Who Then Can Be Saved?
Matthew 19:23-30
Last time, we looked at Matthew’s account of the rich young ruler and his encounter with Jesus. Looking at this young man from the outside, it appeared like he had it all—wealth, youth, influence, and morality. He seemed to the life that many would long for. Yet he knew that things were not right with his soul. So, he came to Jesus asking, “Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?” (Matt. 19:16).
Jesus first questioned him about his understanding of who is good, then directed him to keep God’s commandments, hoping to bring the young man to see his own sinfulness and need of the Savior. Although the young man claimed an eternal righteousness of keeping the commandments, he still did not have assurance of eternal life. So, he asked Jesus, “What do I still lack?” (Matt. 19:20).
And exposing this man’s heart, Jesus told him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me” (Matt. 19:21). Matthew concludes the man’s encounter with Jesus writing that “he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions” (Matt. 19:22). Sadly, the young man chose his possessions over following Jesus, proving he did not love God with all his heart or love his neighbor as himself. He had to choose between his sin and eternal life—and he chose sin. The young man refused salvation and forfeited eternal life.
So, Jesus turned to His disciples in this teaching moment. The disciples had just seen a man reject the opportunity to receive eternal life. This rich man loved his possessions more than he loved God. He would rather have the comfort of things in this life, than give them up for the life to come. And Jesus wasted no time in teaching His disciples about salvation.
The theme of the whole passage is salvation. What did the young man come asking Jesus about? Eternal life. What did the disciples ask Jesus about in Matthew 19:25? Who can be saved. And what did Jesus promise in Matthew 19:29 to those who forsake all and follow Him? Eternal life. To be saved is to have eternal life.
Our text is structured around Jesus’ statements in response to the rich man’s leaving and the disciple’s questions. In Matthew 19:23-24, reponding to the rich man’s parting, Jesus teaches how riches make salvation difficult. In Matthew 19:25-26, responding to the astonished disciples’ question, Jesus teaches that God makes salvation possible. And in Matthew 19:27-30, responding to Peter’s question, Jesus teaches that rewards make salvation worth it all.[1]
1. Riches Make Salvation Hard (Matt. 19:23-24).
“Then Jesus said to His disciples, “Assuredly, I say to you that it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.”” (Mat t.19:23). Why is it hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven? Why is it difficult for the rich to be saved? To answer that, let’s think about the rich young ruler again. He walked away from Jesus and eternal life because it was too hard. It would cost him too much.
What did riches have to do with it? Everything for him. His wealth had blinded him to his sin. Jesus had forced him to think about what is good and the commandments of God to expose his sin. But in his pride, the rich man refused to acknowledge his sin. He thought he could obtain eternal life by his goodness. Many in Jesus’ day viewed wealth as a sign of favor with God. They believed God blessed with riches those who were good. Proverbs 28:11 says, “The rich man is wise in his own eyes” or “in his own conceit” (KJV). Riches often make a person boastful and arrogant. The rich young ruler boasted that he had kept the commandments from his youth. Paul tells Timothy to “Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy” (1 Tim 6:17).
Moses warned the Israelites about the danger of riches before they entered the promised land. In Deuteronomy 8 he wrote,
10 When you have eaten and are full, then you shall bless the LORD your God for the good land which He has given you. 11 Beware that you do not forget the LORD your God by not keeping His commandments, His judgments, and His statutes which I command you today, 12 lest–when you have eaten and are full, and have built beautiful houses and dwell in them; 13 and when your herds and your flocks multiply, and your silver and your gold are multiplied, and all that you have is multiplied; 14 when your heart is lifted up, and you forget the LORD your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage; 15 who led you through that great and terrible wilderness, in which were fiery serpents and scorpions and thirsty land where there was no water; who brought water for you out of the flinty rock; 16 who fed you in the wilderness with manna, which your fathers did not know, that He might humble you and that He might test you, to do you good in the end– 17 then you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gained me this wealth.’ 18 And you shall remember the LORD your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day. (Deut. 8:10-18).
Riches tempt us to think we did it all ourselves. They can make us conceited and smug. The boastful, proud, haughty person will find it difficult to enter the kingdom of heaven. Why? Because the kingdom of heaven belongs only to those who humble themselves like little children. Jesus taught in Matthew 18:3, “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.” You must be converted, changed in your heart and attitude. You must come humble, not depending on your achievements or merits, but on God’s grace in Christ.
Riches are deceitful. Remember in Matthew 13, Jesus told the parable of the soils? Jesus said that “he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful” (Matt. 13:22). Wealth and possessions shout for our attention. They distract us from what is truly important. They promise to satisfy us with good things. They can steal our heart away from loving God. The young ruler’s riches deceived him into thinking he could do something to obtain eternal life and drew him away from the only One who could give him salvation.
