Camel and an Eye of a Needle

In 101 Dalmatian, Rollie tells his mother, “I am so hungry I could eat a whole elephant” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TAZCatyybLc). It’s a hyperbole! In hyperbole, a person exaggerates a truth to make a point.

Jesus and the disciples had just watched a wealthy person go away sad because Jesus instructed him to sell his property and give the profit to the poor, which he didn’t want to do (Mark 10:17–22). In that context, Jesus gave an exaggerated speech:

“For a camel to enter through the eye of a needle is easier labor than for a rich person to enter God’s rule.” (10:25)

Some scholars think Jerusalem had a gate called the “Camel Gate,” and Jesus talked about merchants’ camels entering through that gate. None, however, discovered such a gate.

Most likely, this was an exaggerated speech, intending to teach the lesson they had just witnessed: the more wealth a person has, the more difficult it is to get rid of it. Think of this: we win $10 in a jackpot, and we believe in giving a tenth to the church. So, we put $1 in the offering bag the following Sunday. The next week, we win the latest American Powerball lottery for $2.3 Billion. Would we give away $200 million to your church? Wouldn’t $500,000 be a generous gift?

The more wealth we have, the more difficult it is to get rid of it – to give it to the people to receive a good name (10:17–22). In a way, poverty has its blessings.

When we lived in Chennai, India, we lived in a small house, less than 500 sq ft. It had two doors – a bedroom door and a house door. One day, we went to a restaurant with a couple from Myanmar. I locked both doors. The lady from Myanmar said, “I am so glad we are not rich like you. We don’t lock our door. There is nothing to steal.”

Jesus wanted the disciples to learn that riches had consequences. To understand the depth of Jesus’s statement, we need a little Greek. The man had much ktema, “property wealth,” that he was unwilling to sell and give to the poor (10:22). But Jesus said that those who have krema, “things that one uses,” i.e., “needs,” find it difficult to enter God’s rule (10:23). We’ve often heard preachers and teachers distinguish between “needs” and “wants.” Jesus said those with needs – bare necessities – (not wants) find it difficult to enter God’s rule. That was why the disciples were puzzled (v. 24 and v. 26). They, too, sat under teachers that said it was okay to seek bare necessities but not wants. Jesus, on the other hand, said that if we seek bare necessities, we will find it difficult to enter God’s rule.

That was why, finally, the disciple said, “Who can be saved?” (10:26b). The answer was rather simple: God saves. Giving away our wealth or necessity or keeping them does not save or lose our lives. God saves. But giving away our needs(krema) helps us enter God’s rule where he provides for our needs, and giving away our luxury (ktema) brings us eternal life, a good name, among the people.

I have found that the more I give away, the more the Lord gives me to give away. Let’s hold the needs and wants loosely.