MATTHEW 19      Other translations  -  previous  -  next  -  meaning  -  Matthew  -  BM Home  -  Full Page

Matthew Chapter 19

    Chapter 19

THE INTERNAL SENSE.

  1. And it came to pass, when Jesus had finished these words, He departed from Galilee, and came into the coasts of Judea, beyond Jordan.
  2. And many multitudes followed Him, and He healed them there.

that the Lord, as to His Humanity, arose out of scientifics into the exterior goods of the church, and introduced heavenly order into those goods. Verses 1, 2.

  1. And the Pharisees came to Him, tempting Him, and saying to Him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause?
  2. But He answering said to them, Have you not read, that He who made [them] from the beginning, made them male and female?
  3. And said, On this account shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife; and the two shall be one flesh.

Teaching from the Word, that every truth has its proper good, and every good its proper truth, and that the understanding of truth ought to be separated from all that is evil and false, that it may be conjoined to the will of good, so that both together may be made one good. Verses 3, 4, 5.

  1. Wherefore they are no longer two, but one flesh. What, therefore, God has yoked together, let no man put to pieces.
  2. They say to Him, Why then did Moses command to give a bill of divorcement, and to put her away?

In which case they are no longer divided, but united in heavenly marriage, agreeably to Divine Order, which is sacred and inviolable. Verse 6.

  1. He says to them, Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, permitted you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so.

And although the external of the Word appears to teach otherwise, yet this is merely in accommodation to the natural mind, which is not qualified to receive a purer law, but it is not according to the original order of god. Verses 8, 9.

  1. But I say to you, That whoever shall put away his wife, except for fornication, and shall marry another, commits adultery; and he who marries her that is put away, commits adultery.

For the order of god requires, that the understanding of truth shall not in any wise separate itself from its proper will of good, so long as that will abides in good, and does not decline to evil; because, in such case, spiritual disorder and defilement ensue. Verse 9.

  1. His disciples say to Him, If the case of the man be so with the wife, it is not expedient to marry.
  2. But He said to them, All do not apprehend this saying, save [they] to whom it is given.

And although this law appears to the natural man to be of difficult observance, yet it is not so to the spiritual and the celestial man. Verses 10, 11.

  1. For there are eunuchs, who were so born from the mother's womb; and there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs of men; and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of the heavens. He that is able to comprehend, let him comprehend.

For the heavenly marriage with the celestial man is effected by the love of truth for its own sake, thus by the lord through love to Him; and with the spiritual man, by truth first received in the memory, and next intellectually in the thought, thus by the lord through the understanding of truth; and with the natural man, by scientifics of truths, and by correspondent good of life, thus by the lord through scientifics of truth; which things can only be comprehended by the intelligent. Verse 12.

  1. Then were there brought to Him little children, that He should put hands upon them, and pray; but the disciples rebuked them.
  2. But Jesus said, Suffer the little children, and forbid them not, to come to Me, for such is the kingdom of the heavens.
  3. And laying hands on them, He departed thence.

That the goods and truths of innocence ought all to be ascribed to the lord, because heaven consists in such acknowledgment, and the lord has communication with those goods and truths. Verses 13, 14, 15.

  1. And behold, one coming said to Him, Good Master, what good shall I do that I may have eternal life?

No one therefore can enter into heaven, unless he acknowledge the lord, even as to His Human Essence, to be the god of heaven, and that from Him is every good which is good, and unless he live also according to the precepts of the decalogue, by abstaining from those evils as sins, which are there forbidden. Verses 16- 22.

  1. But He said to him, Why call you Me good? none is good but One, the God; but if you are willing to enter into the life, keep the commandments.

For the lord alone is good, and the source of good; and the way to attain conjunction of life with Him is to observe His precepts. Verse 17.

  1. He says to Him, Which? but Jesus said, This, you shall do no murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not bear false witness.
  2. Honour your father and mother, and, you shall love your neighbour as yourself.

Which precepts teach that man ought not to destroy or to pervert in himself the life of love and charity, nor to ascribe that life to himself, but to the lord alone, nor to call anything good or true but what is of the lord, thus that he should respect and exalt in himself the Divine Love and Wisdom above every other good and truth, and cherish what is of God in another as in himself. Verses 18, 19.

  1. The young man says to Him, All these things have I kept from my youth; in what am I yet behind?
  2. Jesus said to him, If you are willing to be perfect, go, sell that you have, and give to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven: and come, follow Me.

That these precepts cannot be fulfilled until man removes his heart from riches, fights against cravings, and acknowledges the lord to be god. Verses 20, 21.

