And Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!”  And the disciples were amazed at his words.  But Jesus said to them again, “Children, how difficult it is to enter the kingdom of God!  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.”  -- Mark 10:23-25

While in Africa, one of the privileges I had was to lecture alongside a bona fide Biblical Scholar.  Dr. Craig Keener is a Seminary professor in New Testament studies and the author of fourteen books, including several commentaries on the New Testament.  His knowledge of the Bible was amazing and it was a blessing to listen as he lectured to all of us pastors.  His lecture series was on Biblical background, and he taught us many things about how important it is to understand the background of a Bible passage if we are to accurately ascertain it’s meaning.

One of the passages he mentioned was the one above, when Jesus says 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.  Sometimes there are false Biblical background teachings as well as good ones.  Someone once said that Jesus was talking here about a gate in the wall of Jerusalem called the “needle gate,”  and that in order to get through this small gate, a camel would have to release all of it’s burdens and get down on it’s knees.  Well you can imagine what a great sermon that would make!  There is only one problem: it isn’t true!  There was no such gate in the wall of Jerusalem until hundreds of years after Jesus walked on the earth.  In this particular case, when Jesus talks about a camel and the eye of a needle, he means: a camel and the eye of a needle.

The disciples were astonished at this teaching because it was the opposite of everything they had been taught.  They believed wealth was a gift from God, showered upon those whom He favored.  To have Jesus say that wealth could actually be a curse that kept men away from God was a shock to them.

One of the most important things I learned on my trip to Africa was that when Jesus is talking about a rich man, he’s talking about me.  And he’s talking about you.  What the average Kenyan has in terms of material possessions is nothing compared to the poorest person in our congregation.  You and I have a level of wealth that most of the world can only dream of.  Too often we think of wealthy people and we imagine Bill Gates.  Africa taught me with certainty that when Jesus is talking about wealthy people, he’s talking about me.  And Jesus’ warning about wealth is for me and for you.

When you have material possessions, you tend to fix your heart to this world.  The more stuff you have, the more easily it is to become attached to it.  When you have so much stuff that it would be hard for you to simply walk away from it all, you can see what a danger it can be in your priorities.  Most Africans have very little.  In material terms, Jesus was far more like them than He was like us.  “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head,” Jesus said.  His earthly possessions consisted of one cloak and one pair of sandals, and even these were taken from Him in the end -- He only had one crown of thorns to His name as He died.  But this was not a problem for Jesus.  He cared nothing for the things of this world because His heart’s desire was the next world.

I wish that were true of me.  When you and I acquire so many material things on this earth, it becomes harder and harder for us to keep our focus on the real world.  This world is passing away.  The real world is eternal.  Jesus calls it the Kingdom of Heaven and He invites us to be a part it of right now.  To do that, we must be willing to trade in everything this world has to give for the promise of the better one.  Can you do that?

Jesus is right … how difficult it is for we who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God.  Thankfully Jesus also said that while this was impossible for us, with God all things are possible.

Pray to your Father that He will help you release your grip on the things of this world so that you may strengthen your grip on His Kingdom.

I'll see you in Church.