By Curtis Childs
Could there be reasons for the humble, vulnerable beginnings of Jesus’s life?
In this video from his Swedenborg and Life web series, host Curtis Childs and featured guests explore how the Divine design may have been at play from the very beginning of Christ's life.
(References: Apocalypse Explained 706 [12]; Luke 2:8-12; The Word 7; True Christian Religion 89, 90, 96, 766)
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After these things the Lord appointed other seventy also, and sent them two and two before his face into every city and place, whither he himself would come.
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Therefore said he unto them, The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labourers into his harvest.
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Go your ways: behold, I send you forth as lambs among wolves.
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Carry neither purse, nor scrip, nor shoes: and salute no man by the way.
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And into whatsoever house ye enter, first say, Peace be to this house.
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And if the son of peace be there, your peace shall rest upon it: if not, it shall turn to you again.
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And in the same house remain, eating and drinking such things as they give: for the labourer is worthy of his hire. Go not from house to house.
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And into whatsoever city ye enter, and they receive you, eat such things as are set before you:
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And heal the sick that are therein, and say unto them, The kingdom of God is come nigh unto you.
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But into whatsoever city ye enter, and they receive you not, go your ways out into the streets of the same, and say,
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Even the very dust of your city, which cleaveth on us, we do wipe off against you: notwithstanding be ye sure of this, that the kingdom of God is come nigh unto you.
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But I say unto you, that it shall be more tolerable in that day for Sodom, than for that city.
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Woe unto thee, Chorazin! Woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works had been done in Tyre and Sidon, which have been done in you, they had a great while ago repented, sitting in sackcloth and ashes.
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But it shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment, than for you.
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And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted to heaven, shalt be thrust down to hell.
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He that heareth you heareth me; and he that despiseth you despiseth me; and he that despiseth me despiseth him that sent me.
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And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name.
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And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.
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Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.
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Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.
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In that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit, and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes: even so, Father; for so it seemed good in thy sight.
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All things are delivered to me of my Father: and no man knoweth who the Son is, but the Father; and who the Father is, but the Son, and he to whom the Son will reveal him.
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And he turned him unto his disciples, and said privately, Blessed are the eyes which see the things that ye see:
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For I tell you, that many prophets and kings have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.
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And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?
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He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou?
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And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.
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And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live.
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But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour?
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And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.
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And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.
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And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side.
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But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him,
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And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.
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And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee.
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Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves?
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And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.
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Now it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a certain village: and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house.
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And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus' feet, and heard his word.
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But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me.
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And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things:
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But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.
96. The leaders of the church in our time have a quite different description of the Lord's righteousness, and regard its impress on a man's faith as the key to salvation. Yet the truth is that the Lord's righteousness, being of such a nature and origin that it is purely Divine, could not be linked with any person, so that it could not cause anyone to be saved, any more than the Divine life can, which is the Divine Love and the Divine Wisdom. The Lord enters into every person with these, but unless that person lives in accordance with order, though he has that life within him, it contributes nothing to his salvation, giving him merely the ability to understand truth and to do good. Living in accordance with order is living in accordance with God's commandments. When a person so lives and acts, he acquires righteousness for himself, not the righteousness that comes from the Lord's redeeming, but the Lord Himself as righteousness. These are the people described by the following passages, as well as others.
Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of the heavens, Matthew 5:20.
Blessed are those who undergo persecution for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of the heavens, Matthew 5:10.
At the completion of the age angels will go forth and separate the wicked from out of the midst of the righteous, Matthew 13:49.
The righteous in the Word mean those who have lived in accordance with Divine order, since Divine order is righteousness.
[2] Righteousness itself, which by His redeeming acts the Lord became, cannot be ascribed to, impressed on, fitted on or linked with a person, otherwise than light to the eye, sound to the ear, will to the muscles of one who acts, thought to the lips of the speaker, air to the breathing lungs, heat to the blood, and so on. Anyone can see for himself that these things have an effect and are accessory without being linked to the organ. But righteousness is acquired the more a person applies it, and he applies righteousness, the more the love of what is right and true inspires his dealings with his neighbour. Righteousness dwells in the actual good, or the actual service, which he performs. For the Lord says that every tree is recognised by its fruit. We recognise another person by his actions, if we pay attention to the end and purpose of what he wills, and the intention or cause behind his actions. This is what all the angels observe, and so do all the wise people in our world. In general, every plant and shoot the earth puts forth is recognised by its flower and seed, and the service which its seed performs; likewise every metal by its worth, every stone by its quality, every piece of ground by its, every food by its, every land animal and every bird of the air by its. Why not man too? The quality and origins of a person's actions will be disclosed in the chapter on faith [336-391].
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