Photo by Thomas Griggs on Unsplash
Recently, my brother and I took his 2-year-old granddaughter to the zoo. We laughed at her expression and “ohs and ahs” when she saw the animals. She loved the spider monkeys, peacocks, and large tortoises. I found the meerkats and river otters endearing.
I also liked the camels. Three of them sat together in the shade of a tree. They were each at least 2m (6.6 ft) tall with two humps on their back and weighed up to 1000 kilograms (2,204 pounds).
Looking at them reminded me of Jesus’ saying,
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).
In other words, it’s impossible.
I believe Jesus used hyperbole here. However, recently, I heard another explanation. This theory proposed that Jesus meant His words more literally.
In those days, Jerusalem had a narrow gateway called the “Eye of the Needle.” This gate was used at night to alleviate the threat of invasion. Camels had to have their goods unloaded in order to pass through.
And sometimes because of their size they still couldn’t fit through. So this could be interpreted that a rich person would either not be able to enter heaven or they would have to unload their material possessions in order to enter heaven.
Although this seems plausible, I’ve always accepted these words as hyperbole. Jesus seemed to use hyperbole in many of His conversations. For example,
If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away (Matthew 5:29 NIV).
And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away (Matthew 5:30 NIV).
I believe Jesus used hyperbole to emphasize the importance of resisting sin rather than gouging out our eye or cutting off our hand.
I also believe Jesus used hyperbole for emphasis to remember what He said.
Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye (Matthew 7:3 NIV)?
It worked for me! As a child, I remember thinking a lot about the log in my own eye. I was acutely aware of my tendency to judge others as the image of something protruding out of my eye stuck with me.
No matter what kind of statement or claim Jesus made, it’s worth studying the meaning deeper.
And the next time you see a camel, I pray you’ll be reminded of Jesus’ teachings.
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