---
title: Mark 10:25
url: https://jw-apologetics.app/verses/mark-10-25/
markdown: https://jw-apologetics.app/verses/mark-10-25.md
type: verse
perspective: Protestant (historic Nicene) response to Jehovah's Witness teaching
reference: Mark 10:25
testament: NT
section: Gospels
index: https://jw-apologetics.app/llms.txt
---

# Mark 10:25

## Text (Berean Standard Bible)

> It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”

## NWT Wording of the Key Phrase

- NWT (2013 revision): "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."

## JW Usage

Mark 10:25 ("easier for a camel to pass through a needle's eye than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God") is sometimes cited in JW publications as a warning against materialism. The verse functions in JW commentary as a critique of secular wealth pursuit, not as a self-applied test of organisational finance. When televangelists are critiqued for private jets and mansions, this verse is the typical proof-text; the Watchtower's own real-estate holdings (Warwick complex, Bethel Brooklyn pre- sale) and the historical Beth Sarim mansion are not held up to the same standard.

## Protestant Usage

Affirm what the Witness already affirms — the prosperity-gospel scandal really is a scandal, and Reformed and confessional Protestant Christianity has been saying so for decades (John MacArthur's "Ashamed of the Gospel," the Reformed critique of Word of Faith theology). Then apply the same standard consistently. Pair Mark 10:25 with 1 Timothy 6:9-10 and James 5:1-6. Jesus's warning about wealth is a structural test that applies to any religious movement that accumulates resources through donations — the test does not depend on whether the recipients are paid clergy or unpaid elders. The Watchtower's September 2017 Governing Body letter encouraging Kingdom Halls to send excess funds to Warwick, the May 2015 Watchtower encouraging members to consider naming the organisation in their wills, and the historical Beth Sarim pattern all deserve examination by the same standard the JW rightly applies to Copeland.

## Arguments Using This Verse

- [The Prosperity Gospel Is a Scandal — and Confessional Protestantism Has Always Said So](https://jw-apologetics.app/arguments/prosperity-gospel-acknowledgment.md) — 1 Timothy 6:10 — the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil [Practice]