Making the Impossible Possible [5-17-26]

May 17, 2026

Luke 18:15-30

“Making the Impossible Possible”

We’ve got a lot going on here today. On the surface, this section appears disjointed. I seems like several distinctly different parts have been cobbled together. But there is method in Luke’s madness.

First off, Luke 18:15-17:

Now they were bringing even infants to him that he might touch them. And when the disciples saw it, they rebuked them. But Jesus called them to him, saying, “Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.”

These verses capture the movement of salvation toward those who, in their vulnerability, humble themselves before the grace and mercy of God.

The scene transitions from a repentant tax collector, at one end, to helpless infants, at the other.

We cannot overemphasize the anxiety these mothers feel for their newborns. Infant mortality is high. For centuries, if a person makes it through childhood, they have a decent life expectancy. The dangers and diseases from birth to adulthood are what wreak havoc on life expectancy. So of course, mothers are anxious. Their anxiety is over life-and-death issues. They know about Jesus. They’ve heard about what he can do. So in these three verses, they hold their precious babies out for Jesus to touch. Many of these babies will be dead within the first year of life. Such a frightening prospect for these mothers to face. And so, they reach out to Jesus. In the midst of an uncertain future, they reach out to Jesus.

Jesus then makes very clear the attitude shift required for being his disciples. What is the initial reaction of the disciples to the little children? Right…they rebuke the moms. What a horrible response. There’s no threat to Jesus. Their response reflects the belief that infants are sometimes an annoyance. Jesus’ compassion tells them otherwise. Two other otherwise

things:

Jesus consistently sides with the least of these…those on the fringe… those held in low regard…the vulnerable…those willing to cry out for help…those who know they are totally dependent on God for salvation.

Our only hope for a future is in Christ. He is the only way to eternal life.

These verses become the launching pad to teachings and encounters pregnant with promise and possibility.

Before we move on to Jesus’ encounter with the rich ruler, let’s get a little timeless background. It speaks to people’s hopes and aspirations. It is good background to the question the rich ruler asks Jesus.

For the next few minutes, I’m going to do something I don’t normally do. I’m going to share insight from another pastor and preacher.

John MacArthur, who died last year, had this observation about modern

evangelicalism. I’ve done a little editing and paraphrasing, keeping some of his more pithy points verbatimly intact. {And yes, I just created that word.}

It is commonly held in the current stream of evangelicalism “that leading people to salvation, leading people into God’s kingdom, leading people to eternal life is fairly easy if you develop the right approach, if you develop the right strategy, if you come up with the right method. And that means getting savvy about the culture. That means being good at understanding people’s felt needs. That means being adept at grasping the hot buttons that trigger people’s responses. And so in order to get people to accept the gospel, we want to make sure we understand what their felt needs are, what their aspirations are, what their longings and desires are; and we sort of move in that direction.”

Next, you add to that a promise “that all their felt needs can be met, all of their dissatisfactions can become satisfactions, all their unfulfilled dreams can become fulfilled, all their failures can become successes. And with those kinds of promises, they’ll sign up so fast you won’t know what to do with them all. Throw in a rock band and some cool music {God forbid you have a choir of any kind}, just kind of make it seem like it’s really part of the world and it’s not a big step anyway and it should be pretty easy to get people to respond to the gospel. Speak only of God’s love and of the frustration of God if people won’t accept His love and come to Him and how bad He feels when people don’t do that. Make them even feel a little guilty for hurting God by not coming and put it all together, mix it up and you should add hundreds, if not thousands to your congregation. Oh, by the way, keep the environment casual, non-threatening and fun and the message simple with lots of stories.” And by all means, make sure no sermon series runs longer than 5-6 weeks.

With such a seeker-sensitive, user-friendly worldview in mind, let’s now look at Luke 18:18-30:

And a ruler asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery, Do not murder, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother.’” And he said, “All these I have kept from my youth.” 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.” But when he heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich. Jesus, seeing that he had become sad, said, “How difficult it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God! 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.” Those who heard it said, “Then who can be saved?” But he said, “What is impossible with man is possible with God.” And Peter said, “See, we have left our homes and followed you.” 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, who will not receive many times more in this time, and in the age to come eternal life.”

