What does "with men this is impossible" mean (Matthew 19:26)?

"Who then can be saved?" the disciples exclaimed in wonder. "And Jesus looking upon them says, With men it is impossible, but not with God, for with God all things are possible." You ask, What does that mean? It is not possible for you and me to be saved by our own efforts. Why is it impossible? Because we are sinners, and cannot save ourselves. How can you meet the claims of God in righteousness? You must be more than a man to do that. You may think your case is not a bad one. It is not the verdict of the sinner as to his own condition that settles it. You are no judge of your case. God has judged you, and me, to be sinners in our sins, lost, and undone. He has judged us to be what we are, incapable of extricating ourselves from the condition in which sin has landed us; and, the thing which is not possible with us, is possible with Him. "Who then can be saved?" said the disciples. Well, says Christ, "with men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible." Whom then am I cast back upon? I am cast back upon God. How can you be saved? You must let God save you. You must bow down before God, and let Him save you. You say, 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.

267 The Lord had already judged man, when declaring that none was good save God Himself; nevertheless He goes still farther. The disciples (astonished at such a result, and at that which the Lord had said about riches, which, in the eyes of a Jew, were the sign of the favour of God, and which, at all events, furnished the opportunity for doing good works) cry out, "Who, then, can be saved?" If none were good, and if good dispositions, with the means of doing good, were worth nothing, if these means were rather a hindrance, who could be saved? The Saviour's answer is categorical. If it was 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 by his will and his lusts. But God is above evil - He can save. It is evident that we are on an entirely new ground - on the ground, not of a law which puts to the proof, but of the truth itself which, while magnifying what is created by God, declares the entire moral ruin of man. God can save. This is the only resource. This is the fundamental truth as to the natural man. Now let us see what is the effect and the principle of grace, where it acted, and where men had left all to follow the Lord.

This is a tremendous question. How slow we all are to give up law-keeping for Christ and earth for heaven! No wonder the Lord speaks of the difficulty with which the rich enter the kingdom. Verse 23 speaks of them "that have riches," and verse 24 of "them that trust in riches." The fact is, of course, that it is very difficult to have them without trusting in them. We naturally cling to riches and earth. Christ offers the Cross and heaven.

The disciples, accustomed to regard riches as a sign of God's favour, were very astonished at these words; they felt that they cut the ground away completely from under our feet. So, indeed, they do. "Who then can be saved?" is a momentous question. Verse 27 gives a definite answer. Salvation is impossible with men, though possible with God. In other words 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."

We emphasize that word. Salvation with men is not improbable, but IMPOSSIBLE. The door, as regards our own efforts is barred against us. God has opened another door however, but that is by death and resurrection, to which the Lord was now turning the thoughts of His disciples.

(Vv. 23-27). Knowing the effect of His words upon the disciples, the Lord, as He looks upon them, presses home the lesson we are to learn from this young man, by saying, "How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!" These words were an astonishment to the disciples, who, with their Jewish thoughts of earthly blessing looked upon riches and possessions as a mark of God's favour. Moreover the thought in their heart, as with ourselves too often, was possibly, if only we had riches how much good we might be able to do. To meet these difficulties the Lord shows that the great danger of riches lies in the fact that men think they can secure salvation and the blessings of the Kingdom by means of riches, and thus put their trust in riches. Let us note that the Lord does not speak of a literally rich man, but of one that trusts in riches. This is a danger to which the poorest in actual possessions is exposed equally with the one who possesses most. The Lord uses a figure to show how difficult it is for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God. With astonishment the disciples ask, "Who then can be saved?" In reply the Lord tells us, "With men it is impossible, but not with God." Their question would indicate that the thought lingered in their minds that in some measure at least their salvation depended upon themselves. They had to learn, as we all have to learn, that our salvation is wholly the work of God, and not of man at all. Neither law nor nature, riches or poverty have any part in the saving of the soul. Salvation rests wholly in the power of God's grace, and what is impossible for man is possible with God. Thus we read, "By grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast." (Eph. 2:4-9).

"Then said Jesus unto His disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly" (that is, with difficulty; not, he cannot, but "shall hardly") "enter into the kingdom of heaven." Emphatically He repeats it, "Again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle" (beyond nature, of course) "than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. When His disciples heard it, they were exceedingly amazed, saying, Who then can be saved?" The Lord faces their objection: "Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible (vers. 24-26)." 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 all else counted desirable. Whatever I may have, and trust in, whether it be moral ways, position, or what not — these are but impediments as far as concerns the kingdom, and make it impossible to man. But with God (and we may bless Him for it) all things are possible, no matter what the difficulty. Therefore 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; nay, above all, Saul of Tarsus, brought up at the feet of Gamaliel. All these difficulties only gave God the opportunity to overcome all obstacles by His own power and grace.