  1. But when the young man heard the Word, he went away sorrowing: for he had many possessions.

Which things appear grievous to those who are in the knowledges of truth separate from the good of charity. Verse 22.

  1. But Jesus said to His disciples, Verily I say to you, That a rich man shall with difficulty enter into the kingdom of the heavens.
  2. But again, I say to you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.

Therefore those knowledges, when so separated from life, are rather hindrances to the attainment of conjunction with the lord, since it is contrary to order that sciences or knowledges of themselves, without the life of love and charity, should be introduced into heaven. Verses 23, 24.

  1. But when His disciples heard [it], they were exceedingly amazed, saying, Who then can be saved?
  2. But Jesus looking at said to them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.

Nevertheless they are no hindrances, if the Divine Truth be respected and exalted. Verses 25, 26.

  1. Then Peter answering said to Him, Behold, we have forsaken all and followed You; what therefore shall we have?
  2. But Jesus said to them, Verily I say to you, That you who have followed Me in the regeneration, when the Son of Man shall sit on the throne of His glory, you also shall sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

For all who renounce the corruptions of self-love, and acknowledge the lord, as to His Human Essence, to be god, shall be exalted to communication and conjunction with the lord, in His Divine Truth, and thus to dominion over all inferior goods and truths. Verses 27, 28.

  1. And every one that has put away houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for My name's sake, shall receive an hundred-fold, and shall inherit eternal life.

And all who reject their hereditary evils and falses, through faith and love to the lord's Divine Humanity, shall have eternal conjunction with the lord in the good of His love. Verse 29.

  1. But many that [are ] first shall be last, and the last first.

But they who place merit in their own works, instead of ascribing it to the lord, cannot attain such conjunction. Verse 30.

Chapter XIX.

  1. And it came to pass, when Jesus had finished these words, He departed from Galilee, and came into the coasts of Judea, beyond Jordan.
  2. And many multitudes followed Him, and He healed them there.
  3. And the Pharisees came to Him, tempting Him, and saying to Him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause?
  4. But He answering said to them, Have you not read, that He who made [them] from the beginning, made them male and female?
  5. And said, On this account shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife; and the two shall be one flesh.
  6. Wherefore they are no longer two, but one flesh. What, therefore, God has yoked together, let no man put to pieces.
  7. They say to Him, Why then did Moses command to give a bill of divorcement, and to put her away?
  8. He says to them, Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, permitted you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so.
  9. But I say to you, That whoever shall put away his wife, except for fornication, and shall marry another, commits adultery; and he who marries her that is put away, commits adultery.
  10. His disciples say to Him, If the case of the man be so with the wife, it is not expedient to marry.
  11. But He said to them, All do not apprehend this saying, save [they] to whom it is given.
  12. For there are eunuchs, who were so born from the mother's womb; and there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs of men; and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of the heavens. He that is able to comprehend, let him comprehend.
  13. Then were there brought to Him little children, that He should put hands upon them, and pray; but the disciples rebuked them.
  14. But Jesus said, Suffer the little children, and forbid them not, to come to Me, for such is the kingdom of the heavens.
  15. And laying hands on them, He departed thence.
  16. And behold, one coming said to Him, Good Master, what good shall I do that I may have eternal life?
  17. But He said to him, Why call you Me good? none is good but One, the God; but if you are willing to enter into the life, keep the commandments.
  18. He says to Him, Which? but Jesus said, This, you shall do no murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not bear false witness.
  19. Honour your father and mother, and, you shall love your neighbour as yourself.
  20. The young man says to Him, All these things have I kept from my youth; in what am I yet behind?
  21. Jesus said to him, If you are willing to be perfect, go, sell that you have, and give to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven: and come, follow Me.
  22. But when the young man heard the Word, he went away sorrowing: for he had many possessions.
  23. But Jesus said to His disciples, Verily I say to you, That a rich man shall with difficulty enter into the kingdom of the heavens.
  24. But again, I say to you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.
  25. But when His disciples heard [it], they were exceedingly amazed, saying, Who then can be saved?
  26. But Jesus looking at said to them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.
  27. Then Peter answering said to Him, Behold, we have forsaken all and followed You; what therefore shall we have?
  28. But Jesus said to them, Verily I say to you, That you who have followed Me in the regeneration, when the Son of Man shall sit on the throne of His glory, you also shall sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
  29. And every one that has put away houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for My name's sake, shall receive an hundred-fold, and shall inherit eternal life.
  30. But many that [are ] first shall be last, and the last first.

EXPOSITION.