After reading these verses, I think it’s safe to say Jesus wouldn’t buy into today’s manifestation of evangelicalism. In fact, what we have here is the exact opposite of all the modern evangelicalism, seeker-sensitive, felt-need gobbledygook. At it’s simplest, Jesus is saying that it is impossible for people to be saved no matter what strategery you concoct or manipulation you cobble together. Regardless of approach or method, Jesus says it is impossible for people to be saved by moving them in a human way.

With that in mind, here’s the opening of the passage again:

And a ruler asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

The passage begins with a question about eternal life and ends with a statement about eternal life. Do you think this passage is about eternal life? Here’s the underneathness to the encounter we need to know:

The Rich Ruler lacks a real hope for heaven.

Does that sound a little bit like many of your neighbors, friends, co-workers, and relatives? He’s not alone…he’s not alone.

On the surface, it seems he knows what we wants. He wants assurance of eternal life. He wants to know that there’s something beyond this life. Even in his assumed luxury, he wants to know there’s something better to come.

You can’t fault him or blame him.

In Jesus’ answer, the first thing that seems to happen is a correction. Or what appears to be a correction. But it is actually an affirmation within a correction.

Jesus deflects the idle flattery…”Why do you call me good?”…with a firm statement of his human and divine nature. In other words, it’s not wrong to call Jesus good if it’s in the context of his incarnation. Notice Jesus doesn’t dispute or reject what the ruler calls him. He’s telling the ruler and the crowd that he and the Father are one. There’s beauty in subtlety.

What’s not so subtle is the man’s arrogance. Notice Jesus mentions commandments that have to do with kindness and decency in human relations. The arrogance is in the guy’s response. “All these I have kept from my youth.” C’mon, man. I get the murder and adultery part. But does he seriously expect Jesus to believe that he’s never stolen or gossiped or been disrespectful to his parents?

When I was a wee lad of about 5 or 6, I stole a pack of Dentyne gum from

the grocery store. Yes, I was a stupid little kid…stealing old people’s gum instead of something fun, like bubble gum. When we got to the car, and my mom found out, she brought me back into the store, found the manager, and made me return it with an apology. We’ve all broken commandments, in one way or the other.

From a temporal, earth-bound point-of-view, everything for the rich ruler seems good. Comfortable life. All his ducks in order. Thinks highly of himself. Wanting eternal life isn’t the wrong thing to want. It’s a legit felt need. Admits to Jesus that the only thing he lacks is an assurance of eternal life. He asks the right question. He’s eager to know. He’s come to the right person. If you want to talk about people seeking answers to life’s eternal questions, he’s the perfect seeker. He is the perfect person to be led into salvation…to be led into a saving relationship with Jesus Christ. What pastor wouldn’t want someone like that visiting his church?

These are all things today’s expression of evangelicalism would love to see. Somebody who wants a relationship with God. Somebody who is open to God being involved in his or her life. Someone looking for joy and peace and happiness and satisfaction and hope and fulfillment and purpose. All of those things. Someone who is eager. Someone who asks all the right

questions. Someone who knows the right source to come to for answers to his or her spiritual discontent. It all seems so very good. He seems ready.

We’ll figure the rest of this out next week. We’ll unravel the whole 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 conundrum. When you think about it, aren’t we, living here in the United States, some of the richest people in the world? This one verse should end the whole prosperity gospel charade once-and-for-all.

Until then, one last thought. Here’s what Charles Spurgeon said about truly seeking Jesus. This really highlights what the rich ruler is missing from his life:

O dear friend, run in that road that Christ has made so plain! Trust, trust, TRUST, TRUST; that is the way, - TRUST. Trust God as your Father: trust Christ as your Redeemer; trust the Holy Ghost as your Renewer. Have done with yourself; have done with everything save your God, your Saviour, your Comforter. Trust in Jesus, and you have found the way, you are saved, your sins are forgiven you, you are “accepted in the Beloved.” You are not yet in heaven, but you shall be in God’s good time. You have not yet joined Christ’s visible Church, but you are welcome to do so; do not postpone it. You have not yet joined the Church triumphant, but you shall do so one of these days. Wherefore, be of good cheer, and the Lord bless you! Amen and Amen.