Chapter 9.

Forgiving Sin

1. And stepping into a ship, He crossed over, and came into His own city.

2. And behold, they brought to Him one sick of the palsy cast down upon a bed; and Jesus, seeing their faith, said to the sick of the palsy, “Child, have confidence, thy sins have been forgiven thee.”

3. And behold, some of the scribes said within themselves, “This [man] blasphemes.”

4. And Jesus, seeing their thoughts, said, “Why do you think wickedness in your hearts?

5. For which is easier, to say, ‘[Thy] sins have been forgiven thee,’ or to say, ‘Rise up and walk?’

6. But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on the earth to forgive sins” — then He says to the [one] sick of the palsy, “Arise, take up thy bed, and go to thy house.”

7. And arising, he went away to his house.

8. And the crowds seeing, marveled, and glorified God, who gives such authority to men.

It is becoming increasingly clear that the gradual revelation of Jesus’ divinity is a central theme in this gospel. At the same time, Matthew is also about our gradual realization of Jesus’ presence and power in our lives. The dawning of this awareness is represented by the orderly, sequential, revealing of His divinity, in episode after episode, first in the Sermon on the Mount, next in the healing of leprosy, paralysis, and fever, and then in the calming of the wind and waves. In all of this, Jesus has been gradually revealing His power in the natural world — speaking with authority, curing sickness, and calming the sea. After that, He demonstrates that His also has power in the spiritual world: He casts demons out of two demon-possessed men.

Now, in this next episode, Jesus performs a miracle that further reveals His power in the spiritual world. We read: “Behold, they brought to Him a paralytic lying on a bed, and Jesus, seeing their faith, said to the paralytic, ‘Son, be of good cheer: your sins are forgiven you’” (9:2).

Here, for the first time, Jesus reveals something of His Divine Fatherhood, for He addresses the paralytic as “son.” He also reveals that He has the Divine ability to forgive sins, for He adds “Your sins are forgiven.” To the religious leaders who overhear Him, this constitutes blasphemy. According to their understanding, only God can forgive sins. It is inconceivable to them that a mere man could have this ability. Therefore, they accuse Jesus, saying within themselves, This man blasphemes (9:3).

Jesus knows that they are intimidated by His growing influence. And He knows that that they consider Him a threat to their authority. Knowing all of this, Jesus says to them, “Why do you think evil in your hearts? Which is easier to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Arise and walk’?” (9:5).

It is an important question. After all, it’s easy to say, “Arise and walk,” but forgiving sins is another matter. Arising and walking is physical; forgiveness — whether given or received — is spiritual. It’s easier for an exasperated parent to say to a reluctant child, “Get up and get going,” but it takes greater effort to first understand the deeper causes that lay behind the child’s unwillingness to obey. Understanding is always the more difficult part. Forgiveness is even harder.

While it takes much more awareness, sensitivity, and effort to pay attention to causes, it is, nevertheless, the most effective way to deal with symptoms. Similarly, if we are to get over our spiritual paralysis — whether it be the inability to follow through with necessary tasks, or resistance to letting go of a grievance — we must begin at the level of causes. What are the spiritual causes that prevent us from doing our best? What are the spiritual causes that prevent us from letting go of resentments? These are the kinds of questions we ask ourselves on the journey of spiritual development — a journey that begins with the recognition and acknowledgement of some sin in ourselves and leads on to the forgiveness of sin.

In order to understand the difficulty involved in forgiving sin, we need to understand what is entailed. If we believe that it is a simple prayer such as, “Forgive me, Lord, for I have sinned,” we are much mistaken, for it involves much more. It’s not that easy. While the Lord’s forgiveness is always available to us, we need to examine ourselves and be very specific about the sin we have committed. This is the first step. Once we have identified it, we must acknowledge it, take responsibility for it, confess it to the Lord, and beg for the power to no longer commit that sin. Next, we must start a new life, believing that the Lord not only has the power to remove sinful desires, but also give us the power to start a new life, as if from ourselves. It will be a new life in accordance with the divine truth. ¹

As we continue to live according to divine truth, we discover that the truth indeed drives away sin, and sends it to the outermost reaches of our consciousness even as Jesus (in the previous episode) sent the demons out of the men, into the swine, and then into the depths of the sea. Similarly, in this episode, He says, “the Son of Man [divine truth] has power on earth to forgive sins” (9:6).

The secret within this miracle is that the Lord’s goodness and power works through the truth we strive to put into our lives. Truth alone, apart from the Lord’s goodness and power, cannot help us. But it can serve as a sacred vessel into which God’s goodness and power can flow. The more accurate the truth, the more fully it receives and makes use of the love and power which flows in from God. It is similar to the way our bodies receive and make use of the food we choose to eat: the more nutritious the food, the more energy and power is made available for our use. ²

All of this is contained in Jesus’ claim “the Son of Man [divine truth] has power on earth to forgive sins” (9:6). In Greek, the term “forgive” is ἀφίημι (aphiémi) which means to “release” or “send away.” The word “remittance” is perhaps the closest term, for it literally means “to send back. So, the phrase “the forgiveness of sins” means, quite literally, to send sins back to the hells from which they come. This, then, is the more interior meaning of the phrase “the forgiveness of sins.” In other words, when sins are forgiven, they are remitted, sent back, and removed. This “removal of sins” is a matter of having them removed from our consciousness and sent to the back of our mind — not obliterating them from our life. ³

After declaring that the Son of Man has the power to forgive sins, Jesus turns to the paralytic and says, “Arise, take up your bed, and go to your house” (9:6) Amazingly, the paralytic arises and departs to his house, his sins forgiven, and his ability to walk restored. It is noteworthy that Jesus first takes care of the paralytic’s spiritual needs (forgiving his sins) before meeting his natural needs (restoring his ability to walk). When we are physically sick or disabled, it’s easy to acknowledge that something is wrong, and easy to identify causes — we caught a cold, we sprained an ankle, etc.

But spiritual infirmities are more difficult because the deeper causes are harder to identify, and the healing process is less evident. When people are physically sick or physically injured, they seldom want to remain in that state; they want to get well. However, when people are spiritually sick or spiritually injured, they are not always eager to change their state; they may not want to give up their destructive habits or let go of gnawing resentments. They sometimes prefer to cling to these states of spiritual paralysis saying things like, “Leave me alone.”

That’s why forgiving sin — healing from the inside out — is, up to this point in the gospel narrative, Jesus’ greatest miracle. First He healed a soul; then He healed a body. In forgiving sin, Jesus enabled a paralyzed man to arise and walk.

The multitudes were amazed. When they saw what happened, “they marveled and glorified God” (9:8). The religious leaders, on the other hand, had a very different response. Hardly noticing that a paralyzed man had just been healed, they focused instead on what they considered blasphemy: Jesus had arrogated to Himself the right to forgive sins — something that only God can do. In so doing, Jesus had made Himself equal to God.

The multitudes did not see it that way. Not only did they marvel at what Jesus had done, but they also “glorified God, who had given such power to men” (9:8). This verse makes it clear that the multitudes still see Jesus as a man — but a very special man who has been given extraordinary power, including the God-like power to forgive sins.

New Wine

9. And Jesus, passing by thence, saw a man sitting at the receipt of tribute, called Matthew; and He says to him, “Follow Me”; and standing up, he followed Him.

10. And it came to pass, as He sat in the house, that behold, many publicans and sinners came and sat with Jesus and His disciples.

11. And when the Pharisees saw, they said to His disciples, “Why does your Teacher eat with publicans and sinners?”

12. But Jesus hearing said to them, “They that have strength have no need of a physician, but they that have an illness do.

13. But go ye [and] learn what [it] means, I desire mercy, and not sacrifice; for I have not come to call the just, but sinners, to repentance.”

14. Then the disciples of John came to Him, saying, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but Thy disciples fast not?”

