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Jesus said to his disciples, “Most certainly I say to you, a rich man will enter into the Kingdom of Heaven with difficulty. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through a needle’s eye, than for a rich man to enter into God’s Kingdom.”
When the disciples heard it, they were exceedingly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?”
Matthew 19:23-25 sits inside this longer paragraph.
Jesus said to him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have, and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” But when the young man heard the saying, he went away sad, for he was one who had great possessions. Jesus said to his disciples, “Most certainly I say to you, a rich man will enter into the Kingdom of Heaven with difficulty. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through a needle’s eye, than for a rich man to enter into God’s Kingdom.”
When the disciples heard it, they were exceedingly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?”
Jesus said to his disciples, “Most certainly I say to you, a rich man will enter into the Kingdom of Heaven with difficulty.
Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through a needle’s eye, than for a rich man to enter into God’s Kingdom.”
When the disciples heard it, they were exceedingly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?”
Then Iesus sayde vnto his disciples: Verely I saye vnto you: that is harde for a ryche man to enter into the kyngdome of heaven.
And moreover I saye vnto you: it is easier for a camell to go through the eye of a nedle then for a ryche man to enter into the kyngdome of God.
When his disciples hearde that they were excedingly amased sayinge: who then can be saved?
Then Iesus sayd vnto his disciples, Verely I say vnto you, that a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdome of heauen.
And againe I say vnto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, then for a rich man to enter into ye kingdome of God.
And whe his disciples heard it, they were exceedingly amased, saying, Who then can be saued?
Questions where the Bible appears to say two different things, with the passages on each side set together.
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv23–24 Rich men have need of a singular gift of…
Rich men have need of a singular gift of God, to escape out of the snares of Satan.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv23–25 23 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I…
23 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven.
Ver. 23. A rich man shall hardly enter] With that burden of thick clay, that camels bunch on his back. Heaven is a stately palace, with a narrow portal; there must he both stripping and straining ere one can get through this strait, gate. The greatest wealth is ordinarily tumoured up with the greatest swelth of rebellion against God
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" Ardua res haec est opibus non tradere mores;
Et cum tot Croeses viceris, esse Numam." Martial.
Vermis divitiarum est superbia, saith Augustine. Pride breeds in wealth as the worm doth in the apple, and he is a great rich man indeed, and greater than his riches, that doth not think himself great because he is rich. "Charge those that are rich, that they be not highminded" (for the devil will soon blow up such a blab in them, if they watch not), "and that they trust not in uncertain riches," 1Ti 6:17, so as to make their gold their God, as all worldlings do, and worse, for could we but rip up such men’s hearts, we should find written in them, "The God of this present world." They that mind earthly things have destruction for their end, Php 3:19. Have them we may, and use them too, but mind them we may not, nor love them, 1Jn 2:15; that is spiritual harlotry, such as God’s soul hateth, and he "smiteth his hands at," Eze 22:13.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv23, 25 Mark saith, Mar 10:23-25, And Jesus looked round about,…
Mark saith, Mar 10:23-25, And Jesus looked round about, and saith unto his disciples, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God! And the disciples were astonished at his words. But Jesus answereth again, and saith unto them, Children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God. 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. Luke saith, Luk 18:24,25, And when Jesus saw that he was sorrowful, he said, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God! For it is easier for a camel to go through a needle’s eye, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. Our Lord, seeing the young man that came to him so briskly, with such a zeal for his soul, and appearing warmth of desire to be instructed in the right way to heaven, and asking for a task to be set him; first, what good thing he should do in order to that end, then calling for more; when our Saviour had reckoned up some commandments to be observed, What lack I yet? saith he; go away quite damped and sorrowful when our Saviour said not to him, Give thy body to be burned; no, nor yet, Cut off a right hand or foot, or pluck out a right eye; only part with some of thy circumstances, Sell that thou hast and give to the poor; a thing he might have done, and have been a man still perfect, both as to his essential and integral parts: he hence takes occasion to discourse with his disciples the danger of riches, and the ill influence they have upon men’s souls, with relation to their eternal welfare. Luke and Mark say he spake it by way of question, How hardly? Matthew delivereth it as spoken positively,
A rich man shall hardly enter, & c. The sense is the same, only the interrogation seems to aggravate the difficulty, and to fortify, the affirmation, as much as to say, A rich man shall very hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven.
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The disciples were astonished at this, (saith Mark), which made our Saviour say it over again, with a little exposition, How hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God! Which exposition is so far from a correction or abatement of the severity of his former speech, that some judge it rather a confirmation of it, for he goes on with saying,
It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle. But why should this astonish the disciples, who had no reason upon this account to fear for themselves, who had forsaken all to follow Christ? Possibly, because it was so contrary to the common opinion of the world, who did not only, as in Malachi’s time, call the proud happy, but thought God had scarce any favour for any but the rich; in opposition to which Christ, Luk 6:20,24, blesseth the poor, and pronounces woes to the rich, as having received their consolation. As to the words themselves, the design of our Saviour in them was not to condemn riches, as in themselves damnable; nor yet to deny salvation to all rich persons: our Lord knew that Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Job, were all rich persons, and yet in heaven; so was David and Solomon, &c. He also knew that riches are the gifts of God, good things, not in themselves pernicious. His design was only to show that they are dangerous temptations, soliciting and enticing our hearts into so great a love of them, and affection to them, as is not consistent with our duty with reference to God; and giving the heart of man such advantages for the lusts of pride, covetousness, ambition, oppression, luxury, (some or other of which are predominant in all souls), that it is very hard for a rich man so far to deny himself, as to do what he must do if ever he will be saved. For those words in Mark, them that trust in riches, I take them rather to give the reason of the difficulty, than to be an abatement of what he had before said; for to trust in riches, is to place a happiness in them, to promise ourselves a security from them, so as to be careless of a further happiness, Psa 49:6; 52:7; 1Ti 6:17. That which makes it so hard for a rich man to be saved, is the difficulty of having riches and not placing our felicity in them, being secure because of them, and having our hearts cleave unto them, so as we cannot deny ourselves in them to obey any command of God; and the suffering them to be temptations to us to pride, luxury ambition, oppression, contempt and despising of others, covetousness, &c. Upon these accounts our Saviour goeth on and saith, 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. Which doubtless was a proverbial expression, in use then amongst the Jews, to signify a thing of great difficulty, by terms importing impossibility: or else the phrase may signify an impossibility without the extraordinary influence of Divine grace, as our Saviour seemeth to expound it in the next verses.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
William Burkitt 1703 · Public Domain On vv23–25 Our blessed Saviour takes occasion, from what had passed,…
Our blessed Saviour takes occasion, from what had passed, to discourse with his disciples concerning the danger of riches, and the difficulties that attend rich men in their way to salvation. A rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven.
Whence note, 1. That rich men do certainly meet with more difficulties in their way to heaven, than other men: it is difficult to withdraw their affections from riches, to place their supreme love upon God in the midst of their abundance. It is difficult to depend upon God in a rich condition. The poor committeth himself to God, but the rich man’s wealth is his strong tower. That yet the fault lies not in riches, but in rich men; who, by placing their trust and putting their confidence in riches, do render themselves incapable of the kingdom of God.
William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv23–25 Then said Jesus unto his disciples..... When the young…
Then said Jesus unto his disciples..... When the young man was gone; taking this opportunity to make some proper observations for the use and instruction of his disciples, after, as Mark observes, he had "looked round about"; with concern, and in order to affect their minds with this incident, and to raise their attention to what he was about to say:
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 but 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; and therefore in Mark, they "that have riches", are by Christ explained of such, that "trust in riches"; and which rich men in common are very apt to do, as this young man did, against which the apostle cautions,
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv24–25 It is easier for a camel to go through…
It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, (a proverbial expression, ) than for a rich man to go through the strait gate: that is, humanly speaking, it is an absolute impossibility. Rich man! tremble! feel this impossibility; else thou art lost forever!
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv23–25 Verse 23. A rich man shall hardly enter] That…
Verse 23. A rich man shall hardly enter] That is, into the spirit and privileges of the Gospel in this world, and through them into the kingdom of glory. Earthly riches are a great obstacle to salvation; because it is almost impossible to possess them, and not to set the heart upon them; and they who love the world have not the love of the Father in them. 1Jo 2:15. To be rich, therefore, is in general a great misfortune: but what rich man can be convinced of this? It is only God himself who, by a miracle of mercy, can do this. Christ himself affirms the difficulty of the salvation of a rich man, with an oath, verily; but who of the rich either hears or believes him!
