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Matthew 15

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

2 Why do thy disciples transgress what has been delivered by the ancients? for they do not wash their hands when they eat bread.

3 But he answering said to them, Why do *ye* also transgress the commandment of God on account of your traditional teaching?

4 For God commanded saying, Honour father and mother; and, He that speaks ill of father or mother, let him die the death.

5 But *ye* say, Whosoever shall say to his father or mother, It is a gift, whatsoever [it be] by which [received] from me thou wouldest be profited:

6 and he shall in no wise honour his father or his mother; and ye have made void the commandment of God on account of your traditional teaching.

7 Hypocrites! well has Esaias prophesied about you, saying,

8 This people honour me with the lips, but their heart is far away from me;

9 but in vain do they worship me, teaching [as] teachings commandments of men.

10 And having called to [him] the crowd, he said to them, Hear and understand:

11 Not what enters into the mouth defiles the man; but what goes forth out of the mouth, this defiles the man.

12 Then his disciples, coming up, said to him, Dost thou know that the Pharisees, having heard this word, have been offended?

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

14 Leave them alone; they are blind leaders of blind: but if blind lead blind, both will fall into a ditch.

15 And Peter answering said to him, Expound to us this parable.

16 But he said, Are *ye* also still without intelligence?

17 Do ye not yet apprehend, that everything that enters into the mouth finds its way into the belly, and is cast forth into the draught?

18 but the things which go forth out of the mouth come out of the heart, and those defile man.

19 For out of the heart come forth evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witnessings, blasphemies;

20 these are the things which defile man; but the eating with unwashen hands does not defile man.

21 And Jesus, going forth from thence, went away into the parts of Tyre and Sidon;

22 and lo, a Canaanitish woman, coming out from those borders, cried [to him] saying, Have pity on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is miserably possessed by a demon.

23 But he did not answer her a word. And his disciples came to [him] and asked him, saying, Dismiss her, for she cries after us.

24 But he answering said, I have not been sent save to the lost sheep of Israel's house.

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

26 But he answering said, It is not well to take the bread of the children and cast it to the dogs.

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

28 Then Jesus answering said to her, O woman, thy faith [is] great. Be it to thee as thou desirest. And her daughter was healed from *that* hour.

29 And Jesus, going away from thence, came towards the sea of Galilee, and he went up into the mountain and sat down there;

30 and great crowds came to him, having with them lame, blind, dumb, crippled, and many others, and they cast them at his feet, and he healed them:

31 so that the crowds wondered, seeing dumb speaking, crippled sound, lame walking, and blind seeing; and they glorified the God of Israel.

32 But Jesus, having called his disciples to [him], said, I have compassion on the crowd, because they have stayed with me already three days and they have not anything they can eat, and I would not send them away fasting lest they should faint on the way.

33 And his disciples say to him, Whence should we have so many loaves in [the] wilderness as to satisfy so great a crowd?

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

35 And he commanded the crowds to lie down on the ground;

36 and having taken the seven loaves and the fishes, having given thanks, he broke [them] and gave [them] to his disciples, and the disciples to the crowd.

37 And all ate and were filled; and they took up what was over and above of the fragments seven baskets full;

38 but they that ate were four thousand men, besides women and children.

39 And, having dismissed the crowds, he went on board ship and came to the borders of Magadan.

   

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Arcana Coelestia # 10083

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10083. 'And you shall wave them as a wave offering before Jehovah' means the life from God which comes as a result of this. This is clear from the meaning of 'waving a wave offering' as endowing with life, thus the life [present in something]; and since it says from 'before Jehovah' the life from God is meant. The fact that 'waving a wave offering' means endowing with life, that is, imparting the life from God, is clear from places in the Word where 'waving a wave offering' is spoken of, as in Moses,

When you bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest to the priest, he shall wave the sheaf before Jehovah, so that you may be acceptable; on the day after the sabbath the priest shall wave it. Leviticus 23:10-11.

