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Matthew Chapter 12

Chapter XII.

1. At that time Jesus went forth on the sabbaths through the corn fields; and His disciples were hungry, and began to pluck the ears of corn, and to eat.
2. But the Pharisees seeing, said to Him, Behold, Your disciples do what is not lawful to do on the sabbath.
3. But He said to them, Have you not read what David did, when he was hungry, and they that were with him?
4. How he went into the house of God, and did eat the show bread, which it was not lawful for him to eat, nor for them which were with him, but for the priests alone?
5. Or have you not read in the law, that on the sabbath-days the priests in the temple profane the sabbath, and are blameless?
6. But I say to you, That a greater than the temple is here.
7. But if you had known what [it] is, I will [or desire] mercy and not sacrifice, you would not have condemned the guiltless.
8. For the Son of Man is Lord even of the sabbath.
9. And passing thence, He came into their synagogue.
10. And, behold, there was a man having a withered hand, and they asked Him, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbaths? that they might accuse Him.
11. But He said to them, What man shall there be of you, who shall have one sheep, and if it shall fall into a pit on the sabbath, will not lay hold on it, and lift [it] out?
12. How much then does a man differ from a sheep? Wherefore it is lawful on the sabbaths to do well.
13. Then He says to the man, Stretch forth your hand. And he stretched [it] forth; and it was restored whole, as the other.
14. But the Pharisees took counsel against Him, going out, that they might destroy Him.
15. But Jesus knowing [it], withdrew from there; and there followed Him many multitudes, and He healed them all;
16. And charged them that they should not make Him manifest:
17. That it might be fulfilled what was declared by Esaias the prophet, saying,
18. Behold My Servant whom I have laid hold of; My beloved, in whom My soul is well-pleased: I will put My Spirit into Him, and He shall announce judgement to the Gentiles.
19. He shall not contend, nor cry; neither shall any one hear His voice in the streets.
20. A bruised reed shall He not break, and smoking flax shall He not quench, until He put forth judgement to victory.
21. In His name shall the Gentiles hope.
22. Then was brought to Him one possessed with a demon, blind and dumb; and He healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spoke and saw.
23. And all the multitudes were amazed, and said, Is not this the Son of David?
24. But the Pharisees hearing said, This [man] does not cast out demons, but in Beelzebub the prince of the demons.
25. But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said to them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself, shall not stand.
26. And if satan cast out satan, he is divided towards himself; how then shall his kingdom stand?
27. And if Iin Beelzebub cast out demons, in whom do your sons cast [them] out? therefore they shall be your judges.
28. But if I in the Spirit of God cast out demons, then the kingdom of God is come to you.
29. Or how can any one enter into the house of the strong [one], and spoil his household-stuff, except he first bind the strong [one], and then he will spoil his house.
30. He that is not with Me is against Me; and he that gathers not with Me, scatters abroad.
31. Wherefore I say to you, Every sin and blasphemy shall be remitted to men; but the blasphemy of the Spirit shall not be remitted to men.
32. And whoever says a word against the Son of Man, it shall be remitted to him; but whoever shall say against the Holy Spirit, it shall not he remitted to him, neither in this age, nor in that to come.
33. Either make the tree good, and its fruit good, or make the tree corrupt and its fruit corrupt; for from the fruit the tree is known.
34. The good man out of-the good treasure of the heart puts forth good things; and the evil man out of the evil treasure puts forth evil things.
35. But I say to you, That every vain [or unprofitable] declaration, which men shall speak, they shall render account thereof in the day of judgement.
36. For from your words you shall be justified, and from your words you shall be condemned.
37. Then answered some of the scribes and Pharisees, saying, Master, we would see a sign from You.
38. But He answering said to them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh a sign, and a sign shall not be given to it, except the sign of the prophet Jonah.
39. For as Jonah was in the belly of the whale three days and three nights, so shall the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights.
40. The men of Nineveh shall rise up in the judgement with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and, behold, more than Jonah is here.
41. The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgement with this generation, and shall condemn it: because she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, more than Solomon is here.
42. But when the unclean spirit is gone out from the man, he passes through dry places, seeking rest, and does not find.
43. Then he says, I will return into my house, whence I came forth: and coming, he finds [it] void, swept, and garnished.
44. Then he goes, and takes with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and entering in, they dwell there: and the last [things] of that man are worse than the first. So shall it be also to this wicked generation.
45. But while He yet spoke to the multitudes, behold, His mother and His brethren stood without, seeking to speak to Him.
46. And one said to Him, Behold, Your mother and Your brethren stand without, seeking to speak to You.
47. But He answering said to them that told Him, Who is My mother, and who are My brethren?
48. And stretching forth His hand to His disciples. He said, Behold My mother and My brethren.
49. For whoever shall do the will of My Father which is in the heavens, he is My brother, and sister, and mother.