Chapter XIX.

verses 3-12.And the Pharisees came to Him, tempting Him, and saying to Him, Is it lawful? &c. - That these verses contain interior arcana, may be manifest from the Lord's words, that all do not apprehend these words, but they to whom it is given: the interior arcanum contained in what is here said by the Lord is little apprehended by men, but it is apprehended by all the angels in heaven; the reason is, because the latter perceive those words of the Lord spiritually, and the arcana contained in them are spiritual, being to this effect: in the heavens there are marriages equally as on the earth, but in the heavens, marriages are made of like with like, for the man (vir) is born to act from understanding, but the woman from affection; and understanding with men, is the understanding of truth and good; and affection with women, is the affection of truth and good; and whereas all understanding derives life from affection, therefore they are there coupled together as the affection which is of the will is coupled with a correspondent thought which is of the understanding; for understanding with everyone is various, as the truths are various from which it is formed. In general, there are celestial truths, there are spiritual truths, there are moral truths, there are civil truths, yea, there are natural truths, and of every truth there are innumerable species and varieties; and whereas it hence comes to pass, that the understanding of one is in no case like that of another, nor the affection of one like the affection of another, therefore to the intent that understanding and affection may nevertheless act in unity, they are so coupled together in heaven, that the correspondent affection of the woman is conjoined with the correspondent understanding of the man, hence it is that each has life from the correspondence, full of love. Inasmuch now as two various affections cannot correspond to one understanding, hence in heaven it is in no case given, nor can be given, that one man shall have more wives than one; from these considerations it may be seen and concluded what is also spiritually meant by the above words of the Lord; as what is meant by a man leaving father and mother and cleaving to his wife, and their becoming one flesh, namely, that a man shall leave that evil and false, which appertains to him in a religious view, and which denies his understanding, thus which he has from father and mother, and that his understanding, being separated from them, shall be conjoined with the correspondent affection of the wife, whence the two become one affection of truth and good. This is meant by the one flesh, which the two shall be, for flesh, in the spiritual sense, signifies the good which is of love or affection; wherefore they are no longer two, but one flesh, signifies that thus the understanding of good and truth, and the affection of good and truth, are not two, but one, in like manner as will and understanding indeed are two, but still one, in like manner also as truth and good, likewise faith and charity, which indeed are two, but still one, namely, when truth is of good, and good is of truth, also when faith is of charity, and charity is of faith. Hence likewise conjugial love is derived. The reason why Moses, on account of hardness of heart, permitted to put away a wife for every cause, was, because the Israelites and Jews were natural and not spiritual, and they who are merely natural are hard of heart, because they are not in any conjugial love, but in lascivious love, such as is that of adultery. The reason why whoever shall put away a wife, except for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery, is because fornication signifies what is false, and with the woman the affection of evil and the false, thus an affection which in no sort agrees with the understanding of truth and good; and because, from that disagreement, conjugial love altogether perishes, which is the love of truth and good, and hence heaven and the church altogether perish with man. For when interior conjunction, which is that of minds [mentes], and of minds [animi], is annulled, marriage is dissolved: the reason why he who marries her that is put away, also commits adultery, is, because by her that is put away on account of fornication, is meant the affection of evil and the false, as above, which is not to be coupled with any understanding of truth and good, for hence the understanding is perverted, and also becomes an understanding of what is false and evil, and the conjunction of what is false and evil is spiritual adultery, as the conjunction of truth and good is spiritual marriage.

