Luke 10:26

Luke 10:26, in plain English

Jesus turned the question back on him: 'What is written in the Law? How do you read it?' Instead of debating, Jesus invited the expert to find the answer he already knew.

Why it's here

Jesus was brilliant at this: instead of taking the bait, He flipped the question. The expert came to test Jesus and ended up testing himself. The answer was already in his own Bible.

Who's speaking

Jesus responds with a question of His own.

Where it sits in the story

Jesus did not take the bait. Instead, He asked the expert two questions: what does your Bible say, and how do you interpret it? The man who came to test Jesus was now being tested himself.

The scholarly reading

Jesus responds with a counter-question using the Socratic method: en tō nomō ti gegraptai ('what is written in the Law?') and pōs anaginōskeis ('how do you read it?'). This double question addresses both the content and the interpretation of Scripture, inviting the expert to answer his own question.

Language and setting

By turning the question back to the lawyer, Jesus honors the man's expertise while demonstrating that the answer to his question is already in the Scriptures he has studied. The method also avoids a direct statement that could be easily disputed.

Voice

Jesus responds to the legal expert's question with His own counter-questions.

Significance

Instead of answering directly, Jesus turned the question back on the expert: what does the Law say, and how do you interpret it? He invited the lawyer to discover that he already possessed the answer he was testing Jesus about.

24For I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.”

25One day an expert in the law stood up to test Him. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

26“What is written in the Law?” Jesus replied. “How do you read it?”

27He answered, “‘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 ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”

28“You have answered correctly,” Jesus said. “Do this and you will live.”

Read all of Luke 10 — A lawyer asks how to inherit eternal life and gets an answer he doesn't expect. The hero of the story is the one everyone despises.