But He said, “The things that are impossible with people are 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.
- BSB But Jesus said, “What is impossible with man is possible with God.”
- NKJV But He said, “The things which are impossible with men 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“Ah Lord Yahweh! Behold, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm; there is nothing too hard for you,
- Matt 19:26Looking at them, Jesus said, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
- Luke 1:37For nothing spoken by God is impossible.”
- Job 42:2“I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be restrained.
- Gen 18:14Is anything too hard for Yahweh? At the set time I will return to you, when the season comes round, and Sarah will have a son.”
- Eph 1:19–20and what is the exceeding greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to that working of the strength of his might
- Dan 4:35All the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing; and he does according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth; and no one can stop his hand, or ask him, What are you doing?
- Eph 2:4–10But God, being rich in mercy, for his great love with which he loved us,
- Zech 8:6Yahweh of Armies says: “If it is marvelous in the eyes of the remnant of this people in those days, should it also be marvelous in my eyes?” says Yahweh of Armies.
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.