And Jesus said to His disciples, “Truly I say to you, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”
Matthew 19:23-26
When the disciples heard this, they were very astonished and said, “Then who can be saved?” And looking at them Jesus said to them, “With people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
Jesus gave this astonishing message immediately following His encounter with the “rich young ruler” in Matthew 19:16-22. That young man seems to have done everything right. He had kept the law, followed the commandments all his life. Apparently, he had succeeded financially without compromising his faith or his values. But he still felt dissatisfied and insecure. He asked Jesus what else he could do to obtain eternal life.
The answer was for him to trade in his great wealth for a full-time relationship with Jesus. That was a trade that he was not willing to make. The story ends with “he went away grieving“. 😔
Side note: The Bible doesn’t record anything for us about the rest of that man’s life. Did he resign himself to the spiritual insecurity, and just enjoy his wealth? Did the insecurity eat at him, so that he couldn’t enjoy himself no matter how much he had? Did he change his mind later, and decide that following Jesus was worth giving up his financial security? What was he thinking and feeling as the events of Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection were playing out? Enquiring minds want to know!
The (Incorrect) Expectation
We are told that the disciples were astonished at the idea that a rich man would have trouble entering God’s kingdom. Popular thought at the time was that wealth was a sign of God’s favor, and poverty was a punishment for somehow offending Him. That is understandable: They had reason, in scriptures such as Deuteronomy 28 and Psalm 112.
(The scriptures mentioned above are balanced, however, against others that tell of God’s love and protection of the poor. These include the very next Psalm, 113, and other passages such as Psalm 72:12-14, 140:12; Zechariah 7:8-10; Jeremiah 5:28-29.)
The assumption that being rich is a good thing is still popular today. Our culture encourages us to measure success by the “lifestyles of the rich and famous”. Even when people complain that “the rich don’t pay their fair share” or denounce corporate greed, they still wish that they themselves were rich! 1
But Jesus says that being rich is a problem. Why?
The Real Problem
The issue was not with the amount of money the young ruler had. It was with his attachment to that money. The problem is not that the rich won’t be allowed in, because of their wealth. It is that their wealth can keep them from being willing to enter.
To enter the kingdom of God means to completely depend on Him, for everything, to hand over anything else that means “security” to me. It means to realize that I am NOT self-sufficient; I am helpless on my own. That admission of weakness is difficult for most people. It is especially difficult for those have standing in society. After all, if I can afford to buy anything I want, why should I depend on anyone else?
Money — and the status and security that come along with it — acquires a hold on us that is difficult to escape. It becomes a part of our identity, a foundation to how we deal with the world. To transfer the weight of our lives to a new foundation, to Jesus, feels devastating.
One way that I can tell the hold this has on me, personally, is by my reaction to the story of the “widow’s mite” in Mark 12:41-44. Jesus praised the woman for her donation to the temple treasury, even though it was only a couple of cents. Its value was that it was all she had to live on. Just thinking about that makes me queasy! She made the sacrifice that our young ruler was not willing to. I can’t say that I would be willing to go that far either. I’m glad it hasn’t been asked of me.
God’s kingdom demands priority over everything else. In fact, Jesus said that those who follow Him must be willing to give up even their families — even their own lives — if a choice is required (Luke 14:26). Many have done so, and continue to today. There are those disowned by their families for converting to Christianity. There are also those who are right now being imprisoned, tortured, and killed for the sake of Christ. To stay with the very best (Jesus), anything less than that may need to be sacrificed. And, just like life and family, a big bank account is hard to see as “less”.
The Solution
Jesus does not say, though, that the rich can never enter the kingdom. He says that it is very difficult for them, seemingly impossible…but that it is NOT impossible for God. He can give the faith and courage to transfer to the new foundation, if we are willing.
In a touching scene from The Chosen 2, Matthew does just that. Unlike the rich young ruler, Matthew instantly gives up his wealthy, privileged life and follows Jesus. He realizes what so many don’t, no matter how much money they do or don’t have: Jesus is worth far more.
The Choice
In His encounter with the rich young ruler, and in His camel-and-needle lesson, Jesus is teaching that we must make a choice. We can own things, but we can’t let them own us to the point that they keep us from what we really need. Will we depend on ourselves and our “stuff”? Or will we depend on Him?
No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.
Matthew 6:24
For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.
1 Timothy 6:10 (my emphasis)
Make sure that your character is free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, “I WILL NEVER DESERT YOU, NOR WILL I EVER FORSAKE YOU,” so that we confidently say,
Hebrews 13:5-6 (my emphasis)
“THE LORD IS MY HELPER, I WILL NOT BE AFRAID.
WHAT WILL MAN DO TO ME?”
Note: Another article on this site concerning how to handle money is “Tithes and Offerings“.
Footnotes and Scripture References
- Often, the complaints smack of envy and coveting as much as they do of righteous anger about any real wrong-doing by the wealthy.
- Based on Matthew 9:9, Mark 2:14, and Luke 5:27-28
