|
<< MATTHEW XV: Spiritual Meaning >>
 MATTHEW XV
1Then came to Jesus scribes and Pharisees, which were of Jerusalem, saying,
1-6. The traditions by which they made violations of the truths that are in the Word. A. 4926.
He describes them as hypocrites who not only transgressed the commandments of God, but who also rendered them of none effect by their traditions. E. 433.
1-20. That the Lord taught the internal spiritual man is known from His precepts, and from the abrogation of the rituals which only served for the use of the natural man, and from his precepts regarding washing, as signifying the purification of the internal man. . . . These and several other things belonging to the internal degree and the spiritual man the Lord taught, for He alone opens the internals of human minds and makes them spiritual. M. 340.
1, 2, 11, 17-20. Hence it is obvious that the Jews by their washings were never sanctified and cleansed from their spiritual defilements, which are the evils issuing from the heart. These evils reside within, and have nothing in common with the filth which adheres to the body in the world. E. 475.
1, 2, 20. No one was made clean or pure as to internal things by the rite of washing, which only represented one pure or spiritually clean. A. 3147.
...........................................................................................................................................
COMMENTARY
1. This chapter commences with recording one of those transitions, from the faith of the simple to the unbelief of the learned, which are of frequent occurrence in the gospels. Then came to Jesus scribes and Pharisees, - those, spiritually, who are principled in falsities and evils. These were of Jerusalem, to indicate that they represent such as are in the interior doctrines of the church, which Jerusalem represented. Yet those who are in the doctrine of the church can oppose the truth, as these rulers of the Jewish church opposed themselves to the Lord.
2Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? for they wash not their hands when they eat bread.
2, 11, 17-20. That the washing of man's spirit was meant by that of his body, and that the internals of the church were represented by externals, such as were in the Israelitish church, is clearly manifest from these words of the Lord. T. 671.
...........................................................................................................................................
COMMENTARY
2. They assailed him in this instance through his followers. Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? for they wash not their hands when they eat bread. It is surprising how much importance men of cultivated understanding can attach to outward forms and ceremonies, which are but the shadow, of which religion is the substance, and are nothing without it. The Jews had, indeed, ceremonies prescribed to them by their law, and these they were bound to observe. But the ceremony that formed the subject of the present question was a "tradition of the elders." These traditions are like parasites, that live upon the body that produces them. Like things of the imagination, that are treasured up in the memory without any view to use, they are rather hindrances than aids to vital religion This washing of the hands was but a sign of that kind of purification which the natural man practises - the washing of the, hands instead of the heart. Washing the hands was, indeed, a testification of innocence - but when it was practised as a virtue in itself, the neglect of which was a sin, it then became the emblem of an outward assumption of purity to which there is no corresponding condition of the heart. The demand of the Lord is, "Wash thy heart from wickedness;" the command of the elders is, "Wash thy hands as an appearance of innocency."
3But he answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition?
4For God commanded, saying, Honour thy father and mother: and, He that curseth father or mother, let him die the death.
5But ye say, Whosoever shall say to his father or his mother, It is a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me;
6And honour not his father or his mother, he shall be free. Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition.
7Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying,
8This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.
9But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.
10And he called the multitude, and said unto them, Hear, and understand:
3-9. That every kind of false doctrine prevailed among the Jewish nation may appear from many things which are known concerning it, namely, that they deny the Lord, that they expect a Messiah who shall establish an earthly kingdom, and who shall exalt them above all the other nations of the world, that they place all worship in externals and reject the internals thereof which have respect to faith and to love to the Lord, that they apply all things in the Word to themselves, and falsify it by traditions of their own invention. E. 120.
...........................................................................................................................................