The reason why the Lord afterwards spoke concerning eunuchs, was, because the disciples said, "If the case be so of a man with a wife, it is not expedient to marry," and because marriages with the Jewish nation, which was hard of heart, in consequence of being in falses derived from evil, were not marriages but adulteries, as understood in the spiritual sense, wherefore also that nation was called by the Lord an adulterous nation; on which account the Lord spoke concerning eunuchs, by whom are meant those who are not willing to enter into marriage, that is, to be conjoined with the affection of evil, because thus the understanding of truth and of good would be perverted and dissipated. Thus by eunuchs are meant both the married and unmarried, with whom the understanding of truth and of good is conjoined with the affection of truth and good : the reason why they are called eunuchs, is because they have no lasciviousness, such as appertains to those, who from hardness of heart, in which the Jews were, married several wives, and divorced each of them upon every occasion. It is first to be noted, that the marriage of the understanding of truth and of good with the affection of truth and of good, is in general from a three-fold origin, and hence in a three-fold degree. In the supreme degree is the marriage of those who are called celestial; in an inferior degree, of those who are called spiritual; and in the lowest degree, of those who are natural, for there are so many degrees of the interiors of man; hence there are three heavens, and they who are in the supreme heaven are called celestial, they who are in the inferior heaven are called spiritual, and they who are in the lowest are called natural. The marriage of the understanding of truth and of good with the affection of truth and of good, amongst the celestial, is meant by eunuchs who have been born eunuchs from the mother's womb, by reason that they, during regeneration, receive truths immediately in the life by the love of them, hence it is that they know truths from the truths themselves; their regeneration by the Lord, through love to Him, is signified by being made eunuchs in the womb, thus without the lasciviousness of adultery; but the marriage of the understanding of truth and of good with the affection of truth and of good, amongst the spiritual, is meant by eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by men, for these are not regenerated in the womb, that is, by love, but by truths first received in the memory, and next intellectually in the thought, and thus, lastly, in the life, by a certain spiritual affection; these are said to be made eunuchs of men, because they are reformed by the understanding grounded in the memory, and man signifies that understanding; as also above, where mention is made of man and wife. But the marriage of the understanding of truth and of good with the affection of truth and of good, amongst the natural, is meant by eunuchs who made themselves eunuchs; for the natural, by knowledges and sciences, procure to themselves natural light, and by good of life, according to those sciences, they procure affection, and thence conscience, and because they know no other than that they themselves do this, (for the natural man does not enjoy intelligence like the spiritual man, nor perception like the celestial man), hence it is that they are those who make themselves eunuchs, but it is so said from the appearance and from the obscure faith belonging to them. These, therefore, are the things that are meant by being made eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of God; and whereas few comprehend these things, it is said by the Lord, "He who is able to apprehend, let him apprehend." AE 710.

That a Christian, who marries more wives than one, commits natural adultery, is agreeable to the Lord's words, "That it is not lawful to put away a wife, because from the beginning they were created to be one flesh; and that he who puts her away without just cause, and marries another, committeth adultery;" thus much more, he who does not put away, but retains a wife, and superinduces another. This law, enacted by the Lord concerning marriages, derives its internal ground from spiritual marriage; for whatever the Lord spoke in itself was spiritual: which is meant by these words, "The words that I speak to you are spirit and are life." John 6:63. The spirituality contained in it is this, that by polygamical marriage in the Christian world, the marriage of the Lord and the church is profaned; in like manner the marriage of good and of truth; and besides these, the Word is profaned, and with the Word, the church, and the profanation of those things is spiritual adultery. C.S.L. 339.

Genuine conjugial love cannot possibly be given except between two conjugial partners, that is, in the marriage of one man and of one wife, and in no case between more at the same time, by reason that conjugial love is mutual and reciprocal, and the life of the one party is in that of the other, reciprocally, so that they are as it were one. Such union is given between two, but not between more, for more cut to pieces that love. The men of the most ancient church, who were celestial, and in the perception of good and of truth, as the angels, had only one wife; they said that with one wife they perceived celestial delights and happiness, and that they were struck with horror when only mention was made of several conjugial partners; for the marriage of one husband and one wife descends, as was said, from the marriage of good and truth, or from the heavenly marriage, which is of the above quality, as may appear manifest from the Lord's words in Matt 19:3-12. AC 2740.

Verses 4, 5, 6. Have you not read that he who made them from the beginning, made them male and female? &c. - That there was implanted in the man and the woman, from creation, the inclination, and also the faculty of conjunction as into one, and that each is still in the man and the woman, is manifest from the book of creation, and at the same time from the Lord's words. In the book of creation, which is called Genesis, it is written: "Jehovah God built the rib, which He had taken from the man, into a woman, and brought her to the man; and the man said, This is bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh. Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave to his wife; and they shall become one flesh." Gen 2:22, 23, 24. Like things are also said by the Lord in Matt 19:4, 5. From these considerations it is evident, that the woman was created out of the man, and that both have the inclination and the faculty, of re-uniting into one; that they re-unite into one man, is evident also from the book of creation, where both together are called man, C.S.L.156. See also AC 2741.

These expressions also, like all others in the Word, are not only to be understood naturally, but also spiritually; and if they are not spiritually understood, no one can know what is signified by male and female, or husband and wife, being no longer two, but one flesh, as is also said, Gen 2:24. By male and female, in a spiritual sense, is here signified truth and good, consequently also the doctrine of truth, which is the doctrine of life, and the life of truth, which is the life of doctrine. These must not be two, but one, inasmuch as truth does not become truth with man without good of life, neither does good become good with any one without truth of doctrine, for good does not become spiritual good, except by truths, and spiritual good is good, but not natural good without it. When those principles are one, then truth is of good, and good is of truth, and this one is meant by one flesh; the case is the same with doctrine and life; these also make one man of the church, when the doctrine of life and the life of doctrine are joined together with him, for doctrine teaches how he ought to live, and what he ought to do, and the life lives it and does it. AE 725.

