The Bible

 

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

Study

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.

Commentary

 

Christmas Gifts of Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh

By 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.

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Apocalypse Explained #161

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161. To commit whoredom, and to eat idol sacrifices, signifies falsifications of truth and adulterations of good. This is evident from the signification of "committing whoredom," as being to falsify truths (of which see above, n. 141, and from the signification of "eating idol sacrifices," as being to appropriate evil (of which see also above, n. 141; to adulterate good is also signified, because appropriations of evil are, in things of the church, adulterations of good; for it is an application of its goods to evils, thus adulterating them. For example, the goods of the Israelitish church were signified by the altar, the sacrifices, and eating together of the things sacrificed; when these things were given over to Baal, goods were applied to evils (besides other like instances). It is the like in a church in which there are no representatives, when the Word is applied to confirm the evils of self, as is done by the papal body to gain dominion over the universal heaven. That "to commit whoredom and to eat idol sacrifices" signifies to falsify truths and adulterate goods, is also clear from this, that the deeds of Jezebel are in one expression called "whoredoms" and "witchcrafts," in the second book of Kings:

When Jehoram saw Jehu, he said, Is it peace, Jehu? and he said, What peace, so long as the whoredoms of thy mother Jezebel and her witchcrafts are many? (2 Kings 9:22).

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