15. And Jesus said to them, “Can the sons of the bride-chamber mourn so long as the Bridegroom is with them? But the days will come when the Bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and then shall they fast.

16. And no one patches an old garment [with] a patch of unshrunk fabric; for that which fills in takes from the garment, and the rip becomes worse.

17. Neither do they pour young wine into old bottles, otherwise the bottles are torn, and the wine is spills out, and the bottles perish; but they pour young wine into new bottles, and both are preserved.”

When Jesus was born, the angel said to Joseph, “You shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins” (1:20-21). Divine love, in its essence, desires the salvation of every person. ⁴ This is a general, easily understood concept. More specifically, however, the gospels declare that God came into the world as Jesus Christ to save people from their sins, to redeem them, and to free them from bondage to selfish concerns. In the Sermon on the Mount, in the healing of the sick, in the calming of the storm, and in the casting out of demons, Jesus manifests this essential love, but does not fully reveal it. Now, however, in casting out demons and forgiving sin, Jesus makes His divine purpose more clearly known: He comes to forgive His people — “to save them from their sins” — and thereby set them free. As we have just seen, forgiveness is the removal of sin — something that can only be done through Divine Power with human cooperation.

It is important, therefore, to know how God accomplishes this. First, He gives us the divine truth (the Sermon on the Mount). He teaches us truths by which we might lead our lives in order to be saved. Second, because we cannot do this by ourselves, He gives us the power to live according to that truth. In this way, and in no other, can our sins be removed from us, and thereby forgiven. ⁵

This approach to the forgiveness of sin was, at the time, an entirely new concept. Prior to this, it was believed that sins could only be forgiven through the sacrifice of innocent animals. Once a year, the “sins of the people” were ceremoniously placed upon a goat who was driven off into the wilderness. It was believed that the expulsion of this “scapegoat” could somehow “take away” the sins of the people (Leviticus 16:21-23). Meanwhile, sinners (including tax collectors) were to be scrupulously avoided; socializing with them was unthinkable.

Enter Jesus. Immediately after forgiving and healing the paralyzed man, Jesus reaches out to Matthew, a despised tax collector, and says, “Follow Me” (9:9). Jesus then sits down to eat with many other tax collectors and sinners. The religious leaders, who are shocked by Jesus’ behavior, confront the disciples and ask them why their teacher sits with tax collectors and sinners (9:11). According to their standards, religion is not for sinners; rather, it is for the respectable, well-educated, upper class — those whom God has blessed with wealth and privilege; it is for those who consider themselves above the taint of sin.

But Jesus came to turn all of that upside down. He came to show that religion is for everyone, the rich and the poor, the educated and the uneducated, rulers and servants. No longer would religion be seen as a means for enhancing one’s glory and obtaining power in the world. Rather, it would serve to free people from sin so that they might experience the kingdom of heaven — a kingdom that is not “on high,” but rather around them and within them. ⁶

In other words, Jesus came to revive and resuscitate the religion of the day — a religion that had fallen into the death-grip of misguided and self-absorbed people. Because these religious leaders had false ideas of what real religion is, or even who God is, the people were led astray, and were living in hellish bondage. Well-intentioned, but misled followers spent their lives trying to uphold the rigorous traditions of the religious establishment, even while God’s own commandments were being neglected.

Meanwhile, as genuine religion suffered and was becoming extinct, spiritual ills of various kinds infested the people. When Jesus declares that He has come to heal the spiritual sicknesses that have been destroying the soul of His people, the religious leaders are outraged. They are especially shocked that Jesus flagrantly violates the taboo which strictly forbids socializing with sinners. Jesus, however, sees things quite differently. He knows that He has come, especially for sinners — not for those who consider themselves well. As He puts it, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick” (9:12).

In no uncertain terms, Jesus tells the religious leaders that they should be focusing more on the essentials of religion, and less on external ceremonies. Quoting the prophet Hosea, He says to them: “Go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice’” (9:13). Jesus wants the religious leaders to understand that their real work is not about sacrificing lambs, burning doves, or sprinkling people with the blood of bulls. Nor is it about long fasts and ostentatious shows of suffering. Rather, it is about teaching truth and encouraging people to lead good lives. This includes helping people recognize that we are all sinners called to help and support one another in the process of spiritual development. As Jesus says, “I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance” (9:13).

True religion, however, is not only about recognizing and seeking deliverance from our sinful ways; it is also about feasting and rejoicing because the Lord is present. Jesus demonstrates this by sitting down with His disciples, with publicans, and with sinners to dine with them. Religion, for Jesus, certainly involves serious repentance. But the goal is a joyful, delightful life, filled with God’s presence — for He lives among His people as a bridegroom with his friends. When asked why His disciples do not fast, Jesus says, “Can the friends of the bridegroom mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them?” (9:15).

These are some of the new ideas that Jesus was bringing to the world. They were new garments and new wine — garments that cannot be sewn onto old clothes, and wine that cannot be poured into old wineskins (9:16-17). To those who continued to believe that God is only pleased with the old garments of worn-out traditions and the old wineskins of rigid teachings, the living religion of Jesus Christ was a startling — even shocking — reality.

In order to properly receive the new truths that Jesus came to reveal, people would have to be flexible and yielding. They would have to root out old attitudes and stretch beyond rigid beliefs. Otherwise, these new truths could not be contained in old wineskins; like new wine, these new truths would continue to ferment and expand, eventually bursting through the old, dried-out wineskins. Therefore, “new wineskins” would be needed, new ways of responding to the needs of others, and a new understanding of how to treat people.

The “new wine” that Jesus came to reveal would not be about rigid conformity to external laws, or the strict observance of empty rituals. Rather, it would be about a new, more interior life of faith and love, indeed guided by the commandments, but understood with new eyes, and practiced with new hearts. A religion of external ritual would be replaced by a religion of inner cleansing. This new religion would bring new life to a world on the brink of spiritual death. But before this could happen, false ideas (old cloth and old wineskins) would have to be removed. Only then would the words of the prophet be fulfilled, “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh” (Ezekiel 36:26).

The Restoration of Spiritual Life

18. While He spoke these things to them, behold, a ruler coming worshiped Him, saying, “My daughter is now dead; but come, lay thy hand upon her, and she shall live.”

19. And Jesus arising followed him, and His disciples.

20. And behold, a woman who was diseased with an issue of blood for twelve years, having come [from] behind [Him], touched the hem of His garment;

21. For she said in herself, “If I may only touch His garment, I shall be healed.”

22. And Jesus turning and seeing her, said, “Have confidence, daughter, thy faith has saved thee”; and the woman was healed from that hour.

23. And Jesus coming into the house of the ruler, and seeing the flute players, and the crowd making an uproar,

24. Says to them, “Depart; for the damsel is not dead, but sleeps”; and they laughed at Him.

25. But when the crowd was cast out, entering in He [took] hold of her hand, and the damsel arose.

26. And this fame went out into that whole land.

27. And Jesus passing by thence, two blind [men] followed Him, crying and saying, “Have mercy on us, Son of David.”

28. And when He had come to the house, the blind [men] came to Him, and Jesus says to them,” Do you believe that I am able to do this?” They say to Him, “Yes, Lord.”

29. Then He touched their eyes, saying, “According to your faith be it unto you.”

30. And their eyes were opened, and Jesus admonished them, saying, “See [that] you let no one know.”

31. But going out they spread His fame in that whole land.

32. And as they came out, behold, they brought to Him a man mute, demon-possessed.

33. And when the demon was cast out, the mute spoke, and the crowds marveled, saying that it never so appeared in Israel.

34. But the Pharisees said, “By the ruler of the demons He casts out the demons.”

Reviving affections

This episode begins with Jesus being asked to perform a miracle that will surpass all preceding miracles. He is asked to restore a dead girl to life! Along the way, He is approached by a woman who has had “an issue of blood for twelve years” (9:20). Believing that she could be healed by simply touching the outer hem of Jesus’ robe, she approaches Jesus from behind and touches “the hem of His garment” (9:21). As soon as she does this, Jesus turns around, sees her, and says, “Daughter, thy faith has saved thee” and the woman is healed in that very moment (9:22).