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv23, 25 Mat 19:23-24. Then said Jesus unto his disciples —…
Mat 19:23-24. Then said Jesus unto his disciples — While they had this example before their eyes, and were witnesses of the melancholy fact of a well-educated and well-disposed man voluntarily foregoing all hope of eternal life rather than part with his temporal possessions; that is, relinquishing all prospect of the infinite and everlasting riches and glories of heaven, for the unsatisfying, uncertain, and transitory enjoyments of earth! Verily I say unto you — And enjoin you firmly to believe and seriously to consider what I say; that a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven — Either into the kingdom of grace or the kingdom of glory; or be brought to have such an esteem and love for the gospel, with its present and future blessings, as to embrace it at the hazard of losing their worldly property, together with their good name, thereby, or so as to use that property in such a manner as the laws of the gospel require. Our Lord therefore adds, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, &c. — A common proverb among the Jews to express the extreme difficulty of a thing. Theophylact observes, that some explain the word, καμηλον, as signifying here a cable. “A good authority, however, for this signification, though adopted by Castalio, who says, rudentem, I,” says Dr. Campbell, “have never seen. The frequency of the term among all sorts of writers, for denoting the beast so denominated, is undeniable. Besides, the camel being the largest animal they were acquainted with in Judea, its name was become proverbial for denoting any thing remarkably large, and a camel’s passing through a needle’s eye came, by consequence, as appears from some rabbinical writings, to express a thing absolutely impossible.” Our Lord, therefore, here represents the salvation of a rich man as being next to an impossibility. It was especially so in those early days, when the profession of the gospel exposed men to so much persecution. And perhaps, as Dr. Macknight observes, these strong expressions, in their strictest sense, must be understood of the state of things at that time subsisting; yet they are also applicable to rich men in all ages. The reason is, “Riches have a woful influence upon piety in two respects. 1st, In the acquisition; for, not to mention the many frauds and other sins that men commit to obtain riches, they occasion an endless variety of cares and anxieties, which draw the affections away from God. 2d, They are offensive to piety in the possession; because, if they are hoarded, they never fail to beget covetousness, which is the root of all evil; and if they are enjoyed they become strong temptations to luxury, drunkenness, lust, pride, and idleness.” But, besides these, riches are a dangerous snare in several other respects. 1st, It is difficult to possess them and not inordinately love them, and put that trust in them which ought to be put only in the living God. For rich men “obtaining all the necessaries and superfluities of life by means of their riches, are apt to consider them as the sources of their happiness, and to depend upon them as such, forgetting altogether their dependance on God. It is otherwise with the poor. They are exposed to manifold afflictions, and labour under the pressure of continual wants. These serve to convince them of the vanity of the world, and to put them in mind of their dependance upon God; at the same time, the unexpected deliverances and supplies which they meet with, rivet the idea more firmly. Wherefore, in the very nature of things, the poor are nearer to the kingdom of God than the rich; and if the latter, yielding to the temptations of their state, trust in their riches, words can scarce be invented strong enough to paint the difficulty of bringing them to that holy temper of mind which would qualify them for the kingdom of God.” 2d, It is not easy to possess riches and not think highly of ourselves on account of them, as they certainly give their possessors a consequence which they otherwise could not have, and cause them to be looked up to with respect by all that are round about them. But, 3d, The most difficult thing of all is, to possess them and make a right use of them, even that use which God wills all to make in whose hands he hath lodged them. In other words, To use them as those who are persuaded that, properly speaking, they are not proprietors, but merely stewards of them, and will certainly be called by the great Lord of all to give an account how they have employed every part of them, and what use they have made of the advantages and opportunities for doing and receiving good above others, which riches put in their power.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv24–25 It is easier for a camel,[5] &c. This might…
It is easier for a camel,[5] &c. This might be a common saying, to signify anything impossible, or very heard. Some by a camel, would have to be meant a cable, or ship-rope, but that is differently writ in Greek, and here is commonly understood a true camel. (Witham) --- But nothing is impossible to God.
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[BIBLIOGRAPHY]
Camelum, Greek: kamelun, which is observed to be different from Greek: kamilos, a cable, or ship-rope. See Mr. Legh, Critica Sacra.
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George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv23–25 § 105. — POSSIBILITY OF RICH MEN’S SALVATION, Mat_19:23-30.
§ 105. — POSSIBILITY OF RICH MEN’S SALVATION, Mat_19:23-30.
23. A rich man — Mark says, “that trusteth in his riches.” But this hardly alters it. How few rich that do not trust in riches! And how few poor who do not trust in riches they are not able to acquire!
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv23–25 23. hardly] i. e. with difficulty.
23. hardly] i. e. with difficulty.
23–26. Of Riches, and the Kingdom of God
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Mar_10:23-27. Luk_18:24-27.
These reflections follow naturally on the last incident.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv23–25 (23) Shall hardly enter.—The Greek adverb is somewhat stronger…
(23) Shall hardly enter.—The Greek adverb is somewhat stronger than the colloquial meaning of the English. Literally, shall not easily enter. The words imply not so much the mere difficulty as the painfulness of the process. Here, as elsewhere, the “kingdom of heaven” is not the state of happiness after death, but the spiritual life and the society of those in whom it is realised even upon earth. Into that kingdom those only can enter who become as little children, as in other things, so in their unconsciousness of the cares of wealth.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv23–25 Vers. 23-30. The dangers of riches and the blessings…
Vers. 23-30. The dangers of riches and the blessings of self-denied. (Mar_10:23-31 Luk_18:24-30)
Then said Jesus. He derives an important lesson from the sad result of the above incident. St Luke connects it with what had just preceded: "When Jesus saw that he the ruler was very sorrowful, he said." It was a strange and most emphatic assertion, quite alien from general opinion and sentiment. A rich man shall hardly (duskolwv , with difficulty) enter into the kingdom of heaven. Remembering that Christ had just invited the young ruler to range himself on his side and become his disciple, we see that the primary meaning of the term, "kingdom of heaven," here is the Christian Church, the society which Jesus came to establish. It was indeed difficult for a man wealthy, honoured, dignified, to strip himself of his riches and rank, and openly cast in his lot with the despised Jesus and his followers, voluntarily surrendering all that hitherto had made life beautiful and worth living. It is difficult for a rich man in any case to serve God acceptably, as Christ shows with reiterated emphasis.
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Vers. 23, 24. The rich man"s difficulty.
Jesus draws a lesson of sad warning from. the failure of the young ruler who could not bring himself to make the great sacrifice required as a condition of his obtaining eternal life. He points out the exceeding difficulty of a rich man"s entrance into the kingdom of heaven.
I THE EXPLANATION OF THE DIFFICULTY. It is wholly on the side of the man who is hindered and hampered by his wealth. God has opened the gate and invited all who will to enter. He is no respecter of persons. He does not favour the rich to the neglect of the poor; and he does not favour the poor and deal harshly with the rich. He is just and fair with all. But the rich man has hindrances in himself.
1. The absorbing interest of riches. The danger is that the wealthy man should be satisfied with his possessions; or, as that is impossible unless he is partially stupefied by them, that they should so fill his life that he should not have time or thought for better things. He may be buried under the load of his own goods, lost in the mazes of his forest of possessions.
2. The deceitful promise of riches. Jesus spoke of the deceitfulness of riches as one of the weeds that spring up and choke the Word. (Mat_13:22) if wealth does not yet satisfy, still it promises future satisfaction. The rich man comes to think he can buy all he wants, if only he can find the right market.
3. The foolish pride of riches. If ever a man has a right to be proud, it is on account of what he is, not because of what he has. The owner of millions may be a miserable coward, sensual sot, a senseless fool. Yet the disgraceful sycophancy of the world teaches him to regard himself as a superior person. Now, pride is the most effectual harrier to the entrance of the kingdom of heaven. Only the lowly and humble and childlike can creep through its humble doorway.
4. The hardening selfishness of riches. Wealth, though it gives the means of helping others, tends to seal up the fountains of generosity and destroy the springs of sympathy. The self-indulgent man cannot enter that kingdom, the citizens of which have to deny themselves and carry the cross.
II THE LESSONS OF THE DIFFICULTY.
1. The folly of covetousness. Why should we make haste to be rich, if riches may become a curse to us? If in any case they are likely to bring fresh difficulties, should we be so anxious to acquire them? How is it that so many Christian people are to be found eagerly pursuing the race for wealth?
2. The duty of contentment. We may never get riches. What of that if we have the kingdom of heaven, which is far better? Perhaps we are spared a dangerous temptation.
3. The need of sympathy with the difficulties of rich men. Jesus did not denounce the young man who made the great refusal. He loved him and pitied him. If rich men fail, we should remember that they were beset with temptations that do not fall to the lot of most of us.
4. Faith in the power of God. The rich man is gravely warned. He is in serious danger. He may fail miserably, crushed by the load of his own wealth. His salvation would be a miracle. But God can work miracles. Though it be as hard for a rich man to save himself as for a camel to pass like a thread through a needle"s eye, God can save him. Therefore
(1) the rich should have the gospel preached to them;
(2) we should pray for the rich;
(3) we should rejoice greatly that there are rich men in the kingdom of God. W.F.A.
Vers. 23-30. Possessions and life.
"Behold, one came" to Jesus (see ver. 16). Multitudes of poor persons had followed him from the beginning; at length "one" rich man came, and, sad to say, this one retired sorrowful and unsaved. So, turning to his disciples, the Lord said, "Verily I say unto you," etc. Learn
I THAT THE SALVATION OF A RICH MAN IS A SPECIAL MIRACLE OF MERCY.
1. That it is outside the ravage of ordinary probability is evinced in the case of the ruler.
(1) His circumstances were exceptionably favourable. Observe:
(a) The seriousness of his inquiry after eternal life.
(b) The respectfulness of his approach to Christ.
(c) The excellence of his moral character.
(d) The affection with which our Lord regarded him.
