Sewing With Camels

Delivered October 21, 2012

Mark 10:17-31

You have probably heard of the Western film back in 1990 starring Kevin Costner entitled “Dances With Wolves.” Well today’s message is about Sewing with Camels. That is not my Indian name, but perhaps it might have been Jesus’ Indian name if he had lived in the American Plains instead of Roman Palestine. In the film Costner plays a soldier stuck alone on the frontier at a military outpost.  He passes the time by feeding and eventually befriending a wolf who visits his small cabin. The wolf becomes almost a pet, and Costner eventually is able to play with him as we would play with a dog. The Native American tribe which later accepted him into their tribe gave him the name “Dances With Wolves.”

In our passage for today Jesus talks about whether it is possible to be his disciple and wealthy at the same time. That should be of interest to us Americans since we are very wealthy when compared to most of the world and certainly when compared to average person in Jesus’ day. A rich young ruler approached Jesus and asked him how to inherit eternal life. After talking a little about ethics, Jesus tells him he has to do one thing: to sell everything he has, give it all to the poor and follow him.  The man – not surprisingly - cannot find it in his heart do that. The passage says, “But he was sad at this word, and went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.” Jesus uses this encounter with the rich young man as an opportunity to warn his disciples about the dangers of wealth when it comes to living the spiritual life. He says, “Children, how hard it is for those who trust in riches to enter the kingdom of God! 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.” That is our text for today, and we will look at it in the context of the surrounding verses.

I First, let’s look at the Metaphor. You might think picture Jesus is describing is straightforward. A literal understanding of Jesus’ words seems to describe the ridiculous image of a huge Arabian dromedary trying to go through the tiny opening at the head of a sewing instrument. It is commonly understood that Jesus is employing hyperbole and exhibiting a sense of humor. It is a silly thought that a huge animal could go through the eye of a tiny sewing needle; therefore it is a silly thought that a rich man could enter the kingdom of God. But this may not be what Jesus actually said.  There are at least two other possibilities.

One is that he was not talking about a camel but a rope. The NT was written in Greek, but Jesus originally spoke all these teachings in his native languor of Aramaic. In Aramaic, the word for "camel" (גמלא - gamla) is spelled identically to the word for "rope" (גמלא), suggesting that the original phrase used by Jesus might have been "rope through the eye of a needle" rather than a “camel through the eye of a needle.” That would make a lot more sense. The picture of a person trying to put a rope through the eye of a needle is just as humorous. If you have ever threaded a needle, then you know what it is to try to thread needle when the thread is a bit too large. It is very frustrating. Jesus would then be exaggerating this by using the hyperbole of a rope instead of a thread. You can at least picture somebody trying to do something like this. But why would a person ever try – or want to - to put a camel through the eye of a needle? That doesn’t make any sense.

A third possibility is the Sabbath gate. Back in Jesus’ day they observed the Sabbath very strictly, especially in the holy city where the temple was located. To enforce the Sabbath in Jerusalem they used to close the main gates of the city at sundown on Friday so that merchants could not bring in their merchandise on the backs of their camels or donkeys on the holy day of Saturday. To enforce this law they had what they called the Sabbath gate. They would close the big gates to the city, which were huge. But located in the big door was a smaller door – a door within a door. That small door was just big enough for a human being to walk through – but not big enough for a camel to walk through. Indeed it was not even big enough for a man to carry a load on his own back, much less a camel with a load of goods.  The nickname for that narrow and low Sabbath door was the “eye of the needle.” In fact if you go to Jerusalem today you can see such a door at the Jaffa Gate, which is the southern entrance to the city. Jesus may have been referring to this “eye of the needle,” picturing a huge camel trying to fit through this tiny Sabbath door. You can just imagine a camel putting his head and neck through the door and trying to squeeze the rest of his huge body and long legs through that small opening.

Which of these metaphors did Jesus actually say and intend? We don’t know. But the good thing is that we don’t really have to decide. They all are communicating basically the same idea with slightly different images. Personally I think it possible that Jesus had all three ideas in mind. Just like humor in English is often based on double meanings of the same word or words that are pronounced the same, so perhaps Jesus was employing the same device. Maybe Jesus intended double or triple meanings to his words, which would make the teaching very memorable.

II. Let’s move on now to the message. We have talked about the metaphor; what is the message of the metaphor? Primarily it has to do with money and possessions.  That is one element in favor of the Sabbath door option, because that also had to deal with money and possessions. It could be Jesus’ variation on the idea that you can’t take it with you.

Trying to disprove the saying “You can’t take it with you,” a stingy man, diagnosed with a terminal illness, thought he figured out how to take at least some of his fortune with him when he died. He instructed his wife to go to the bank and withdraw enough money to fill two pillowcases with cash. He then told her to take the bags of money up to the attic and leave them directly above his bedroom. When he passed away and his soul left his body, he could reach out and grab the bags as he ascended through the ceiling on his way to heaven. Several weeks after the funeral, his wife was up in the attic cleaning, and she came upon the two pillow cases still there stuffed with cash. “Oh, that old fool!” she exclaimed. “I knew I should have put the money in the basement.” You can’t take it with you – either to heaven or hell!

