Rich man and camel

Rich man and camel

 

Mark 10:21-25『Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and Come, take up the cross, and follow me. And he was sad at that saying, and he went away grieved: for he had great possessions. And Jesus looked round about, and said to his disciples, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God! And the disciples were astonished at his words. But Jesus answereth again, and saith unto them, Children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into 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 into the kingdom of God.』

This story is the content of a conversation between Jesus and the rich man when the rich man approached Jesus and asked about eternal life. Jesus first spoke about the commandments, and the rich man said that he had kept all the commandments. However, there is one thing that is lacking: the rich must sell everything they have and give it to the poor. So the rich man looked sad and went away in sorrow, and Jesus told the parable of the camel and the kingdom of God.

When we read and interpret the Bible, we must not only understand the superficial meaning by reading it literally, but also spiritually realize the meaning given by God. First of all, the superficial story is that you do not enter the kingdom of God by keeping the commandments, but that you enter the kingdom of God by not having a desire for material things. Believers believe that material things, including money, are given by God and should be used for God's will. But spiritual stories have a different meaning.

The rich in the world think of themselves as rich in the kingdom of God. These people may be people who think they have a lot of faith in God in the church today. He thinks Jesus is the standard of goodness. Mark 10:17-18 『And when he went forth into the way, there came one running, and kneeled to him, and asked him, Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life? And Jesus said to him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God.』 Jesus says that only God is good. Church people worship Jesus as God, but there is only one God, God the Father. The Bible tells us that Jesus came to this world as the Son of God.

However, the rich man says that he kept the commandments well. Church people always examine themselves in light of the commandments to see if they are sinning. So they think that by keeping the commandments, they will enter the kingdom of God. However, Jesus says that is not enough. The condition for entering the kingdom of God is not to keep the commandments well, but to realize that one is a sinner through the commandments. So, through animal sacrifice for forgiveness of one's sins, the Messiah, the descendant of the woman who would come in the future, must have been discovered.

The Bible says that animal sacrifice represents the death of Jesus Christ on the cross, and that sinners must realize that they also die when animals die. Especially in Romans 6:6-7, “Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.” For he that is dead is freed from sin.』

『Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way (ὕπαγε), sell whatsoever(ὅσα) thou hast( ἔχεις), and give( πτωχοῖς) to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure. in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me. (Mark 10:21)

If we understand it on the surface, there will not be many who will carry this out. However, spiritually, the object to be sold refers to the physical self that the rich person (church person) has. Jesus said to deny yourself and follow me. In Luke 9:23-24, “And he said to them all, if any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. For whosoever he will save his life his shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.』

Whipage (ὕπαγε) means to withdraw, seclude, or leave. Our word is to go, which means to leave the physical self in one's identity. Ekeis (ἔχεις) has the meaning of holding, possessing, and storing. Hosa (ὅσα) represents the amount of ~. What the rich person, symbolized as a church person, has is a carnal ego that manifests itself as greed. Once a believer sells (gets rid of) this physical self, he gains a spiritual self. This means sharing this spiritual self with others (the poor in spirit: Ptochois).

This means that believers must move away from untruth, realize the truth, and share the truth with others. Denying oneself and taking up one's cross are the words of truth, but the object of self-denial is the physical self, and the subject of denial is the spiritual self. Ptochois is spiritually poor toward the kingdom of God. He represents a person who leaves the kingdom of God and realizes that he is a sinner.

When the physical self recognizes it as its identity, this person becomes one who is in the law. However, a person in his spiritual self becomes a person who escapes from the law and enters the gospel. The way to escape from the law is to take up one's cross and die in union with Jesus who died on the cross. Then, the good news of the gospel is delivered to believers. That is resurrection. It is not a resurrection that takes place after the body dies, but a resurrection that takes place in the present. Those who currently die on the cross will now be resurrected.

Resurrection is the treasure in heaven.『and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me.』The path of following Jesus is the path of preaching the death and resurrection of the cross. Saints are not meant to suffer like Jesus, but to preach the cross and resurrection. Of course, there will be various difficulties in the process.

『Jesus answereth again, and saith unto them, Children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into 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 into the kingdom of God.』(Mark 10:25)

Looking at the parallel structure, the rich man and the kingdom of God, the camel and the eye of the needle are connected. Contrast the difficulty of a rich man entering the kingdom of God with the difficulty of a camel passing through the eye of a needle.

Why is it difficult for church people, symbolized by the rich, to enter the kingdom of God? They say you can be saved just by believing in Jesus. What's wrong? There is a faith that one believes in and a faith that comes from heaven, but the faith that one believes in is a faith that is confined within the law. However, the faith that comes from heaven is the faith that is born of the Holy Spirit. So the camel symbolizes the law. It emphasizes that salvation cannot be obtained through the law. The eye of the needle suggests that entering the kingdom of God is not easy.

In order for believers to enter the kingdom of God, they must believe in the death and resurrection of the cross, and baptism is an expression of this. Baptism is an expression of the believer’s death and resurrection. Water baptism means the death of the body of sin, fire baptism burns the old soul (cloth of leather), and baptism of the Holy Spirit means changing into the old soul (clothes of Christ). Putting on Christ is resurrection. The second coming of Christ will only occur if believers believe in the present resurrection. Therefore, heaven approaches in the heart, and the thousand-year kingdom is realized. Believing in the present resurrection and second coming would be close to heresy in today's doctrine.

Church people today think of the resurrection and the second coming of Jesus as events that will occur in the distant future. Believers think that when Jesus returns, he will be resurrected, the millennium will be established, and believers will rule the world as royal priests along with Jesus. They believe that because there will be a seven-year tribulation, the Second Coming will occur first, then the rapture will occur, and after the seven-year tribulation,

Jesus will return to earth and rule. They believe in either premillennialism, postmillennialism, or amillennialism regarding the seven-year tribulation. This is similar to the fact that even at the time of Jesus, Jesus was thought of as the Messiah who had the power to overthrow the Roman Empire and rule the world, and there were even arguments among his disciples about who would be greater. We still look at the Bible with our physical eyes, but our spiritual eyes are closed.