Commonly Misused Bible Verses: Matthew 19:26

Posted on by July 14, 2015
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It is common to hear Christians claim that God can do anything, using Matthew 19:26 to support such a notion. But how can this be true, since the Bible also says that God cannot lie?

The goal of this series is to help the reader pay close attention to the biblical text. Rather than repeating what we’ve often heard, or skimming over details because we think we already know what it says, Christians need to know what the Bible actually says. Sadly, many do not know the Bible very well. So once again we find ourselves looking at a very popular verse that is frequently misused by Christians.

How many times have you been told that God can do anything? Is that accurate? Where does the Bible teach this?

Commonly Misused Bible Verse #7: Matthew 19:26

The Bible teaches that God is omnipotent, meaning that He is all-powerful. So that means He can do everything, right? Well, that’s what some people think. After all, how could we possibly deny the following words of Jesus?

But Jesus looked at them and said to them, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” (Matthew 19:26, NKJV)

Since “all things are possible” with God, then He must be able to do anything, right? But how can He do all things, if it is impossible for Him to lie (“in hope of eternal life which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began…” Titus 1:2, emphasis added; see also Hebrews 6:18)? So is this a contradiction? Absolutely not.

The problem is that we have not checked the context of Matthew 19:26. Jesus had just told His disciples that it would be easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than it would be for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. His disciples were amazed by this, and asked, “Who then can be saved?” (Matthew 19:23–25, NKJV).

So that is the backdrop for our verse. Jesus was talking about salvation when He said, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” And that’s true. Apart from God, no one can be saved. We cannot save ourselves because we are sinful, and we need Christ to save us.

But Jesus was not teaching that God can do everything. We know there are many things that God cannot do. He cannot cease to exist. He cannot sin. “He cannot deny Himself” (2 Timothy 2:13). Nor can He do the logically absurd. He cannot make a square circle or create an uncreated being (since any created being is, by definition, not uncreated).

The truth is that God can do all things that are consistent with His nature, and it is very important to understand this distinction. Too many Christians have fallen for the trap laid by skeptics and atheists. They will ask, “Do you believe God is all powerful?” The Christian says, “Yes.” Then they ask, “Do you believe God can do anything?” Once again, the well-meaning (but naive) Christian says, “Yes.” So the skeptic moves in for the kill by asking, “So can God make a rock so big that He cannot move it?” End of debate. The score: Skeptic – 1, Christian – 0.

But you see, it doesn’t have to be this way. The Christian loses as soon as He falls for the trap of agreeing that God can do anything. If believers would take the time to study their Bibles, they should know that there are many things that God cannot do, as we listed above. Making a rock so big that He cannot lift it is another example of the logically absurd. If Christians would learn to simply say, “No, God cannot do all things,” we would be a lot better off. Not only would it probably take the skeptic by surprise to hear the biblical answer (which they probably haven’t heard before), but it would give you an opportunity to share the truth with them.

There are two other aspects of this passage we need to discuss. Some pastors have claimed that “the eye of the needle” referred to by Jesus was a gate in Jerusalem in which the camel would have to be unloaded before ducking down to get through. This is false. There was no “Needle’s Eye” gate in Jerusalem at the time. Furthermore, Jesus compared this scenario to the “odds” of a rich man getting into heaven on his own. He said it was impossible for the rich man, but if the analogy was to a camel getting through a gate in Jerusalem with some difficulty, He should have said that it was difficult or somewhat inconvenient. Since a camel could get through the gate, Jesus clearly was not referring to such a thing.

Finally, Jesus was not merely singling out the rich in this passage. He had just finished speaking to a young rich man who had done a pretty good job in keeping the Old Testament law. However, when Jesus told him to sell everything and give to the poor, the man went away sad. Apparently, Jesus knew that the man would cling to his wealth, so it seems that His point was that the rich are often distracted because of their wealth. They don’t often think about their need for salvation, because their wealth affords them the ability to buy enough stuff or to be continually entertained, so that they do not stop to think about what is truly important.

