08/24/20 THE EYE OF THE NEEDLE — Jesus’ encounter with the rich young man had just concluded. In Mark 10:24-27 (CSB) we read, “The disciples were ASTONISHED at his words. Again Jesus said to them, ‘Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! 25 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.’ 26 They were EVEN MORE ASTONISHED, saying to one another, ‘Then who can be saved?’ 27 Looking at them, Jesus said, ‘With man it is IMPOSSIBLE, but not with God, because ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE WITH GOD.’”

Some people seem to want to take the starch out of the Bible. Folks have come up with two desperate attempts to make this passage more palatable. First, some point out that the Greek words for “camel” and “cable” are just one letter apart. So “camel” is a mistake; instead it should say “cable,” they suggest. They say that Jesus really meant that being saved was as hard as threading a needle, which, by the way, nearly anyone can do!

Others point out that there is small gate in the ancient walls of Jerusalem called “The Eye of the Needle.” The purpose of this gate was to make it difficult for intruders to enter the city—they would have to crawl in on hands and knees. So Jesus was saying that salvation was hard, requiring us to humble ourselves on our knees. But just a cursory Google search reveals that this gate was installed between the 5th and 9th centuries after Christ was here! If it ever had a defensive purpose, it has become nothing more than a phony tourist attraction today!

Let the Scriptures speak for themselves! Jesus’ disciples understood perfectly what He was saying. They were (EVEN MORE) ASTONISHED because they KNEW He was saying that salvation is IMPOSSIBLE for any of us to achieve. Fortunately, as Jesus added, salvation IS POSSIBLE for GOD to arrange. Our salvation, redemption and reconciliation with God is ONLY AVAILABLE because He made it so. Thank You, Lord. Hallelujah!