The Principle of “The Eye of the Needle”
Luke 18:18-30
* "How hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God! For 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." These are the words of Jesus as recorded for 3 of the 4 gospels and what I have termed the “Principle of the Eye of the Needle.” And for those of us who think this is a stunning statement, so did the disciples. In fact, they were so concerned at this statement, that scripture records they were astonished, amazed, utterly astonished, and even more amazed at the ‘demands’ of Christ.
* For the person who has spent time in God’s word, you know that these words were spoken in the aftermath of the encounter with the Rich Young Ruler. (Text call – ‘let’s get this story in front of us’ – Read)
* Every time I read this text I ponder a couple of questions, “What was it that tipped Jesus off to the truth that this rich man was not really interested in discovering God’s requirements for salvation & eternal life?”
a) Could it have been his Appearance? Do you think he walked up with every hair in place, the smell of expensive cologne, his beard extra neat, & his face laced with a hint of cream?
b) Could it have been his Attire? – Perhaps as he planned to come & see Jesus he carefully planned what he would or could wear to make Jesus aware of who ‘he was?’ After all, he was an up & coming young man who already possessed the trappings of success and wealth.
c) Could it be that this man came to Jesus with an attitude? – To read the text is glean the idea that this is a real possibility. Both Mark & Luke quote the man as beginning the conversation with “Good Teacher.” This could be a sign of respect or disrespect, of admiration or sarcasm.
* While we do not know exactly how Jesus knew, we need to understand that Jesus saw through the verbal games this young man was playing. And Jesus sees through the verbal games we play. We say or sing,
* “I Love you Lord”, while my love for Him is overshadowed by my love for my comfort, my convenience, and my desires.
* “I will serve you”, while our service has to take its place in my laundry list of other priorities.
* “I will tell others about you,” while the word of our mouth & the meditations of our heart are acceptable in OUR sight instead of His.
* “I will be faithful to you,” yet we will be more faithful to the things of this temporary world than to the eternal one who died for us.
* To look at this “Rich Young Ruler” is to discern the problem of today.
* We are the rich of this world. Here is a little perspective; over a billion people attempt to survive on less than $1 a day. They live & die in abject poverty. Beyond this, close to two billion people live on less than $2 a day. That is nearly half the population of the world struggling to find the necessities of life (Food, Water, & shelter). Today, over 26,000 children will die due to either starvation or preventable diseases. While these numbers may be too enormous to ‘fathom’, these are real people and their plight demonstrates how rich in earthly goods we are.
* As rich people we need to hear and receive the warnings of Jesus & God’s word about the difficulty of entering the Kingdom of God. Scripture makes it clear that many ‘who believe themselves to be saved are truly lost.’ I dare say this is never more true than with the wealthy.
1) The Corruption of the Rich – The Bible does not say that “money is the root of all evil” as some might think. Rather, Paul writes to Timothy to say, “The love of money is the root of ALL KINDS of evil, and by craving it, some have wandered away from the faith & pierced themselves with many pains.” The Greek word for root is like a sprout in the ground which grows into a huge bush, a shoot. When we fall in love with money, it takes over our lives like briers take over a pasture, bringing nothing but havoc. Hebrews also tells us that we should be ‘free from the love of money.’ While it is true that power corrupts, it is equally true that being wealthy creates the environment for corruption. Why?
a) Lean on their resource – When the Young man came to Jesus, it would seem that Jesus immediate saw through the façade of this young man & identified his problem. His problem was that his financial resources had become the god in his life. Jesus said, “Have you kept all the commandments?” Can you see the ruler’s face as he responded, “Yes, I have.” And yet, even in this response I can imagine the heart of our Lord being made sad. This man was not ready to admit his need but rather was expecting Jesus to say, “That’s great! Sign this card! Join the church! We need your money!” God needs neither this man’s money nor yours. He owns the cattle on a thousand hills. Those who love Him give to Him out of a heart of deep love, devotion, commitment, and obedience. Neither you nor I have enough to impress God. We may have a few resources on this earth, God IS the ultimate resource! The rich tend to believe God needs them.
b) Look for an easier way – There is no doubt in my mind that this Rich kid thought he had a leg up on being received by Jesus & getting his ticket punched for heaven. Yet, Jesus is not a train conductor.
* He did not die to punch your ticket, He died to forgive your sin and bring you into a right relationship with the Father. We must repent, we must believe, and we must receive Jesus & His offer of salvation. I would suggest to you that, because his status (rich), this young man may have thought Jesus would should him deference & respect.
