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@derekstaroba

Жыл бұрын

You cant take everything in the bible as literal. Thats dogma which is a sin. You gotta use your mind do you really think jesus would say rich ppl cant go to heaven? His own grandfathers were very rich like king solomon. Use discernment

@drelowe7

Жыл бұрын

Great content, this makes for great dinner talk.

@UniversoulUniversity

Жыл бұрын

kzread.info/dash/bejne/rGSaz8Fxk8_NgrA.html

@juanjoseescanellas3798

Жыл бұрын

@@derekstaroba I agree if the bible is taken not as the word of a god but only as a piece of literature, where everybody can use their minds to imagine what the writer supposed to mean. I agree by the way, but I'm aware a huge amount of people would fiercely disagree with us. And that's the context of religions and ideologies or fans in sports, one is not expected to use the mind, only the instinct of human behaviour when feeling part of the masses, feeling the need to eliminate all those that pretend or seems to be different.

@vanpeters9751

Жыл бұрын

Lol you fit the camel in the eye of the needle by looking at the camel from a distance while looking through the eye of the needle

I mean... the saying immediately follows Jesus telling a rich man to sell all his stuff and give all his money to the poor; I don't think there's any ambivalence about what he meant by it.

@sneakylemon8513

Жыл бұрын

*ambiguity?

@Patman0074

Жыл бұрын

I always thought that it meant that everyone in Heaven is equal. Meaning there is no rich or poor people in Heaven, everyone there is the same.

@marktwain368

Жыл бұрын

It is vital to consider such sayings in context, as you point out. Well done!

@Curious_Traveler

Жыл бұрын

@@sneakylemon8513 Wow the worst word choice nitpick I have ever seen.

@owenbartrop8963

Жыл бұрын

@@Curious_Traveler No it isn't.

Rich people in hell be like: "I thought getting to heaven was as easy as a rope going through a gate!"

@sampatton146

Жыл бұрын

😂

@leeboy26

Жыл бұрын

Rich people turning up to the pearly gates holding a giant needle and threading rope through it.

@Sticky-Situation

Жыл бұрын

🤷‍♀️😅

@marcoemilianodellacroce5068

Жыл бұрын

I can see Trump holding a Bible upside down at the gates.

@Sarcasticron

Жыл бұрын

Kind of pointless to say, in that case.

Thanks to your graphics, my favorite translation is now “It’s easier for a Tyrannosaurus rex to get through the eye of a needle than a rich person to get into heaven.” Thank You! 👍🏼

@user-wr2cd1wy3b

4 ай бұрын

You should switch the eye of the needle bit too into something else even more ridiculous. What's the actual space between sewing threads called? Does it have a name? A stitching gap?

@joshjones6072

2 ай бұрын

That's funny! Immediately, it came to mind sailors use large needles to sew fishing nets & to splice ropes. Not to be contrary, but maybe Jesus was simply saying it was hard but not impossible... being rich & knowing how to use a boat to catch fish & teach people ⛵️🐟 😉 Goes with his teachings.

@FilosophicalPharmer

2 ай бұрын

@@joshjones6072 Had a fascination with knots since I was 12 when I began racing sailboats with my Evangelical Xtian father. I’ve crossed the Atlantic, not seen land for 15 days. Like I asked my Sunday School teacher when I was 8: “You mean to tell me Noah built a boat big enough for 2 of every animal?” “Yep! Sure did!”. What my little brain should’ve asked was, “what’s the Aramaic word for Kangaroo? Penguin?” Maybe, just maybe, Jesus’ teachings about being a friend to the tax man had to do with the conquering people’s (*the Romans) need to tax a people who refused to have ‘graven images’ in their presence. Let’s ask Flavius Jocephus, yeah?

Very interesting. I remember hearing in church as a child that the phrase referred to a sort of narrow geological feature or something like that, that required having the camel kneel. The pastor explained that the reference was to how famously stubborn camels were, and that most people traveling with them would be forced to turn back in parallel to the story of the rich man who asks Jesus how to be saved and turns back in dejection. However, I think that the saying being that it is something impossible makes more sense in context of the ensuing verse that it is only possible through God.

@juch3

4 ай бұрын

If you hear anybody reciting this story again the only proper response is 9:18

"Seriously, go check your favorite Aramaic dictionary." And it was at this moment that I knew I was not as scholarly as the general audience of this video.

@sslaytor

Жыл бұрын

Exegesis within exegesis! I assumed this was a bit of a joke as all three dictionaries were written by the same person and therefore not likely to contradict each other!

@kaanmuhammedgunes1879

Жыл бұрын

My favorite one is not a physical book but an internet site called "the CAL", so I felt the same.

@veramae4098

Жыл бұрын

I'm a retired librarian, and yes I have reference books at home, and yes some are for Biblical study ... but I overlooked getting an aramaic dictionary. I lost it!!

@usofliberty

Жыл бұрын

And all from the same guy, which was hilarious. I guess he really nailed it on the 3rd edition.

@pikiwiki

Жыл бұрын

or go ask a Chaldean, for a simpler option

Jesus: "it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven" Rich people and prosperity gospel preachers: "WELL HE DID NOT ACTUALLY MEAN THAT"

@Thessalin

Жыл бұрын

But literally everything else is literally also literal. Except that. I have to keep all my money. And never give it away. Even to Cesar. Or sell everything I own, give the money to the poor and follow Jesus. Nah. Everything He said about money was figurative, but everything else is literal.

@ww2germanhero

Жыл бұрын

The problem is the OT literally says God's people are wealthy a bunch of times. Not to mention the Kingdom of God was literally a Kingdom and to come at Jesus time so... So no one (rich or poor) ever entered it anyway lol

@robertbeisert3315

Жыл бұрын

Osteen's Bible has no fingerprints on any page

@RoundHouseDictator

Жыл бұрын

Thru the lord all things are possible so jot that down

@jose.montojah

Жыл бұрын

To see the Pharisees' yeast doing fine today. To check out the yeast of gold rotting the hearts of people. Blessed be thee, untouched by true corruption, so normalized today. Interesting to see most churches fighting over scraps, seeking power, weilding lies... Fascinating to witness the distortion of our lord thus far, heavily supported with phariseic reading of the old scripture. Great to see the contrast between the dead sea scrolls and the _codex vaticanus_ we call the "version of the 70 greeks" And to see the message twisted, the love for god handled by wolves as it was written, the angular stone rejected, churches causing secularization of society. An imperial collapse. WILL WE ONE DAY TAKE THE ROAD OF RADICAL HONESTY AND RADICAL LOVE THAT OUR LORD DEMANDED FROM US?? Wilst thee choose life? Or continue down the path of _D E A T H_ ?

“With men that trust in riches, it is impossible; but not impossible with men who trust in God and leave all for my sake, for such all these things are possible.” Mark 10:27 JST

My experience with rich people is their continual efforts to convince me that their being rich and us being poor makes sense. Thank you for your honest and candid analysis.

@Zenedoboz

Жыл бұрын

I mean... Rich people rarely understand the struggles and challenges poor people go through every day. On the other hand poor people rarely understand the struggles and challenges rich people went through.

@barrymoore4470

Жыл бұрын

@@Zenedoboz The two are not comparable. What struggles and challenges did someone who inherited their wealth have to compare with the struggles and challenges faced by the poor every day?

@goofyahhh254

Жыл бұрын

Of course, it's one thing to participate in our capitalist society and another is to ideologically justify it. If I'm rich I would use all my money for good works. Edit: Especially knowing what we know about environment and genetics impacting people's ability to get out of poverty. Not to mention IQ distribution probably one of the biggest unsaid privilege.

@Anttys_WeyTua_CTa_Eu986

Жыл бұрын

@@Zenedoboz I disagree they don't understand the struggles of the rich; they do, they just didn't get lucky, or have the right friends, or enjoy the positive discrimination of the state. I'm generalizing, but being rich is a function of several factors, random chance among others.

@CTOSHLL

11 ай бұрын

​@@Anttys_WeyTua_CTa_Eu986greed is a sin and greed is bad

“The ancient saying ‘the day pigs fly’ actually intended very plump, almost flightless pigeons humorously called ‘pigs’ in those remote times because of their appearance.” I can almost hear far-future English scholars arguing the point.

@andrewsuryali8540

Жыл бұрын

I first encountered this saying in college in the US. We don't have an equivalent saying in my language. The funny thing is that when I heard it the first time I completely couldn't figure out what the point was. I was an aerospace major. We could fly pigs any day.

@notfancy2000

Жыл бұрын

@@andrewsuryali8540 We do have the saying in Argentina but with cows instead of pigs.

@MusicalRaichu

Жыл бұрын

a long time ago there was something floating around the internet about all sorts of funny fake etymologies of sayings. like "don't throw the baby out with the bathwater" dated from an era when making hot water was laborious and time consuming, so the whole had to take turns in their pecking order in the same bathtub with a month's worth of grime. by the time the baby was washed, the water was so murky, it would be easy to accidentally throw the baby out with the bathwater.

@RevengeOfIjapa

Жыл бұрын

They would then refer to collection of ancient works of literature by the name of "Harry Potter", in which a girl names her messenger owl "Pigwigeon" and another character shortens to "Pig". The presence of this literary reference would provide evidence for this hypothesis

@EricLeafericson

Жыл бұрын

I want a pig pigeon now. They sound adorable and squishy ❤️

Idk why but the camel stats and the neutron star thing made me laugh so much. There's just something so funny about somebody dryly explaining why a camel can't fit through the eye of a needle.

