Mat 19;23-28 23 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “Assuredly, I say to you that it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. 24 And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” 25 When His disciples heard it, they were greatly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?” 26 But Jesus looked at them and said to them, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” 27 Then Peter answered and said to Him, “See, we have left all and followed You. Therefore what shall we have?” 28 So Jesus said to them, “Assuredly I say to you, that in the regeneration, when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 29 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My name’s sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life. 30 But many who are first will be last, and the last first.
Eternal life—life after this world—is a subject we think about only when facing our own death or that of close ones. Though we scarcely admit it, each breath we draw brings us closer to eternity. We saw last week that a man, in spite of being young, rich, and even a ruler in religious society, was very concerned about eternal life and came with this question to the right person, who alone can give eternal life. He came running and kneeling before Christ.
We saw a most crucial question raised by the rich young ruler: “Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?” He thought, like many legalistic people today, that with all the riches he had, there was some good he could do—maybe giving large sums of money for good causes, doing something for the temple, or some good deed to “obtain eternal life.”
We saw the Lord’s searching response. Three things must happen for someone to obtain eternal life. He needs to realize Jesus is God, realize his sin, and repent, believe, and follow Christ. That is exactly what the Lord does in his response. The Lord makes him realize who he is talking to. The man called Christ “good teacher,” using the special word Agathos, implying, “You are not like others; you are ultimate good.” Jesus picks up on that and makes him think: “If you see ultimate good in me, Agathos… only God is Agathos, so are you calling me God?” Secondly, he makes him realize his sinfulness by exposing his shallow understanding of the law, and then calls him for radical repentance and faith by telling him to go, sell, give all his riches to the poor, and come and follow him. This is a deep call for repentance and faith—turning from our idol, which always results in deep attachment to Jesus.
We saw the tragic reaction. This test of the Lord so exposed this man, who looked so religious in spite of being young, rich, and a ruler seeking eternal life. It collapsed his earnestness. What happened to the eagerness that brought him running to Jesus, and to his willingness to do any hard task Christ would command? It was real, but shallow. The piercing words of Christ cut down to the inner man and laid bare, for his own sight, the selfish idol of his heart that was hidden. He claimed to worship God, covering his heart with religious activities and a shallow understanding of the law, but all the while, he was worshiping the idol of his wealth. When Christ called him to radical, true repentance, his face became sad. He didn’t say a word, stunned. Silently, he went away, sorrowful. What a moment! His eternal destiny hung on it. With a downcast face, his feet carried him away from the only one who can give eternal life. The reason is, verse 22 says, “For he had great possessions.” One preacher nicely said, “The great possession had him.”
How many are deceived like this without knowing their hearts, putting on a form of godliness, and can even become a ruler of the synagogue? How many of us, though zealous and talking about many things, see all that disappear when the hard facts of self-sacrifice strike against us! When tests come in our lives, when sacrifices need to be made, we show the ugly, selfish heart lying below!
Dialogue and Application
After he leaves, there is a dialogue between the disciples and the Lord in verses 23-30. In this dialogue, as an application to this whole incident, the Lord brings two applications. We can call them number one: Danger of riches and the only possibility of salvation, and secondly: The reward for sacrifices done for Jesus’ sake.
So, we will look at the dangers of riches and the only possibility of salvation today, and next week, the reward for sacrifices done for Jesus’ sake.
Three main points:
- Unpopular shocking application.
- Disciples’ shocking question.
- Only possibility of salvation.
1. Unpopular, Shocking Application
As Jesus and the disciples watched this man walk away with a sad face and a sorrowful heart, there seems to be a pause. Mark 10:24 says, “Then Jesus looked around,” and the Lord secures the attention of the disciples. Jesus looked round about his disciples, no doubt with eyes expressing grief, compassion, and perhaps a tinge of holy hatred for how sin can make an idol of God’s gifts to us. Our Lord looks at his disciples one by one, and based on this incident, he solemnly affirms an unpopular, shocking application. Many don’t accept this, but our Lord confirms it here.
What is the application? Verse 23: “Then Jesus said to His disciples, ‘Assuredly, I say to you that it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.'”
