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Matthew Chapter 10

Chapter X.

1. And calling His twelve disciples, He gave them power over unclean spirits, so as to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every malady.
2. But of the twelve apostles the names are these: first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the [son] of Zebedee, and John his brother;
3. Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the publican; James the [son] of Alpheus, and Lebbeus surnamed Thaddeus;
4. Simon the Canaanite, and Judas the Iscariot, who also betrayed Him.
5. These twelve Jesus sent forth, commanding them, saying, Into the way of the nations, depart you not, and into a city of the Samaritans enter you not.
6. But go you rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
7. And as you go, preach, saying, That the kingdom of the heavens approaches.
8. Heal the infirm, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons; gratuitously you have received, gratuitously give.
9. Provide neither gold, nor silver, nor brass for your girdles;
10. Nor bag for a journey, nor two coats, nor shoes, nor a staff; for the workman is worthy of his meat.
11. And into whatever city or village you enter, enquire who in it is worthy, and there abide until you go thence.
12. And when you come into the house salute it.
13. And if the house be worthy, let your peace come upon it; but if it be not worthy, let your peace return to you.
14. And whoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when you depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet.
15. Verily I say to you, it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgement, than for that city.
16. Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves; be you therefore prudent as serpents, and harmless as doves.
17. But beware of men; for they will deliver you to councils, and will scourge you in their synagogues.
18. And you shall be brought before governors and kings on account of Me, for a witness to them and to the nations.
19. But when they shall deliver you up, be not solicitous how or what ye shall speak, for it shall be given to you in that same hour what you shall speak.
20. For you are not they that speak, but the Spirit of your Father [is] what speaks in you.
21. But brother shall deliver up brother to death, and father, son; and children shall rise up against parents, and cause them to be put to death.
22. And you shall be hated of all for the name of Me; but he that endures to the end, he shall be saved.
23. But when they persecute you in this city, flee into the other, for verily I say to you, You shall not have gone through the cities of Israel until the Son of Man be come.
24. The disciple is not above the master, nor the servant above his lord.
25. It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the servant as his lord. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more them of his household?
26. Fear them not therefore; for there is nothing covered, that shall not be uncovered, and hidden, that shall not be known.
27. What I say to you in the darkness, say you in the light; and what you hear into the ear, preach you on the houses.
28. And he not afraid of them who kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul; but rather be afraid of Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
29. "Are not two sparrows soldfor a farthing, and one of them does not fall to the earth without your Father?
30. But of you even the hairs of the head are all numbered.
31. Be not therefore afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows.
32. Whosoever therefore shall confess in Me before men, I also will confess in him before My Father that [is] in the heavens.
33. But whoever shall deny Me before men, I also will deny him before my Father that [is] in the heavens.
34. Think not that I am come to cast peace upon earth; I am not come to cast peace, but a sword.
35. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.
36. And the man's enemies [shall] be they of his own house.
37. He that befriends father or mother above Me, is not worthy of Me, and he that befriends son or daughter above me, is not worthy of Me.
38. And whoever does not take his cross, and follow after Me, is not worthy of Me.
39. He that finds his soul shall lose it, and he that loses his soul for My sake, shall find it.
40. He that receives you, receives Me, and he that receives Me, receives Him that sent Me.
41. He that receives a prophet in the name of a prophet, shall receive a prophet's reward; and he that receives a just one in the name of a just one, shall receive the reward of a just one.
42. And whoever shall give to one of these little ones to drink a cup of cold [water] in the name of a disciple, verily I say to you, he shall in no wise lose his reward.

EXPOSITION.

Chapter X.

verse 1.When he had called His twelve disciples.- By disciples are meant all who worship the lord, and live according to the truths of His Word. AR 325.

By the disciples of the lord are meant those who are instructed from the lord in the goods and truths of doctrine; but by apostles are meant those, who, after they have been instructed, teach those goods and truths. AR 79.

To be the lord's disciple is to led of the lord, and not of self, thus by goods and truths which are from the lord, and not by evils and falses which are from man. AC 10490.

Verses 5, 6. Go not into the way of the Gentiles, &c. - The way of the Gentiles in which they were not to go, signifies the false derived from evil; the city of the Samaritans which they were not to enter, signifies the false doctrine of those who reject the Lord; the lost sheep of the house of Israel, signify those who are in the good of charity, and thence in faith. AE 223.