* In Acts 8 we discover the equivalent of a modern day rich man living in Bible times. When Simon the sorcerer saw the power of God through the Holy Spirit, he tried to ‘buy’ the power & blessing of God with his ‘wealth.’ Peter did not give the politically or church answer, he busted the man, calling it like it was. (Read Romans 8:20-22) The wealthy tend to want to ‘buy’ their way into the Kingdom, it’s easier.
c) Live for self – The most sobering part of this story is that Jesus allowed this Rich Young Ruler to “WALK AWAY.” When Jesus said, “Go sell all you have and distribute it to the poor, and follow me” Jesus was pointing out to the man the depth of his sin & the breath of his selfishness. The man refused to turn all he had over to the Lord. Was it a sin to be rich? I don’t think so. It is true that earthly wealth is helpful for taking the gospel to the world. But it is equally true that wealth has a way of taking a good person, even a believer, and turning them into a selfish, self-centered, and self-serving person.
* There are many stories in scripture which point out the impact of wealth causing people to live for themselves. I am reminded of the Luke 12 story about the Rich Fool. It is preceded by a warning from our Lord (Luke 12:15) It is interesting that Jesus uses the word greed as He sets up this story (Luke 12:16-21). The person who lives for himself never has enough & hoards it.
* The other story in found in Acts 5. Ananias & Sapphira wanted to be recognized (like Barnabas was) & to be well thought of among the church, but they didn’t want to give all their money, they needed things. So they lied about their gifts. Their selfishness ended their life.
* An old mountaineer was on his deathbed. He called his wife to him. "Elvira," he said, "go to the fireplace and take out that loose stone under the mantle." She did as instructed, and behind that loose stone she found a shoe box crammed full of cash. "That’s all the money I’ve saved through the years," said the mountaineer. "When I go, I’m goin’ to take it with me. I want you to take that there box up to the attic and set it by the window. I’ll get it as I go by on my way to heaven."His wife followed his instructions. That night, the old mountaineer died. Several days after the funeral, his wife remembered the shoe box. She climbed up to the attic. There it was, still full of money, sitting by the window.
* "Oh," she thought, "I knew it. I knew I should have put it in the basement instead of the attic." As someone has said, "We can’t take it with us, but we can send it on ahead." According to God’s word, it’s tough for the rich to enter the Kingdom, but it’s not impossible. Nothing is impossible!
2) The Cure for the Rich – You can argue with me about the needed cure for the rich, but on this point, your argument is not with me, it’s with God! His word tells us the spiritual difficulty for the wealthy. Again, difficult, but not impossible through the power of God. 3 suggestions;
a) Admit the hold which wealth has – The very reason wealth is so likely to control speaks to our ‘fallen nature.’ Left to our own, we are in it for ourselves. Life becomes “all about me.” Inside the church we tend to teach & believe that “Jesus died for me.” While this is not inaccurate it is incomplete. When Jesus died to redeem mankind, it was for a reason of redeeming me for the purpose of making God known to this sin sick world. The idea that Jesus simply died for me makes ME the center of God’s universe. ME. That makes the object of Christianity ‘ME.’ So I am always on the lookout for what is best for ME. Our human reasoning takes that to the next level that “I” deserve the money, clothes, cars, houses, and all the other amenities. So ‘bang’- wealth takes hold of me because “I” cannot have without it. By the way, ask yourself- “What hold do my possessions have on me? Or better, “How do they keep me from serving & seeking God?”
b) Adhere to the words of Jesus – This is more about a choice we make than anything else. Jesus says, “Lay not up treasures on earth” because not only does our wealth have the potential to corrupt us, but it has the potential to become corrupt. There is a principle of human behavior, “the more we have the more we want.” Would you consider applying that to your spiritual life? Jesus says, “Where your treasures are, there your heart will be also.” Think about that truth & apply it. The principle is not where your heart is your treasure will be there, but it is reverse. Here’s the take away; “If we put our treasures on earth then our heart is here, however, if we put our treasures in the kingdom, then our heart follows our treasures. Jesus’ words are about ‘treasures not trinkets.’
c) Answer the call of Jesus – The call of Jesus is still the same today, “Come unto me, all who are burdened, & you will find rest for your soul.” We come to Him in salvation, in discipleship, in ministry, and in mission. When we come to Him, at His calling, we find all we need.
* We may not like the “Eye of the Needle” principle, but it is still true.
