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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadBob Utley You Can Understand the Bible - Matthew 19:23 - 19:26
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NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Mat_19:23-26
23And Jesus said to His disciples, "Truly I say to you, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. 24Again 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." 25When the disciples heard this, they were very astonished and said, "Then who can be saved?" 26And looking at them Jesus said to them, "With people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."
Mat_19:23 "Truly" See Special Topic at Mat_5:18.
Mat_19:24 "a camel to go through the eye of a needle" There has been much discussion over this phrase. Is it literal or figurative? There was never a small gate in Jerusalem which camels had to kneel to enter! It was an oriental exaggeration, in which it would be impossible for rich people to be saved! But with God, all things are possible (Mat_19:26). Jesus is addressing the situation of the rich, young ruler. He seemed to be blessed by God in an OT snese, but he was not right with God. Riches and possessions can be (and often are) a curse!
▣ "it is hard for a rich man" See Special Topic: Wealth at Mat_6:24.
▣ "the kingdom of God" This was a rare use of this phrase in Matthew because of the Jewish fear of taking God's name in vain (cf. Exo_20:7; Deu_5:11). This phrase appears often in the Gospel parallels of Mark and Luke written for Gentiles.
Mat_19:25 "the disciples. . .were astonished" The OT taught that God blessed the righteous and temporally punished the wicked (cf. Deuteronomy 27-28). The book of Job, Psalms 73, and Jer_12:1-4 react against this traditional view. Often the righteous suffer and the wicked prosper. Wealth, position and health are not always signs of God's favor!
Mat_19:26 This saying may go back to the OT (i.e., Gen_18:14; Job_42:2; Jer_32:17; Jer_32:27). It is an idiomatic way of asserting the powerlessness of humans and the powerfulness of YHWH. God's purposes and plans cannot be thwarted (cf. Job_42:2; Luk_1:37)!