The Gentiles to whom they were not to go, denote those who are in evils; the cities of the Samaritans, denote those who are in falses; the lost sheep of the house of Israel, denote those who are in goods. AC 4169.

Verse 8. Cast out demons.-He who invokes faith alone,as the head of his religion, or as his idol, the same, inasmuch as he does not search out any evil in himself which he calls sin, and therefore does not desire to remove it by repentance, abides in it; and as all evil is composed of cravings, and is nothing but a bundle of concupiscences, it follows that he who does not search out any evil in himself, and shun it as a sin against God, which can only be done by repentance, becomes a demon after death. Nothing but such cravings are signified by demons in the following passages: "They sacrifice to demons, not to God." Deut 32:17; Lev 17:7; Ps 106:17. The demons which the Lord cast out, had been such cravings when they lived in the world, concerning which see Matt 8:16, 28; 9:32, 33; 10:8. AR 458.

By the demons cast out by the Lord, by which many were then obsessed, are signified falses of every kind, with which the church was infested, and from which it was liberated by the Lord. AE 580.

Verses 9, 10. Provide neither gold nor silver, &c.-By this was represented that they should have nothing of good and of truth from themselves, but from the Lord alone, and that all things were given gratis. AE 242.

By the above words was represented, that they who are in goods and truths from the Lord, possess nothing of good and truth from themselves, but that all the truth and good which they have is from the Lord; for by the twelve disciples were represented all those who are in goods and truths from the Lord; in the abstract sense all the goods of love and truths of faith from the Lord; goods and truths from self, and not from the Lord, are signified by possessing gold, silver, brass in girdles, and by a bag; but truths and goods from the Lord are signified by a coat, a shoe, and a staff; by a. coat, interior truth, or truth from a celestial principle; by a shoe, exterior truth, or truth in the natural principle; by a staff, the power of truth; but by two coats, two shoes, and two stalls, are signified truths and their powers, as well from the Lord as from self: that they were allowed to have one coat, one pair of shoes, and one staff, is manifest from Mark 6:8,9; and from Luke 9:2, 3. AC 9942.

A coat and a shoe signified the truths with which they were to be clothed, and a staff the power of truth from good; inasmuch as these should not be twofold, but single, therefore the disciples were forbidden to have two staffs, two pair of shoes, and two coats. AC 4677.

Verse 11. Into whatever city or village you enter, &c. - Villages signify the external things of faith, and consequently of the church. The external things of the church are rituals; the internal things are doctrinals, when these are not things of mere science only, but of life. External things were represented by villages, because they were out of cities; but internal things were represented by cities themselves. AC 3270.

Verse 12. When you come into a house salute it, &c. - By saluting the house [or saying peace], is signified that they might know whether the inhabitants would receive the Lord, and those who evangelized concerning the Lord, and thence concerning heaven, heavenly joy, and eternal life, for all those things are signified by peace; and they who received are meant by the sons of peace, upon whom peace would rest; but that peace would be taken away from them, if they did not acknowledge the Lord, and thence did not receive those things which are of the Lord, or which are of peace, is signified by the words, "If the house or city be not worthy, your peace shall return upon you:" lest on such occasion they should be hurt by the evils and falses which were in that house, or in that city, it was commanded that on going out they should shake off the dust of their feet, by which is signified, lest what is damned should thence adhere; for by the dust of the feet is signified what is damned, inasmuch as the ultimate principle appertaining to man, which is the natural sensual principle, corresponds to the soles of the feet, and because evil adheres to this principle, therefore with those who were in the representatives of the church, as the generality at that time were, it was customary to shake off the dust of the feet when the truths of doctrine were not received; for in the spiritual world, when any good [spirit] comes to the evil, evil from the latter flows in, and in some measure disturbs; but it only disturbs the ultimate principles, which correspond to the soles of the feet; hence when they turn themselves and go away, it appears as if they shake off the dust of their feet backwards, which is a proof that they are liberated, and that the evil adheres to those who are in evil. AE 365. See also C.S.L.394. HH 284-290.

Shake off the dust of your feet.-Inasmuch as dust signified those who did not look to things spiritual and celestial, but to things corporeal and terrestrial, therefore it was commanded by the Lord to His disciples, that if a city or a house was not worthy, they should shake off the dust of their feet. AC 249. See also AC 1748, 3148.

