Anything can lead us away from God—wealth for sure, but also drink, food, leisure, entertainment, or any number of the things of this world. Jesus said that just as a camel cannot go through the eye of a needle, so someone who loves the world more than God cannot enter heaven. What a loss—forfeiting eternal glory for earthly gain!
Enduring Truth // Focus: Matthew 19:23
Then Jesus said to His disciples, “Assuredly, I say to you that it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.”
When you read the entire story in of Jesus conversation with the rich, young ruler, you will notice that twice Jesus said how hard it is for the rich to enter the Kingdom of God…as hard as it would be for a camel to slip through the eye of a needle! Now that’s both intriguing, and because of our culturally accepted belief that money will make you happy, it more than a little intimidating!
Over the years, I’ve heard this explained by referring to a gate in ancient Jerusalem called the “Eye of the Needle”. This gate was designed so pedestrians could use it, but not marauding bandits on their camels. The only way a camel could get through this “Eye of the Needle” gate was to be unloaded and crawl through on its knees. The spiritual lesson is clear: The camel could go through the gate, but only after being stripped of its baggage—its wealth!
The only problem with this interpretation is that it’s not true! There is absolutely no archaeological or historical evidence for the existence of such a gate. That “interpretation” is simply a case of trying to make Christ’s words fit our own concept of what he meant. Jesus clearly says that it would be easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle. Can this be done? Of course not! That’s the whole point!
Yet people have tried in vain to make it happen. Some have suggested that there’s a misprint in the Greek. The Greek word kamelos, meaning “camel” should really be kamilos, meaning “cable” or “rope”. Others suggest this was an Aramaic play on words, since kamelos and the Aramaic kalma, which means “vermin” or “louse”, are so similar. Okay, try threading a rope through a needle. Try nudging a gnat through the eye of a needle. It’s still impossible…even with WD40!
All this theological maneuvering is ridiculous—and unnecessary. Jesus was using hyperbole, just like in Matthew 7 when he speaks of the “plank” being in your eye while trying to remove the “splinter” in a brother’s eye. No serious theologian would claim that Jesus really meant a toothpick, not a 2×4. Everyone understands that this was exaggeration for effect. In Babylon, where portions of the Jewish Talmud were written, since the elephant was the largest animal, it was substituted for “camel” to make this kind of point.
So this hyperbole in Matthew 19 is easily explained: A camel was Israel’s largest animal, and contrasted with the smallness of a needle’s eye shows the impossibility of squeezing the former through the latter.
Why such great efforts to make palatable what Christ “really meant”? Is it because we secretly — or even openly—desire wealth and don’t want biblical restrictions getting in the way of what we want? Just in case we inherit big bucks from Uncle Jeb when he croaks, or make a ton of dough in business, we don’t want any spiritual stigma attached to our money!
Now if this conversation bothers you a little, you’re in good company because it bothered the disciples, too. They were so shaken they asked, “Who then can be saved?” They were unnerved because popular Jewish thought had it that wealth and prosperity were a sign of God’s blessing.
Here’s the deal: Wealth itself isn’t the problem. It’s our attitude toward it…our over-dependence on it! This is really a very simple thing Jesus is saying: Through your own efforts, you cannot be saved. The wealthy cannot be saved through money—nor can one be saved by skills, talents, intellect, good looks—or even by living a good life!
Wealth is not the overriding issue here. As you can see, it would be just as dangerous for an underprivileged person to think that his poverty gave him spiritual piety and eternal favor.
In truth, anything can lead us from the path of righteousness: Not only wealth, but drink, food, television, leisure, entertainment, or any number of things available to us in this world.
In 2 Timothy 4:10, Paul writes, “Demas has forsaken me, having loved this present world.” What caused this close friend and ministry companion, Demas, to leave Paul and walk away from Christ? He loved the world; the particulars aren’t divulged.
Whatever it was, the simple fact is that a camel cannot go through the eye of a needle, and someone who loves the world more than God, whether rich or poor, forfeits the approval of God.
1 John 2:15-17 says, “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world–the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does–comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.”
The point is that we do not achieve salvation through our own efforts, nor can we gain lasting security and satisfaction by worldly means; it is from God alone.
So the real issue Jesus is addressing—back then and right now—is about priorities, not possessions. He isn’t teaching that wealth is wrong…it’s not money that’s evil…it’s the love of money that’s at the root of all kinds of evil.
Jesus’ real concern is this: What possesses us—not what we possess.
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