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| vanislandwoman |
 metaphor- eye of the needle |
Posted Dec 23, 2004; 12:16 am |
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Re:
The Eye of the Needle:
I have a book published in 1972, written by G.Christian Weiss, who was a Gospel Missionary Union missionary in the Middle East before he worked for the Back to the Bible Broadcast. "Insights into Bible Times and Customs" is a very interesting little book that brings a lot of the biblical customs and the similes, metaphors, etc that were drawn from these everyday situations. It's like the way that we understand the phrase, "garbage in, garbage out", but to someone unfamiliar with modern technology, the phrase would seem strange.
This to me is a very believable explanationot the passage in Luke18, (and Matthew 19) I really like this little book of Weiss's. The coals of fire explanation is also very good.
Chapter 6, "The Camel and Needle's Eye", is very interesting.
Weiss says: "When I first heard the explanation that "needle's eye" was the name of a certain type of gate known to people in the Holy Land, I wondered whether this actually was what Jesus referred to or whether this was a fanciful modern interpretation of Scripture to take some the bluntness away from Jesus statement and to make it more palatable to rich people. But he question was settled in my mind while I was in the Holy Land a few years ago.
A Syrian guide was taking me thorugh the city of Damascus on a tour. We came to a section of what apparently had been a very ancient wall, and he called my attention to the nature of the huge wooden gates. Then he pointed to a small, low door beside the main gate, and I was struck forcibly with this statement: "That is what is called the 'needle's eye.' "
I had read about the smaller gates beside the large city gates of ancient cities, made to allow travelers to enter or leave the city at night when the large main gates were barred fast, and could not be opened except by a special permit from the head man of the city. Now in the ancient city of Damscus, I actually heard such a gate being called a "needle's eye." I was convinced. The Jaffa gate in Jerusalem also has a very fine example of one of these small "needle's eye" entrances.
Jesus had been speaking to the rich young ruler who wanted to enter the kingdom of God but was unwilling to loosen his grip on worldly wealth and material possessions. Jesus had told him that he lacked one thing: "Sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me" (Luke 18:22 ) When the young man heard this, "he was very sorowful: for he was very rich" (v. 23). Jesus then sadly added the comment, "How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God! 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" (v 25)
Picture the metaphor Jesus used. Camels loaded with sacks of grain, wood, charcoal, or other commodities entered the city daily. If a merchant should happen to arrive in the evening after the main gates of the city were closed, the only way he and his beast could possibly enter would be for the camel to be unloaded of all its baggage and made to kneel and literally crawl through the "needle's eye" on his knees. Stripped bare and down on its knees! The clear implication is that a wealty man, in order to become a Christian, must be ready to let go of his material wealth and humble himself to the level of a poverty-stricken sinner at the feet of Jesus. The rich young man would not do this: hence, he could not enter.
Nothing is too hard for God to achieve in a human soul. When men are at a loss, God is not. Many a rich man has met the terms of Christ and entered into the kingdom of heaven bereft of all dependence on material assets and humbly kneeling at the foot of the cross. A good New Testament example is Zaccheus. The man gloriously released his grasp on wealth and material assets, relieved himself of the burden of a guilty conscience, and humbly repented of his sinful life to join the fellowship of Jesus Christ, his Saviour and Master. "
When I read the story again after this explanation, I am also struck by the thought that the 'rich' one entering into Jesus goes trusting entirely in Him to provide. The worldly goods are left behind, possibly unprotected or else in the care of someone else. The one going in- the 'camel', has to want more than anything of the world, to be in Jesus' kingdom.
Marshall's reference to the follow-up verse pointed out that with man this is impossible, but with God it is possible. It takes God to change a stubborn and prideful person's heart enough to want to be rid of the burdens in order to be in the Kingdom. And I can easily transpose Sudsy's point about studying, etc. into this- a person can be burdened with the pride of studying and education- a certain kind of 'riches'. One has to be willing at some point to lay it all down and go in simply and in faith. God may or may not send one back later to do something with whatever 'riches' were laid at his feet, whether material or mental. I don't think that it is implied that the man was wrong to have 'riches' in the first place. It was the holding on that was wrong. |
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| Marshall Member Joined Feb 7, 2002 1163 posts Location: Langley, BC |
| When did this nickname originate? |
Posted Dec 23, 2004; 1:38 am |
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| vanislandwoman wrote: | | A Syrian guide was taking me thorugh the city of Damascus on a tour. We came to a section of what apparently had been a very ancient wall, and he called my attention to the nature of the huge wooden gates. Then he pointed to a small, low door beside the main gate, and I was struck forcibly with this statement: "That is what is called the 'needle's eye.' " |
Is there any evidence that this gate, the Jaffa Gate, or any similar gate was called the "needle's eye" in Jesus' day? I haven't been able to find any. As such, it seems quite likely to me that the gate got this nickname due to Jesus' expression and not the other way around.
And, there's certainly precedent for Jesus using hyperbole. He even used another camel hyperbole: "You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel" (Matthew 23:24b). 
No matter what explanation one uses of this illustration, the important point is that the thing in question is impossible without God. Any explanation that just makes it difficult is problematic. If this gate would have been just big enough for a person but not for a camel, then while I'd still like to see proof, it would at least keep the same meaning. On the other hand, if it's a gate a camel could squeeze through with difficulty, I think it goes against what Jesus said. |
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| mikey New member Joined Dec 26, 2004 3 posts |
| Eye of the needle |
Posted Dec 26, 2004; 8:59 pm |
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| To vanislandwoman--great explanation to the eye of the needle thing. I had heard this as well and it makes sense, also the gates were small because they were easily defendable against attack from the outside.---mikey |
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| vanislandwoman |
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Posted Dec 28, 2004; 12:05 am |
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Marshall, point well taken- I did some searching and have not found any confirmation that the name was applied to the small gates in early times. Also thanks for the reminder of the gnat/camel saying.
One site mentioned that their was a very early Jewish proverb referring to the improbable or impossible as an 'elephant going through the eye of a needle', so maybe the camel is just a variation of that saying.
But the gate reference just makes tremendous sense to me. Like that ad of volkswagon with all the furniture on top, but it won't fit under the overpass on the highway....
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