And when the disciples heard [it] they were exceedingly astonished, saying, Who then can be saved?
The rich young man has just walked away. The Lord has told His followers that a camel going through a needle's eye is the easier thing. The disciples are stunned. Their question shows they had been measuring salvation by a standard the Lord has just pulled down.
Money itself was not what shook the disciples. The Lord had removed what they counted as an advantage.
These words astonished the disciples. Their Jewish thoughts were of earthly blessing, so they looked on riches and possessions as a mark of God's favour. The thought in their heart, as too often in ours, may have been this: if only we had riches, how much good we might do... Note that the Lord does not speak of a man who is literally rich, but of one who trusts in riches. The person who owns the least is in just as much danger as the one who owns the most.
The word behind "with difficulty" does not close the door on the wealthy. It says that everything a person carries and leans on becomes weight rather than help.
"A rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven" — that is, with difficulty; not that he cannot, but that it is hard... If it was a question of man doing anything to get into the kingdom, riches are only so much hindrance. And so it is with all else counted desirable. Whatever I may have and trust in — moral ways, position, or anything else — only gets in the way of the kingdom. It makes entry impossible to man.
Their question is often read as despair. Read as a real question, it gets a real reply — and the reply is not comforting to anyone counting on themselves.
The Lord's answer is emphatic: No one. On the ground of human merit, a camel would sooner pass through the needle's eye than a rich man, trusting in his riches, enter the Kingdom.
That verdict is what makes the Lord's next words good news.
These words astonished the disciples. They felt that the words cut the ground away completely from under our feet. So, indeed, they do. "Who then can be saved?" is a momentous question... It was as though the Lord said, "If it is a question of what man can do, nobody can be saved: but if a question of what God can do, anybody can be saved."
If wealth is not the obstacle, then poverty is not the qualification either. The problem sits deeper than a person's bank balance or reputation.
The Lord's answer put the case in its right light. "With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible." It is a question of the heart and nature. It is not about wealth or a pleasant character, but about new birth, which God alone can bring about.
The barrier is what a person is, not what a person owns. So God's grace can reach anyone.
But with God all things are possible, no matter what the difficulty. So God chooses in His grace to call all kinds of people. We read of a person called out of Herod's court, and of saints in Caesar's household. A great company of the priests believed; so did Barnabas, with his houses and lands; and, above all, Saul of Tarsus. All these difficulties only gave God the opportunity to overcome every obstacle by His own power and grace.
The question is not just theirs. It lands on every reader.
You and I cannot save ourselves by our own efforts. Why not? Because we are sinners... You may think your case is not a bad one. But the sinner's verdict on his own condition does not settle it. You are no judge of your case. God has judged you, and me, to be sinners in our sins, lost and undone... So whom am I thrown back on? God. How can you be saved? You must let God save you.
- Shock. The disciples read wealth as proof of God's favour. The Lord had just called it a hindrance.
- Scope. The warning targets trust in riches, not the size of a bank balance. The poorest person faces that danger too.
- Verdict. Their question gets a plain answer: on the ground of human merit, no one can be saved.
- Impossible. Anything a person leans on — money, morals, position — blocks the way the moment he treats it as a qualification.
- Possible. What man cannot do, God can: the change needed is new birth, and it opens the door to anybody.
But Jesus, looking on [them], said to them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.
The rich young man has just walked away, unwilling to give up his wealth, and the disciples are shaken: if riches are a barrier and not a sign of God's favour, who can be saved? Jesus does not soften the verdict — He moves the question off man's ground onto God's.
Their question came out of two settled assumptions: what money says about a person, and what money can do for God.
These words astonished the disciples. Like other Jews of their day, they expected God to bless His people with good things on earth, so they saw riches and possessions as a mark of God's favour. What was more, they were thinking, as we too often do: if only we had riches, how much good we could do!
The obstacle is not the size of a bank balance. It is anything a person leans on to make himself acceptable to God.
If it was a question of man's doing anything to get into the kingdom, riches are only so much hindrance. And so it is with everything else counted desirable. Whatever I have and trust in — good behaviour, position, anything else — only blocks the way into the kingdom. It puts the kingdom out of man's reach.
That is why the danger is not confined to people with a lot to lose.
Note that the Lord does not speak of a literally rich man, but of one who trusts in riches. The poorest person faces this danger just as much as the person who owns the most.
Writers press the exact word the Lord chose. It is not "difficult." It is stronger than that.
Jesus looked at them with His unfailing love and replied: with men this is not difficult but impossible. Yet — thanks be to His name for ever — "with God all things are possible." Salvation comes from God. The gospel that announces it is His, and it is for everyone who believes, poor or rich.
The shut door is not the end of the story.
We stress that word. Salvation with men is not improbable, but IMPOSSIBLE. As far as our own efforts go, the door is barred against us. God, however, has opened another door: death and resurrection. That is where the Lord was now turning the thoughts of His disciples.
The reason lies in what each side is. Man is bound by his own desires. God is not.
If no one is good, and if good intentions and the means of doing good count for nothing — if they are even a hindrance — then who can be saved? The Saviour's answer is definite. If it is a question of man, no one. As far as man is concerned it is impossible; good is not in him. Man is the slave of evil through his own will and desires. But God is above evil — He can save.
If nothing in man qualifies him, then nothing in him disqualifies him either. Kelly reads the closing words as an open field for God's choosing.
But with God — and we may bless Him for it — all things are possible, no matter what the difficulty. So God chooses in His grace to call all sorts and conditions of people. We read of a person called out of Herod's court; we read of saints in Caesar's household. A great company of the priests believed. So did Barnabas the Levite, with his houses and lands. Above all, so did Saul of Tarsus, trained under the teacher Gamaliel. Every one of these difficulties only gave God room to overcome it by His own power and grace.
One writer points to a rich man who did enter the kingdom, and calls him living proof of what the Lord had just said.
Here was a living witness of what the Lord had said: "What is impossible with men is possible with God." Here was a rich man entering the kingdom. He was not acting on the pull of his own conscience — that could never have done it. He was acting under the guidance of God Himself, taught and drawn by the Father.
That leaves one question for the reader: what now?
Who then am I thrown back on? I am thrown back on God. How can you be saved? You must let God save you. You must bow down before God and let Him save you. You ask, How? It is very simple. It is by the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is by the atoning work of the Saviour. There is no other way.
- Impossible. Not hard, not unlikely — shut. Whatever a person trusts in to commend himself only adds weight against him.
- Impossible for anyone. The trap is trusting in riches, not owning them. It catches the poorest as easily as the richest.
- Possible with God. Man is held fast by his own will and desires; God is above evil, and He can save.
- Possible for anybody. Herod's court, Caesar's household, priests, Saul of Tarsus — every difficulty became room for grace to work.
- Possible for you. The one move left is to stop rescuing yourself and let God save you, through the work of Christ.