@dementiasorrow

Жыл бұрын

I laughed hard too. the seriousness and historical accuracy to explain something so obvious was "seriously" funny. 😅😂

@davidiscool26

Жыл бұрын

Kind of gave me Half as Interesting vibes

@RoganGunn

Жыл бұрын

Well, rich people have nevertheless been trying for about 2000 years now. 😜

@Alverant

Жыл бұрын

Do you think R4B watches Kurzgesagt?

@samuelfraley8737

Жыл бұрын

Dr. Henry’s comedic timing is perfect and always has been.

Fascinating! 2 of my favorite topics, linguistics and religion study, in one video. I love it :)

Weirdly, I heard an priest say that the 'eye of the needle' referred to a specific kind of pointed arch over a gateway that for some reasons camels hated and would buck and spit rather than pass through. The idea was that some archways were deliberately designed to exploit a psychologic fluke of the camels to keep pack animals out of certain areas of the city.

@karenmmcthree

9 ай бұрын

What about pine needle.....eye....pineal....place where Jacob wrestled God....face of God.

@karenmmcthree

9 ай бұрын

Yes, I heard of that too where the camels actually had to get down on their knees and crawl through the arched gateway it was so small....on the silk road somewhere near the ocean I believe.

@austerepotato3159

5 ай бұрын

@@karenmmcthreeno

@rayspeakmon2954

4 ай бұрын

That was my understanding.

@juch3

4 ай бұрын

9:19

Ive always imagined there's a rich guy somewhere on the planet who's been researching methods to pass a camel through a needle eye... he's got graphs, equations, and a whole team of world class scientists and mathematicians working around the clock... they've been able to successfully pass a llama, but the camel is still wildly out of reach 🤣

@BleedingBasco

Жыл бұрын

@Tut Dvd Your prejudice is showing. Jews don't believe in Jesus. Only Christians care about what Jesus says.

@davidm4566

Жыл бұрын

That's funny. Like they've spent millions of dollars trying to figure out how to do it.

@davidm4566

Жыл бұрын

@@BleedingBasco some Jews do care about Jesus- they are called Messianic Jews. Also, all of the original Christians were Jewish; they believed the Messiah had come but didn't stop their Jewish beliefs or traditions.

@BleedingBasco

Жыл бұрын

@@davidm4566 The Christain bible is just the Jewish Scriptures (now commonly known as the Old Testament) with the scriptures of Jesus as the Messiah (New Testament) added on. They are the same God with the same beliefs about that God. The main difference between Jewdiasm, Messianic Jewdiasm, and Christianity is their stance on Jesus and their traditions stemming from that. Jesus was Jewish, as were his followers. The split to Messianic Jews stems back to the apothles, and was that they believed Jesus was the Messiah coming to give them salvation. They were essentially the first Christians, but held the Jewish traditions. Jews, as most people refer to today, do not believe Jesus was the Messiah. The step from Messianic Jewdaism to Christianity was a slower process, and came with dropping the Jewish traditions and gradually coming to the belief of the Holy Trinity. Whereas God and Jesus are the same being. Messianic Jewdaism pretty much died out, then began again in the 1800s by focusing on just the scriptures (both new and old) to get back to that place of practicing Jewish traditions while also believing Jesus was the Messiah.

@BleedingBasco

Жыл бұрын

@@davidm4566 In short I agree with you on most of it, but not about Messianic Jews being what people refer to when they say Jews. Edit: Corrected a spelling error.

I had heard the gate theory back in CCD as a child, with the teacher really emphasizing that "it is supposed to mean difficult, not impossible. Jesus wasn't saying that you shouldn't try to be rich." Interesting how interested some people are in "softening" this message. ;-)

@RoganGunn

Жыл бұрын

I was taught this too (though my teacher heavily implied it might be rich people cope!) To be fair to both Jesus and your teacher, he didn't say it was impossible. He says for man it is impossible, but for God all things are possible; the implication being that only those who dedicate themselves to God have a chance, and it is at His will. Also, logically, if you are rich, and give up your wealth, then you are poor, and now can enter the Kingdom of God. But you are right that over the years there has been a big incentive to soften that particular message. There are a lot of rich churches!

@DManCAWMaster

Жыл бұрын

Well if it means impossible than Jesus effectively has to damn most of the Old Testament prophets as most of them were rich

@gg3675

Жыл бұрын

@@DManCAWMaster citation needed. first hurdle is demonstrating most of them existed at all. have fun

@lizzkaayako2270

Жыл бұрын

@@DManCAWMaster What evidence is there in the Tanakh for most of its prophets being rich?

@iamdigory

Жыл бұрын

The next verses make it clear that All people can only be saved by a miraculous act of God, none of us are un-rich enough to save ourselves

Thank you for the information. I don’t recall seeing your site before but am subscribing so I don’t lose track of it. Know exactly who to share this with.

I thought this had to do with the camel going through the man sized gate in the city wall called the eye of the needle. The camel would have to have all of it's cargo removed and then crawl on it's knees to get through. Definitely a suitable metaphor for a rich man who is attached to his possession and status.

@nickmartin123456

4 ай бұрын

This is answered at 9:45

@user-yz2ut6ld6h

4 ай бұрын

Niiiiceee!!! My thought is if our Lord is so gracious! We don’t need to waste “precious” time being matter-of-fact; as long as we understand the principle?

@chilakachilaka2071

4 ай бұрын

Elaborate please

@christophercremo3020

4 ай бұрын

This is what I was taught as a child

@WLKNIFMinistries

4 ай бұрын

No it’s a literal needle

I think people's reaction to this statement and the attempt to undermine its message just proves Jesus' point even more: those with wealth are so concerned with keeping it that they will do just about anything, including damn themselves.

@Serai3

Жыл бұрын

Even to the point of blasphemously rewriting the teachings of their own god. Their arrogance is astounding.

@alhassani626

Жыл бұрын

@@Serai3 Wealth is addiction. I have had a time of prosperity in life, it was the worst era of my life. Wealth requires you to be involved in all of the mortal sins in order to keep that status. We can use the example of Epstein.

@Salsmachev

Жыл бұрын

Jesus straight up said that if you allow poverty and suffering to persist without doing what you can to alleviate it, he will take that as if you had refused to help him and leave you to your fate. And somehow these people think Jesus was going to cut the rich some slack.

@Serai3

Жыл бұрын

@@alhassani626 Yes, exactly. They didn't have the concept of addiction as we have it, but I think that's what Jesus was getting at. "It's not his money; it's HIM." :)

@vinny142

Жыл бұрын

@@alhassani626 "We can use the example of Epstein." Or the long long list of catholic clergymen involved in the ongoing childabuse scandals where even the pope himself helped to protect the guilty. Chruch = rich = doesn't care about justice.

I learned at school in Norway that it was a gate in Jerusalem called "the camel`s eye". This made the saying completly meaningless, it was very confusing.

@ninatrabona4629

Жыл бұрын

This is like that child's game , Telephone. Every detail gets totally scrambled over the course of time.

@RoganGunn

Жыл бұрын

I guess it needs the extra context that the camel had to shed its load to pass through (like a rich person giving up their wealth) to make total sense. I suppose that context was left out by rich people looking to reinterpret the passage!

@Cletus_the_Elder

Жыл бұрын

I have also heard this interpretation many years ago. It came from teaching from a Baptist seminary, so I took it with a grain of salt.

@michaeldillon3113

Жыл бұрын

I can't recall where I read it , but yes the gates to Jerusalem were known as ' eyes of the needle ' . Camels were not allowed past those gates . You only have to look at the teachings and lives of saints of all traditions were obviously anti materialism when done for its own sake 🕊️

@whatabouttheearth

Жыл бұрын

That's what I was taught by multiple Christian denominations here in the US

Wow you dont lnow how much ive been looking for acurate proof of the saying ! Loved it 🙌🏻🙌🏻

These are fantastic. Keep up the great work

Shocking that a number of elite scholars, who were often the descendants of royalty, would seek to blunt the force of Jesus' condemnation...

@kerwinbrown4180

Жыл бұрын

It isn't condemnation but instead a point of faith as it symbolizes what is impossible for a human is possible for God. God is more powerful than a neutron star and can keep the camel alive to boot.

@meatpuppet5036

Жыл бұрын

Its not a condemnation, and your argument as to the scholars' class is badly flawed.

@franzfleischer3476

Жыл бұрын

"elite scholars, who were often the descendants of royalty" - that gave me a laugh.

@benjamintillema3572

Жыл бұрын

@@kerwinbrown4180 What would the point of the text be if not to condemn the hoarding of wealth? This is not the only passage where Christians are told give away their money for salvation. The way you're describing it is like, "Greed is bad but that doesn't matter, because Jesus loves you." But Jesus is the one telling people to give their worldly possessions to the poor.

@kerwinbrown4180

Жыл бұрын

@@benjamintillema3572 You are talking of a Jewish Rabbi teaching his student-adherents. Jews have no problem with the pursuit of wealth but they do have a problem with idolatry. Paul of Tarsus teaches his students that the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. That is idolatry and is a grave sin to the Jewish that Jesus was teaching. If you read further down in the account to the following verse in Luke 25 the disciples ask "Who then can be saved" which reveals the disciples understood the "rich man" to mean all humans. Jesus answered with "What is impossible with man is possible with God".

Our pastor told us in a sermon that the 'eye of the needle' was a gate into Jerusalem where a laden camel wouldn't fit so, you had to unload the camel to get it through. He said rich people have to unload themselves of their love of riches to get through the gate of Heaven.