It should be remembered that this healing occurs while Jesus is on His way to revive a young girl who, reportedly, is dead. He has been asked to bring the young girl back to life. How might this seeming interruption be connected to what goes before and what follows?

The connection is not readily apparent in the literal sense, but a more interior understanding of the spiritual sense provides some helpful clues.

An important clue can be found in understanding the spiritual significance of the phrase “hem of His garment.” In the Word, “garments” represent truths. Just as clothing protects our naked bodies from exposure to various weather conditions, truth protects us from exposure to false beliefs that would hurt our innocence. Inner garments, then, represent the more interior truths of the Word, and outer garments represent the more external, literal truths of the Word. So, the woman who touched the hem of the Lord’s outer garment, represents a sincere belief that the Lord can communicate healing power to us through the most literal truths of His Word — the very “hem of His garment.” And because these truths are connected to the Lord, they contain the power to heal our spiritual infirmities. ⁷

But this woman had to do something. She had to act on her belief that the Lord could heal her. And so, she did. She approached Him and touched the hem of His garment. It is similar in each of our lives. We must act; we must take the first step. We must demonstrate our faith by acting on our beliefs — even if it as simple as reading the Word, trusting that the healing power of the Lord can flow through the literal words of sacred scripture. ⁸ And whenever we do this, with love and faith in our hearts, something wonderful happens within us: we experience an inner healing. The gradual draining away of spiritual life that we have been experiencing (“issue of blood”) is stopped, and we begin to receive new life. A new will is being born in us. ⁹

Having healed the woman who suffered from an issue of blood, Jesus continues His journey. When He arrives at the house of the dead girl, Jesus is confronted with a roomful of mourners bewailing the death of the young girl. Jesus had recently spoken about true religion as a joyful experience — not just a lifeless procession of solemn rituals, sacrifices, and external observances — which He compared to old cloths, and old wineskins (see 9:15-17). Comparing true religion to a wedding celebration, Jesus spoke about religious life as the union of God with His people — like a bridegroom with friends, celebrating a wedding By contrast, the house of mourning that He entered, in this next episode, is filled with wailing and lamentation. It is certainly not a place of joy.

The disparity between the joy of true religion and the funeral scene is striking. True religion is about life, not death; more interiorly, it is about being raised above spiritual death and into higher levels of spiritual life. Whether it as gradual loss of spiritual life (the woman who had been losing blood), or a total loss of spiritual life (the dead girl), God comes to heal us and restore us to full life. The healing of the dead girl, then, is an opportunity to teach this important truth. It also serves as a symbolic representation of the dying religious system He came to revive.

It is noteworthy that Jesus begins by scattering the mourners. “Make room,” He says, for the girl is not dead, but sleeping” (9:24). Certain that the girl is dead, “they laugh Him to scorn” (9:24). Nevertheless, Jesus puts the crowd outside, takes her by the hand, and, miraculously, raises the girl to life. In our own lives, “the mourners” must be driven away — they must be chased out of our inner rooms before the Lord can enter. The fears, anxieties, resentments, and discouragements — whatever has been keeping us in a state of spiritual death — must be driven away in order to make room for the Lord.

There are times when we don’t feel like making room for the Lord. There are times when we do not feel like casting out the negative thoughts and discouraging feelings. And yet, whatever we might be feeling at the moment, and however discouraged we might be, it is never too late to find meaning and purpose in life. Even when our hopes and dreams have been lulled to sleep, they are not dead. Therefore, Jesus says to the mournful spirits that surround our deathbed, “Depart, for the girl is not dead but is sleeping” (9:24).

The raising of the girl who seemed to be dead speaks of a re-awakening of our true affections — those affections that are willing to receive and love God. The good news is that although these affections in us are often asleep, they are never dead. All we need to do is drive away the negative thoughts and feelings. It begins by believing in the Lord’s power to heal (symbolized by the woman with the issue of blood). Once the issue of blood (our gradual loss of spiritual vitality) is stopped, we can be raised up to higher levels of spiritual life (symbolized by the raising of the dead girl).

Opening our eyes

In the miracle of the seemingly dead girl being brought back to life, we see a symbolic representation of how God often awakens us from our unmotivated states of “spiritual death” so that we may live a vibrant, motivated, truly spiritual life. But in order to understand how this miracle is connected to the one which follows, we need to introduce another law of scriptural interpretation. In sacred scripture the feminine gender usually represents the affectionate, loving side of human nature, while the masculine gender tends to represent the intellectual, thinking side. ¹⁰

So the next miracle, the healing of two blind men, speaks about how God heals the other side of our nature — the intellectual, thinking side. This is the side that can see the truth when it is presented. Everyday expressions such as, “Now I see what you mean” and “None are so blind as those who will not see,” remind us that there is a deep symbolic connection between physical sight and spiritual sight. It is this healing of our spiritual sight — our understanding — that is described in the next miracle.

It occurs just as Jesus is leaving the home of the girl whom He has awakened from what seemed like death. He has just healed two women. Now, as He continues His journey, two blind men follow Him, crying out, “Son of David, have mercy on us!” (9:27). In the preceding miracles we saw the healing of our affections. Although they seemed to be gradually dying or even “dead,” they could be revived. In this miracle we see the healing of our understanding, represented in Jesus’ giving sight to the blind men. As He opens their physical eyes with the touch of His hand, He opens our spiritual eyes, giving us the power to understand spiritual truth. “And their eyes were opened” (9:29). He sternly warns them, however, to tell no one about it. “See that no one knows it,” He says (9:30). ¹¹

Healing our muteness

The next healing in this series of miracles involves a man who is both mute and demon possessed. It is clear that the demon-possession is connected with the man’s muteness, for we read that “when the demon was cast out, the mute man spoke” (9:33). Throughout the scriptures, the children of Israel are exhorted to rejoice and sing praises to God, especially in celebration of the new life God brings to humanity. “Oh, sing to the Lord a new song! . . . Shout joyfully to the Lord; break forth in song, rejoice, sing praises” (Psalm 98:1, 4); “Make a joyful shout to the Lord, all you lands” (Psalm 100:1); “Praise the Lord, for it is good to sing praises to our God” (Psalm 147:1); and the very last line of the Psalms is, “Let everything that has breath praise the Lord” (Psalm 150:6).

This is the goal of God’s salvation work; it is to bring us into that wonderful state of happiness and contentment in which our heart and mind are filled with gratitude — gratitude for being freed from our sins, gratitude for the abundant blessings that surround us, and gratitude for the new life we have received. In this state of gratitude we cannot contain the spontaneous praise that springs forth from our lips: “O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth shall show forth Your praise” (Psalm 51:15).

Rejoicing, praise, and gratitude then, is an essential component of religion — especially a religion that is about life, not death. In the Sermon on the Mount, when Jesus listed the many blessings we could receive, the final blessing involved the expression of joy and gratitude: “Rejoice and be exceedingly glad,” He said (5:12). In casting out the demon of muteness, Jesus allows this man to express his inner joy, to rejoice, and to be glad.

This is the joy that God intends for each of us.

These sequence of healing stories summarize how God brings us into this state of exultant joy. First, He stops the loss of spiritual life through our initial efforts to read His word (the woman who touched the hem of His garment); then He rekindles our affections (raising the apparently dead girl); then He opens our understanding (the two blind men); and, finally, He gives us the ability to express the inner joy that we feel for all of this, in words of praise, and in expressions of gratitude (the healing of the mute man).

