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Matthew 15

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1 Then there come to Jesus from Jerusalem Pharisees and scribes, saying,

2 Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? for they wash not their hands when they eat bread.

3 And he answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition?

4 For God said, Honor thy father and thy mother: and, He that speaketh evil of father or mother, let him die the death.

5 But ye say, whosoever shall say to his father or his mother, That wherewith thou mightest have been profited by me is given [to God];

6 he shall not honor his father. And ye have made void the word of God because of your tradition.

7 Ye hypocrites, well did Isaiah prophesy of you, saying,

8 This people honoreth me with their lips; But their heart is far from me.

9 But in vain do they worship me, Teaching [as their] doctrines the precepts of men.

10 And he called to him the multitude, and said unto them, Hear, and understand:

11 Not that which entereth into the mouth defileth the man; but that which proceedeth out of the mouth, this defileth the man.

12 Then came the disciples, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the Pharisees were offended, when they heard this saying?

13 But he answered and said, Every plant which my heavenly Father planted not, shall be rooted up.

14 Let them alone: they are blind guides. And if the blind guide the blind, both shall fall into a pit.

15 And Peter answered and said unto him, Declare unto us the parable.

16 And he said, Are ye also even yet without understanding?

17 Perceive ye not, that whatsoever goeth into the mouth passeth into the belly, and is cast out into the draught?

18 But the things which proceed out of the mouth come forth out of the heart; and they defile the man.

19 For out of the heart come forth evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, railings:

20 these are the things which defile the man; but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not the man.

21 And Jesus went out thence, and withdrew into the parts of Tyre and Sidon.

22 And behold, a Canaanitish woman came out from those borders, and cried, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a demon.

23 But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us.

24 But he answered and said, I was not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

25 But she came and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me.

26 And he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children's bread and cast it to the dogs.

27 But she said, Yea, Lord: for even the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters' table.

28 Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it done unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was healed from that hour.

29 And Jesus departed thence, and came nigh unto the sea of Galilee; and he went up into the mountain, and sat there.

30 And there came unto him great multitudes, having with them the lame, blind, dumb, maimed, and many others, and they cast them down at this feet; and he healed them:

31 insomuch that the multitude wondered, when they saw the dumb speaking, the maimed whole, and lame walking, and the blind seeing: and they glorified the God of Israel.

32 And Jesus called unto him his disciples, and said, I have compassion on the multitude, because they continue with me now three days and have nothing to eat: and I would not send them away fasting, lest haply they faint on the way.

33 And the disciples say unto him, Whence should we have so many loaves in a desert place as to fill so great a multitude?

34 And Jesus said unto them, How many loaves have ye? And they said, Seven, and a few small fishes.

35 And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground;

36 and he took the seven loaves and the fishes; and he gave thanks and brake, and gave to the disciples, and the disciples to the multitudes.

37 And they all ate, and were filled: and they took up that which remained over of the broken pieces, seven baskets full.

38 And they that did eat were four thousand men, besides women and children.

39 And he sent away the multitudes, and entered into the boat, and came into the borders of Magadan.

   

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Arcana Coelestia # 5405

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5405. 'And he said, Behold, I have heard that there is corn in Egypt' means that truths can be acquired through factual knowledge. This becomes clear from the explanation just above in 5402, where 'that there was corn in Egypt' means the intention to acquire truths to itself through factual knowledge, which is 'Egypt'. What is meant by factual knowledge, which is 'Egypt', may also be seen in the same place. 'Corn' here stands for a word in the original language which means a breaking, and also for a similar word meaning to buy or to sell, when it is said that Jacob's sons 'bought' corn in Egypt and that Joseph 'sold' it there. The reason for this is that in the Ancient Church bread was broken when it was given to another, by which action was meant the sharing of what was one's own and the passing of good from oneself to another to be his own. Thus it meant making love mutual. For when someone breaks bread and gives it to another he is sharing with him what is his own. Or when a loaf is broken and shared among many, the single loaf becomes one shared mutually by all, and all are consequently joined together through charity.

