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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.

Commentaar

 

Christmas Gifts of Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh

Door 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.

Van Swedenborgs Werken

 

Doctrine of the Sacred Scripture #23

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23. The idolatries of the nations in olden times drew their origin from a knowledge of correspondences, and this because everything appearing on the earth has a correspondence, thus not only trees, but also cattle and birds of every kind, as well as fish, and everything else. People of old who possessed a knowledge of correspondences made themselves images that corresponded to things having to do with heaven, and they delighted in them, because they symbolized such things as have to do to with heaven and consequently the church. Therefore they placed these images not only in their temples, but also in their homes, not as objects to be worshiped, but to remind them of the heavenly things they symbolized.

Thus in Egypt and elsewhere there were images of calves, oxen, and serpents, and of boys, older men, and maidens, because calves and oxen symbolized the affections and abilities of the natural self; serpents, the prudence of the sensual self; boys, innocence and charity; older men, wisdom; and maidens, affections for truth, and so on.

When a knowledge of correspondences was obliterated, the people’s posterity began to worship as holy, and finally as deities, the images and likenesses set up by their ancestors, because they found them in and around temples.

[2] The case was the same among other nations, such as with Dagon among the Philistines at Ashdod, mentioned in 1 Samuel 5:1-12. Its upper part had the likeness of a man, its lower part the likeness of a fish. This image was contrived because a man symbolizes intelligence, and a fish knowledge, which form a unit.

It was for this reason, too, that people of old worshiped in gardens and groves, in accordance with the trees there, and also on mountains and hills. For gardens and groves symbolize wisdom and understanding, and each tree some aspect of these. For example, an olive tree symbolizes the goodness of love; a vine, truth springing from that goodness; a cedar, rational goodness and truth; while a mountain symbolizes the highest heaven, and a hill a heaven below it.

[3] A knowledge of correspondences remained among many eastern peoples to the time of the Lord’s advent, and this can be seen from the wise men from the east who came to the Lord when He was born. That is why a star went before them, and why they brought with them gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh (Matthew 2:1-2, 9-11). For the star that went before them symbolized a perception from heaven; gold, celestial goodness; frankincense, spiritual goodness; and myrrh, natural goodness. And all worship springs from these three.

[4] But still no knowledge at all of correspondences existed in the Israelite and Jewish nations, even though all the components of their worship, and all the judgments and statutes given them through Moses, were nothing but correspondent forms and expressions. That is because they were at heart idolaters, and of such character that they were not even willing to know that anything connected with their worship symbolized something celestial and spiritual. For they wished all their holy forms and expressions to be holy in themselves and in connection with them. Consequently, if the celestial and spiritual contents were to have been disclosed to them, they would not only have rejected them, but would also have profaned them. Therefore heaven was so closed to them that they scarcely knew of the possibility of eternal life.

The reality of this is clearly apparent from the fact that they did not acknowledge the Lord, even though the whole of their sacred scripture prophesied of Him and foretold His advent. They rejected Him for the sole reason that He taught them about a heavenly kingdom and not an earthly one. For they wanted a Messiah who would exalt them above every other nation in the whole world, and not some Messiah who concerned Himself with their eternal salvation.

They furthermore maintain that the Word contains within it many secrets that they call mystical, although they do not wish to know that these secrets have do to with the Lord. However, they do wish to know when told that the secrets have to do with gold.

  
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Thanks to the General Church of the New Jerusalem, and to Rev. N.B. Rogers, translator, for the permission to use this translation.