That is the message that Jesus was trying to communicate to the rich young man who wanted eternal life. The young man wanted all his money and eternal life, and Jesus told him he couldn’t have both. I am sure you know Jack Benny’s old comedy sketch on the subject. Thug: This is a stickup! Now come on. Your money or your life. [long pause] Thug: [repeating] Look, bud, I said 'Your money or your life.' Jack Benny: I'm thinking it over! Jesus told the young man it was his money or eternal life. The young man thought it over and walked away.

That does not mean that we have to sell everything we have and give it to the poor in order to go to heaven. If that is the case none of us are going to make it; I certainly wouldn’t make it. He was speaking in hyperbole, just like with the camel through the eye of the needle. Jesus was trying to pry the young man’s hands and heart from his possessions. Jesus is trying to do the same thing with us. God doesn’t really need our money. Everything in the universe is God’s anyway! God gave it to you and when you die it will return to God.  You really can’t take it with you. Jesus doesn’t care how much you pledge to our stewardship drive or give to the church.

But I won’t lie to you. I care! Because I want this church in Sandwich to be financially viable with a balanced budget, and I wouldn’t mind getting paid my salary either! What Jesus really cares about is our heart’s attachment to money and things, and whether that gets in the way of spiritual things. He wants to know whether we have our hearts set on earthly riches or spiritual riches. Money got in the way of spiritual riches and even eternal life for that young man that Jesus met on the road. The question is “Does it get in the way of our spiritual life?” Jesus said that you can’t serve both God and Mammon. The apostle Paul says that the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. Wealth can be a big stumbling block to a lot of people’s spiritual growth. Jesus said, “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.” Money is the message of the metaphor.

Another part of the message is salvation. Remember that the original question asked by the rich young man. He asked Jesus how to inherit eternal life. That is the question that eventually prompted Jesus to give the teaching about sewing with camels. The message that Jesus was communicating through the metaphor is that salvation is impossible. For man to inherit eternal life is impossible. Just as impossible as Jesus knew it would be for that young man to sell all that he had an give it all to the poor. Jesus was not surprised at the young man’s choice. He knew that he loved his things so much that he could never give them up, even if it meant the loss of his soul. “For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” Jesus asked. It turns out that people will very often exchange their souls for earthly treasures.

Jesus is saying that salvation is as impossible at it is for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, or for a packed camel to go through a Sabbath door, or to thread a needle with a rope. It is impossible. The reason Jesus made this point was so that later on in verse 27 Jesus could follow up with this point: “With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible.” The young man’s question was “Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?” The answer is that there is nothing he could do to inherit eternal life. There is nothing we can do to inherit eternal life. An inheritance is not something we get by doing something. An inheritance is a gift given to you by someone who died. The young man should have known that. If he was young, he probably did not earn his great wealth; it was probably left to him. It is the same way with us. There is nothing we can do to inherit eternal life. It is not something we earn. It is a gift given to us by one who died. The Christian gospel says that the one who died was Jesus Christ. He gives us eternal life not based on anything we do, not even how much money we give away to the poor or to the church. He gives us eternal life purely as a free gift to be received by faith. 

This idea blew the disciples’ minds. This was not part of the worldview that they grew up with. Their worldview said that the rich would get into heaven. The worldview at the time said that earthly wealth was a sign of God’s blessing. If a person was right with God, then God bestowed all sorts of material blessings on him. Furthermore the wealthy person demonstrated his/her righteousness by being generous to others. So their worldview said that if anyone would be saved it would be the rich. Jesus comes along and says that is not true. He says that it is harder for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God than for a camel to go through the eye of a needle. The disciples are shocked. “26 And they were greatly astonished, saying among themselves, “Who then can be saved?”27 But Jesus looked at them and said, “With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible.”

Eternal life is impossible in the eyes of the world. For one thing increasing numbers of people do not believe in an afterlife any more. They think it is a religious fairy tale for people who are afraid of death. For them eternal life is scientifically impossible according to their naturalistic  worldview.  And it is impossible when seen from that perspective!  But what is impossible for men is possible with God. That is the whole point of the parable of the camel and the needle. From a human perspective it is impossible for us as physical animals of flesh and blood to continue to exist after death. The idea seems silly to many people today – wishful thinking with no basis in reality. 27 But Jesus looked at them and said, “With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible.”

III. My third point, which I will make very briefly, is the ministry. We have talked about the metaphor and the message. Now I want to mention briefly the ministry. By that I mean, how are we to live our lives in light of Jesus’ teaching? Jesus tells us twice in this passage. He tells the rich young man that after he sells all he has and gives to the poor that he was to “come, take up the cross, and follow Me.” The subject comes up again when he is explaining his teaching to his disciples. Peter says, “See, we have left all and followed You.” 29 So Jesus answered and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife[c] or children or lands, for My sake and the gospel’s, 30 who shall not receive a hundredfold now in this time — houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions — and in the age to come, eternal life.” For both the rich young man and for Peter and the other disciples it was all about leaving the other stuff behind, either physically or spiritually, and following Christ.

That is what it is always about. It is not about the money; it is about the ministry - whether we care more about things or about following Christ and serving Christ as his disciples – regardless of whether it means prosperity or hardship. That is hard to do. Indeed it is impossible to do – as impossible as sewing with camels. “With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible.”