Charles Ellicott Commentary Matthew 19:26

"And Jesus looking upon [them] said to them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible." — Matthew 19:26 (ASV)

Jesus beheld them — We can surely imagine something of the expression in that look. He had gazed in this way on the young ruler and perceived his inner weakness. Now, in the same way, He perceived the weakness of the disciples. We can believe that His look conveyed wonder, sorrow, tenderness, and anxiety. These feelings were expressed in the words that followed, which included direct teaching, symbolic promises, and a parable.

With men this is impossible — Although the words are general in form, we cannot help but feel they must have seemed to the disciples like a rebuke of their hasty judgment. This rebuke applied not only to the conditions of salvation in general but also to the specific case before them. He, the Teacher, would still hope against hope for the one in whom He had seen so much to love and admire. The wider teaching is, of course, that wealth, though it brings many temptations, can, through God’s grace, be used as a help and not a hindrance to the deliverance from evil implied in the word “salvation.”