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John 21:15-25 : Feed my lambs, Feed my sheep

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15 So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs.

16 He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep.

17 He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep.

18 Verily, verily, I say unto thee, When thou wast young, thou girdedst thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest: but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not.

19 This spake he, signifying by what death he should glorify God. And when he had spoken this, he saith unto him, Follow me.

20 Then Peter, turning about, seeth the disciple whom Jesus loved following; which also leaned on his breast at supper, and said, Lord, which is he that betrayeth thee?

21 Peter seeing him saith to Jesus, Lord, and what shall this man do?

22 Jesus saith unto him, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? follow thou me.

23 Then went this saying abroad among the brethren, that that disciple should not die: yet Jesus said not unto him, He shall not die; but, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee?

24 This is the disciple which testifieth of these things, and wrote these things: and we know that his testimony is true.

25 And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen.

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #10646

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10646. 'For Jehovah the Jealous One is His name, God the Jealous One is He' means that if any other is worshipped Divine Good and Divine Truth depart. This is clear from the meaning of 'a jealous one' as somebody who does not allow anyone other than himself to be loved and worshipped; and from the meaning of 'Jehovah's name' as everything by means of which the Lord is worshipped, dealt with in 2724, 3006, 6674, 9310. And since this is Divine Truth emanating from His Divine Human, the Lord's Divine Human is what 'Jehovah's name' is used to mean in the highest sense, 2628, 6887, 8274. Divine Truth is the Lord Himself as He exists in heaven; for what emanates from Him is Himself. From the Divine nothing other than what is Divine can emanate; and what is Divine is one. From this it is evident that 'the Jealous One is His name' means that the Lord does not allow anyone other than Himself to be worshipped, because He alone is the Source of all the truth and all the good that lead to salvation. The Lord is called the Jealous One because as soon as any other is worshipped all truth and good depart. For goodness and truth, of which the Lord is the Source, are the means by which a person is linked to Him; therefore as soon as another is worshipped the link is severed, and falsity replaces truth and evil replaces good.

[2] The reason why He is called the Jealous One twice - Jehovah the Jealous One and God the Jealous One - is that Jehovah is used to mean Divine Good and God to mean Divine Truth. (In the Word the Lord is called Jehovah where Divine Good is the subject, but He is called God where Divine Truth is the subject, see 2586, 2769, 2921, 6303, 6905, 10158, 10617.) And since both depart from a person when someone other than the Lord is worshipped He is called the Jealous One twice.

[3] It is said that the Lord alone is to be worshipped. Anyone unacquainted with the nature of true worship of the Lord may think that the Lord loves to be worshipped and desires glory from people, like someone who grants another person what he requests because that other person pays him respect. Anyone who thinks like that has no idea at all of what love is like, let alone of what God's love is like. God in His love does not desire worship and glory for His own sake but for that of man and his salvation. For humility exists in those who worship the Lord and give Him glory, and from those in whom humility exists the proprium or what belongs to self departs. And so far as this departs, the Divine is received; for the proprium or self, being evil and false, is the one thing that stands in the way of the Divine. This is the glory of the Lord, and worship of Him exists to that end. Glory for the sake of self exists as a result of self-love; but heavenly love, and infinitely more so God's love, is as different from self-love as heaven is from hell.

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