January 25, 2026
Luke 18:24-30 ESV
Jesus, seeing that he had become sad, said, “How difficult it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God! For 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.” Those who heard it said, “Then who can be saved?” But he said, “What is impossible with man is possible with God.” And Peter said, “See, we have left our homes and followed you.” And he said to them, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, who will not receive many times more in this time, and in the age to come eternal life.
Discussion Questions:
1) What is Jesus saying in verses 24 to 27?
2) What is the relationship between the “leaving” of verse 29 and the “receiving” of verse 30?
Discussion Summary:
Question 1: To illustrate the hinderance that wealth is to a Christian, Jesus uses the example of a camel unable to go through the eye of a needle. This has been understood in various ways.
- “Eye of the needle” as the name of a small gate in the wall of a city. In order for the camel to enter, all of its baggage must be removed.
- The Greek word kamilos (rope) was incorrectly copied as kamelos (camel).
- In an exaggerated sense, this example uses the biggest living thing known to the audience – a camel, and the smallest opening known to the audience – the eye of a sewing needle.
No matter how you understand this word picture, the lesson is the same: It is impossible for the camel to go through the eye without something changing. In this account the rich young ruler had gone as far towards God as his human abilities could take him. He was outwardly in harmony with God. But to progress further he needed to change on the inside. This change would be impossible without God’s spirit transforming his thinking from the human to the spiritual.
This change of perspective is shown in Revelation 3:17 where the believer sees himself as rich and in need of nothing, but in God’s eyes is wretched, pitable, blind and naked. By seeking first the Kingdom of God this change begins (Matthew 6:33). In respect to wealth, the Christian learns to use his riches in the service of the kingdom and does not set his hopes and expectations on them (Psalm 62:10; 1 Timothy 6:6-10).
Question 2: Through this change of perspective, when we see things through God’s eyes, all of our earthly relationships (to people, to our possessions, to even ourselves) reorient themselves. For instance when we seek to lose our life, we gain it (Matthew 16:24). When we see those who do the will of God as children of God like we are, we gain a spiritual family (Luke 8:19-21).
The rewards we receive in this present life are as a result of this change in perspective. We value spiritual blessings above material blessings (James 1:7; Luke 11:11-13).
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