EXPOSITION.

Chapter XII.

verses 1-8.At that time Jesus went forth on the sabbaths, &c. - By the commandment, "Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy," in the natural sense, which is that of the letter, is meant, that six days are for man and his labours, and the seventh for the Lord, and for man's rest in dependence on Him; for the word sabbath, in the original tongue, signifies rest. The sabbath amongst the children of Israel was the sanctity of sanctities, because it represented the Lord; the six days being significative of His labours and combats with the hells, and the seventh of His victory over them, and of the rest which He thereby attained; and because that day was representative of the close and period of the whole work of redemption accomplished by the Lord, it was esteemed holiness itself. But when the Lord came into the world, and, in consequence, made all representations of Himself to cease, that day was then made a day for instruction in Divine subjects, and thus also a day of rest from labours, and of meditation on matters that concern salvation and eternal life, and also a day for the exercise of love towards our neighbour.

That it was made a day for instruction in Divine subjects is evident from this circumstance, that the lord on that day taught in the temple and the synagogues: Mark 6:2; Luke 4:16, 31, 32, 13:10; and that He said to the man who was healed, "Take up your bed and walk" and to the Pharisees, "That it was lawful for His disciples on the sabbath day to gather the ears of corn and eat; " Matt 12:1-8; Mark 2:23 to the end; Luke 6:1- 6; John 5:9- 19; which particulars signify, in the spiritual sense, to be instructed in doctrinals. That that day was also made a day for the exercise of love towards our neighbour is evident from what the lord both did and taught on the sabbath day: Matt 12:10-14; Mark 3:1-9; Luke 6:6-12, 13:10-18, 14:1-7; John 5:9-19, 7:22, 23, 9:14, 16. From these and the foregoing passages, it appears why the Lord said, that He is "Lord also of the sabbath;" and from this, His declaration, it follows, that the sabbath day was representative of Him. TCR 301. See also TCR 302-304, for what is further meant by the sabbath; and AC 858495, 10360. HH 287.

Verse 8. For the Son of Man is Lord even of the sabbath. That the lord as to the Divine Human is meant by bread, is a thing known in the church. On this account also the lord,when He was in the world, calls Himself the lord of the sabbath, Matt 12:8; and therefore the lord, when He was in the world, and united His Human to the Divine Itself, abrogated the sabbath as to representative worship, or as to the worship which prevailed among the Israelitish people, and made the sabbath day a day of instruction in the doctrines of faith and love. AC 10360.

Verses 11, 12. What man shall there be of you who shall have one sheep, &c. - Sheep denotes the goods of charity, as may appear from Matt 12:11, 12, &c., besides many passages in the prophets, where by sheep are signified those who are in the good of charity, and thence in the abstract sense, the goods of charity themselves. AE 1154.

Verse 18. Behold my Servant, whom I have laid hold of, &c. - The Lord is here called Servant as to His Divine Humanity, because He served His Father by doing His will, as He frequently says; by which is meant, that He reduced. all things in the spiritual world into order; and at the same time taught men the way to heaven; it is therefore the Divine Humanity which is meant by My servant on whom I lay hold, and by Mine Elect in whom My soul is well-pleased. He is called Servant from the Divine Truth by which those effects were produced, and Elect from the Divine Good; that He had Divine Truth whereby He produced those effects, is meant by the words, "I have put My Spirit upon Him, He shall announce judgement to the Gentiles;" the Spirit of Jehovah is Divine Truth, and to announce judgement to the Gentiles is to instruct. AE 409.

