Christians please explain Matthew 19:24?

Question

"Again I tell 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".

..camel through the eye of a needle...?

Answer 1

Its impossible for a person who loves and cares only for worldly riches to enter heaven.

Answer 2

You know those needles that your grandmother uses to sew your clothes.  There a little hole that the thread goes through?  Well, God is saying, that it is easier for a camel to go through that little tiny hole, than it is for a rich man to get into heaven.

Answer 3

The major stress here is the heart of man's conditions.  People who are wealthy, tend to put their values ahead of everything.  You have perhaps heard that during the economic crash of '29 some people who lost all their money, committed suicide rather that live poor.  There was a wealthy young man who came to Jesus and ask what good things must I do to be saved.  Jesus first told him to keep certain commandants(thought this will not save) , testing him, and the young man thought he was doing well, having kept these.  Then Jesus told him to sell what he had and give to the poor.  The young man went away sorrowful.  He perfered his riches to the kingdom of heaven.  So it is with the heart of man.  Rare indeed would be the rich man who would distribute his wealth to the poor and needy of this world.  Most of them feel people should get out and earn it like they did or they do not deserve it.  They take nothing in consideration except hanging on to their riches.  Jesus said unless one forsakes all and follows him, that one is not worthy.  Zacheus , a tax collector, was a man of means and the bible hints not all that honest, but when he was saved he said he would pay back all those he had ripped off many fold.  Very rare is such a person.

Answer 4

Christ is using overstatement to make His point.  It is easier for a camel to pass through the little hole in the needle, than it is for a rich man to get to heaven.  The reason it is so hard for a rich man to get to heaven is that he is too tied to his wealth.  

Answer 5

The rich man thinks he has it all , everything except the gift of eternal salvation by accepting Jesus as your savior.

Answer 6

Funny muslim.  I know you know what a camel is, if you do not know anything else.

Answer 7

Two of the three Scriptural quotations of this statement are quite similar. According to Matthew’s account, Jesus said: “It is easier for a camel to get through a needle’s eye than for a rich man to get into the kingdom of God.” (Matthew 19:24) Similarly, Mark 10:25 reads: “It is easier for a camel to go through a needle’s eye than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.”

Some reference works suggest that the “needle’s eye” was a small gate in one of Jerusalem’s large gates. If the big gate was closed at night, the small one could be opened. It is held that a camel could fit through it. Is this what Jesus had in mind?

Evidently it is not. Jesus apparently was referring to a sewing needle. Since both bone and metal needles of ancient origin have been found in that region, they must have been common household items. Luke 18:25 removes any uncertainty about Jesus’ words, for it quotes him as saying: “It is easier, in fact, for a camel to get through the eye of a sewing needle than for a rich man to get into the kingdom of God.”

Various lexicographers agree with the rendering “sewing needle” as found in the New World Translation. The Greek word for ‘needle’ at Matthew 19:24 and Mark 10:25 (rha·phis′) is drawn from a verb meaning “sew.” And the Greek term found at Luke 18:25 (be·lo′ne) is used to refer to a literal surgical needle. Says Vine’s Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words: “The idea of applying ‘the needle’s eye’ to small gates seems to be a modern one; there is no ancient trace of it. The Lord’s object in the statement is to express human impossibility and there is no need to endeavour to soften the difficulty by taking the needle to mean anything more than the ordinary instrument.”—1981, Volume 3, page 106.

Some suggest that in these verses “camel” should be rendered “rope.” The Greek words for rope (ka′mi·los) and camel (ka′me·los) are similar. However, the Greek word for “camel” rather than the one for “rope” appears at Matthew 19:24 in the oldest extant Greek manuscripts of Matthew’s Gospel (the Sinaitic, the Vatican No. 1209, and the Alexandrine). Reportedly, Matthew originally wrote his Gospel in Hebrew and may personally have translated it into Greek. He knew exactly what Jesus said and therefore used the proper word.

So, then, Jesus meant a literal sewing needle and a real camel. He was using these to emphasize the impossibility of something. But did Jesus mean that no rich man could ever get into the Kingdom? No, for Jesus’ statement was not meant to be taken literally. He was using hyperbole to illustrate that just as a literal camel cannot go through the eye of an actual sewing needle, it is impossible for a rich man to enter into the Kingdom if he continues to cling to his riches and does not put Jehovah first in his life.—Luke 13:24; 1 Timothy 6:17-19.

