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What it Sounds Like When a Camel Goes through the Eye of a Needle

Luke 18 and 19 present the contrasting stories of the so-called ‘rich young ruler’ and the wealthy tax collector Zacchaeus.

After his encounter with the young ruler, Jesus makes the famous statement, “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” (Luke 18:25).

Then comes another rich man, Zacchaeus, who heeds the call of Christ:

“And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold” (Luke 19: 8).

Interestingly, the rich young ruler made the claim that he had kept the moral law from his youth; but when called upon by Christ to give up his riches, he “went away sorrowful.” Zacchaeus, on the other hand, was a notorious sinner – not a law-keeper. But he honors Old Testament restitution law in his response to Jesus:

“If a man steals an ox or a sheep, and kills it or sells it, he shall repay five oxen for an ox, and four sheep for a sheep” (Exodus 22:1).

On top of this obedience to the law (giving fourfold restitution), he was willing to give half of all he had to the poor.

I can’t pin down the source of the quote, but years ago I heard someone comment on this verse saying, “This is what it sounds like when a camel goes through the eye of a needle.”

“What is impossible with men is possible with God” (Luke 18:27).

The GOODS, the True, and the Lovely

Trade is all very well in its way, but Trade has been put in the place of Truth. Trade, which is in its nature a secondary or dependent thing, has been treated as a primary and independent thing; as an absolute. The moderns, mad upon mere multiplication, have even made a plural out of what is eternally singular, in the sense of single. They have taken what all ancient philosophers called the Good, and translated it as the Goods…

When God looked on created things and saw that they were good, it meant that they were good in themselves and as they stood; but by the modern mercantile idea, God would only have looked at them and seen that they were The Goods.

-G.K. Chesterton, The Well and the Shallows

As I am transitioning from pharmacy life into the field of education, I see this more and more. We really are at a point at which we think education is simply about learning a trade in order to ‘contribute’ to society. We are more concerned about the goods than the good.

It is an absolute must in this environment that the church, and individual Christians, strive to be different. We must not look at creation and culture and simply see ‘goods.’

This is one of the reasons why I focus on technology to the extent that I do. Technology can kill the existential. I am not saying that it always does. I am saying that it is capable of doing so. It can rob the beauty of ‘being.’ It can turn a beautiful sunrise into a mere photo op. It can turn friends into icons on a screen. It can turn wonderful things into internet equity – that is, into goods.

It’s not just technology though. We can turn anything into goods. Spouses, kids, art, whatever. As we brush back against this, the idea is to see the innate good of things without seeing them as things to use as a means of gaining equity. Enjoy the world and life without putting it on our socially constructed eBays.

Anyway, it’s a great quote from Chesterton.

Snippets: The Kingdom of Heaven is Like Materialism (Matt. 13:44-46)

Matthew 13:44 ¶ “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. 45 ¶ “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, 46 who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.

In context (in relation to the Kingdom), and understood as a parable, we get a window into three types of materialism in this passage: ‘What is materialism?’ Glad you asked. In science, and often philosophy, materialism is the idea that everything that exists is either matter or energy. Simply stated, it says, ‘only matter matters’ (after all, only matter exists). But that’s not what we’re talking about here. We’re talking about popular materialism: the idea that the accumulation of wealth and material goods are of the utmost importance.

1. Carnal Materialism (i.e. the love of mammon)
We see two men who believe that the accumulation of wealth and material goods are extremely important – so important that they will give up everything for that one particular treasure that they desire. Jesus isn’t condoning that sort of behavior, but He’s saying that if we understand this sort of behavior we have a glimpse into the nature of the Kingdom of Heaven.

2. Second materialism – Christian Materialism
This parable is a picture of the Christian in pursuit of Jesus Christ. Christ is the treasure and pearl.

  • Matthew 10:37 Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. 38 And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.
  • Philippians 3:8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ.
  • Psalm 17:8 Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings,

The people of the Kingdom are like materialists, only it is not mammon that they love. They will give up anything to have Christ. They will deny themselves, give up worldly goods, give up sin, etc.

  • ‘Let goods and kindred go, this mortal life also. The body they may kill, God’s truth abideth still. His kingdom is forever.’
  • ‘I’d rather have Jesus than silver or gold. I’d rather be his than have riches untold. I’d rather have Jesus than houses or land. I’d rather be led by his nail pierced hand…’

We are materialists and Christ is what matters.

3. Christ’s Materialism
From another angle Jesus himself is the true Materialist. The object of his desire is his people, and he gives up everything to gain them.

  • Zechariah 2:8 For thus said the LORD of hosts, after his glory sent me to the nations who plundered you, for he who touches you touches the apple of his eye:
  • Hebrews 12:2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
  • John 15:13 Greater love has no one than this, that someone lays down his life for his friends.

Christ gives up His riches in glory, takes on a nature of dust, and indeed gives up his own life that he might gain the joy of having a people of is own. The King is the great Materialist, and what he delights in is His people.

  • ‘He left his Father’s throne above, so free so infinite His grace. Emptied himself, how great his love, and bled for Adam’s helpless race.’

Materialism gives us a glimpse of the gospel and a point of contact with the nonbeliever. If you see a man who loves his car too much, point him to One who is infinitely more valuable and desirable than his car. All sin, in some sense, is simply the treasuring of something above God – i.e. idolatry! We are to repent of our own idolatry and delight supremely in Christ. Having cast that log out of our eye, we can see clearly to get the speck out of our neighbor’s.