It Is Difficult for the Wealthy to Enter the Kingdom of Yahuwah

The King James Version (KJV) is mostly used in these lessons. Click here to access the KJV online.

After the rich young ruler goes away grieving. Mark 10:23 - Yahushua looked around and said to his disciples, how hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of the Almighty. But the disciples were astonished at his words. Again Yahushua said to them, children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of the Almighty, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of the Almighty. If we take that literally, we know there's no way possible that we as a human being could fit a camel through the eye of a needle. Verse 24 says the disciples were astonished at his words. In verse 26 the disciples’ response was - who can be saved, that's not possible.

That shocked them and it's likely because the association of wealth is with the righteous people in the Torah. In Deuteronomy 28:1-14, Yahuwah tells the Israelites it will come to pass that if you obey all my commandments, blessed shall you be in the city, blessed shall you be in the field, blessed shall be the fruit of thy body, the fruit of the ground and thy accountable yield. I will cause your enemies to be smitten. I'll give you rain, you'll lend and not borrow. All the peoples of the earth will see you're called by my name and they'll be afraid of you but that's only if you obey my commandments. So Hebrew people associated wealth with obedience to the Torah. So, they questioned how wealth and riches could be something that keeps a person or gives a person difficulty with getting into the kingdom.

The answer is that a lot of times the wealthy are stingy people who don't help the poor. They just accumulate more and more for themselves and they never give any of it away. This is why Yahushua says it's hard for a rich person to enter the kingdom. Because if you don't give to the poor you are stingy, you're not using your wealth to keep the commandments in the Torah that say to give to the poor.

So in verse 26 the disciples hear this and they say - who then can be saved? Yahushua says in verse 27 - with men it is impossible but with Yahuwah the Almighty all things are possible. He said that because a rich person who does not truly believe in, or follow the Almighty will not have a concern for the poor. But a person who truly believes in and serves the Almighty will be obedient to all of the commandments that have to do with helping the poor as the Torah commands.

At verse 28, Peter says, look we have left everything and followed you. Yahushua says in verses 29-31, I assure you there is no one who has left house, brothers or sisters, mother or father, children or fields, because of me and the gospel, who will not receive 100 times more now at this time. Houses, brothers and sisters, mothers and children and fields, with persecutions and eternal life in the age to come. But many who are first will be last and the last first.