'Harvest' means a state when the truth of faith springing from good exists, thus a state when good is present, 9295; 'a sheaf of the firstfruits' means all collectively constituting that state. 'Being waved by the priest' therefore means being endowed with life to receive a blessing; for every blessing, to be a blessing, must have life from God within it.

[2] In the same author,

Aaron shall wave the Levites before Jehovah as a wave offering 1 from among the children of Israel, that they may be used in the service of Jehovah. You shall stand the Levites before Aaron and before his sons, and you shall wave them as a wave offering to Jehovah. After that the Levites shall go in to serve in the tent of meeting; and you shall purify them, and wave them as a wave offering. And when the Levites had been purified, Aaron waved them before Jehovah as a wave offering, and Aaron expiated them to purify them. Numbers 8:11, 13, 15, 21.

These verses show what 'waving a wave offering' means, namely endowing with life through acknowledgement, which is the first phase of faith, and so the first phase of life from God with a person. Knowledge, it is true, comes before acknowledgement, but knowledge has none of God's life within it until it becomes acknowledgement and then faith. The Levites represented truths serving good, while Aaron represented the good they served; that is why they were 'waved', that is, were endowed with life. This also accounts for its being said that they were to be purified. For truths must have life from God within them if they are to serve good, and that life first flows in through acknowledgement.

[3] Much the same is meant by 'a wave offering of gold' in Moses,

They came, the men with the women ... they brought brooches, nose-jewels, rings, girdles 2 , all vessels of gold; and every man who waved a wave offering of gold to Jehovah. Exodus 35:22.

'Waving a wave offering of gold to Jehovah' means endowing with life through the acknowledgement that it was Jehovah's, that is, the Lord's. 'Waving a wave offering' means such things by virtue of what that action corresponds to; for every motion corresponds to a state of thought. In the Word therefore advancing, travelling on, and like movements mean states of life, see 3335, 4882, 5493, 5605, 8103, 8417, 8420, 8557.

[4] In John,

At the pool of Bethesda lay a large multitude of sick people; and an angel went down at a certain time to the pool and stirred up the water. Then whoever stepped in first after the movement of the water was cured of whatever disease he had. John 5:2-7.

'Stirring up the water' here was in like manner a sign of the endowment of life through acknowledgement and faith, and therefore also a sign of purification by means of truths.

'Movement' means states of life, see 2837, 3356, 3387, 4321, 4882, 5605, 7381, 9440, 9967.

'Water' means the truths of faith, 2702, 3058, 3424, 4976, 8568, 9323.

All purification is accomplished by means of the truths of faith, 2799, 5954 (end), 7044, 7918, 9088.

Healings represented the restoration of spiritual life, 8365, 9031 (end).

[5] Since 'the waving on Aaron's palms' means the endowment of life through acknowledgement of the Lord and the acknowledgement that all things come from Him, something brief must be stated with regard to that acknowledgement and resulting faith. The Lord often said, when sick people were being healed, that they should have faith, and, 'Let it be to you according to your faith', as in Matthew 8:10-13; 9:2, 22, 27-29; 13:57-58; 15:28; 21:21-22, 31-32; Mark 5:34, 36; 10:49, 52; 16:16; Luke 7:9, 48-50; 8:48; 17:19; 18:42-43. The reason why He said it was that the very first thing a person needs to do is to acknowledge that the Lord is the Saviour of the world; for unless he acknowledges this no one can receive any truth or good at all from heaven, or therefore receive faith from there. And since it was the very first and most essential thing, therefore in order that He might be acknowledged when He came into the world the Lord questioned the sick, when He healed them, about their faith; and those who had faith were healed. This faith was that He was the Son of God who was to come into the world, and that He had power to heal and save. Furthermore every healing of sickness by the Lord when He was in the world served to mean a healing of spiritual life, thus served to mean the things that belong to salvation, 8364, 9031(end), 9086.