Verse 16. It shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah, &c. - The reason is, because by Sodom and Gomorrah are meant those who are in evil of life, but who have known nothing concerning the Lord and concerning the Word, thus neither could they receive; hence it may be manifest that a house or city is not meant, which would not receive the disciples, but that they are meant who are within the church, and do not live the life of faith; every one may see that a whole city could not be damned on that account, namely, because they did not receive the disciples, and instantly acknowledge the new doctrine which they preached. AC 7418. See also AC 2220. AE 653.

Sodom and Gomorrah.-By Sodom is signified the evil of self-love, and by Gomorrah the false principle derived from that evil. AC 2239.

Verse 16. Be you therefore prudent as serpents, &c. - They are called prudent who are in good, cunning who are in evil, for prudence is of truth derived from good, and cunning is of the false derived from evil: and whereas the above words are spoken to those who are in good, therefore by serpents, in that passage, may also be understood prudence. AE 581.

By serpent, amongst the most ancient [people], who were celestial men, was signified circumspection, thus, in like manner, the sensual principle by which they exercised circumspection, lest they should be hurt by the evil; which signification is manifest from the Lord's words to the disciples, "Behold I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves; be you therefore prudent as serpents, and harmless as doves." AC 197. See also AC 3900, 6398.HH 278. DP 310. AR 455.

Verse 17. And shall scourge you in their synagogues.- Inasmuch as the Jews taught in their synagogues, therefore by synagogue is signified doctrine. AR 97.

Verse 18. You shall be brought before governors and kings, &c. - Kings signify the truths of the Word, and governors its goods. AE 811.

He who knows that by the disciples of the Lord are understood all who are in truths derived from good from the Lord, and in the abstract sense the truth's themselves from good, and that by their being cast into the custody of the devil, is understood the endeavour of those who are in falses from evil to deprive them of truths, and in the sense abstracted from persons, a detention and imprisonment of truth by falses, as was said above, may understand what is signified in Matt 10:17, 18. AE 122.

Verse 21. But brother shall deliver up brother, &c. - By parents, brethren, children, and friends, are not here meant parents, brethren, children, relations and friends, nor by disciples are meant disciples, but the goods and truths of the church; and evils and falses; and that evils are about to extinguish goods, and falses truths. AE 366.

Seeing that a spiritual marriage gives birth to no other offspring, a male offspring denoting truth and good in the understanding, and thence in the thought; and a female offspring denoting truth and good in the will, and thence in the affections; therefore by a son in the Word, is signified truth. By way of confirmation, some passages shall be adduced, from which this may in some measure be seen. Matt 10:21. AE 543.

By the above words is signified that falses and evils are about to combat against truths and goods, and vice versa, which is effected when man comes into temptations and is reformed; this combat is signified by division and insurrection; the father being divided against the son, and the son against the father, signifies that evil is about to combat against truth, and truth against evil, father denoting the evil, which is the proprium of man, and son denoting the truth which man has from the Lord; that the lust of the false would fight against the affection of truth, and the affection of truth against the lust of the false, is signified by the mother being divided against the daughter, and the daughter against the mother, the mother denoting the lust of the false, and the daughter the affection of truth. AE 724. See also AC 3703.

Verse 22. You shall be hated of all for the name of Me.- For the name of Me denotes for the sake of My doctrine. AC 2009.

But he that endures to the end, &c. - That he who is once converted ought to remain in good and truth to the end of life, is taught by the Lord in these words. DP 231.

Inasmuch as by the name of God is signified the all of, worship, that is, the all of love and faith, whereby He is worshiped, it is evident hence what is meant by these words in the Lord's prayer, "Hallowed be Your Name." Matt 6:9, and by those words of the Lord, "You shall be hated of all men for My name's sake." Matt 10:22. AC 2724.

Verse 23. When they persecute you in one city, &c. - By city is here meant the doctrine of the false grounded in evil; that the doctrine of truth would not be admitted where the doctrine of such false is, is meant by their flying into another city if they were persecuted in one. AE 223.