From the above considerations it is evident that love truly conjugial is the union of two, as to the interiors which are of the thought and will, thus which are of truth and good, for truth is of the thought, and good is of the will. For he who is in love truly conjugial, loves what another thinks, and what another wills; thus he also loves to think as another, and loves to will as another; consequently to be united to another, and to become as one man; this is what is meant by the Lord's words in Matthew, "Two shall be one flesh; wherefore they are no longer two, but one flesh." AC 10169.

Verse 5. On this account shall a man leave father and mother, &c. - By the father and mother whom the man is to leave, in the spiritual sense, is meant the proprium of his will, and the proprium of his understanding. The proprium of man's will is to love himself, and the proprium of his understanding is to love his own wisdom: and by cleaving to, is signified to addict himself to the love of the wife; that those two propriums are deadly evils to the man, if they remain with him, and that the love of those two is turned into conjugial love, as a man cleaves to his wife, that is, receives her love, see just above, CSL 193. C.S.L.194. See also CSL 112, 156.

Verse 5. The two shall be one flesh.-Good and truth conjoined with an angel and a man, are not two, but one, since, in this case, good is of truth, and truth is of good. This conjunction is, as when a man thinks what he wills, and wills what he thinks; on which occasion the thought and will make one, thus one mind, for the thought forms, or presents in form, that which the will desires, and the will gives it delight. Hence also it is that two conjugial partners in heaven are not called two, but one angel. This also is what is meant by the Lord's words in Matt 19:4, 5, 6, 11. In which words are described the heavenly marriage, in which the angels are, and at the same time the marriage of good and truth; and by man not separating what God has joined together, is meant, that good ought not to be separated from truth. HH 372.

Verse 8. Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, permitted you to put away your wives, &c. - It appears from this passage, and especially from the Divine command to Moses, "to hew him out two tables like the former," Exod 34:1; that the external of the Word, of the church, and of worship, was accommodated to the Jewish nation, and would therefore have been different, if that nation had been of a different quality. For the sake of that nation, therefore, it was permitted to marry several wives, which was a thing altogether unknown in ancient times; and also to put away their wives for various causes. Hence laws were enacted concerning such marriages and divorces, which otherwise would not have entered the external of the Word; therefore this external is called by the Lord [the external] of Moses, and it is said to be granted on account of the hardness of their heart. AC 10453, 10603.

It is here said that Moses permitted, in order that it may be known that the Lord did not permit. C.S.L. 340.

Verse 9. Whosoever shall put away his wife, except for fornication, &c. - It is evident from these words of the Lord, that nothing else closes and stops up the habitation, the origin, or fountain and its vein, of conjugial love, but adultery. C.S.L.482.

It is said, if a man put away his wife, and marry another, except for whoredom, he commits adultery, because putting away for this cause is a plenary separation of minds, which is called divorce. There are several reasons why adultery is a cause of divorce, which reasons are discernible in rational light, and still at this day are deeply concealed. From rational light it may be seen that marriages are holy, and that adulteries are profane, and thus that marriages and adulteries are diametrically opposite to each other; and that when one opposite acts against another, the one destroys the other, even to the last spark of its life. This is the case with conjugial love, when one of the married parties commits adulteries, in consequence of what he has confirmed and thereby purposed in his own mind. These observations come into a still clearer light of reason with those who know any thing of heaven and hell; for these know that marriages are in heaven and from heaven, and that adulteries are in hell and from hell, and that those two cannot be conjoined, as heaven cannot be conjoined with hell, and that instantly, if they were to be conjoined with man, heaven would recede, and hell would enter. Hence now it is that adultery is a cause of divorce. C.S.L.255.

Verse 12. There are eunuchs who are so born, &c. - They are called eunuchs who are in the heavenly marriage; born from the womb, denotes those who are as the celestial angels; made by men, denote those who are as the spiritual angels; who have made themselves, denote those who are as angelic spirits, who thus are not principled in charity, but in obedience. AC 394.

By eunuchs, who made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of God, are meant spiritual eunuchs, who are all such as in marriages abstain from the evils of whoredoms; that Italian eunuchs are not meant is evident. C.S.L.156.

