"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." (Matthew 19:24)

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Sir_Knight said:
When Jesus referred to “Eye of a needle”, was He referring to a sewing needle or to a small gate within the larger gate at the entrance to a city?

I’ve heard it taught BOTH ways by nuns & priests.
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I too heard the “smaller gate” story. Although it sounds great (the camel must be released of all it’s worldly goods in order to pass through the smaller gate) and fits the story to a “T”, I don’t think there is any proof of this “eye of the needle” in the ancient middle east.

I understand that the camel was a play on words representing a thick rope used by fishermen. It certainly couldn’t pass through the eye of a needle, either.
 
I think Jesus is using a common expression that describes anything that is difficult.

“It is easier to scrub a gym floor with a toothbrush than to shovel all this snow.” (something like that)
 
i am pretty sure Jesus is speaking in hyperbole to illustrate a truth. money can be a hindrance to eternal things.
 
Sir_Knight said:
When Jesus referred to “Eye of a needle”, was He referring to a sewing needle or to a small gate within the larger gate at the entrance to a city?

I’ve heard it taught BOTH ways by nuns & priests.
Click to expand...
I’ve heard it both ways, too, but my understanding is, that there was no such gate. (Although its a dandy story that I hated to give up!).
Anyhow, my own understanding of this story has been greatly aided in the making of all twine, hand-knotted rosaries. Because the time comes, when that twine has to go through a jump ring (or the “eye” at the top of a plastic crucifix), and it is not easy!! There is no question that it should fit, and that it has fitted before. It is just the actual getting of it through there to start with. Every time, I am convinced that this simply will NOT work this time…
and then it does. After trying & trying, & even measuring (just in case they;) shrunk the eye or;) grew the twine or something, since last week).
And one night when I was particularly cranky about it, it struck me: This takes patience (to keep trying), it takes faith (to believe that since it worked before, it will again); it takes careful attention (because it really is a near thing); and a lot of other virtues, many of which I don’t have an overabundance of.
Which is when I realized that what Jesus was saying here, was just about that: You can’t just assume that its possible, because you’re such a “nice” person, or because you have a bunch of http://bestsmileys.com/money/7.gif laying around.
It takes work, and devotion, & faith, & love, and all those things that aren’t much in evidence when you watch (for example) “The Apprentice”.
Its a whole different set of skills involved–you know??
 
This is an enjoyable topic, that I have researched multiple times.

First off, there is such a gate in Roman military architecture. It is not the door inside a door which is sometimes depicted. But the Fransicans, today, actually have a tourist attraction in the remaining foundation walls of the attempted rebuild of Jerusalem’s walls. The eye of the needle was not meant for camels, it was meant for little boys who could carry messages quickly – angels, if you will, who’s faces were bright red from carrying news from one city to another by running long distances on foot. These messengers were dispached under Roman authority and as Jerusalem was occupied by the romans – this little wonder was added to the wall by them. The present version exists at the foundation, and not only a camel – but you and I can easily get into Jerusalem through this gate today!
(Note: the present gate is bult on top of the original one, but as the architecture of the rebuild was started not too long after Jerusalem was razed to the ground – and since Roman military architecture did not change in that period, the gate is the same structure and shape as the original although the wall is not high enough to stop anyone from entering… )

However, at the time Jesus made the statement – only a little boy could get through. The reason it was so small, was so that it was easily guarded and blocked – and large invaders could not use it to attack the city while still permitting communications between Roman garrisons. There has been countless speculations on it being for traders, camels, and various other things … but historically these are very unlikely given the existance of the Roman version in the walls of Jerusalem even today.

The point Jesus was making, was that it is impossible for a camel to get through the “eye” of a needle – just as it would be impossible for a rope to go through the eye of a sewing needle. If one doesn’t enter the normal way – the alternative may in fact be impossible for full grown men (but not children) – (Of course, now that God has razed the walls of Jerusalem by use of the Pagans, the impossible is slightly more possible… 😉 )

In Greek the word for Camel, and one rarer word for Rope differ by only 1 letter, and many early commentators thought Jesus was making a pun. eg: that Jesus did mean a rope through a needle of some kind…

So, in addition to the stories you have heard – there are undoubtedly more you could find, if you enjoy looking for that sort of trivia…

I hope this helps with the imagination…and check out the tour guides to Jerusalem if you can… they probably still run the tour, unless something drastic has happened in the last five years that I am not aware of.
 
Sir_Knight said:
http://www.childrensermons.com/images/needle.gif
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Yes, that is the “gate within a gate” people often associate with the “eye of a needle” – but it is actaully a main gate – eg: like the Herodian Gate in the construction of Jerusalem. However, a young camel could easily get through that door – a full grown camel is around about 7ft at the top. A young camel is much shorter than that. For example and typical Camel info look here.

arab.net/camels/

The rider sitting on back of the Camel gives a good idea of scale – compare that against the photo above.

The door shown in that photo is MUCH larger than the one used by Roman messengers – clearly an assault on the city could easily be carried out by rich people on foot or with camels with the photo shown above. I haven’t found a photo on the net of the Fransiscan maintained door (bottom) but I’ll have to keep looking and dig through some old tour guides to see if there is a photo among my old collection – it isn’t a very impressive looking entry way…
 
Sir_Knight said:
When Jesus referred to “Eye of a needle”, was He referring to a sewing needle or to a small gate within the larger gate at the entrance to a city?
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I think it has to mean a sewing needle. As a previous poster said, if it were the gate, a camel could still go through it. Look at the following verses in the chapter. Jesus is talking about something that at least on the surface seems impossible. I don’t see how the gate theory fits the context of the conversation.
 
Take a peek at this web site. It has some interesting takes on the passage.

I would also suggest reading the comments about this passage in the St. Jerome biblical commentary.
 
jmcdzzz said:
I think it has to mean a sewing needle. As a previous poster said, if it were the gate, a camel could still go through it.
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I don’t have first hand knowledge of this but according to our Monsignor, a camel could get through but with MUCH DIFFICULTY – which would seem to fit with the passage … a rich man COULD get into heaven but with MUCH DIFFICULTY.
jmcdzzz said:
Look at the following verses in the chapter. Jesus is talking about something that at least on the surface seems impossible.
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To make the point that something seemed impossible, Jesus didn’t have to mention a camel. Jesus could have said that it would have been easier for a rich man to go through the eye of a needle then to get into heaven. Man or camel, neither one could get through the eye of a sewing needle. However, a man could easily pass through a needle eye of a gate while a camel would have MUCH DIFFICULTY in doing so.
jmcdzzz said:
I don’t see how the gate theory fits the context of the conversation.
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At night, the main gate was locked to guard against a large number of attackers suddenly charging the gate. With only the needle opened, much less could get in before counter measures could be taken. Thus, when travelers arrived at the city after dark, they had to go through the needle eye and getting their camel through was done with much difficulty.

That fits with the passage and makes sense as to why a camel would be passing through the needle eye.
 
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