(e) The sorrowful struggle of spirit with which he departed.
(2) Yet for all this he was overcome by the influence of his "great possessions.
(3) The silence respecting him afterwards renders it probable that, in gaining the world, he lost his soul.
2. That it is outside the ravage of ordinary probability is declared by Christ.
(1) "It is hard," etc. (ver. 23). And this is emphasized by a "verily.
(2) The assertion is strengthened by what follows (ver. 24). "I incline to the opinion that at the time the Redeemer spake this parable, he was with his disciples in one of the public khans, there being no other resting place for them; and there, seeing the people mending their camel saddles, for which purpose they use a long needle like a straight packing needle, he pointed to them and said as it were, "These camels can as soon pass through the eye of those needles as a rich man can enter into the kingdom of God (Gadsby). Note: The way to heaven is fitly compared to a needle"s eye, which it is hard to hit; and a rich man to a camel a beast of burden. For he has his riches from others, spends them for others, leaves them to others, and is himself the carrier.
(3) What our Lord adds does not soften his earlier words (see ver. 26); for it makes the salvation of the rich an utmost effort of omnipotence.
3. The salvation of the rich is imperilled by the deceitfulness of riches.
(1) It is not riches themselves, but the sordid love of them, that our Lord condemns. (cf. Mar_10:24) So, in the bad sense, a man is rich in proportion to his attachment to worldly possessions. A rich man, according to this definition, cannot be saved.
(2) But those who have riches naturally love them and trust them. (cf. Mat_6:21Co Mat_3:5) They tend to increase pride, covetousness, and self-indulgence. They purchase flattery and exclude faithful reprovers. They prejudice the mind against the humbling truths and self-denying precepts of Christ. They increase the number and force of the obstacles which must be broken through. (cf. Psa_49:6, 7 52:7 1Ti_6:17)
(3) Yet how few see that to be rich is a misfortune! Even when Christ intimated this, his own disciples were "astonished exceedingly" (ver. 25); and he had to "look upon them," penetrating their feeling of astonishment and perplexity, to convince them that such feelings as theirs were the peril of the rich; for they were deceived into the notion that riches gave singular advantages towards salvation.
4. Still with God the salvation of the rich is possible.
(1) It needs more than human power to wean the heart of man from worldly things. No perfection of science can enable him to discern spiritual things; these are above the natural man. God alone can destroy the love of the world in us.
(2) Omnipotence is displayed in grace as well as in nature. God can effectually plead the cause of the rich in the presence of the poor, by pleading the cause of the poor in the presence of the rich (see ver. 21).
(3) The possibility is evinced in the examples of Nicodemus, Joseph of Arimathaea, Joanna the wife of Chuza, Herod"s steward, and many more. Man fails when he begins with himself; succeeds, when he begins with God.
II THAT FOR WHATEVER WE SACRIFICE IN THE SERVICE OF CHRIST WE SHALL BE WONDERFULLY REWARDED.
1. In this present life.
(1) Peter said, "Lo, we have left all, and followed thee." The disciples had but little; yet it was their all. (cf. Mar_12:43, 44)
(2) Peter speaks of their giving up all (ver. 27); Jesus speaks of their following him (ver. 28). "To obey is better than to sacrifice." Obedience includes sacrifice. "The philosopher forsakes all without following Christ; most Christians follow Christ without forsaking all; to do both is apostolic perfection" (Bengel).
(3) Christ did not estimate the attachment of his disciples to him by the quantity of things they relinquished, but from the mind and intention with which they relinquished them. "And every one that hath left houses," etc., viz. either by giving them up when they could not retain them with a clear conscience, or by refraining from acquiring them, for my Name"s sake". (ver. 29; see 2Co_8:12)
(4) The compensation then is "a hundredfold," viz. not in kind, but in spiritual blessings. Here is cent percent multiplied a hundred times. Such, even in this life, (see Mar_10:30) is the advantage of the spiritual value gained in this blessed exchange!
2. In the life to come.
(1) "The regeneration" commences in the millennium. That will be the great day of judgment, or reigning. It will be a theocracy, as in the times of the ancient judges. (cf. Isa_1:26) Irenaeus says that the reward of the hundredfold is to happen in the millennium. (cf. Isa_32:1 Dan_7:18, 27 Mat_26:29 Act_3:20, 21 Re 20)
(2) The Lord"s glorification is the pattern of human regeneration here; for those who follow him are morally risen with him and resemble him. Hereafter also, for we shall in our regeneration from the power of the grave be in the likeness of his resurrection. So the "redemption of the body" will be the "manifestation of the sons of God". (cf. Luk_20:36 Rom_8:23 1Jn_3:2)
(3) The "regeneration" which commences in the millennium will culminate in the "new heaven and earth" in which the "new creation," under the headship of the second Adam, will be finished. The reward of that glorious state is "life everlasting. J.A.M.
The hindering power of worldly possessions.
"He went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions." "A rich man shall hardly or, "with difficulty enter into the kingdom of heaven." The figure of the "camel and needle"s eye" is a proverbial one, and no precise facts answering to it need be sought for. There are other proverbs very similar. It strikingly expresses that which is almost impossible, but not quite impossible. This sentence is taken from the Koran: "The impious shall find the gates of heaven shut; nor shall he enter there till a camel shall pass through the eye of a needle." Our Lord teaches that the rich man may enter the kingdom, but he will surely find that his riches will stand in his way, and make it very hard work for him, as they made it hard work for this rich ruler. What is it in worldly possessions that makes them such hindering things?
I RICHES HAVE A SEPARATING INFLUENCE ON MEN. They tend to put men in classes; those having the riches claiming to be a superior class, and demanding special consideration and treatment. This tends to induce the idea that the way of salvation for rich people ought to be a special provision. The rich man does not care to be saved just as the poor man is. He finds the gospel too levelling. If he cannot have a way of his own, he will have no way. It is difficult for him to realize that God takes no count of riches; and whoever would come to him must come in at the one strait gate, which is big enough to take the man, but not big enough to take anything that he would carry in with him.
II RICHES HAVE A SATISFYING INFLUENCE ON MEN. They bring with them a sense of security. The rich man can have all he wants, and there will be no future, he thinks, in which he will have any needs that cannot be met. The poor have a basis for religion in their daily need and daily dependence, The rich have no basis for religion. It is their misery, that body, mind, and soul never have any wants. They have got the riches: what more can they want? This kind of feeling provides the gravest of hindrances to entrance into the kingdom.
III RICHES HAVE A HARDENING INFLUENCE ON MEN. This is most true, most strange, and most sad. It can be illustrated in eases we all know, of self-sacrificing generosity while persons were poor, which changed at once into selfish meanness when wealth came to them. It is that hardening which makes it so difficult for a rich man to enter the kingdom. R.T.
Vers. 23, 24. The rich man"s difficulty.
Jesus draws a lesson of sad warning from. the failure of the young ruler who could not bring himself to make the great sacrifice required as a condition of his obtaining eternal life. He points out the exceeding difficulty of a rich man"s entrance into the kingdom of heaven.
I THE EXPLANATION OF THE DIFFICULTY. It is wholly on the side of the man who is hindered and hampered by his wealth. God has opened the gate and invited all who will to enter. He is no respecter of persons. He does not favour the rich to the neglect of the poor; and he does not favour the poor and deal harshly with the rich. He is just and fair with all. But the rich man has hindrances in himself.
1. The absorbing interest of riches. The danger is that the wealthy man should be satisfied with his possessions; or, as that is impossible unless he is partially stupefied by them, that they should so fill his life that he should not have time or thought for better things. He may be buried under the load of his own goods, lost in the mazes of his forest of possessions.
2. The deceitful promise of riches. Jesus spoke of the deceitfulness of riches as one of the weeds that spring up and choke the Word. (Mat_13:22) if wealth does not yet satisfy, still it promises future satisfaction. The rich man comes to think he can buy all he wants, if only he can find the right market.
3. The foolish pride of riches. If ever a man has a right to be proud, it is on account of what he is, not because of what he has. The owner of millions may be a miserable coward, sensual sot, a senseless fool. Yet the disgraceful sycophancy of the world teaches him to regard himself as a superior person. Now, pride is the most effectual harrier to the entrance of the kingdom of heaven. Only the lowly and humble and childlike can creep through its humble doorway.
4. The hardening selfishness of riches. Wealth, though it gives the means of helping others, tends to seal up the fountains of generosity and destroy the springs of sympathy. The self-indulgent man cannot enter that kingdom, the citizens of which have to deny themselves and carry the cross.
II THE LESSONS OF THE DIFFICULTY.
1. The folly of covetousness. Why should we make haste to be rich, if riches may become a curse to us? If in any case they are likely to bring fresh difficulties, should we be so anxious to acquire them? How is it that so many Christian people are to be found eagerly pursuing the race for wealth?
2. The duty of contentment. We may never get riches. What of that if we have the kingdom of heaven, which is far better? Perhaps we are spared a dangerous temptation.
3. The need of sympathy with the difficulties of rich men. Jesus did not denounce the young man who made the great refusal. He loved him and pitied him. If rich men fail, we should remember that they were beset with temptations that do not fall to the lot of most of us.
