Luke 18:25

Jesus was speaking and He said in Luke 18:25-27, “For it is easier for a camel to go through a needle’s eye, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. And they that heard it said, Who then can be saved? And he said, The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.” Why is it so unlikely that a rich man will go to heaven? For one thing the way to heaven is only found by faith in Christ. “By grace are you saved through faith.” To have faith means to trust in or rely upon. Someone who has faith in Christ trusts in Christ and relies upon Him for salvation.

The sinner who has repented of his sins says, “I am a great sinner and I have no means to find deliverance from my predicament other than to go to Christ and rely upon Him and put my hope in Him.” But to do such a thing is very difficult for a rich man. A rich man has learned that in the problems of life so often he can turn to his riches to find deliverance. If he has a legal problem, he can pay for the best lawyers; and the best lawyers can often deliver you from the worst legal predicament. If a rich man has a medical problem, he can pay for the best doctors; and the best doctors in this day of medical advancements can do great things. The rich man has learned to trust in his riches, but in so doing he has built up a way of thinking that becomes a roadblock to finding faith in God and in Christ.

Jesus said, “How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God.” He also said, “For it is easier for a camel to go through a needle’s eye, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.” But Jesus also said, “The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.” No one can be saved by the power of man. That is something that is impossible for any human being. Salvation does not come by the persuasion of man. You will never be able to convince someone that they need to be saved. Unless God touches their heart it will not happen. Salvation does not come by the will of man. God created salvation. He provided for it by sending His Son to the cross, and God invites humans to partake of His salvation. So it is all of God and none of man. Salvation does not come by the good works of man. No one can earn salvation. Jesus Christ earned it by His life and death on the cross. If you are born again, you were not born by the will of man, but by the will of God. Salvation is impossible if it was left to man, but nothing is impossible to God. With God all things are possible.

Jesus said, “The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.” This is especially true concerning the salvation of your soul, but it is true concerning other things also. If you have something in your life that looks impossible from a human standpoint, then you have an opportunity to trust in God about it, and see what great things He will do. If you have everything under control, then you have no reason to trust in Him. That’s one of the reasons that He so often gives His believers a thorn in the flesh or a cross to bear. He is giving us ample opportunity to make sure that we trust in Him. The rich do not have it so good after all. Their money can become a stumbling block that can too easily keep them from seeing their need to trust in God. But those who do trust in God and Christ whether rich or poor find time and again that what Jesus said is true, “The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.”

The Bible says in Luke 18:28-30, “Then Peter said, Lo, we have left all, and followed thee. And he said unto them, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or parents, or brethren, or wife, or children, for the kingdom of God's sake, Who shall not receive manifold more in this present time, and in the world to come life everlasting.” The ruler would not leave his money in order to follow Christ. In seeing and hearing the conversation between the ruler and Jesus, Peter realized that he and the other disciples had given up something when they had started following Jesus. This is the normal circumstance to salvation. A person is going on a certain path in life. That path involves certain material circumstances and involves certain human relationships. To start following Jesus is a big change: a change in heart and a change in lifestyle. Of course, there will be something to give up if you are really going to start following Him. What you give up may be the thing that you value most in this world. Jesus listed some of the things that a person may have to give up. He listed “house, parents, brethren, wife, and children.” These are the types of things that mean the most to people in this life.

In spite of what we may be asked to give up, Jesus made it very clear that whoever does give up any of these things will receive even more in return. That’s one of the great spiritual truths about life. When you give up something for God it appears as though you will lose, but in reality you gain far more than you gave up. On the other hand, when you selfishly hold on to something that God wishes you to give up, you end up losing far more than you ever were able to hold onto.

Jesus said, “Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or parents, or brethren, or wife, or children, for the kingdom of God's sake, Who shall not receive manifold more in this present time, and in the world to come life everlasting.” Notice that the rewards promised by Jesus are both in this life and the next. Rewards that God will give in the next life should be something that motivates us greatly. There are rewards to be won, and there are rewards that might be lost. The rewards that God will give are probably opportunities and authorities and privileges in serving Him throughout eternity. The Mighty and Infinite God has great plans for us in the ages to come. Make sure that you receive your full portion. Let go of the things that you think are so important, if it is God’s will. God can only fill your hands if they are empty. If you are holding onto something, God cannot put anything into them. Whatever God asks you to give up, He will replace it a hundredfold both in this life and in the next.

The Bible says in Luke 18:31-34, “Then he took unto him the twelve, and said unto them, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of man shall be accomplished. For he shall be delivered unto the Gentiles, and shall be mocked, and spitefully entreated, and spitted on. And they shall scourge him, and put him to death: and the third day he shall rise again. And they understood none of these things: and this saying was hid from them, neither knew they the things which were spoken.” These several verses start out with the phrase, “Then he took unto him the twelve.” As was the custom of Jesus, He took the twelve apart to tell them things that He did not tell others. Jesus was teaching the twelve. Of course, He was teaching them for their own benefit and He was teaching them so that they would teach others. God is still working that way. He calls someone aside, reveals wonderful things to them, and then expects that they will teach others. Are you one of the ones that God is calling aside to study His Word and learn from Him? It is a great privilege to be so called.

