Matthew 19:24

‘And again I say to you, “It is easier for a camel to go through a needle's eye, than for a rich man to enter into the kingly rule of God.” '

Jesus then seeks to make the position even clearer by the use of a well known saying. “It is easier for a camel to go through a needle's eye, than for a rich man to enter into the kingly rule of God.” By this He is saying that it is not only hard, but will require a miracle (which is what He then goes on to point out). There is absolutely no reason for not taking the camel and the needle's eye literally. The camel was the largest animal known in Palestine, the needle's eye the smallest hole. The whole point of the illustration lies in the impossibility of it, and the vivid and amusing picture it presents is typical of the teaching of Jesus. Jesus no doubt had in mind the teaching of the Scribes and Pharisees, who considered that rich men were rich because they were pleasing to God (compare Psalms 112:3; Proverbs 10:22; Proverbs 22:4), and that through their riches they had even more opportunity to be pleasing to God (and mocked at any other suggestion - Luke 16:14). They taught that riches were a reward for righteousness. But Jesus sees this as so contradictory to reality that He pictures them as by this struggling to force a camel through the eye of a needle. In other words they are trying to bring together two things that are incompatible. So in His eyes their teaching was claiming to do the impossible, as the example of the rich young man demonstrated, it was seeking to make the rich godly. And the folly of this is revealed in the fact that it is ‘the deceitfulness of riches' which is one of the main things that chokes the word (Matthew 13:22). In this regard the Psalmists regularly spoke of those who put their trust in riches, and thereby did not need to rely on God (Psalms 49:6; Psalms 52:7; Psalms 62:10; Psalms 73:12; Proverbs 11:28; Proverbs 13:7). This was not to say that rich men could not be godly. It was simply to indicate that it was unusual.

‘The Kingly Rule of God.' It is difficult to see in context how this expression can be seen as differing in significance from ‘the Kingly Rule of Heaven' in Matthew 19:23, for both are indicating a similar situation. It may simply therefore have been changed for the sake of variety. But we must consider the fact that Matthew's purpose here might well be in order to emphasise the contrast between ‘man' and ‘God' in terms of the impossibility of entry. The camel cannot go through the eye of a needle, for the two exist in different spheres sizewise, how much less then can a RICH MAN enter into the sphere of GOD's Kingly Rule. The idea is to be seen as almost ludicrous.