Verse 20. A bruised reed shall He not break, &c. - By not breaking a bruised reed, is signified that the Lord does not hurt Divine Truth sensual, belonging to the simple and to infants; by not quenching the smoking flax, is signified that He does not destroy Divine Truth, belonging to the simple and to infants, which begins to live from ever so small a measure of the good of love; for flax signifies truth, and smoking signifies that it lives from some degree of love. AE 627.

Verse 22. Then was brought to Him one possessed with a demon, blind and dumb, &c. - By utterance is meant confession of the Lord, and the preaching of faith in Him, for this utterance is spiritual; hence it is evident what is signified in the internal sense by the dumb, namely, that they are signified who cannot confess the Lord, thus neither preach faith in Him, by reason of ignorance, in which state are the nations out of the church, and also the simple within the church; that such are signified by the dumb, is evident from Isaiah, "Then shall the lame leap as the hart, and the tongue of the dumb shall sing; because waters shall break out in the wilderness, and rivers in the plain of the wilderness," Is 35:5, 6; the tongue of the dumb shall sing, denotes that they shall confess the Lord and the things which relate to faith in Him; waters shall break out in the wilderness, and rivers in the plain of the wilderness, denotes a state of the non-knowledges of faith grounded in ignorance; by the dumb whom the lord healed are also signified the nations, which by His coming into the world were delivered from falses and consequent evils; as by the dumb in Matthew, "So they brought to Him a man that was dumb, obsessed by a demon, but when the demon was cast out, the dumb spoke," Matt 9:32, 33; and again "there was brought to Jesus one obsessed by a demon, blind and dumb, and He healed him, so that the blind and dumb both spoke and saw." Matt 12:22. AC 6988.

Verses 24-28. When the Pharisees heard it they said, This [fellow] does not cast out demons, but in Beelzebub the prince of the demons.-The reason why it is not here said satan, neither the devil, is because by Beelzebub, who had been the god of Ekron, is meant the god of all falses, for Beelzebub, if it be interpreted, is the lord of flies, and flies signify the falses of the sensual man, thus falses of every kind, hence it is that satan is called Beelzebub; wherefore also the Lord said, "If I in the Spirit of God cast out demons, then the kingdom of God is come to you," by the Spirit of God is meant the Divine Truth proceeding from the Lord, and by the kingdom of God, thence derived, is signified heaven and the church, which are in Divine Truths. AE 740.

Dominion grounded in what is evil and false is altogether contrary to dominion grounded in what is good and true; dominion grounded in what is evil and false consists in being desirous to make all men slaves, but dominion grounded in what is good and true consists in being willing to make all men free; dominion grounded in what is evil and false consists in destroying all, but dominion grounded in what is good and true consists in saving all. From which considerations it is manifest that dominion grounded in what is evil and false is of the devil, but dominion grounded in what is good and true is of the Lord; that the dominions are altogether contrary to each other, may be manifest from the Lord's words in Matthew 12:24-30. AC 1749. See also DP 233.

Verse 25. Every kingdom divided against itself, &c. - By kingdom, in the spiritual sense, is signified the church; by a city and house, the truth and good of its doctrine, which do not stand, but fall to pieces, if they are not in unanimous agreement. AE 223.

