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

 

Arcana Coelestia #2542

Study this Passage

  
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2542. 'And spoke all these words in their ears' means an exhortation made to confirmations from this source, even until they should become obedient. This becomes clear from the train of thought in the internal sense, and also from the meaning of 'ears'.

From the train of thought: There are many matters of a confirmatory nature that lend support to whatever the rational acknowledges; indeed its acknowledgement is due entirely to those confirmatory matters. This is why, when rational concepts are brought into a condition of obedience, an exhortation is made to things that confirm, for these are for ever at hand and so to speak rising up.

From the meaning of 'ears': 'Ears' in the internal sense of the Word means obedience because of the correspondence that exists between hearing and obeying. Furthermore, this correspondence lies hidden within the very word 'hearing', more so in 'hearkening'. This correspondence has its origin in the next life where those who are obedient and willing belong to the province of the ear. Indeed they correspond to the faculty of hearing itself, an arcanum unknown as yet. But these matters will be seen more easily when correspondence will be dealt with in the Lord's Divine mercy later on. The fact that 'ears' has this meaning becomes clear from very many places in the Word; but for the time being let only the following in Isaiah be quoted,

Make the heart of this people fat and their ears heavy, and plaster over their eyes, lest they see with their eyes and hear with their ears, and their heart understands. Isaiah 6:10.

Here 'seeing with the eyes' means understanding, and 'hearing with the ears' means perceiving with affection and therefore means obeying. And nothing else is meant when the Lord says,

He who has an ear to hear, let him hear. Matthew 11:15; 13:9, 43; Luke 8:8; 14:35.

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