<p>18:24 <i>And Jesus looking at him, said: How hard it shall be for those that have riches to enter into the kingdom of God</i>- Mk. 10:24 speaks of the man who trusts in riches; the parallel Lk. 18:24 speaks of him who <i>has</i> riches. To have riches is, almost axiomatically, to trust in them. This is the nature of wealth 'possession'. For the man who has / trusts in riches, he must bow down like the camel wriggling through the small gate on its knees, having shed <i>all</i> its mountain of goods. This parable was given in the context of the Lord's straight statement: &quot;He that humbles himself will be exalted&quot; (Lk. 18:14 cp. 25). As the camel rose up from its knees the other side of the gate, so within the Kingdom's gates, those who have shed their trust in possessions will likewise be exalted.</p><p>The sense is not simply that it is hard for a rich man to enter the Kingdom, but that he shall enter with difficulty. The Lord goes on to say that such shall enter the Kingdom only by God's grace and possibility of saving those who do not rise up to the higher levels that He bids us to (:27). In what, then, is the hardness or difficulty- if God is willing to accept our living on lower levels? The difficulty is in not walking away from Christ as the young man did, because of our pride; what is hard is to be like a child, the model throughout this entire discourse, and simply accept God's grace in Christ.</p>