Luke 18:24 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Jesus, seeing that he had become sad, said, "How difficult it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!

NIV: Jesus looked at him and said, "How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!

NASB: And Jesus looked at him and said, 'How hard it is for those who are wealthy to enter the kingdom of God!

CSB: Seeing that he became sad, Jesus said, "How hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!

NLT: When Jesus saw this, he said, 'How hard it is for the rich to enter the Kingdom of God!

KJV: And when Jesus saw that he was very sorrowful, he said, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!

NKJV: 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!

A crowd has been listening to Jesus speak with a rich, young ruler. The man wants to know how to inherit eternal life. Jesus leads him through a conversation that shows he can't do anything. He can't be good enough. Only God is ultimately, perfectly good. The inquiring man is good to other people. He faithfully follows the Ten Commandments. But he balks when Jesus tells him to give away his possessions to the poor. He's very rich and the thought of choosing between his earthly wealth and eternal life disheartens him (Luke 18:18–23).

The point of this message is not that being rich is a sin, or that those who are wealthy cannot possibly be saved. Rather, wealth has a way of numbing us to our dependence on the Lord. It can become our identity and take God's place as the highest priority in life. That seems to be what's happened to this man.

What Luke does not include is that before Jesus says this, the young man has walked away (Mark 10:22). When Jesus listed the commandments the man should follow, He included every one that had to do with interactions with other people except "Do not covet" (Luke 18:20). It appears the crowd is filled with people who are not rich. There's nothing they have this man would covet.

But the people are now confused. Between intimations in the Mosaic law and the general culture of the time, wealth is considered a sign that a person satisfies God. The crowd voices their confusion: "Then who can be saved?" (Luke 18:26). In their way of thinking, a young man good enough that God allowed him to become wealthy must be good enough to deserve eternal life.

In truth, it makes no difference if the man is wealthy. Nor does it matter, eternally, that he's "good" according to a worldly standard. He's in the same position as the tax collector in Jesus' parable (Luke 18:13–14). Salvation is by God's grace alone, through faith alone, by Christ alone (Ephesians 2:1–10; John 14:6). No one is good enough.

Luke 18:18–27 introduces the counter example to the powerless, trusting children of Luke 18:15–17. This instance also contrasts with the sacrificial disciples of Luke 18:28–30. The children have nothing to cling to and readily receive God's kingdom. The rich man in this section cannot muster such dependent faith. He wants eternal life but doesn't know if it's worth sacrificing worldly comforts. Conversely, the disciples have given up their place in the world in hopes of something better. This story is also found in Matthew 19:16–22 and Mark 10:17–22.

Luke continues to arrange Jesus' teachings by their topic. Here, he includes two parables: the persistent widow and the Pharisee and the tax collector. Jesus encourages children to approach Him. He interacts with a moral, wealthy man who can't bear to follow Jesus if it means giving up wealth. After another prediction of His death, Jesus encounters and heals a blind man on His way to Jerusalem.

Luke 18 approaches the end of Jesus' "travelogue" to Jerusalem (Luke 9:51—19:27). Luke has selected miracles, teachings, and events to show how Jesus trained His disciples. His emphasis was explaining the kingdom of God in preparation for their work to build the church. Luke 18 includes several contrasts between those who understand God's kingdom and those who don't. Luke 19 includes the story of Zacchaeus and another parable before Jesus' triumphal entry and the Passion Week. These stories are also found primarily in Matthew 19—20 and Mark 10.

Luke was a traveling companion of Paul (Acts 16:10) and a physician (Colossians 4:14). Unlike Matthew, Mark, and John, Luke writes his gospel as an historian, rather than as a first-hand eyewitness. His extensive writings also include the book of Acts (Acts 1:1–3). These are deliberately organized, carefully researched accounts of those events. The gospel of Luke focuses on the earthly ministry of Jesus Christ. Luke's Gentile perspective presents Christ as a Savior for all people, offering both forgiveness and direction to those who follow Him.