Verses 24, 25. The disciple is not above his master, &c. - By these words, in the universal sense, is meant that man ought not in comparison to make himself equal to the Lord, and that it is sufficient for him that he has every thing that he possesses from the Lord, and in this case the disciple is as the master, and the servant as the Lord, for in this case the Lord is in him, and makes him to will what is good and to think what is true; disciple having relation to what is good, and servant to what is true: the case is similar in the particular sense, viz., as relating to every individual man who is led of the Lord; the external or natural man with such a one is a disciple and servant, and the internal and spiritual man is a master and lord; and when the external or natural man serves the internal or spiritual, by obeying and affecting, in this case he is also as a master and a lord, for they act in unity, as it is said of the principal and the instrumental causes, that they act as one cause: this particular sense coincides in this respect with the universal sense, that when the spiritual and natural man act in unity, then the Lord Himself acts, for the spiritual man acts nothing of himself, but what he acts, he acts solely from the Lord; for so far as the spiritual man is open [for he is opened into heaven], so far he does not act ofhimself, but from the Lord. AE 409.

Verse 20. There is nothing covered which shall not be uncovered, &c. - That the evil, before they are damned and sent into hell, undergo so many states, is a thing altogether unknown in the world; it is believed that man is immediately either damned or saved, and that this is done without any process; but the case is altogether otherwise; justice there reigns, and no one is damned until he himself knows, and is inwardly convicted, that he is in evil, and that he cannot at all be in heaven; his evils are also opened to him, according to the Lord's words in this verse, There is nothing covered, &c., and what is still more, he is also admonished to desist from evil, but when he cannot do this by reason of the dominion of evil, then the power of doing evil by falsifications of truth and pretences of good, is taken away from him, which is effected successively from one degree to another, and at length follows damnation and letting down into hell. AC 7795.

Verse 28. Be not afraid of them who kill the body, &c. - By fearing is here signified to have fear lest they should spiritually die, consequently natural fear, which is dread and consternation; but spiritual fear is holy fear, which is in every spiritual love variously according to the quality of the love, and according to its quantity; in this fear is the spiritual man; he also knows that the Lord does not do evil to any one, still less destroy any one as to body and soul in gehenna, but that He does good to all, and that He is willing to raise every one as to body and soul to Himself into heaven; hence his fear is a holy fear, lest by evil of life and by false doctrine he should avert that Divine Love in himself, and thereby hurt it; but natural fear is dread, consternation, and terror, on account of dangers, punishments, and thus on account of hell, which fear is in every corporeal love, also variously according to the quality of the love, and according to its quantity; the natural man, who has this fear, knows no other than that the Lord does evil to the evil, condemns them, casts into hell, and punishes, and hence it is that the evil are afraid of and dread the Lord. AE 696. See also AC 2826, 6071, 9033.

By fearing in this passage is signified the fear of spiritual death, consequently natural fear, which is fearfulness and dread; but spiritual fear is holy fear, which is inwardly in all spiritual love, and is various according to the quality of the love, and according to the quantity thereof; in this fear the spiritual man is principled, who also knows that the Lord cannot do evil to any one, much less destroy any one, as to soul and body in hell, but that He does good to all, and that He wills to raise up every one as to body and soul into heaven to Himself; hence the fear of the spiritual man is a holy fear, lest by evil of life and by false doctrine he should avert that Divine Love in himself, and so hurt it; but natural fear is a fearfulness, dread, and terror, of dangers, punishment, and thus of hell, which fear is inwardly in all corporeal love, and also is various according to the quality of the love, and according to the quantity thereof; the natural man who is in such fear, does not know otherwise than that the Lord doeth evil to the evil, condemns them, casteth into hell, and punishes, and hence it is that such persons fear and dread the Lord; in this fear were most of the Jewish and Israelitish nation, by reason that they were natural men; hence it is that mention is so frequently made in the Word of being afraid and trembling before Jehovah. AE 696.

Verse 30. The hairs of your head are all numbered, &c. - Hereby is signified that all things and the minutest particulars in man [are numbered], because ultimate things, such as the hair, the beard, &c., signify all things, or the whole. AC 10044.

