IBhayibheli

 

Matthew 9

Funda

   

1 And stepping into a ship, He crossed·​·over, and came into His·​·own city.

2 And, behold, they brought·​·to Him one sick·​·of·​·the·​·palsy cast·​·down upon a bed; and Jesus, seeing their faith, said to the sick·​·of·​·the·​·palsy, Child, have·​·confidence, thy sins have been forgiven thee*.

3 And, behold, some of the scribes said in themselves, This man blasphemes.

4 And Jesus, seeing their thoughts, said, Why do you think wickedness in your hearts?

5 For which is easier, to say, Thy sins have been forgiven thee, or to say, Rise up and walk?

6 But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on the earth to forgive sins—then He says to the one sick·​·of·​·the·​·palsy, Arise, take·​·up thy bed, and go to thy house.

7 And arising he went·​·away to his house.

8 And the crowds seeing, marveled, and glorified God, who gives such authority to men.

9 And Jesus, passing·​·by thence, saw a man sitting at the receipt·​·of·​·tribute*, called Matthew; and He says to him, Follow Me; and standing·​·up, he followed Him.

10 And it came·​·to·​·pass, as He sat in the house, that behold, many publicans and sinners came and sat·​·with Jesus and His disciples.

11 And when the Pharisees saw, they said to His disciples, Why does your Teacher eat with publicans and sinners?

12 But Jesus hearing, said to them, They who have·​·strength have no need of a physician, but they who have an illness do.

13 But go ye and learn what it means, I desire mercy, and not sacrifice*; for I have not come to call the just, but sinners, to repentance.

14 Then the disciples of John came to Him, saying, Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but Thy disciples fast not?

15 And Jesus said to them, Can the sons of the bride-chamber mourn so long as the Bridegroom is with them? But the days will come when the Bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and then shall they fast.

16 And no one puts a piece of unshrunk* fabric upon an old garment; for that· which ·fills·​·in takes from the garment, and the rip becomes worse.

17 Neither do they put young wine into old bottles*, otherwise the bottles are·​·torn, and the wine is spilled, and the bottles perish; but they put young wine into new bottles, and both are preserved.

18 While He spoke these things to them, behold, a ruler coming worshiped Him, saying, My daughter is now dead; but come, lay thy hand upon her, and she shall live.

19 And Jesus arising followed him, and His disciples.

20 And behold, a woman who was diseased with an issue of blood for twelve years, coming from behind, touched the hem of His garment;

21 for she said in herself, If I may only touch His garment, I shall be healed*.

22 And Jesus turning and seeing her, said, Have·​·confidence, daughter, thy faith has saved thee; and the woman was healed from that hour.

23 And Jesus coming into the house of the ruler, and seeing the flute·​·players, and the crowd making·​·an·​·uproar,

24 says to them, Depart; for the damsel is· not ·dead, but sleeps; and they laughed·​·at Him.

25 But when the crowd was cast out, entering in He took hold of her hand, and the damsel arose.

26 And this fame went·​·out into that whole land.

27 And Jesus passing·​·by thence, two blind men followed Him, crying and saying, Have mercy on us, Son of David.

28 And when He had come to the house, the blind men came to Him, and Jesus says to them, Do you believe that I am able to do this? They say to Him, Yes, Lord.

29 Then He touched their eyes, saying, According to your faith be it unto you.

30 And their eyes were opened, and Jesus admonished them, saying, See that you let no·​·one know.

31 But going·​·out they spread· His ·fame in that whole land.

32 And as they went out, behold they brought·​·to Him a man dumb, demon-possessed.

33 And when the demon was cast out, the dumb spoke, and the crowds marveled, saying that it never so appeared in Israel.

34 But the Pharisees said, In the prince of demons He casts out demons.

35 And Jesus went·​·around all the cities and the villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and curing every disease and every malady in the people.

