what can you tell ,me about the eye of a needle as spoken of in the bible?

Question

as in a camel can pass thruogh the eyeof a needle easery than a rich man can enter heaven

Answer 1

That is a very interesting passage. It is repeated in all 3 of the "synoptic" gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) with little variation, essentially just clarification.

The rich man (also called a ruler -- therefore most likely one of the Pharisees whom Jesus had just finished dealing with, though not specifically identified as so) acknowledges Jesus' authority to teach and asks what he must do to earn his way into heaven. Notice here he is thinking about getting into heaven by way of WORKS. He asks, "What must I *DO* to enter heaven?"

When Jesus reminds him of the commandments which God had already set up as the standard of judgement (again suggesting He is talking to a Pharisee, who should know the law by heart), the man replies he has kept them all since he was a boy. This is foolishness, particularly in light of Jesus's teachings that not only our ACTIONS but even our very THOUGHTS subject us to judgement. But Jesus plays along, telling the man that as long as he is that good of a person, he is almost there -- all he need do now is sell all he has, give it to the poor, and follow Jesus. If the man truly loved God (and thought Jesus spoke with authority on the matter of God's will) and truly loved his neighbor as himself, these would not be hard to do -- give what you have to someone who needs it, and follow God (or His appointed spokesman) around and learn from Him. But the man goes away sad, because he knows he cannot bring himself to do that. He may be able to fool himself and other men into believing he has upheld the Law all these years, but Jesus knew what was in his HEART. He is unwilling to give up the priveledges of wealth and power, as he has been corrupted by serving man and mammon (money) rather than God.

Jesus then explains to His disciples what just happened by saying that "it is easier to pass a camel through the eye of a needle than to enter into heaven." This is frightening to the disciples, because certainly none of them can get a camel to pass through the eye of a needle. But Jesus reassures them that though THEY can't manage this feat, GOD can. So follow the basic commandments of loving God and loving your neighbor (out of love, not out of obligation) but rely on GOD'S GRACE AND FORGIVENESS to get into heaven, because your own works will prove insufficient. That grace and forgiveness come only to a man who has a repentant heart ("a man after God's own heart" as King David was described -- it wasn't that he never sinned, it is that when he realised he had sinned he was truly sorry for it and accepted the consequences), never to a man who tries to buy God off.

BTW, some modern-day Bible reinterpretters try to say that "the eye of a needle" referred to the narrow gate leading into the city, which was difficult to get a camel through because of its size but not impossible. This is just foolishness which originated from hearts that are too proud or hardened to hear the truth, and sadly it has fallen on many ears that failed to think the issue through. If it just meant that you had to be really serious about following God's will (which is what this interpretation would lead to), then Jesus would not have said "with man this is impossible" -- he would have simply said "with man this is very difficult". The teaching then would then be either that you CAN work you way into heaven if you try hard enough (repudiated throughout the New Testament) or that rich people are just scum who won't get into heaven with the rest of us (again, repudiated throughout by the assertion that we are ALL undeserving of God's grace, but that we can receive it nonetheless). It would strip all significance from a passage that was obviously very important to the disciples, as three early writers saw fit to include it in their reports of the life and teachings of Jesus. It would not have been important to them if all it was saying was the same thing that the Pharisees taught.

Answer 2

This is part of what Matthew Henry (famous Bible commentator)had to say

"[1.] Some imagine there might be some wicket-gate, or door, to Jerusalem, commonly known by the name of the needle's eye, for its straitness, through which a camel could not be got, unless he were unloaded, and made to kneel, as those camel, Gen_24:11. So a rich man cannot get to heaven unless he is willing to part with the burden of his worldly wealth, and stoop to the duties of a humble religion, and so enter at the strait gate. [2.] Others suggest that the word we translate a camel, sometimes signifies a cable-rope, which, though not to be got through a needle's eye, yet is of great affinity to it. A rich man, compared with the poor, is as a cable to a single thread, stronger, but not so pliable, and it will not go through the needle's eye, unless it be untwisted. So the rich man must be loosed and disentangled from his riches, and then there is some hope of him, that thread by thread he may be got through the eye of the needle, otherwise he is good for nothing but to cast anchor in the earth."

One cannot use wealth to buy one's way into heaven.

Answer 3

the eye of a needle is a type of gate in the middle east in the walls of a city it is talking about the unlikleyhood of something happening the near on impossibility as that of trying to get a camel through a low and narrow gate

Answer 4

its that its as difficult for a camel to pass through the needle as a rich men to enter heaven
as riches of wealth is gained by greed
it denotes that wealth is not every thing

Answer 5

Well, imagine trying to get a camel through the eye of a needle?

Why don't you get a Concordance?

Answer 6

Jesus had a sence of humor.......Think about it a camel trying to go throught the eye of a needle.........funny picture.....it would be impossible to enter heaven when rich.......unless God helps......as Jesus says in the next verse

Answer 7

well they say in jerusalem theres a place known as the eye of a needle. they say the place has a very low ceiling or roof... sort of like and archway or an entrance.
so tryin to get ur camel thru tht is very very hard.
thts the probable explanation for tht. although opinions vary to a large extent.

Answer 8

Get yourself a feckin small camel and a big fekin needle or burn

Answer 9

It is a hyperbole, something not to be taken literally.

It was to emphases that with Jehovah, ALL things are possible, when it comes to salvation.

Answer 10

ehh ,they didnt know about needles back then apparently ,so it cant be in a needle as we know it today ,,,can it ?.