Study Bible
Luke
Chapter 18

Luke 18:18-30

Luke 18:18-30Luke: List of Major Bible Charts, Maps, & PicturesJesus' Journey to Jerusalem

Luke 18:18-30NIV11-EN

¹⁸A certain ruler asked him, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” ¹⁹“Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone. ²⁰You know the commandments: ‘You shall not commit adultery, you shall not murder, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, honor your father and mother.’” ²¹“All these I have kept since I was a boy,” he said. ²²When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” ²³When he heard this, he became very sad, because he was very wealthy. ²⁴Jesus looked at him and said, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God! ²⁵Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” ²⁶Those who heard this asked, “Who then can be saved?” ²⁷Jesus replied, “What is impossible with man is possible with God.” ²⁸Peter said to him, “We have left all we had to follow you!” ²⁹“Truly I tell you,” Jesus said to them, “no one who has left home or wife or brothers or sisters or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God ³⁰will fail to receive many times as much in this age, and in the age to come eternal life.”

New International Version · Scripture quotations taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version® NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Luke 18:18-30

This event is covered in detail in the Gospels of Matthew and Mark (see below).

Luke as he does in numerous other locations discusses wealth, its responsibilities, and its dangers (cf. Luke 3:11; 5:11; 6:23-26, 34-35, 38; 7:5; 8:3, 14; 10:34-35; 11:41; 12:13-21, 33; 14:12-14, 33; 16:9-13, 19-31; 18:22; 19:8). Kingdom wealth is of great significance. It can be a blessing and/or a curse.

This self-sufficient rich [young] man stands in contrast to the helpless children mentioned in Luke 18:15-17 and helpless blind man who seeks Jesus' healing in Luke 18:35-43. The children utterly trust in their parents for everything and the blind man, though blind sees clearly, while the rich man, though possessing eyes, has his vision blinded by his possessions. The rich man is like the Pharisee in Luke 18:9-14; that is he trusts in his own self-sufficiency, rather than resting as a child (as the tax-collector did) in the arms of God's amazing grace.

Luke recounted an interaction with someone questioning Jesus to teach about the dangers of wealth. It is hard for rich people to be saved because their confidence must be in God, not money.

Luke 18:18

ruler. This a generalized term, but it indicated a wealthy man in the local community who was influential. eternal life. Life with God, which comes by knowing Jesus by faith (John 3:16; 17:3; Rom. 6:23). It is the same as entering God's kingdom (vv. 24-25; see John 3:3-5, 16).

Luke 18:19

Jesus's response was likely due to the man's motive. The ruler was trying to flatter Jesus. Thus, Jesus did not deny that he was good, or God's Son (see note on 1:35). See BC 1.

Luke 18:20

These are the Ten Commandments. They were a summary of the law which governed life in ancient Israel (Exod. 20:1-17).

Luke 18:21

The ruler believes he has obeyed God's law.

Luke 18:22

One thing you still lack. The ruler did not have eternal life (v. 18). sell all . . . follow me. This was not an absolute command for all disciples. Instead, it was a command meant to reveal the man's true love — wealth. He had failed to keep the first command to have no other gods (Exod. 20:3) because money was his god (v. 23). treasure in heaven. Another way of describing eternal life (v. 18), God's kingdom (vv. 24-25), and salvation (v. 26).

Luke 18:23

The treasures of heaven (v. 22) did not outweigh the treasures of this world in the man's heart.

Luke 18:25

Jesus used an illustration of something absurdly impossible to describe the plight of rich people before God. Those with much wealth often depend on their wealth. This makes it very hard to let go of it and depend on God for salvation (see 1 Tim 6:10).

Luke 18:26

Wealth was considered a sign of God's blessing. Thus, many wrongly assumed those with much wealth were righteous and would be saved. Jesus reversed their thinking about how one is saved (see vv. 13-14, 17).

Luke 18:27

Left to themselves, humanity would never be saved. But God's power overcomes our inability and brings salvation (Rom. 1:16; Eph. 2:1-4). No one can save themselves, but God can save the worst sinner. Even the rich can be saved (19:1-10). possible with God. See 1:37; Gen. 18:14.

Luke 18:29-30

much more in this world. Jesus assured the disciples that God knew their sacrifice (v. 28). He provides the church as a new family made up of his people to for those lost who lost families for the sake of the kingdom (see 8:21; Mark 3:35). world to come. Even if we give up everything in this life, we will still have treasure in heaven (v. 22). eternal life. Jesus said that following him meant gaining the most precious, joyful, all-satisfying possession in the world — God himself (see note on v. 18).

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