4. Faith in the power of God. The rich man is gravely warned. He is in serious danger. He may fail miserably, crushed by the load of his own wealth. His salvation would be a miracle. But God can work miracles. Though it be as hard for a rich man to save himself as for a camel to pass like a thread through a needle"s eye, God can save him. Therefore
(1) the rich should have the gospel preached to them;
(2) we should pray for the rich;
(3) we should rejoice greatly that there are rich men in the kingdom of God. W.F.A.
Vers. 23-30. Possessions and life.
"Behold, one came" to Jesus (see ver. 16). Multitudes of poor persons had followed him from the beginning; at length "one" rich man came, and, sad to say, this one retired sorrowful and unsaved. So, turning to his disciples, the Lord said, "Verily I say unto you," etc. Learn
I THAT THE SALVATION OF A RICH MAN IS A SPECIAL MIRACLE OF MERCY.
1. That it is outside the ravage of ordinary probability is evinced in the case of the ruler.
(1) His circumstances were exceptionably favourable. Observe:
(a) The seriousness of his inquiry after eternal life.
(b) The respectfulness of his approach to Christ.
(c) The excellence of his moral character.
(d) The affection with which our Lord regarded him.
(e) The sorrowful struggle of spirit with which he departed.
(2) Yet for all this he was overcome by the influence of his "great possessions.
(3) The silence respecting him afterwards renders it probable that, in gaining the world, he lost his soul.
2. That it is outside the ravage of ordinary probability is declared by Christ.
(1) "It is hard," etc. (ver. 23). And this is emphasized by a "verily.
(2) The assertion is strengthened by what follows (ver. 24). "I incline to the opinion that at the time the Redeemer spake this parable, he was with his disciples in one of the public khans, there being no other resting place for them; and there, seeing the people mending their camel saddles, for which purpose they use a long needle like a straight packing needle, he pointed to them and said as it were, "These camels can as soon pass through the eye of those needles as a rich man can enter into the kingdom of God (Gadsby). Note: The way to heaven is fitly compared to a needle"s eye, which it is hard to hit; and a rich man to a camel a beast of burden. For he has his riches from others, spends them for others, leaves them to others, and is himself the carrier.
(3) What our Lord adds does not soften his earlier words (see ver. 26); for it makes the salvation of the rich an utmost effort of omnipotence.
3. The salvation of the rich is imperilled by the deceitfulness of riches.
(1) It is not riches themselves, but the sordid love of them, that our Lord condemns. (cf. Mar_10:24) So, in the bad sense, a man is rich in proportion to his attachment to worldly possessions. A rich man, according to this definition, cannot be saved.
(2) But those who have riches naturally love them and trust them. (cf. Mat_6:21Co Mat_3:5) They tend to increase pride, covetousness, and self-indulgence. They purchase flattery and exclude faithful reprovers. They prejudice the mind against the humbling truths and self-denying precepts of Christ. They increase the number and force of the obstacles which must be broken through. (cf. Psa_49:6, 7 52:7 1Ti_6:17)
(3) Yet how few see that to be rich is a misfortune! Even when Christ intimated this, his own disciples were "astonished exceedingly" (ver. 25); and he had to "look upon them," penetrating their feeling of astonishment and perplexity, to convince them that such feelings as theirs were the peril of the rich; for they were deceived into the notion that riches gave singular advantages towards salvation.
4. Still with God the salvation of the rich is possible.
(1) It needs more than human power to wean the heart of man from worldly things. No perfection of science can enable him to discern spiritual things; these are above the natural man. God alone can destroy the love of the world in us.
(2) Omnipotence is displayed in grace as well as in nature. God can effectually plead the cause of the rich in the presence of the poor, by pleading the cause of the poor in the presence of the rich (see ver. 21).
(3) The possibility is evinced in the examples of Nicodemus, Joseph of Arimathaea, Joanna the wife of Chuza, Herod"s steward, and many more. Man fails when he begins with himself; succeeds, when he begins with God.
II THAT FOR WHATEVER WE SACRIFICE IN THE SERVICE OF CHRIST WE SHALL BE WONDERFULLY REWARDED.
1. In this present life.
(1) Peter said, "Lo, we have left all, and followed thee." The disciples had but little; yet it was their all. (cf. Mar_12:43, 44)
(2) Peter speaks of their giving up all (ver. 27); Jesus speaks of their following him (ver. 28). "To obey is better than to sacrifice." Obedience includes sacrifice. "The philosopher forsakes all without following Christ; most Christians follow Christ without forsaking all; to do both is apostolic perfection" (Bengel).
(3) Christ did not estimate the attachment of his disciples to him by the quantity of things they relinquished, but from the mind and intention with which they relinquished them. "And every one that hath left houses," etc., viz. either by giving them up when they could not retain them with a clear conscience, or by refraining from acquiring them, for my Name"s sake" (ver. 29; see 2Co_8:12).
(4) The compensation then is "a hundredfold," viz. not in kind, but in spiritual blessings. Here is cent percent multiplied a hundred times. Such, even in this life, (see Mar_10:30) is the advantage of the spiritual value gained in this blessed exchange!
2. In the life to come.
(1) "The regeneration" commences in the millennium. That will be the great day of judgment, or reigning. It will be a theocracy, as in the times of the ancient judges. (cf. Isa_1:26) Irenaeus says that the reward of the hundredfold is to happen in the millennium. (cf. Isa_32:1 Dan_7:18, 27 Mat_26:29 Act_3:20, 21 Re 20)
(2) The Lord"s glorification is the pattern of human regeneration here; for those who follow him are morally risen with him and resemble him. Hereafter also, for we shall in our regeneration from the power of the grave be in the likeness of his resurrection. So the "redemption of the body" will be the "manifestation of the sons of God". (cf. Luk_20:36 Rom_8:23 1Jn_3:2)
(3) The "regeneration" which commences in the millennium will culminate in the "new heaven and earth" in which the "new creation," under the headship of the second Adam, will be finished. The reward of that glorious state is "life everlasting. J.A.M.
The hindering power of worldly possessions.
"He went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions." "A rich man shall hardly or, "with difficulty enter into the kingdom of heaven." The figure of the "camel and needle"s eye" is a proverbial one, and no precise facts answering to it need be sought for. There are other proverbs very similar. It strikingly expresses that which is almost impossible, but not quite impossible. This sentence is taken from the Koran: "The impious shall find the gates of heaven shut; nor shall he enter there till a camel shall pass through the eye of a needle." Our Lord teaches that the rich man may enter the kingdom, but he will surely find that his riches will stand in his way, and make it very hard work for him, as they made it hard work for this rich ruler. What is it in worldly possessions that makes them such hindering things?
I RICHES HAVE A SEPARATING INFLUENCE ON MEN. They tend to put men in classes; those having the riches claiming to be a superior class, and demanding special consideration and treatment. This tends to induce the idea that the way of salvation for rich people ought to be a special provision. The rich man does not care to be saved just as the poor man is. He finds the gospel too levelling. If he cannot have a way of his own, he will have no way. It is difficult for him to realize that God takes no count of riches; and whoever would come to him must come in at the one strait gate, which is big enough to take the man, but not big enough to take anything that he would carry in with him.
II RICHES HAVE A SATISFYING INFLUENCE ON MEN. They bring with them a sense of security. The rich man can have all he wants, and there will be no future, he thinks, in which he will have any needs that cannot be met. The poor have a basis for religion in their daily need and daily dependence, The rich have no basis for religion. It is their misery, that body, mind, and soul never have any wants. They have got the riches: what more can they want? This kind of feeling provides the gravest of hindrances to entrance into the kingdom.
III RICHES HAVE A HARDENING INFLUENCE ON MEN. This is most true, most strange, and most sad. It can be illustrated in eases we all know, of self-sacrificing generosity while persons were poor, which changed at once into selfish meanness when wealth came to them. It is that hardening which makes it so difficult for a rich man to enter the kingdom. R.T.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
John A. Broadus 1886 · Public Domain On v23 Mat 19:23 to Mat 20:16.
Mat 19:23 to Mat 20:16.
Hard For The Rich To Be Saved. Reward Of Sacrifices For Christ’s Sake
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This section, except the parable, is found also in Mar 10:23-31 Luk 18:24-30. In both it is immediately connected as here with the story of the young ruler. Luke tells us, ’And Jesus seeing him said’; Mark, ’Jesus looked round about, and said’ While the young man walked gloomily away, Jesus looked at him and at his disciples, and spoke to them the great lessons which follow. The section divides itself into Luk 18:23-26, Luk 18:27-30, and Mat 20:1-16.
