The Bible

 

Lūkass 8

Study

   

1 Un pēc tam notika, ka Viņš apstaigāja pilsētas un miestus, mācīdams un sludinādams Dieva valstību, un tie divpadsmit bija ar Viņu,

2 Un arī dažas sievietes, kuras Viņš bija izdziedinājis no ļaunajiem gariem un slimībām: Marija, saukta Magdalēna, no kuras bija izgājuši septiņi ļaunie gari,

3 Un Joanna, Heroda nama pārvaldnieka Kūzas sieva, un Zuzanna, un daudzas citas, kas ar savu rocību kalpoja Viņam.

4 Bet kad sanāca daudz ļaužu un no visām pilsētām steidzās pie Viņa, tad Viņš runāja līdzībā:

5 Izgāja sējējs savu sēklu sēt; un sējot cita krita ceļmalā, un to samina, un debess putni to apēda.

6 Cita krita uz klints un uzdīgusi nokalta, jo tai nebija mitruma.

7 Un cita krita starp ēkšķiem, un ērkšķi, kopā augot, nomāca to.

8 Un cita krita labā zemē un uzdīgusi deva simtkārtīgus augļus. To sacījis, Viņš sauca: Kam ausis dzirdēšanai, lai dzird!

9 Bet Viņa mācekļi jautāja, ko šī līdzība nozīmē?

10 Viņš tiem sacīja: Jums dota Dieva valstības noslēpumu saprašana, bet citiem līdzībās, tā ka redzēdami neredz un dzirdēdami nesaprot.

11 Bet šī līdzība ir: sēkla ir Dieva vārds.

12 Bet kas ceļmalā, ir tie, kas dzird; pēc tam nāk velns un aiznes vārdu no viņu sirdīm, lai tie neticētu un netiktu pestīti.

13 Un kas uz klints, ir tie, kas dzirdēdami vārdu, priekā uzņem to, bet tiem nav saknes; kādu laiku viņi tic, bet kārdināšanas brīdī tie atkrīt.

14 Bet kas krita ērkšķos, ir tie, kas dzird, bet, viņiem aizejot, gan rūpes, gan bagātība un dzīves bauda nomāc to; un viņi nenes augļus.

15 Bet kas labajā zemē, ir tie, kas, vārdu dzirdējuši, patur to labajā un dziļajā sirdī; un viņi nes augļus pacietībā.

16 Bet neviens, aizdedzinājis sveci, to neapsedz ar trauku, nedz liek zem gultas, bet liek svečturī, lai ienācēji redzētu gaismu.

17 Jo nav nekā noslēpta, kas netiktu atklāts, un nekā paslēpta, kas nekļūs zināms un nenāks atklātībā.

18 Tāpēc ievērojiet, ko jūs klausāties! Jo kam ir, tam tiks dots; un kam nav, no tā tiks atņemts arī tas, kas tam šķietami ir.

19 Bet atnāca pie Viņa māte un Viņa brāļi un daudzo ļaužu dēļ nevarēja Viņam tikt klāt.

20 Un Viņam tika ziņots: Tava māte un Tavi brāļi stāv ārā un grib Tevi redzēt.

21 Viņš atbildēja tiem, sacīdams: Mana māte un mani brāļi ir tie, kas Dieva vārdu klausās un izpilda.

22 Bet kādā dienā notika, ka Viņš un Viņa mācekļi iekāpa laivā; un Viņš tiem sacīja: Pārcelsimies pāri ezeram! Un viņi cēlās pāri.

23 Un, tiem pārceļoties, Viņš aizmiga. Un pāri ezeram sacēlās brāzmaini vēji, un viņus aplēja, un tie bija briesmās.

24 Bet piegājuši, tie modināja Viņu, sacīdami: Mācītāj, mēs ejam bojā! Un Viņš uzcēlies apsauca vēju un ūdens viļņošanu, un tie norima, un tapa klusums.

25 Tad Viņš tiem sacīja: Kur jūsu ticība? Un viņi bailēs un izbrīnā viens otram sacīja: Kā šķiet, kas Viņš ir, ka Viņš pavēl vējiem un jūrai, un tie Viņam paklausa?

