Church Fathers Commentary Matthew 19:23-26

"And Jesus said unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, It is hard for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of heaven. And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through a needle`s eye, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. And when the disciples heard it, they were astonished exceedingly, saying, Who then can be saved? And Jesus looking upon [them] said to them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible." — Matthew 19:23-26 (ASV)

Glossa Ordinaria: The Lord took this occasion from the rich man to give a discourse concerning the covetous: “Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, etc.”¹

St. John Chrysostom: What He spoke was not a condemnation of riches in themselves, but of those who were enslaved by them. He was also encouraging His disciples that, being poor, they should not be ashamed because of their poverty.

St. Hilary of Poitiers: To have riches is no sin, but moderation must be observed in our possessions. For how shall we contribute to the needs of the saints if we have nothing from which to contribute?

Rabanus Maurus: But although there is a difference between having and loving riches, it is still safer neither to have nor to love them.

Remigius of Auxerre: Therefore, in Mark, the Lord explains the meaning of this saying as follows: “It is hard for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of heaven” (Mark 10:24). They trust in riches who build all their hopes on them.

St. Jerome: Because riches, once gained, are hard to despise, He does not say it is impossible, but that it is hard. Difficulty does not imply impossibility but points out how rarely it happens.

St. Hilary of Poitiers: It is a dangerous toil to become rich. An innocent person who is occupied with increasing their wealth takes a heavy burden upon themselves, for the servant of God does not gain the things of the world free from the sins of the world. This is why it is difficult to enter the kingdom of heaven.

St. John Chrysostom: Having said that it was hard for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of heaven, He now proceeds to show that it is impossible: “And again I say unto you, 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 heaven.”

St. Jerome: According to this saying, no rich man can be saved. But if we read in Isaiah how the camels of Midian and Ephah came to Jerusalem with gifts and presents (Isaiah 60:6), we see how this can be understood. Those who were once crooked and bowed down by the weight of their sins enter the gates of Jerusalem.

In the same way, we will see how these camels, to which the rich are compared, may enter by that narrow and strait way that leads to life, but only when they have laid aside the heavy load of their sins and the distortion of their whole bodies.

Pseudo-Chrysostom: The souls of the Gentiles are compared to the deformed body of the camel, in which the humpback of idolatry is seen, for the knowledge of God is the exaltation of the soul. The needle is the Son of God; its fine point is His divinity, and the thicker part is what He is according to His incarnation. But it is completely straight and unbending, and through the womb of His passion, the Gentiles have entered into eternal life.

By this needle, the robe of immortality is sewn. It is this needle that has sewn the flesh to the spirit, that has joined together the Jews and the Gentiles, and has united humanity in friendship with angels.

Therefore, it is easier for the Gentiles to pass through the needle’s eye than for the rich Jews to enter the kingdom of heaven. For if the Gentiles are withdrawn with such difficulty from the irrational worship of idols, how much more difficult will it be for the Jews to be withdrawn from the reasonable service of God?

Glossa Ordinaria: It is also explained another way: that at Jerusalem there was a certain gate called “the Needle’s Eye,” through which a camel could not pass except on its bended knees and after its burden had been taken off. In the same way, a rich person cannot pass along the narrow way that leads to life until he has put off the burden of sin and of riches—that is, by ceasing to love them.²

St. Gregory the Great: Alternatively, by the rich man, He means anyone who is proud, and by the camel, He denotes true humility. The camel passed through the needle’s eye when our Redeemer, through the narrow way of suffering, entered into taking death upon Himself, for that passion was like a needle that pricked the body with pain.

But the camel enters the needle’s eye more easily than the rich man enters the kingdom of heaven, because if Christ had not first shown us the model of His humility through His passion, our own proud stiffness would never have bent to His humility.³

St. John Chrysostom: The disciples, though poor, were troubled for the salvation of others, beginning even now to have the compassion of teachers.

St. Augustine of Hippo: Since the rich are few compared to the multitude of the poor, we must suppose that the disciples understood all who desire riches to be included in the number of the rich.⁴

St. John Chrysostom: He therefore proceeds to show that this is the work of God, since much grace is needed to guide a person in the midst of riches: “But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

By using the word “beheld,” the Evangelist conveys that Christ soothed their troubled souls with His merciful gaze.

Remigius of Auxerre: This must not be understood as if it were possible for God to cause the rich, the covetous, the avaricious, and the proud to enter the kingdom of heaven as they are. Rather, it means it is possible for God to cause such a person to be converted, and so to enter.

St. John Chrysostom: And this is not said so that you should sit idly by and ignore what may seem to be impossibilities. Rather, considering the greatness of righteousness, you should strive to enter in by earnestly asking God for help.

1. ap. Anselm
2. ap. Anselm
3. Mor., xxxv, 16
4. Quaest. Ev., 1, 26