Pt. 1
“Then Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Truly I
tell you, it is hard for someone who is rich to enter the Kingdom of heaven.
Again, I tell you, it is easier for a camel
to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of
God.’
When the disciples heard this, they were
greatly astonished and asked, ‘Who then can be saved?’
Jesus looked at them, and said, ‘With man this is impossible, but with God all things are
possible.’”
Matthew 19:23-26
In recent years, I have been “taken up” with the New
Testament believers’ understanding of various verses of scripture versus our
modern day watered down, “ho hum,” uninformed understanding of the same verses.
Over the past couple of centuries, one of the most
referred to of Jesus’ allusions among pulpiteers originates in the foregoing
passage of scripture. It had been widely taught that there exists in Jerusalem
a gate referred to as “The Needle’s Eye” through which a camel could not pass
unless its burden was removed, and it bent its ungainly legs.
For you see, when evening came and the main gates were
shut, travelers or merchants were required to use this smaller entrance through
which a camel might only enter…on its knees.
Of course, who can deny this interpretation of Christ’
story represents great sermon material, with its parallels of a sinner
approaching the Almighty on his knees, and finally bereft of the weight which has
encumbered him for so long.
In spite of current photos of one or more rather
miniscule openings in Jerusalem’s wall, this widely preached explanation of the
ingredients of Jesus’ story is said to be mythological and altogether
unfounded.
Pt. 2
“Again, I tell you, it is easier for a camel
to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of
God.”
In the Book of Matthew the Greek word for needle is ‘rafic.’
In Luke it is ‘belone.’ Nonetheless, both words infer an implement used in
sewing fabric, or flesh, (as in a surgical procedure).
However, in regard to the living, breathing two humped
entity we refer to as a camel (‘kamilos’) in Jesus’ story, some first century
copies of the New Testament substitute the word, ‘kamelos’ or rope.
Thus, Jesus might well have said,
“…It
is easier for a rope to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to
enter the Kingdom of God.”
Whether there is any credibility in the original
interpretation of Jesus’ words (in which a merchant unloads his camel, and
forces it to crawl on its knees through a small opening in Jerusalem’s wall),
or whether the latter explanation of threading a needle with a rope is the
authentic rendering, we are left with a compelling commentary.
Jesus’ listeners believed that wealth and prosperity
indicated God’s blessing. Thus, they were incredulous that the Savior seemed to
be saying,
“If the rich are so close to losing their salvation,
who then can be saved?”
Some modern day Christians have inferred that wealth
is a hindrance to the spiritual lives of believers, and indeed it can be, but
then there are a myriad of other things which may impose themselves upon us,
and restrict our full and free
participation in the things of God.
Whether we have here a camel stooping to crawl through
a small gate in Jerusalem’s wall, or a rope being threaded through a needle’s
eye, it is apparent that our Lord was attempting to emphasize the near
impossibility of the problem, and to deemphasize our wherewithal to do anything
about it ourselves.
Afterward
Speaking of the impossibility of saving ourselves from
God’s righteous judgment, scripture assures us that,
“For
by grace are you saved by faith, and that not of yourselves. It is the gift of
God. Not of works lest any man should boast.” Ephesians
2:8-9
Speaking of the portal by which we may enter into the
joys of heaven, (whether we liken it to a needle’s eye, or a gate in a wall)
scripture is resolute about the manner by which we have been promised the
wherewithal to stand in the presence of our Creator.
For you see, my friends, In John Chapter 14 Jesus made
the politically incorrect claim that He, alone is capable of ushering us into
the presence of His Father; as the result of His finished work on the cross. (“No
man comes to the Father, except by Me”). As frail creatures of the dust, we are
unable to add or detract from the free gift of salvation which He has won for
us in the shedding of His own blood on the cross.
And speaking of the pathway or portal by which we have
been granted an entrance into the everlasting Kingdom of our Savior Jesus
Christ, our Lord made the following claim.
“I am the door. If anyone enters by
Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.” John 10:9
Thank God, a way has been made for us to “thread the
needle” and to “walk through the gate.”
By William McDonald, PhD. Excerpt from (Mc)Donald's Daily Diary. Vol. 77. Copyright pendingIf you wish to copy, share or save this blog, please include the credit line, above
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