@yllejord

Жыл бұрын

Did he say if they get to take up their love for riches again once they enter, just like the camel in this scenario is probably laden with all the stuff again once it is inside the gate?

@karollisa7022

Жыл бұрын

@@yllejordi would think that if they unloaded the camel before going through, they would have to leave their riches on the other side, and not be able to go back for them.

@yllejord

Жыл бұрын

@@karollisa7022 I think Jesus was better at parables than this mess. It's not about a gate. Simple as that.

@LSwick-ss6nm

Жыл бұрын

Quite simply he said it would be "easier" because a man, alone, not laden with goods can pass through the small needle gate where one with a camel loaded with posessions would find it extremely difficult, if not impossible. Jesus made a plain as day statement to the people of the time. If we would learn about the time and culture in which He lived, many of these things would be just as obvious to us.

@LSwick-ss6nm

Жыл бұрын

​@@yllejord No because the city guards would not allow the small gate to remain open while he unloaded it. He had to make a choice, enter and leave the camel with all his goods outside, or stay with his goods outside the safety of the city walls.

Thanks. This came up in my feed and I ignored it for quite a while believing it would be info that was slanted to a particular religion. When you gave the proposed Hebrew/Aramaic camel-rope theory, I had an Ah-ha moment as I am very familiar with both. But then you gave more to it, I was delighted at your scholarship. Thanks for such a wonderful explanation.

@jewel65

Жыл бұрын

He has a lot of really good informative videos with no agenda!

This was very informative thank you.

I bought into the whole "it was actually rope not camel" theory until today. I'm always happy to be proven wrong, thank you and great video :)

@nicanornunez9787

Жыл бұрын

But what will make if the intention is the same, rich ppl doesn't go to heaven

@rookmaster7502

Жыл бұрын

Don't be so sure. The Gospel texts were initially written in Greek, likely by Greek authors for predominantly for Greek audiences.

@texasyojimbo

Жыл бұрын

I had never actually heard the theory, but I admit it has at least some theological appeal. A rope can be pared down to a single thread to pass through the eye of a needle. Likewise, one is tempted to believe Jesus would have someone in His kingdom who was a formerly rich person who gave up their wealth to follow Him. But if the word just isn't there -- and it isn't in the earliest texts -- then it just isn't there.

@celsus7979

Жыл бұрын

The rich being barred from heaven is consistent with Jesus philosophy. A rich man asked how to folow Jesus,. Reply 'give all your wealth to the poor' About money, 'give to Caesar what is Caesar's' implying that earthly wealth does not belong to those seeking the kingdom of heaven. The sermon in the mount is perfectly clear about posessions as well. Conclusion: Jesus was completely focused on relying on God for everything, and had strong contempt for earthly wealth and security. Take it as you will, but you will have to bend over backwards to match earthly posessions wirh his philosophy

@farrex0

Жыл бұрын

@@celsus7979 But what if the rich man gives too much money to the poor, making them rich and therefore condemning them?

The original meaning definitely throws a huge wrench in prosperity doctrine. Completely understandable why that would be a popular interpretation as the church enjoys so much wealth.

@Sunflowrrunner

Жыл бұрын

The give every thing to the poor and following Jesus and holding all things in common and multiplying in numbers daily also mess it up.

@infinite5795

Жыл бұрын

@@Sunflowrrunner not really, Tithes consolidate the power of the church over people, just like your God doesn't want intelligent people.

@jdmbapastor5172

Жыл бұрын

While I generally agree, Christianity (as a movement) had--at least by the time of Paul--accepted the patronage of the wealthy was valuable for its growth. While many Protestant and Evangelical communities today extol an "Acts 2" community, Paul's discourse letters clearly show that the wealthy play a role in supporting the movement's growth at large. In general, Christianity has a challenge of practicality for maintenance of the organization (i.e., paying bills) and idealism which truely commits to the jist of Christ's demands.

@MuricaTurkey

Жыл бұрын

@@jdmbapastor5172 That's probably because Jesus' idea of "The Church" doesn't jive with an actual, organized church either.

@nickanderson412

Жыл бұрын

Prosperity doctrine is Mammonism

Excellent treatise! Thank you! Just subscribed

*Plot twist:* Jesus really did say camel and the original scribe made the typo, but divine power intervened thus causing the next translator to mistranslate the typo fixing the error.

I'm really glad you didn't leave out the part where Jesus says, "With man, this is impossible. But with God, all things are possible." That was a big part of His point.

@TheCatholicNerd

Жыл бұрын

I agree. We even see what the rich young man that he is justified before the more radical call to give up everything that he owns. He asks what he must do to be saved in Jesus tells him. The man wants more and Jesus invites him to a more radical following, personally, I think Jesus was inviting him to become an apostle. Power corrupts and wealth is a form of power. The only way for a rich man avoid corruption is to open his heart to the Lord and allow the Lord to guide him. Thus, I don't think it's impossible for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven, but I do think it's quite difficult for people with lots of possessions and wealth and power to rely on God and requires the grace of God to accomplish. We All must do this of course, but I think it's harder for someone with lots of wealth and power to humble himself. Just my opinion.

@crazkurtz

Жыл бұрын

Kenneth Copeland would agree. More money

@dcw56

Жыл бұрын

"With man, this is impossible. But with God, all things are possible." That was a big part of His point. That was THE point. One of the Apostles asks "Then who can be saved?" Then Jesus replies the part about With man it is not possible but with God EVERYTHING is possible. A sinner like me can be saved whether we are talking about a large animal or a large piece of rope passing trough the eye of a needle. If the person who put up the video had simply mentioned this to begin with, the video would have only been about one minute long.

@rmt3589

Жыл бұрын

Same. I heard ppl use the needle verse since I was little. At a church I heard the "through God all things are possible" quote and used it as a counter. Had no idea they were connected till high-school. Christ is the way, the truth, and the light. Through Him all things are possible. My understanding is if you try to use your money to get into heaven instead, you will fail. And it's speaking against the "money can buy anything" belief.

@woody5476

Жыл бұрын

@@dcw56 It's good to take a scripture and get its entire meaning. There is a lot more there than just that nothing is impossible for God, and that anyone can be saved (which is two points right there). There is also the nuance of considering that the riches of this world are not the Way, and that you can get tangled up in them if they are your focus, kind of like the thorny ground in the Parable of the Sower. Plus, looking at the culture, and manners and customs of the time, can help you get a better picture of the heart of what is being said, and why it is being said. I don't want a one-minute view of the scriptures; I want to dig in and get the complete meaning.

The "easier for a camel to pass through the eye of the needle..." phrase has always been a favorite of mine. If I may remind you again, you have deaf viewers (like me) that need subtitles for better understanding of what's being said in your videos. I struggled to listen with powerful hearing aids to catch most of what you said, and sometimes I managed to lip-read whenever you show your face, but not always. I am grateful, by-the-way, that you do speak clearly, and you enunciate your words well for me to lip-read. This message will probably get lost in this comment section since already 1,751 viewers posted their comments. Hopefully, you will see my message someday.

@serronserron1320

Жыл бұрын

Why not get a cochlear implant?

@RevMarkSmith

Жыл бұрын

@@serronserron1320 I am a Christian minister who has worked in the Deaf community for over 20 years can i point out that cochlear implants do not work for everyone. They work better when implanted early - and while sometimes helpful for many people , for others they simply don't work or are disappointing

@ChrisHow

Жыл бұрын

@@serronserron1320 Well, yeah, I guess complex and expensive surgery is an alternative to just not turning off the auto generated subtitles

@alligatrix

Жыл бұрын

co-signing this. I'm not hearing impaired but I do have ADHD, which makes my auditory processing Not Amazing, and on top of that I often watch KZread videos in slightly noisy environments like in the kitchen or in the shower. subtitles are really important!

@serronserron1320

Жыл бұрын

@@alligatrix How do you watch videos in the shower without getting the appliances water saturated?

I'm 71 and I've always understood the needle to be the small gate where the camel would have to unload to pass through the gate. The following verse is about the rich man selling everything and giving it to the poor

I heard the gate theory when I was a Christian, and it does make sense. Many fortifications had small doors people could use during a siege. For a camel to fit through such a door, it would have to kneel down, which is quite difficult for a camel to do while walking. The message I learned from it was one of humility. The idea was that wealth often accompanies arrogance and it would be harder for a rich man to truly and earnestly humble himself and kneel before god than for a camel to kneel to get through such a gate.

@garywallis1040

4 ай бұрын

This is the poise I take.

@jwsanders1214

4 ай бұрын

Then who can be saved ? With man it is impossible, but with God all things are possible

@hollyhartwick3832

4 ай бұрын

@@jwsanders1214 - It's a good thing no one needs saving then.

@jwsanders1214

4 ай бұрын

@@hollyhartwick3832 sounds like you haven’t come to the realization that you are a sinner . “ God did not send his Son to condemn the world, but that through him the world might be saved “ John 3:17

@hollyhartwick3832

4 ай бұрын

@@jwsanders1214 - Why do you evangelicals always assume people don't know about your religion? I was a Christian for 25 years, a Bible scholar, an apologist, and went to university with the intention of entering the ministry. I know full well what the Bible says and I know full well that it's, and this is being generous, unreliable. You're wasting your time preaching at the majority of non-Christians. We know what Christianity is about, and we aren't buying what you're selling. Do yourself a favour and take it somewhere else. Sin is defined as an offense against god. You can't offend someone who doesn't exist. As such, sin doesn't exist.

