NOTES for Luk 18:24-25

Everyone is usually very concerned whether the camel will eventually pass through the eye of the needle or not. And if it does, whether this means that God has done the impossible. But let us try to turn to the general spirit of the scene. And let us recall the words, full of fiery self-confidence, of the man who came to Jesus, that "all these I have kept from my youth." Who can say such a thing about himself, who can say about himself that he is righteous?! The whole sharpness of the maximalism of Jesus' words, it seems to us, is directed not against the rich, but toward cooling this ardor, simply to emphasize that no one is righteous. And yet it was precisely for this ardor that the young man became so dear to Him, as we learn from the parallel passage in Mark (Mark 10:21).