“Assuredly”—as soon as he says that, the disciples know this is not an ordinary thing, but a solemn truth. They all must have paid attention. I am sure he must have had a serious and solemn face. “I say to you that it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.“
To begin with, let me explain what he means. Does he mean that it will be easy for a poor man to enter on his own, but difficult for a rich man? No. We have to understand the context. He is not talking about the sufficiency of God’s grace to get this person or that person into the kingdom of God. Later on, he says, “with God all things are possible.” When we think of salvation from the standpoint of God, there are no limitations to that grace.
But when we think from the standpoint of what man experiences in the personal, felt realities of radical repentance and faith, apart from which he will never have eternal life—in that human perspective and emphasis—the measure of difficulties of entering the kingdom of God are greatly increased in the case of a rich man.
He has already told them in the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 7:14: “Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.”
Of the few that find it, it is because of the tremendous difficulties; they have to squeeze into the narrow gate, a turnstile gate. You have to strip yourself of all pride and self-righteousness, leave everything, unpack all that excess baggage, and realize your depravity and realize nothing good is in you. All that must be unpacked in every true, expressed repentance and faith. How hard it is for the sinner in repentance to kiss the world goodbye and take off his wedding ring—he is married to the devil and the world—and toss it into the deepest sea and join Christ. It is already so difficult that only a few find it.
It is difficult enough for a poor man. But it is much, much more difficult when a rich man comes to the turnstile. He not only brings the baggage of all ordinary men, but he is overloaded with excessive baggage: the prestige, false security, and deceitfulness of riches due to setting his affections on his wealth. That makes it even more difficult to enter the kingdom. That is what he means. So, with the incident of the rich young ruler as a live example, the Lord told him: “If you want eternal life, realize your sin, leave all self-righteousness. You should prefer treasures in heaven over earth, and come under the complete government of Christ.” It was so difficult that he went away. The Lord solemnly affirms an unpopular application: It is hard for the rich man.
This itself is very shocking. If you look at Mark, as soon as they heard this, the disciples were very shocked. This is not something they didn’t understand; they clearly understood. In their perspective, these were nothing less than radical, revolutionary words, completely contrary to all they had heard and believed.
Does this shock you? When it comes to entering eternal life, the glorious future we spoke of all these weeks, if you are a rich person, or if we eagerly strive to be rich and if we become rich people, it will be very difficult—even impossible—for you and me to enter eternal life, more so than ordinary poor or middle-class people. What will all the prosperity Pentecostal preachers do with this verse?
“Okay,” we might try to justify, “maybe it’s a little difficult, but we will somehow try and enter.” He goes on and explains how difficult it will be for a rich man to enter. If this doesn’t shock you, this should shock you.
How difficult? Verse 24: “And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”
Not only a shocking application, but a shocking, striking illustration. He says “again” in case some prosperity preacher tries to twist or confuse the first statement: “Let me give you an illustration.” This is so shocking.
Through the centuries, people have been so amazed at this that they have tried everything to twist and change the sharpness of this verse, trying to change the text in every way.
A funny thing is that some said Jesus originally didn’t say “camel,” but meant “cable” or a rope used for anchoring a ship—a little spelling mistake. The most popular explanation, which I have heard a Pentecostal prosperity preacher say, is that there was a gate outside Jerusalem called the “Needle’s Eye” gate. “You cannot take the camel with luggage; only when you take all the burdens off the camel, make it kneel, you may squeeze the camel. It is not impossible, but very difficult.”
The only problem with that explanation is that no one has still found where that Needle’s Eye gate is. There wasn’t any needle gate. Why would someone make a camel go through a small gate when there was a big gate in Jerusalem? There is absolutely no warrant linguistically, contextually, or comparing with scripture; it is nonsense. They are all trying to remove the sharpness and say it is not impossible, but difficult, but you know the Lord is saying it is impossible. He is using a colloquial phrase used to express something that was impossible.
Our Lord is using a striking, shocking illustration for people living in Palestine. For the Palestinian people living in the desert, the biggest animal is the camel. For us, it is the elephant; in the desert land, they wouldn’t see elephants. The biggest animal they see is the camel. Jesus used this animal in other examples to show how stupid and hypocritical the religious activities of the Pharisees were. He said Pharisees are like men who would filter wine if there were some flies or mosquitoes, but just before he drinks, his camel steps into it. With his camel sitting on the cup, he swallows the whole cup down. He said, “You strain out a gnat, but swallow a camel.” It is striking, grotesque, silly—yes, but you get a sense of it. You are so picky about these little things, like washing hands and ritualistic details, but you completely overlook great issues about God’s law, your sin, and grace. So, Jesus uses the words: “A camel can easily go through the eye of a needle than the rich [can enter the kingdom].” He is saying it is humanly impossible. The biggest animal they know and the smallest hole they could think of—the eye of a sewing needle.