I like how Chesterton put it: “If you use your imagination, and shrink the camel as small as possible, and enlarge the needle as much as you can, in other words, if you take Christ’s words to mean the least that he could have meant, then the least thing that Christ was saying, is that; rich men are not all that trustworthy.” 😀

@baneuntaned2546

Жыл бұрын

I get that. But just hear me out first. Me: continues to confuse by explaining......

@OnTheThirdDay

Жыл бұрын

Somehow the guy in the video totally misinterprets this famous passage by not reading the rest of the discussion. It is clear from that the rich (and nonrich) can go to Heaven by an act of God. However, the hyperbole by Jesus should not be explained away but meditated on. I recommend Soren Kierkegaard's Fear and Trembling for a discussion of the hyperbole by Jesus and why we should really study them and take their effects super seriously.

@KbB-kz9qp

Жыл бұрын

@@OnTheThirdDay I think the presenter is focusing too narrowly on translation and grammar of older languages…missing the forest for the trees.

@OnTheThirdDay

Жыл бұрын

@@KbB-kz9qp Agreed. However, if one is to do a proper analysis of a text, one should start with reading it in context beifre trying to reread it differently. I don't like to "call out" people and say they aren't trustworthy, but it is a reminder to keep in mind that even if someone makes good arguments about something then they might be very incorrect elsewhere.

@DannyB-cs9vx

Жыл бұрын

A person can be very trustworthy in life, and a monster spiritually. Al Capone kept his word as an example. It is more an issue of being attached to worldly things and not spiritual principles.

When I was still a Christian, I remember teaching a a Sunday School lesson to young kids about this parable. The resources the church gave me were all about the second interpretation. It had images of a camel, loaded with cargo trying to squeeze into a small gate. It probably did have the intended meaning to soften the impossibility of the task and allow for rich people to simply give up some of their wealth. I see now how it takes away the radical nature of what could have been the original. I find it sad that an interpretation based on no evidence at all is still taught and believed in modern Christian circles. Whether the original meaning was about a camel or a thick anchor rope, the imagery of that interpretation is quite clear - the task is not just extremely difficult but *impossible* Thanks for the video!

@COl-rn5th

Жыл бұрын

Someone (many someones) didn't read their Bible, apparently: "You shall not add to the word that I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God that I command you." Deuteronomy 4:2 Pick and choose exegesis is a very bad principle for earnest-sounding religious practice.

@LastOne155

Жыл бұрын

Once I started learning about the Bible outside of church I realized the church was no authority on it. The 'turn the other cheek' and the 'go the extra mile' and 'give them your cloak' were all forms of nonviolent protest back in the day. Churches ;eave that part out and do not explain why

@staindnirv

Жыл бұрын

Not everyone who believes themselves a Christian is. In my Christian schooling the literal eye of a needle was taught. It makes me sad that hateful and self serving churches lead people astray and give Christians a bad rep.

@COl-rn5th

Жыл бұрын

​@@staindnirv Reminds me of this 'oldie' from when I believed the Christian way: kzread.info/dash/bejne/m4edj8OLpsvdm7g.html

@COl-rn5th

Жыл бұрын

@@LastOne155 Reminds me of this 'oldie' from when I believed the Christian way: kzread.info/dash/bejne/m4edj8OLpsvdm7g.html

So simple... ancient cities and palaces had walls around them for protection from attacks. There was the main gate which had a wide entrance for incoming merchant caravans, and side gates were closed. At dusk, the main gate closed. If a merchant came to city later, he had to use a side gate. Historically it has been found that Herod Antipas, ancient King, had a side gate in his palace that was called the needle. This was small and narrow. Camels were packed widely with weight distributed on both sides, and the camel was wide with cargo. For the camel to fit through the needle gate, the cargo needed to be taken off outside, the camel then came through, then the cargo needed to be carried through and retied to the camel. Hence it was difficult for a merchant who came into a city or palace after the main gate had closed, as it caused much trouble to bring goods into the city. This brought the comparison about being difficult for a camel to enter the eye of the needle. Herod and his palace were well known in the days of Jesus, and He used that as a comparison. As a student of the Bible and of history matching the Bible for 50 some years, this is what I have found. Why these people who made this video say differently is only their opinion, and I believe it to be incorrect. May God bless you with your own discernment. Have a blessed day.

@juch3

4 ай бұрын

19:18

Thank you, any theory related to origin text is essential. With hope to better understanding the teachings of Jesus. And we all need to have open minded and heart.

When I was in religion class as a kid our teacher told us that the "Eye of a Needle" is believed to have been a really small gate that Camels are too big to fit through.

@porsche911sbs

Жыл бұрын

no, that was just a myth invented so that rich people could trick Christians into thinking they had a chance of going to heaven

@swirvinbirds1971

Жыл бұрын

Well that would mean every single human could fit thus render the whole saying meaningless.

@johnlawless2555

Жыл бұрын

It means what it it says the eye of a needle.

@jimleane7578

Жыл бұрын

Thanks for your post. Jesus often used play on words. I think he ment both the narrow gate and camel as well as rope and needle's eye. Look at petra and Peter ("upon this rock"), the parable of the children's food and the dogs.

@donofon1014

Жыл бұрын

@@swirvinbirds1971 You need to rethink this. It said in metaphor ... easier for a camel to go thru the gate. IMPOSSIBLE. Rich man IMPOSSIBLE. See if you can handle a metaphor.

okay but the fact that the words for camel and cable have sounded so similar to each other throughout the ages in several different languages is amazing

@stephenphil1593

Жыл бұрын

It's really strange

@thefoxhat6163

Жыл бұрын

It's not that amazing. Most of the European languages have roots in Tamil. There is also some evidence there are Tamil influences in the north American Indian tribal languages.

@halohaalo2583

Жыл бұрын

@@thefoxhat6163 nope. Proto Indo european is not closely related to tamil. PIE languages: Iranian, Sanskrit, Slavic, Greek Latin, German

@thefoxhat6163

Жыл бұрын

@@halohaalo2583 You're wrong. Don't let the history you' want to believe get in the way of current thinking based on the evidence. Perhaps you're one of those supremacists who has convinced themselves the superior ancient civilisations were far too stupid to be anything other than cave dwellers. Modern humans are barbarians in comparison.

@__Hanasei__Levinus__

Жыл бұрын

@@thefoxhat6163 eh

Apparently you can still see the "Eye of the Needle Gate" even today and there was yet another of the same name in Nazareth. Here is what a recent traveler said on his social media post. "In Jerusalem, there is an Eye of the Needle Gate. The large green gate in the photo above that is located behind my friends, Roger and Linda, is a larger gate door that would be closed at night, but the little door that is open behind them is called the Eye of the Needle Gate."

Then there is the "hey rich kid, sell all your stuff and give it to the poor" parable, which arguably goes along with this one... And the disciples, when they were sent out, were instructed to take almost nothing with them... because God would provide everything they needed. Being a heavy loadout hiker, backpacker, mountaineer type with the underlying philosophy of "better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it", that last one is hard for me.

Was taught the gate myth in highschool by my New Testament teacher and believed it until today. Thank you for the in depth look!

@thedevilsadvocate5210

Жыл бұрын

Does it matter? The gate myth is as good as any myth

@theimmortal4718

Жыл бұрын

Either way, it means you can't love your money and God at the same time. A rich man will choose his money

@ChiefofSinnersThoughIBe

Жыл бұрын

@@thedevilsadvocate5210 If you're implying that the whole of the bible is myth and that's why it doesn't matter, what would be the whole point of the video? Or RfB's career along with his colleagues'? Matters a lot to many people.

I always wondered about the misinterpretation of the eye of a needle meaning a gate. I heard this when I as a child. I think maybe by a pastor of a megachurch. Seems pretty obvious why he would prefer the incorrect translation rather than the true translation. Thanks so much for covering this :)

@chriss780

Жыл бұрын

funny how everything else is meant to be completely literal- and even stuff that's never even mentioned - eg abortion, is considered 100% certain in the christian conservative worldview, but the second god clearly denounces their life style and asks them to give up their wealth, unambiguously in like 12 different places they're like "wait, no, not like that! he didn't really mean it! it was a figure of speech!" absolute jokes. they have zero convictions

@letsburn00

Жыл бұрын

It's one of those funny things. Maybe the obvious obvious interpretation is the logical one. I.e Jesus said give your wealth away and look after the poor. Which is especially relevant back when there was no government support for the poor and sick. The only reason it's not interpreted that way is that religious leaders who are wealthy don't like that their leader, who spends the entire time talking about how the poor and meek are godly could be preferable over them.

@a.t.c.3862

Жыл бұрын

I heard that gate 'explanation' from a teacher as a Catholic child; utter 'bovinum excrementum', of course. I must have had a strong doubting streak even then. As an older and more questioning young person I researched it a bit - and found that there was no gate in Jerusalem called 'the eye of the needle'. I'm still a Catholic and camel and needle it is.

@user-lb8do4ew6k

Жыл бұрын

Same reason he told you catholics, protestants or every single other Christian denomination aren't Christians.

@user-lb8do4ew6k

Жыл бұрын

@Eddard Tyrsson Christianity originated with the ministry of Jesus in the 1st century Roman province of Judea which became the catholic church & the coptics. The new breed of born agains branched from the southern baptists in 1975 in America.

I love reading comments here. This channel draws such wonderful and fascinating minds❤

This channel is great, as always

I find the meaning obvious: the mindset needed to get rich and the mindset needed for spiritual progression are very different and are often opposed.