Verse 14. Of such is the kingdom of the heavens. There are some who suppose that innocence is the same thing with infancy, by reason that the Lord said of infants, that "Of such

is the kingdom of the heavens, and that they who do not become as infants, cannot enter into the kingdom of the heavens;" but they who imagine thus, do not know the internal sense of the Word, and thereby what is meant by infancy. By infancy is meant the innocence of intelligence and of wisdom, which is such, that they who receive it acknowledge that they have life from the Lord alone, and that the Lord is their only Father, since it is from the intelligence of truth, and the wisdom of good, which man has from the Lord alone, that he is man. Innocence itself, which in the Word is called infancy, in no case is and dwells except in wisdom, insomuch that the wiser any one is, so much the more innocent he is, wherefore the Lord is innocence itself, because He is wisdom Itself. AC 2305. Of the state of innocence of angels in heaven, see HH 276-283.

Verses 16 - 22. What good shall I do that I may have eternal life? - Works done by man are not good, but only such as are done from the Lord with man; but that works may be done from the Lord and not from man, two things are necessary. First, that the divine of the Lord be acknowledged, and also, that He be acknowledged to be the God of heaven and earth, even as to the Humanity, and that from Him is every good which is good. Secondly, that man should live according to the precepts of the decalogue, by abstaining from those evils which are there forbidden; as from the worship of other gods, from the profanation of the name of God, from thefts, from adulteries, from murders, from false witnesses, from coveting the possessions and properties which belong to others. These two things are requisite that the works which are done by man may be good. The reason is, because all good comes from the Lord alone, and because the Lord cannot enter with man and lead him, so long as those evils, as sins, are not removed, for they are infernal things, yea, they are hell with man; and unless hell be removed, the Lord cannot enter and open heaven. These things also are meant by the Lord's words to the rich man in this chapter, who asked Him concerning eternal life, and said, that from his youth, he had kept the precepts of the decalogue; whom also the Lord is said to have loved, and to have taught, that he was wanting in one thing, namely, that he should sell all that he had, taking up the cross. By selling all that he had, is signified that he should leave his religious persuasions, which were traditions, for he was a Jew; and also that he should leave the things of his own proprium, which consisted in loving himself and the world better than God, thus in leading himself; and by following the Lord, is signified to acknowledge Him alone, and to be led by Him, wherefore also the Lord said, Why call you Me good? none is good but God alone; by taking up his cross, is signified to fight against evils and falses, which are from the proprium. AE 934.

Good works are evil works, unless the things which appertain to self-love and the love of the world are removed; for when works are done before the removal of these things, they appear outwardly good, but are inwardly evil; for they are done for the sake of reputation, or for the sake of gain, or for the sake of self-pre-eminence, or for the sake of recompense; thus they are either meritorious or hypocritical. For the things which appertain to self-love, and the love of the world, give to works such a nature and quality: but when these evils are removed, then the works become good, and are the goods of charity, there being nothing in them of self-respect, regard to the world, to reputation, or to recompense; thus they are neither meritorious nor hypocritical; for in this case, celestial and spiritual love from the Lord flow into the works, and cause them to become love and charity in act; and then the Lord, by them, purifies the natural or external man, and disposes it to order, that it may receive correspondently the celestial and spiritual things which flow in. AC 3147. See also Exposition, chap. 5:16.

Three things were wanting to the young man here spoken of, which are, that he had not removed his heart from riches, that he had not fought against concupiscences, and that he had not yet acknowledged the Lord to be God; therefore the Lord said, that he should sell all that he had, by which is meant that he should remove his heart from riches; that he should take up the cross, by which is meant that he should fight against cravings; and that he should follow Him, by which is meant that he should acknowledge the Lord to be God. DLife 66.

Verse 17. Why callest you Me good.-That the divine is good Itself, is evident from Matthew, '' Jesus said to the young man, Why call you Me good? there is none good but the one God," by which is meant that it is the Lord who alone is good, thus good itself. AC 10619.

From what is said in this verse, it appears that good is one. AC 10154.

Keep the commandments.-In the Word mention is frequently made of keeping and doing the commandments of God, and His precepts; and by doing the precepts of God, is understood the same as by loving the Lord above all things, and our neighbour as ourselves; for what a man inwardly, or from the heart, loves, that he wills, and what he wills that he does; and to love God is to love His precepts, these being of God, insomuch that they are God. Hence it may appear how little the followers of faith alone know what love is; they announce or affirm that faith lives from love, and that faith is dead without love, and yet they do not know that love and deeds are one. They say, also, that in faith there is love, and yet they are ignorant that there can be no love in faith, if they do not live according to the precepts of the Lord contained in the Word, and that it is from here, and from no other source whatever, that there can be any love in faith, except what is natural only, which is not the love of the Lord and of the neighbour, but the love of self, and the love of the world; and these loves are altogether destructive of faith, yea, they falsify the truths which appertain to genuine faith, which are contained in the Word. AE 894.

