May 2 - Jesus “Needles” His Disciples

Read today’s texts first: 1 Chronicles 16; Psalms 106; Matthew 19

MAXIMize YOUR DAY
 If we want to follow Jesus into eternity,
we must be willing to leave everything else behind.

One of the more controversial conversations of Jesus ended with this statement: 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 (19:24). The person on the other end of this discussion was a sincere young man who simply wanted to know how to receive eternal life. He had kept God’s commandments from his youth, but according to Jesus, he also needed to go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me (19:21). After that conversation killer, the young man walked away discouraged because he was very wealthy.

So what did Jesus mean by the camel comment? Some have taught that there was a short gate in the outer wall of Jerusalem called the “Needle’s Eye,” where camels needed to kneel and be unloaded before entering the city of God. While this story beautifully illustrates how we should approach God, it lacks historical support. More likely, Jesus, the Master Teacher, was using a common Jewish teaching technique called hyperbole - exaggeration to make a point. He used it often, like removing a plank from our eye (Mat. 7:3-5) or swallowing a camel (23:24).

The point He was making is the need to love God first, above everyone and everything else. The commands He talked about with the rich ruler covered those which relate to loving our neighbor as ourselves. But when Jesus asked the young man to sell his assets and give to the poor He was questioning whether he loved money more than God. The truth is, if we want to follow Jesus into eternity, we must be willing to leave everything else behind (19:29). That’s what it means to love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength (Mark 12:30). The money is not the barrier; it’s the love of money (1 Tim. 6:10). From our OT reading we can see that you can still be rich, as David clearly was, as long as you put God first, as David clearly did.

“Lord, I will seek You first today, setting aside the other things of life I tend to worry about. You reminded me today to seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself (Mat. 6:33,34).