COMMENTARY
3-6. The arbitrary and hypocritical rites of the Pharisees were set aside by the Lord, the object of whose teaching was to induce his disciples to cleanse the inside, that the outside may be clean also. When, therefore, the Jewish authorities asked him why his disciples transgressed this mere ceremonial rite, he demanded of them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition? For God commanded, saying, Honour thy father and mother: and He that curseth father and mother: let him die the death. But ye say, Whosoever shall say to his father or his mother, It is a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; and honour not his father or his mother he shall be free. Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition. It may be useful to understand what this transgression consisted in. The Divine law required children to honour their parents but the Jewish authorities had placed the claims of the church above the claims of parents. Anything devoted to the church was sacred, and could not be diverted to any other purpose. By this law unnatural children were able to refuse the claims of their parents for aid, on the plea that anything by which they might be profited by them was already corban - that is, a gift, devoted, though not yet given, to the service of religion. Thus the priesthood made the commandment of God of none effect by their tradition. But what is the spiritual evil to which this corresponds? The father and mother whom God commanded children to honour are, spiritually, the Lord and the church. In an abstract sense they are the Divine Love and the Divine Wisdom. To honour these is to reverence and serve them; and we reverence and serve them when we love God and keep his commandments. But when we exalt our own natural love and wisdom above those of God, and devote that to the service of man or to our own service, which we ought to devote to the service of God, we make the Divine commandment of none effect. And we do more if we evade the requirement of God's law under the pretence or in the name of religion. We then profane what is holy for we make religion itself an apology for sin.
7-9. The Lord, therefore, concludes his address to the Pharisees by calling them hypocrites; for such conduct is hypocrisy, which is mocking God with outward service, while the heart is devoted to self and the world. The Lord, therefore, proceeds to expose such heartless wickedness. Well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying, This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. The mouth and the lips signify the thought, which they are instruments for expressing, and the heart devoted to is the will. When the will or love is far from. God, and what is opposite to him, as the Supreme Love and Wisdom, what is the service of the lips, proceeding from the thought but emptiness and profanity? Worship in such a state is vain. For what is Divine worship but vanity, when the doctrines we teach, the principles that rule us, are the commandments of men - the dictates of our own natural lusts and worldly prudence?
11Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man.
12Then came his disciples, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the Pharisees were offended, after they heard this saying?
11. See Chapter XII., 35. Life 51.
11, 17, 19. The will is the man himself, but not the thought except so far as there passes into it something from the will. Therefore it is that the things which enter into the thought of man, and not through the thought into the will, do not defile him, but the things which enter through the thought into the will. These things defile him because they are then appropriated to him, and become his, for the will, as already said, is the man himself. The things which become of the will are said to enter into his heart and to come forth therefrom, but the things which are only of the thought are said to enter into his mouth, and to go out through the belly into the draught. A. 8910.
To sin is to do and to think what is evil and false intentionally, and from the will, for the things which are done intentionally and from the will are such as come forth out of the heart and defile a man, consequently which destroy spiritual life with him. A. 8925.
In the spiritual sense by the mouth is meant thought, because thought speaks by the mouth. By heart in that sense is meant affection, which is of love. If man thinks and speaks from this affection, he then makes himself P. 80.
By what enters into the mouth in the literal sense is understood food of every kind, which after its use in the body goes through the belly into the draught, but in the spiritual sense by the things which enter into the mouth are understood all things which enter into the thought from memory, and also from the world, which things also correspond to food. Those things which enter into the thought, and not at the same time into the will, do not render a man unclean, for the memory and the thought thence derived, pertaining to man are only like the entrance to him, since the will is properly the man. The things which enter the thought and proceed no further, are rejected as it were through the belly into the draught. The belly corresponds to the world of spirits whence thoughts flow in with man, and the draught signifies hell. By what comes out of the mouth, in the spiritual sense is signified thought from the will, or from the love, for by the heart is signified the will and love of man. E. 580.
11, 17. 20. When man becomes internal and is instructed about internal things, externals are of no account to him. A. 1003.
...........................................................................................................................................
