Riches and Camels

Mark 10:17–31

¹⁷ And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” ¹⁸ And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. ¹⁹ You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’ ” ²⁰ And he said to him, “Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.” ²¹ And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” ²² Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. ²³ And Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!” ²⁴ And the disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said to them again, “Children, how difficult it is to enter the kingdom of God! ²⁵ 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.” ²⁶ And they were exceedingly astonished, and said to him, “Then who can be saved?” ²⁷ Jesus looked at them and said, “With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.” ²⁸ Peter began to say to him, “See, we have left everything and followed you.” ²⁹ Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, ³⁰ who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life. ³¹ But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”

“As He was setting out on His journey . . .” This is Jesus’ journey from His home to Jerusalem. This is the journey toward His death and resurrection. These are important steps He takes in His work as our Savior. As that journey commences, He is approached by a wealthy man, that Luke identifies as a synagogue ruler, and asked “what must I do to inherit eternal life.” As the man calls Jesus “Teacher” we assume his position within the Jewish community and someone who is working for his own eternity in heaven. But, the question asked belies his fear that perhaps he isn’t getting things quite right; or he is trying to justify his own approach to spirituality.

First, we must make note of the question. The man asks what he must do to “inherit”. Right there we run into a problem. Inheritors don’t do anything to be given their inheritance. It comes as a result of birth or the largess of those who have gone before you. So, we immediately know that this man is trying to earn his way into heaven. That’s never going to work. Jesus’, who can look into the man’s heart knows that his first love is his wealth and so taps that sore point. The man goes away sorrowful, for he cannot earn his way into heaven by keeping the law and he is apparently unwilling to serve God rather than his wealth. Jesus then uses this moment to teach the disciples about the trappings of great wealth for the human heart.

Jesus uses the example of a camel being able to pass through the eye of a needle to make the point with hyperbole. Those who have wealth will be inclined to worship that wealth by giving it utmost importance in their lives. Wealth also steals our dependence on God to take care of all our needs. When I hear these words, I always remember the irreverent words of Bart Simpson when he is asked to say the prayer before the meal. “Dear God, we bought this food and we made it. So thanks for nothing.” That is so indicative of a person who trusts in themselves and sadly mirrors the culture in so many ways.

It is important here to understand that having wealth (and I will leave the definition of what makes someone wealthy up to you) is not a sin. Our material blessings are just that – blessings from God. He gives us all things out of His abundant grace. But sin arises when we choose that wealth over God. Instead of seeing wealth as a tool put into our hands to serve others, we elevate that wealth into the place of deity. I think that happens slowly and subtly so that we are unaware of our sin until we are deeply immersed in it. Jesus ends this discourse with a warning to use what we have been given for those around us rather than giving it prominence in our lives.