Luke 18
I want to revisit The Rich Fool story I mentioned two days ago - however I referenced the version in Mark 10.
Here Jesus talks about a camel going through the eye of a needle. Over the years I have heard a few different versions of what this means. When I was much younger the most common version was "the needle" was the nickname of a small gate in a town wall that allowed access after hours. However I tend to agree more with a version I heard much more recently. A camel would be the largest creature Jesus' listeners would be aware of. They would also be aware of what a common needle looked like. Today Jesus would be more likely to say 'elephant' instead of 'camel'.
Tomorrow is Palm Sunday - the start of Holy Week. If you have been reading these thoughts, but not the #Bible, I highly recommend you start with Luke 19 on Monday - it includes the entry into Jerusalem. From here, you will find the daily readings travel along the Holy Week journey with us. I find it deepens my appreciation of the week.
@daveburb (yes I am very behind)
Luke 18
I actually prefer the interpretation that a "camel" is a kind of rope - because it is closer to the kind of thing which one might actually want to put through the eye of a needle, it being a textile.
But on the other hand, it really does not matter whether one takes it at face value or if one re-interprets what the "camel" or the "needle" are -- the point is, that the metaphor is about something which is impossible to do.
One thing which struck me here is that Jesus told them that he was going to be put to death, and "it was hidden from them". Presumably they understood it later, after the fact, or it would never have made it into this gospel. But it makes me wonder... why? Why was it hidden from them? Would they have tried to stop him? I think they might have.
DaveB
Kerr Avonsen (she/her)