I suspect it's performative. Going to church, praying with others, these are performances. Doing the good deeds is what counts.

But it seems to me like it would be crazy hard to push a camel through a needle. Also, it's one of those things where I think the translation is a bit off. Apparently the word in Aramaic is said like "gamla" which does sound rather like camel, but also meant rope, which makes a lot more sense in context, though still pretty difficult to get through a needle.