Differing responses

The multitudes receive these divine works with amazement. They marvel, saying, “It was never seen like this in Israel” (9:33). Instinctively, they know that this is something breathtakingly different. But the religious leaders have a different response. They say: “He casts out demons by the ruler of the demons” (9:34). These dramatically different responses represent the decision that is set before each of us in this gospel. Do we respond with awe and gratitude to the wonderful ways God heals our affections, enlightens our understanding and enables us to offer praise? Or do we respond with doubt and disbelief, saying, “He casts out demons by the ruler of the demons”?

For some, the whole idea that Jesus can work miracles seems preposterous. Admittedly, it often seems that we can revive ourselves, understand spiritual truth, and express gratitude without supernatural aid. The appearance is that we can do all of this on our own. But the reality is quite different: God alone gives us the power to do all these things. The more we align ourselves with that power, through learning truth and applying it to our lives, the more power we receive. All the while, wonderful changes are happening within our souls. Amazing miracles are taking place as God quietly stops the loss of spiritual vigor, restores our affections, gives us the ability to understand spiritual truth, and opens our lips so that we might praise His name and live in gratitude. ¹²

A practical application

There are times when a relationship in our life might seem to be dying or is already dead. Perhaps a misunderstanding has not been resolved, and because of this a stoney silence has dragged on for several hours or even many days. This is the time to believe in the power of the Word (to touch the hem of His garment), to pray for an awakening of our original affection (a dead girl is raised), and to seek a new understanding of the situation (blind men see). If we do this, our lips will be opened so that we might speak the kind and loving words we were not willing to say. We might even be given the power to ask for forgiveness (a mute man speaks).

This series of miracles speaks to a new possibility in each of us: we can speak out of a new understanding, using words that come from love.

Jesus is Moved with Compassion

35. And Jesus went around all the cities and the villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and curing every disease and every malady in the people.

36. And seeing the crowds, He was moved with compassion concerning them, because they were faint and thrown down, as sheep not having a shepherd.

37. Then He says to His disciples, “The harvest [is] indeed much, but the workers [are] few.

38. Entreat ye, therefore, the Lord of the harvest, so that He will send out workers into His harvest.”

As Jesus gradually reveals His Divine identity, people begin either to accept or reject Him. The multitudes marvel, recognizing that there has never been anything like this in Israel. At the same time, the religious leaders — seeing that their authority and influence are threatened — are provoked to anger. They insist that Jesus casts out demons through invoking the power of Satan himself.

The believing multitudes and the disbelieving religious establishment represent opposing attitudes in every human being. This is how God keeps us in spiritual equilibrium — free to accept or reject Him at any given moment. In other words, the faithful multitudes and the incredulous religious leaders are in each of us; at any given moment we are simultaneously in the presence of heavenly and hellish influences from the spiritual world. Every step we take in acknowledging God (through a life according to His commandments) is met by an equal and opposite sphere of influence from hell that endeavors to attack our growing faith in Him. ¹³

In the context of this episode, then, “the multitudes” represent the innocent thoughts and tender affections in each of us that sense something of Jesus’ divinity. often, however, these multitudes of thoughts and affections are a disorderly mass of scattered feelings, intuitions about what is good, hunches about truth, and inclinations to be useful. Although good, true, and useful, these thoughts and affections are compared to weak and scattered sheep with no shepherd to lead them. As long as they remain disorganized and scattered, they will be easy prey for wolves who are eager to devour them. Therefore, we read that when Jesus sees the multitudes, He is “moved with compassion for them,” because they are weary and scattered, like sheep without a shepherd (9:36).

Jesus, therefore, calls together His disciples so that they may begin their ministry. It’s time to plant seeds (of goodness and truth) and reap the harvest (of love and wisdom): “The harvest truly is plentiful,” says Jesus, “but the laborers are few” (9:37). And He concludes with an exhortation to prayer: “Pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest” (9:38).

In terms of our spiritual development, it’s time to get serious. We need to be organized, deliberate, and well-focused as we go about getting our spiritual lives in order. There is important work to be done, vital uses to be performed, and people in need of both physical and spiritual healing. The Lord is calling us into His vineyard and giving us an assignment — a personal assignment, uniquely designed for each of us.

It’s harvest time. It’s time to heed the words that Jesus says to Matthew, “Follow Me” (9:9). It’s time to become an apostle.

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386. And with famine, signifies by the deprivation, lack, and ignorance of the knowledges of truth and good. This is evident from the signification of "famine," as being the deprivation of the knowledges of truth and good, also the lack and ignorance of them. These are signified by "famine" in the Word. This is the signification of "famine" because "food and drink" signify all things that nourish and sustain spiritual life, and these in general are the knowledges of truth and good. The spiritual life itself needs nourishment and support just as much as the natural life does; so it is said to be famished when a man is deprived of these knowledges, or when they fail, or when they are unknown and yet are desired. Moreover, natural foods correspond to spiritual foods, as bread to the good of love, wine to the truths therefrom, and other foods and drinks to particular goods and truths, which have been treated of in several places before, and will be treated of in what follows. It is said that "famine" signifies 1. the deprivation of the knowledges of truth and good, 2. lack, and 3. ignorance of them, since there is deprivation with those who are in evils and in falsities therefrom; lack with those who cannot know them, because they are not in the church or in its doctrine; and ignorance with those who know that there are knowledges, and therefore desire them; these three things are signified by "famine" in the Word, as can be seen from the passages there in which "famine," "the hungry," "thirst," and "the thirsty," are mentioned.

[2] 1. That "famine" signifies the deprivation of the knowledges of truth and good which exists with those who are in evils and thence in falsities, is evident from the following passages. In Isaiah:

In the fury of Jehovah of Hosts is the land obscured, and the people are become as the food of the fire; a man shall not pity his brother. And if he shall cut down on the right hand he shall be hungry, and if he shall eat on the left hand they shall not be satisfied; they shall eat every man the flesh of his own arm; Manasseh Ephraim, and Ephraim Manasseh; they together against Judah ¹ (Isaiah 9:19-21).

Except from the internal sense no one can understand this, nor can even know what is treated of. This treats of the extinction of good by falsity, and of truth by evil. The perversion of the church through falsity is meant by "in the fury of Jehovah of Hosts is the land obscured;" and the perversion of it through evil is meant by "the people are become as the food of the fire;" "the land obscured" signifies the church where there is no truth, but only falsity; and "the food of the fire" signifies the consumption of the truth by the love of evil, "fire" meaning the love of evil. That falsity destroys good is meant by "a man shall not pity his brother," "man" [vir] and "brother" signifying truth and good, here "man" signifies falsity, and "brother" good, because it is said that "he shall not pity him." The consequent deprivation of all good and of all truth, however much it may be sought, is meant by "if he shall cut down on the right hand he shall be hungry, and if he shall eat on the left hand they shall not be satisfied," "right hand" signifying good from which is truth, and "left hand" truth from good, "to cut down, ² and to eat these" signifies to seek, and "to be hungry and not be satisfied" means to be deprived of; that evil extinguishes all truth and falsity all good is meant by "they shall eat every man the flesh of his own arm," "flesh of the arm" meaning the power of good through truth, "man" falsity, and "to eat" to extinguish. That thence all the will of good and the understanding of truth perishes is meant by "Manasseh shall eat Ephraim, and Ephraim Manasseh." (That "Manasseh" means the will of good, and "Ephraim" the understanding of truth, see Arcana Coelestia 3969, 5354, 6222, 6234, 6238, 6267, 6296.) That this is with those who are in evils and falsities is meant by "they together against Judah;" for when the will is in good and the understanding in truth these are with Jehovah, since they are both from Him; but when the will is in evil and the understanding in falsity they are against Jehovah.

[3] In the same:

Be not glad, O Philistia, all of thee, because the rod that smiteth thee is broken; for from the serpent's root shall come forth a basilisk, and his fruit shall be a fiery-flying serpent. I will cause thy root to die with famine, and it shall slay thy remnant (Isaiah 14:29-30).