COMMENTARY
10-13. Turning to and calling the multitude, the Lord summed up the discourse he had delivered to the Pharisees in a parabolic statement of the doctrine he had been teaching. Hear, and understand - Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man. When the Lord had delivered this parable, the disciples came to him and said, Knowest thou that the Pharisees were offended, after they heard this saying? But he answered and said, Every plant, which my heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up. The Lord's Father in heaven is the Lord himself as to his divine love or goodness; and no good in the human mind but that derived from the Divine Good can remain, but must, in the judgement, be rooted up. "There is none good but one, that is God." From the one Good all real good is derived, as a stream from its fountain, as a branch from its parent stem: and the stream must dry up, and the branch must wither, that has not its source or its root in the Divine Love.
13But he answered and said, Every plant, which my heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up.
13. See Chapter V., 16. E. 254.
13, 14. A pit signifies falsity, and the blind those who are in, falsities. A. 4728.
14Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.
15Then answered Peter and said unto him, Declare unto us this parable.
16And Jesus said, Are ye also yet without understanding?
14. A pit is falsity. The blind man is one who is in erroneous ideas, and falling into a pit is perverting truth. A. 9086.
By the blind in the Word are meant they who are without truths, either from the lack of them in the church, and thus from ignorance, or from the non-understanding of them. R. 210.
As long as the understanding is held captive under obedience to faith, or the understanding is removed from seeing the truths of the church, theology becomes nothing but a thing of the memory, and a thing of the memory only is dissipated, as everything is, when separated from judgment, and perishes from its obscurity.
R. 914.
By them who do not see, are understood those who are without the church, and do not know truths, because they have not the Word, thus the Gentiles, but by them who see, those who are within the church and have the Word, thus the Jews. The latter said, "We see," for they were in the church where the Word was, and yet were not willing to see and acknowledge truths, thus neither the Lord. Hence it is that the scribes and Pharisees among the Jews are called by the Lord, Blind leaders of the blind. E. 239.
This the Lord said to the scribes and Pharisees, who, although they had the Word in which are all Divine truths, yet understood nothing of truth. They taught falsities and their falsities were also believed by the people. The blind in the Word mean those who do not understand truths, and a pit or ditch means what is false. E. 537.
...........................................................................................................................................
COMMENTARY
14. Yet where hypocrisy exists there is no ground to work upon, with the hope of producing reformation, especially when it is considered that evil is united to and defended by what is false. Our Lord therefore said, Let them alone: and added, as a reason, they be blind leaders of the blind. Their blindness was not that of involuntary ignorance, but of voluntary error, or rather deliberate falsification of the truth. A blind understanding led a blind will, and both fell into the pit of infernal falsehood, as the prelude to the pit of everlasting perdition. This is Pharisaic blindness - blindness of understanding and blindness of heart. The understanding is the eye of the mind, and was given as a guide to the will. The light of the body is the eye; but if the eye be not single, and if the light that is in the intellect be darkness, how great is that darkness!
15-16. Then answered Peter and said unto him, Declare unto us this parable. That to which the apostle referred was the parable the Lord had delivered to the multitude in relation to the Pharisees, and which we have passed over, to consider it as our Lord explained it. When the Lord addressed the parable to the people, he prefaced it by saying as he so often did, "Hear and understand" and he now asks the disciples, on whose behalf Peter spoke, Are ye also yet without understanding? And this Divine inquiry is intended, like all that the Lord addresses to his disciples, to awaken in them reflection and self-examination, for the purpose of preparing them understandingly to receive the knowledge they desire to obtain, and dispose them to receive the truth at the Lord's mouth.
17Do not ye yet understand, that whatsoever entereth in at the mouth goeth into the belly, and is cast out into the draught?
17—20. All things whether falsities or evil, which either from the sight, or from hearing flow into the thought of the understanding, and not into the affection of the will do not affect or infect the man. The thought of the man so far as it does not proceed from the affection of his will, is not within the man, but without him, wherefore it is not appropriated to him. The case is the same with respect to truth and good. E. 622.
..........................................................................................................................................