26 Un viņi pārcēlās uz geraziešu apgabalu, kas iepretim Galilejai.

27 Un, kad Viņš izkāpa krastā, Viņu sastapa kāds vīrs, kas jau ilgāku laiku bija ļaunā gara apsēsts. Drēbes viņš nevalkāja un arī mājās nedzīvoja, bet kapenēs.

28 Viņš, ieraudzījis Jēzu, krita Viņa priekšā, un, skaļā balsī kliegdams, sacīja: Kas man ar Tevi, Jēzu, visaugstākā Dieva Dēls? Es Tevi lūdzu, nemoci mani!

29 Un Viņš pavēlēja nešķīstajam garam iziet no šī cilvēka, jo jau ilgu laiku viņš mocīja to. Un viņu saistīja važās un dzelžos, lai sargātu viņu. Bet viņš sarāva važas, un ļaunais gars to dzina tuksnesī.

30 Bet Jēzus viņam jautāja, sacīdams: Kāds ir tavs vārds? Un viņš atbildēja: Leģions, jo daudzi ļaunie gari bija viņā iegājuši.

31 Un tie lūdza Viņu, lai Viņš nepavēl tiem iet bezdibenī.

32 Bet tur bija liels cūku bars, kas ganījās kalnā; un tie lūdza Viņu, lai atļauj ieiet tanīs. Un Viņš tiem atļāva.

33 Tad ļaunie gari, izgājuši no cilvēka, iegāja cūkās; un ganāmais pulks no kraujas strauji metās ezerā un noslīka.

34 Kad gani redzēja notikušo, viņi aizskrēja un izstāstīja par to pilsētā un ciemos.

35 Un viņi izgāja skatīt notikušo, un, atnākuši pie Jēzus, atrada cilvēku, no kura bija izgājuši ļaunie gari, apģērbtu un pilnā prātā sēžam pie Viņa kājām, un tie izbijās.

36 Bet tie, kas redzēja, stāstīja viņiem, kā tas no leģiona izdziedināts.

37 Un viss geraziešu apgabala iedzīvotāju vairākums lūdza Viņu aiziet no tiem, jo viņus bija pārņēmušas lielas bailes. Bet Viņš, iekāpis laivā, atgriezās atpakaļ.

38 Un vīrs, no kura ļaunie gari bija izgājuši, lūdza Viņu, lai atļauj palikt pie Viņa; bet Jēzus atlaida to, sacīdams:

39 Atgriezies savās mājās un stāsti, ko Dievs tev lielu darījis! Un viņš gāja, sludinādams visā pilsētā, ko lielu Jēzus viņam darījis.

40 Bet notika, kad Jēzus atgriezās, ka ļaudis saņēma Viņu, jo visi Viņu gaidīja.

41 Un, lūk, tur atnāca cilvēks, vārdā Jairs, kas bija sinagogas priekšnieks; un tas, nokritis pie Jēzus kājām, lūdza Viņu ienākt tā namā,

42 Jo viņam bija vienīgā meitiņa ap divpadsmit gadu, un viņa bija pie miršanas. Un notika, ka, Viņam ejot, ļaudis drūzmējās ap Viņu.

43 Un kāda sieviete, kura divpadsmit gadus cieta no asins tecēšanas un ārstiem bija atdevusi visu savu mantu, bet neviens nespēja to izārstēt,

44 No mugurpuses piegājusi, pieskārās Viņa drēbju šuvei, un tūliņ asins tecēšana apstājās.

45 Un Jēzus sacīja: Kas man pieskārās? Bet kad visi liedzās, Pēteris un tie, kas ar Viņu bija, sacīja: Mācītāj, ļaudis drūzmējas un Tevi spiež, un Tu saki: kas man pieskārās?

46 Un Jēzus sacīja: Man kāds pieskārās, jo es jutu, ka spēks iziet no manis.

47 Bet sieviete, redzēdama, ka viņa nav palikusi nemanīta, trīcēdama piegāja un krita pie Viņa kājām, un visas tautas priekšā norādīja, kāda iemesla dēļ Viņam pieskārusies un ka tūdaļ kļuvusi vesela.

