Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Amen, I say to you, it will be hard for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. 24 Again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” 25 When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and said, “Who then can be saved?” 26 Jesus looked at them and said, “For human beings this is impossible, but for God all things are possible.” 27 Then Peter said to him in reply, “We have given up everything and followed you. What will there be for us?” 28 Jesus said to them, “Amen, I say to you that you who have followed me, in the new age, when the Son of Man is seated on his throne of glory, will yourselves sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 29 And everyone who has given up houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands for the sake of my name will receive a hundred times more, and will inherit eternal life. 30 But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.
After the rich inquirer departs sorrowful, Jesus turns to the disciples and states the hard truth: attachment to wealth makes entrance into God’s Kingdom exceedingly difficult—“easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle” (Mt. 19:24). The image is deliberate hyperbole, underscoring human impossibility apart from grace. Scripture’s own cross-references reinforce the point: what is beyond human strength is not beyond God—“Is anything too marvelous for the LORD?” (Gen. 18:14; cf. Jer. 32:17; Job 42:2). The disciples’ question—“Who then can be saved?”—receives the Gospel’s center: salvation is God’s work, not our achievement (Mt. 19:26).
Peter’s “We have left everything” elicits Jesus’ promise of the “hundredfold” now and eternal life to come (Mt. 19:27-29). Mark adds ‘with persecutions’ (Mk. 10:30), showing the hundredfold is no prosperity bargain but the lived expansion of family and home within the Church—sustained amid trials. When Jesus promises the ‘new age’ (Mt. 19:28), He points to two horizons of the same reality: the life of God already begun in us by the Spirit—our new birth now (Tit. 3:5; 2 Cor. 5:17)—and the final renewal of all things when the Son of Man sits in glory and creation itself is made new (Dan. 7:9-14; Rom. 8:19-23; Rev. 21:5). The first is the down payment; the second is the fulfillment. The Twelve sit on thrones judging Israel (Mt. 19:28; cf. 1 Cor. 6:2; Rev. 21:14), signaling the restoration of God’s people in and through Christ’s apostolic foundation. The closing maxim—“many who are first will be last, and the last will be first” (Mt. 19:30)—introduces the next parable (Mt. 20:1-16) and captures a biblical pattern: God overturns worldly rankings and exalts the lowly (1 Sam. 2:7-8; Prov. 3:34; Lk. 1:52-53).
Modern interpreters stress that Jesus does not condemn possessions themselves but the false security and divided heart they can foster. The promise of the “new age” holds together the life of God already begun in us by the Spirit now and the final renewal of all things when the Son of Man reigns in glory, so detachment is grace-enabled freedom for love of God and neighbor. In a world where wealth often confers social power, the Kingdom reverses the rules: greatness is measured by service, not by money or status, so real influence belongs to those who give themselves for others. The promise to the Twelve signals the restoration of God’s people and extends pastorally to all who have ‘given up everything’ for Christ: not necessarily literal dispossession, but an undivided allegiance. The “needle’s eye” is deliberate hyperbole, turning us from later legends about a small ‘needle’s eye’ gate to reliance on grace.
Early Christian teachers read this passage as a call to freedom of heart: not a blanket condemnation of possessions, but a warning that wealth becomes bondage when it commands the will. Salvation is God’s gift; only grace can loosen riches’ hold so generosity becomes possible. The “camel and the needle” is taken as deliberate impossibility to turn us from self-reliance to God. The remedy is interior detachment and merciful stewardship, not merely outward divestment. Read within Scripture’s arc of salvation, the pattern is consistent: like Abraham, the disciple “leaves” for a greater promise; Israel’s sages warn against trusting riches; and in the Son of Man the Kingdom arrives, where justice and mercy reorder human status and hope.
For today’s society, organized around consumption, status, and financial self-reliance, Jesus’ word is both diagnosis and hope. The diagnosis: our hearts cannot serve two masters (Mt. 6:24). The hope: what we cannot change in ourselves, God can—freeing us to use resources as gifts entrusted for the good of others, to welcome a wider “family” in the Church, and to live now for the “new world” already dawning in Christ.
Lord Jesus, free our hearts from false security and teach us to trust Your grace. Give us the courage to “leave” whatever divides our love, the joy to share what we have, and the hope to live for the world to come. Make us last where pride would make us first, so that we may follow You into life everlasting. Amen.
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Sources and References
- The Holy Bible, New American Bible, Revised Edition (2011): Mt. 19:23-30; Mk. 10:29-31; Tit. 3:5; 2 Cor. 5:17; Dan. 7:9-14; 1 Cor. 6:2; Rom. 8:19-23; Rev. 21:5; Rev. 21:14; Gen. 12:1-3; Ps. 49; Prov. 11:28; Sir. 5:1-8; Lk. 1:52-53; Mt. 6:24.
- Orchard, Bernard, et al., eds. A Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture. London: Thomas Nelson, 1953.
- Faculty of the University of Navarre. The Navarre Bible: Matthew. Dublin: Four Courts/Scepter, 2008.
- Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al., eds. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. New York: Paulist Press, 2018.
- Brown, Raymond E., et al., eds. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1990.
- Clement of Alexandria (c. 150-215), Who Is the Rich Man That Is Saved?
- St. John Chrysostom (c. 349-407), Homilies on Matthew.
- St. Augustine (354-430), Sermons.
- St. Jerome (347-420), Commentary on Matthew.
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