Verses 34, 35, 36, 37. Think not that I am come to send peace upon earth, &c. - The subject here treated of is concerning spiritual combats, which are temptations, and which they are to undergo who are about to be regenerated, thus concerning the disagreements appertaining to man on the occasion, between the evils and falses which are with him from hell, and the goods and truths which are from the Lord with him; inasmuch as those combats are here described, therefore it is said, whoever does not take up his cross, and follow after Me, is not worthy of Me; for by cross is signified the state of man in temptations: he who does not know that such things are signified by a man, and a father, by a daughter, and a mother, by a daughter-in-law, and a father-in-law, will believe that the Lord came into the world, that He might take away peace in houses and families, and might induce disagreement, when yet He came that He might give peace, and take away disagreements, according to His own words in John 14:27, and elsewhere: that the disagreement of the internal and external man is here described, is manifest from the signification of a man, and a father, of a daughter, and a mother, of a daughter-in-law, and a father-in-law, in the internal sense; in which sense man denotes the good which is from the Lord; father the evil which is from the proprium of man; daughter the affection of good and truth; mother the affection of evil and the false; daughter-in-law the truth of the church adjoined to its good; and father-in-law the false adjoined to its evil: and whereas thus the combat is described between goods and evils, and between falses and truths belonging to man, therefore it is also said, that a man's enemies shall be they of his own house; by those of his own house are signified those which appertain to the man, thus those things which are proper to him as his own; and enemies, in the spiritual sense, are the evils and falses which assault goods and truths. AC 10490. See also AC 4848.

Verse 37. He that befriends father or mother more than Me, &c. - By father and mother are signified, in general, the things which are of man's proprium derived from what is hereditary; and by son and daughter the things which are of man's proprium derived from what is actual: a total submission is meant by the above words. AC 6138.

Verse 38. He that takes not his cross, &c. - The subject here treated of is concerning the temptations, which they who are of the church, and are called the Lord's disciples, undergo; those temptations are signified by the cross which they are to take up. AC 4599.

By taking up the cross is signified the fighting against cravings. DLife 66.

But as to what concerns temptations, which are also here understood by patience, they are spiritual temptations, which they undergo who receive genuine charity from the Lord, for they have to fight against evils which from nativity are inherent in every man, and some against falses, which from childhood they have imbibed from masters and preachers concerning faith alone; these falses and these evils are removed by combats of temptations: this is what is understood by the cross in the following passage, Matt 10:38. AE 893. That they who are of the church must undergo temptations, is meant by what the Lord said in Matt 10:38, 39. AC 8159.

Verse 39. He that finds his soul shall lose it, &c. - Soul in this passage, denotes the life of faith such as appertains to those who believe; and in the opposite sense the life not of faith, such as appertains to those who do not believe. AC 9050. See also AR 639.TCR 532.

By soul is here meant the life of man's proprium, which also is the life of the flesh, which is of no profit. DLife 99.

By loving their lives, is signified to love self and the world, for by the lives is signified man's own life, which every one has by birth, which consists in loving himself and the world above all things; therefore by not loving their lives is signified not to love self and the world more than the Lord and the things which are of the Lord; to death, signifies to be willing to die rather; consequently it is to love the Lord above all things, and our neighbour as one's self. Matt 22:35-38; and to be willing to die rather than recede from those two loves. The same is signified by those words of the Lord, "He that findeth his life, shall lose it, and he that loses his life for the sake of Jesus shall find it." Matt 10:39. AR 556.

Verses 41, 42. He that receives a prophet in the name of a prophet, &c. - He who is not acquainted with the internal sense of the Word, cannot know what is signified by receiving a prophet in the name of a prophet, a just one in the name of a just one, and a disciple of the Lord in the name of a disciple; and that they will receive reward according to reception. Without that sense, who knows what is signified by receiving any one in His name? But they who are in the internal sense, do not attend to person, but to the thing which person signifies, thus not to a disciple, nor to a prophet, but to the things which disciple and prophet signify; disciple in the internal sense signifies truth of life, but prophet truth of doctrine; in the name of any one signifies on account of his quality; hence it is evident what is signified by these words of the Lord, namely, that they who love truth for the sake of truth, and who love to do the truth for the sake of the truth, love the Lord, and receive heaven in themselves; for the reward which is from the Lord is the affection of truth for the sake of truth, and in the affection of truth for the sake of truth there is heaven. AC 10683.

No one can understand the above words, unless he knows what is signified by a prophet, by a just one, by a disciple, and by little ones; also what by receiving them in their name; by a prophet in the abstract sense is signified the truth of doctrine, by a disciple the good of doctrine, by a just one the good of life; and by receiving them in their name is signified to receive them from the love of them; thus by receiving a prophet in the name of a prophet is signified to love the truth of doctrine because it is truth, or to receive truth for the sake of truth; by receiving a just one in the name of a just one is signified to love good and to do it because it is good, thus to receive it from the Lord out of love or affection of heart, for he who loves those things for their own sake, loves them by virtue of them, thus from the Lord from whom they proceed; and inasmuch as he does not love them for the sake of himself and the world, he spiritually loves them, and all spiritual love remains with man after death, and gives eternal life; to receive a reward signifies to carry that love along with him, and hence to receive the blessedness of heaven. To give to one of those little ones to drink a cup of cold [water] in the name of a disciple signifies to love innocence from innocence, and by virtue thereof to love good and truth derived from the Word, and to teach them; to give to drink a cup of cold [water] signifies to love and teach from a little innocence; little ones signify the innocent and abstractedly innocence; to give little ones water to drink signifies to teach truths from spiritual innocence, and also to teach truths to the innocent. AE 624. See also AC 9263.

