"It is easier for a camel to go through a needle's eye than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God"?

Question

I'm curious as to what this quotation means. Is it saying that being rich, in and of itself, is enough to stop one from going to heaven, or is it rather a statement on the corruption of the rich, saying that they generally are sinful by nature? And can a statement like this even be taken seriously when...

Answer 1

Actually, some believe that was a mistranslation. When it was translated into Latin, kamilos (a thick yarnish-rope) was confused with kamelos (camel). If that is the case, then it means "It is easier for a piece of fraying yarn to go through a needle's eye than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."

The translation makes a big difference, because if it means camel, rich men have no hope. If it means yarn/rope, it is possible, with a little extra effort.

Answer 2

What an insightful yet satirical observation, my dear ;)

First of all, here is the symbolic meaning: a camel going through a needle's eye seems almost impossible, and yet if it is somehow easier for a rich man to enter the kingdom of god, this would suggest that it is indeed quite difficult for a rich man to enter the kingdom of god.

The intended meaning behind this one is the christian teaching that on the earth we must be humble for in the kingdom of god riches await us. This tenet goes hand in hand with the notion that a poor man will be rich in the kingdom of god and a rich man if he enters, will be poor in the kingdom of god.

The latent meaning here is that spiritual enlightenment is not achievable through material belongings, property, possessions or riches. The idea is that by living humbly and simply we are able to develop the spiritual self.

It has little to do with the proposition that the rich are corrupt, or that rich men cannot enter the kingdom of god, but rather suggests that because rich men are less likely to live humbly, they are more likely to workship things other than god, such as property and material wealth, and less likely to achieve spiritual enligntenment because they may be engaging in other related sins, such as greed.

Yes, there are many quite unlikely things that do occur in the bible, but it remains that these things are meant to tell a story and are used figuratively. Whether or not they actually happened is irrelevant to the message they carry, and they were never meant to be compared to one another with such scrutiny.

Though there are stories of multiplying bread and fish and water changing to wine, it was never said that these things were done easily or that they ought to be discredited as banal occurences. It is indeed the opposite, or they wouldn't be considered miracles to begin with.

This may even corroborate the statement if you consider that a camel going through a needle's eye would indeed be quite miraculous, and even if it did occur in the bible, the fact that it is a miracle and still considered more likely than a rich man entering the kingdom of god would suggest that a rich man entering the kingdom of god would also be considered, in some sort, quite unusual and miraculous.

Either way, the fact that there are miracles abound in the bible should not be taken literally. In fact, I tend to think that nothing in the bible should be taken too literally. When's the last time you came across a camel anyway?

Answer 3

It says in the sixth chapter of the Gospel of St. Matthew, verse 24:

"'No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.'"

Let's be honest, here. If you've spent your life trying to get rich, you have not been putting God first in your life. There's just no way around it. So, it's not having the money that is the problem, but the love of it. The lusty passions for it that drive our actions in life. In these lie the real danger.

1 Timothy 6:7-10 says "For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs."

So, as you can see, Paul does not mince words on this issue. We must learn to treat everything in life as a blessing from God, knowing that what we have on this earth will not matter when we draw our last breath. We must submit ourselves to Him so that we do not make false idols, which money becomes when we put it first in our lives.

The important thing to remember is that it is never too late to devote ourselves to God. We must not forget what is said in John 3:16 and is echoed throughout the New Testament. We are saved by grace, and by truly believing in Christ Jesus, our sins are washed away and we will receive everlasting life.

P.S. I think Jesus was making an analogy for impact by making the "camel through a needle's eye" statement.

Answer 4

In the walls of old Jerusalem there were many gates. One of them is called the Needle Gate (still extant), because it is so narrow. If a camel were to try getting through that gate with its usual load it would get stuck, but if you unload the camel it walks through very nicely.

Thus the rich whose material goods are like the load on a camel. If they will but let go of their love for and their determination to keep those worldly goods, they too can enter heaven through the narrow gate with no problem.

Sadly, getting rich folks to give up ANYTHING is rather harder than trying to wean a tiger off meat, so......

There's nothing remotely "miraculous" about this statement. It's just Christ's way of making a point to an audience which at that time was very familiar with his analogy.

Answer 5

No. It does not say it's impossible for a rich man to enter heaven, just difficult. It is because human nature seems to forget about reliance on God when not experiencing hardships. It goes along with the teaching that it is better to humble yourself without being forced to be humbled. Most rich people find it hard to be humble.

If you notice the trends in the Bible, cities would prosper and then generally forget about God. I think this is evident with America, don't you?

Answer 6

I think my trip to Africa gave me a new perspective on what this means. I am from the USA and we really have everything we need here. I was in Uganda where they don't have regular jobs, they never know if they're going to have enough food for the day. I saw Christians there that were full of joy. That was kind of hard to grasp, why were they so happy when they were barely surviving? It was because they had Jesus, the source of hope and joy.

Over the time I was there I realized that the basis of our need for salvation is that we understand that we are in need. It is much easier for these people I met in Africa to see that they have needs than it is for Americans. They face serious physical needs every day. Americans are rich in comparison and we don't really have to worry too much about our basic survival. That makes it harder for us to see our need for salvation, our need for God.

We are the "rich man" I find it hard to realize my need for God's provision as I live out my life in America. Without realizing my need, I will continue to rely on my own ability to provide for myself, I will mistakingly think that I am taking care of myself. It's harder to remember that God is the true provider when it appears that I am doing the work.

Answer 7

There was a narrow entrance in the wall to Jerusalem that people used after the gates were closed at night. If was difficult to squeeze through, especially if you were pulling your camel.

Jesus was making a comparison. Everyone knew how difficult it was to bring in a camel after the gates were closed. The same with a wealthy person wanting to go to heaven . Most would have the attitude that if they had so much personal wealth anyway--they did not need God's provision of a Saviour. They could make it on their own wealth. Jesus was saying- it may be easier to bing in a camel through the eye of the needle.

Answer 8

If you read on in Matthew Jesus says "where your heart is, there your treasure will be also, you can't serve both God and money." So when people get rich they begin to put their faith in material things. If that is the case then it is not easy for a perosn who is in love with the things of this world to go to heaven. Because his faith and trust is in this rather than God alone. Without faith it is impossible to please God. Heb 11:6.

Answer 9

We learned about the Eye of the Needle in my tenth grade world geography history class. It was a very small doorway, though I don't remember where it was now. You could fit a camel through, but he'd practally have to be lying down. Plus, his stubborn nature goes into acoount. The owner or servant or whoever was trying to get him through would really have to push and pull. It wouldn't be impossible, but it would be extremely hard.

Now look at a rich man, especially one who was born into riches. He may become more dependant on his riches than on God. It would be hard for him to humble himself and admit his dependance on God. Again, it isn't impossible.

Answer 10

Its meant to demonstrate the human want to hold on to possessions and what they can see rather than have faith in God. It would have been easier for a beggar with nothing to loose and everything to gain but to a rich man, giving up all his earthly wealth to follow God would be quite a decision! (Though a good one!) It would probably also demonstrate greater faith though because he is giving up (seemingly) a lot more than the beggar.