Nearly the like is meant by this in the internal sense; but here those are treated of who believe that faith is merely the interior sight of the natural man, and that they are justified and saved by such sight or faith, thus denying that the good of charity has any effect. Such as these are meant by "the Philistines," and a collection of them by "Philistia" (See Arcana Coelestia 3412, 3413, 8093, 8313). That this false principle, which is faith alone or faith separated from charity, destroys every good and truth of the church is meant by "from the serpent's root shall come forth a basilisk," the "serpent's root" meaning that false principle, and "basilisk" the destruction of the good and truth of the church thereby. That reasoning from mere falsities springs from this is meant by "his fruit shall be a fiery-flying serpent," "fiery-flying serpent" meaning reasoning from falsities. The deprivation of all truth and thence of all good is meant by "I will cause thy root to die with famine, and famine shall slay thy remnant," meaning all things hatched out of that principle. That such is the meaning has been made evident also by experience itself. Those who in doctrine and in life have confirmed themselves in the principle of faith alone are seen in the spiritual world as basilisks, and their reasonings as fiery-flying serpents.

[4] In the same:

Who formeth a god, and casteth a molten image, and it profiteth not? he fashioneth iron with the tongs, and worketh it in the coal, and formeth it with sharp hammers; so he worketh it by the arm of his power; yea, he is hungry until there is no power, neither doth he drink, until he is weary (Isaiah 44:10, 12).

This describes the formation of doctrine both from one's own understanding and from one's own love. "To form a god" signifies doctrine from one's own understanding; and "to cast a molten image," from one's own love; "he fashioneth the iron with the tongs, and worketh it in the coal" signifies the falsity that he calls truth and the evil that he calls good, "iron" meaning falsity, and "the fire of coal" the evil of one's own love; "he formeth it with sharp hammers" signifies by ingenious reasonings from falsities so that they may seem to hold together; "so he worketh it by the arm of his power" signifies from what is his own; "yea, he is hungry until there is no power, neither doth he drink, until he is weary" signifies that there is nothing whatever of good or of truth, "to be hungry" signifies the deprivation of good, and "not to drink" the deprivation of truth, "until there is no power," and "until he is weary" signify till there is nothing of good and nothing of truth left. Who that looks at the Word from the sense of the letter only, can see in this anything but a description of the formation of a molten image? Yet he must see that there is nothing spiritual involved in such a description of the formation of a molten image; also that there is no need of saying that "he is hungry until there is no power, neither doth he drink until he is weary;" nevertheless not only here but elsewhere in many places in the Word, the formation of a religion and of the doctrine of falsity is described by "idols," "graven images" and "molten images." (That these signify the falsities of religion, and of doctrine originating from one's own understanding, and from one's own love, see Arcana Coelestia 8869, 8932, 8941, 9424, 10406, 10503)

[5] In the same:

These two things have met thee; who shall be sorry for thee? devastation and a breach, and famine and sword (Isaiah 51:19).

Here, too, "famine" means the deprivation of the knowledges of good, even till there is no more good; and "sword" the deprivation of the knowledges of truth, even till there is no more truth; therefore "devastation" and "breach" are mentioned, "devastation" signifying that there is no more good, and "breach" that there is no more truth.

[6] In the same:

Thus said the Lord Jehovih, Behold, My servants shall eat, but ye shall be hungry; My servants shall drink, but ye shall be thirsty; behold, My servants shall be glad, but ye shall be ashamed (Isaiah 65:13).

Here, also, "to be hungry and thirsty" means to be deprived of the good of love and the truths of faith, "to be hungry" to be deprived of the good of love, and "to be thirsty" to be deprived of the truths of faith; "to eat and to drink" signifies communication and appropriation of goods and truths; and "the servants of the Lord Jehovih," those who receive goods and truths from the Lord; this makes clear what is signified by "Behold, My servants shall eat, but ye shall be hungry; My servants shall drink, but ye shall be thirsty;" that the Lord's servants shall have eternal happiness, but the others unhappiness is signified by "Behold, My servants shall be glad, but ye shall be ashamed."

[7] In Jeremiah:

By the sword, by famine, and by pestilence I consume them; Yet I said, Ah Lord Jehovih! behold the prophets say unto them, Ye shall not see the sword, neither shall ye have famine. Therefore thus said Jehovah against the prophets prophesying in My name, although I sent them not, yet they say, Sword and famine shall not be in this land. By sword and by famine shall these prophets come to an end; the people to whom they prophesy shall be cast out in the streets of Jerusalem, and there shall be no one to bury them (Jeremiah 14:12-13, 15-16).

"Sword, famine, and pestilence," signifies the deprivation of truth and of good, and thus of spiritual life through falsities and evils; "sword" signifying the deprivation of truth through falsities, "famine" the deprivation of good through evils, and "pestilence" the deprivation of spiritual life. "Prophets" mean those who teach the truths of doctrine, and in an abstract sense, the doctrinals of truth. This makes clear what is signified by all this, namely, that those who teach the doctrine of falsity and evil shall perish through these things that are signified by "sword and famine;" and that those who receive the doctrine from them are separated from every truth of the church, and are damned, is signified by "they shall be cast out in the streets of Jerusalem, there shall be no one to bury them," "the streets of Jerusalem" meaning the truths of the church, "to be cast out in them" meaning to be separated from those truths, and "not to be buried" meaning to be damned.

[8] "Sword, famine, and pestilence," have a like signification in the following passages, "sword" signifying the deprivation of truth through falsities, "famine" the deprivation of good through evils, and "pestilence" the consequent deprivation of spiritual life. In Jeremiah:

They shall be consumed by the sword and by famine, that their carcass may be for food to the fowl of the heavens and to the beast of the earth (Jeremiah 16:4);

"their carcass may be for food to the fowl of the heavens" signifying damnation by falsities, and "for food to the beast of the earth" damnation by evils. In the same:

They have denied Jehovah when they said, It is not He; neither shall evil come upon us; neither shall we see sword and famine (Jeremiah 5:12).

In the same:

Behold I will visit upon them; the young men shall die by the sword, their sons and their daughters shall die by famine (Jeremiah 11:22).

In the same:

Give their ³ sons to the famine, and make them flow down upon the hands of the sword, that their wives may become bereaved and widows, and their men be slain by death, their young men smitten by the sword in war (Jeremiah 18:21).

In the same:

I will send upon them sword, famine, and pestilence, and will make them like the horrible figs, that cannot be eaten for badness. And I will pursue after them with the sword, with famine, and with pestilence (Jeremiah 29:17-18).

In the same:

I will send against them the sword, famine, and pestilence, until they come to an end from upon the ground that I gave to them and to their fathers (Jeremiah 24:10).

In the same:

I proclaim to you a liberty, to the sword, to the pestilence, and to the famine; and I will give you up for commotion by all the kingdoms of the earth (Jeremiah 34:17).

In the Gospels:

Nation shall be roused against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; and there shall be pestilences, and famines, and earthquakes, in diverse places (Matthew 24:17; Mark 13:8; Luke 21:11).

In Ezekiel:

Because thou hast defiled My sanctuary, a third part of thee shall die with the pestilence, and with famine shall they be consumed in the midst of thee; and a third part shall fall by the sword round about thee; and a third part I will disperse to every wind. When I shall send upon them the evil arrows of famine, that shall be for destruction, when I shall send them to destroy you; but yet I will increase the famine upon you, until I have broken for you the staff of bread. And I will send upon you famine and the evil wild beast, and I will make thee bereaved; and pestilence and blood shall pass through thee (Ezekiel 5:11-12, 5:16-17).

In the same:

The sword without, and pestilence and famine within; he that is in the field shall die by the sword, but he that is in the city famine and pestilence shall devour him (Ezekiel 7:15).

In the same:

Because of all the evil abominations, they shall fall by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence. He that is far off shall die by pestilence; he that is near shall fall by the sword; and he that remaineth and is preserved shall die by famine (Ezekiel 6:11-12).

