Luke 18:26

KJV

And they that heard [it] said, Who then can be saved?

KJV (with Strong's)

And {G1161} they that heard {G191} it said {G2036}, Who {G5101} then {G2532} can be {G1410} saved {G4982}?

Complete Jewish Bible

Those who heard this asked, “Then who can be saved?”

Berean Standard Bible

Those who heard this asked, “Who then can be saved?”

American Standard Version

And they that heard it said, Then who can be saved?

Commentary

### SUMMARY
Luke 18:26 records the astonished reaction of those who heard Jesus declare the extreme difficulty for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God. This question, "Who then can be saved?", encapsulates the human perception of impossibility when confronted with God's radical standards, serving as a pivotal moment that underscores humanity's spiritual inadequacy and sets the stage for Jesus' subsequent revelation of God's sovereign power in salvation.

### CONTEXT
* **Literary Context:** This verse immediately follows Jesus' profound and challenging interaction with the rich young ruler, as detailed in [Luke 18:18-25](/luke/18-18-25 "Luke 18:18-25 - The Rich Young Ruler and the Camel's Eye"). The ruler, a man of great wealth and apparent righteousness, was unwilling to surrender his possessions to follow Jesus. Jesus then delivered the striking metaphor about a camel passing through the eye of a needle, illustrating the immense obstacle wealth presents to entering God's Kingdom. The disciples' question in [Luke 18:26](/luke/18-26 "Luke 18:26 - Who then can be saved?") is a direct, bewildered response to this teaching, highlighting their shock and the radical nature of Jesus' words in contrast to conventional wisdom. It functions as a narrative bridge, setting up Jesus' climactic statement in [Luke 18:27](/luke/18-27 "Luke 18:27 - With God, All Things Are Possible") about God's ability to do the impossible.
* **Historical & Cultural Context:** In ancient Jewish society, wealth was often perceived as a tangible sign of God's blessing and favor. It was commonly believed that prosperity indicated divine approval and that the wealthy, being blessed by God, would naturally find it easier to enter the Kingdom. This cultural assumption made Jesus' statement about the rich man's difficulty in entering the Kingdom profoundly counter-cultural and shocking. The disciples, steeped in this worldview, would have found Jesus' teaching deeply unsettling, as it overturned their understanding of who was "blessed" and therefore most likely to be saved. Their question reflects a genuine crisis of understanding, as the traditional markers of spiritual success were suddenly rendered liabilities.
* **Key Themes:** Luke 18:26 contributes to several overarching themes within Luke's Gospel and the broader biblical narrative. Firstly, it powerfully illustrates **human inability** to achieve salvation through merit or effort, especially when confronted with the radical demands of true discipleship. The disciples' despairing question underscores the limitations of human power and righteousness. Secondly, it highlights Jesus' consistent theme of **challenging worldly assumptions and values**, particularly regarding wealth and status. Jesus consistently flips conventional wisdom on its head, demonstrating that God's Kingdom operates on an entirely different set of principles (e.g., [Luke 6:20-26](/luke/6-20-26 "Luke 6:20-26 - Blessings and Woes")). Finally, this verse serves as a crucial setup for the theme of **divine possibility**. By exposing the apparent impossibility from a human perspective, it prepares the audience for Jesus' subsequent declaration in [Luke 18:27](/luke/18-27 "Luke 18:27 - With God, All Things Are Possible") that "The things which are impossible with men are possible with God," thereby emphasizing that salvation is ultimately a work of God's grace and power, not human achievement.

### EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS

#### Key Word Analysis
* **heard (Greek, _akoúō'_):** This word (G191) signifies not merely the act of perceiving sound, but also understanding or grasping the meaning of what is heard. The disciples didn't just hear Jesus' words; they comprehended the profound and unsettling implications of His statement about the rich man, leading to their astonished reaction.
* **said (Greek, _épō'_):** This verb (G2036) denotes speaking or saying, often with a sense of declaration or pronouncement. Here, it conveys the disciples' immediate, vocalized response to Jesus' teaching, indicating their collective astonishment and the urgency of their question.
* **saved (Greek, _sṓzō'_):** This term (G4982) carries the broad meaning of being delivered, preserved, healed, or made whole. In this context, it refers specifically to spiritual salvation – inheriting eternal life, entering the Kingdom of God, and being delivered from spiritual death and judgment. The disciples' question is about the very possibility of ultimate spiritual deliverance for anyone, given Jesus' radical pronouncement.

#### Verse Breakdown
* **"And they that heard [it] said":** This clause establishes the immediate and collective reaction of Jesus' audience, specifically His disciples. Their hearing was not passive; it led to a vocalized response. The "it" refers to Jesus' teaching about the rich man and the camel, which had just been delivered and clearly landed with significant impact on their understanding. Their unified voice ("they... said") underscores the shared bewilderment among them.
* **"Who then can be saved?":** This is a rhetorical question born out of profound shock and despair. Given the traditional Jewish understanding that wealth was a sign of divine favor, and if even such a seemingly blessed individual as the rich young ruler could not meet the demands for salvation, then from a human perspective, the path to the Kingdom seemed utterly closed to everyone. The "then" (G2532, _kaí_) emphasizes the logical conclusion drawn from Jesus' preceding statement: if the 'best' among them cannot be saved, who possibly can? This question highlights the perceived impossibility of salvation through human effort or merit.

#### Literary Devices
The primary literary device at play in Luke 18:26 is the **Rhetorical Question**. The disciples' query, "Who then can be saved?", is not posed to elicit information they genuinely expect Jesus to provide through a simple answer. Instead, it serves to express their profound astonishment, bewilderment, and despair in the face of Jesus' radical teaching. It underscores the perceived impossibility of salvation from a human perspective, given the stringent conditions Jesus had just laid out. This rhetorical question effectively amplifies the dramatic tension and highlights the paradigm shift Jesus is introducing, preparing the audience for His subsequent declaration that what is impossible for humans is possible for God. The question also functions as a moment of **Contrast**, sharply juxtaposing human limitation and despair with the divine power that Jesus is about to reveal.

### THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS
Luke 18:26 serves as a critical theological pivot, exposing the futility of human effort in achieving salvation and setting the stage for the radical truth that salvation is entirely a work of God's grace. The disciples' question, born of their cultural assumptions about wealth and righteousness, reveals the universal human tendency to rely on self-merit or external markers of favor. Jesus' teaching, and their subsequent question, dismantle this self-reliance, forcing an acknowledgment that no human, regardless of status or perceived goodness, can earn their way into God's Kingdom. This profound sense of human inability is precisely what magnifies the necessity and glory of God's redemptive power, emphasizing that salvation is not a matter of human striving but divine intervention.

* [Matthew 19:25-26](/matthew/19-25-26 "Matthew 19:25-26 - Parallel Account of Salvation")
* [Jeremiah 32:17](/jeremiah/32-17 "Jeremiah 32:17 - Nothing is too hard for God")
* [Ephesians 2:8-9](/ephesians/2-8-9 "Ephesians 2:8-9 - Salvation by Grace through Faith")

### REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
Luke 18:26 confronts us with a fundamental truth about salvation: it is utterly beyond human capacity. The disciples' bewildered question should resonate deeply within us, prompting us to examine our own hearts for any lingering reliance on personal achievements, material possessions, or perceived righteousness as a basis for our standing before God. This verse challenges us to recognize that if even the "best" among us, like the rich young ruler, cannot meet God's radical demands through their own efforts, then none of us can. This realization should cultivate profound humility and lead us away from self-sufficiency towards a complete and humble dependence on God's boundless grace. It is a call to surrender our idols, whether they be wealth, status, intellect, or even our own good works, and to embrace the truth that salvation is a gift, not a reward.