I. Mat 19:23-26. Hard For The Rich To Be Saved
Mar 10:23-27 Luk 18:24-27. Verily I say unto you, calling special attention, see on "Mat 5:18". A rich man shall hardly enter. It is hard for a rich man (Rev. Ver.), was the rendering of Tyndale and followers. The Com. Ver. though more literal, would now suggest improbability rather than difficulty. The Jews inclined to think it much easier for a rich man than for a poor man. The former had in his very prosperity a proof of the divine favour; he was prima facie a good man, and might feel very hopeful about entering the kingdom. Our Lord had not long before this spoken a parable, (Luk 16:19) in which, contrary to what all Jews would have expected the beggar Lazarus went to Abraham’s bosom, and the rich man to torment. Much earlier (comp on Mat 5:3) he had shown that the kingdom of heaven belongs to the poor, if they have the corresponding poverty in spirit. Kingdom of heaven, see on "Mat 3:2". He was far from meaning, that all poor men will be saved, and all rich men lost; for Lazarus was carried to the bosom of Abraham, who in life was very rich, as were also Isaac and Jacob and Joseph, David and Solomon, Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea, and apparently the family of Bethany. On the perils of riches, compare Mat 13:22, 1Ti 6:9 f. The expression in Com. text of Mar 10:24, ’for them that trust in riches,’ must be omitted.[1] This strong statement our Lord now repeats (v. 34), in a hyperbolical form such as he so often employed to awaken attention and compel remembrance. (See on "Mat 5:39".) It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle. So also Mark and Luke. The camel was the largest beast familiar to the Jews, and the needle’s eye was the smallest opening in any familiar object. So the expression denotes an impossibility, and it was so understood by the disciples and so treated by Jesus just after. (Mat 19:26) A little later, (Mat 23:24) our Lord will again use the camel as the largest beast in another hyperbolical expression, "who strain out the gnat and swallow the cabin the Talmud, for an elephant to go through a needle’s eye is several times employed as an expression of impossibility, the Jews in foreign countries having now become familiar with an animal even larger than the camel. Our Lord may have been using a proverb (compare on Mat 7:3), but there is no proof that such a saying was current in his time. The (Sura VII, 88) borrows, as it often does, the saying of Jesus: "Those who say our signs are lies and are too big with pride for them, for these the doors of heaven shall not be open, and they shall not enter into Paradise until a camel shall pass into a needle’s eye." The notion that the word means a cable, found in Cyril on Luke, and in a scholium ascribed to Origen (Tisch.), and mentioned by Theophyl. and Euthym. as held by "some," was merely an attempt to soften the incongruity of the image; and the statement of the late lexicographer Suidas and a scholium on Aristophanes that kamelos is the animal, kamilos a thick cable, probably arose from that attempt. (Liddell and Scott.) The Memph., Latin, and Pesh. versions give camel. Origen understands the camel, and takes the phrase as a figure for the impossible; so Chrys. and followers. Jerome explains likewise, but adds that as Isaiah declares (Isa 60:6) that the camels of Midian and Ephah come to Jerusalem with gifts, and though curved and distorted they enter the gates of Jerusalem, so the rich can enter the narrow gate by laying aside their burden of sins and all their bodily deformity—which is only his loose allegorizing upon a point not brought into view by the Saviour. A gloss to Anselm (A. D. 1033-1109), given in Aquinas, says that "at Jerusalem there was a certain gate called the Needle’s Eye, through which a camel could not pass, save on its bended knees and after its burden had been taken off; and so the rich," etc. This is to all appearance a conjecture suggested by Jerome’s allegorizing remark. Lord Nugent many years ago (quoted in Morison, from Kitto) heard at Hebron a narrow entrance for foot-passengers, by the side of the larger gate, called "the eye of a needle." Fish (p. 165), speaking of the Jaffa gate at Jerusalem, says: "There is here a small gate in the large one, bearing the name Needle’s Eye. My dragoman informed me of this, and said it had always been so called. I afterwards inquired of a Christian Jew, for thirty years a resident in Jerusalem, who verified the statement, and farther said that any little gate like that, in a large one, in both Palestine and Egypt, was called a needle’s eye (a fact which I have since ascertained from other sources)." So far as this usage really exists, it probably arose from the saying in the New Testament, the Talmud and the Koran, together with Jerome’s allegorizing remark. It is perfectly evident that Jesus was understood, and meant to be understood, as stating an impossibility; and as to the incongruity of the image, it is no greater than that of Mat 23:24, and employed an animal as familiar to his hearers as the horse is to us.
[1] It is wanting in several of the earliest and best documents, and we readily account for its insertion as originally a marginal explanation of a difficulty, and by way of correspondence to the next verse, while we can see no reason why copyists should have struck it out.
Mat 19:25 f. The disciples were exceedingly amazed, for this was contrary to all the notions in which they were reared. Since everybody believed that a rich man was shown by his wealth to have God’s favour, and could secure further favour by his beneficence, and since Jesus has declared that it is practically impossible for a rich man to enter the Messianic kingdom, they very naturally asked, Who then can be saved? with emphasis on ’who’ and ’can.’ Their idea is that things being as the Master has stated (which is the meaning of the particle translated ’then’), nobody can be saved. And to this he assents. As a matter of human power, no one can be saved; but with God all things are possible, (compare Luk 1:37 Job 42:2 Gen 18:14) and the divine omnipotence may save even a rich man.
II. Mat 19:27-30. Jesus Promises Reward To Those That Have Left All For His Sake
Mar 10:28-31 Luk 18:28-30. Peter speaks for his companions as well as himself (see on "Mat 16:16"), and the answer is addressed to them all, ’you’ (Mat 19:28). Behold, we, the word ’we’ being expressed in the Greek, and thus emphatic; so also in Mark and Luke. Have forsaken all, as the rich young ruler had just refused to do. (Mat 19:22) And followed thee, compare on Mat 4:19 f. Luk 18:28 has (correct text) ’have left our own,’ i. e., property, while the young ruler would not leave his. Some had left their calling as fishermen, Matthew a public office, James and John their parents, Peter his home and family. What shall we have therefore? without any special emphasis on ’we.’ This clause is not given by Mark or Luke, being obviously implied in Peter’s foregoing statement. The apostle’s inquiry may be easily stigmatized as self-complacent or mercenary. But Jesus evidently did not so regard it. They had made real sacrifices, and were following him in worldly destitution with dismal worldly prospects, for they were now near Jerusalem, where he would be rejected and put to death. (Mat 16:21) The situation was very serious. Jesus solemnly promises great reward to the Twelve (Mat 19:28), and extends it to all who have left anything for his sake (Mat 19:29); and then guards against all selfish and jealous claims of superior reward in Luk 18:30, illustrated by the parable which follows.
Mat 19:28. He begins with a solemn assurance, as in Mat 19:23, Verily I say unto you, see on "Mat 5:18". This special promise to the Twelve is found only in Matthew, to whose Jewish readers it would be of special interest. In the regeneration. The Greek word here used (palingenesia) is found nowhere else in New Testament save Tit 3:5, where it denotes the spiritual new birth. Here it has a very different sense. Plutarch uses it for the appearance of souls in new bodies (Pythagorean doctrine of transmigration); M. Antoninus speaks, according to a Stoic conception, of "the periodical new-birth of the universe," viz., in spring; Philo, according to another Stoic conception, foretells a new-birth of the world out of fire; Cicero speaks of his "restoration to dignities and honours " as "this new birth of ours"; and a late Piatonist says, "Recollection is a new birth of knowledge." These uses will illustrate our passage, which has a kindred but profounder sense. When the Messianic reign is fully established, there will be a new-birth of all things, called also a "restoration of all things", (Act 3:21, Revelation Ver.) "new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness" (2Pe 3:13; compare Rev 21:1, Rev 21:5), and the deliverance of the whole creation from the bondage of corruption at the revealing of the sons of God in redeemed bodies. (Rom 8:18-23) The Peshitta here translates ’in the new world,’ or new age, period. (Compare on Mat 12:32.) Understood thus, ’in the regeneration’[1] is manifestly not connected with ’ye that have followed me,’ for it denotes not the beginning, but the consummation of the Messianic reign, when the Son of man (see on "Mat 8:20") shall sit in the throne of his glory , compare Mat 25:31; also Mat 7:22, Mat 16:27. All this high-wrought imagery of a universal restoration, a new birth, a new universe, must of course be interpreted as imagery, and must not be so understood as to exclude other facts of the future which are plainly revealed, as in Mat 25:46. Ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, is of course an image. It is idle to insist upon the exact number twelve, (compare Rev 21:12-14) and so to be troubled about the fact that while Matthias took the place of Judas, Paul made thirteen apostles. Judging the twelve tribes of Israel certainly does not mean that only Jews will be judged, or that one apostle will judge one tribe. The Oriental king, and the Roman emperor, was also a judge, and when he sat on his throne in public, it was usually for the purpose of hearing petitions or complaints and giving judgment, Such a monarch often had persons seated near him (called by the Romans "assessors"), to aid him in judging; compare Rev 4:4; "round about the throne were four and twenty thrones." To this position of dignity and honour will the Twelve be exalted at the consummation of the Messianic kingdom; compare 1Co 6:2, "the saints shall judge the world." Our Lord will use the same image again on the night before the crucifixion, Luk 22:30.
[1] On this term see Trench, Synonyms. It means not exactly a new birth, but a being born again, another birth. In 1Pe 1:3, 1Pe 1:23 the verb anagennao means ’to beget over again,’ not a second begetting or birth, but going back and repeating the first process. So in Joh 3:3, ’born anew,’ over again. There is of course no substantial difference between this image and that of Tit 3:5. Other terms describe the same spiritual process as a ’renewing,’ (1Co 4:16; Rom 12:2; Col 3:10; Tit 3:5; Eph 4:23.)