In Jeremiah:

But if ye say, We will not dwell in this land, that ye may not obey the voice of Jehovah your God; saying No, but we will come into the land of Egypt, where we shall see no war, and shall not hear the sound of the trumpet, and shall not hunger for bread, and there will we dwell: hear ye the word of Jehovah, If ye wholly set your faces to enter into Egypt, and come to sojourn there, it shall come to pass that the sword that ye fear shall overtake you there in the land of Egypt, and the famine about which ye were solicitous shall cleave to you there in Egypt, and there ye shall die. And they shall die there by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence; neither shall one of them remain, because of the evil that I will bring upon you. ⁴ And ye shall be for an execration and an astonishment, and for a reproach; and ye shall see this place no more. Now therefore know certainly, that ye shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence in the place whither ye have desired to come to sojourn there (Jeremiah 42:13-18, 42:22; 44:12-13, 44:27).

"Egypt" here signifies the natural, and "to come into Egypt and to sojourn there" signifies to become natural. (That "Egypt" means the knowing faculty [scientificum] that belongs to the natural man, and thus the natural, and "the land of Egypt" means the natural mind, see Arcana Coelestia 4967, 5079-5080, 5095, 5276, 5278, 5280, 5288, 5301, 5160, 5799, 6015, 6147, 6252, 7353, 7648, 9340, 9391 and that "to sojourn" means to be instructed, and to live, n. 1463, 2025, 3672.) From this it can be seen what is signified in the spiritual sense by "their not going into Egypt, and their dying then by the sword, the famine, and the pestilence," namely, that if they became merely natural, they would be deprived of all truth and good and spiritual life; for the natural man separate from the spiritual is in falsities and evils, and thus in infernal life. (That the natural man separate from the spiritual is such, see in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 47-48.) Therefore it is said that if they went into Egypt "they should be for an execration and an astonishment and a reproach, neither would they see this place;" "the place they would not see" meaning the state of the spiritual man, the same as "the land of Canaan." Like things are signified by the murmurings of the sons of Israel in the wilderness, because they so often desired to return into Egypt; therefore manna was also given to them, which signifies spiritual nourishment (Exodus 16:2-3, 16:7-9, 16:22).

[9] In Ezekiel:

When I shall stretch out Mine hand against the house of Israel to break for it the staff of bread, and send famine upon it, and cut off from it man and beast; then I will cause the evil wild beast to pass through the land, and will bereave it, that it may become a desolation; then I will send my four evil judgments upon Jerusalem, sword and famine, and the evil wild beast, and pestilence, to cut off from it man and beast (Ezekiel 14:13, 15, 21).

This describes the vastation of the church; "the house of Israel" and "Jerusalem" meaning the church; "to break the staff of bread" signifies to destroy everything celestial and spiritual by which the church should be nourished, for "bread" involves everything belonging to heaven and the church, or all spiritual nourishment; "to cut off man and beast" signifies every spiritual and natural affection; therefore "the sword, the famine, the evil wild beast, and the pestilence," signify the destruction of truth by falsity, of good by evil, of the affection of truth and good by the lusts arising from evil loves, and the consequent extinction of spiritual life. These are called "the four evil judgments," and are also meant by "the sword, famine, death, and the evil wild beast," in this verse of Revelation. Evidently it is the vastation of the church that is thus described.

[10] The three evils that are signified by "famine, sword, and pestilence" the prophet Gad also announced to David when he had numbered the people (2 Samuel 24:13). No one can know why David was threatened with these because of his numbering the people unless he knows that the people of Israel represented and thence signified the church in respect to all its truths and goods, and that "to number" signifies to know the quality thereof, and afterwards to arrange and dispose them according to it. Because no one but the Lord knows and does this, and because the man who does it deprives himself of all good and truth and of spiritual life, and because David did this representatively, therefore these three evils were offered him, one of which he might choose. Who cannot see that there was nothing wrong in numbering the people, and that the evil on account of which David and the people were punished was hidden interiorly, that is, in the representatives in which the church then was? In the passages that have been cited, "famine" signifies the deprivation of the knowledges of truth and good, and the consequent loss of all truth and good.

[11] 2. That "famine" signifies also the lack of knowledges with those who cannot know them because they are not in the church or in the doctrine thereof, is evident from the following passages. In Amos:

Behold, the days shall come in which I will send a famine into the land, not a famine for bread, nor a thirst for waters, but for hearing the words of Jehovah; that they may wander from sea to sea, from the north to the sunrise, they may run to and fro seeking the word of Jehovah, and shall not find it. In that day shall the beautiful virgins and the youths faint for thirst (Amos 8:11-13).

This explains what is meant by "famine" and "thirst," namely, that a famine for bread is not meant, nor a thirst for waters, but for hearing the word of Jehovah, thus that it is a lack of the knowledges of good and truth that is meant; and that these are not in the church or in its doctrine is described by the words, "they shall go from sea to sea, and from the north to the sunrise, seeking the word of Jehovah, and shall not find it," "from sea to sea" signifying on every side, for the outmost boundaries in the spiritual world, where truths and goods begin and terminate appear like seas; consequently "seas" in the Word signify the cognitions of truth and good, also knowledges [scientifica] in general; "from the north to the sunrise" signifies also on every side where truth and good are, "the north" meaning where truth is in obscurity, and "the sunrise" where good is. Because "famine and thirst" signify a lack of the knowledges of good and truth, therefore it is also said "in that day shall the beautiful virgins and the youths faint for thirst," "the beautiful virgins" meaning the affections of truth from good, and "youths" the truths themselves that are from good, "the thirst for which they shall faint" meaning the lack of these. (That "virgins" signify the affections of good and truth, see Arcana Coelestia 2362, 3963, 6729, 6775, 6788; and "youths" the truths themselves, and intelligence, Arcana Coelestia 7668[1-4])

[12] In Isaiah:

Therefore My people shall be carried away for the lack of knowledge; and the glory thereof shall be men of famine, and the multitude thereof shall be parched with thirst (Isaiah 5:13).

The desolation or destruction of the church from lack of the knowledges of good and truth is signified by, "My people shall be carried away for lack of knowledge." The Divine truth that constitutes the church is signified by "glory;" that this is not, and consequently good is not, is signified by "the glory thereof shall be men of famine," "men of famine" meaning those who are in no perception of good, and in no knowledges of truth; and that consequently there is no truth is signified by "the multitude thereof shall be parched with thirst," "to be parched with thirst" meaning the lack of truth, "multitude" in the Word being predicated of truths.

[13] In the same:

The people shall seek after their God, the law, and the testimony; for they shall pass through it perplexed and famished; and it shall come to pass that when they shall hunger they shall rage, and shall curse their king and their gods, and shall look upwards; they shall look also to the earth, but behold distress and thick darkness (Isaiah 8:19-22).

This treats of those who are in falsities from lack of the knowledges of truth and good, and their indignation on that account; the lack is described by "they shall look upwards, and they shall look also to the earth, but behold distress and thick darkness," "to look upwards and to look to the earth" means to look everywhere for goods and truths; "but behold distress and thick darkness" means that these are nowhere to be found, but mere falsities only, "thick darkness" meaning dense falsity. Their indignation on this account is meant by "it shall come to pass that when they shall hunger they shall rage, and shall curse their king and their gods," "to hunger" meaning to desire to know, "king" falsity, "the gods" the falsities of worship therefrom, and "to curse" to detest.

[14] In Lamentations:

Lift up thy hands to the Lord respecting the soul of thy babes, who have fainted for famine at the head of all the streets (Lamentations 2:19).

Lamentation over those who ought to be instructed in the knowledges of good and truth, by which they may have spiritual life, is described by "Lift up thy hands to the Lord respecting the soul of thy babes;" and the lack of these knowledges is described by "who have fainted for famine at the head of all the streets," "famine" meaning lack, "streets" the truths of doctrine, "to faint at the head of them" meaning that there are no truths.