Can you imagine walking in Palestine, and someone with a camel tied to a long rope is pushing this camel, struggling, sweating, and trying to do something? He is holding something in his hand you cannot even see from far, so you go closer and, amazingly, you find him holding a small needle, and he is trying to put the mouth of the camel on the needle hole. You ask, “Hey, what are you doing? Squeezing the camel?” You would look at those guys and say, “You are mad, doing something impossible. You can never do that.” It would be impossible! Even if you could get part of the camel through, there’s still that hump! And in actuality, if you even tried, all you’d have is a very broken needle—and a very perturbed camel!
How shocking! Jesus is saying there is more hope for those guys to do what they are trying than for a rich man trying to enter the kingdom. Comparing the difficulty, those guys can easily make the camel go through the needle. So the point of the teaching is: How difficult is it for rich people to get saved? It’s impossible.
Do you see the shock and conscience-striking illustration of the Son of God? What can we say before this verse? Verse 24: “And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”
Amazing. This is what Jesus, the Incarnate God, said. “It is easier for a camel to go through a needle’s eye…” It was not spoken in an isolated context; they see the illustration: a man who went away from heaven with a sad face and a sorrowful heart, clinging to his riches.
2. Disciples’ Shocking Question
Verse 25: “When His disciples heard it, they were greatly astonished, saying, ‘Who then can be saved?'”
The strong word for “greatly astonished” means their mind was bursting. They were blown out of their minds, overwhelmed. This completely knocked the disciples out! They were extremely struck out of their wits. We don’t get the weight of these words in English, but if all other heart shocks were an earthquake of Richter scale 3 or 4 on their heart, this is a 7.0. This was more than they could bear, unbearable. The cumulative effect of this is to bring them to the place where they are distraught, raising their hands and questioning: “Who then can be saved? What hope is there for anyone?”
That is expressed in their question, throwing up their hands and clutching one another’s shirt: “Who then can be saved?” And later, Peter will talk very roughly to the Lord: “Look, we have left all and followed You. Therefore what shall we have?” This is a response of earthquake shock in their deepest heart, and like Tsunami waves, their mouth screams: “Who then can be saved?”
If you have to understand the measure of their shock, understand how they were brought up, their tradition, and their thinking with regards to riches. Why were they shocked? Two reasons:
Firstly, the disciples were conditioned in their teaching of worldly possessions by the overarching general teaching of the Old Testament. They had been brought up to believe that under the Old Testament covenant, covenant faithfulness was generally rewarded with material prosperity. That was one of the great recurring themes in the giving of the law, and in the message of Proverbs, Prophets, and Psalms. That was a general rule. There are exceptions like Job, but generally, that is the rule. How shocking for them to hear this.
Secondly, there was the perverted teaching of the Pharisees and scribes (Matthew 6 and Luke 13). They believed that the more you gave, the more alms giving, the more you gained salvation and eternal life. They actually believed that the richer you were, the more you purchased unto yourself salvation. Jewish writings say things like this: “It is good to do alms rather than treasure up gold; for alms deliver from death, and they purge away every sin.” The Talmud says, “Alms giving is more excellent than all offerings, and is equal to the whole law, and will deliver from the condemnation of hell and make one perfectly righteous.” Moreover, giving sacrifices and money to the temple all earned salvation. Rich people could buy all the sacrificial lambs in sight. I mean, they could atone for everything. The most eligible people in their system who could be saved were the rich.
So, the more money you had, the more you could give. The more you gave, the more you purchased for yourself salvation. And the more salvation you were able to purchase, the higher your status went up in the kingdom. And so they believed the richer you were, the more readily you were able to enter the kingdom. Jesus comes along and says, “The richer you are, the harder it is.” That is a shocking statement because they assumed that rich people got in rather easily. The same prosperity teaching exists today: “You become rich; you can do more righteous acts and then have more chance to enter eternal life.” The disciples were greatly influenced by these blind leaders. The Lord was carefully reshaping their thinking.
