Luke 18:26-30
Luke 18:26 (KJB)
And they that heard it said, Who then can be saved?
The disciples then wondered about the situation that if a rich man can hardly
become saved, then what about the poor people. Are they able to become saved? It
seemed to them that salvation was a near impossible thing because they were
amazed at the answers Jesus gave the rich young man.
Luke 18:27 (KJB)
And he said, The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.
Then Jesus tells them the reality of salvation in
all three verses and the key to being saved. If man was left to himself, he
would be unable to become saved. This is because man is spiritually dead and his
entire life and understanding is tied to this earth.
(Eph 2:5 KJV) Even when
we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are
saved;) The only way that a man can be saved, wealthy or poor, is
that God does the saving. If a rich man is one of God’s Elect, then he can have
all the money in the world and it will not prevent him from becoming saved
because God would be doing the saving. The unsaved man has no understanding of
the Gospel and is unable to understand any aspect of it and that is why with man
it is impossible because of their deadness.
(1 Cor 2:14 KJV) But the
natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are
foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually
discerned. Only God can quicken or make a person alive by the Gospel
and then comes the understanding. He does
this by resurrecting the soul of the person He is saving and once that is done,
then they can understand, believe, and exercise faith.
The spiritually dead man can in no way raise himself up from being
spiritually dead. It must be done by God
just as He raised Lazarus (John 11) and the Son of the Widow of Nain (Luke
7:11-16) and Jairus’s Daughter (Mark 5:22-43).
God performs salvation first by making the person spiritually alive as it
states in Ephesians 2:5. A spiritually
dead man has no ability to quicken themselves and that is why Jesus said with
man it is “impossible” because only God can save a person.
Luke 18:28 (KJB)
Then Peter said, Lo, we have left all, and followed thee.
Peter probably assessed in his mind that they had left everything behind to
follow Christ in contrast to the rich man who did not want to leave his wealth.
So Peter was asking a question which would have risen out of natural curiosity.
He wanted to know what they would have since they left houses, their jobs, their
families, etc. He wanted to know and probably so did the other disciples.
Luke 18:29 (KJB)
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,
The blessings that the apostles can expect to receive are extended to all
believers who have forsaken their earthly lives for the life of the Gospel.
Whatever a person had forsaken whether it be house, or career, or business they
will receive a hundredfold of what they had sacrificed and this would be
different for every one so there is no blanket blessing here as each Christian’s
life is different with a different calling and situation. Jesus is not
advocating abandonment of spouse or family, but He is saying that there is a
mindset which places the propagation of the Gospel and service to Christ far
above worldly pursuits.
Luke 18:30 (KJB)
Who shall not receive manifold more in this present time, and in the world to
come life everlasting.
Then Jesus not only tells them they will inherit manifold blessing in this life
but to top it off, there is also the promise of inheriting eternal life. They
never heard anything like that coming from the Scribes and Pharisees. They had
no assurance of eternal life because the law did not lead one to eternal life,
instead it led to the need for a Savior to procure eternal life for you.