COMMENTARY
17-18. Do not ye yet understand, that whatsoever entereth, in at the mouth, goeth into the belly, and is cast out into the draught? But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man. The lesson which our Lord here teaches is most instructive. The mouth signifies the thought or the thinking faculty, and the heart signifies the will. That which entereth in at the month is everything that enters into the thought from the world; but that which proceeds out of the mouth from the heart is that which the thought expresses from the will. How is it that what enters in at the mouth does not defile, and that what comes forth from the month does? That which enters into the thought, but is not permitted to enter into the will, but is thrust out or rejected as unclean, does not defile the man; only that which is freely chosen, and so admitted into the will, and is thence brought forth into the life, defileth a man This is a truth of very great importance, because of great practical value. It serves as a guide to determine what is sinful and what is not sinful in the operations of the mind. We have two faculties, a will and an understanding and nothing is imputed to us, because nothing becomes our own, till it has obtained the joint consent of both. The understanding is given us to examine and judge whether anything that presents itself from without, or even anything that rises as an impulse from within is good or evil and to tell us whether, therefore, we should accept or reject it. The subject which our Lord speaks of is the admission or rejection of evil. Now, there are many evil suggestions and impure images that obtrude themselves into the thought from the world, both directly and indirectly - both from what we read, and hear, and see, and from what is already in the memory, having entered through the senses. We cannot altogether prevent these entering nor would it be well if we could, for the mind is thereby exercised, and may be perfected. Their entering the thought does not defile us. It gives us the opportunity of discovering their character, of ascertaining whether we like or dislike them, of knowing ourselves, and exercising self-denial, if we are disposed to do so. If we condemn the evils that thus obtrude themselves into our thought, and resist any rising desire they may provoke, that which entered "in at the month goeth into the belly, and is cast out into the draught"-is rejected as unclean, and so separated from the life. The evils which are thus resisted and cast out never enter into the heart, and therefore never came forth out of the mouth, and therefore do not defile the man. They rather tend to purify him: for an evil condemned is a good justified, and an evil refused is a good accepted. This is plainly taught in Mark vii. 14, where it is added that this going out into the draught purges all meats; which evidently means that good of every kind is purified by this exercise of the mind. The understanding is an alembic in which the affections are purified; for, when subjected to the operation of the thoughts, the evil is detected, and may thus be separated from the good to which it adheres, and which it defiles. But, on the other hand, if we admit evil into the will, and bring it forth into the life, this is, indeed, to defile ourselves. In the heart there are inherent tendencies to evil of all kinds. "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked." Such is the testimony of him who made man and knows what is in man. By nature, man is nothing but evil; and if he remains natural, his heart is in the disposition to bring forth those hereditary evils into act. Yet hereditary tendencies to evil are not condemnatory. Inherited evil is involuntary, as in the case of infants and little children, who know not the nature of evil as sin. Before evil can become sin it must have the sanction of the understanding: it must be known to be evil, and to be sin against God. Only the evil that comes forth from the heart through the understanding or the thought is sin in the sight of God. Our Lord, therefore, says those things that proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart. The mouth is the thought, and the things that proceed out of the thought are the things that defile the man. It is not their being in the heart, nor even their coming out of the heart, that defiles the man; but their coming into act out of the heart, with the consent of the understanding, that defiles the man. It is their coming out of the mouth which gives evils their sinful character.
18But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man.
18, 19. What the circumcision and washing of the heart is, the Lord teaches in Matthew. T. 675.
19For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies:
20These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man.
19. Inasmuch as lusts are what come from an evil will, thus from an evil heart, and out of the heart come forth murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, therefore it is said that by not coveting those things which are the neighbours, is signified that one must beware, lest the evils which are included in the preceding commandments become of the will, and so come forth. A. 8910.
...........................................................................................................................................