Jesus made this statement just after a rich young ruler turned down the grand privilege of becoming Jesus’ follower. (Luke 18:18-24) A wealthy individual having greater love for his possessions than for spiritual things cannot expect to gain everlasting life in the Kingdom arrangement. Yet, certain rich people did become Jesus’ disciples. (Matthew 27:57; Luke 19:2, 9) So a rich person who is conscious of his spiritual need and who seeks divine help can receive God-given salvation.—Matthew 5:3; 19:16-26.

Answer 8

It was a gate which required the camel to get rid of all its burdens before it could pass through.  Get it?

Answer 9

Did Jesus mean that no wealthy person will inherit the Kingdom? No, for he went on to say: “With God all things are possible.” (Matthew 19:25, 26) Indeed, with Jehovah’s help some wealthy people back then did become anointed Christians. (1 Timothy 6:17) Nevertheless, Jesus said those surprising words for good reason. He was giving a warning.

If a person becomes attached to his possessions as that wealthy young man did,refered to in Matthew 19:16-21, they could become a barrier to his serving Jehovah wholeheartedly. That could be true both of one who is already wealthy and of one who is “determined to be rich.” (1 Timothy 6:9, 10) Trusting too much in material things can lead a person to be less ‘conscious of his spiritual need.’ (Matthew 5:3)

respectfully,

Simone

Answer 10

Hyperbole. A poetic form of emphasis. Jesus was giving a parable. Parables are not to be taken literally.

Answer 11

Well, Money is a enemy money is the reason why people kill and do all these delusional stuff. If your all about " MONEY, MONEY" that's making God feel like he's not enough for you. Money can turn you into another Lindsay Lohan.

Answer 12

basically it means it's easier for someone who's humble to get into heaven than someone who only cares about worldly riches

Answer 13

A metaphor ... if you put all your faith in the riches of this world you will not be fit for the riches of God's kingdom. In fact it will be as impossible as trying to squeeze a camel through the eye of a needle. Get it?

Answer 14

For me I have lived this verse.  Let me explain it this way in answer to your question...

when I first believed in Jesus I also came into the realization that the kingdom of God was within me.  To me this means that my personal relationship with Christ is within me.  I have worked for the "rich" in my job as a companion for the elderly.  These are the homes made of stone, not materially as it is their hearts.  They have been in the business of making money and having a life of no want and no need for a lifetime and they are not interested in a relationship with God on any deeper level.  The people I have been with have been active in their churches, they are on different boards, involved in teaching classes and missionary giving.  They basically support the church.  However, when an opportunity arises where they are in the presence of someone in need, they ignore or inwardly believe that they have nothing because they have not worked hard enough. It is not pity that they need it is compassion.  I have found that a rich man is more about his riches than about personal relationships of any kind.  The kingdom of God is within him, however, to stoop to the level of giving to the needy means something completely different to him.  He views his giving as enabling more than serving.  True Christ-like love is out of the question because then he would have to open his heart to a world he is unaccustomed to.  So as I understand it, it would be easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.  Entering into the kingdom within you deals with allowing Christ into the deepest parts of your heart and mind.  When He resides there "self" must go for there is only love for your fellow man.  One's own personal desires are deminished to nothing so that the will of God can be the only desire of one's heart.  It is a surrender of the richness that is quite often impossible to do.  Not materialistically but inwardly, with the condition of the heart.  It is very difficult to give up ones views and their worldly perspective and see things from a spiritual place that has only one rule and that is love.

Answer 15

Camel also means: rope in Aramaic which is what Jesus spoke.  So..When you say it is easier for a rope to pass through the eye of a needle it makes more sense.  Meaning if you strip away all the outside strands of that rope and are left with the one middle strand it is much easier.  It is a metaphor for a man who leaves all his material, "outside" wants and follows Jesus with only his heart.(his middle strand, so to speak).  A rich man could not do that.

Answer 16

Most rich people love and depend on their riches. The riches are a god to them. God has to be first in our lives.