Verse 19. You shall love your neighbour, &c. - See Exposition, chap. 5:43-45.

Verse 24. It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, &c. - By the rich man spoken of in this verse, are meant the rich in each sense, as well natural as spiritual. The rich in a natural sense are they who abound in wealth, and place their hearts in wealth; but in a spiritual sense, the rich are they who abound in knowledges and sciences, for these are spiritual riches, and who are willing to introduce themselves thereby, from their own proper intelligence, into the things of heaven and of the church. Since this is contrary to Divine Order, it is said that it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle; for in the spiritual sense, by a camel is signified the principle of knowledge and of science in general, and by the eye of a needle spiritual truth. That such things are meant by a camel and the eye of a needle, is not known at this day, because heretofore the science has not been opened, which teaches what is signified in the spiritual sense by those things which are said in the literal sense in the Word. For in the things of the Word there is a spiritual sense, and also a natural sense; for the Word, to the intent that there might be conjunction of heaven with the world, or of angels with men, after that immediate conjunction ceased, was written by mere correspondences of natural things with spiritual. HH865.

Some have supposed from what is said in this verse, that the rich find a difficulty in entering into heaven, and that the poor enter easily, because they are poor, inasmuch as it is said, "Blessed are the poor, because their's is the kingdom of the heavens," Luke 6:20, 21; but they who know any thing concerning the spiritual sense of the Word, think otherwise;

for they know that heaven is appointed for all who live the life of faith and of love, whether they be rich or poor. From much discourse and life with the angels, it has been given to know for certain, that the rich come into heaven as easily as the poor; and that man is not excluded from heaven because he abounds in many things, neither is he received into heaven because he is in poverty; there are in heaven both rich and poor, and more rich than poor in the greater glory and happiness. HH 357. See the subject more fully discussed, HH 358-365.

The kingdom of God.-See Exposition, chap. 4:23, 6:10, 33, 12:24-28, xiii. - 24-31.

Verse 28. When the Son of Man shall sit on the throne of His glory.-To sit on the throne of His glory, signifies to be in His Divine Truth: inasmuch as by the angels, also by the twelve apostles, and likewise by the twelve tribes of Israel, are signified all the truths of the church, and, in the supreme sense, the Divine Truth. Therefore, by the disciples sitting upon thrones, is not meant that they are to be so seated, but the Lord is meant as to Divine Truth, from which is judgement; and by judging the twelve tribes of Israel is signified to judge all according to the truths of His church. Hence it is evident that by sitting on a throne, when spoken concerning the Lord, is signified to be judging, thus to judge; it is called a throne of glory, because glory signifies Divine Truth. AE 687. See AC 8705.

You also shall sit on twelve thrones, &c. - By the apostles are not here meant apostles, but all truths derived from good which are from the Lord; thus by those words is signified that the Lord alone is to judge all from truths which are derived from good, thus every one according to those truths. AE 9. AC3272, 5313.

By twelve are signified all things, and they are predicated of the truths and goods of heaven and of the church; wherefore the twelve apostles signify all things of the church; and thrones signify judgement. Who cannot understand that the apostles are not to judge, and that they are not able? AR 233. Compare also TCR 226, and AC 2129, 2553, 3857. SS51.

The reason why judging His people denotes truth in its office, is because by the tribes of Israel are represented all truths in general, as may be manifest from the passages above referred to; and truths are what judge. Thus, by judging His people, is signified truth in its office. It is written in the Word, that four and twenty elders are to sit upon thrones, and judge nations and people; and the twelve apostles in like manner are to sit on thrones, and judge the twelve tribes of Israel. He who is not acquainted with the internal sense of the Word, will believe that it will be so literally; but how this is to be understood, may be manifest when it is known from the internal sense, what is signified by the four and twenty elders, and what by the twelve apostles, also what by thrones, namely, all truths in their complex according to which judgment is effected. The like is here meant by judging the people as one of the tribes of Israel; not that they, or any of their elders, are to judge, but that the truths themselves, which are signified by them, consequently the Lod alone, for from Him all truth proceeds. See concerning the four and twenty elders, Rev 4:4, 11:16, 20:4, and concerning the twelve apostles, Matt 19:28. AC 6397. See also AE 79, 233, 798, 808. AE 206, 253, 687.