COMMENTARY
19. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts (or reasonings), murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. The seven general classes of evils here mentioned by the Lord all merit the most profound consideration, especially on account of their connection with each other in their internal sense and signification; for "evil reasonings," which is the first class, denote a perverted state of the will and understanding, through self-love and the love of the world, hence come, secondly, "murders," or the destruction of charity; thirdly, "adulteries," or the perversion of good; fourthly, "fornication," or the perversion of truth fifthly, "thefts," or the claiming to self what belongs to the Lord, sixthly, "false witnessings," or the calling good evil, and evil good seventhly, "blasphemies," or the total rejection of what is divine. What a catalogue of evils is here. These evils exist in the world, and therefore must come forth from the heart, which is their only fountain. And what a corrupt fountain must that be which spontaneously produces them! Yet the sin does not consist in their being there, but in their being allowed to come forth into act.
20. These are the things which defile a man. Whether we consider them as natural or spiritual, they are such sins as pollute the soul; and it may be well to observe that the natural sin is not overlooked or under-rated by attending to the spiritual evil. Indeed, the natural sin is grounded in the spiritual evil, the spiritual being the cause in which the natural originates for the spiritual sense of the Word, properly considered, contains the knowledge of causes, as the literal sense contains the knowledge of effects. The spiritual sense of this series of evils which the Lord enumerates exhibits the evils in their real character. It not only shows that every sin originates in the spirit, but it points out the particular spiritual evil in which every particular sin has its origin and it teaches us further, that the only effectual way to prevent natural sin is to resist the spiritual evil. If they are not rooted out by being resisted from spiritual principle, but they are only restrained by worldly considerations, they remain and defile the man - that is, the inner man, which is the real man; and when he casts off his outer covering, and appears in the eternal world, all his spiritual impurity will be disclosed. These truly are the things that defile a man, but to eat with unwashen, hands defileth not a man "O Jerusalem! wash thine heart from wickedness."
21Then Jesus went thence, and departed into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon
21-29. Well-disposed men are also called sheep. A. 10132.
See Chapter VII., 15. E. 1154.
..........................................................................................................................................
COMMENTARY
21. Then, Jesus went thence, and departed into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon. Tyre and Sidon represented the interior and exterior knowledge of spiritual things, or of things good and true. The description of Tyre in Ezekiel xxviii answers to its representative character. "With thy wisdom and with thine understanding thou hast gotten thee riches, and hast gotten gold and silver into thy treasures. . . . Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering." But as Tyre and Sidon were situated on the borders of Philistia, and were near the sea, they signify knowledges of a relatively external kind. More especially was this the case at the time of the gospel history, for Hiram with his Sidonians, who had hewed wood for the temple, and his Tyrians, who had wrought in brass for it, had been long dead, and the plains were now inhabited by ordinary Gentiles.
22And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil.
23But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us.
22. See Chapter VIII., 16, 28. R. 458.
See Chapter VIII., 16, 28. E. 586.
See Chapter IV., 24. E. 1001.
22-28. See Chapter VIII., 8, X., 13. E. 815.
...........................................................................................................................................
COMMENTARY
22. Behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts (or borders), and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou son of David. This woman was one of these Gentiles; she was not, however, ignorant of the Lord being the promised Messiah, and was therefore actually in possession of the knowledge which Tyre and Sidon represented. She entreated the Lord to have mercy on her, and this she sought for the sake of her daughter, who was grievously vexed with a devil. Her daughter, like the daughters of Canaan mentioned in Genesis xxviii. 8, signify an affection for truth, but from a ground not genuine. By this we mean an affection sincere, but unenlightened - the affection of a well-disposed but uninstructed mind. She comes to Jesus, and appeals to him as the son of David, a name which is expressive of his divine truth, and entreats him to show mercy to her daughter, which spiritually, is to ask that the Divine truth may enter into the human love of truth and goodness, and deliver it from the evil whose presence and power it laments. But the peculiar and interesting part of this miracle is the apparent inattention of the Lord to this loving mother's prayer, and his apparent reluctance to extend his beneficent aid to the poor sufferer. No one who reads this relation with any reverence for the Lord and his Word, can for a moment doubt that there was a purpose - a wise and merciful purpose - in his manner of acting towards the Canaanitish woman; and those who believe in the spirituality of his Word, know that the record contains some hidden spiritual meaning. His seeming inattention to the woman's prayer was no doubt to increase her fervency and her faith. But in the spiritual sense, her being a Gentile furnishes a key to the meaning of the Lord's demeanour towards her being so unusual, and so unlike himself. There is one other instance like it in the New Testament, which serves to account for and explain it. When the Lord was asked by Pilate "What is truth?" he gave him no answer. It has been said that Pilate did not wait for an answer - a human inference for which there is no good ground. The reason the Lord did not answer was that Pilate was a Gentile, and was not in a state to receive a direct answer to his own question. Rather, he represented the Gentiles who have a desire for truth, but have no immediate divine revelation, and cannot therefore be answered without preparation, even by the Word itself. One purpose of what the Lord did when on earth was also to teach his church and people, in all future ages, how their states retard or accelerate the manifestation in them of the love which he ever and infinitely has for them. It is our state that hinders, not his will that holds back, any good thing that we ask or need.