But Jesus did not let the poor or the middle class off the hook. We are all guilty of sinning against the infinitely holy God, and without Christ, it is impossible for any of us to enter heaven. Praise God that He saves all who call upon the name of the Lord, both poor and rich.

Unanswered Questions: How Many of Each Clean Animal Went on the Ark?

Posted on by July 9, 2012
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Was Noah commanded to bring 7 of each clean animal or 14 of them? (artwork is a concept design from the Ark Encounter)

Welcome to my new blog series: Unanswered Questions. I am planning to address various issues in Scripture that I still have questions about, and I’m looking for insights others may have on the topic. If you have any of these types of questions, feel free to leave a comment explaining it, and maybe I’ll do an article on it at some point.

As an apologist and theologian, I like to have answers to any question about the Bible that someone may bring up. But sometimes I just have to say that I’m not really sure what the correct answer is. Perhaps the text is ambiguous, maybe it doesn’t actually address the question, maybe my failure to know the answer is due to my own ignorance, or perhaps it is something else. Please note: I have studied these issues to some degree, but for one reason or another, I have not reached a firm conclusion on these questions (but I would like to). So please be sure to read the entire post before leaving a comment.

Question #1: How many of each kind of clean animal did Noah take on the Ark?

When people think about the number of animals Noah brought on the Ark, they typically think that he brought two of each kind. After all, God told Noah that “two of every kind” of land animal would come to him (Genesis 6:20, NET). That settles it, right? Wrong.

In Genesis 7:2–3, the Bible provides some more information about certain kinds of animals. “You shall take with you seven each of every clean animal, a male and his female…also seven each of birds of the air, male and female….(NKJV)” So Noah had to bring seven of every kind of clean animal and seven of every kind of bird. That was easy, right? No, it isn’t that easy, at least not for the clean animals. We know he brought two of every kind of unclean animal.

Before explaining the dilemma here, let me quickly add that this isn’t a contradiction at all. In God’s original command, He did not say that only two of each kind would come to Noah. It is perfectly appropriate for God to clarify the original statement by giving Noah some extra information, so there’s no problem on this point.

The real difficulty is figuring out whether Noah was supposed to bring seven or fourteen of each kind of clean animal on the Ark. The Hebrew words translated as “seven each” in the NKJV literally state “seven seven.” Does this mean seven pairs, seven of each, or even seven times seven? Very few hold the third position so I will focus on the other two options.

I favor the idea that Noah brought fourteen of each kind of clean animal on the Ark. The Hebrew text literally states that he would bring “seven seven” and that it would be a male and his female. If there were just seven of each kind of clean animal, then each male would not have a mate.

Several translations reflect this position. For example, the ESV states, “Take with you seven pairs of all clean animals, the male and his mate, and a pair of the animals that are not clean, the male and his mate, and seven pairs of the birds…” (Genesis 7:2–3, ESV). The NRSV does the same. Also, the Hebrew text doesn’t use a similar formula for the unclean animals mentioned in verse two. That is, it doesn’t say that Noah should bring “two two” (a male and his female)—it just has “two.”

On the other hand, the idea that Noah brought seven of each kind of clean animal is reflected in the majority of English translations. I think the strongest argument for this position is that Noah offered sacrifices “of every clean animal and of every clean bird” to God after the Flood (Genesis 8:20, NKJV). So if he brought seven aboard, then he could have sacrificed one of each kind, leaving six (three pairs) of each clean animal and bird.

So which one is it? Did Noah bring seven or fourteen of each kind of clean animal and bird of the air? I’m really not sure, because the text seems a bit ambiguous here, and a good argument can be made for each position. But like I mentioned earlier, I favor the idea that he brought fourteen of each. This seems to be the point in the immediate context (“the male and his mate”).

Commentators are somewhat evenly divided on this one, and I’m definitely open to correction here and any other insights my readers may have. Ultimately, this isn’t really a big deal. There would have been plenty of room on the Ark for either number, and I’m sure the original Hebrew audience would know exactly what was meant. As someone who likes to know the answer, it’s just one of those things that I wish I knew for certain. So I welcome your insights on this. What say you?