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

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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.

Commentaire

 

Christmas Gifts of Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh

Par 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.

Des oeuvres de Swedenborg

 

Arcana Coelestia #10289

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10289. Verses 34-38 And Jehovah said to Moses, Take for yourself sweet spices, stacte and onycha and galbanum - [these] sweet ones, and pure frankincense; amount for amount there shall be 1 . And you shall make this an incense, an ointment, the work of an ointment-maker - salted, pure, holy. And you shall beat some of it very fine, and put some of it before the Testimony in the tent of meeting, where I will meet with you. The holy of holies 2 it shall be to you. And the incense which you make, according to its composition 3 , you shall not make for yourselves; it shall be to you holy for Jehovah. The man who makes any like it, to make an odour with it, will be cut off from his people.

'And Jehovah said to Moses' means enlightenment and perception once again from the Lord through the Word. 'Take for yourself sweet spices' means the affections for truth springing from good which must be present in the worship of God. 'Stacte' means an affection for truth on the level of the senses. 'And onycha' means an affection for truth on the more internal natural level. 'And galbanum' means an affection for truth on a still more internal level. '[These] sweet ones' means affections springing from spiritual good. 'And pure frankincense' means truth on the inmost level, which is spiritual good. 'Amount for amount there shall be' means total agreement. 'And you shall make this an incense' means worship consisting of them. 'An ointment, the work of an ointment-maker' means as a result of the influx and operation of what is Divine and the Lord's within every single part. 'Salted' means the desire which truth has for good. 'Pure' means devoid of evil. 'Holy' means devoid of the falsity of evil. 'And you shall beat some of it very fine' means the arrangement of truths into their own series. 'And put some of it before the Testimony in the tent of meeting' means worship of the Lord in heaven and in the Church. 'Where I will meet with you' means as a result of the influx of the Lord. 'The holy of holies it shall be to you' means since it emanates from the Lord. 'And the incense which you make, according to its composition, you shall not make for yourselves' means that worship consisting of the Church's holy truths must not be attached to the loves that are a person's own. 'It shall be holy to you for Jehovah' means that it must be attached to love that is Divine. 'The man who makes any like it, to make an odour with it' means an imitation - springing from self - of the worship of God expressed through affections for truth and good. 'Will be cut off from his people' means separation from heaven and the Church, and spiritual death.

Notes de bas de page:

1. i.e. there shall be equal amounts of each, see 10297.

2. i.e. most holy

3. literally, which you make in its quality

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