23. When the woman cried to him for mercy, he answered her not a word. How strange soever this may seem, it is plain the Lord intended it only as a trial. He himself knew what he would do. But he also acted in this manner to represent that there are states in which prayers return into our own bosom, and the Divine oracles give out no sound; when some evil or imperfection in our mind prevents, for the time, that communion with the Lord which gives the heart a sense of his love, and the understanding a perception of his truth, which conveys the assurance that he is indeed our deliverer from the power of the devil. If our prayer proccedeth not out of feigned lips, but expresses the real desire of the heart, "importunity" has the promise of ultimate success. To our earnest prayer the Lord may answer us not a word, and yet our redemption may be nigh. When the agonized mother continued to plead with the Lord for her daughter, his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us. The disciples now add their prayers to the petition of the woman; for they wished their Master to do as he was wont - to send the supplicant away with the assurance of a cure. The disciples representing divine truths as revealed in the Word, their beseeching Jesus on the woman's behalf is expressive of the mind's looking to the Lord through the truths of the Word, which have been received and acknowledged. This therefore, is a step in the progress of the regenerate life.
24But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
24. See Chapter X., 40. A. 2397. See Chapter X., 40. A. 6831. See Chapter X., 40. L. 20. See Chapter X., 40. T. 92.
..........................................................................................................................................
COMMENTARY
24. Still, this appeal does not succeed. The mind, though receptive of the truths represented by the disciples, is not yet prepared to receive the Supreme Truth, which the Lord himself is. So he answers, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. The lost sheep of the house of Israel are the spiritual affections of charity which have departed from the fold of the shepherd, or from under the guidance of heavenly truth, which alone can lead them in the way to heaven, which is their true sheep-fold. And to restore these - which was to seek and to save that which was lost - was the object for which the Lord was sent into the world; for divine love sends divine truth to redeem and save. But this affection was in the mind of the supplicant herself, and it was to awaken and draw this affection into connection with himself that the Lord thus addressed her; for in every mind there are some remains of these spiritual affections, and through them the Lord enters the willing mind.
25Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me.
25. See Chapter IX., 18. L. 41.
The woman of Canaan worshipped Him. D. P., Page 46.
..........................................................................................................................................
COMMENTARY
25. When the Lord had uttered these words which, though they do not express a positive denial, give but little ground for hope, Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me. Utterance, though not encouraging, gives more hope than silence. And, indeed, the Lord speaking spiritually describes the voice of truth speaking in the heart. And does not this voice sometimes tell us, in our anguish of spirit, that we are not included in the number of those whom the Lord came to seek and save? But this should not tempt us to utterly despair. To doubt the Lord's mercy may arise from a sense of our own unworthiness; to disbelieve it arises from a denial of the divine perfection. Such doubts, when they arise in the minds of the penitent, only stimulate them to more earnest and persistent prayer, with the persevering use of all other means. The woman, who had followed the Lord, now comes before him and worships him, entreating his help. Thus his seeming refusal to cure her daughter only increased the depth of her humiliation and the earnestness of her prayer.
26But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it to dogs.
27And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters' table.