By the above words is meant that every one will receive heaven and its joy accordingto the affection of truth and good, and according to obedience, for on those affections are inscribed all things of heaven, for no one has those affections except from the Lord, and it is the Divine Proceeding from Him, in which and from which is heaven. By giving to drink a cup of cold [water] to one of the little ones in the name of a disciple, is meant to do good and to teach truth from obedience, for by water is signified truth in affection, and by cold, truth in obedience; for obedience alone is a natural affection, and not spiritual, wherefore it is respectively cold. AE 695. See also DP 230.AE 8.

To receive a prophet in the name of a prophet, and a just one in the name of a just one, and to give to drink in the name of a disciple, signifies to love the truth for the sake of truth, good for the sake of good, and to exercise charity from the faith of truth; for by a prophet is signified truth, and by a just one is signified good, and by disciple is signified good from truth, and to give to drink of cold water is to exercise charity from obedience; in the name of them denotes for the sake of their quality, thus for the sake of those things. AE 102. See also AE 695.

TRANSLATOR'S NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS.

Chapter X.

verse 1. Every disease and every malady.-See note at chapter iv. verse 23.

Verse 2. But of the twelve apostles, the names are these, &c. - It is remarkable that the twelve apostles are mentioned in a different order, and are also described under different names, by the three Evangelists, Matthew, Mark, and Luke. The order and the names as given by each Evangelist, will appear from the following table:-

It is remarkable that in all the three orders in the above table, Simon Peter stands the first, and Judas Iscariot the last, and that Philip and Bartholomew and James of Alpheus have the same place in all. What is the mysterious ground of the other varieties in the above orders must remain an unknown arcanum, until it shall please the omniscient Lord to reveal it to us. Suffice it, in the mean time, to be assured, that the variety has a ground or cause which, if it was discerned, would be seen to originate in that most profound and adorable wisdom by which the Sacred Scriptures were dictated. Our enlightened expositor observes that a similar variety has place in regard to the order of the twelve tribes of Israel, wherever they are mentioned in the Old Testament and the Apocalypse, and that the variety in this case is founded in the deepest wisdom, but such as no angel is able fully to comprehend. See AC 6687, 6640.

The reader will observe from the above table, that the apostle who is called Lebbeus surnamed Thaddeus by Matthew, and Thaddeus by Mark, is called Judas of James by Luke, which difference of names is by some accounted for from this consideration, that the Greek term Thaddaios, which is rendered Thaddeus,is a different inflection of the name of 'Ioudas, or Judas, to distinguish this apostle from Iscariot; and by others it is supposed, that Lebbeus and Thaddeus were but characteristic names of Judas, for the same purpose of distinction.

Verse 9. Provide neither gold, nor silver, nor brass for your girdles.-What is here rendered girdles is called in the common version of the New Testament purses; but in the original Greek it is expressed by zonas, which literally means girdles, in which indeed they were wont to wrap up their money; and in this view the girdle may be regarded as a sort of purse.

Verse 14. Whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, &c. - This passage presents another instance of respect to the heavenly marriage, according to which the Lord continually spoke: for to receive the disciples, is to admit truth into the understanding; to hear their words, is to admit good into the will.

Verse 16. Be you therefore prudent as serpents, and harmless as doves.-The attentive reader will here again remark the heavenly marriage of truth and good so frequently spoken of above; the prudence of the serpent having relation to the former, and the harmlessness of the dove to the latter.

Verse 17. They will deliver you to councils, and will scourge you in their synagogues.-Although we are not informed of the precise distinction, in the internal sense, between councils and synagogues, yet as we know that synagogues signify doctrine(See AR 97), we may hence conclude that councils have more respect to life, and thus that being delivered to councils, denotes opposition to the life of good, and being scourged in synagogues, denotes opposition to the doctrine of truth, and both together denote the infernal marriage.

