Over the centuries since, scholars have been debating the meaning of that statement, suggesting that he really didn't have in mind the eye of a needle as you and I would understand it for that would be impossible. They take the part of the statement saying "how hard it is" and suggest that it referred to an entrance way into a barn requiring camels to strain getting low enough to pass under it.
There was such a thing and it was difficult for a camel to pass under, but certainly possible. So, that could not be what Jesus had in mind for he clear said as he amplified how hard it was by saying, it is impossible. How hard was it? Too hard for any man to accomplish. So, who then can enter the kingdom? Nobody! Nobody? Nobody! With man it is impossible!
However, Jesus went on to say “What is impossible with man is possible with God" (v. 27). No more than a camel can pass through the eye of a needle can a man pass through the gates of heaven. But a camel can be passed through the eye of a needle if the camel dies and is transformed. How do you think camel hair coats are made? Seriously? Seriously!
Humans cannot pass through the gates of heaven unless they die (to self) and are transformed. The apostle Paul spells this out in Romans 12:1-2, where he tells us that we must become living sacrifices (die to self) and be transformed (new and different) in order to experience God's good will. Jesus himself affirmed this point to his disciples, "Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again" (Jn 3:3).
The impossible with man is possible with God. We have no hope in securing heaven but God opens the gates to us through the power of the cross - the power of the Spirit release by the sacrifice of the Christ. We can experience the impossible made possible by grace in accepting Jesus Christ as Lord. Jus' Say'n.
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