Mark 10:25 NIV: “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”
The metaphor Jesus uses in this scripture is one of his more well-known illustrations, probably because of its shock value. Everyone knows a camel can’t shrink itself to the size of the narrow opening in a sewing needle.
Luckily, Jesus almost always teaches in parables and suggestive metaphors, but not literally. This phrase is uttered as part of a larger encounter, and to get the most out of the warning, it’s important to understand the context.
In all three gospels, there is this account of a rich young man running up to Jesus immediately after Jesus has blessed the children. He has just announced that the Kingdom of God belongs to children, and we must receive the Kingdom like kids to enter it. It’s right after this the rich young man runs up to say, “But what about me? How do I get in?”
Thus follows a little exchange I’ll paraphrase where Jesus says, “Follow the 10 commandments,” and the young man replies, “Yep, I do that!”. Probably feeling confident now, the scriptures move on to a key part of the encounter. Verse 21 says, “Jesus looked at him, loved him, and said…” The Greek word for “look” is not a passing glance but an intent gaze or discerning look. It’s when someone looks at you and sees into your inmost being.
When Jesus saw into this young man, he loved him! There was no judgment or frustration but love. At the same time, however, Jesus immediately saw something in this man’s life that prevented him from following Christ. For this particular man, it was money.
If we are willing to ask and let Jesus gaze into our souls, He will let us know what is keeping us from experiencing the Kingdom of God, and like this man, we will have a choice to listen and follow or refuse and go away sad. (“At this, the man’s face fell. He went away sad because he had great wealth Vs 22”).
For this particular man, wealth was his idol, and money was his God. While He had no issues obeying the religious rules, he was not willing to surrender his control of possessions. As the man left, Jesus told his disciples about the camel metaphor. It’s important to realize that the metaphor is less about wealth and more about surrender.
I created this piece by placing enlarged needle eyes as doors down the wall. I wanted to depict people trying to enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but their arms and backs are loaded with things that prevent them. The question for the viewer is, what is in your burlap sack? What are you unwilling to surrender and let go of that is keeping you from experiencing abundant life?
Just when we may feel overwhelmed with the thought of surrendering things like family, identity, security, control, etc, Jesus speaks encouragement as he did in this moment and reminds us, “With man this is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.”(vs27).
Then he goes a step further to say in verse 29, “No one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for My sake and for the gospel will fail to receive a hundredfold in the present age…” That sounds like a wonderful promise to hold on to!
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