Verse 18. You shall be brought before governors and kings.- This passage affords another proof of the reference to marriage, according to which the Sacred Scriptures are written; for governors in a good sense signify goods, and in an opposite sense evils; in like manner kings in a good sense signify truths, and in the opposite sense falses.

Verse 19. In that same hour, &c. - In the original it is expressed en ekeine te ora, which literally means in that the hour.

Verse 23. When they persecute you in this city, &c. - The internal meaning appears to be this, that when man is opposed

in the doctrine of faith, he ought to take refuge in the doctrine of charity, and when he is opposed in this latter, he should then have recourse to the former; in other words, when he is opposed in truth, he should flee to good, and when opposed in good, he should seek refuge in truth. This alternation is of the Divine Providence, and is probably intended for the perfecting of each principle in the regeneration, since without it man might be induced to rest too much in one principle separate from the other, or to cherish one at the expense of the other, whereas the end of regeneration is that they be both distinctly perfected, and both distinctly conjoined.

Verse 23. You shall not have gone through the cities of Israel until the Son of Man be come.-The expression here rendered gone through is in the original telesete, which literally signifies have finished, or made an end of, or have perfected. In the internal sense therefore, when applied to the doctrinals of the church signified by the cities of Israel, it may denote the consummation and perfecting of those doctrinals, and in proportion as this is effected, the Son of Man comes, or what is the same thing, Truth Divine is manifested, therefore it is said, "You shall not have gone through the cities of Israel until the Son of Man be come."

Verse 24. The disciple is not above the master, nor the servant above his lord.-Mention is here made of disciple and servant,also of master and lord, to denote the heavenly marriage so often spoken of above; disciple and lord, having respect to good in the will, both the human will and the divine, whilst servant and master,have respect to truth in the understanding, servant to external truth, and master to internal.

Verse 26. Then is nothing covered, that shall not be uncovered, and hidden, that shall not be known.-Two distinct expressions, covered and hidden, also uncovered and known, are here again adopted, to mark the distinct spiritual principles to which they refer, and thus to denote the marriage, to which the Lord has continual respect in His Holy Word.

Verse 27. What I say to you in darkness, say you in light, &c. - It is remarkable that the term I say, is here expressed by the Greek lego, whereas the term say you, is expressed by the Greek eipate, from whence it appears that eipo is a term of more interior signification than lego. For what the Lord said to His disciples in darkness had respect to the Word in the letter which is in darkness,comparison with the Word in the spirit; whereas His injunction to the disciples to say in light, has respect to the spirit or internal sense of the Word, for the internal sense, compared with that of the letter, is light. The injunction is in force at this day, and ought to suggest an important caution to all teachers, to suffer the external Word to be opened, as to its spiritual sense, in their own understandings, before they attempt to teach others, lest what they have received in darkness, should be communicated in darkness, and not in light.

Verse 27. What you hear into the ear, preach you on the houses. - This is another very striking injunction to all who receive the eternal Word, and is in connection with the former part of the verse, what I say to you in darkness, say you in light, denoting a more interior reception of the truth in the heart or will, when it begins to affect the love and the life, for this is signified by hearing into the ear. The law in such case is that it should be preached on the houses, in other words, that it should be suffered to have the dominion over all the affections and thoughts of the mind, which are the houses, so as to govern and control them according to its sanctifying and saving spirit. It is absolutely impossible to make any rational sense or meaning of what is contained in this verse, unless it be interpreted according to a sense above that of the letter, and therefore the whole verse proves to a demonstration, that the Lord had a view to something more than the letter, yet contained in the letter, in what He there says.

That the Lord, in the former part of the above verse, applies the terms lego and eipo, to express distinct ideas, may be concluded from a similar passage in John 12:49, 50, where He says, "The Father has given Me commandment what I shall say (ti eipo), and what I shall speak (ti laleso); whatever I speak (lalo) therefore, as the Father has said (eipeke)to Me, so I speak (lalo)." In this passage a manifest distinction is made between saying (eipo) and speaking (laleo), also between saying (eiro) and speaking (laleo), by which distinction it appears that there are three degrees of speech, and that eiro,as being applied to the Father, denotes the inmost degree, eipo the interior degree, and laleo the outermost or lowest degree. To illustrate the distinction of the degrees of speech, it may be sufficient to observe that man speaks from the highest degree when he speaks from his will or love, from the second degree, when he speaks from his understanding or thought, and from the lowest degree when he speaks merely from the memory.

