The Impossible Multiplier that is Possible with God
[18] And a ruler asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” [19] And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. [20] You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery, Do not murder, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother.’” [21] And he said, “All these I have kept from my youth.” [22] When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” [23] But when he heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich. [24] Jesus, seeing that he had become sad, said, “How difficult it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God! [25] For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” [26] Those who heard it said, “Then who can be saved?” [27] But he said, “What is impossible with man is possible with God.” [28] And Peter said, “See, we have left our homes and followed you.” [29] And he said to them, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, [30] who will not receive many times more in this time, and in the age to come eternal life.”
Luke 18:18–30 ESV
Most of the time when we read this event, we focus on the rich guy and the camel through the eye of the needle. That’s fine and it’s beneficial to look at that, but don’t miss the things that Jesus said in here too.
In answer to the question “Then who can be saved?” Jesus said, “What is impossible with man is possible with God.” Yep, Jesus said it’s impossible to be saved by man’s ways. Only God does the saving. If it were up to us, it wouldn’t be called ‘saved’ but something different. When a kid at Burdette goes under, it’s the lifeguard that does the saving, not the kid. You can tell that the people took this really serious, because they asked “Who can be saved?” like it sounded impossible.
Jesus encourages them next by not focusing on what they are leaving or giving away. Luke is the only one that mentions that you’ll get more in this life and in the age to come. Anyone that has come from a small family to a large and caring church family can testify that this statement is true. When you give up some extra cash to help a poor couple at church, you gain a little bit of family. When you pull together to help somebody fix their kitchen, you gain a little bit of family.
Jesus talks like it is a multiplier, and it is. The more we pour into the kingdom of heaven: money, time, daily thought life, our houses, our stuff–the more we see it amplify in our lives. Then it begins to multiply in others and others and so on and so forth. But even that is impossible by our mere activities. It must all be with God and through God for Jesus’ promise to be fulfilled.
Extra Credit: If you want to be super challenged, read this article by Samuel Zwemer called “The Glory of the Impossible”