26, 27. In this passage by dogs are signified those who were out of the church, and by sons those who were within the church. A. 9231.
26-28. A dog signifies the lowest of all, or those who are of menial position in the church, also those who are out of the church, also those who prate much about the things of the church and understand little. Here by children are meant those who are within the church, and by dogs those who are without. A. 7784.
...........................................................................................................................................
COMMENTARY
26. Still, these deep movings of the spirit within her do not bring her the desired relief. He answered and said, It is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it to dogs. Literally, this sounds somewhat harsh in our ears; yet we know how much tenderness there may and must have been in the tone in which it was uttered. Nor does the language itself seem to have been regarded as offensive by her to whom it was addressed. Times and usages give a peculiar sense to such expressions. There is, however, a spiritual ground for its being employed. Those out of the church were called dogs, because dogs correspond to those who are natural, and even sensual, as sheep do to those who are spiritual. Expressing himself in the sacred language of correspondence, the Lord applied this name to the Gentile woman without any purpose of reproach, much less of contempt. "The children's bread" is the good of innocence such as it is in those who are spiritual; and this cannot be given to those who are only in the good innocence such as it is in those who yet natural.
27. But the woman showed, by her willingness to accept the epithet which Jesus had applied to her, that she possessed true humility, and that she acknowledged the truth of his declaration. She therefore said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their master's table. To be content with the crumbs is to be content with the least of the divine mercies - the smallest measure and lowest degree of the good which the Lord bestows for the bread on the table signifies spiritual good, but the crumbs that fall from the table signify natural good, or good in the natural mind from a spiritual origin the crumbs falling from the table, and being eaten under it, expressing the idea of good derived from the internal and appropriated in the external. This was the good therefore, which was adapted to the woman's state, and that which she was content to receive; and so it brought her to a state capable of receiving what she had so perseveringly and trustingly sought.
28Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.
28. See Chapter VIII., 10-13. A. 10083.
..........................................................................................................................................
COMMENTARY
28. When, therefore, she had made this speech, which bespoke as much wisdom as humility, Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou will. Her faith was great, because grounded in humility and love, and confirmed by trial and perseverance; and through that faith her daughter was made whole from that very hour. That very state which brought her mind into conformity with her Saviour's will was that in which her daughter was delivered, and restored to soundness of mind and health of body.
29And Jesus departed from thence, and came nigh unto the sea of Galilee; and went up into a mountain, and sat down there.
30And great multitudes came unto him, having with them those that were lame, blind, dumb, maimed, and many others, and cast them down at Jesus' feet; and he healed them:
29-31. See Chapter XIV., 23. A. 2708.
...........................................................................................................................................
COMMENTARY
29. And Jesus departed from thence, and came nigh, auto the sea of Galilee. From those in the external knowledges of good and truth, he turns or accommodates himself to those who are in a more interior state. And went up into a mountain, and sat down there - the symbol of love - that from the depth and ardency of his love he may dispense the blessings of his goodness, as from the mount he delivered, in his memorable sermon, the lessons of his wisdom.
30. And great multitudes came unto him, having with them those that were lame, blind, dumb, maimed, and many others, and cast them down at Jesus' feet and he healed them. Here, again, these maladies represent the different kinds of spiritual infirmity with which the souls of men are afflicted; the lame, those in whom good and truth are disjoined; the blind, those whose understanding are in ignorance of the truth, or in error; the dumb, those who are not in the acknowledgment of truth and the maimed, those whose faculties and powers are impaired.
31Insomuch that the multitude wondered, when they saw the dumb to speak, the maimed to be whole, the lame to walk, and the blind to see: and they glorified the God of Israel.
31. That the Lord is called the God of Israel, and the God of Jacob is evident from these passages. L. 39.
The multitude glorified the God of Israel.
D. P., Page 46.
...........................................................................................................................................