[6] Since acknowledgement of the Lord is the first thing of all belonging to spiritual life and is the most essential feature of the Church, and since no one, unless he acknowledges Him, can receive any truth of faith or good of love at all from heaven, the Lord also often says that whoever believes in Him has eternal life, and whoever does not believe in Him does not have it, as in John 1:1, 4, 12-13; 3:14-16, 36; 5:39-40; 6:28-30, 33-35, 40, 47-48; 7:37-38; 8:24; 11:25-26; 20:30-31. But at the same time He also teaches that they have faith in Him who live according to His commandments, so that the life which results from doing so goes to compose their faith. These things have been stated to cast light on and corroborate the truth that acknowledging the Lord and acknowledging that all salvation comes from Him constitute the beginning of the life from God with a person. That beginning of it is meant by the offering waved on Aaron's palms.

Poznámky pod čarou:

1. i.e. the Levites were to be offered to Jehovah as though they were a wave offering

2. i.e. bracelets, necklaces, etc

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

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Arcana Coelestia # 9295

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9295. This second feast, which was called 'the feast of the harvest of the firstfruits of works', also 'of the firstfruits of wheat' as well as 'the feast of weeks', means the planting of truth in good. This is clear from the establishment of it, spoken of in Moses as follows,

Say to the children of Israel, When you have come into the land which I am giving you, and you reap its harvest, you shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest to the priest, who shall wave the sheaf before Jehovah, so that you may be acceptable; on the day after the sabbath the priest shall wave it. And you shall offer on that day a he-lamb 1 as a burnt offering, also a minchah and a drink-offering. But you shall not eat bread or parched ears or green ones until that very day. After this you shall count for yourselves from the day after the sabbath, from the day you bring the sheaf of the wave-offering, seven sabbaths shall there be complete. Until the day after the seventh sabbath you shall count fifty days, and offer a new gift to Jehovah. You shall bring from your dwellings the bread of the wave-offering; it shall be baked with yeast, as firstfruits to Jehovah. Besides the bread you shall offer seven lambs, one young bull, and two rams, as a burnt offering, together with their minchah and drink-offering. Leviticus 23:10-21; Deuteronomy 16:9-12.

[2] No one can know what the meaning is of these details except from their internal sense. In that sense the seeds which are sown in the field are truths of faith which are planted in good. Harvest means their growing ripe when forms of good develop from them; for wheat and barley are forms of good, and ears containing them are truths accordingly linked to good. A sheaf is an ordered sequence and bringing together of such truths; for the truths have been arranged into sheaf-like groups. Waving means giving life to, for truths with a person are not living ones until they are rooted in good. The priest who waved the sheaf, that is, who gave life to forms of the good of truth, represented the Lord; for He is the Source of life in its entirety. Doing this on the day after the sabbath meant the holiness of goodness and truth joined together. Their not being permitted before then to eat bread, parched ears, or green ones meant not making the life of good their own before then, bread being the good of love, parched ears the good of charity, green ones the good of truth, and eating making one's own. The requirement that from then seven sabbaths were to be counted until the feast, which therefore was held on the fiftieth day, meant a complete planting of truth in good until the first phase of a new state. Bread made with yeast which was offered then meant good not as yet completely purified. The waving of it meant giving it life. The burnt offering of the lambs, young bull, and rams, together with minchah and drink-offerings meant worship of the Lord that has all the essential characteristics of that good. These are the things that are meant by this feast and what happened then. And from all this it is evident that a second state in deliverance from damnation was meant, which was a state when truth was planted in good.

[3] Since this feast was called the feast of the firstfruits of harvest one needs to know what 'harvest' means in the Word. In a broad sense 'the field' that contains the harvest means the whole human race or the whole world, in a less broad sense the Church, in a narrower sense a member of the Church, and in an even narrower sense the good present in a member of the Church since this good receives the truths of faith as the field receives seeds. From the meaning of 'the field' it is evident what 'harvest' means. That is to say, in the broadest sense it means the state of the whole human race in respect of its reception of good through truth, in a less broad sense the state of the Church in respect of the reception of the truths of faith in good, in a narrower sense the state of a member of the Church in respect of that reception, and in a still narrower sense the state of good in respect of the reception of truth, and so the planting of truth in good.

