Luke 18:27 teaches that what cannot be achieved by human effort is entirely within God’s power. Jesus is saying that salvation, which seems out of reach for people who depend on their own resources, is something God alone can accomplish. The words are spoken by Jesus during a conversation with his disciples in Luke’s Gospel, after a wealthy man walked away from him and the crowd asked who could possibly be saved.
But he said, “The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.”
Luke 18:27 (WEB)
What Luke 18:27 Means
The verse begins with “impossible with men,” which describes the limits of human ability. People can work hard, earn money, build reputations, and keep rules, but none of these can make a person right with God or bring them into God’s kingdom. Jesus is naming a reality that his listeners already understood: the human heart and human effort have boundaries.
The second half, “are possible with God,” shifts the focus entirely. The word “possible” does not describe a small improvement in a difficult situation. It points to a God whose power has no such boundaries and who can do what no person could do for themselves. The verse does not promise that every hard circumstance will change in the way we hope, but it does establish that God’s ability to save and to act is not limited by what seems realistic to us.
The Context of Luke 18:27
Luke wrote this Gospel, traditionally attributed to a companion of Paul who was a physician, for a largely Gentile audience who needed to understand Jesus as the Savior of all people. The chapter contains several stories about people who are often overlooked, and the surrounding verses show Jesus speaking about wealth and entering the kingdom of God. Just before this verse, Jesus says it is harder for a rich person to enter God’s kingdom than for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle, which left the crowd asking who could ever be saved.
Read in that setting, Luke 18:27 is a direct answer to a despairing question. Jesus is not softening his words about the danger of trusting in riches, but he is refusing to let his listeners conclude that salvation depends on anything they can provide. The verse turns their attention away from human strength and toward God’s willingness and ability to save, which then leads into Peter’s remark about what the disciples have given up.
Key Phrases in Luke 18:27
Ephesians 2:8-9
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, that no one would boast.
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Paul explains in these verses that salvation comes through grace and faith, not through works that anyone could boast about. This fits closely with Luke 18:27, because it describes the very thing that is impossible for people to achieve by their own effort and that God freely gives.
Matthew 19:26
Looking at them, Jesus said, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
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Matthew records a parallel moment in which Jesus gives the same answer to his disciples after the rich young man leaves. Reading this passage alongside Luke 18:27 shows how central the truth of God’s power over human limitation was to Jesus’s teaching.
A Short Prayer From Luke 18:27
Lord, I confess that I often try to carry burdens that were never mine to lift alone. When I look at my own heart, my failures, and the situations I cannot change, I am reminded of how limited I am. Thank you that what is impossible for me is possible with you. Help me to stop measuring my hope by my own strength and to rest in your power to save and to renew. Teach me to trust you with what I cannot control, and to receive your grace with gratitude. Amen.