Put yourself in their place. All their life, they thought material prosperity was a sign of covenant faithfulness and works righteousness. It is the man with covenant faithfulness, blessed with material blessings, who is able with that wealth to give abundantly with his alms in order to secure merit/righteousness before God and has more chance to enter the kingdom than others. That is their thinking. Frankly, they were following Jesus, and according to them, although very poor now, they were expecting Jesus to take control as Messiah one day and make them rich. That is why Peter asked that question, “What we will get for all our sacrifices?”
With that kind of thinking conditioned in your life, to have your master say that the least likely candidate for heaven is a rich man could do nothing but cause astonishment and amazement in their minds and hearts. This was contrary to everything they’d been taught, everything they knew in their tradition. If it is difficult for the rich, then they were shocked: “Who then can be saved?”
In their works system, if rich people can’t be saved, who can be saved? Poor people can’t give away alms, so they can’t buy forgiveness. Poor people can’t even buy sacrifices that are very significant. “I mean, if rich people can’t be saved, who can be saved?”
Jesus seeks to uproot the misperceptions of His disciples who equated possessions with divine blessing and favor. In their thinking, if anyone had an advantage in getting into the kingdom, it would have been a rich person, who obviously was under God’s blessing.
Now, with that shock, they ask the question: “Who then can be saved?” If the man considered most eligible due to his riches cannot be saved with all his good works, who then can be saved?
The Lord was making the disciples feel the right effect of the law. The law’s purpose is not to make someone feel “savable.” It is to show them the impossibility of being saved by their works and lead them to the only Savior who was standing before them—the Jesus who was about to die on the cross for their salvation. If that’s the case, then they were learning the lesson this passage is meant to teach us. This is what Paul explained in Galatians 3:22: salvation doesn’t come by keeping the law. The law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith (Galatians 3:21–24).
The moment we (or the disciples—or even the rich young ruler) have our hearts exposed by the holiness of God’s law, see the righteous demands of God’s holiness, come to terms with the fact that we have broken His law and stand before Him as guilty sinners, and then, as a result of it all, throw up our arms in despair and say—as the disciples said—“Who then can be saved?” then the law has done its job in us.
And then, we’re ready for the glorious answer that Jesus gives.
The Lord’s Glorious Truth About the Only Hope of Salvation
The climactic affirmation of our Lord is in verse 27:
“But Jesus looked at them and said to them, ‘With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.’”
Looking straight into their eyes, He gives this affirmation to shame them out of their misguided belief in the spiritual advantages of the rich. You are asking, “Who then can be saved?” If you are looking to men, first of all, He says, “With men this is impossible.” Jesus affirmed precisely what the disciples understood: “With people [men] this is impossible.” And that impossibility of salvation is, in a sense, crystallized in the case of the rich. Men, by virtue of their own strength, wealth, or attainments—anything they can do to enter heaven—face just one word over all attempts at self-salvation: Impossible. In one fell swoop, He eliminates all works-based and self-righteousness systems. He eliminates all man-made salvation. Man can’t be saved by himself: no amount of works, no amount of religion, no amount of activity, no amount of desire, no amount of willfulness. It’s impossible.
Our Lord rejected any form of Pelagianism—the doctrine that man has any inherent power to take even a small step toward God. No, as far as salvation is concerned, if there is any aspect originating in man, it is impossible. Impossibility stretches like a canopy over anything man can do.
But that negation is canceled when we look toward God. Praise God! “…but with God all things are possible.” The God of might and power, the God of redemptive grace and mercy, the God who has sent Christ—all things are possible.
Although this verse is often used for everything, in the context, it talks about salvation. Whatever obstacle exists in man’s condition, everything is possible with God. God can do all that must be done for men to be saved, and that is the climatic, glorious truth of the only hope for our salvation. It is the only hope for the salvation of any sinner, whether rich or poor. It is the work of God.
In the whole story, we should catch the golden rope of grace. The rich young ruler, who thought he was close to the kingdom relying on his own good works but felt a lack of eternal life, asks Christ what to do. Christ makes him realize who He is, then shows his sinfulness through the law, and calls for repentance.
When the man goes away, Christ uses that incident, using the rich man who, according to the disciples, would have been the easiest to save due to his advantages. Christ says it is impossible for a rich man to enter. He makes the disciples realize the impossibility of achieving salvation through keeping the law, even for the rich according to their tradition. He brings them to the point of asking, “Who then can be saved?” and then gloriously pronounces the only hope for salvation: “With God all things are possible.” He is going now to Jerusalem to do that work of God that makes it possible for a holy God to save sinners.
