Matthew 19:23 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven. And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. “Verily I say unto you, that a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven”: Either into the Gospel dispensation, and receive the truths, and submit to the ordinances of it, or into the kingdom of glory hereafter. Not that there have been, are, and will be, some that are rich, called by grace, brought into a Gospel church state, and are heirs of the kingdom of heaven, though these are but comparatively few. Nor is it riches themselves that make the entrance so difficult, and clog the way, either into grace or glory, but putting trust and confidence in them. That Christ explained of such, that trust in riches; and which rich men in common are very apt to do, as this young man did. “Camel … eye of a needle”: I.e., it is impossible. Jesus was underscoring the impossibility of anyone’s being saved by merit. Since wealth was deemed proof of God’s approval, and those who had it could give more alms, it was commonly thought that rich people were the most likely candidates for heaven. Jesus destroyed that notion, and along with it, the notion that anyone can merit enough divine favor to gain entrance into heaven. Jesus explained to His disciples that a rich man has a much harder decision to make to follow Him. All of them were familiar with the eye of the needle entrance in that part of the world. The opening was very low and the camel had to kneel down and go through it on his knees. Jesus was saying, a rich man has to humble himself, and get down on his knees to worship God to receive heaven. Rich people sometimes think too highly of themselves and are not humble enough to kneel to God. Poor people have already been humbled by their position in the community.
Posted on: Thu, 28 Nov 2013 11:57:36 +0000
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