Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” – Matthew 19:26

Today’s Scripture Reading (November 1, 2017): Matthew 19

Charles Watson Wentworth's "The Needle's Eye"

Charles Watson Wentworth (1730-1782), the second Marquis of Rockingham, allegedly made a bet that he could drive a coach and horses through the eye of a needle. The reference seemed to be in response to Jesus’s statement regarding the difficulty of a rich man gaining access to heaven being on par with the possibility of driving a camel through the eye of a needle. Wentworth went a step farther. Not only could he drive a camel through the eye of a needle, but he could also drive a coach with a team of horses through the eye of a needle. Apparently, someone took Wentworth's bet and the Wentforth constructed “The Needle’s Eye” on his property. The structure is wide enough just to allow a coach and horses to pass through the opening, lending some credence to the story of the origin of the structure. Wentworth apparently won his bet, even if it took a little creativity.

Traditionally we have spent a lot of effort trying to give some understanding to Jesus words about a camel passing through the eye of a needle. Many arguments have been presented attempting to provide some explanation of exactly what it was that Jesus was trying to say. Some have argued that there was a dangerous mountain pass that was barely wide enough to allow a camel to pass called “The Eye of the Needle” that Jesus had in mind when we spoke his warning. The problem is that the explanation is pure supposition – we do not know of any mountain pass today that fits that explanation. Others have argued that the phrase is essentially a problem of translation. The argument is that the word translated here as a camel (kamēlos) extends from the root word “gamla” which could be translated as either camel, beam, or large rope, and that Jesus mention of a needle should be a cue that rope is the intended translation here and not a camel. While this is a compelling argument, it does not lead to much of a solution to the problem presented by Jesus. It does not matter how much larger the item is than the eye of a needle; it is still impossible for either a large rope, a camel or a contemporary freighter to pass through the eye.

But our infatuation with a camel passing through the eye of the needle also seems to hide the actual issue with which Jesus appeared to be trying to deal. It is not the impossibility of the camel passing through the eye of the needle that is, in the end, important. It is that everything is possible with God. And in this, God is essentially in agreement with Charles Watson Wentworth. The bet that Jesus is making is that what is impossible with us is possible when God gets involved in the mix. Because, for God, passing a camel through the eye of a needle is not an impossibility. When God is part of the equation, everything is possible.  

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Matthew 20