3 Applications of God’s Word to Us
1. A Powerful Warning Against the Yearning to Be Rich
This passage gives a powerful warning to everyone against the intense yearning to be rich.
How hard it is for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven! Imagine a place promising a hundred times your salary, which many people envy and desire to reach. Suddenly, that whole place is struck with a terrible, incurable plague. Will you envy them anymore? No, that new reality will make you pity them instead of envying them. Your yearning to go and earn will be neutralized by seeing their suffering; you will be content with what you have now and never desire to go there to suffer like that.
Allow this word to penetrate the deepest chambers of your heart. Like the disciples, you and I have been brought up in a culture and time where we have the deepest yearning to be rich from childhood: “I want to be rich.” This is further magnified by false teachers who promise that God’s will is for us to be rich. It is so strong inside us, so deceptive; we don’t realize how it is hindering our entrance into eternal life. Learn from this passage, both by the live example and the Lord’s declaration: it is very hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.
May God open our eyes and help us see the truth from this passage. Whatever your parents, the world, tradition, or upbringing have taught, hear the word of the Son of God, the One who alone can give us eternal life, who alone is going to Jerusalem to purchase that for us. He says if you want eternal life after this world—immediate soul to heaven after death, rise in resurrection to glory, acquittal in the judgment, and eternal bliss forever—fight against your itch, your yearning to become rich. The Lord turns the table here: from the perspective of eternal life, we have to pity the rich people. Pity the wealthiest people; how impossible it is for them to enter life.
It is a new thing to pity rich men, or to think of their wealth as disqualifying them for anything. All doors are open for the wealthy in this world, even for church membership, but their wealth disqualifies them for entering the kingdom.
Never envy riches. Do you have that yearning to be rich? That will take you to hell and become a hindrance to eternal life. Don’t be a fool. This passage is a classic warning against the desire to be rich. As one commentator said, “though it is true that many who become Christians in their youth when they had little or moderate means become rich as Christians, very few who are rich ever become Christians.”
This is exactly what Jesus is saying. It is not utterly impossible—Luke 19 records the conversion of Zacchaeus, a very rich man, and there were wealthy Christian women in the New Testament, like Lydia. It is not an absolute impossibility, but Scripture tells us that there are peculiar liabilities, temptations, and hindrances attached to riches in terms of ever becoming a Christian. What is true in becoming a Christian is also true regarding growing as a Christian.
Do we recognize that riches can become a big hindrance to growing in spiritual life? We must seriously examine our hearts according to 1 Timothy 6:9-11:
- “But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.” (verses 9-10)
- “But you, O man of God, flee these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness.” (verse 11)
Yes, we must study well, work hard, earn, and make money, and whatever God gives, we have to be good stewards, not spending unwisely. We must work hard and earn so we are not a burden to anyone but are in a position to help others. But instead of working for a comfortable subsistence life, many want to accumulate a lot of wealth and be rich with ambition.
The world, culture, and society tell you that the rich and wealthy have everything now, that they have “made it.” But the word of God says it is a barrier to eternal life. Yes, you must study and make your life comfortable, but don’t let all this create a yearning to be rich. The yearning for riches and being rich is a smooth slide into hell. Hear the words of the Son of God: how hard it is for a rich man to enter the kingdom.
If any of you are trying to enter the kingdom with a yearning to be rich, remember the emblem of your life: A camel with its great body, long neck, and hump, struggling to get through a needle’s eye, is their emblem. Impossible.
Why are riches so dangerous? They will not allow us to develop the qualities required for eternal life:
- Riches give a false sense of security. They tend to feel smugly complacent, with “no sense in depending on God.” Riches will never make us realize the first quality needed: to be poor in spirit, dependent on God, and praying to God. Paul warns in 1 Timothy 6:17: “Charge them that are rich in this age… that they be not high-minded,”—that is, snooty, proud, superior—“nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy.” The particular problem of rich people is to trust in their uncertain riches because they think they don’t need God. This hinders their growth in eternal life.