[15] In the same:

Servants have ruled over us, there is no one to free us out of their hand. We bring in our bread with the peril of our souls because of the sword of the wilderness. Our skins are black like an oven because of the tempests of famine (Lamentations 5:8-10).

"Servants that have ruled with no one to free us out of their hand" signify the evils of life and the falsities of doctrine, in general, evil loves and false principles; "we bring in our bread with the peril of our souls because of the sword of the wilderness" signifies that there is no good from which there may be spiritual life itself, because of the falsity everywhere reigning; "bread" means the good from which there may be spiritual life; "sword" falsity destroying; and "the wilderness" where there is no good because no truth; for all good with man is formed by truths, therefore where there are no truths but only falsities there is no good; "our skins are black like an oven because of the tempests of famine" signifies that because of the lack of the knowledges of good and truth the natural man is in its own evil love; "the skin," from correspondence with the Greatest Man or heaven, signifies the natural man; "to be black like an oven" signifies to be in one's own evil from falsities; and "tempests of famine" signify a complete lack of the knowledges of good and truth.

[16] In Luke:

Woe unto you that are full! for ye shall hunger (Luke 6:25).

"The full" in the Word mean those who have the Word, in which are all the knowledges of good and truth; and "to hunger" means to lack these, and also to be deprived of them. In Job:

Blessed is the man whom God hath chastened; therefore reject not the discipline of Schaddai. In famine He shall redeem thee from death; and in war from the hands of the sword (Job 5:17, 20).

This treats of those who are in temptations; temptations are signified by "whom God hath chastened," and by "the discipline of Schaddai." "The Almighty (Schaddai)" signifies temptations, deliverance from them, and consolation after them (See Arcana Coelestia 1992, 3667, 4572, 5628, 6229). "The famine in which he shall be redeemed" signifies temptation in respect to the perception of good, in which he shall be delivered from evil; "to redeem" meaning to deliver; and "the hand of the sword in war" signifies temptations in respect to the understanding of truth, "war" also meaning temptation or combat against falsities.

[17] 3. That "famine" in the Word also signifies ignorance of the knowledges of truth and good, such as are with those who know that there are knowledges and therefore desire them, is evident from the following passages. In Matthew:

Blessed are they that hunger after righteousness, for they shall be satisfied (Matthew 5:6).

"To hunger after righteousness" signifies to desire good, for in the Word "righteousness" is predicated of good. In Luke:

God hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich He hath sent empty away (Luke 1:53).

"The hungry" are those who are ignorant of the knowledges of truth and good, and yet desire them; and "the rich" are those who have an abundance of them, but no desire for them. That the former are enriched is signified by "God hath filled them with good things;" and that the latter are deprived of them is signified by "The rich He hath sent away empty."

[18] In David:

Behold, the eye of Jehovah is upon them that fear Him, to deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine (Psalms 33:18-19).

"Those that fear Jehovah" mean those who love to do His commandments; "to deliver the soul from death" signifies from evils and falsities, and thus from damnation; and "to keep them alive in famine" signifies to give spiritual life according to desire. A desire for the knowledges of truth and good is a spiritual affection of truth, which is given only to those who are in the good of life, that is, who do the Lord's commandments; and these, as has been said, are meant by "those that fear Jehovah."

[19] In the same:

Let them confess to Jehovah His mercy, for He satisfieth the longing soul, and the hungry soul He filleth with good (Psalms 107:8-9).

"To satisfy the longing soul, and to fill with good the hungry soul," applies to those who long for truths and goods, "the longing soul" signifying those who long for truths, and "the hungry soul" those who long for goods. In the same:

There is no want to them that fear Jehovah. The young lions shall lack, and suffer hunger; but they that seek Jehovah shall not want any good (Psalms 34:9-10).

Here, too, "those that fear Jehovah to whom there is no want," signify those who love to do the Lord's commandments; and "they that seek Jehovah who shall not want any good," signify those who in consequence are loved by the Lord, and receive truths and goods from Him. "The young lions that lack and suffer hunger", signify those who have knowledge and wisdom from themselves, "to lack and suffer hunger" meaning that they have neither truth nor good. (What "lions" in both senses signify, see n. 278)

[20] In the same:

Jehovah who executeth judgment for the oppressed; who giveth bread to the hungry; Jehovah, who looseth the bound (Psalms 146:7).

The "oppressed" here mean those who are in falsities from ignorance; such are oppressed by spirits who are in falsities; therefore it is said that "Jehovah executeth judgment for them," by rescuing them from those that oppress. "The hungry" mean those who desire goods; and as such are nourished by the Lord, it is said "Jehovah giveth bread to the hungry," "to give bread" meaning to nourish, and spiritual nourishment is knowledge, intelligence, and wisdom. "The bound" mean those who desire truths but are withheld from them by the falsities of doctrine or by ignorance, because they have not the Word; therefore "to loose the bound" means to free from falsities. (That such are called "bound," see Arcana Coeles (Arcana Coelestia 5037[1-6], 5086, 5096) tia, n. 5037, 5086, 5096.)

[21] In the same:

Jehovah turneth the wilderness into a pool of waters, and a land of drought into a springing forth of waters. And there He maketh the hungry to dwell, that they may prepare a city of habitation, and sow fields, and plant vineyards, and make fruit of increase (Psalms 107:35-37).

The meaning of these words is wholly different from the sense of the letter, namely, that those who are ignorant of the knowledges of truth and yet desire to know them shall be enriched and abundantly supplied with them; for "Jehovah turneth the wilderness into a pool of water" signifies that in place of ignorance of truth there shall be abundance of truth, "wilderness" meaning when there is ignorance of truth, and "a pool of waters" abundance of it; "to turn a land of drought into a springing forth of waters" signifies the like in the natural man, for "a land of drought" means where there is ignorance of truth, "the springing forth of waters" is abundance, the natural man is "the springing forth," and "waters" are truths; "there He maketh the hungry to dwell" signifies those who desire truth, "to dwell" meaning to live, and "the hungry" those who desire; "that they may prepare a city of habitation" signifies that they form for themselves a doctrine of life, "city" meaning doctrine, and "habitation" life; "that they may sow fields and plant vineyards, and make fruit of increase," signifies to receive truths, to understand them, and to do them; "to sow fields" meaning to be instructed and to receive truths; "to plant vineyards" meaning to receive truths in the understanding, that is, in the spirit, for "vineyards" mean spiritual truths; therefore "to plant" them means to receive them spiritually, that is, to understand them; "to make fruit of increase" means to do them and to receive goods, for "fruits" are the deeds and goods of charity.

[22] In the same:

Jehovah knoweth the days of the perfect, and He shall be their inheritance forever. They shall not be ashamed in the time of evil; and in the days of famine they shall be satisfied (Psalms 37:18-19).

"The days of the perfect" signify the states of those who are in good and in truths therefrom, or those who are in charity and in faith therefrom. "Jehovah shall be their inheritance forever" signifies that they are His own and are in heaven; "they shall not be ashamed in the time of evil" signifies that they shall conquer when they are tempted by evils; and "in the days of famine they shall be satisfied" signifies that they shall be upheld by truths when they are tempted and infested by falsities, "time of evil" and "days of famine" signifying the states of temptations, and temptations are from evils and falsities.

[23] In the first book of Samuel:

The bows of the mighty are broken, but they who had stumbled have girded strength about them; they that are full have hired themselves for bread; and they that are hungry have ceased; even until the barren hath borne seven, and she that hath many sons hath failed (1 Samuel 2:4-5).

"They that are full have hired themselves for bread, and they that are hungry have ceased," signify those who wish for and long for goods and truths. The rest may be seen explained above (n. 257, 357).

[24] In Isaiah:

For the fool speaketh foolishness, and his heart doeth iniquity, to practice hypocrisy, and to speak error against Jehovah, to make empty the hungry soul, and to cause the drink of the thirsty to fail (Isaiah 32:6).

