The Needle’s Eye

How many times have you heard Christians say, “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter heaven.”

Mark 10:25 (NKJV)

²⁵ 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.”

Let’s take a moment to carefully examine what Jesus said. Let’s take time to learn the importance of reading the Bible more carefully. Let me ask you, is the following statement true?

The Bible teaches that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter heaven.” True or false?

There is a circumstance in which these words were said. However, we far too often fail to read the verses before and after a single favorite verse. Matthew 19:24, Mark 10:25, and Luke 18:25, record the words of Jesus in this way. “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.”

Note: Medieval pilgrims told stories of a side gate in Jerusalem, or Damascus, called “The Needle's Eye,” suggesting that the saying referred to a narrow gate through which a camel could pass only if it was unburdened or on its knees.

Take time to study the matter more deeply. Mark adds another aspect of the rich man which so many have overlooked. Just before Jesus spoke of the rich man and the needle, Jesus said, “How hard it is for those who trust in riches to enter the kingdom of heaven”

Mark 10:24(NKJV)

And the disciples were astonished at His words. But Jesus answered again and said to them, “Children, how hard it is for those who trust in riches to enter the kingdom of God!

The kind of rich man Jesus had in mind when He spoke of the eye of the needle was the rich man who trusts in his riches. It was not the possession of the riches which was the problem, it was the trust rich men foolishly place in their riches.

Think about it for just a moment. How rich was David? How rich was young Solomon? How rich was Job? Have you not known Christians who were rich, yet their riches did not destroy their spirituality?

We have failed to see specifically what Jesus was saying. The dangers of riches is that because man begins to trust in their riches more than in God.

There’s one other thing we need to see about rich men and the eye of a needle. The passage is not discussing entering heaven but entering the kingdom of heaven. What is that kingdom?

The Bible clearly shows that the kingdom of heaven is the church! Let me explain:

The Kingdom of Heaven (or God) and the Church are closely related but not identical. The Kingdom of Heaven is where God rules and reigns from, whereas the Church is the community of believers living under that rule on earth. The Church is the instrument or community of the Kingdom, but not the Kingdom itself.

The Kingdom is God's sovereign rule and authority. The Church is the assembly of people who submit to that rule. The Kingdom creates, gathers, and commissions the Church. The Church serves as an ambassador, witness, and agent for the Kingdom. The Kingdom is broader than the Church, encompassing all of creation, while the Church is the specific, visible manifestation of the Kingdom on earth.

The Church of Jesus Christ isn’t losing ground, we’re taking ground! Jesus declared in

Matthew 16:18 (NKJV)

 And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.

The Kingdom is already victorious. The only question is: Are you living like a child of the all-mighty King?

Jesus was not saying that rich men have problems entering into heaven, but they have problems entering into the church with in himself. Those who trust in riches rarely become Christians, but if they truly die to self in their repentance, they become tremendous assets to the cause of Christ. When they die to self, their riches no longer control them. They control their riches!

God Bless, Israel