- For rich people, their hearts are inseparably bound to this world. Everything revolves around this world: their bank accounts, possessions, and business dealings. Jesus said in Matthew 6:21, “Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” If all a man cares about is here in this world, he has no thought for the heavenly realm. The seed of the word of God never works and grows in such a heart. Mark chapter 4 states that “The cares of this age, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lust of other things entered in, choked the Word, and it became unfruitful.” Worldly worries and the deceitfulness of riches choke the desire for eternal life, and by caring for the things of this world and the lust of possessions, they abandon the gospel.
- Riches also make us very selfish. The rich are often consumed by self-indulgence. They indulge themselves. The man who had a great harvest saved it all in big barns and said, “Soul, take thine ease, eat, drink and be merry.” Remember the parable of the rich man and Lazarus in Luke 16? The rich man fared sumptuously every day, while Lazarus lay in the gutter, begging for crumbs. How can such people sacrificially do the kingdom work and good works for Christ’s sake?
So real is the peril of riches that Christ would have His disciples regard the victory over it as beyond our human power. He beckons us away from the effort to overcome the love of the world in our strength, pointing us to God, whose mighty grace, breathed into our feeble wills and treacherous hearts, is the only force that can overcome the attraction of perishable riches and make any of us willing or able to renounce them all that we may win Christ. The young ruler had just shown that ‘with men this is impossible.’ Nothing less than the almighty grace of God will enable a rich man to get over this difficulty.
It is a hard thing for a rich man to be a good Christian and to be saved, to enter into the kingdom of heaven. More duties are expected from them than from others, which they can hardly do, and more sins easily beset them, which they can hardly avoid. Rich people have great temptations to resist; it is hard not to be charmed with a smiling world. It is very hard, when we are filled with these treasures, not to take them up for our portion. Rich people have a great account to make up for their estates, their influence, their time, and their opportunities of doing and getting good, more so than others. It must be a great measure of divine grace that will enable a man to break through these difficulties.
2. The Salvation of Any Sinner Is a Miracle of Omnipotent Grace
Where do we find that? Look at Jesus’ words when the disciples despaired, when they saw the demand and the man’s response, and Jesus’ statement on how hard it is for a rich man to enter the kingdom. They didn’t say, “Wonderful, we are going to save the whole world.” After hearing Jesus, they grab one another’s shirt and say, “Who can be saved?”
Jesus says, “With men [it is] impossible” for any man to be saved. “But not with God, for all things are possible.” When we talk about God’s possibility to save a sinner, it is omnipotent grace alone that can save us.
If you and I are saved today, it is a miracle of omnipotent grace. Paul describes the horrible natural condition of everyone in Ephesians 2:1-3, but then, verse 4 says, “But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our wrongdoings, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved)…”
If you are sitting here, may it be very clear to you. In this great question, “What must you do to be saved?” if you have any thought that you can do anything to earn salvation, that in any way one drop from your side makes you righteous before God, you are utterly deceived. If all you have to show for your salvation is your own outward acts without the work of God in your heart, you are lost. Yes, you must believe and repent, but it must be as a result of God’s omnipotent grace working in you.
How then can anyone be saved? With men, impossible. With God, all things are possible. God made what is impossible for us possible. God has provided a way of righteous peace, a way in which He can show mercy to sinners and not compromise His justice. That way came through the glorious person called Jesus Christ. He lived a perfect life and suffered unspeakable suffering, shedding blood on the cross where all wrath broke upon his head. He rose from the dead. And He went to the Father’s right hand and ministers from there.
The only hope of acceptance with God is bound up in that Person. God has put all in Him—not in you, your church, or your pastor. With God, it is possible through Jesus Christ; He made a way of righteous peace in the person and work of His Son.
You not only need righteousness imputed, but you need something else: something has to be done to your heart to incline it to turn away from all your self-righteousness and sinful heart, to turn away from clinging to your idols and riches, and forsake all that and come to Him. It is God who by grace takes natively self-righteous and self-centered hearts and inclines them to turn in hatred to the things we once loved and turn in faith to those things which we once considered foolish, and throw ourselves upon His mercy as revealed in Jesus Christ.
3. The Climactic Affirmation Shines as Glorious Hope
This is the glory of the passage. In this sad story, with the sad face and downcast shoulders of the young man, there is a note that makes us shout in joy. In this whole, depressing dialogue, verse 27—“But Jesus looked at them and said to them, ‘With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible’”—shines as glorious hope for everyone.
