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.
Why the disciples were so alarmed
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!
Wealth is only one example
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.
Impossible, not difficult
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.
Why God can do what man cannot
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.
The reach of "all things"
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.
A rich man who did get in
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.
Where that leaves the hearer
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.
Summary
- 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.