Mat 19:29. Not only the Twelve are to be rewarded, but every one that hath forsaken (left) anything for his sake; ’every one’ is in the Greek a very strong expression; every one whosoever. The enumeration is substantially the same in Mark and Luke. But Luke, while condensing some of the other expressions, has also ’or wife,’ and this, as so often happened in parallel passages, crept early into many copies of Matthew and Mark. Being omitted by fewer earlier copies of Matt. than of Mark, the Rev. Ver. here places it in the margin. Though not belonging to either Matthew or Mark, we know from Luke that the word was spoken.
The list of objects is not intended in any case to be complete; it mentions several principal things, and we understand that the same is true of anything else. Houses may have been mentioned first because some of the Twelve, as Simon Peter, had left homes; lands last, because real estate among the Jews was specially valuable property, not to be alienated, compare Act 4:34, Act 4:37. The most exactly similar case at the present time is seen in the foreign missionary, or in a converted heathen, who is cast out by his kindred, and finds compensation in the Christian affection and kind offices of the other converts, and in the joy of serving Christ, and hoping for eternal life. More remotely similar is the case of a worldly young person in a Christian land, who becomes converted, and forsakes worldly pleasures and companionships. Shall receive a hundredfold. It is doubtful whether we should read this as in Mark, or ’manifold’ (Rev. Ver., margin), as in Luke. The question is of no practical importance.[1] We might in reading Matt. think only of rewards after death. Mar 10:30 says, ’a hundredfold now in this time.... and in the world to come eternal life’; and such a distinction seems to be intended in Matt. also. Jesus speaks of earthly rewards first, but does not mean literally similar things to those left, but equivalent things—blessings temporal or spiritual, that will compensate many times over for all that was abandoned. The expressions cannot possibly be understood literally, because that would be promising in Mark a hundred mothers, and compare Luke.
[1] It has considerable scientific interest. The reading is certainly ’a hundredfold’ in Mark (no variation at all), probably ’manifold’ in Matthew., and quite possibly ’sevenfold’ in Luke, though this last is found only in the "Western" documents
Mat 19:30. But many that are first shall be last, etc. This enigmatical saying is given also by Mar 10:31. In Matthew our Lord proceeds to illustrate it by a parable, at the close of which (Mat 20:16) he repeats the saying. In the parable an employer pays, and asserts his right to pay, the same wages to labourers who began later in the day, as to those who began early. Then Jesus is here speaking of the rewards that will be given his followers, and declares that these will be given as a matter of sovereignty, without recognizing any claim to precedence. So the immediate application of the saying to the Twelve is probably to the order in which they became disciples. In their disputes as to which should have the highest place in the kingdom (compare on Mat 18:1), now shortly to be renewed, (Mat 20:20) some of the disciples might naturally urge that the highest places should be given to those who first followed the Master. So far as we know, these were John and Andrew, next Andrew’s brother Simon, and presently Philip and Nathanael. (Joh 1:35-51) Now Simon and Andrew, John and his brother James, were afterwards together called to leave other employments and follow Jesus, (Mat 4:18-22) are repeatedly mentioned together as being in his company, (Mar 1:39; Mar 13:3) and constitute the first four in every list of the Twelve (see on "Mat 10:2"). Peter, James, and John were alone with Jesus during that night upon the mountain, (Mat 17:1) of which they would give the others no account, (Mat 17:9) as they had been on a former interesting occasion. (Mar 5:37) And presently James and John will ask through their mother (Mat 20:20) for the two highest places. These facts make it not at all unnatural to suppose that the order of time entered into their disputes. Our Lord then means that he, or the Father, (Mat 20:23) will act as he shall think proper (Mat 20:15) in respect to precedence, and many who entered his service late will receive greater reward than others who entered earlier; he will recognize no claim on any such ground. A notable instance would be the Apostle Paul. But while immediately designed to check disputes as to this question of time, the principle is stated generally and may have other applications. It is presupposed throughout, as already involved in Mat 19:28 f., that Christ’s servants will be differently rewarded; we learn here that this reward will not be regulated by the mere outward conditions of the time spent in his service, or the results actually attained, but will be conferred according to his own judgment and sovereign pleasure. David, who meant to build, will be rewarded as truly, and it may be as richly, as Solomon who built; James who was early slain, as truly as his brother who lived so long. The often repeated view of some Fathers that the reference was to Jews and Gentiles, is quite untenable. The equal reward of some who die early is set forth by a somewhat similar illustration in Talmud Jerus., Berach., ch. II, 8 (Schwab), designed to give comfort in regard to the early death of a rabbi. A king hired many labourers, and seeing one who worked remarkably well, took him apart after two hours to walk with him to and fro. At even he paid this man as much as the others, and when they complained, he said, ’This man has done more in two hours than you in a whole day.’ In like manner the young rabbi knew the law better when he died at the age of twenty-eight than any other would have known it if he had lived to be a hundred. Thus the resemblance to our Lord’s illustration is only partial, and the point of application quite different, while in itself very pleasing.
Reward Of Sacrifices For Christ’s Sake, Continued
III. Mat 20:1-16. Parable Of The Labourers Who Received The Same Reward
Found in Matthew only. It is designed to illustrate the saying of Mat 19:30, which is repeated at the close, as the outcome of the illustration. (Mat 20:16) The terms of the parable itself are for the most part plain.
Mat 20:1-6. The kingdom of heaven, the Messianic reign (see on "Mat 3:2") is like, in some respects resembles, the following story (compare on Mat 13:24) Unto a man, that is a householder. As the story is told in the past tense throughout, the Amer. Revisers very naturally wish to insert ’that was’, rather than ’that is’, as in Mat 13:22, where the present tense follows. ’Householder’, or housemaster, is the same word as in Mat 10:25 (See on "Mat 10:25"); Mat 13:52, Mat 13:57, and below in Mat 21:21, Mat 21:33, Mat 21:24, Mat 21:43. He owns a house, and a vineyard. (Mat 20:8) A penny, denarius, about seventeen cents, see on Mat 18:28. This was the customary wages of a soldier or a labourer; Plin. XXXIII, 8; Tac., Ann. I, 17; Tob 5:14; Talmud. The third hour. The Jews divided the day, from Sunrise to sunset, into twelve parts. At the vernal and autumnal equinox these would be exactly as long as an hour with us, but at other seasons would be longer or shorter. The sixth hour would always be noon, the third and ninth would correspond loosely to our 9 A.M. and 3 P.M.; the eleventh hour loosely to an hour before sunset. In the market place, or public square, where people came together for business or conversation. Go ye also, ’ye’ being expressed in the Greek and thus emphatic. Whatsoever is right, no definite bargain as with the first set. In the supposed actual occurrence this might result from haste, or from the fact that they would now be glad to find employment at all, and would trust the employer’s justice without s definite arrangement. As to the illustration, this point prepares for the result, and the peculiar application. About the eleventh hour. Here ’hour’ is not expressed in the correct Greek text, but naturally suggested. Others standing idle. The word ’idle’ is here wanting in very many of the earliest and best documents, and was obviously drawn by copyists from Tob 5:3 and the end of Tob 5:6. Why stand ye here all the day idle? This is often used homiletically as representing persons who are slothful in neglecting to work in Christ’s vineyard. But such application is unwarranted, and alien to the tone of the parable. The reason given by these men is treated as valid, and they are paid for a full day’s work.
Mat 20:7. Go ye also, ’ye’ emphatic, as in Mat 20:4 [1] Obviously this employer of labour acts very peculiarly. (Compare Bruce.) It is not necessary to seek parallel cases, nor wise to propose his course as a model in ordinary business (as Ruskin does in "Unto this last," the title being drawn from Mat 20:12.) The thing is possible, and the story is meant as an illustration of God’s course, who is other and higher than man. (Isa 55:8 f.)
[1] The final clause in the common Greek text, ’and whatsoever is right that ye shall receive,’ is wanting in the earliest and best documents. We can easily account for its insertion from Mat 20:4, and cannot account for its omission if originally present; so there is no doubt that it is here spurious.
Mat 20:8-12. His steward, same word in Luk 8:3 Gal 4:2, is natural in the story of a great employer; what good is done by saying that the steward represents Christ? (Compare on Mat 13:3) Beginning from the last was a special direction given, in order that those hired earlier might see that all were paid alike.
Mat 20:11. Murmured, a strong word, more exactly, grumbled. The Greek word, the Latin murmur, and the English grumble, are all onomatopoetic. The tense is imperfect, describing the grumbling as in progress.
Mat 20:12. Have wrought but one hour. Spent is the meaning, rather than ’wrought’. The heat, the same word as in Luk 12:55 Jas 1:11. The Rev. Ver. renders ’scorching heat’ in this v. and Luke, and ’scorching wind’ in James and puts ’hot wind’ in the margin of Matthew and Luke. The word means ’burner’, and is applied sometimes to burning heat in general, but more frequently in Septuagint to the burning east wind. (See Grimm.) The order of the words, ’the burden of the day and the scorching heat’, (kauson), as well as the more frequent use in that sense, renders it likely that the hot wind is here intended. Mere heat is so common in Palestine that it would scarcely be worth remark: but the dry and scorching east wind is something terrible. Even in February (1871) this dry east wind, having come across the desert sands and lost all its moisture, in an hour so parched the mouth and nostrils as to make breathing painful and speech difficult. The position of the article in the Greek makes it impossible to render, ’the burden and heat of the day’ (as in Tyn. and followers.)
