Rich Men, Camels, and Needles

In Mark 10:25, Jesus says that "it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." I've often heard people use this scripture out of context as though it were literal, and it always bugged me until I read it today, but now I know for sure that they're wrong. Let's review what has just happened leading up to this verse. If you don't remember the story of the Rich Young Man, you can read it in Mark 10:17-31, but I'll give a brief review. There was a rich young man who came to Jesus and asked Him how inherit eternal life. Jesus tells Him to keep the commandments and lists a few of them. The man claims that he has always kept the commandments, and Jesus responds that he lacks one thing: he must sell everything that he owns, give it to the poor, and follow Him. The man became sad and left because he was rich and wasn't willing to give it up for God - then Jesus gives the analogy with the camel.

If we read between the lines, his problem was not that he was rich - it's that he held his wealth in higher esteem than God's kingdom and would not let it go to follow Jesus. Additionally, if we keep reading, Jesus makes this even more clear. The disciples fervently discuss this among themselves, as they typically did when Jesus said something they didn't understand, and asked him "Who then can be saved?" Jesus replied "With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God."

There you go. He just told them that it is possible for a rich man to enter His Kingdom because with God all things are possible. Consider also some of the rich men in the Old Testament who will be in God's Kingdom - David, Job, and Abraham were all very rich. The key difference is that these men had the right heart, as is evident in each of their stories. They would have given up everything that they had without a second thought to follow God, and this is how we must also be.