No, he says it’s impossible. Because the needle wasn’t a gate, it was a needle. And that’s really clear from the quote in context:
Matthew 19:21-24
Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth. Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly I tell you, it is hard for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”
He was really, really clear on this. Do not be rich. The only way he could have been clearer is if he had literally said, “do not be rich.” Oh wait, he pretty much did say that.
Luke 6:20
And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said: “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.
But come on, he didn’t say that you should be dirt poor. Like you can still have some nice stuff, right? That thing in Matthew was metaphorical, right?
Like 18:22
When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.”
He never said it was impossible. He clearly says it is hard. When Jesus says to the rich young ruler to sell all he had and give to the poor and follow him, he is not saying to quit your high paying job that made you rich in the first place. He is saying to radically change the way you are living to benifit those around you. We make idols of things all around us. Many make idols of money. Some, though difficult, are able to continue to make a lot of money while simultaneously giving it away for the betterment of those around them. What I was trying to point out is that those who make a lot of money are not the enemy, but those who horde what they have to the detriment of the love of God and man.
No, he says it’s impossible. Because the needle wasn’t a gate, it was a needle. And that’s really clear from the quote in context:
Matthew 19:21-24
He was really, really clear on this. Do not be rich. The only way he could have been clearer is if he had literally said, “do not be rich.” Oh wait, he pretty much did say that.
Luke 6:20
But come on, he didn’t say that you should be dirt poor. Like you can still have some nice stuff, right? That thing in Matthew was metaphorical, right?
Like 18:22
Fuck.
He never said it was impossible. He clearly says it is hard. When Jesus says to the rich young ruler to sell all he had and give to the poor and follow him, he is not saying to quit your high paying job that made you rich in the first place. He is saying to radically change the way you are living to benifit those around you. We make idols of things all around us. Many make idols of money. Some, though difficult, are able to continue to make a lot of money while simultaneously giving it away for the betterment of those around them. What I was trying to point out is that those who make a lot of money are not the enemy, but those who horde what they have to the detriment of the love of God and man.