The things which are impossible with men are possible with God

 

 Then they also brought infants to Him that He might touch them; but when the disciples saw it, they rebuked them.  But Jesus called them to Him and said, "Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God.  Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it."  

Now a certain ruler asked Him, saying, "Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?"  So Jesus said to him, "Why do you call Me good?  No one is good but One, that is, God.  You know the commandments:  'Do not commit adultery,' 'Do not murder,' 'Do not steal,' 'Do not bear false witness,' 'Honor your father and your mother.'"  And he said, "All these things I have kept from my youth."  So when Jesus heard these things, He said to him, "You still lack one thing.  Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me."  But when he heard this, he become very sorrowful, for he was very rich.

And when Jesus saw that he became very sorrowful, He said, "How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!  For 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."  And those who heard it said, "Who then can be saved?"  But He said, "The things which are impossible with men are possible with God."  Then Peter said, "See, we have left all and followed You."  So He said to them, "Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or parents or brothers or wife or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, who shall not receive many times more in this present time, and in the age to come eternal life."

 

- Luke 18:15-30 

 

On Saturday, we read that Jesus spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others:  "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.  The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, 'God, I thank You that I am not like other men -- extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector.  I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.'  And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me a sinner!'  I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."

 

Then they also brought infants to Him that He might touch them; but when the disciples saw it, they rebuked them.  But Jesus called them to Him and said, "Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God.  Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it."  My study Bible comments that infants are the standard of faith by which adults receive the kingdom of God, and not the other way around.  It quotes Theophylact, who writes, "A little child is not arrogant, he does not despise anyone, he is innocent and guileless.  He does not inflate himself in the presence of important people, nor withdraw from those in sorrows.  Instead, he lives in complete simplicity."  

Now a certain ruler asked Him, saying, "Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?"  So Jesus said to him, "Why do you call Me good?  No one is good but One, that is, God.  You know the commandments:  'Do not commit adultery,' 'Do not murder,' 'Do not steal,' 'Do not bear false witness,' 'Honor your father and your mother.'"   My study Bible reminds us that this man does not come to test Jesus, but rather to seek advice from one he thinks of as a good Teacher.  In Jesus' response, my study Bible says, we see not a denial that He is God, but rather a design to lead the rich man to this knowledge. 

 

 And he said, "All these things I have kept from my youth."  So when Jesus heard these things, He said to him, "You still lack one thing.  Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me."  But when he heard this, he become very sorrowful, for he was very rich.  My study Bible notes that formal observance of commandments does not make one righteous before God.  It says that this man had an earnest desire for eternal life, but sensed that he still lacked something, despite his adherence to the commandments.  But to be perfect, my study Bible comments, one must willingly sacrifice all and follow Christ.  Nothing is gained, it says, unless this sacrifice is given freely.  But the specifics of how a person follows Christ will be different for each one, just as one's particular cross to bear will be unique.  But as wealth had such a grip on this rich man and his identity, his only hope was to sell and give away his possessions.  My study Bible cites St. John Chrysostom, who comments that giving away possessions is actually the least of Christ's instructions here.  To follow Christ in all things is a much greater and more difficult calling.  

And when Jesus saw that he became very sorrowful, He said, "How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!  For 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."  And those who heard it said, "Who then can be saved?"  But He said, "The things which are impossible with men are possible with God."  Then Peter said, "See, we have left all and followed You."  So He said to them, "Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or parents or brothers or wife or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, who shall not receive many times more in this present time, and in the age to come eternal life."  My study Bible tells us that there have been various interpretations suggested for this impossible image of a camel going through the eye of a needle.  For example, some suggest that the word is not really "camel," but one that sounds alike in Aramaic, which means "rope."  Others suggest that the "eye of a needle" was the name of a city gate, through which a camel might barely squeeze if it were first unloaded of all its baggage (a symbol of wealth).  There is even an expression in the Talmud which is similar, "for an elephant to go through the eye of a needle."  But whatever this phrase is reference to, it shows us the impossibility of salvation for those who are attached to riches, to possessions.   This is evidenced clearly, my study Bible comments, by the response of the disciples, "Who then can be saved?"  But with God's grace, even what is impossible with human beings can come to be.

 What does it mean that "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"?  There are many people who will say to themselves that simply by virtue of great wealth, we know a person has committed some kind of sin or another, possibly stealing from others or cheating.   But I don't think this is what Christ means at all by His statement, for this passage is not on the topic of morality.  Possibly this is why it is already included in the details of the story that this rich young ruler (possibly of a synagogue or even a member of a party in the temple) is quite sincere, and has followed the commandments all of his life.  So Jesus' statement really has nothing to do with how we might judge this person simply by virtue of his wealth.  Moreover, we can see how the disciples -- none of whom are rich men -- respond to this statement by asking, "Who then can be saved?"  Why would they ask such a question if they believed that having possessions or wealth was a far away concept?  So, it's not a good idea to substitute modern economics and wealth concepts of the 21st century for what we're reading here.  The issue is possessions and our attachment to them, wealth and our attachment to wealth.  So much depends upon what comes first in our lives and in our hearts.  Do we do with our wealth what Christ would ask of us?  Moreover, is our identity really tied up with the things we have, or do we rely on Christ to teach us who we are and in this sense "separate" us from wealth?  Does our wealth become a  stumbling block to faith, keeping us from the deeper relationship to Christ we might be called toward?  The truly important thing here is Christ's command to "follow Me."  Let us note also how wealth is often tied to family in the Gospels.  Here, Peter seems to have a startling realization:  "See, we have left all and followed You." And Jesus ties family relations and wealth or possessions together in His response as well:  "Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or parents or brothers or wife or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, who shall not receive many times more in this present time, and in the age to come eternal life."   The disciples have left behind all these things in order to obey His command to "follow Me."  These disciples are examples of the greatest devotion, but we should note how our possessions and our identity are so often tied together:  family, home, place of birth, heritage, the work we do in life -- all of these things can be what we receive as identity, and yet we may be called to separate ourselves from some aspect in following and devoting our hearts to Christ.  Indeed, Peter's family home would become Christ's first headquarters in Galilee.  We have Christ's teaching to the fishermen (their work)  that they would become fishers of men (Matthew 4:19). Here, as my study Bible explains, for this rich young ruler, possessions had gained the upper hand.  They were the thing he could not sacrifice to follow Christ.  For each of us, there are crossroads in life where we must make a choice for identity.  We find ourselves either in the identity that Christ offers to us, and so can separate ourselves from some aspect of life we once relied upon to tell us who we are -- or we decide we must cling to what we know.  I would say this is a pattern of what is meant when it is said that we each carry our own cross.  Either way, we make choices to follow Him, or the sacrifice seems too great.  Jesus nears Jerusalem, where He will make the ultimate sacrifice for all, but in so doing His true identity will be revealed as Son and Savior.  Let us consider how we follow Him, and His teaching that "the things which are impossible with men are possible with God."