@_sky_3123

Жыл бұрын

It wasn't that obvious to me. But I like your point.

What an excellent and thorough discussion. I agree that Jesus's saying was intended to be surprising and radical. Many things that he said surprised and shocked people. And the context of the passage supports this. When Jesus said it, his disciples were "greatly astonished" and asked "Who then can be saved?" Jesus answered that is it impossible for MEN to accomplish salvation, "but with God, all things are possible." His core message, no matter how you look at it, is that salvation is only possible with God's help.

I love this stuff. It shows how cool and colorful people have always been with expressions. Especially Jesus that guy had bars.

@bryanlasermagiktyler3132

5 ай бұрын

that's why he's the Savior and Messiah

The medieval annotation makes so much sense. They can get in, but by setting aside their possessions, and being humble

It is one of the best sayings in the whole bible; it's such a sarcastic, funny, and even spiteful metaphor and gives me a grasp on Jesus' personality.

@rickrozen2341

Жыл бұрын

On the personality of God.

@MsSomeonenew

Жыл бұрын

He said it out of love not spite. Passing over to the spiritual side requires giving up the material side, and a rich man will never want to do that.

@Odo-so8pj

Жыл бұрын

The eye of the needle was a well known small passage way. Not an actual needle. People couldn't fit through with their goods.

@h3xon797

Жыл бұрын

@@Odo-so8pj What? Did you watch the video?

@rickrozen2341

Жыл бұрын

@@Odo-so8pj That’s a lie and blasphemy.

I love that you described a 500 year period as a "sudden explosion" in the popularity of that interpretation

@richwilson7619

Жыл бұрын

In the context of time, 500 yrs is sudden. Lol

@laz5590

Жыл бұрын

​@Rich Wilson not in Your time 😄

@tylowstar9765

Жыл бұрын

He described the mass adoption of the theory in th 19th century specifically as a 'sudden explosion', not the entire 500 years. Which is a fair description.

@2adamast

Жыл бұрын

@@tylowstar9765 "... sudden explosion between the eleventh and sixteenth century" 11:50 Which is an unfair description

@laz5590

Жыл бұрын

@Rizza wouldn't be better if we had evidence about any gate that had the name "Eye of the Needle" ? I mean any gate! Anecdotes are "good," but evidence is much better !

I've been a Christian for 58 years and have heard this passage discussed as metaphor versus reality many, many times. Always I've wondered at the tendency of mere such speculation to distract from the broader meaning, and further, to take one's focus off the speaker, Jesus. He was pointing out the difficulty of prioritizing things of God over things of the world, like wealth or power. He didn't say it was impossible, just harder, and He could have said it differently; harder for a ship to sail a small creek, harder for a man to enter into his mother's womb and be reborn (Oh, He did, didn't he?), harder for a mature tree to uproot itself and move to another location, harder for a blind man to pint a landscape, etc. His point would still be the same. This endless parsing of words is exactly why I left seminary 50 years ago in pursuit of a more authentic walk with Jesus.

4:50 And that "favoritism" is the main problem with oh so many critical editions relying solely on "filiation" (father-son) stems instead of "phylogeny" (father-son on evolution context) ones, thus ignoring that later texts can be making a copy of an older text and rejecting proper readings "just because it's not an older copy".

Thank you for this! About 20 years ago I heard a sermon that explained the belief that eye of a needle meant a thin crack between rocks (meant for a person to be able to squeeze through). I could never find references to that belief online and wondered if it was true. Now I see why I couldn't find supporting documents of this idea.

@isoSw1fty

Жыл бұрын

Do go walking into thin cracks. That's how you clip through to the backrooms.

Wow, thank you. I was taught around 40+ years ago that the Eye of the Needle was a gate in Jerusalem in which a fully loaded camel could not pass through. This was apparently for defense from raiders. I personally looked at it as the great divide between the wealthy and the poor during that time was great and historically wealth and power came hand in hand. We also know from history that many of these wealthy people could be ruthless thus making their indiscretions more frequent.

@Anttys_WeyTua_CTa_Eu986

Жыл бұрын

Seriously, I can remember a Catholic priest explaining this to us in a sermon in the eighties.

@Ozone946

Жыл бұрын

not much different from today. Rich people are ruthless no matter the era

@KJottu

Жыл бұрын

hmm i guess that just means that you should unload everything before you can go to heaven

@RexFuturi

Жыл бұрын

​@@Ozone946 Being rich or poor has nothing to do with it.

@CTOSHLL

11 ай бұрын

To be truly rich. You have to have some level of greed. Don't listen to this guy It's blasphemy

Good stuff, subscribed

My favorite thing about the Needle Gate theory is how much of a fool it makes God/Jesus out to be. In the original understanding of the verse He employs a metaphor that, in an almost miraculous fashion, has managed to maintain a clear and concise meaning through THOUSANDS of years of changing language, culture, translation, and technology. In the gate theory, he instead uses a veiled localized geographical reference that wouldn't even be understood by most of the people of that time. Brilliant.

@WojciechP915

Жыл бұрын

Not saying the gate theory is correct, but the new testament is full of local references, idioms, metaphors that would only be understood by locals.

@th3unmaker

Жыл бұрын

@@WojciechP915 like what?

@WojciechP915

Жыл бұрын

@@th3unmaker Matthew 4:19 "I will make you fishers of men" is the first line that comes to mind.

@th3unmaker

Жыл бұрын

@@WojciechP915 that isn't a local idiom. Just like all the others i can think of, it is a practically universally understood one.

@omarb7164

Жыл бұрын

@@WojciechP915 could you think of another example? “Fishing” isn’t at the top of my list of localised, obscure professions, and while location names and people are referenced throughout, none of them are so implicating that a passage is indecipherable unless the listener was familiar with the colloquial name for a small spot in town.

I was taught the gate theory as fact back in (Lutheran) elementary school. These days, I don't particularly care what Jesus may or may not have said, but I'm still kinda glad to hear that it's BS. The eye-of-the-gate interpretation REALLY watered down the original saying to something meaningless.

@GZQ9

Жыл бұрын

Growing up as a non-Christian, I was told that the eye of the needle was a gate only tall enough for a human pass through and not a camel. The metaphor that I always found particularly meaningful was that in order for a camel to pass through the gate it would have to kneel down awkwardly and unload its cargo, therefore in order for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven, one would have to bow down to God and shed themself of earthly wealth, and in essence show humility.

@ApurvaSukant

Жыл бұрын

Very soon most of the world will not care what the god of any religion said. its been long enough since our tribal days.

@ChillAssTurtle

Жыл бұрын

@@ApurvaSukant based and reality pilled. Forget god n strive for the greater unification and betterment of all mankind in the name of being a cool dude or lass.. its enough to just want your brothers n sisters to live better without a threat of eternal punishment or reward.. do it for its own sake as hitch said

@EvanOfTheDarkness

Жыл бұрын

The thing that really throws a wrench into that theory, is that none of Jesus speeches in the New Testaments are simple transcriptions, they are heavily edited and aimed to capture much wider audiences. Using an analogy that only the locals in Jerusalem could possibly understand is just illogical given how focused their editing is.

@leokinvig6368

Жыл бұрын

@@ApurvaSukant I disagree. People will always want to feel like they can control their outcome after death. Religion is the closest thing people have to that. I personally accept death and welcome it as a part of life, but I don't think it's the most common way of thinking.

Great work

Within the walls of Jerusalem there are many gates, one of them is called the eye of the needle. When night fell on the city, this gate was to only one still open to trade caravans traveling into the city. It was so small that the camels had to be unloaded by the trader with all the packs placed outside of the city. As the trader was navigating the camels through the gate (is was only large enough for a camel to pass through on its knees and only inches wide enough for the camel to pass) all the goods that the trader was bringing into the city were inspected by the gate keepers for items not allowed into the city, i.e., swords and other implements of war that could be used to overthrow the city from within. It would literally take hours for the process to transpire. Once the goods were all inspected and the animals had passed through, the caravan owner was then allow to reload the goods onto the camel and continue to the final destination inside the city. This is what Jesus was referring to when he made the statement. Meaning, exactly what he said... easier for a camel to pass through the eye of the needle than for men to enter the kingdom.

@gbakasefanu2564

4 ай бұрын

What evidence do we have that there was a gate at Jesus" time named camel's eye? If camels bent down to pass, how then was it impossible with men?

@juch3

4 ай бұрын

9:18

Eh, rope or camel they ain't going through any needles eye regardless

@TheArthkm

Жыл бұрын

Thank you professor

@Gravelgratious

Жыл бұрын

Unless you are a rich man who can commission a needle large enough for rope or Camels to pass through.

@Jittalang

Жыл бұрын

@@Gravelgratiouscomically large needle

@roberto8650

Жыл бұрын

Some rope, eh? 🇨🇦

@spankyblu

Жыл бұрын

Unless you have God

The key takeaway is that people really wanted "burden" not to mean "money" so that they could continue to violate Jesus's teachings and still go to heaven. Especially given the sheer amount of money that was coming into the church at the high medieval period.

@neclark08

5 ай бұрын

...and I find it tempting to think that the caveat: "For/through a man it would be Impossible, while through God, ALL things are Possible." would be 'a wink and a nod" to the Medieval practice of Holy Roman- & then Roman Catholic Clerics pulling-in bribes by granting "Indulgences" ('Get Out of HELL for a Fee" duccuments) to wealthy patrons for Sins ALREADY Committed -- or to Crusader Knights who expected To Commit Sins as they hacked their ways to- & through 'The Holy Land'...

