Bible Study on Matthew 19, verses 23 to 30, the eye of a needle

 

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. 24  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. 25  When his disciples heard it, they were exceedingly amazed, saying, Who then can be saved? 26  But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible. 27  Then answered Peter and said unto him, Behold, we have forsaken all, and followed thee; what shall we have therefore? 28  And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 29  And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name’s sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life. 30  But many that are first shall be last; and the last shall be first.

 

Please note Jesus’ comment to the young, rich man in the previous passage. Jesus says here to His disciples that it is easier for a camel to pass through a needle’s eye than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. This has often been distorted in evangelical circles to refer to some kind of door in the gate of a city that a camel would have to get down on its knees to pass through, being unburdened of its load. Unfortunately, there is no proof that the first century Jews called any door a, “needle’s eye,” and this fantasy is based on a 15^th century, or maybe 9^th century, myth about this door.

 

The fact is that a camel cannot pass through the eye of a needle. It is an absurdity. Jesus makes a very important point here. While that is impossible, nothing is impossible with God. The lesson taught here is that wealthy people tend to rely on their wealth and not God. They are not likely to give up their comforts to follow Christ and will typically make excuses that they can have their wealth and be good Christians at the same time. What Jesus is saying here is that nothing can be more important than God or you cannot enter into God’s kingdom, which makes it of a much smaller population than we would normally think.

 

It is Peter then that makes the statement that unlike the young man in the last passage, a wealthy person, he and the disciples have left all to follow Jesus. Jesus’ final statement is that these disciples who have forsaken all they had in the world will receive abundant reward and have everlasting life to enjoy. This can only be referring to the people who were listening to Christ speak rather than to us as to apply this to the church would be a contradiction to the standards for our treatment of our families that the Holy Spirit has given us.

 

1Timothy 5:8  But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.

 

Certainly, then, this is not a warrant for a new Christian to abandon his or her responsibilities to their family and justify it by their new-found faith. Jesus is talking to a select few disciples who are to follow Him to see His death on the Cross and to witness the aftermath of His Resurrection from the Empty Tomb and even to suffer martyrdom themselves.

 

He tells Peter and the other Apostles that they will be judging the twelve tribes of Israel which gives us a hint as to who some of the following people are.

 

Revelation 4:4  And round about the throne were four and twenty seats: and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment; and they had on their heads crowns of gold.

 

What does it mean to inherit everlasting life? We are granted this inheritance by virtue of God making a gift of it to us as we trust and believe in the righteousness of Christ, His deity, and in His resurrection.

 

Those who are first in this world will typically be last in the world to come. The beggar who belongs to Christ is far better off than the rich man who has rejected Him.