Camel: Conversations of a Man Who Turned Away from Jesus

The Gospel of Saint Mark 10:17-23 records the account of a "rich young man" who has an encounter with Jesus, Yeshua--His Hebrew name--that ends in sadness. In seven verses, the young man goes from great anticipation to disappointment. He approaches Yeshua with confidence, asking Him a question: "What must I do to inherit eternal life?" He hopes this will hit the mark and elicit a good response from the rabbi who, he has heard, is wise and will have a good answer for him. But when he hears from Yeshua that he must, "Go sell all he has and give his money to the poor," he is stunned and turns away, defeated. In all of Yeshua's recorded accounts, there are none like this.

What becomes of this rich young man? What might have motivated him to seek out Yeshua? How must he have dealt with Yeshua's command? What is the drama of his life, and how is he and his family impacted by it? Zakai, the name I've given the man, was a real man whose biography we know nothing of. Take a closer look at the text. This is his story, as I've imagined it, in the context of the real events of Yeshua's final days on earth and the years that follow.

Yeshua speaks of a camel and how impossible it would be for it to pass through the eye of a needle. Zakai realizes that he is that camel. This is the story of Zakai's struggle.