36 And seeing the crowds, He was moved·​·with·​·compassion* concerning them, because they were faint and thrown·​·down, as sheep not having a shepherd.

37 Then He says to His disciples, The harvest is indeed much, but the workers are few.

38 Entreat ye, therefore, the Lord of the harvest, so·​·that He will send·​·out workers into His harvest.

   


Thanks to the Kempton Project for the permission to use this New Church translation of the Word.

Okususelwe Emisebenzini kaSwedenborg

 

Apocalypse Revealed #502

Funda lesi Sigaba

  
Yiya esigabeni / 962  
  

502. Which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt. This symbolizes the two hellish loves, namely, a love of ruling springing from a love of self, and a love of holding sway from a conceit in one's own intelligence, loves which are present in the church where there is not one God and where the Lord is not worshiped, and where people do not live in accordance with the Ten Commandments.

Sodom symbolizes, in the spiritual sense, a love of ruling springing from a love of self, as we shall presently see; and Egypt symbolizes, in the spiritual sense, a love of holding sway from a conceit in one's own intelligence, as we shall also presently see. So, because these two loves are symbolized, therefore the city is called, spiritually speaking, Sodom and Egypt.

These two loves are present in the church where there is not one God and where the Lord is not worshiped, and where people do not live in accordance with the Ten Commandments, because people are born with these two loves, and they come into them as they grow up. Nor can these loves be removed except by God the Savior and by a life in accordance with His commandments, and God cannot remove them unless people turn to Him, and neither is a life in accordance with His commandments possible unless a person is led by Him. Actually it is possible, but not a life that contains anything of heaven and so of the church.

A life like that is possible only from Him who is life. That the Lord is that life may be seen in John 1:1, 4; 5:26; 6:33-35ff., 11:25-26; 14:6, 19, and in many other places.

[2] A love of ruling springing from a love of self, and a love of holding sway from a conceit in one's own intelligence, are the principal loves of all the loves in hell, and so are the origin of all the evils and thus of all the falsities in the church. This is something unknown at the present day. The delights of these loves, which surpass the delights of all the heart's pleasures, cause it to be unknown, even though they are, spiritually, Sodom and Egypt.

That Sodom is a love of ruling springing from a love of self can be seen from the description of Sodom in Genesis, where we are told that when angels arrived there, the inhabitants tried to forcibly assault them at the house of Lot, and that fire and brimstone rained down on them from heaven (Genesis 19:1ff.). Fire and brimstone symbolize that love, together with its appetites.

I saw similar sights when cities and societies of people like that were overthrown at the time of the Last Judgment and their inhabitants cast into hell.

These loves and their accompanying evils are symbolized by Sodom and Gomorrah in the following passages: Isaiah 1:10; 3:8-9; 13:19.

[3] That this love is symbolically meant by Sodom is unknown in the world, but remember it and recall it when you come after death into the world of spirits and you will be completely convinced.

It should be known, however, that a love of ruling springing from a love of self and a love of ruling springing from a love of performing useful services are two different things. The latter love is a heavenly love, while the first is a hellish one. Consequently, when one is in first place, the other is in last place; which is to say, when a love of ruling springing from a love of self forms the head, then a love of ruling springing from a love of performing useful services - which is a love of serving the neighbor originating from the Lord - forms first the feet, then the soles of the feet, and finally is trampled underfoot.

On the other hand, when a love of ruling springing from a love of performing useful services - which, as we said, is a heavenly love - forms the head, then a love of ruling springing from a love of self - which, as we said, is a hellish love - forms first the feet, then the soles of the feet, and finally is trampled underfoot.

Still, these two loves can hardly be distinguished by a person in the world. That is because in outward appearance they are similar. But they can be told apart by this, that a heavenly love is present in people who turn to the Lord and live in accordance with the Ten Commandments, while a hellish love is present in people who do not turn to the Lord, and who do not live in accordance with the Ten Commandments.

  
Yiya esigabeni / 962  
  

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