And he, answering, said, Have love for the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind; and for your neighbour as for yourself.

28 And he said, You have given the right answer: do this and you will have life.

29 But he, desiring to put himself in the right, said to Jesus, And who is my neighbour?

30 And Jesus, answering him, said, A certain man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he got into the hands of thieves, who took his clothing and gave him cruel blows, and when they went away, he was half dead.