Mat 20:13-16. Friend, or ’comrade,’ a familiar and kindly term, as in Mat 11:16, Mat 22:12, Mat 26:50.
14. Take, take up, or ’take away.’ They had received the pay, but perhaps had laid it down again, or stood holding it in the hand, unwilling to go off with it. I will give. The Rev. Ver., It is my will to give, conveys the meaning well. The Greek is expressed in English by ’will to’ or ’wish to’, (Mat 15:32, Mat 16:24, Mat 19:17) according to the nature of the case; compare Mat 20:15, 1Ti 2:4, 2Pe 3:9.
Mat 20:15. Is it not lawful, permissible. (See on Mat 14:4) To do what I will with mine own? The Saviour here illustrates his sovereignty in the whole matter of rewarding his followers. Or, Is thine eye evil, here expresses jealousy and hate, (Mar 7:22 Deu 15:9 Pro 28:22) quite different from the meaning in Mat 6:23. ’Or’ is in the correct Greek text.
Mat 20:16. The latter clause of this verse in the common Greek text, for many be (are) called, but few chosen, is wanting in leading early documents, and evidently brought in from Mat 22:14, where there is no variation in the reading.[1] Our Lord here repeats the saying of Mat 19:30, which he introduced the parable to illustrate. It is very natural that it should be repeated in a general form, without the restrictive ’many’ of the first statement. Some able writers (Meyer, Weiss, others) urge that the parable and this statement teach that in the consummated Messianic kingdom all will have an equal reward. But this is inconsistent with the first statement, and with the distinct intimation of Mat 19:28 f. that there will be difference of reward. The general thought of the parable is that the assignment of individual rewards will be a matter of divine sovereignty, precisely as in Mat 20:23 Act 1:7. We have seen on Mat 19:30 that this had a special application for the disciples, but as a general principle may be variously applied. It is very true, as some commentators urge, and it may be properly recalled here, that God will reward men more according to aim and spirit than to time spent or results achieved: but the Saviour does not here say that, or distinctly imply it.
[1] It is wanting in à B, L, Z, 86, Thebaic, Memphitic, and a codex of the Æthiopic. We see at once how it could be inserted, and can see no sufficient reason for its omission if originally present.
Homiletical And Practical
Mat 20:23-26. Salvation of the rich. (1) It is hard, Mat 20:23. (a) Many peculiar sins connected with wealth, in procuring, loving, using, retaining it. (b) Men find it difficult to withdraw the heart from wealth, (Mat 6:21) and give it in supreme devotion to Christ (compare Mat 20:21 f.); and without this there can be no salvation. (2) It is not only hard, but impossible, Mat 20:24, Mat 20:26; yea, it is impossible for any man to be saved, through human wisdom, power, or goodness.
Mat 20:23. Euthym.: "If the rich man with difficulty, the covetous man not at all; for if he that does not give his own possessions is condemned, much more he that also grasps the possessions of others."
Mat 20:25. Who then can be saved? Henry: "Considering the many difficulties that are in the way of salvation, it is really strange that any are saved. ’When we think how good God is, it may seem a wonder that so few are his; but when we think how bad man is, it is more a wonder that so many are, and Christ will be eternally admired in them."
Mat 20:27. Forsaking all. The all may not be much, yet it is much to forsake all. Chrys.: "The forsaking was done for the sake of following, and the following was rendered easier by the forsaking."
Mat 19:27-30. Forsaking and receiving. (1) Christ’s servant must actually forsake many things, and be willing to forsake all things, for the sake of him and his work. (2) The negative forsaking must be accompanied by positive following. (3) He shall receive incomparably more than he has forsaken—both in time and in eternity. (4) The rewards received by different servants will be very different in degree, Mat 19:28. (5) But Christ himself must decide what each one’s reward shall be, Mat 19:30, compare Mat 20:1-16; we must make no claims and no complaints.
Mat 20:28. They who follow Jesus in this world shall reign with him in the better world.
Mat 20:29. Cyril: "He does not say that they shall have many fathers or mothers in place of one, or many fields in place of few, but that all the earthly things will be incomparably excelled by the heavenly, and the things that are saved will be more valuable than those that are lost."
Mat 20:1-16. The labourers in God’s vineyard and their reward. (1) Unlike many human employers, God cares as much for the good of the workers as for the amount of work done. (2) God’s service is not repose in a "Castle of Indolence," but hard work in a vineyard; self-denial and toil in promoting our own piety and that of others. (3) God will reward his workers richly—in this life (Mat 19:29, compare Mar 10:30), and in the life to come. (Mat 5:8 Mat 19:21, Mat 19:28) (4) He will give to none less than he had promised (Mat 20:13), but he will give to some much more than he had promised; he will give as a sovereign (Mat 20:15), and his workers must recognize that he does all things well. (Mat 20:16, compare Mat 19:30)
John A. Broadus, Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew (American Baptist Publication Society, 1886) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On vv23, 25 That a rich man shall hardly enter into the…
Mat_19:23-24
That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven:
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The hindrances and temptations of the rich
I.
Hindrances.
1. Riches tend to obscure faith; to make one trust in them, instead of in God.
2. They encourage their possessor to love the world, and to withhold his heart from God.
3. They exclude disinterested love and goodwill toward others.
4. They hinder humility. People dare not tell a rich man of his faults, so he seldom gets an opportunity of mending them.
5. They prevent meekness.
6. They make a man hard and unyielding, difficult to convince of what is true, unwilling to be persuaded, or to submit m any way to others.
II. Temptations.
1. To atheism. With riches a man seems dependent on no one. He thinks himself his own master.
2. To idolatry. From the worship of no God there is an easy transition to, the worship of false gods. He who loves not the Creator will certainly love the creature, e.g., the gratification of the outward senses. Not necessarily gluttony and drunkenness, destroying the body. A moderate sensuality, a regular kind of epicurism will be quite enough to keep the soul dead to God and all true religion.
3. To the gratification of the imagination-beautiful houses, elegant furniture, curious pictures, delightful gardens. Innocent in themselves, how do all these things draw off the mind from more serious pursuits!
4. To self-inflation.
5. Pride.
6. Salt-will.
7. Contempt of inferiors.
8. Fretfulness and peevishness. A gentleman of large fortune, while we were seriously conversing, ordered a servant to throw some coals on the fire. As he did so, a puff of smoke came out, on which the gentleman threw himself back in his chair and cried out, Oh, Mr. Wesley, these are the crosses which I meet with every day! I could not help asking, Pray, Sir John, are these the heaviest crosses you meet with! Surely these crosses would not have fretted him so much if he had had only fifty pounds a year, instead of five thousand. (John Wesley.)
Danger of riches
It is hard to carry a full cup with a steady hand. High places are dizzy places, and full many have fallen to their eternal rain through climbing aloft without having grace to look up. Trailing robes raise a dust, and gather upon themselves all sorts of filthiness, besides being subjected to needless wear and tear. A man may have so much of this world that he misses the next. His long robe may trip him up in the race for the heavenly prize, and he may fall a victim to the wealth he idolized. Alas, for the poor rich! Faring sumptuously every day, and yet full often strangers to that deep and peerless joy which belongs to those who, in the deep waters of poverty, find a boundless bliss in trusting God. When the rich are saved they should count it a miracle of grace, and feel great gratitude to Him who enables a camel to go through the eye of a needle, notwithstanding his hump. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Beware of growing covetous,
for of all sins this is one of the most insidious. It is like the silting up of a river. As the stream comes down from the land it brings with it sand and earth, and deposits all these at its mouth, so that by degrees, unless the conservators catch it carefully, it will block itself up, and leave no channel for ships of great burden. By daily deposit it imperceptibly creates a bar which is dangerous to navigation. Many a man when he begins to accumulate wealth commences at the same moment to ruin his soul; and the more he acquires, the more closely he blocks up his liberality, which is, so to speak, the very mouth of spiritual life. Instead of doing more for God, he does less; the more he saves, the more he wants; and the more he wants of this world, the less he cares for the world to come. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Salvation easier for humble rank
Pope Adrian VI. said that nothing befell him more unhappy in all his life than that he had been the head of the Church and monarch of the Christian commonwealth. Another pope said that when he first entered into orders he had some good hopes of his salvation; when he became a cardinal he doubted it; but since he was made pope he almost despaired of it.
Small threads best for the needles eye
Let rich men often ruminate this terrible text, and take heed. Let them untwist their cables, that is, their heart, by humiliation (Jam_1:10; Jam_5:1), till it be made like small threads, as it must be, before they can enter into the eye of a needle, that is, eternal life. (John Trapp.)
