Who then can be saved?

 

 Then Jesus said to His disciples, "Assuredly, I say to you that it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.  And again I say to you, 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."  When His disciples heard it, they were greatly astonished, saying, "Who then can be saved?"  But Jesus looked at the and said to them, "With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."  Then Peter answered and said to Him, "See, we have left all and followed You.  Therefore what shall we have?"  So Jesus said to them, "Assuredly I say to you, that in the regeneration, when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.  And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My name's sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life.  But many who are first will be last, and the last first."

 

- Matthew 19:23-30 

 

Yesterday we read that little children were brought to Jesus that He might put His hands on them and pray, but the disciples rebuked them.  But Jesus said, "Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven."  And He laid His hands on them and departed from there.  Now behold, one came and said to Him, "Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?"  So He said to him, "Why do you call Me good?  No one is good but One, that is, God.  But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments."  He said to Him, "Which ones?"  Jesus said, "'You shall not murder,' 'You shall not commit adultery,' 'You shall not steal,' 'You shall not bear false witness,' 'Honor your father and your mother,' and, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'"  The young man said to Him, "All these things I have kept from my youth.  What do I still lack?"  Jesus said to him, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me."  But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

 

Then Jesus said to His disciples, "Assuredly, I say to you that it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.  And again I say to you, 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."  When His disciples heard it, they were greatly astonished, saying, "Who then can be saved?"  But Jesus looked at the and said to them, "With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."  There have been various interpretations of Christ's image of a camel going through the eye of a needle suggested throughout the history of the Church.  For example, that the word was not camel, but actually "rope" (it sounds similar in Aramaic); or that the eye of a needle was the name of a city gate through which a camel could barely squeeze if it were first unloaded of all of its baggage, which symbolizes wealth.  In the Talmud there is also the expression "for an elephant to go through the eye of a needle."  My study Bible explains that whatever the phrase refers to, it displays the impossibility of salvation for those who are attached to riches.  This is evidenced by the disciples' response, "Who then can be saved?"  But with God's grace, even what is impossible to human beings can come to pass.

Then Peter answered and said to Him, "See, we have left all and followed You.  Therefore what shall we have?"  So Jesus said to them, "Assuredly I say to you, that in the regeneration, when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel."  My study Bible refers to commentary by St. Ambrose of Milan, writing about a similar passage in Luke 22:30.  He wrote, "Christ judges by discerning the heart, and not by examining deeds.  So also the apostles are being shaped to exercise spiritual judgment concerning faith, and in rebuking error with virtue."  The apostles will judge not with earthly judgment, but by the witness of their own lives.  Since God's kingdom begins with the Resurrection of Christ, my study Bible adds, the authority of judgment has already been given to the apostles and their successors in the journey of the Church on earth (see also Matthew 16:19, John 20:23).  

"And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My name's sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life.  But many who are first will be last, and the last first."  My study Bible comments here that Christ is not commanding believers to divorce spouses and abandon children.  Again, we cite St. John Chrysostom, who teaches that this refers to keeping faith under persecution, even if it means losing one's family.  It also means to accept that unbelieving family members may cut off ties because of the believer's faith (see 1 Corinthians 7:12-16).  Believers are promised a hundredfold of houses and relatives not in an earthly sense, my study Bible says, but in a spiritual sense; that is, the fathers and mothers of the Church, our brothers and sisters in Christ, and houses of worship and fellowship.

Jesus' teachings seem to be harder than ever, when we look at the world which has grown so immeasurably greater in terms of the material things we're offered in life.  Since the medium I use to communicate my blog is the internet, we can simply look at technology alone and start to understand how much more we are offered in terms of consumer goods than anything that Christ and His contemporaries could possibly imagine.  Well, perhaps our Lord would have the capacity to know this, but He was born into and preached for quite a different world than the one we live in.  It is doubtful that even the wealthiest people in the world at the time that Christ lived could have dreamt of what in the West we might consider standard features of dwellings we live in today (for example, indoor plumbing).   So, when Christ speaks of the difficulties for a wealthy person to enter the kingdom of heaven, He is not talking about the abundance of things we have today which we can purchase -- or which a wealthy person can purchase.  He's actually speaking of people who live a life of less wealth than even people of fairly modest means in the West today; that is, people, for example, who could not dream of walking into a supermarket and finding fruits and vegetables from far beyond the place they lived, let alone the assortment of manufactured goods -- even the least expensive goods -- that are widely available to us today.  Nevertheless, the disciples are still stunned at this message; they still "get it."  When they ask, "Who then can be saved?" it is clear that the disciples, although they do not come from wealthy backgrounds, understand the difficulties posed in Jesus' statement.  All of these factors, and especially our modern highly consumerist-oriented society, point more than ever to the difficulties about which Jesus speaks in His highly illustrative phrase about a camel going through the eye of a needle.  This isn't simply about people with high incomes, but about anyone for whom attachment to possessions becomes the main understanding of identity.  That is, it is Christ who must give identity, before whatever it is we consume:  whether that includes the latest skateboard, the best pair of shoes, the most impressive house, or whatever else we rely on to define ourselves, the importance of Christ's teaching is that the more we depend upon possessions to define us, the harder it will be to dwell within the kingdom of heaven.  Instead, we can orient ourselves to use whatever wealth we have for God's purposes, in the context of a prayerful life and reliance upon God to show us how to use what we have, and to live righteous lives.