[4] All this shows what 'harvest' means in the following places, as in Matthew,

He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man; the field is the world; the seed is the sons of the kingdom; the tares are the sons of the kingdom of the evil one; 2 the enemy who sows them is the devil; but the harvest is the close of the age, while the harvesters are the angels. Matthew 13:37-39.

'The good seed' is the truths of faith received from the Lord; 'the Son of Man' is the Lord in respect of the Church's truths; 'the world' which 'the field' stands for is the entire human race; 'the sons of the kingdom' whom 'the seed' stands for are the Church's truths of faith; 'the sons of the kingdom of the evil one' whom 'the tares' stand for are the Church's falsities of faith; 'the devil' whom 'the enemy' stands for and who sows them is hell; 'the close of the age' which 'the harvest' stands for is the final state of the Church in respect of the reception of the truths of faith in good; and 'the angels' whom 'the harvesters' stand for are truths from the Lord. That such things are meant by those words spoken by the Lord may be recognized from their internal sense indicated throughout this explanation of them. All this also shows the manner in which the Lord spoke when He was in the world, namely by the use of images that carried a spiritual meaning, and the reason why He did so was in order that the Word might exist not only for the world but also for heaven.

[5] In Revelation,

An angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him who sat on the cloud, Thrust in 3 your sickle and reap, for the hour of harvesting has come for you; for the harvest of the earth has become dry. The one sitting on the cloud therefore thrust 4 his sickle into the earth, and the earth was harvested. Revelation 14:15-16.

'The harvest' here also stands for the final state of the Church in respect of the reception of the truths of faith in good. In Joel,

The priests have been mourning, the ministers of Jehovah. The field has been devastated, the land has been mourning because the grain has been laid waste, the new wine has failed, the oil languishes. Farmers have been put to shame, vinedressers have wailed over the wheat and over the barley, for the reason that the harvest of the field has perished. Joel 1:9-11.

This describes the ruination of the Church in respect of truths of faith and forms of the good of charity by means of such things as belong to the field, vineyard, and olive-grove. The Church itself is 'the field', and its final state, which the Lord called 'the close of the age', is 'the harvest'.

[6] In the same prophet,

Send out the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come, go down, for the winepress is full, the vats overflow - for great is their wickedness. Joel 3:13.

Here also 'the harvest' means the close of the age or final state of a Church laid waste. In Jeremiah,

Cut off the sower from Babel, and the one handling the sickle in the time of harvest. Jeremiah 50:16.

In the same prophet,

The daughter of Babel is like a threshing-floor; it is time to thresh her. Only a little while, and the time of harvest comes [to her]. Jeremiah 51:33.

'The time of harvest' stands for the final state of the Church there.

[7] In Isaiah,

Wail, O ships of Tarshish! For Tyre has been laid waste, so that there is no house nor anyone to go in. The inhabitants of the island are silent, O merchant of Sidon passing over the sea; they have replenished you. And through the great waters the seed of Shihor is the harvest of the Nile, her produce, to be the merchandise of nations. Isaiah 23:1-3.

The holy things of the Church that are described in these verses cannot be known to anyone except from the internal sense. Everyone knows that the holy things of heaven and of the Church are present throughout the Word, and that for this reason the Word is holy. The literal sense of those verses describes things connected with the commerce of Tyre and Sidon, but without a holy and more internal sense those descriptions are not holy. What their meaning is in this more internal sense is evident if they are brought to the surface. 'Ships of Tarshish' are doctrinal teachings about truth and good; 'Tyre and Sidon' are cognitions or knowledge of goodness and truth; 'no house, so that there is not anyone to go in' means that there is no longer any good in which truth can be planted; 'the inhabitants of the island who are silent' are more remote forms of good; 'the seed of Shihor' is true factual knowledge; and 'the harvest of the Nile, her produce' is good resulting from that knowledge, outside the Church.

Poznámky pod čarou:

1. literally, son of a lamb

2. The Latin means the sons of that of the evil one. Swedenborg derives this wording from the Latin Bible of Sebastian Schmidt. The Greek means simply the sons of the evil one.

3. literally, Send

4. literally, sent

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