It tells us the worst, vilest, most wretched of sinners can be saved. You may be sitting here, wondering, “Will I ever be saved?” See verse 27 with the eyes of faith. Yes, with men it is impossible; you have tried everything and failed. But turn to the other side; look up. “With God all things are possible.” God is able to get any sinner to the narrow gate, even rich sinners. His grace is able to destroy the idol of their attachment to riches. That is what He did to Zacchaeus. God’s grace made it possible to bring a camel through a needle’s eye. Zacchaeus was saying, “Lord, riches don’t have me anymore; You got me. You are my riches. I don’t need this.”
If you are sitting here hopelessly, thinking, “I can never be saved,” may this verse fill you with faith: “With God all things are possible.” God can save any sinner. This is the good news here. Harlots, publicans, robbers, drug addicts, porn addicts, the self-righteous—every kind of sinner—Jesus said, “With God all things are possible.”
What a beacon of hope! May God speak to you from this word. Turn away from your discouragement and from looking at yourself to somehow improve and be saved—that is impossible. Look at God. Come to God now. With God, everything is possible. He has made it possible through His Son. If you come to Him now in faith and repentance, He will forgive all your sins, give you grace to repent from any idols, and give you a new heart and a new life.
Don’t be like the foolish young ruler. Are you trusting in the grace of God alone for your salvation? It is Christ alone that saves. Is there an idol of the heart that continues to enslave you and keep you from Christ? Throw it down! God can give the grace to do so. Turn from it and turn to Christ as your Lord and King.
First, the way to heaven is very fitly compared to a needle’s eye, which is hard to hit (especially with poor eyesight) and hard to get through. Secondly, a rich man is fitly compared to a camel, a beast of burden, for he has riches as a camel has its load; he carries it, but it belongs to another, he has it from others, spends it for others, and must shortly leave it to others. It is a burden, for men load themselves with thick clay (Habakkuk 2:6). A camel is a large creature, but unwieldy.
The Lord says the less we have of worldly wealth, the less hindrance we will have on the way to heaven. Note: It should be a satisfaction to those who are in a low condition that they are not exposed to the temptations of a high and prosperous state. If they live more humbly in this world than the rich, yet, if they get more easily to a better world, they have no reason to complain.
This Passage Teaches that Salvation of Any Sinner Is a Miracle of Omnipotent Grace
Where do we find that? See the words of Jesus when the disciples despaired, when they saw the demand and the man’s response, and Jesus’ statement on how hard it is for a rich man to enter the kingdom. They didn’t say, “Wonderful, we are going to save the whole world! We understood the six steps to soul-winning; we share the gospel, following six steps.”
After hearing Jesus, they grab one another’s shirt and say, “Who can be saved?” I mean, what hope is there? If it is hard for ordinary men to enter the kingdom, and any additional burdens of wealth make it more difficult—if that is what salvation means, to be brought to a place where one is utterly stripped and prepared to part with anybody and anything that Christ demands, so we are truly attached to Him as Savior, Lord, and King—who in the world can be saved?
Jesus says, “With men [it is] impossible” for any man to be saved. “But not with God, for all things are possible.” When we talk about God’s possibility to save a sinner, it is omnipotent grace alone that can save us.
If you and I are saved today, it is a miracle of omnipotent grace.
Ephesians 2:1-5 clearly illustrates this:
- “And you were dead in your offenses and sins, in which you previously walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all previously lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the rest.” (verses 1-3)
Paul describes the horrible condition of everyone naturally—but God (verse 4)!
- “But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our wrongdoings, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved)…” (verses 4-5)
If you are sitting here, may it be very clear to you: in this great question, “What must you do to be saved?” if you have any thought that you can do anything to earn salvation, that in any way one drop from your side can make you righteous before God, you are utterly deceived. If all you have to show for your salvation is your own outward acts without the work of God in your heart, you are lost. Oh, I believed, I repented, and I was baptized—yes, it must be as a result of God’s omnipotent grace working in you.
How then can anyone be saved? With men, impossible. With God, all things are possible. God made what is impossible for us possible. God has provided a way of righteous peace, a way in which He can show mercy to sinners and not compromise His justice. That way came through Mary’s womb, in which God and man were joined in the glorious person called Jesus Christ. He lived a perfect life and suffered unspeakable agony, shedding blood on the cross where all wrath broke upon His head. He came out of Joseph’s tomb. He rose from the dead. And He went to the Father’s right hand and ministers from there.
