Bible Verse of the Day Tuesday February 28th, 2023

Luke 18:27 Jesus replied, “What is impossible with man is possible with God.”

Jesus told His disciples: "what is impossible with humanity is possible with God." He told them this just after He had been approached by a rich young ruler who asked the Lord Jesus this important question: "Good teacher, what must I do to inherit the kingdom of God?" (Luke 18:18-25). The young man knew the Scriptures and acknowledged that Jesus was a good man.

This young Jewish ruler seemingly believed that his life was equally commendable because he pompously acknowledged that he had kept the commandments since he was a young boy. However, Jesus (The perfect son of God) explained to the young ruler that no one is perfect except God. Jesus responded to the young ruler by asking him, "why do you call me good?" Jesus was gently teaching this man that he was the long-awaited promised Messiah, who came to earth to save the lost from their sins.

Reflecting on his own life and the lives of the so-called religious Pharisees, this immature ruler believed he had lived a perfect life. According to the righteousness of the Law, this young man falsely thought he was blameless, but there seems to have been some doubt in his heart that he had accomplished enough and had lived a good enough life to receive eternal life. Therefore, his mission in coming to Jesus was to get reassurance and have our Savor substantiate his perceived blamelessness among the people present that day. This sad attempt at self-glorification led to his question to Jesus: "what must I do to inherit the kingdom of God?"

This well-to-do young ruler could have kept the Law of Moses to the letter; however, there is massive doubt that he stayed within the boundaries of the Spirit of the Law. God tells us without a doubt that we are all sinners. We all lack in coming even close to the glory of God (Romans 3:23). Furthermore, anyone who falls short of God's glory cannot inherit eternal life in the family of God or even gain a glance into the access of God's Holy Kingdom.

It is impossible for a fallen human being to keep the perfect Law of God, so there would not be a possibility that we might get into heaven on our own merits. However, Jesus did answer the rich young ruler's question, "what must I do to enter the kingdom of God?" The only way any of us, as human beings, will be allowed into God's Kingdom is if we are sin free. According to this Biblical truth, God is the only one good enough to enter the Kingdom of God because none of us live a good enough life to achieve the standard God requires.

When Jesus came into this world, it was to offer the Kingdom to the Children of Israel. He was their long-awaited promised Messiah, first spoken of in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:15). However, the Jewish people focused their eyes on worldly things, not things of God. The people of Israel and this rich young Jewish ruler failed to understand that Jesus was the promised Messiah. However, He did not come to earth to free the people of Israel from their Roman bondage; Jesus came to earth to release all that believe in Him from their sins. We will never be sin free in this life, but Jesus took on our sin debt on the Cross of Calvary. He paid a debt he did not owe, so we would not owe a debt that we could never pay.