Verse 32. Whosoever therefore shall confess in Me before men, I also will confess in him, &c. - In the common version of the New Testament the in, here inserted, is omitted, and the passage is expressed, whoever shall confess Me; and, again, I also will confess him, but in the original Greek it is written omologesei en emoi, and, again, omologeso kago en auto, which can only be rendered, shall confess in Me, and,I also will confess in him.

The deep ground and reason of this singular mode of expression appears to be this, that no one can properly make confession of the Lord, but in the Lord, that is to say, by abiding in Him through faith and love; neither can the Lord properly make confession of any one, but in Him, that is to say, by abiding in Him, agreeable to His own precept, when He says to His disciples, "Abide in Me, and I in you." John 15:4. It is by this reciprocal act of abiding in each other, that the Lord has conjunction of life with His church, and His church has mutual conjunction of life with the Lord; it is therefore by the same living acts, that the church can alone confess the Lord to be her God, or He confess her to be His Church. It is nevertheless to be understood that the ability, both of conjunction and of confession belonging to man, is solely from the Lord, and nothing at all from man himself.

It deserves further to be considered, that the above words were spoken with respect to their internal spiritual meaning, which appears to be this, that whoever shall acknowledge in heart the Divine Humanity of the Lord, as the alone source of all Divine Truths, shall have conjunction at the same time with the Divine Good, which is here called My Father that [is] in the heavens; in other words, the acknowledgment of the Lord's Divine Humanity, as the only source of the light of truth, if it be sincere, will introduce to the further acknowledgement of Him as the alone source of the love and life of good.

Verse 33. But whoever shall deny Me, &c. - It is remarkable that in this verse the in is omitted, and it is expressed, whoever shall deny Me, and again, I also will deny him, not in him, and the reason is obvious, because as the confession spoken of in the foregoing verse could only be made in consequence of the Lord and His church abiding in each other, so the denial spoken of in this verse is an effect of their not so abiding in each other, and therefore the in is here omitted.

It appears awfully true from the spiritual contents of this verse, that a denial in heart of the Lord's Divine Humanity necessarily leads to a separation from all communication with Good Divine, that is to say, with heaven and its life.

Verse 37. He that befriends father or mother, &c. - What is here rendered befriends, is expressed in the common version of the New Testament by loves; but it deserves to be considered that the original term here used by the Lord is philon, which denotes a degree of regard short of love, this latter degree being always expressed in the original Greek by agapao.That there is a distinction between the two degrees of regard expressed by philo and agapao, is manifest from the remarkable passage in John 21:15, 18, where the Lord three times questions Peter concerning his regard in those tender words, Love you Me? And in the first and second enquiry applies the term agapao,but in the third, the term philo; to each of which enquiries Peter answers by the term philo, and not by agapao, because such is the degree of regard towards the Lord, by which they are influenced, who are represented by Peter: they are more properly friends than lovers,and accordingly so called.

Verse 39. He that finds his soul, &c. - See note at chap. vi. verse 25, and Exposition.

Verse 40. He that receives you, receives Me, &c. - To receive the Apostles is not to receive their persons, but their doctrine,that is to say, the goods and truths which they taught. We learn therefore from this passage, that to receive the goods and truths of the Word is to receive the Divine Humanity of the Lord, and to receive the Divine Humanity of the Lord is to receive the Divine Itself, whence it plainly follows, that all goods and truths of the Word, are not only from the Lord, but are also in continual connection with Him, and indeed are Him.

Verse 41. He that receives a prophet, &c.-In this verse another remarkable instance occurs of reference to the heavenly marriage of truth and good, according to which the Lord continually spake, for to receive a prophet has reference to the reception of heavenly truth in the understanding, and to receive a just one has reference to the reception of heavenly good in the will. In this verse, too, and the succeeding one, another instance occurs of the connection of things in the internal sense, which appear scattered and disjointed in the sense of the letter; for to receive a prophet, to receive a just one, and to give a cup of cold water to a disciple, according to their connected sense, denote the several states of the reception of heavenly life, which distinguish the three heavens, namely, the reception of truth in the love thereof, which constitutes the second or middle heaven; the reception of good in the love thereof, which constitutes the third or inmost heaven; and the reception of truth in obedience, which constitutes the first or lowest heaven.