Anachronism: Out of Time

My wife and I get a kick out of watching old movies and TV shows, saying, "They ought to pull out their cell phones and dial 9-1-1" when we know perfectly well that the technology didn't exist during that period of time.

That's the basic idea behind anachronism, placing something in the wrong historical context. Mark Twain's A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court is one of the better known books to deal with technology displaced in time.

A recent caller to The Bible Answer Man asked about the Eye of the Needle gate into Jerusalem, which is so small that it is very difficult to get a camel through it. According to some, a camel can only enter on its knees, showing the position we need to assume to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. According to others, including the version this caller heard, a camel can only get through the gate if all of its burdens are removed, showing that we can only come into the Kingdom of God by casting off all of our trappings.

In Matthew 19:24, Jesus says, "And again I say unto you, 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." (ASV) Doesn't that seem to fit perfectly with the story of the Eye of the Needle gate?

Problem is, as Hank Hanegraaff explains, that gate into Jerusalem didn't exist in the day of Jesus - if it existed at all (and there seems to be no evidence for it), it was a medieval addition to the fortified walls surrounding the city. Thus, all of these nice stories about the real gate are anachronisms, assuming such a gate did exist once upon a time (there appears to be no evidence for it).

Since it's logically and physically impossible for a camel to go through the eye of a real needle, Jesus is saying that it's impossible for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God on their own merits or using their own wealth.

However, Jesus also said that "With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible." (Matt. 19:26 ASV) Thus the point of the parable is that we cannot achieve heaven on our own, but by God's grace all things (including entering the Kingdom) are possible.

Thanks be to God!