But
when he heard these things, he became very sad, for he was very rich. Jesus, seeing that he became very sad, said, “How hard it is for those who have riches to enter into God’s Kingdom! For it is easier for a camel to enter in through a needle’s eye, than for a rich man to enter into God’s Kingdom.” Those who heard it said, “Then who can be saved?” But he said, “The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.” Peter said, “Look, we have left everything, and followed you.”
Luke 18:23-28
Luke 18 [22.] When Jesus heard these things, he said to him, “You still lack one thing. Sell all that you have, and distribute it to the poor. You will have treasure in heaven. Come, follow me.”
Luke 18 [23.] But when he heard these things, he became very sad, for he was very rich.
Luke 18 [24.] Jesus, seeing that he became very sad, said, “How hard it is for those who have riches to enter into God’s Kingdom! For it is easier for a camel to enter in through a needle’s eye, than for a rich man to enter into God’s Kingdom.”
Luke 18 [26.] Those who heard it said, “Then who can be saved?”
Luke 18 [27.] But he said, “The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.”
Luke 18 [28.] Peter said, “Look, we have left everything, and followed you.”
Luke 18 [29.] He said to them, “Most certainly I tell you, there is no one who has left house, or wife, or brothers, or parents, or children, for God’s Kingdom’s sake, who will not receive many times more in this time, and in the world to come, eternal life.”
Meaning:
The rich ruler had asked how to inherit eternal life, and Jesus told him, “Sell all that you have, and distribute it to the poor. You will have treasure in heaven. Come, follow me” (Luke 18:22). These verses record the ruler’s reaction, the startling words of Jesus about wealth, the astonished question of the listeners, the promise that God can do what people cannot, and Peter’s reply on behalf of the disciples. Mark and Matthew record the same exchange (Mark 10:22-23; Matthew 19:24-26).
- “He became very sad, for he was very rich”
The ruler did not argue or walk away angrily. He was grieved, because he truly wanted eternal life, but he loved his riches more. The commandment Jesus had not quoted, “You shall not covet” (Exodus 20:17), had now reached his heart. Jesus had warned, “Beware! Keep yourselves from covetousness, for a man’s life doesn’t consist of the abundance of the things which he possesses” (Luke 12:15). Wealth is not evil in itself, but it had become the ruler’s master. As Jesus said, “You aren’t able to serve God and Mammon” (Luke 16:13).
- “It is easier for a camel to enter in through a needle’s eye”
The camel was the largest animal in Israel and the eye of a sewing needle the smallest opening anyone knew. The picture is deliberately impossible. Riches give a sense of security, independence and status, and those things make it hard to come to God with the empty hands of a child (Luke 18:17). Jesus does not say rich people are worse than others, but that their wealth makes it harder for them to see their need.
- “Then who can be saved?”
The listeners were shocked. Many assumed that wealth was a sign of God’s blessing. If the rich, who could afford generous gifts and sacrifices, could not get in, what hope was there for anyone else? Their question is exactly the right one. No one can save himself, whether rich or poor.
- “The things which are impossible with men are possible with God”
Here is the answer. Salvation is the work of God. The angel told Mary, “For nothing spoken by God is impossible” (Luke 1:37), and Jeremiah prayed, “There is nothing too hard for you” (Jeremiah 32:17). Luke soon shows it happening: in Jericho a rich chief tax collector, Zacchaeus, gladly gives half his goods to the poor and hears, “Today, salvation has come to this house” (Luke 19:8; Luke 19:9). The camel does pass through the needle’s eye when God changes a heart.
- “Look, we have left everything, and followed you”
Peter contrasts the disciples with the ruler. They had done what the ruler would not. Luke recorded at their calling that “they left everything, and followed him” (Luke 5:11). Peter’s words are partly a claim and partly a question: what will become of us? Jesus answers with a generous promise in the next verses (Luke 18:29-30; Mark 10:28).
The Significance of Luke 18:23-28
- What holds our heart
Few people are asked to sell everything, but everyone is asked to follow Jesus with an undivided heart. Paul tells Timothy to charge the rich not to “have their hope set on the uncertainty of riches, but on the living God” (1 Timothy 6:17).
- Hope for the impossible case
No one is beyond the reach of God. The person who seems most self-sufficient, or most far from God, can still be saved, because salvation depends on God’s power, not on human ability.
Cross-References:
Mark 10:25: "It is easier for a camel to go through a needle’s eye than for a rich man to enter into God’s Kingdom." Mark’s parallel.
Mark 10:27: "With men it is impossible, but not with God, for all things are possible with God." The same promise in Mark.
1 Timothy 6:17: "nor have their hope set on the uncertainty of riches, but on the living God" Where true security lies.
Conclusion: The rich ruler went away very sad because his wealth held his heart. Jesus said it is harder for a rich man to enter God’s Kingdom than for a camel to pass through a needle’s eye, yet what is impossible with men is possible with God. Peter and the disciples, who had left everything, show that following Jesus is the way to true riches.
PIB Scriptures are derived from the World English Bible