Luke 10:28

28 And he said to him, “You have answered correctly; ¹do this, and you will live. ”

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 He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it? ”

27 And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself. ”

28 And he said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live. ”

29 But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor? ”

30 Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead.

Cross References

• 1. 10:28 Lev. 18:5; Neh. 9:29; Ezek. 20:11; Rom. 10:5; Gal. 3:12