Matthew 19:16–26

Context

The scene comes immediately after Jesus blesses the little children, as he travels from Galilee into the region of Judea (Matthew 19:1). A man asks what good thing he must do to obtain eternal life. Jesus answers by citing those of the Ten Commandments that concern one's neighbor, together with the command to love one's neighbor in Leviticus 19:18. When the man says he has kept all these, Jesus tells him to sell his possessions, give to the poor, and follow him. The man goes away sorrowful, "for he had great possessions." Jesus then tells his disciples that it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God, and to the astonished disciples he replies, "with God all things are possible."

The same account appears in Mark 10:17–27 and Luke 18:18–27. Matthew calls the man a "young man," while Luke calls him a "ruler"; hence the story is commonly known as that of the "rich young man" or the "rich young ruler." It is followed by an exchange in which Peter says, "Behold, we have forsaken all, and followed thee" (19:27–30).

Interpretation

• Reading focused on the function of the law: The Lutheran and Reformed traditions hold that the commandments serve to expose the limits of the young man's self-righteousness (his regarding himself as righteous). They locate the focus of the story in verse 26, which states that salvation depends not on human works but on the power of God.
• Discipleship reading: Many evangelical sermons attend less to wealth itself than to what the young man placed ahead of Jesus, and they regard the call "come and follow me" as the heart of the passage. In this reading the saying is often not taken as a demand that every believer dispose of all property.
• Catholic reading: On the basis of the words "If thou wilt be perfect," this tradition distinguishes between the commandments, which all believers must keep, and the "evangelical counsels," which are followed voluntarily. The passage has served as one of the grounds for the vow of poverty taken by members of religious orders.
• Social-ethical reading: This reading takes the demand to share one's property in a nearly literal sense and treats the passage as a text that confronts the concentration of wealth and asks about responsibility toward the poor.

Debates and Issues

• Manuscript differences: Some manuscripts read verse 17 as "Why callest thou me good?" in agreement with Mark and Luke. The King James Version follows these manuscripts, while the Korean Revised Version and the Revised New Korean Version follow the reading "Why do you ask me about what is good?"
• The camel and the eye of a needle: The explanation that Jerusalem had a small gate called the "Needle's Eye" has spread widely through preaching. The general assessment, however, is that no ancient source supporting it has been found. A minority view reads the Greek word for "camel" (kamēlos) as "rope" (kamilos). Most commentaries regard the saying as a deliberate hyperbole expressing impossibility, explaining that only this reading allows the disciples' astonishment and Jesus' answer in verses 25–26 to follow naturally.
• Works and salvation: Many ask whether the words "keep the commandments" conflict with justification by faith (the doctrine that one is declared righteous through faith), and denominations explain the matter differently. Wesleyan theology sometimes reads the passage in a way that emphasizes obedience and sanctification alongside justification.
• Wealth and blessing: Critics of prosperity theology frequently cite this passage. Others counter that it does not condemn wealth as such, pointing to wealthy biblical figures such as Abraham.
• Quotation out of context: Some have observed that verse 26 is often quoted apart from its context of salvation, as though it were a promise that personal wishes will be fulfilled.

In the Korean Church

In the phrase "a camel to go through the eye of a needle," the Korean Revised Version used the archaic word yakdae for "camel," which the Revised New Korean Version replaced with the modern word nakta. Even outside the church, the expression is used almost as an idiom meaning that it is hard for the rich to be saved.

Related Passages

• Luke 18:24–27: Luke's record of the same account
• Luke 19:8–9: The scene in which salvation is declared to Zacchaeus, who resolves to give away his goods
• 1 Timothy 6:17–19: An exhortation to the rich
• Matthew 6:24–34: The teaching that one cannot serve both God and mammon