Andres
Puritan Board Doctor
16And behold, a man came up to him, saying, "Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?" 17And he said to him, "Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments." 18He said to him, "Which ones?" And Jesus said, "You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, 19Honor your father and mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself." 20The young man said to him, "All these I have kept. What do I still lack?" 21Jesus said to him, "If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me." 22When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. 23And Jesus said to his disciples, "Truly, I say to you, only with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven. 24 Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God." -Matthew 19:16-24
I would like to please get some takes on how you interpret this passage, specifically verse 24. (Also found in Mark 10:24-25 and Luke 18:24-25). I do feel that I understand that this passage to deal with the cost of discipleship and how the man loved his possessions more than Christ. What I am having trouble with is understanding verse 24.
Is this verse to be understood literally? Is Jesus referencing an actual needle that one would use for sewing similar to our modern day needles? If this is the case, I immediately tend to think that it is impossible for a camel to pass through there! Does this mean it should be taken that it is impossible for the rich to enter heaven? I have of course heard the example of this being reference to a low gate that a camel had to duck down to enter. I seem to remember reading Gordon Fee state in How to Read the Bible For All It’s Worth that the low-gate theory was myth. Any light on this interpretation? Thank you in advance for helping me with this passage and verse.