[2] From this it is evident that the breaking of bread was a sign that meant mutual love. Because this had become an accepted and customary practice in the Ancient Church, the common availability of corn was therefore meant by such a breaking. 'Bread' means the good of love, see

276, 680, 1798, 2165, 2177, 3464, 3478, 3735, 3813, 4211, 4217, 4735, 4976; and this explains why, when the Lord gave bread, He broke it, as in Matthew,

Jesus taking the five loaves and the two fish, looking up to heaven, said a blessing, and breaking it gave the bread to the disciples. Matthew 14:19; Mark 6:41; Luke 9:16.

In the same gospel,

Taking the seven loaves and the fish, giving thanks, Jesus broke and gave them to His disciples, and the disciples to the crowd. Matthew 15:36; Mark 8:6.

In the same gospel,

Taking bread, saying a blessing, Jesus broke and gave to the disciples and said, Take, eat, this is My body. Matthew 26:26; Mark 14:22; Luke 22:19.

In Luke,

It happened, when the Lord was at table with them, that taking bread He said a blessing, and breaking it gave it to them. And their eyes were opened and they recognized Him. The disciples told how the Lord was known to them in the breaking of bread. Luke 24:30-31, 35.

In Isaiah,

This is the fast that I choose, to break your bread for the hungry. Isaiah 58:6-7.

  
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Thanks to the Swedenborg Society for the permission to use this translation.

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Arcana Coelestia # 4217

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4217. 'And Laban went and resumed to his place' means the end of the representation by means of Laban. This is clear from the meaning of 'returning to his place' as going back to a previous state - for 'place' means state, see 2625, 2837, 3356, 3387, 3404 - and therefore the words used here mean the end of the representation by means of Laban. All that has been shown makes it clear that every single part of the Word has an interior content, which is of such a nature that it is suited to the perception of the angels present with man. For example, when the word 'bread' is used in the Word the angels do not call to mind material bread but spiritual bread, and so instead of bread perceive the Lord who, as He Himself teaches in John 6:33, 35, is the Bread of life. And because they perceive the Lord they perceive the things which derive from Him, and therefore His love towards the whole human race. In so doing they perceive at the same time man's reciprocal love to the Lord, for these two kinds of love are knit together within one idea occupying their thought and affection.

[2] Not unlike this are the thoughts of the person who has a holy mind, when he receives the bread in the Holy Supper; for at that time he does not think of the bread but of the Lord and His mercy, and of the things which constitute love to Him and charity towards the neighbour, because he is thinking about repentance and amendment of life. Yet the way people think about these things varies according to the degree of holiness present not only in their thought but also in their affection. From this it is evident that when 'bread' is mentioned in the Word no idea of bread presents itself to angels but the idea of love and of countless things connected with love. It is similar when wine is referred to in the Word and also received in the Holy Supper. In this case angels do not think at all of wine but of charity towards the neighbour. This being so, and since man in this way is linked to heaven and through heaven to the Lord, bread and wine have been made the symbols and unite a person who leads a holy life to heaven, and through heaven to the Lord.

[3] The same applies to every detail within the Word, and therefore the Word is the means by which man is united to the Lord. If that uniting means did not exist heaven would not be able to flow in with man - for without a means no uniting together would be possible - but would remove itself from him. And if heaven were removed it would no longer be possible for anyone to be led to that which is good, not even to physical and worldly good. Instead all restraints, including external ones, would be abolished. For the Lord governs the person in whom good dwells by means of internal restraints, which are those of conscience, whereas the person in whom evil dwells is governed solely by external restraints. If these were abolished everybody governed solely by external restraints would become insane in the way a person is insane who has no fear of the law, no fear for his life, nor any fear of losing position and gain, and so of reputation - for these are the external bonds - and so the human race would perish. This explains why the Word exists, and the true nature of the Word. The Lord's Church where the Word exists is like the heart and the lungs, and the Lord's Church where it does not exist is like all the other internal organs which get their life from the heart and lungs - see 637, 931, 2054, 2853.

  
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Thanks to the Swedenborg Society for the permission to use this translation.