Now the thought of the disciples was that riches was a sure mark of the favour of God, and that they at least supplied the means of doing good. If no one was "good," and riches — the means of doing good, not only valueless, but in themselves a positive hindrance — "who then could be saved?" The Lord's answer is emphatic, No one. On the ground of human merit, a camel might sooner pass the needle's eye than a rich man, trusting in his riches, enter the Kingdom. But with God all things are possible. Grace makes no account of what man is, either at his "best" or his "worst." Salvation is of the Lord.

The heart of the matter is however seen in His next words, "how hard it is for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God." The danger of having riches is that it becomes too easy for us to put our trust in them, while we should remember that God is Creator and His creatorial rights should be recognized in whatever possessions we may be entrusted with. Of course it is impossible for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, and just as impossible for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. But in answer to the incredulous question of His disciples, the Lord assures them that though this is impossible with men, it is not so with God, with whom all things are possible. Therefore, a totally divine work of grace is needed to bring a rich man into the kingdom of God. But poor men who have a will to be rich require the same sovereign work of God in their hearts (1Tim.6:9). Indeed, all require it, for it is a universal disease to prefer something else to a path of faith.

Such works as those of verse 21 require implicit faith in the Lord Jesus. This was what the rich man lacked. We do not know whether these words of the Lord might have had such effect on him that he would later realize his need of the pure grace of God. No doubt the Lord's words were designed to this end. But at the time the Lord speaks of the extreme difficulty of a rich man's entering the kingdom of heaven. In fact, He goes farther in verse 24, for it is impossible for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, as the Lord indicates in verse 26. The tendency of rich men is to trust in their riches, so that the Lord has proposed a rigid test: would he choose to trust his riches or trust the Lord? The amazement of the disciples was due to the fact that under law God had promised great increase to those who obeyed it, and too often riches were considered a sign that the possessor of them must be keeping the law. This was not by any means always the case, for in fact all were guilty of breaking the law. But if his riches only strengthened him in his claim to be keeping the law, then the riches were a hindrance to his realizing any need of the grace of God. On the other hand, the Lord adds that with God all things are possible. He alone is able to break down the pride of the rich, to no longer trust in themselves, but in the living God. Some rich have indeed been brought to God, though as Paul says of the wise and mighty and noble, "not many" (1Cor.1:26).

"And Jesus said to His disciples, Verily, I say unto you, a rich man shall with difficulty enter into the kingdom of the heavens, and again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to enter a needle's eye than a rich man into the kingdom of God" (verses 23, 24). The verse tells us that the natural man, like the rich ruler, burdened by his possessions and under the control of the world and the god of this age, cannot enter into the kingdom of God. The illustration of the camel and the needle's eye was a well-known Jewish phrase in the days of our Lord. It is an impossible thing that a camel laden down with goods could pass through the eye of a needle; just as impossible is it for the natural rich man to enter the kingdom of God. In astonishment the disciples now turn to the Lord with the question, a question perfectly in order after such a solemn declaration. "And when the disciples heard it they were exceedingly astonished, saying, Who, then, can be saved? But Jesus, looking on them, said, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible" (verses 25, 26). Here is a bright and glorious flashing forth of the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. His words are a blessed indication of what His loving heart knew so well, that salvation is of God. With men salvation is impossible, to get into the kingdom of God an impossibility, but God, in His marvelous grace in Christ Jesus has made it possible. The gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

No wonder that the apostle speaks of the righteous saved with difficulty. Yes, the obstacles are many and immense; and there is no good thing in them, that is, in all naturally theirs, while even as saints, what weakness and exposure! "Who then can be saved'" said the disciples, when they heard of special difficulty for the rich, who, as they thought, had such advantage over all others. But Jesus looking on them with His unfailing love replied, "With men this is," not difficult, but "impossible"; but (thanks for ever to His name!) "with God all things are possible." Salvation is of God, as His is the gospel which proclaims it to everyone, poor or rich, that believes. But all the more appalling is the lot of those who not only violate His law but scorn or neglect His gospel. Where shall the impious and sinful appear?