{"id":376,"date":"2024-09-11T03:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-09-11T09:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\/gospeladventure\/?p=376&2024"},"modified":"2024-09-09T18:00:10","modified_gmt":"2024-09-10T00:00:10","slug":"god-camels-and-wealth-matthew-19-16-30","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\/gospeladventure\/god-camels-and-wealth-matthew-19-16-30\/","title":{"rendered":"God, Camels, and Wealth: Matthew 19:16-30"},"content":{"rendered":"
Focus Passage: Matthew 19:16-30 (NCV)<\/div>
\r\n

\u00a016<\/sup> A man came to Jesus and asked, \u201cTeacher, what good thing must I do to have life forever?\u201d<\/p>\r\n

\u00a017<\/sup> Jesus answered, \u201cWhy do you ask me about what is good? Only God is good. But if you want to have life forever, obey the commands.\u201d <\/p>\r\n

\u00a018<\/sup> The man asked, \u201cWhich commands?\u201d <\/p>\r\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Jesus answered, \u201d \u2018You must not murder anyone; you must not be guilty of adultery; you must not steal; you must not tell lies about your neighbor; 19<\/sup> honor your father and mother; and love your neighbor as you love yourself.\u2019\u00a0\u201d <\/p>\r\n

\u00a020<\/sup> The young man said, \u201cI have obeyed all these things. What else do I need to do?\u201d<\/p>\r\n

\u00a021<\/sup> Jesus answered, \u201cIf you want to be perfect, then go and sell your possessions and give the money to the poor. If you do this, you will have treasure in heaven. Then come and follow me.\u201d <\/p>\r\n

\u00a022<\/sup> But when the young man heard this, he left sorrowfully, because he was rich.<\/p>\r\n

\u00a023<\/sup> Then Jesus said to his followers, \u201cI tell you the truth, it will be hard for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven. 24<\/sup> Yes, I tell you that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.\u201d <\/p>\r\n

\u00a025<\/sup> When Jesus\u2019 followers heard this, they were very surprised and asked, \u201cThen who can be saved?\u201d<\/p>\r\n

\u00a026<\/sup> Jesus looked at them and said, \u201cFor people this is impossible, but for God all things are possible.\u201d <\/p>\r\n

\u00a027<\/sup> Peter said to Jesus, \u201cLook, we have left everything and followed you. So what will we have?\u201d<\/p>\r\n

\u00a028<\/sup> Jesus said to them, \u201cI tell you the truth, when the age to come has arrived, the Son of Man will sit on his great throne. All of you who followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 29<\/sup> And all those who have left houses, brothers, sisters, father, mother, children, or farms to follow me will get much more than they left, and they will have life forever. 30<\/sup> Many who are first now will be last in the future. And many who are last now will be first in the future.<\/p>\r\n

Read Matthew 19:16-30<\/a> in context and\/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!<\/p><\/div><\/div>\r\n

There is a proverbial \u201celephant in the room\u201d that faces us every time we read this passage, and up to this point, we have ignored it. However, in this passage\u2019s case, the \u201celephant\u201d is not an actual elephant, but a \u201ccamel\u201d.<\/p>\r\n

While teaching on the challenges those who are rich face, Jesus makes this startling statement in verse 24: \u201cI tell you that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.<\/strong>\u201d<\/p>\r\n

Regardless of whether Jesus was talking about a literal needle (something that is used in sewing), or a human sized opening in the wall of Jerusalem, the reaction to Jesus\u2019 words tells us what we need to know: \u201cWhen Jesus\u2019 followers heard this, they were very surprised and asked, \u2018Then who can be saved?\u2019<\/strong>\u201d (v. 25)<\/p>\r\n

This leads me to believe that the context for Jesus\u2019 words suggests the more impossible of the two options, but it is only impossible when looking from one perspective. Jesus quickly follows up with another profound statement in verse 26: \u201cFor people this is impossible, but for God all things are possible.<\/strong>\u201d<\/p>\r\n

These verses that surround this event say two big things: It is impossible for anyone (especially someone who is rich) to enter God\u2019s kingdom on their own, but God can make impossible things possible for those who place their trust in Him.<\/strong><\/p>\r\n

While the context of this event has wealth as a key theme, money is not the reason that makes salvation impossible for some while possible for others. Wealth brings with it a new level of temptation, and that temptation centers around trusting the money over trusting God. The more money one has, the more tempted they are to think their money or ingenuity is a safe place to lean. The temptation of wealth is to look to the wealth and not to God.<\/em> <\/p>\r\n

But God isn\u2019t willing to abandon those who are rich. He doesn\u2019t abandon anyone who is honestly seeking Him and wanting to place their trust in Him.<\/strong> In this event, Jesus points out that for many who are rich, the decision to follow Him is a much harder decision to make, because of the things we own.<\/p>\r\n

In our world today, everyone looks at wealth as a relative thing. Perhaps only a handful of people actually think they are \u201crich\u201d. In society, \u201crich\u201d is a moving target. We base wealth on what we own: someone who has 50% more than you is \u201crich\u201d, while someone who has 50% less than you is \u201cpoor\u201d. The fallacy here is that the poorest of people living in one country could be richer than 95% of those living in another. <\/p>\r\n

I honestly don\u2019t see God looking down and categorizing people based on wealth. Instead, I believe He is looking for those who are willing to trust Him with their lives. For this group, God makes a way for them to enter His Kingdom. Wealth isn\u2019t even an issue in God\u2019s eyes. What matters is where we place our focus.<\/strong><\/p>\r\n

This thought was inspired by studying the Walking With Jesus<\/strong> \u201cReflective Bible Study\u201d package. To discover insights like this in your own study time, click here<\/a> and give Reflective Bible Study a try today!<\/em><\/p>

Subscribe<\/a> to this blog and never miss an insight.<\/em><\/p><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"There is a proverbial \u201celephant in the room\u201d that faces us every time we read this passage, and up to this point, we have ignored it. However, in this passage\u2019s case, the \u201celephant\u201d is not an actual elephant, but a \u201ccamel\u201d. While teaching on the challenges those who are rich face, Jesus makes this startling […]","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-376","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-text"],"nelio_content":{"autoShareEndMode":"never","automationSources":{"useCustomSentences":false,"customSentences":[]},"efiAlt":"","efiUrl":"","followers":[2],"highlights":[],"isAutoShareEnabled":false,"networkImageIds":[],"permalinkQueryArgs":[],"series":[],"suggestedReferences":[]},"yoast_head":"\nGod, Camels, and Wealth: Matthew 19:16-30 - Reflective Bible Study Gospel Adventure<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\/gospeladventure\/god-camels-and-wealth-matthew-19-16-30\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"God, Camels, and Wealth: Matthew 19:16-30 - Reflective Bible Study Gospel Adventure\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"There is a proverbial \u201celephant in the room\u201d that faces us every time we read this passage, and up to this point, we have ignored it. 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