48 Bet viņš tai sacīja: Meit, tava ticība tevi glābusi, ej mierā!

49 Viņam vēl runājot, nāca kāds pie sinagogas vecākā un sacīja viņam: Tava meitiņa mirusi, neapgrūtini Viņu!

50 Bet Jēzus, dzirdējis šos vārdus, sacīja meitiņas tēvam: Nebīsties, tikai tici, un viņa tiks glābta!

51 Un Viņš, namā ieejot, neatļāva nevienam līdzi nākt, kā vien Pēterim un Jēkabam, un Jānim, un meitiņas tēvam, un mātei.

52 Bet visi raudāja un apraudāja viņu. Bet Viņš sacīja: Neraudiet, meitene nav mirusi, bet guļ.

53 Un tie izsmēja Viņu, zinādami to, ka tā mirusi.

54 Bet Viņš ņēma to aiz rokas un sauca, sacīdams: Meitiņ, celies augšām!

55 Un viņas gars atgriezās; un viņa tūdaļ uzcēlās. Un Viņš lika dot tai ēst.

56 Un viņas vecāki brīnījās; un Viņš tiem pavēlēja nesacīt nevienam par notikušo.

   

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Divine Providence #278

Study this Passage

  
/ 340  
  

278a. 2. Evils cannot be set aside unless they come to light. This does not mean that we have to act out our evils in order to bring them to light but that we need to look carefully not only at our actions but also at our thoughts, at what we would do if it were not for our fear of the laws and of ill repute. We need to look especially at which evils we see as permissible in our spirit and do not regard as sins, for eventually we do them.

It is for this self-examination that we have been given discernment, a discernment separate from our volition, so that we can know, discern, and recognize what is good and what is evil. It is also so that we can see what the real nature of our volition is--that is, what we love and what we desire. It is to enable us to see this that our discernment has been given both higher and lower thought processes, both more inward and more outward thought processes. It is so that we can use the higher or more inward thoughts to see what our volition is up to in our lower or outer thoughts. We see this the way we see our face in a mirror; and when we see and recognize what a sin is, then if we want to and ask the Lord for help, we can stop intending it, abstain from it, and later act against it. If we cannot go through this process easily, we can still make it happen by trying to go through it so that finally we reject that evil and detest it. Then for the first time we actually sense and feel that evil is evil and good is good.

This is what it means to examine ourselves, to see and acknowledge our evils, and to confess them and then refrain from them. However, there are so few who know that this is the essence of the Christian religion (because the only people who do so are ones who have charity and faith and are led by the Lord and do what is good in his strength) that I need to say something about the people who do not do this and still think that they are religious. They are (a) people who confess that they are guilty of all sins but do not look for any single sin in themselves; (b) people who for religious reasons do not bother to look; (c) people who for worldly reasons do not think about sins and therefore do not know what they are; (d) people who cherish their sins and therefore cannot know what they are. (e) In all these cases, the sins do not come to light and therefore cannot be set aside. (f) Finally, I need to expose a previously unrecognized reason why evils could not be set aside apart from this examination, this bringing to light, this recognition, this confession, and this resistance.

278b. These items need to be looked at one at a time, though, because they are the basic elements of the Christian religion on our part.

(a) They are people who confess that they are guilty of all sins but do not look for any single sin in themselves. They say, "I am a sinner! I was born in sins; there is no soundness in me from head to toe! I am nothing but evil! Gracious God, look on me with favor, forgive me, purify me, save me, make me walk in purity, in the way of the righteous," and the like. Yet they do not look into themselves and therefore do not identify any particular evil; and no one who does not identify an evil can abstain from it, let alone fight against it. They think that they are clean and washed after these confessions when in fact they are unclean and unwashed from their heads to the soles of their feet. This blanket confession is nothing but a lullaby that leads finally to blindness. It is like some grand generalization with no details, which is actually nothing.

[2] (b) They are people who for religious reasons do not bother to look. These are primarily people who separate charity from faith. They say to themselves, "Why should I ask whether something is evil or good? Why should I ask about evil when it does not damn me? Why should I ask about goodness when it does not save me? It is my faith alone, the faith that I have thought about and proclaimed with trust and confidence, that justifies me and purifies me from all sin; and once I have been justified I am whole in God's sight. Of course I am immersed in evil, but God wipes this away the moment it happens so that it is no longer present," and more of the same sort.