@neclark08

5 ай бұрын

...and I find it tempting to think that the caveat: "For/through a man it would be Impossible, while through God, ALL things are Possible." would be 'a wink and a nod" to the "loop-hole" Medieval practice of Holy Roman- & then Roman Catholic Clerics pulling-in bribes by granting "Indulgences" ('Get Out of HELL for a Fee" duccuments) to wealthy patrons for Sins ALREADY Committed -- or to Crusader Knights who expected To Commit Sins as they hacked their ways to- & through 'The Holy Land'...

Ahhhh :) I love the parable from my master regarding the camel and the eye of the needle. The eye represents the letter "I" which is "Me, myself and I. This represents pride in it's fullness. Humility and not pride is how we are able to proceed through the "eye" of the needle.

It is written in a way that makes it seems as if the thing is going by itself. A rope doesn't "go through". A rope "is put through".

This makes me think of an old SNL skit that I unfortunately can’t find anywhere now. It was about a man (I believe played by Bill Pullman? Maybe Alec Baldwin) who had accumulated a massive fortune and was now pouring lots of money into scientific research into how to get a camel through the eye of a needle. It involved shrinking camels, making huge needles, and even trying to liquify camels. Anyway, very cool video! Interesting to hear the theories explained and then countered. Thank you so much.

@ytusersumone

Жыл бұрын

We can just make a bigger "leather needle" and make thread/string of a camels skin, grind the bones and put that into the hairs that also are made to string, and also into the intestines that are easily made into string. It takes some time and effort but it's not nuclear science or even chemistry. St. Peter surely can't refuse entry after that!

@robertdouglas8895

Жыл бұрын

As usual, SNL just doesn't get it.

@Psychol-Snooper

Жыл бұрын

@@robertdouglas8895 Not a fan of satire? I think someone trying to cheat their way into heaven is not only funny but adroit commentary on human nature. It's not like you can just buy an indulgence anymore.

@robertdouglas8895

Жыл бұрын

@@Psychol-Snooper The kingdom of heaven is within you. It's not of this world. It's spirit. We are on the earth but not of the earth. If you are going to do satire and make it educational then you need to know this instead of just play around in the world. Spiritually, we know the kingdom through being humble to it instead of by getting accolades from the world for our cleverness.

@Psychol-Snooper

Жыл бұрын

@@robertdouglas8895 Isn't that special!

When I lived in Tripoli, Libya, we visited many historic sites. In the old city walls, there were special places built as a way to get in or out in emergencies. It was like a tunnel that goes under the wall. It was designed ensure that no could easily use it as a way to attack the city. It was so cramped, that a person could no crawl through with a weapon, and would be vulnerable while inside the passage. This passageway was called the Arabic word meaning "eye of the needle". A person can get through it slowly, but a camel, not at all.

@danieljsm218

Жыл бұрын

What Jesus compared was living one's not materials to go through. Therefore, camel is right for the comparison any way. No hairsplitting needed further. The comparison of wealth for the rich man is unnecessary and obstructive burden, (not for the camel) is the implied spiritual truth which makes sense.

@JTheTeach

Жыл бұрын

I heard that was a myth, as there was no gate in Jerusalem called "the eye of the needle" Jesus would've referenced.

@markdouglas8073

Жыл бұрын

@@JTheTeach Yes, more likely the famous phrase influenced Arabs to name it that. Israeli tour guides say a lot of things that contradict Christians. Indeed, because they are not Christians, some like to “correct” Christian thinking with their Jewish explanations. Scholars look for evidence.

@TampaDave

Жыл бұрын

@@markdouglas8073 Arabs would call it that because Jesus made that analogy? Seems like a total stretch. I saw them in 5 or 6 old city ruins, some of which were built BC.

@shoyupacket5572

Жыл бұрын

@@danieljsm218 Why are you so sure that you know what Jesus meant?

Interestingly, the first edition of the Bible in Portuguese (published 1681) translates it as "cable" (with a footnote with the alternative translation "camel"). It seems this was already a point of contention back then.

I do feel that the material comfort of my late middle age life has compromised the more spiritual tendencies that I had as a young man, when I bought a bread on sale and a carton of six eggs for food for the last day of the month before my paycheck, and had the modern US equivalent of US 1$ left in my name.

The camel and an actual needle really mesh with everything else Jesus taught. For example, when he told the wealthy man if he wanted to follow him and enter into the kingdom of God then he had to sell/give away everything he had.

@oftin_wong

Жыл бұрын

Other people said .... what Jesus was supposed to have said and taught

@ravenironwing

Жыл бұрын

@@oftin_wong sounds very probable.

@paulbeard3238

Жыл бұрын

Or as my mother said there are no pockets in a shroud.

@kingdomconcepts777

Жыл бұрын

Deuteronomy 15. It doesn’t say sell everything. It says sell everything that you don’t need.

@briananthony4044

Жыл бұрын

It is not the man's wealth keeping him out of heaven, it is his "love" of wealth that's the problem. In the OT many of God's favourite people were extremely wealthy, but always put God first.

I happened to visit Damscus many years back and remember the tour guide telling us that "eye of the needle" actually was an archway on the straight street and it was not tall enough for a camel to pass through and hence the saying. I thought that make sense as Jesus was explaining to very ordinary people in simple terms about salvation.

@TAHIRALI-me3sv

Жыл бұрын

FIRSTLY PLEASE READ QURAN 7:40.... CONFIRMS WHAT J ESUS/ESSA SON OF MARY SAID "MEANING IS VERY SIMPLE A PERSONS BELIEF IN 1 AND ONLY GOD/ALLAH IS MUST THEN LIVING ON THIS EARTH AS IF WE ARE TRAVELLERS JUST PASSINGBY " NOT THOSE WHO ARE BUSY COMPILING WEALTH THINKING THEY ARE {RICH} ARE LIVING ON THIS EARTH FOREVER. (THEY ARE DOOMED.)

@dtriniboss

Жыл бұрын

Who are the modern day descendants of all the people made famous household names in Christian holy books? Surely so many famous people should have modern descendants.

@RockBadgerChristianity

Жыл бұрын

I think that archway is actually completely theoretical and there’s no proof that it actually exists

@chutasan8299

Жыл бұрын

You are CORRECT!

@republicansthatdidntvotefo1605

Жыл бұрын

@@TAHIRALI-me3sv Now that we have figured out A rich man Devoting too much Time gathering money🥵.. And unable to give it up.. And The camel rope main discussion? And how God Almighty wants your complete attention!! Can one of the trinitarians please explain Matthew 3:13 When I was young in CCD class How Jesus is God Almighty? 🙏🙏

When you literally compare a massive camel, to an archeological needle... you had me in stitches

Possibly also in Aramaic: *gml* vocalised in one way meant "a camel", but when vocalised in another way it meant "a large wooden beam of a roof". Writing Aramaic without vowels was typical in the first century, just like the case is today with Hebrew newspapers in Israel.

It's also interesting to note the absence of any mention of a gate called "eye of the needle" in any context other than discussing the meaning of Jesus's saying. If the gate was commonly called that, shouldn't there be some mention of it in any other context?

@btrowbridge8958

Жыл бұрын

Yes agree

@Vod-Kaknockers

Жыл бұрын

My thoughts too.

@slardebard

Жыл бұрын

He talks about that in the video.

@Brandanus

Жыл бұрын

City gates or large, heavy gates in general have posterns (integrated or close to the gate) which would allow a person to pass. Reads as you'd need to leave your belongings (and wealth) before passing. No need for a gate of that name.

@ivermectin7928

Жыл бұрын

If Jesus existed, wouldn’t there be mention of him and his works by at least a single person during his lifetime? Why did it take 2 decades for Paul to imagine him and the. 2 decades more for the gospels to be written by anonymous Greek authors? 🤔

Jesus: "Rich people can't go to heaven." Thousands of years of rich people: "I'm gonna pretend I didn't hear that."

@carloswater7

Жыл бұрын

That is not what Jesus Christ. He said " it's hard for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of Heaven than for a camel to go through the eye of a needle". He said it is "hard" he didn't say "it's impossible" Those are two different things

@dr.zoidberg8666

Жыл бұрын

@@carloswater7 It is impossible for a camel to go through the eye of a needle. That's literally the point of the saying... "See this utterly impossible thing? Well doing that would be easier than getting into heaven as a rich person." The Bible is very explicit -- hoarding wealth is an ungodly sin. It is said that when you have more than you need, you should build a longer table, not a higher wall. Jesus physically attacked the businessmen & money changers in the temple because of how blasphemous he saw them to be, & how incompatible their practice was with the church. I mean, damn, the Bible is SO radically anti-profit, that charging interest was explicitly banned... not just on lending money, but on the sale of food as well. If you're a capitalist & a Christian, Jesus doesn't mince words: You ain't goin' to heaven.

@carloswater7

Жыл бұрын

@@dr.zoidberg8666 I’ll say it again-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 19:24 NLT Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” Matthew 19:24 NIV And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. Matthew 19:24 KJV And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” Matthew 19:24 NKJV It says "it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle" it doesn't say "it is impossible" Do you really expect not to look into the content? And why do you lie? Actually Jesus Christ thought we have to work for a living. And he also taught his people to pay taxes As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. John 9:4 NIV This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, who give their full time to governing. Romans 13:6 NIV Jesus Christ it is hard for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of Heaven he did not say it is impossible. Get your facts right before you look dumb

@dr.zoidberg8666

Жыл бұрын

@@carloswater7 Right... and it's impossible for a camel to go through the eye of a needle. So... If something is harder than something which is impossible, it is also impossible.

