Camels and Needles (and a loose paraphrase!)



Matthew 19:16-26
16And behold, a man came up to him, saying, “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?”
17And he said to him, “Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments.”
18He said to him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, “You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness,
19Honor your father and mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
20The young man said to him, “All these I have kept. What do I still lack?”
21Jesus said to him, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.”
22When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.
23And Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly, I say to you, only with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven.
24Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.”
25When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?”
26But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

Here is a paraphrase of this passage (according to Carolyn – hey, you get what you pay for!)

A stranger, who clearly didn’t know Jesus came up to Him and insultingly asked a question. “Hey teacher, (I’m not going to call you “Lord” like everyone else, because I don’t believe in You). I’m here to justify myself, so tell me what I need to do in order to get into heaven.”

Jesus graciously replied back to the man, first commenting on why He was being asked this question since the man clearly didn’t believe in Him, “keep the commandments.”

Since the man was arrogant, he wanted to know “which ones.” Jesus cleanly recites the commandments and receives a deluded response of “So far, so good. I’ve kept all of those. What else do I need to do?” Clearly, he wanted to make sure he covered all of his bases. Since Jesus knew exactly what was going on in the man’s heart, He touches on the man’s true god – his wealth. When informed that this great wealth would have be go, the man is deeply saddened, for he is unwilling to part with this god.

Jesus, the consummate Rabbi, then uses this opportunity to teach His disciples about the struggle between wealth and faith. It’s tough to trust God when you have great wealth, for those riches make it seem like you’re in control of your life at all times. It in fact would be easier for a camel to get through the eye of a needle than a rich man to enter heaven. (Jesus is always great with an illustration.)

The belief that we can do anything to save ourselves is an illusion for neither wealth nor good works cannot save you. Jesus ends the teaching time with the truth that salvation is possible only with God. There is absolutely nothing we can do to bring about that salvation for ourselves – nothing. But – the Gospel is always clear. Jesus did provide the only path for our salvation and that is through His redeeming work on the cross. The task is completed and we rely on Him alone for our eternity.

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