Verse 29. Every one that has put away houses, or brethren, &c. - Who cannot see that father, mother, wife, children, brethren, and sisters, are not here meant, neither houses and lands, but that such things are meant as appertain to the man himself, and are called the things of his proprium, for these things man ought to leave and to hate, if he is willing to worship the Lord, and to be His disciple, and to receive a hundred-fold, and to inherit eternal life? The things of man's proprium are the things of his love, and thence of his life into which he was born, consequently they are evils and falses of every kind; and inasmuch as those things are the things of his love and life, therefore it is said in Luke 14:26, that he ought also to hate his own soul: these evils and falses are signified by father and mother, wife, children, brethren and sisters; for all things which are of man's love and life, or which are of his affection and consequent thought, or which are of his will and consequent understanding, are formed and conjoined like generations descending from one father and one mother, and also are distinguished as into families and houses. The love of self, and the consequent love of the world, are their father and mother, and the lusts thence arising, with the evils and falses thereof, are the children, who are brethren and sisters: that these things are meant, may appear manifest from this consideration, that the Lord does not will that any one should hate father and mother, nor wife nor children, nor brethren and sisters, because this would be contrary to spiritual love implanted in every one from heaven, which is the love of parents towards children, and of children towards parents, also contrary to conjugial love, which is that of a husband towards a wife, and of a wife towards a husband, and likewise contrary to mutual love, which is that of brethren and sisters one amongst another; yea, the Lord teaches, that even enemies are not to be hated, but loved. From these considerations it is evident, that by the names of those who are connected by blood, by affinity, and relationship, in the Word, are meant such in a spiritual sense. AE 724.

Hundred-fold denotes what is full, or the good measure, pressed down, and running over. AC 2636.

For My name's sake.-See Exposition, chap. 6:9, 18:19, 20.

Verse 30. Many that are first shall be last, &c. - They who place merit in their actions, have not the faith which is grounded in charity, for they are willing to be saved not by the Lord's justice, but by their own; that there is no faith which is of charity in them, that is, no charity, is manifest from here, that they prefer themselves to others, thus they look at themselves, not at others, only so far as others serve them, and such as are not willing to do this, they either despise or hate; thus by the love of self they dissociate, and in no case associate, and thereby they destroy what is celestial, namely, mutual love, which is the firmament of heaven, for heaven itself and all its consociation and unanimity, subsists and consists in mutual love; for whatsoever destroys unanimity in the other life, this is against the order of heaven itself, thus conspires to the destruction of the whole; such are they who in the actions of their lives place merit, and claim to themselves justice. There are some amongst them who say that they have laboured in the Lord's vineyard, when yet their minds have been continually intent upon pre-eminence, glory, honours, and also gain, and thus upon becoming greatest in heaven, yea, upon being served by the angels; in heart, despising others in comparison with themselves, thus not imbued with mutual love, in which heaven consists, but tainted with the love of self, in which they place heaven, for they know not what heaven is. These are amongst those who are willing to be first, but become last; and who say that they have prophesied by the name of the Lord, and done many virtues, but to whom, it is said, "I know you not." AC 2027.

In the Lord's kingdom or heaven, those who are the greatest, that is, who are the inmost, are servants more than others, because they are in the greatest obedience, and in humiliation more than the rest; for these are those who are meant by the least that are the greatest, and by the last that are first, as it is written in Matthew 19:30. The reason why the last who are the first are servants more than others is, because they know, acknowledge, and perceive, that all the life, consequently all the power which they have is from the Lord, and not at all from themselves; but those who do not perceive this, because they do not so acknowledge it, are also servants, yet more in the acknowledgment of the mouth than of the heart: but those who are in the contrary, also call themselves servants in respect to the Divine, yet still they desire to be lords, for they are indignant and angry if the Divine does not favour them, and as it were obey them, and at length they are against the Divine, and in this case they derogate from the Divine all power, and attribute all things to themselves. There are several of this character within the church, who deny the Lord, and say they acknowledge one supreme being. AC 5164.

TRANSLATOR'S NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS.

Chapter XIX.

verse 12.For there are eunuchs who are so born from their mother's womb, &c. - Another striking instance here occurs of our Lord's manner of speaking, according to a connection of ideas in the internal sense, when yet no such connection appears in the sense of the letter; for the eunuchs so born from the mother's womb, describe such of the church as are celestial; whilst the eunuchs who were made eunuchs of men, describe those who are spiritual; and the eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs, describe those who act from obedience.

Verse 21. Go sell that you have, &c. - Another instance here occurs of the connexion of ideas in the internal sense, according to which the Lord so frequently spoke; for to go, is to live according to the truth of the Holy Word; to sell that you have, is to renounce his own proper will and understanding; to give to the poor, is to become meek and lowly of heart, by rejecting pride and haughtiness; to come and follow Me, is to believe in, and be conjoined with, the Lord.

MATTHEW 19    Other translations  -  previous  -  next  -  meaning  -  Matthew  -  BM Home  -  Full Page