@carloswater7

Жыл бұрын

@@dr.zoidberg8666 Yes, but that's not what Jesus Christ meant. Jesus use that hyperbolic meaning to explain its not impossible for a Rich man to enter the Kingdom of Heaven it's just hard for him because of his wealth.

Great video! Great to see more evidence about this. Now, would I be correct in another possible theory, that since there's the chance that this was a greek play on words? Since many spoke greek in Jerusalem, like the hellenists and most other Jews for trade, Jesus could be using the phrase κάμηλον διὰ τρυπήματος ῥαφίδος camel through eye needle .... in place of what could have been a more common greek phrase κάμιλον διὰ τρυπήματος ῥαφίδος rope through eye needle? In other words it would be a greek play on words, adding the camel to stretch the hyperbole? I looked up κάμηλοs and κάμιλοs and both were in 1st century koine greek usage.

Many years ago I heard the story of the "eye of the needle" from Reverend Dr. Gene Scott that I like best. Scott said that Jerusalem in the old days used to close its large gates at night. One of the gates had a small door in it for pedestrians that come in after hours. If a merchant wanted to bring his camel with all his wears but showed up late he would have to either camp outside the gate till morning or he could unload his camel, pull the camel down to his knees and pull him through the small door way which was called "the eye of the needle" on his knees, then load up the camel again and be on his way.

If they’d also mistranslated ”love thy neighbor” to ”have a romantic relationship with the person living next door”, the whole world would be a mess

@herbert164

Жыл бұрын

oddly enough love is a very easy word to understand the meaning of in greek b/c of the many specific words used for it.

@diamondsmasher

Жыл бұрын

Or would it? 😉

@briananthony4044

Жыл бұрын

It certainly got King David into trouble, even before it was stated by Jesus.

@ijatpingrhyb

Жыл бұрын

The whole world is a mess lol

@bitterjames

Жыл бұрын

how so? "romantic relationship" implies a loving, harmonic relationship.

An issue somewhat similar to this that I think would be interesting to cover is the singular usage of the word "epiousios" in the Lord's prayer, which is usually translated as "daily" but who's original meaning has been lost.

@scaper8

Жыл бұрын

I can't remember where, but I have this feeling that he has talked about it. It may have been some other channel though, I can't be certain.

By and large, this appears to be an instance of Christ’s use of “argumentum ad absurdum (Latin for "argument to absurdity"),” something of a linguistic device he employed to drive home the point. The word he used more than likely was “kamelos,” as in camel. It is a sort of “pun,” a word play intended to evoke “kamilos,” as in rope. Not only does it show the brilliance of the Speaker’s mind, it shows His humanity, His sense of humor and irony! Ultimately, we know precisely what His point was. Whether mis-transcribed or in reference to some purported gate by the name of the “Eye of the Needle,” we get the point. What most miss is the fact that Christ was a gifted speaker Who knew how to make the point and likely had a brilliant sense of humor! As both God and Man, we must not assume He was stilted, boring or mechanical. Such a person could not captivate and inspire a multitude of crowd numbering in the thousands, much less billions…! The so-called “mystery” as to camel, rope , or name of some putative gate is a non-problem and a red herring that only misleads the reader and takes his mind off of truly understanding Who Christ really was…! Kyuho Tae

The lesson I derived was that we should not be envious of the rich but should pity their plight for they are more prone to excess and more easily fall to temptation and hedonistic acts. Human nature is to acquire possessions but what must be learned is a respect for the acquisitions for others, rather than succumb to envy and therefore covet, the planning of theft, of 'thy neighbors goods'.

I was a child when I first heard the eye of needle/small doorway theory from my great grandmother. She heard/read it somewhere, and I can remember her scouring her Bible trying to prove or disprove it.

@z.louisecoombsrambouillet8395

Жыл бұрын

It's not that it's in the Bible it's that history and history scholars have known this definition and thus is why it has been repeated

@j.s.matlock1456

Жыл бұрын

@@z.louisecoombsrambouillet8395 I inherited my healthy skepticism from my great grandma. She'd heard someone preach about the eye of the needle being a small doorway, but she wasn't going to accept it until she verified it against holy writ - which she was not able to do, but not for lack of trying. In the same way, I grew up listening to preachers illustrate their sermons with apocryphal stories presented as gospel truth. We didn't have any internet back then to make them cite their sources.

It's hilarious that this saying of Jesus attracts all this desperate re-explaining. I guess the idea that wealth is inherently immoral really panics some people. :D:D:D EDIT: By the way, I don't think Jesus was damning the rich. I think he was pointing out that they _damn themselves_ by not being willing to give up their wealth. Remember that Jesus said it precisely because a rich young man asked him how to get into heaven, and Jesus said sure, just give up everything you have. Kid didn't wanna do that, and thus Jesus's rather sadly stated assessment.

@davidsaroea5530

Жыл бұрын

He said he would bless his wealth 10 times over... don't be silly. Jesus ran a stone masonry business and funded a ministry and 12 disciples for 3.5 years. Then they gambled over his clothes. If you think the wealth doctrine is scandalous, so is the poverty doctrine.

@delia_watercolors8186

Жыл бұрын

@@davidsaroea5530 everybody assumes wealth is cash. I don't think Jesus could guarantee 10x someone's money. He wasn't dealing crypto. Wealth can mean many other things and all good things, like health and safety and SALVATION. Salvation is worth 10x more than however many coins on Earth. Salvation is worth 10x whatever coins that rich man was hoarding. Edit: words and their meaning evolve over time. The meaning of "happiness" has changed over time. While being smiley and perpetual good fortune could be described as happiness, more commonly it was good health, many children and healthy children and a steady job (not necessarily a great job. A just a steady that can feed you and your family.) You can look up the history of the word happiness yourself.

@davidsaroea5530

Жыл бұрын

@@delia_watercolors8186 if that's the way you want to interpret it, but God was known for prospering his people time and time again...Jireh is one of his names. Poverty doctrine is extremely dangerous and undermines God's goodness

@kerwinbrown4180

Жыл бұрын

It the greed where wealth becomes an idol not wealth itself. Communist misinterprets it to support their ideology.

@howlrichard1028

Жыл бұрын

@IcedGreenPee It's not a literal everything.

Good video and, I think, the correct methodology for addressing biblical populism and legend. Unless I missed it, you didn't mention a similar contextual use of a camel from Matthew 23:24 where Jesus said, "Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel."

When I was in Jerusalem our spiritual director pointed to the narrow long openings periodically in the wall which was used for the wall's defense. He said that opening is the needle to which Jesus referred. If that is true then a cable could easily go through.

Prosperity Gospel has its roots deep back in the medieval era, seems like. But yeah, as a teen in the LDS church I was taught both interpretations, which isn't surprising because there are a lot of rich mormons.

@ww2germanhero

Жыл бұрын

Prosperity gospel roots are in the Old Testament. According to OT God's people are blessed with prosperity and joy. So as much as I hate Prosperity preachers, I have to admit they kinda have a point...

@chriss780

Жыл бұрын

@@ww2germanhero prosperity - eg having enough to live comfortably, or having a good family who makes you happy is absolutely not the same thing as having an excess of material wealth the way the super rich do.

@simonacerton3478

Жыл бұрын

Ah, a very elegant catch there. The Gospel of Supply Side Jesus . For maximal hilarity watch the video in which Jim Caveziel who while playing Jesus was properly crucified nails and all (by surgeons) and struck by lighting and whose response to that was "Thank you Lord!" talk to the Property Gospel types . Two different religions . One book. Honestly your average parolee in church trying to go straight would be far more recognizable to Jesus than almost any rich man. After all Jesus was the guy who told a rich man to \give away everything and follow him (he didn't) and took a killer to heaven.

@ww2germanhero

Жыл бұрын

@@chriss780 Old Testament heroes were rich af. They were literally portrayed as kings, land lords, conquerors and patriarchs. Jesus was the hippie one.

For anyone interested about the Talmudic usage: Loosely translated, the Emorah Rabah says "Not a golden palm [tree] nor an elephant entering the eye of the needle", as in things that appear in dreams have some basis in what people ponder, in their hearts. In other words, dreams aren't completely detached from what happens in reality.

@UniversoulUniversity

Жыл бұрын

🔑⚖️👉🏽kzread.info/dash/bejne/qp9kzayymrzcZKQ.html

I thought getting a camel through the eye of a needle was impossible until I learned about the Biford Dolphin.

The issue with holding up Codex Sinaiticus (c. 340 CE) as ‘an early manuscript’ is that there are many papyri fragments that are over 100 years earlier - so Sinaiticus cannot be regarded as ‘the earliest’ - Moreover ‘GAMLA’ in Aramaic had 4 consonants (Gimmel-Mem-Lamed-Aleph) not 3 - and the assertion that ‘gamla’ was not a word during the life of R. Yehoshua bar Yosef the Galilean because we have no writings using it before the year 825CE - is a classic ‘argument from silence’ - Moreover the discussion about rich men not entering the Kingdom that R. Yehoshua was set in a house addressing a group of his disciples who were compos’d mainly OF GALILEAN FISHERMAN who would have known very well what a GAMLA was … the ‘good Rebbe’ (!) was catering to his audience - Either way the idea is the same: something big & bulky cannot enter into a tiny hole any more than a rich man attached to his material wealth can enter the Kingdom.

