Misinterpretations of this verse often portray Jesus as evading the lawyer's question or deferring to subjective human opinion by asking 'how readest thou,' suggesting the Bible's meaning is purely personal and relativistic without an objective truth; others misuse it to advocate strict legalism, implying salvation comes solely from perfect law-keeping apart from grace, ignoring the broader context of Jesus affirming the law's summary in love while exposing the lawyer's self-justification leading into the parable of the Good Samaritan.
Luke 10:26
King James Version (1769)
26 He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou?
In Luke 10:26, Jesus responds to a lawyer's question about inheriting eternal life by pointing him to the authority of Scripture itself, asking what is written in the law and how he interprets it, which underscores the sufficiency of God's Word to reveal the path to salvation through loving God fully and one's neighbor as oneself, encouraging personal study, reflection, and obedience rather than seeking novel answers outside divine revelation.