Luke 10:28

Luke 10:28, in plain English

Jesus said, 'You have answered correctly. Do this and you will live.' The answer is simple. The doing is the hard part.

Why it's here

Jesus affirmed his knowledge but pointed to the real challenge: living it out. You can ace every theology test and still fail at love. The question is never just what you know; it is what you do.

Who's speaking

Jesus affirms and challenges the expert.

Where it sits in the story

Correct answer, Jesus said. Now do it and you will live. The expert knew the theory. Jesus was about to show him how far theory is from practice.

The scholarly reading

Jesus affirms orthōs apekrithēs ('you have answered correctly') and commands touto poiei kai zēsē ('do this and you will live'). The present imperative poiei demands ongoing action, not a one-time deed. The promise of life echoes Leviticus 18:5 and Ezekiel 20:11.

Language and setting

Jesus' response validates the lawyer's theological knowledge while shifting the challenge from knowing to doing. The imperative 'do this' exposes the gap between theological understanding and practical obedience that the following parable will dramatize.

Voice

Jesus affirms the expert's answer and issues a challenge.

Significance

Jesus confirmed the expert's answer was correct and issued a simple but profound challenge: do this, and you will live. The shift from knowing to doing was about to expose the gap in the expert's self-understanding.

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.”

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

30Jesus took up this question and said, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead.

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.