How hard is it for a rich man to enter the kingdom? Look at how Jesus illustrates it in Matthew 19:24, “And again I say to you, 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.” What a picture! The camel was the largest animal that the disciples would be familiar with. The eye of a sewing needle was the smallest opening that was used. To think of pushing a camel through a needle was absurd. You can’t fit a camel through the eye of a needle. It was impossible. If you even tried, all you would get is a broken needle and a very perturbed camel!
And yet, Jesus says that, as hard as it may be, it’s easier to push that camel through the eye of a needle than it would be for a rich man—a man who would have to give up his love for his wealth—to enter the kingdom of God. That’s how hard it is. It’s not just “you’ve really got to work at it” hard. No, Jesus says it is on the “impossibility scale” of hard for the rich to enter God’s kingdom.
At this point, you might wonder, “How rich is too rich to enter the kingdom?” Jesus doesn’t give a number because it’s not so much a matter of what you have but rather your attitude towards what you have. You don’t have to be extremely wealthy for money to be a snare. Even the desire to be rich can keep someone from Christ. Paul writes in 1 Timothy 6:
9 But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. (1 Tim. 6:9-10).
The Bible’s teaching is clear. Whether you are actually wealthy or just want to be wealthy, money can be an obstacle to faith. It doesn’t have to be. There are many rich people who love God and serve God and give generously to God’s kingdom. Money is not the root of all evil. It’s the love of money that’s the root of all kinds of evil. That was the rich young ruler’s problem, wasn’t it? He loved his money more than Jesus.
Riches make salvation hard—so hard it is impossible. And that’s bad news if you are rich.
But wait! There’s good news! We see in Matthew 19:25-26 that …
2. God Makes Salvation Possible (Matt. 19:25-26)
Now when Jesus gave this illustration of putting a camel through a needle, the disciples were blown away. Matthew 19:25 says, “When His disciples heard it, they were greatly astonished…” They were struck out of their wits.[2] They are shocked because they (along with everyone else) were used to viewing wealth as a sign of God’s blessing or approval. And if it’s impossible for a person whom God has blessed to go to heaven, then how can anyone be saved?
They looked at the rich, influential, moral young man who was walking away, and felt that so many of their preconceived notions were destroyed. In their mind, such a man was most certainly blessed of God. He would most certainly been “worthy” of eternal life. He was among the best that humanity had to offer. But as it turns out, even he could not do enough “good things” to be able to inherit eternal life. In their minds, the disciples were thinking, “If the rich, the most blessed of God, can’t enter the kingdom, can anybody?”
So, in their astonishment, the disciples ask, “Who then can be saved?” Look at Jesus’ answer in Matthew 19:26, “But Jesus looked at them and said to them, ‘With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.’”
Notice what makes the difference between the impossible and the possible. “With men” it is impossible for anyone to be saved. “With God” it is possible for everyone to be saved. In other words, only God can save. We can’t save ourselves. Every time a person is saved it is a direct miracle of God’s grace and mercy. There is not a single thing or a multitude of things you can do to be saved. You can’t live good enough. You can’t be pleasing enough. You can’t sacrifice enough. God’s standard is too high. It is perfection. You can never save yourself. You can never earn or purchase eternal life. The cost is too high. With men, it is impossible.
But the gospel proclaims, “but with God all things are possible.” This is God’s amazing grace. God has done it all. God initiates salvation. God justifies lost sinners. God sanctifies them. God glorifies them. Salvation is completely of God—not of man. If it is impossible with men, but possible with God, then why are any saved? Because of what we do? No. But, because of what God does in opening our hearts to believe the glorious gospel of Christ. Consider John 1:12, ” But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name,” When people receive Jesus and believe in His name, is this because man initiated it or completed it? No. It is because God did it. John goes on in the next verse to say, ” who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God” (John 1:13).
If anyone asks you why you have eternal life, what is the answer? Because God saved me by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. It was nothing that I did. It was what God did in Christ. If you received Christ, you cannot take credit for it. God gave it to you. If you believe in Christ, you cannot boast about it because God granted you faith in Christ. He gave His only begotten Son. Jesus paid the debt of your sin. God drew you to Himself through the gospel message. He saved you. None of it was what you did. It was all what God did.
So, yes, it’s hard for the rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. It’s hard for all of us. In fact, it’s impossible apart from God. Only God makes salvation possible.
