Eye of the Needle.

[missmuffet]

1 hour ago, Your closest friendnt said:

Irrelevant to be born from above. 

 

Of course he would need some incentive to want to downsize like discovering he truly loved Jesus Christ. 

[Your closest friendnt]

2 hours ago, missmuffet said:

Of course he would need some incentive to want to downsize like discovering he truly loved Jesus Christ. 

It's not a prerequisite to love Jesus the way you put it. 

Jesus Christ is not prejudice, more for him, less for the devil.

[Raven]

10 hours ago, Your closest friendnt said:

@Raven,

Matthew 23:12 For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.

Matthew 5:5 God blesses those who are humble, for they will inherit the whole earth.

 

So, it is easier for the humble and meek to get through the heavens gate.

If you post it like that, without the proper context, it may mislead the unbelievers, and hold the false belief of examining them selves to weather they humble and meek and think that they are ok...they may even deceived and focus on the meek and humble. 

Maybe even follow Jesus example of meekness without believing in him as the Savior even believing him as a prophet sent from God.

Like someone from India who was following Jesus as an example without faith in his blood for the forgiveness of sins, to bad if he remains like that till the end that he ended up to die in his sins.

The truthful are humbled because they are discerning their own, as well as others, truth. They love being humble and meek because it keeps them aware of the truth.

Those that fear the truth can only pretend to be humble and meek. They do so to hide their own truth from being vulnerable and exposed.

Everybody 'knows' their own truth. They know when they are deceiving themselves, even if they may not think so. One has to know what they are denying before they can deny it. In the end, everybody will know their own truth, it's just that the humble know it beforehand.

 

[Dennis1209]

On 4/12/2022 at 5:58 PM, Selah7 said:

Is there a fourth point of view? ....or a variation on the ones already mentioned?    

My understanding is that once a wealthy person becomes ensnared by his fortune and wealthy lifestyle, he will place his riches at the top of his priority list.  As a result, the riches of God's kingdom are pushed aside in favor of the life he is temporarily enjoying with his earthly riches; he now seeks the kingdom that this world provides rather than the Kingdom of God. 

I looked this up:  The expression "eye of the needle" refers to a small door in a city's gate that is the only door that can be opened after dark.  A camel must be totally unloaded and pushed through the gate in order to pass through, thus the rich man's problem.  

Isn't it likely that this rich man should first unload some of his riches? 
 

Selah.

Thank you, Selah,

So, there was such a thing I didn't look up "eye of the needle" online. I used my commentaries.

With your example and the rest of the supporting scripture, such as the rich man that asked Jesus what he should do for eternal life, I'd say that is the correct view. Perhaps the word impossible is better translated as extremely difficult.

I'll have to dig a little deeper, I guess, but it sounds like there was a practice of trying to get a camel through a small door? Contrary to other popular scholastic views. 

To paraphrase, the Lord does say money itself is not evil, but the love of it is. 

[enoob57]

12 hours ago, missmuffet said:

A rich man can downsize to a comfortable life without all the extras. Maybe turn that Jaguar in for a nice Toyota. 

1 Corinthians 7:30 (KJV)

[30] And they that weep, as though they wept not; and they that rejoice, as though they rejoiced not; and they that buy, as though they possessed not;

[31] And they that use this world, as not abusing it: for the fashion of this world passeth away.

 

[Dennis1209]

11 hours ago, Marilyn C said:

Small doors, called the `Needle`s eye,` were common features of the gates of ancient cities; humans could pass through easily, but large animals, such as camels, had to be unloaded and kneel to get through, even then with difficulty.

Thus I believe Jesus was showing one aspect of those desiring to enter His rulership in Israel - humbleness. 

Hi Marilyn,

As I mentioned, I had never heard about an "eye of the needle" before that sermon. I've always read that verse as literal, a metaphor for an impossibility. Following is one commentary claiming there was no such thing, the way I read it anyway? 

Not only those who heard the words when they were first spoken, but many others since have found the saying to be a hard one. Attempts have been made to soften it somewhat. The eye of a needle, we are sometimes assured, is a metaphor; the reference is to a small opening giving independent access or egress through a much larger city gate.

Visitors are sometimes shown such a small entrance in one of the city gates of Jerusalem or another Eastern city and are told that this is what Jesus had in mind. If a man approaches the city gate on camel-back when it is closed, he can dismount and get through the small entrance on foot, but there is no way for a camel to do so, especially if it is loaded; it must wait for the main gate to be opened to let it through.

 Even if a small camel, unloaded, tried to get through the small entrance, it would be in danger of sticking halfway. It is ordinarily impossible for a camel to get through such a narrow opening, but not so ludicrously impossible as for anyone to try to get it through the eye of a needle. But this charming explanation is of relatively recent date; there is no evidence that such a subsidiary entrance was called the eye of a needle in biblical times.1

1 Kaiser, Walter C., Jr., et al. Hard Sayings of the Bible. InterVarsity, 1996, p. 438.

[Mike Mclees]

An easy answer to the eye of the needle is the rich young ruler who was unwilling to give up his wealth and life of ease.

[Selah7]

1 hour ago, Dennis1209 said:

Thank you, Selah,

So, there was such a thing I didn't look up "eye of the needle" online. I used my commentaries.

With your example and the rest of the supporting scripture, such as the rich man that asked Jesus what he should do for eternal life, I'd say that is the correct view. Perhaps the word impossible is better translated as extremely difficult.

I'll have to dig a little deeper, I guess, but it sounds like there was a practice of trying to get a camel through a small door? Contrary to other popular scholastic views. 

To paraphrase, the Lord does say money itself is evil, but the love of it is.

What a great study, Dennis 
 

….And after verse 24, Jesus continues his teaching in verse 25-26:

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. When his disciples heard it, they were exceedingly amazed, saying, Who then can be saved? But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.

- Matthew 19:24-26 (KJV)

The disciples were pretty amazed by their Teacher.  With their eyes focused on the impossibilities of all the things Christ had just taught them in this chapter, they are thinking that getting saved is almost an impossible task.

But... Jesus BEHELD them!  He looked at them intently and gives them the answer to their question:  but with God all things are possible.

Jesus is our gate; He IS the way, the truth and the life.  There is nothing any of us can do to save ourselves and enter into the kingdom... because there is none of us good!  

Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

- John 14:6 (KJV)

In Christ, Selah 

Edited April 13, 2022 by Selah7

[OneLight]

Both Matthew 6:21 and Luke 12:34 is the root for the "eye of the needle" teaching.  Jesus taught:

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

[missmuffet]

11 hours ago, Your closest friendnt said:

It's not a prerequisite to love Jesus the way you put it. 

Jesus Christ is not prejudice, more for him, less for the devil.

Would a rich man care if he was rich if he was an unbeliever?