Matthew 19:23-24

"Truly I say to you" or "I tell you the truth" introduces another very important statement (cf. Matthew 5:18; et al.). Jesus evidently referred to a literal camel and a literal sewing needle (Gr. rhaphidos) here. His statement appears to have been a common proverbial expression for something impossible. I have not been able to find any basis for the view that "the eye of the needle" was a small gate, as some commentators have suggested. Jesus presented an impossible situation.

"We should recognize that by the standards of first-century Palestine, most upper-middle-class Westerners and those on the Pacific rim would be considered wealthy. For all such persons the questions of wealth, discipleship, and the poor cannot be side-stepped if following Christ and his teaching means anything at all." [Note: Hagner, Matthew 14-28, p. 562.]

Probably Jesus referred to the kingdom of God in Matthew 19:24 for the sake of variety since He had just spoken of the kingdom of heaven in Matthew 19:23. Also by using God’s name He stressed God’s personal authority. He proceeded to contrast two kings: God and Mammon. While some interpreters take the kingdom of God and the kingdom of heaven as two different kingdoms, usage argues for their being synonymous. [Note: See my comments on 3:1-2.]