Finally we see that …
3. Rewards Make Salvation Worth It All (Matt. 19:27-30).
When Peter heard Jesus say these things, he blurted out, “See, we have left all and followed You. Therefore what shall we have?” On the surface, this may seem like a selfish question. But Jesus did not rebuke Peter for asking such a question. Remember, Peter and the other disciples had already given up everything to follow Jesus. when Jesus called Peter. He and his brother Andrew were fishing. They were casting their net into the sea (Matt. 4:18). Jesus called out to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men” (Matt. 4:19). Matthew then records, “They immediately left their nets and followed Him.” (Matt. 4:20). Peter literally “left everything” to follow Christ.
In the gospel of John, chapter 6, we see many people who were following Christ deserting him, because He was teaching some difficult things for the crowds to swallow—like “I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world.” (John 6:51). As a result, ” From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more” (John 6:66). Then, Jesus turned to His twelve disciples and said, ” Do you also want to go away?” (John 6:67). And Peter replied, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. Also we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Holy One of God” (John 6:68-69). Peter had no other plans. By the grace of God he believed in Jesus. He could not turn back. He had no alternate plan.
Jesus had told them in Matthew 16, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.” (Matt. 16:24-25).
Instead of rebuking Peter, Jesus answers him with a gracious promise:
28 So Jesus said to them, “Assuredly I say to you, that in the regeneration, when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.” (Matt. 19:28).
These words describe the day in which the kingdom of heaven is fully consummated. Jesus calls this “the regeneration.” I believe that He is referring to the time when everything is renewed. It is the time when Jesus returns, and those who have trusted in Christ will be raised from the dead and glorified together with Christ (1 Cor. 15). Even the creation itself will be renewed and “delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God” (Rom. 8:21). And the twelve disciples will find themselves seated upon twelve thrones (Matt. 19:28). Upon those thrones, Jesus said that they will be judging the twelve tribes of Israel. They will have positions of leadership and authority in the kingdom of heaven. Their reward is so great that I don’t believe that the twelve will ever regret the sacrifices that they made to follow Jesus.
But rewards are not just for the twelve. Matthew 19:29 is directed to all followers of Jesus Christ, “And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My name’s sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life.” Mark 10:29-30 records that Jesus said, “there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My sake and the gospel’s, who shall not receive a hundredfold now in this time—houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions—and in the age to come, eternal life.”
I have learned something wonderful about the Body of Christ. In a sense, I have—right now—countless “fathers” in the older saintly Christian men who bear a kind and godly influence in my life. And I have countless “mothers” in the older saintly Christian women who love me with motherly love. Many may have had to leave “brothers” or “sisters” behind; but they have countless other brothers and sisters with whom they share loving fellowship and the hopes of eternity. A follower of Jesus may be called upon to give up the comforts and security of “houses” and “lands”; but in the family love of the kingdom of Jesus Christ, he or she can enjoy the comfort and security of the countless “houses” and “lands” of other brothers and sisters who share hospitality and the comforts of life with them.
But the rewards are not just temporal. They are eternal. Jesus said, “and in the age to come, eternal life” (Mark 10:30). We will “inherit eternal life” (Matt. 19:29). Eternal life—that’s what the rich young man wanted, but he wasn’t willing to follow Jesus to get it. So, he lost out on the ultimate reward. And all that money he was unwilling to part with? If he had followed Jesus, he would have received a hundred times as much, and he would have received eternal life.
The greatest reason to follow Jesus Christ is because He is eternal life! As Peter himself once wrote, we have been a living hope through the resurrection of Christ, “to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time” (1 Peter 1:4-5). We gain back everything in life that we give up in order to follow Jesus faithfully. And when it’s over, we gain eternal life with Him! We give up for Jesus what we cannot keep, in order to gain with Him what we cannot lose! Following Jesus is the greatest deal in the universe!
Jesus says at the end of this section, “But many who are first will be last, and the last first” (Matt. 19:30). This was one of Jesus’ favorite sayings. Everything gets reversed when it comes to Jesus. In the context of our passage: the little children who had nothing are welcomed by Jesus, while the rich man who had everything walks away. The disciples leave everything for Jesus, and they sit on thrones with Jesus. Those who sacrifice for Christ receive a hundred times as much in return.
Here’s the bottom line. We cannot save ourselves, because we are not good, and we are not God. Only God is good, and only God can save. And that is why God sent His Son Jesus Christ. Jesus changes everything. His blood paid the debt we owed for our sin. His resurrection assures us of eternal life because He is alive forever and saves forever those who come to Him believing. It is worth everything to follow Jesus. If you have Jesus, you have everything. He is the greatest treasure. He is our inheritance and great reward. Look to Jesus, church, and don’t look back.
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[1] Steve Brandon, Then Who Can Be Saved?, https://sermons.rvbc.cc/sermons/2004-037.
[2] Greg Allen, The God of Impossible Salvations, https://www.bethanybible.org/archive/2007/120907.htm.