COMMENTARY
31. The Lord cured the numbers of diseased and afflicted, insomuch, that the multitude wondered, when they saw the dumb to speak, the maimed to be whole, the lame to walk, and the blind to see: and they glorified the God of Israel. The wonder excited in the multitude implies the admiration of the affections, arising from the experience of the Lord's healing and restoring power, and the exaltation in the heart of the Lord in his humanity as the origin of these blessings.
32Then Jesus called his disciples unto him, and said, I have compassion on the multitude, because they continue with me now three days, and have nothing to eat: and I will not send them away fasting, lest they faint in the way.
33And his disciples say unto him, Whence should we have so much bread in the wilderness, as to fill so great a multitude?
32-38. See Chapter XIV., 15-21. E. 340.
See Chapter XIV., 13-21. E. 730.
32 et seq. See Chapter XIV., 15-21. E. 617.
32-39. See Chapter III., 1 et seq. A. 2708.
...........................................................................................................................................
COMMENTARY
32-38. When Jesus had performed these beneficent cures, he turned to the multitude, for the purpose of feeding them. So, when the Lord removes our evils, be communicates his goodness. This miracle resembles that recorded in the previous chapter, and does not require to be explained, further than it contains points of difference. It seems less wonderful than the other, since the number of people was smaller, and the number of loaves was greater. Spiritually, this difference is very significant, and shows at once a reason for this miracle, which some critics are disposed to identify with the other, and the important relation it bears to the first. In the other miraculous feeding of the multitude there were five loaves and five thousand men; here there are seven loaves and four thousand men. The fragments that remained also, though naturally less, are spiritually more. Twelve baskets were gathered up on the former occasion, and seven on this. Now, five signifies remains, and a few; but seven signifies what is holy, and at the same time ample, complete while the number four, like two, signifies conjunction - the conjunction, that is, of the will and the understanding and of goodness and truth. Seven is a holier, if not a more complete number than twelve, and has more relation to a state of good, like the Sabbath, from which its holy signification is derived. The second describes therefore, a more advanced state than the other, and so renders this more complete as the representation of such a state. It is mentioned by the Lord that the multitude had now been with him three days, and had had nothing to eat - three days describing an entire state of truth; that is, the multitude had been led by the Lord through a circle of intellectual instruction and self-denial, meant by their fasting or having nothing to eat, and now they were brought to a state of hungering and thirsting after righteousness, and were about to be filled with good in union with truth.
34And Jesus saith unto them, How many loaves have ye? And they said, Seven, and a few little fishes.
35And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground.
34-38. Seven and seven times signified all things, also what is full. E. 257.
36And he took the seven loaves and the fishes, and gave thanks, and brake them, and gave to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude.
37And they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up of the broken meat that was left seven baskets full.
38And they that did eat were four thousand men, beside women and children.
39And he sent away the multitude, and took ship, and came into the coasts of Magdala.
36. See Chapter XIV., 19. A. 5405.
See Chapter XIV., 19. A. 9416.
...........................................................................................................................................
COMMENTARY
39. When the divine Saviour had sent away the multitude, thus fed with the bread of heaven, he took ship, and came into the coasts of Magdala. This place is famous as the town of that Mary who has become the type, if not the pattern, of all that is most loving and devoted to the Lord. Yet, in reference to the people generally of the place, it has not so exalted a signification, or, rather, the principle it represented is lower in degree than when the name is coupled with that of Mary. Magdala seems to signify a principle of natural good. Mary, who represented celestial good, when called, as she always is, Mary Magdalene, represents celestial good in natural good, or the union of the highest and lowest good, which forms the most perfect state and character. When the Lord went by ship to Magdala, he performed a natural journey, which represented a spiritual progression, by the doctrine of truth, to natural or external good - a progression in the mind which brings his divine truth, and his divine presence and influence, down, by means of knowledge, into the outward life.
AUTHOR: EMANUEL SWEDENBORG (COMPILED BY ROBERT S. FISCHER AND LOUIS G. HOECK 1906)
COMMENTARY AUTHOR: WILLIAM BRUCE (1866)
PICTURES: JAMES TISSOT Courtesy of Brooklyn Museum
|
|