The only hope of acceptance with God is bound up in that Person who is there. God has put all in Him—not in you, your church, or your pastor. With God, it is possible through Jesus Christ; He made a way of righteous peace in the person and work of His Son.
You see, you not only need righteousness imputed but you need something else: something has to be done to your heart to incline your heart to turn away from all your self-righteousness and sinful heart, turn away from clinging to your idols and riches, and forsake all that and come to Him, surrender yourself to Christ. And it is God who by grace takes natively self-righteous and self-centered hearts and inclines them to turn in hatred to the things we once loved and turn in faith to those things which we once considered foolish, and throw ourselves upon His mercy as revealed in Jesus Christ.
The Climactic Affirmation Shines as Glorious Hope
This is the glory of the passage. In this sad story, where you can see the sad face and slumped shoulders of the young man—if he doesn’t repent, that body will burn in hell—in this whole, depressing dialogue, there is a note that makes us shout in joy.
Verse 27: “But Jesus looked at them and said to them, ‘With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.’”
This shines as glorious hope for everyone. This is a great truth in general: that God is able to do that which quite exceeds all created power; that nothing is too hard for God.
It tells us the worst, vilest, most wretched of sinners can be saved. You may be sitting here, wondering, “Will I ever be saved?” See verse 27 with the eyes of faith. Yes, with men it is impossible; you have tried everything and failed. But turn to the other side; look up: “With God all things are possible.” God is able to get any sinner to the narrow gate, even rich sinners; His grace is able to destroy the idol of their attachment to riches. That is what He did to Zacchaeus. God’s grace made it possible to bring a camel through a needle’s eye. Zacchaeus was saying, “Lord, riches don’t have me anymore; You got me. You are my riches. I don’t need this.”
Paul says in Acts that there were some wealthy Christians in Ephesus who were saved. He doesn’t tell them to sell everything but warns them not to trust in the uncertainty of riches. God can save any sinner; all things are possible with God.
If you are sitting this morning hopelessly, thinking, “Pastor, if it were riches, I could easily give away, but my problem is something else: terrible addictions, terrible secret sins, horrible sins. What have I done? It can never be undone.” My friend, may this verse fill you with faith: “With God all things are possible.” God can save any sinner. This is the good news here. Harlots, publicans, robbers, drug addicts, porn addicts, the self-righteous—every kind of sinner you can imagine—Jesus said, “With God all things are possible.”
What a beacon of hope! May God speak to you from this word. Turn away from your discouragement and from struggling to look at yourself to somehow improve and be saved—that is impossible. Look at God. You can quit every sin and erase everything you have done, yet you still cannot be saved, so why bother to try on your own? Come to God now! With God, everything is possible. He has made it possible through His Son who is exalted to the right hand. If you come to Him now in faith and repentance, He will forgive all your sins and He will give you grace to repent from any idols and give you a new heart and a new life.
Don’t be like the foolish young ruler. Are you trusting in the grace of God alone for your salvation? It is not you plus Christ that saves. It is Christ alone. Is there an idol of the heart that continues to enslave you and keep you from Christ? Throw it down! God can give the grace to do so. Turn from it and turn to Christ as your Lord and King.
When men are at a loss, God is not, for His power is infinite and irresistible. This truth is here applied:
- To the salvation of any: “Who can be saved?” say the disciples. None, says Christ, by any created power. “With men this is impossible.” No creature can work the change that is necessary to the salvation of a soul, either in itself or in anyone else. With men it is impossible that so strong a current should be turned, so hard a heart softened, so stubborn a will bowed. It is a new creation, it is a resurrection, and with men this is impossible; it can never be done by philosophy, medicine, or politics; but “with God all things are possible.” Note: The beginning, progress, and perfection of the work of salvation depend entirely upon the almighty power of God, to which all things are possible. Faith is wrought by that power (Ephesians 1:19), and is kept by it (1 Peter 1:5).
- To the salvation of rich people especially: It is impossible with men that such should be saved, but with God, even this is possible. Not that rich people should be saved in their worldliness, but that they should be saved from it. Note: The sanctification and salvation of those who are surrounded with the temptations of this world are not to be despaired of. It is possible; it may be brought about by the all-sufficiency of the divine grace, and when such are brought to heaven, they will be there everlasting monuments of the power of God.
Grace Reformed Baptist Church, Bangalore 