But Jesus said, “What is impossible with man is possible with God.”
Parallel translations
- WEB But he said, “The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.”
- KJV And he said, The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.
- NKJV But He said, “The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.”
- NASB But He said, “The things that are impossible with people are possible with God.”
- NLT He replied, “What is impossible for people is possible with God.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Jesus replies that what is impossible for people is possible with God. Salvation is God's work of grace, not human achievement.
Overview
Jesus affirms that no one, rich or poor, can save himself, yet God can do what people cannot. Salvation is a divine gift accomplished by God's power and grace. This is the heart of the gospel: God saves sinners who could never save themselves, ultimately through the work of Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Jer 32:17“Oh, Lord GOD! You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too difficult for You!
- Matt 19:26Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
- Luke 1:37For no word from God will ever fail.”
- Job 42:2“I know that You can do all things and that no plan of Yours can be thwarted.
- Gen 18:14Is anything too difficult for the LORD? At the appointed time I will return to you—in about a year—and Sarah will have a son.”
- Eph 1:19–20and the surpassing greatness of His power to us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of His mighty strength,
- Dan 4:35All the peoples of the earth are counted as nothing, and He does as He pleases with the army of heaven and the peoples of the earth. There is no one who can restrain His hand or say to Him, ‘What have You done?’”
- Eph 2:4–10But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy,
- Zech 8:6This is what the LORD of Hosts says: “If this is impossible in the eyes of the remnant of this people in these days, should it also be impossible in My eyes?” declares the LORD of Hosts.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Luke shows Jesus the Savior for all — outsiders, the poor, the nations — the one who, on the Emmaus road, opened all the Scriptures to show they were about himself.
How Luke 18:27 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.