#### Questions for Reflection
* **What "impossible" standards or expectations do I sometimes place on myself or others regarding salvation or spiritual growth?**
* **In what areas of my life might I be subtly relying on my own efforts or possessions rather than God's grace for security or significance?**
* **How does the disciples' shock help me appreciate the radical nature of Jesus' teaching on the Kingdom of God?**
* **What does this verse teach me about the necessity of humility in approaching God?**

### FAQ

**Why were the disciples so shocked by Jesus' statement about the rich man?**

Answer: The disciples' shock stemmed from a deeply ingrained cultural and theological belief in ancient Judaism that wealth was a clear sign of God's blessing and favor. It was commonly understood that prosperity indicated righteousness and that those blessed with riches would find it easier to enter the Kingdom of God. Jesus' statement, comparing a rich man's entry into the Kingdom to a camel passing through a needle's eye ([Luke 18:25](/luke/18-25 "Luke 18:25 - The Camel and the Needle's Eye")), completely overturned this conventional wisdom. If even someone so apparently favored by God faced such an insurmountable obstacle, then from their human perspective, salvation seemed impossible for anyone, leading to their bewildered question in [Luke 18:26](/luke/18-26 "Luke 18:26 - Who then can be saved?").

**Does this verse imply that no rich person can be saved?**

Answer: No, this verse does not imply that no rich person can be saved. Instead, it highlights the immense difficulty and the human impossibility of salvation, especially when wealth becomes an idol or a source of self-reliance. Jesus' teaching in [Luke 18:25](/luke/18-25 "Luke 18:25 - The Camel and the Needle's Eye") is a hyperbole, emphasizing that human effort, particularly when entangled with the allure of worldly riches, is insufficient for salvation. The very next verse, [Luke 18:27](/luke/18-27 "Luke 18:27 - With God, All Things Are Possible"), clarifies Jesus' point: "The things which are impossible with men are possible with God." This means that salvation, for the rich and poor alike, is not achieved through human merit or strength but through the miraculous power and grace of God. God can save anyone, regardless of their material status, if they humble themselves and trust in Him.

### CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT
Luke 18:26, with its desperate cry "Who then can be saved?", finds its profound Christ-centered fulfillment in Jesus Himself, who is the answer to humanity's impossible dilemma. The disciples' question underscores the utter inability of humanity to achieve salvation through its own efforts, merits, or possessions. It is precisely at this point of human despair and impossibility that Christ's redemptive work becomes gloriously manifest. Jesus, the Son of God, is the one who accomplishes what is impossible for humanity ([Luke 18:27](/luke/18-27 "Luke 18:27 - With God, All Things Are Possible")). He did not cling to His divine status but "emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men" ([Philippians 2:6-7](/philippians/2-6-7 "Philippians 2:6-7 - Christ's Humiliation")). Through His perfect obedience, His sacrificial death on the cross, and His glorious resurrection, Jesus provided the sole means by which salvation is made possible for all who believe ([John 3:16](/john/3-16 "John 3:16 - God's Love and Salvation")). He is the "way, and the truth, and the life" through whom alone one can come to the Father ([John 14:6](/john/14-6 "John 14:6 - Jesus is the Way")). Thus, the question "Who then can be saved?" is answered by the person and work of Christ: salvation is possible for all who, recognizing their own inability, humble themselves and place their faith in the one who made the impossible, possible. He is the ultimate demonstration of God's power to save "to the uttermost" ([Hebrews 7:25](/hebrews/7-25 "Hebrews 7:25 - Jesus' Ability to Save Completely")).

Note: Commentary is generated by AI with a directive for Biblical fidelity. Always rely on the Holy Spirit for discernment. The Scripture text and cross-references are from verified, non-AI sources.

Cross-References

Luke 13:23

¶ Then said one unto him, Lord, are there few that be saved? And he said unto them,