It already makes perfect sense. A camel can pass through the eye of a needle, by cutting it into very small pieces. This is no more radical a transformation than turning a rich man into someone fit for heaven.

@Awol991

Жыл бұрын

Blender.

@gmkar7766

Жыл бұрын

Indeed. A rich man is only fit for heaven if he is mincemeat.

@drayko-okamidirewytch5542

Жыл бұрын

Its almost like the creator of this video like many who think themselves enlightened on the philosophy used in the bible completely missed the wisdom trying to be conveyed in this statement, rope or camel the ease of getting either thru the eye of the needle is compareable to the difficulty of a rich person being worthy of entering the heavenly afterlife. Seems the word of god neednt be perfectly worded the ignorant will never divine the wisdom intended regardless what wording is used. Like how most take the bible literally and not seeing it as a means of conveying concepts beyond a material minds grasp. Philosophers like Alan Watts and others have thru out time tried to help the masses understand how to properly interpert the bible but few listen.

@robf2952

Жыл бұрын

How small would those pieces need to be 😂

@fiaTheFae

Жыл бұрын

@@drayko-okamidirewytch5542 That was a lot of words, but you sure didn't make your point clear-at least, not to me.

With the "gate" theory, i always thought it to mean: a camel must offload their worldly posessions to pass through. indicating what a rich person must do to get into heaven. "those who love their life will lose it" etc.

@antoineharvey-boudreault5565

Жыл бұрын

Noooo this saying is clearly dressing the power imbalances taht capital causes and the immorality it synthesizes

@SlavicAfatarly

Жыл бұрын

its what it means actually, so you're not wrong, this video doesnt do good job explaining it,

@Inv8erZlM

Жыл бұрын

@@SlavicAfatarly Got any examples of the gate being called that?

@Tmarc7665

Жыл бұрын

Yes this is the exact meaning!

@snorman1911

Жыл бұрын

But that's not the comparison being used, so that explanation makes no sense.

Resurrecting an old video, both of the explanations here were known to me, fifty years ago, where they were common in evangelical churches - IOW, not a recent Internet phenomenon. However, the idea that the "Eye of the Needle" was a gate in Jerusalem, cannot be dismissed simply because the first literary reference occurs in the 11-12th century. Jerusalem was destroyed in 70 AD - and the second century and beyond church fathers were all Gentiles, with no specific knowledge of pre-destruction Jerusalem geography. However, the crusades occurred in the 12th century, meaning that when they arrived in Jerusalem, they may well have encountered people there who said that a certain gate was known as the "Eye of the Needle." Hence, it would not be surprising that this meaning would have been obscured for so long. Not saying it was, only that it is plausible.

And here lies the problem. The references are lost to history. Some say it matters not but i say it absolutely matters exactly what they meant, not what we interpret. Unloading a pack animal outside the gate is quite different from literally pushing it through a sewing needle. It draws into question what is meant by needle.

I took"Camel through the/an eye of the/a needle" literally when I heard it as a child. I also tried to make it a quantum camel before I knew what quantum was.

@MrShanester117

Жыл бұрын

It seems like you still don’t know what quantum is

@thorthewolf8801

Жыл бұрын

In my language, that passage is translated as the camel going through the needle's point.

@birchtree_6

Жыл бұрын

@@MrShanester117 where are you getting that? they haven’t tried to explain it yet

@chompythebeast

Жыл бұрын

Why were you so concerned with finding a loophole for rich people to pull a fast one on god?

@neoqwerty

Жыл бұрын

@@chompythebeast When I was a kid I wasn't wondering about parables or the fates of random rich people, moreso the logistics of a thing being possible.

I'm waiting for one of these billionaires to genetically engineer a tiny camel and manufacturing a very large sewing needle. 🐫 🪡

The translation of the Aramaic Bible by George Lamsa gives the word, "rope." It says that some copyist added the little dot representing "e" to turn "gamla" (rope) into "gamela," (camel). That makes sense to me.

The 'needle was a flat area or pass through a mountain range that allowed people to get past the mountains without the dangers and inconveniences of climbing or descending them. Thus, it became the best places for thieves to attack the caravans for whatever they carried.

I was never taught about it but always found it one of the easiest to translate messages in the bible. In order to get rich you have to make certain moral choices(seeing as the bible is about a code of morality), where you choose your own wealth over helping others

@seltic13

Жыл бұрын

as well as if you have been greedy hoarding money, everyday you see people struggling and turn the other cheek. from every aspect jesus was not down. then look at the only time jesus demonstrated with physical action... flipping over the money lenders businesses in riot/protest. so stretching as one is want to do gives some creedence or understanding of destruction of businesses. i think i made it clear but not feeling clever Jesus was down with BLM and antifa tactics even through pope carlson said it was bad.

@krinkrin5982

Жыл бұрын

Which ignores the fact that you could be rich by the simple fact of having been born into wealth. However, seeing as the bible is very fond of condemning people for the sins of their ancestors, I am not surprised at all.

@kerwinbrown4180

Жыл бұрын

The rich person symbolizes humans in general. The love of wealth of the rich have is an obstacle to them but others have their own idols they may hold onto.

@zakdickerson9154

Жыл бұрын

@@krinkrin5982 You can be born rich and then take the money that has been given to you and share it with the needy. You aren’t “doomed” to be rich forever just because you are born rich…

@klalbritton

Жыл бұрын

Or even worse, you deliberately exploit others to build your own personal wealth. Even if you're born to wealth, that wealth was still built upon and maintained via the exploitation of the labor of other people. Very contradictory to the notion of reaping what one sows. Then again, the Bible is consistent in it's ability to contradict itself 🤷🏽

Thank you for setting me straight" I was always taught the small gate theory. It implied that the task was very difficult... but not impossible. I am left to meditate on the implications of this interpretation. Boy I hope the market doesn't recover!!!

@lizh1988

Жыл бұрын

All things are possible with God. Jesus says the Queen of Sheba (who was immensely rich according to the Bible) will be better off on the judgement day than the not so rich people of Capernaum and Bethsaida. Because she sought great wisdom and paid a lot to get it, and travelled far for it. Whereas literally Peter and Andrew LIVED in Bethsaida or were from there. So the wisdom rich people of Bethsaida were stupid, except for the wisdom rich brothers Peter and Andrew. They listened to Jesus and despite knowing it would be difficult, did what he said and did.

@joshuacollins385

Жыл бұрын

@@lizh1988 Which verse are you thinking of? I know he says the Queen of Sheba would condemn those who were alive at the time of Jesus for dismissing his wisdom, but that doesn't put her in a better situation than them. She traveled 1000 miles to meet the wisest man of the time and to learn from him, but many of those in the time of Jesus wouldn't listen to wisdom when it was right in front of them, so on judgment day when she and they are raised to be judged, she'll criticise them for ignoring what was in front of them when she traveled 1000 miles to find something lesser. He doesn't say she'll come out of judgement day well, only that she'll condemn them

@cacogenicist

Жыл бұрын

It seems to me that Christianity is mostly re-hashed from earlier belief systems -- except, maybe, for some of its quite radical elements. But people don't like those radical parts (poverty, absolutely _extreme_ pacifism, loving your enemies, and such). Almost no one follows the admonitions in the Sermon on the Mount.

@lizh1988

Жыл бұрын

@@joshuacollins385 I doubt God would allow her to judge them if it were not for the fact she made a much better choice in his eyes. Just as the Apostles will judge the twelve tribes of Israel, which he would not allow had they made truly bad choices in their lives. My Bible says she will be better off on the judgement day. That's what my Bible says. I'm sorry but you are nitpicking semantics in my eyes. Clearly rhose who listen to the Holy Spirit will be able to judge those who do not.

Excellent presentation and your conclusions are valid. Two things I might add. The first, you alluded to but only in passing. Jesus, an excellent teacher, utilized hyperbole quite often to make a point. His point here was, "It is very, very hard for wealthy people to enter the kingdom of heaven." Such a statement is true and accurate, but lacks punch. Turn it into a hyperbole and you have a powerful, memorable truth. "It is easier for a camel (the largest land mammal --or any animal for that matter-- commonly known to peasants in Galilee) to go through the eye of a needle (the smallest of openings)…" We do similar things today when we say, hyperbolically, "I'm so hungry I could eat a horse....I told you a thousand times...He's as old as Methuselah". Jesus does this when He speaks of sin. Instead of saying, "Sin is very, very bad and you need to get really, really serious about it." He says, "If your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out...entering into (eternal) life with one eye is better than the alternative with two eyes." Similarly, "When you see a speck in your bother's eye and you have a pole in your own eye..." etc. The second thought is that the "kingdom of heaven" is not heaven, but the kingdom that He was ushering in when He was here on earth (what Mark and Luke called the "kingdom of God"). Basically it was discipleship...following Jesus. Jesus had just told the rich man to sell everything, give it to the poor and come 'Follow Me." The man couldn't bring himself to make such a sacrifice. In that context, Jesus utters these famous words. The wealthy in 30 C.E. Palestine couldn't envision being blessed by having nowhere to lay one's head at night. For the poorer folks, however, it's not that big of a lifestyle change. Jesus' step brother James apparently saw the same reality. (James 2:5 "Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him?")

Funny the camel/needle phrase could easily be a figure of speech and gets so much attention. The overall point, "But many who are first shall be last, and the last shall be first." Mthw 19:30, gets lost in the debate over the camel v. cable clash. Focus needs to be maintained on the point.