The tendency of wealth to produce moral insensibility
When we read history, whether it be the history of Dives in the parable, or of Shylock in the play, we see how hard wealth can make men-how it can contract their vision and dwarf their aspirations and extinguish their sympathies. Nay, when we read the lives of our fellow-men, as they are lived alongside of us, we see how wealth can benumb the conscience and brutalize the moral sense, so that a rich mans career shall remind you of nothing so much as those buccaneers of the Spanish main with whom might made right, and who knew no law but the law of triumphant audacity. When one notes these things and sees what a power there is in the possession of wealth to stimulate the instincts of cruelty and a petty revenge, and to extinguish those finer traits which make life sweet and sunny-above all, when one sees how riches rear a dome of brass over so many human lives, and ,hake heaven and Christ and the life to come as unlonged-for and unappreciated as would be a lock of a dead childs hair to a pawnbroker-then one can at least understand why Christ should pronounce the solemn words which are recorded here. (Bishop H. C. Potter.)
The difficulties in the way of salvation for a rich man are
I. That riches engross the affections.
II. Men consider wealth as the chief good, and when this is obtained think they have gained all.
III. They are proud of their wealth, and are unwilling to be numbered with the poor and despised followers of Jesus.
IV. Riches engross the time, fill the mind with cares and anxieties, and leave little for God.
V. They often produce luxury, dissipation, and vice.
VI. It is difficult to obtain wealth without sin, avarice, covetousness, fraud, and oppression (1Ti_6:9-10; 1Ti_6:17; Jam_5:1-5; Luk_12:16-21; Luk_16:19-31). All these may be overcome. God can give grace to do it. Though to men it may appear impossible, yet it is easy for God (verse 26). (A. Barnes, D. D.)
The pride of wealth
Heaven is a stately palace, with a narrow portal; there must be both stripping and straining ere one can get through this strait gate. The greatest wealth is ordinarily tumoured up with the greatest swelth of rebellion against God. Pride breeds in wealth as the worm doth in the apple, and he is a great rich man indeed and greater than his riches, that doth not think himself great because he is rich. Have them we may, and use them too; but mind them we may not, nor love them; that is spiritual harlotry, such as Gods soul hateth, and He smiteth His hands at. (John Trapp.)
Danger of riches
Though we may not be exposed to this danger, thinking of it may free us from envy. There is danger in-
I. The acquisition: fraud, etc., heart drawn away from God.
II. The possession: hoarded, they beget covetousness; enjoyed, lead to riot, etc., may be loved inordinately; trusted in, may lead to pride and contempt of the poor. Learn-
1. A difficult thing to get wealth rightly, and use it well.
2. An awful thing to die a rich man in a world of so much sorrow; give an account of stewardship.
3. Do not envy the rich.
4. Remember that the true and lasting riches may be easily got. (The Hive.)
The dangers of wealth
The danger of the possession of wealth being admitted, let us now examine a few of the causes of this danger.
1. There is a fascination in the ownership of money, for it represents much of this worlds power; there are few worldly things it cannot purchase. Besides, there is a satisfaction to the rich man in counting his money, in the quiet contemplation, the secret consciousness of the power which if he pleases he cam wield through it.
2. Money takes from man the feeling of dependence on God. Possessing it, he is apt to say to himself, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years-why then should he trouble about possible future wants, when his income is so far above his expenditure?-and hence his state of mind is entirely opposed to the spirit in which we are taught to pray, Give us this day our daily bread. The possession of wealth is therefore destructive of humility, of dependence upon God.
3. Riches incline a man in all ways to lean upon the world, which provides him with too much in which he delights, to make this world his home, thus hindering him from looking up; for we cannot live by faith and sight any more than we can serve two masters.
4. The possession of wealth tempts a man to be self-indulgent; to a needless display of magnificence in himself and his surroundings. Through the pleasures his wealth creates he soon gets entangled, and the daily cross of a disciple of Christ is altogether kept out of sight; the souls eye becomes darkened, the affairs of time seem to be the only reality, those of eternity a shadow, a dream about which the man who is happy need not trouble himself. But there are many who have the feeling that they are not rich, and cannot therefore be concerned in the danger which the possession of riches brings. This may be true in one sense, but then riches is a word having different meanings to different people. Again, many who have not money look upon its acquisition as the aim of life, and accept success in gaining it as the measure of happiness. Many suffer the danger of the rich, because their thoughts are all centred on becoming rich. Labour being the ordinance of God, we ought to be able to find in our work the path allotted to us by His will. We should love God, not self, the centre, the ultimate aim of our toil. But not one of us, left to himself, is capable of efficiently discharging the responsibilities entailed by the possession of wealth; we need to be sustained by God. (Canon Gregory.)
Wealth a hindrance on the heavenly way
When a man is to travel into a far country, a great burden at his back will but hinder him in his journey; one staff in his hand may comfortably support him, but a bundle of staves would trouble him. Thus a competency of these outward things may happily help us in the way to heaven, whereas abundance may be hurtful, and, like long garments to a man that walks on in the way, will trip up our heels too, if we look not well about us. (Sibbes.)
Riches a nest of evil
Thorns are the shelter for serpents, and riches the den of many sins. Riches is a warm nest where lust securely sits to hatch all her unclean brood. (Adams.)
Wealth hinders soul elevation
Our Saviour, indeed, doth not speak of an impossibility, but of the difficulty of it and the rareness of it. Job unfolded the riddle, and got trough the needles eye with three thousand camels. But it is hard to be wealthy and not wanton; too often are riches, like birdlime, hindering the soul in its flight towards heaven. (Swinnock.)
The world in the heart
A man in the very prime of life was lying on his death-bed. Paralysis had seized upon his body. It was creeping up, slowly and surely, to, his heart. His very hours were numbered. A faithful minister of God sat beside him, showing him the way of life. He was agonized in the effort to listen, to comprehend, but the old habit of years bound him so firmly that he could not fix his mind upon what his friend was saying. His life had been spent in the acquisition of wealth. Honestly, honourably it had been gained. There was no stain upon it, but yet it proved the millstone to drag him down. Why, why! he exclaimed in a voice of keenest anguish, at this awful moment, can I think of nothing but my bank stock?
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain On vv23–25 23. A rich man shall hardly enter into the…
23. A rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven. The Lord does not say that a rich man shall not enter, but that he shall enter with great difficulty. Mark says that when Christ uttered these words the disciples were astonished, and then Jesus explained by the words, “How hard it is for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God,” which shows the sense in which he spoke the words of this verse. A man may trust in riches who has $100, as well as one who has $100,000.
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain On vv23, 25 (See Scofield "Mat 3:2")
kingdom
(See Scofield "Mat 3:2")
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On v23 The lesson:
The lesson:
v. 23. Then said Jesus unto His disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven.
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v. 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.
v. 25. When His disciples heard it, they were exceedingly amazed, saying, Who then can be saved?
v. 26. But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.
The incident of the rich young man had made a deep impression also upon Jesus. As usual, He makes application of the lesson which He drew from the happening for His disciples. Solemnly He declares a profound, severe truth. So far as a rich man is concerned, with difficulty shall he enter into the kingdom of heaven. Wealth in itself is not a hindrance in the divine life, but its possession is attended with the greatest danger on account of the temptation of placing one’s trust in corruptible goods, Mar 10:24; 1Ti 6:9. Christ uses an Oriental figure to bring out strongly the truth which He wishes to impress upon His disciples. The picture of a camel passing through a needle’s eye was an Oriental proverb illustrating an extremely difficult feat. So is the case of those that place their trust in riches. To enter into the kingdom, it is necessary that a person renounce this world entirely.
The disciples had listened to the remarks of their Master with increasing consternation. This saying was a positive shock to them. Under such conditions the chance for salvation is slim indeed, since there is the love of something in this world in every man’s heart. But Jesus gave them a long look of kindly sympathy, of careful observation. His concluding words should sink deeply into their hearts. With men, with mere human beings, this is impossible; they cannot, by their reason and strength, tear their hearts away from the things of this world. But with God all things are possible, though they seem never so impossible to men. All things that are impossible according to the judgment of men, all things that are impossible according to the power of men: the working of salvation, the gaining of redemption, the obtaining of the glories of heaven, all these things have been made possible by God in and through Jesus Christ. And God has the power to convert and renew sinful men, to tear their hearts away from all earthly things and let them be wholly given to Him.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv23, 25 Connecting Statement:
Connecting Statement:
Jesus explains to his disciples the rewards of giving up material possessions and relationships to follow him.
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Truly I say to you
"I tell you the truth." This phrase adds emphasis to what Jesus says next.
to enter the kingdom of heaven
Here "kingdom of heaven" refers to God's rule as king. This phrase is found only in the book of Matthew. If possible, keep "heaven" in your translation. AT: "to accept our God in heaven as their king" or "to enter God's kingdom" (See: Metonymy)
it is easier ... kingdom of God
Jesus uses an exaggeration to illustrate how very difficult it is for rich people to enter the kingdom of God. (See: Hyperbole and Generalization)
the eye of a needle
the hole near one end of a needle, through which thread is passed
translationWords
Jesus
disciple
amen
kingdom of God
camel
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv23–24 19:23 Jesus draws a lesson for discipleship from the…
19:23 Jesus draws a lesson for discipleship from the rich man’s tragic denial. It is hard for the rich to humble themselves, admit their need, and trust in God (see 5:3; Luke 6:24; 1 Tim 6:9-10). • Kingdom of Heaven is equivalent here to eternal life (Matt 19:16-17, 29) or to salvation as the result of God’s regenerating work (19:25-26).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.