The Lord Jesus gave the answer to this question. This word is the central subject of this story. We must lay hold of this word. He said, “The things that are impossible with men are possible with God” (Luke 18:27). A new believer must realize that it is impossible to first give up everything and then enter God’s kingdom. The Lord acknowledged that this is impossible.
The mistake of the young man was not his reluctance to sell his all but his turning away in sorrow. God knows, and the Lord also knows, that this is something that is impossible with men. There was nothing strange in his not being able to make it. The Lord knows that we cannot sell all that we have to give to the poor. Yet this man turned away in sorrow because he thought that since the matter was impossible for him, it must be impossible for God as well. He knew that it was terrible that he could not give up his riches. But why would the Lord, knowing that he could not, still ask him to give them up? The Lord Jesus’ answer was, “The things that are impossible with men are possible with God.” How can a camel go through the eye of a needle? This is impossible. In the same principle, everyone in this world loves money; it is impossible for anyone to sell all his possessions. But it would be a big mistake if anyone were to turn away in sorrow just because he could not make it! If we turn away in sorrow, we limit the power of God.
The young man could not make it. Yet he did not consider the possibility of God making it. In other words, the Lord was prepared to give grace to this young man, yet he did not take it. All he needed to do was to stop and say, “Lord! I cannot give up my money. Please give me the grace. What is impossible for me is possible for You. I cannot make it, but You can. I cannot do it, but You can work in me to the point that I can. Lord! I cannot give up my money. I cannot sell all that I have to follow You. But You can. I ask for Your grace!” It was his mistake that he did not pray. It was his mistake that he did not believe and did not ask. It was his mistake to turn away in sorrow. Man’s mistake does not lie in his weakness but in his refusal to accept God’s power. It does not lie in his inability but in his refusal to allow God to be the able One for him. It does not lie in the fact that his work has come short but in the fact that he has not allowed God to save him to the point that his work will come up to the standard. This is the main point in the Lord’s word. The central subject of this passage is the sentence “The things that are impossible with men are possible with God.” The Lord Jesus was willing to show the young ruler that even though man could not make it, God could make it. Yet the young ruler only saw his inability; he turned away in sorrow.
A new believer should thank the Lord like Peter did if God causes him to give up everything joyfully. But if he, like the young ruler, finds it hard to obey, there is still a way for him. There is a way for those who respond as quickly as the twelve disciples. There is also a way for those who are as reluctant as the young ruler. All one has to do is to bow his head and say, “Lord, I cannot make it. I need grace!” This is the way. The young ruler did not do this. He left the Lord in sorrow. This was his mistake.
When the Lord saw the young man leave, He remarked how hard it was for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. Peter then said to the Lord, “Behold, we have left our own things and have followed You” (Luke 18:28). The Lord answered Peter saying, “Truly I say to you that 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 shall not by all means receive back many times as much in this time, and in the coming age, eternal life” (vv. 29-30). The Lord showed the disciples that following Him means giving up everything for His sake and for the gospel’s sake. In order to be a Christian at all, one has to set aside everything to follow the Lord.