Today’s scripture: Matthew 19:23-30 (ESV-text and audio) (KJV) (The Message) What might God be saying to me?
My thoughts (Mark Shoup):
At first glance, many of us may read the verse about it “being harder for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven than for a camel to go through the eye of a needle”, and think, “No problem, I’m not rich.” But, in fact, compared to 80% of the world, we are rich, right down to the poorest among us. So does this mean that to inherit the kingdom of heaven, we’ve got to be dirt poor and homeless?
Let me offer a few thoughts on the subject. First off, how many of us have used the phrase “like finding a needle in a haystack” when describing something that is hard to find? That phrase is called a ‘hyperbole’, or a comparative example that is exaggerated for effect. Is it possible that Jesus would speak in hyperbole? Consider the following verses that appears just a few chapters later in Matthew:
Matthew 23:23-24
23 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices — mint, dill and cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. 24 You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.”
I think its pretty safe to say that no one actually swallowed a camel, so is it possible that the camel in our scripture reading is also used as a “turn of phrase” and not to be taken literally?
Consider also, that there is a legend of a small gate in the Jerusalem wall that was nicknamed “the eye of the needle.” This gate was so small (low) that in order to get a camel through it, the camel would have to be unloaded and made to kneel down. A difficult task to be sure, but not impossible. Is this what Jesus meant? Difficult but not impossible?
Or, maybe Jesus was making the point that it is impossible to enter the kingdom of heaven without God, or without God’s help, and that with God, not just this but anything is possible?
Thought for the day: What “eyes of the needle” are there in my life that God can help me overcome?
We encourage you to include a time of prayer with this reading. If you need a place to get started, consider the guidelines on the How to Pray page.