At this time Jesus was trying to prepare the disciples for what lie ahead: His own arrest and crucifixion. The disciples knew a lot about how the Messiah would eventually be King of the Jews and Gentiles, but they did know that first of all the Messiah “shall be delivered unto the Gentiles, and shall be mocked, and spitefully entreated, and spitted on. And they shall scourge him, and put him to death: and the third day he shall rise again.” Jesus tried to prepare the disciples, but they just could not understand. They did not have the spiritual understanding, and therefore they were not prepared for the future. They all fled from Christ when He was arrested, and tried, and tortured. It was the greatest failure of their lives. If only they had spiritual understanding of the things that Christ wanted to teach them, they would have been prepared for the crisis that came into their lives.

The same spiritual principle is relevant today. Many of us will one day face a great crisis or a great trial or temptation. We need to be prepared for it. Life can be dangerous. Life can bring great changes our way. We will only be properly prepared if we learn of Jesus now while we have the chance. The day will come when we will need every teaching and every basis of a strong faith. “Be not unwise, but understanding the will of the Lord.” What a shame it would be if we were overrun by one of the storms of life simply because we did not gain the spiritual understanding that would have carried us through the storm.

Jesus told the disciples the bad news. He did not gloss over the negative. He did not stick his head in the sand and pretend that the negative was not there. He told them that He was going to be spitefully treated and going to be put to death. But Jesus also told them the good news: the fact that He was going to rise again. He suffered the pains of death, but He did not stay dead. He conquered death. The grave did not hold Him. Now He offers us the same promise of eternal life. Because Jesus rose from the dead, we who believe in Him will rise also. Jesus took the worst negative of all and turned it into a positive. He ended a negative subject on a positive note. We who believe in Him should be careful to do the same thing. We should never dwell on the negative. We should always look for the positive side of things. Faith is positive. If you believe in the great eternal God and His Son, if you believe that God is love and that He loves you, then certainly you can see the positive side of anything that He allows to happen to you.

Something very positive was about to happen to a blind man who came into contact with Jesus in the next incident recorded in Luke chapter 18. The Bible says in Luke 18:35-43, “And it came to pass, that as he was come nigh unto Jericho, a certain blind man sat by the way side begging: And hearing the multitude pass by, he asked what it meant. And they told him, that Jesus of Nazareth passeth by. And he cried, saying, Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy on me. And they which went before rebuked him, that he should hold his peace: but he cried so much the more, Thou Son of David, have mercy on me. And Jesus stood, and commanded him to be brought unto him: and when he was come near, he asked him, Saying, What wilt thou that I shall do unto thee? And he said, Lord, that I may receive my sight. And Jesus said unto him, Receive thy sight: thy faith hath saved thee. And immediately he received his sight, and followed him, glorifying God: and all the people, when they saw it, gave praise unto God.”

By this time in the life of Christ His fame had been spread far and wide. Probably everyone in Palestine had heard of the miracles that He had already performed. Miracles may not mean much to you unless you need a miracle. Of course, this blind man needed a miracle. A miracle was the only way that he was ever going to regain his sight. He wasted no time in calling out to Jesus. There are several similarities between this blind man receiving his sight and any human being finding salvation.

The blind man went to Jesus to find a cure for his blindness because there was no where else to go. The same is true of salvation. If you want to be saved from your sins, you must go to Jesus Christ. There is salvation in no other. No church can give you salvation. No human can give you salvation. No priest or preacher can give you salvation: only Jesus Christ.

The blind man called out to Jesus in spite of pressure from the multitudes to be quiet. The vast majority of people do not want you to turn to Christ and believe on Him. There will be pressure for you not to do so. If you are going to turn to Christ, you just might have to go against the grain. If you are desperate enough to find salvation for your soul just as the blind man was desperate to find a cure to his blindness, then you will not let anyone keep you from turning to Christ to follow Him.

Jesus said to the blind man, “Thy faith has saved thee.” That’s it: faith. What does it take to be healed by a miracle? Faith. What does it take to have your soul saved? Faith and nothing but faith; faith in Christ and faith in nothing else: that’s what it takes. “For by grace are you saved through faith. Not of works lest anyone should boast.” “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us.”

Jesus said to the blind man, “Receive thy sight.” The man went from darkness to light simply by a command from Jesus. Jesus is the Light of the world. Every unsaved person is spiritually blind. They cannot see the truth until they are enlightened by Christ. But once they are enlightened they see wonderful things that they have never seen before. It’s a tremendous thing to be saved by Christ by His mercy. If you are spiritually blind, you can go to Jesus and cry out to Him just as this blind man cried out, “Thou, Son of David, have mercy on me.”

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