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 them 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 them and said to them, "With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."  My study Bible comments that there are various interpretations which have been suggested for this impossible image of a camel going through the eye of a needle.  Perhaps the word in Aramaic was not camel, but rather "rope" (the words sound alike); one could see an analogy there.  Possibly the "eye of a needle" was actually the name of a narrow city gate, through which a camel might barely squeeze if it first were unloaded of all of its baggage, which would symbolize wealth.  In the Talmud there is a similar expression:  "for an elephant to go through the eye of a needle."  But whatever it refers to, it expresses the impossibility of salvation for those who are attached to riches.  This is clearly shown by the response of the disciples:  "Who then can be saved?"  But by God's grace, even what is impossible for 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 cites a commentary on Luke's Gospel by St. Ambrose of Milan, which may also be applied here:  "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, my study Bible says, but by the witness of their own lives.  Since God's kingdom begins with the Resurrection of Christ, 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.  According to St. John Chrysostom, this refers to keeping faith under persecution even if it means to lose one's family.  It also means that we must accept that unbelieving family members might cut off ties because of the believer's faith (see 1 Corinthians 7:12-16).  My study Bible notes that believers are promised a hundredfold of houses and relatives not in an earthly sense, but rather in a spiritual one:  the fathers and mothers of the Church, our brothers and sisters in Christ, and houses of worship and fellowship.

Jesus notes, along with St. Peter, that the disciples have already left everything behind for the sake of His gospel and ministry.  As has been consistent, he speaks for the disciples in their concern about what their future will be in Christ's kingdom (see also this reading).  They still do not know what sort of kingdom it will be.  But after Christ has warned them twice about what is to come in Jerusalem, and this episode with the rich young ruler (in yesterday's reading, above) whom Jesus told to sell all his wealth and give to the poor, it seems their perspective is being slowly altered.  They are coming to realize not only their own sacrifices but also that the reward for participation in the Kingdom might not be the worldly positions of greatness they understand from earthly kingdoms.  Indeed, we can read their astonished question to Jesus after Christ's comment that it is impossible for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God:  "Who then can be saved?"  Jesus' answer to the rich young ruler was not only disconcerting (and seemingly impossible) for the young man who went away in yesterday's reading, but also has a great effect upon the disciples who are still just beginning to understand the nature of Christ's kingdom and the task before them.  They, too, have made sacrifices but not necessarily for a worldly return in conventional terms.  And this again, as we noted in yesterday's commentary, is the nature of what it is to follow Christ.  In a deep commitment of a prayerful life, we place all things in the hands of God and we ask for direction.   In this way, all our possessions, talents, and other sorts of worldly goods might be given to God for direction, used hopefully for God's purposes, to serve God's kingdom.  When we help the poor, it isn't simply to do a "good deed," but to serve God by so doing.  For as Christ taught, "Whoever receives one little child like this in My name receives Me" -- and this applies to all who are poor in spirit, humble, or "little ones," all those without great currency of any kind.  It is an act of loving neighbor as oneself, which is based in loving God first.  For this reason, the detachment from riches becomes an imperative.  For if we believe that our possessions define who we are, then we are not free in our hearts to be identified in Christ, as children by adoption.  Rather, as Christ has said, we have a first commandment to love God, and a second commandment which is "like it" to love neighbor as oneself (Matthew 22:36-40).  In today's reading, we can see the disciples' seemingly staggered response to Christ's comment about the difficulty of salvation for one who is very rich, as they themselves are still struggling on the road to understanding what their own participation in Christ's kingdom will really mean for them.  In St. Peter's follow up question ("See, we have left all and followed You.  Therefore what shall we have?"), we seem to see the dawning understanding that Christ's kingdom will not be a worldly one with the earthly rewards of conventional kingdoms.  We shouldn't think that the struggle of the rich young ruler who asked what he must do for eternal life in yesterday's reading is so dramatically different from the struggle of the disciples or of all the rest of us.  For what, really, do we expect from our discipleship?  What sacrifices will we be asked to make so that we become more truly children (and heirs of the Kingdom) by adoption?  Let us not minimize the difficulties of detachment nor the love God has for us which we return as those who are His children to be shaped in God's image for us.