This is a quotation of Jesus which is found in Matthew 19:24 (parallel passages in Mark 10:25; Luke 18:25). The camel was the largest animal that most of the people Jesus was speaking to would have known about. The eye of a needle is the tiny hole through which the thread goes.

The saying can be understood quite literally. It is as hard for a rich person to enter God’s kingdom as it would be for a camel to go through the tiny eye of a needle. In other words, it is almost impossible. There are at least three reasons why having money can make it difficult to be a Christian.

  1. Riches can make you feel that you can deal with any situation that may arise. They encourage a false independence. Jesus referred to this in Rev 3:17.
  2. Riches can take your attention away from God. Jesus said “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matt 6:21). You can be so focussed on maintaining what you have, that you neglect to pay attention to the things of God.
  3. Riches can make you selfish. It is a paradox that the more you have, the more you want. Rich people can fall into the trap of worrying about protecting their possessions, and to collect even more for security. Jesus mentioned this danger in a parable in Luke 12:16-19.

When the apostles heard this saying of Jesus, they were amazed because they mistakenly thought that riches were a sign of righteousness. They said “Who then can be saved?” (Matthew 19:25). Jesus replied “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible” (Matthew 19:26). So with God’s help, the rich can overcome the dangers of wealth and enter God’s kingdom. But it is much easier not to have the problem in the first place.

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12 Responses to What is the meaning of: “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God”?

  1. Chris Matthiesen says:

    The New English Translation’s (NET) study notes on Matthew 19:24 are helpful, especially concerning a popular misconception of Jesus’ referral to a gate called ‘the Needle’s Eye’ in Jerusalem.

    —–

    sn The eye of a needle refers to a sewing needle. (The gate in Jerusalem known as “The Needle’s Eye” was built during the middle ages and was not in existence in Jesus’ day.) Jesus was saying rhetorically that it is impossible for a rich person to enter God’s kingdom, unless God (v. 26) intervenes.

    Biblical Studies Press. (2006; 2006). The NET Bible First Edition; Bible. English. NET Bible.; The NET Bible. Biblical Studies Press.

  2. dan says:

    my current interpretation; the eye of the needle is the “size” of the way into the kingdom of heaven. Obviously in a physical sense neither a camel nor a man can go through the eye of a needle – so we can see that this is a spiritual reference.

    i believe that the camel refers to this… think of “rivers of living water flowing from belly” – do some research on that. there you have your camel.

    the rich young ruler? well, he didn’t want to exchange his earthly riches for heavenly riches cuz he had a lot of POSSESSIONS – notice it doesn’t even say money – he had a lot of POSSESSIONS.

    hope this helps those seeking the truth :]

    • Jon Morgan says:

      Physically, it is impossible. However, I don’t see that it means we need to make it into a spiritual reference. As said in the answer, all it shows is that it is impossible to enter the kingdom without God’s help (and, by implication, that riches can get in your way).

    • Deborah says:

      what I was looking for was the camel, because physically that is impossible but metaphorically thinking I love the thought of the camel being “rivers of living water flowing from the belly” absolutely! Thank you for this revelation!

  3. Dr. Bittner says:

    It means what it says. He told the rich man to “give up” his possessions. A camel to go through the tiny eye of a needle is impossible,likewise the rich.For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.A man’s heart will be upon what he treasures most. If his treasure is in heaven, heaven will have his heart.Paul warned Timothy about such men in 1 Timothy 6:5, 9-11. These men of “corrupt mind” supposed godliness was a means of gain and their desire for riches was a trap that brought them “into ruin and destruction” (v. 9). The pursuit of wealth is a dangerous path for Christians and one which God warns about: “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs” (v. 10). If riches were a reasonable goal for the godly, Jesus would have pursued it. But He did not, preferring instead to have no place to lay His head (Matthew 8:20) and teaching His disciples to do the same. It should also be remembered that the only disciple concerned with wealth was Judas.

  4. Anonymous says:

     

    This is a metaphor: 
    It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a
    rich person to buy his way into
    heaven.  Otherwise a Christian who
    happens to be rich would never get into heaven, no matter how faithful he/she
    is.  This makes no sense for a loving
    God.  Kings who bowed down to God would
    have no reason to bow down.  Besides;
    what is rich?  90% of Americans, Including Pastors, are rich compared to
    90% of 3rd world citizens.

    • Jonathan Morgan says:

      It is true that a camel going through the eye of the needle is impossible. However, I don’t see that it means we
      need to make it into a metaphor. As said in the answer, all
      it shows is that it is impossible to enter the kingdom without God’s
      help (and, by implication, that riches can get in your way).

      As for your comment about Americans being rich (and those in other “developed” countries) this is quite true.  What that means is not that we should dismiss Jesus’ message as inapplicable to us, but that we should think carefully whether our riches are affecting our ability to serve God.  Think about the message of 1 Corinthians 10:12.

    • The kingdom of HEAVEN IS WITHIN YOU, something a rich man being distracted by his possessions and status will likely never find or look for. It’s not sin & condemnation as religion would have you believe, it’s inadvertent cause & effect.

  5. Marc Ledesma says:

    the reason why this is true is that sometimes rich peoples forgot to communicate with god..
    and also they forgot that the reason that they are given wealth is to help others..

  6. enos says:

    does it a paradox statement ?

  7. RoryC says:

    The fact that a person is rich is an absolute indication that they’re not sufficiently devoted to God. If your neighbor is starving while you’ve got money in the bank doing nothing, or are spending your extra money on frivolous things, then you’re not doing enough. A sufficiently devoted Christian would maintain for themselves a modest, reasonably comfortable life, and would use any superfluous wealth they were able to generate to help the less fortunate achieve the same level of modest comfort. If you take and keep more than you need to be comfortable and content while your neighbors suffer without, then you don’t love your neighbor as you love yourself and you’re not sufficiently devoted to God. And, that’s the hard truth of Jesus’ message.

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