Camels & needles

[AllTalkNoAction]

"It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God." (Matt.19:24, Mk 10:25)

I guess we've all been taught that the above relates to a gate in Jerusalem which is so small it requires camels to be de-laden.

But a pastor in my church said he checked the old maps of Jerusalem and found no such gate exists !

Neither does the interpretation that a rich person can de-materialise their life and get into the kingdom fit.

:25: When his disciples heard it, they were exceedingly amazed, saying, Who then can be saved?
:26: But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.

Jesus was referring to weaving/sewing needles which in those days were bigger than ours, but still ony millimetres wide and absolutely impossible for anyone to get a camel through!

Luke description of "a needle's eye" rather than "the eye of a needle" supports this.

Lu:18:25: For 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.

So, man absolutely cannot get into the kingdom of God, whatever he does, he needs the operation of God - to be born again (from above).

Natural man is unclean, the camel is the largest unclean animal in Palestine, perhaps only the smallest could get through the eye of a needle,

Gnat - only in Matt. http://bible.somd.com/B40C023.shtml#V2423:24,a small two-winged stinging fly of the genus Culex, which includes mosquitoes.

We are not to think of ourselves as strong beasts of burden, we need to humble ourselves, we need to drink blood, the blood of Jesus to live.

 

[TrevorL]

Greetings AllTalkNoAction,

Perhaps Jesus used amusing and extreme illustative language to impress the leson. The camel in the following could not be literal, but the Pharisees would be careful not to swallow the minutest insect lest they be defiled under the law. But Jesus illustrates their moral uncleanness by likening them to swallowing a camel and not being aware of the action or their uncleanness.
Matthew 23:24 (KJV): "Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel."
They would swallow a camel head first, hoofs last, wipe their mouth and be oblivious.

Kind regards
Trevor

 

[faithfulmark]

Hey, As for rich people getting into the Kingdom, it won't happen. Not just the rich, but anyone who identifies there selves with money. One thing every Christian must do is analyze there self, and recognize yourself as the Christ within. This means saying "I am of Christ, and nothing else determines who I am." If a person does have a lot of money, they tend to buy things allot for pleasure. All of your pleasures should not be of the material (known) but should be of God (unknown). They look at theirselves from a vantage point and say "I am [name], this is my car, and this is the town I live in. I am the [paul] that works [job]" They may consciously say "Hey! I don't do that! I'm not greedy or spoiled!" The truth is, you are not. Deep ingrained into your subconscious is a web of selfish motives seeking to identify yourself. It takes a grown soul to realize this, and work on it. Lets say, with day dreaming (accessing the subconscious) or meditation. Many people don't want to do all that self-work because they are "happy" they way they are. The problem is, what ever is latched onto your subconscious, the Universe with manifest it into your life. If you are a careless druggy, you will have druggy friends, and so on. It is best to have pure things ingrained into your subconscious. That is when you can live life more abundantly.

 

[davidoffinland]

From Finland.

The needles eye is also the protective narrow passage at the entrance to a walled city. Camels would almost have to get on their knees to go through this gate. In some Aramaic versions it is "rope through a needles eye".

In Him, david.

 

[LamorakDesGalis]

"It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God." (Matt.19:24, Mk 10:25)

I guess we've all been taught that the above relates to a gate in Jerusalem which is so small it requires camels to be de-laden.

But a pastor in my church said he checked the old maps of Jerusalem and found no such gate exists !

Neither does the interpretation that a rich person can de-materialise their life and get into the kingdom fit.

This is true - the "gate" explanation is not based on any actual gate from the 1st century. More importantly, the "gate" explanation runs counter to the context, especially to the impossible for man/possible for God reply that Jesus gave His disciples.


LDG