He is here called "a fool" who is in falsities and evils from the love of self, consequently from self-intelligence. Falsities are meant by the "foolishness" that he speaks; and evils by the "iniquity" that his heart does. The evils that he speaks against goods are meant by "the hypocrisy" that he practices; and the falsities that he speaks against truths, by the "error" that he speaks against Jehovah; "to make empty the hungry soul, and to cause the drink of the thirsty to fail" means to persuade and destroy those who desire goods and truths, "the hungry soul" meaning those who desire goods, and "he that thirsteth for drink" meaning those who desire truths.

[25] In the same:

If thou shalt draw out thy soul to the hungry and satisfy the afflicted soul, thy light shall arise in darkness and thy thick darkness be as the noonday (Isaiah 58:10).

This describes charity towards the neighbor, here towards those who are in ignorance, but at the same time in a desire to know truths, and in grief on account of the falsities that possess them, and signifies that with those who are in such charity falsities are dispersed and truths shine and become radiant. Charity towards those that are in ignorance and at the same time in a desire to know truths is meant by "If thou shalt draw out thy soul to the hungry," "the hungry" meaning those who desire, and "the soul" is the understanding of truth instructing. This being done to those who are in grief because of the falsities that possess them is meant by "if thou shalt satisfy the afflicted soul;" that ignorance is dispelled and truths shine and become radiant with those who are in such charity is meant by "thy light shall arise in darkness, and thy thick darkness be as the noon day;" "darkness" signifying the ignorance of the spiritual mind, and "thick darkness" the ignorance of the natural mind, "light" truth in light, "noonday" the like. Such illustration those have who from charity or spiritual affection instruct such as are in falsities from ignorance; for such charity is a receptacle of the influx of light or of truth from the Lord.

[26] In the same:

Is not this the fast that I choose, to break thy bread to the hungry, and to bring the afflicted outcasts into thy house, when thou shalt see the naked and shalt cover him? (Isaiah 58:6-7).

These words have a like meaning, for "to break bread to the hungry" signifies from charity to communicate to and instruct those who are in ignorance and at the same time in a desire to know truths; "to bring the afflicted outcasts into the house" signifies to correct and reform those who are in falsities, and thence in grief, "afflicted outcasts" meaning those who are in grief from falsities; for those who are in falsities stand without, while those who are in truths are in the house, "house" meaning the intellectual mind, into which truths only are admitted, since that mind is opened by means of truths from good. Because this is what is signified it is added, "when thou shalt see the naked and shalt cover him," the "naked" signifying those that are without truths, and "to cover" signifying to instruct; for "garments" in the Word signify truths investing (See above, n. 195).

[27] In the same:

They shall not hunger nor thirst, neither shall the heat nor the sun smite them; for He that hath compassion on them leadeth them forth, even unto the springs of waters shall He guide them (Isaiah 49:10).

That "they shall not hunger nor thirst" does not mean that they are not to hunger nor thirst for natural food and drink; and "neither shall the heat nor sun smite them" does not mean that they will not become heated by these; the same is true of their being led unto the springs of waters. Who that thinks about it does not see that something else is here meant? "To hunger and thirst" therefore signifies to hunger and thirst for such things as pertain to eternal life or give that life, and these, in general, have reference to the good of love and the truth of faith, "hunger" to the good of love, and "thirst" to the truth of faith; "heat" and "sun" signify the heat from the principles of falsity and the love of evil, for these take away all spiritual hunger and thirst; "the springs of waters, unto which the Lord will guide them" signify illustration in all truth, "spring" or "fountain" meaning the Word, and also the doctrine from the Word, "waters" truths, and "to guide" in reference to the Lord, meaning to illustrate. From this the significance can be seen of the Lord's words in John:

I am the bread of life; he that cometh to Me shall not hunger, and he that believeth on Me shall never thirst (John 6:35).

Here evidently "to hunger" is to come to the Lord, and "to thirst" is to believe on Him; to come to the Lord is to do His commandments.

[28] This signification of "hungering and thirsting" makes evident also the signification of the Lord's words in Matthew:

The king said to them on the right hand, I was an hungered, and ye gave me to eat, I was thirsty and ye gave me to drink, I was a sojourner and ye took me in. And He said to them on the left hand, that He was an hungered and they gave Him not to eat, and He was thirsty and they gave Him not to drink; that He was a sojourner and they took Him not in (Matthew 25:34-35, 37, 41-44).

"To hunger and to thirst" signifies to be in ignorance and in spiritual want, and "to give to eat and drink" signifies to instruct and to illustrate from spiritual affection or charity; it is therefore also said, "I was a sojourner and ye took me not in," "sojourner" signifying those who are out of the church, but who wish to be instructed and to receive the doctrinals of the church and to live according to them (See Arcana Coelestia 1463[1-3], 4444, 7908, 8007, 8013, 9196).

Furthermore, we read in the Word that the Lord hungered and thirsted, which means that from His Divine love He willed and desired the salvation of the human race.

[29] That He hungered we read in Mark:

When they were come from Bethany, Jesus hungered; and seeing a fig-tree afar off having leaves, He came, if haply He might find anything thereon; but when He had come to it He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. Therefore He said unto it, No one eat any fruit of thee forever. And the disciples in the morning as they passed by, saw the fig-tree dried up from the roots (Mark 11:12-14, 20; Matthew 21:19-20).

One who does not know that all things of the Word contain a spiritual sense, may believe that the Lord did this to the fig-tree from indignation because He was hungry; but "fig-tree" means here not a fig-tree, but the church in relation to natural good, in particular, the Jewish Church. That there was no natural good in that church, because nothing spiritual, but only some truths from the sense of the letter of the Word, is signified by "Jesus seeing a fig-tree afar off having leaves, came, if haply He might find anything thereon; but when He had come to it He found nothing but leaves," "leaves" signifying the truths of the sense of the letter of the Word. That with that nation, because they were in dense falsities and in evil loves, nothing whatever of the natural good of the church would ever exist is signified by "Jesus said, No one eat any fruit of thee forever, and the fig-tree was dried up from the roots." It is also said that "it was not the season for figs," and this means that the church was not yet begun; that the beginning of a new church is meant by "a fig-tree," is clear from the Lord's words (Matthew 24:32, 33; Mark 13:28, 29, and in Luke 21:28-31). From this it can be seen what "hungering" here signifies. (That "a fig-tree" signifies the natural good of the church, see Arcana Coelestia 217, 4231, 5113; and that "leaves" signify the truths of the natural man, see above, n. 109.)

[30] That the Lord thirsted we read in John:

Jesus, knowing that all things were now finished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled said, I thirst. And there had been placed a vessel full of vinegar; and they filled a sponge and placed it upon hyssop, and put it to His mouth. And when Jesus had received the vinegar He said, It is finished (John 19:28-30).

Those who think of these things only naturally and not spiritually may believe that they involve nothing more than that the Lord thirsted, and that vinegar was then given Him; but it was because all things that the Scriptures said of Him were then finished, and because He came into the world to save mankind that He said, "I thirst," which means that from Divine love He willed and desired the salvation of the human race; and that "vinegar was given Him" signifies that in the coming church there would be no genuine truth, but truth mixed with falsities, such as there is with those who separate faith from charity or truth from good; this is what "vinegar" signifies; "they placed it upon hyssop" signifies some kind of purification by it, for "hyssop" signifies an external means of purification (See Arcana Coelestia 7918). That every particular related in the Word respecting the Lord's passion involves and signifies Divine celestial and Divine spiritual things, may be seen above n. 83. From the passages cited above it can be seen what "famine" signifies in the Word. Let them be examined and considered, and it will be seen by those who are in any interior thought that natural famine, hunger, and thirst, can by no means be meant, but spiritual famine, hunger, and thirst.

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