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Matthew 2:1-12 : The Visit of the Wise Men

Estudio

1 Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,

2 Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.

3 When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.

4 And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born.

5 And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet,

6 And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel.

7 Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, inquired of them diligently what time the star appeared.

8 And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also.

9 When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was.

10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.

11 And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.

12 And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way.

Comentario

 

Christmas Gifts of Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh

Por New Christian Bible Study Staff

The Adoration of the Magi, a Design for Bas Relief.

In the Christmas story, the wise men bring gifts to the Lord: gold, frankincense and myrrh.

The gold is listed first, because it is the inmost - signifying good, e.g. the good that we do when we love the Lord and the neighbor.

The frankincense is next. It signifies rational truth, which is the set of true ideas that we know, not about external things like cars or cooking, but about what is really good, and what is really true.

These rational truths are built on earlier knowledges that we learn, before we have really made them our own. Those early knowledges about spiritual things - often learned in childhood - are represented by the myrrh.

In a way, these gifts are really a reciprocation. We can't actually give them to the Lord until the Lord has given them to us. We necessarily start out by learning and doing the Lord's law (myrrh). The Lord can then call up those memories to become rational truths (frankincense). Then, over time, and with effort, those truths can be transformed into good (gold). The wise men from the East had gone through this process of learning and becoming vessels that could receive truths and goods. They were able to perceive the Lord's birth, and find him, and bring gifts to him.

De obras de Swedenborg

 

Arcana Coelestia #2088

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2088. 'Behold I will bless him, I will make him fruitful, and I will multiply him, more and more' means that they were to be furnished and endowed with goods of faith and with truths from that source, without limit. This is clear from the meaning of 'being blessed', 'being fruitful', and 'being multiplied'. 'Being blessed' means being endowed with all goods, as shown in Volume One, in 981, 1096, 1420, 1422. 'Being fruitful' means the goods of faith with which they were to be endowed, and 'being multiplied' the truths from that source, as also shown in Volume One, in 43, 55, 913, 983.

[2] Who exactly are celestial people and who spiritual would take too long to describe here. See where they have been described already, for example in 81, 597, 607, 765, 2069, 2078, and many times elsewhere. In general celestial people are those who have love to the Lord, and spiritual those who have charity towards the neighbour. For the distinction between having love to the Lord and having charity towards the neighbour, see above 2023. Celestial people are those whose affection for good stems from good, but spiritual people are those whose affection for good stems from truth. To begin with all people were celestial, because they were governed by love to the Lord, and from this they received perception by which they perceived what was good, not from truth but from the affection for good.

[3] But after this, when love to the Lord was no longer what it had been, spiritual people took their place, these being called spiritual when they were governed by love towards the neighbour, which is charity. But love towards the neighbour, or charity, was implanted by means of truth and in this way they received a conscience in accordance with which they acted, not from an affection for good but from an affection for truth. With them charity looks like the affection for good, but is in fact the affection for truth. Because it looks like the affection for good charity is still referred to as good. But that good is a good arising out of their faith. It is these who are meant by the Lord in John,

I am the door. If anyone enters by Me he will be saved, and will go in and out, and find pasture. I am the good Shepherd; and I know My own and am known by My own. And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will hear My voice, and there will be one flock and one Shepherd. John 10:9, 14, 16.

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