Can anyone whose eyes are open fail to see that these are meaningless words, words that have no content because they have no worth in them? Anyone can think and talk like this, and can do so "with trust and confidence," when thinking about hell and eternal damnation. Do people like this want to know anything further, whether anything is really true or good? As to truth, they say, "What is truth other than whatever reinforces my faith?" As to goodness, they say, "What is good other than what I have because of my faith? In order to have it within me, though, I do not need to do it as though I were doing it myself, because that would be for credit, and good done for credit is not truly good." So they skip over the whole subject so completely that they do not know what evil is. What will they look for and see in themselves, then? What is their state but a fire of obsessions with evil that is confined within them, devouring the inner substance of their minds and destroying everything right up to the door? All they are doing is guarding the door so that no one can see the fire; but the door is opened after death, and then everyone can see.

[3] (c) They are people who for worldly reasons do not think about sins and therefore do not know what they are. These are people who love the world above all and will not give a hearing to any truth that might deflect them from the false principles of their religion. They say to themselves, "What do I care about this? This is not the way I think." So they reject it as soon as they hear it; or if it does get through at all, they suppress it. They do much the same thing when they hear sermons, retaining only a few words and no substance.

Since this is how they treat truths, they do not know what good is, since the two act in unison; and there is no way to identify evil on the basis of any good that is not based on truth. All they can do is call evil "good" by rationalizing it with their distortions.

These are the people meant by the seeds that fell among thorns. The Lord said of them, "Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. These are people who hear the Word, but the cares of this world and the deceptiveness of riches choke the Word so that it becomes unfruitful" (Matthew 13:7, 22; Mark 4:7, 14 [4:7, 18, 19]; Luke 8:7, 14).

[4] (d) They are people who cherish their sins and therefore cannot know what they are. These are people who believe in God and worship him with the usual rituals and yet rationalize for themselves that some evil that is a sin is really not a sin. They camouflage it with disguises and cosmetics that conceal how grotesque it is; and once they have accomplished this they cherish it and make it their friend and constant companion.

I have said that these people believe in God because only people who believe in God are capable of regarding evil as sin: all sin is sin against God.

But some examples may make this clear. When people who are bent on profit make different kinds of cheating permissible by inventing rationalizations, they are saying that an evil is not a sin. People who rationalize taking vengeance on their enemies are doing the same thing, as are people who rationalize plundering people who are not their enemies in times of war.

[5] (e) In these cases, the sins do not come to light and therefore cannot be set aside. Any evil that is not brought to light feeds on itself. It is like fire in wood buried in ashes. It is like poison in a wound that has not been lanced; for any evil that is shut away keeps growing and growing until everything has been brought to an end. So to prevent any evil from being shut away, we are allowed to think in favor of God and against God, in favor of the holy practices of the church or against them, without being punished for it in this world.

The Lord speaks of this in Isaiah:

From the soles of the feet to the head there is no soundness; there is wound and scar and fresh beating, not squeezed out or bound up or anointed with oil. Wash yourselves, purify yourselves. Take away the evil of your deeds from before my eyes. Stop doing evil, learn to do good. Then if your sins have been like scarlet, they will be white as snow; if they have been ruddy as a purple robe, they will be like wool. If you refuse and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword. (Isaiah 1:6, 16, 18, 20)

"Being devoured by the sword" means being destroyed by our malicious distortions.

[6] (f) There is a previously unrecognized reason why evils could not be set aside apart from this examination, this bringing to light, this recognition, this confession, and this resistance. I have already mentioned [62, 65, 217] that heaven overall is arranged in communities according to [people's desires for what is good, and that hell overall is arranged in communities according to] desires for what is evil that are opposite to those desires for what is good. As to our spirits, each of us is in some community--in a heavenly one when our good desires are in control, and in a hellish one when our evil desires are in control. We are unaware of this while we are living in this world, but in spirit that is where we are. We could not go on living otherwise, and that is how the Lord is guiding us.

If we are in a hellish community, the only way the Lord can lead us out is under the laws of his divine providence. One of them says that we must see that we are there, must want to get out, and must ourselves make an effort with what seems to be our own strength. We can do this while we are in this world but not after death. Then we stay forever in the community we joined in this world. This is why we need to examine ourselves, see and acknowledge our sins, repent, and remain constant for the rest of our lives.

I could support this with enough experience to warrant complete belief, but this is not the place to bring in proofs from experience.

  
/ 340  
  

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