Verses 31, 32. Every sin and blasphemy shall be remitted to man, but the blasphemy of the Spirit shall not be remitted to man, &c. - What is signified by sin and blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, and by a word against the Son of Man, has not yet been known in the church, and this by reason of its not having been known what is properly meant by the Holy Spirit, and what properly by the Son of Man: by the Holy Spirit is meant the Lord as to Divine Truth, such as it is in the heavens, thus the Word such as it is in the spiritual sense, for this is Divine Truth in heaven, and by the Son of Man is meant Divine Truth such as it is in the earth, thus the Word such as it is in the natural sense, for this is Divine Truth in the earth. When it is known what is signified by the Holy Spirit, and what by the Son of Man it is known what is also signified by sin and blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, and what by a word against the Son of Man; it may then also be known why sin and blasphemy against the Holy Spirit cannot be remitted, and why a word against the Son of Man can be remitted. Sin and blasphemy against the Holy Spirit consists in denying the Word, also in adulterating its essential goods and falsifying its essential truths; but a word against the Son of Man consists in interpreting the natural sense of the Word, which is the sense of its letter, according to appearances. The reason why the denial of the Word is a sin which cannot be remitted in this age, nor in that which is to come, nor to eternity, and why it exposes to eternal judgement, is because they who deny the Word, deny a God, deny the Lord, deny a heaven and a hell, and deny the church and all things belonging to it; and they who deny those things are atheists, who, although they say with their lips that the creation of the universe is the work of some highest being, deity, or God, yet inheart they ascribe it to nature; such, inasmuch as by denial they have loosened every bond with the Lord, must needs be separated from heaven, and conjoined to hell. The reason why the adulteration of the essential goods of the Word, and the falsification of its essential truths, is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, which also cannot be remitted, is because by the Holy Spirit is meant the Lord as to Divine Truth such as it is in the heavens, thus the Word such as it is in the spiritual sense, as was said above. In the spiritual sense are genuine goods and genuine truths, but in the natural sense are the same goods and truths as it were clothed, and not naked except here and there, wherefore these are called apparent goods and truths; these are what are adulterated and falsified; and they are said to be adulterated and falsified, when they are explained contrary to genuine goods and truths; for in such case heaven removes itself, and man is put to pieces from it, by reason that genuine goods and truths, as was said above, constitute the spiritual sense of the Word, in which the angels of heaven are. As for example: if the lord and His divine be denied, as was done by the Pharisees, who said that the Lord did miracles from Beelzebub, and had an unclean spirit; and since they thus denied Him and His divine, it is said that such denial is sin and blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, because it is against the Word. Hence, also, it is that Socians and Arians, who, although they do not deny the Lord, still deny His divine, are out of heaven, and cannot be received by any angelic society.

To take another example: they who exclude the goods of love and the works of charity from the means or mediums of salvation, and assume faith exclusively as the only medium, and confirm themselves herein not only by doctrine but also by life, saying in their hearts, goods do not save me, neither do evils condemn me, because I have faith, these also blaspheme the Holy Spirit, for they falsify the genuine good and truth of the Word, and this in a thousand passages, where love and charity, and deeds and works, are named; moreover, as was said above, in all things and particulars of the Word, there is a marriage of good and truth, thus of charity and faith, wherefore when good or charity is taken away, that marriage perisheth, and in the place thereof is committed adultery, the nature and quality of which will be explained elsewhere; hence it is that neither are such received in heaven; the reason, further, also is because in the place of heavenly love, they have earthly love, and in the place of good works, they have evil works, because proceeding from earthly love, which, separate from heavenly love, is infernal love. But it is otherwise with those who indeed believe from the doctrine of the church and from masters, that faith is the only mean or medium of salvation, or who know, and do not interiorly affirm or deny, and still live well under the guidance of the Word, that is, because it is commanded by the Lord in the Word: these do not blaspheme the Holy Spirit, for they do not adulterate the goods of the Word, nor falsify its truths, wherefore they have conjunction with the angels of heaven; few of them also know, that faith is any thing else than to believe the Word; the tenet of justification by faith alone, without the works of the law, they do not apprehend, because it transcends their understanding. These two examples are adduced, that it may be known what is meant by sin and blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, and that sin against the Holy Spirit consists in denying Divine Truth, thus the Word; and that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit consists in adulterating the essential goods of the Word, and falsifying its essential truths: be it known, that the good of the Word adulterated is evil, and the truth falsified is the false. The reason why a word against the Son of Man signifies to interpret the natural sense of the Word, which is the sense of its letter, according to appearances, is because by the Son of Man is meant the Lord as to Divine Truth such as it isinthe earth, thus such as it is in the natural sense; and the reason why this Word is remitted to man, is because most things in the natural sense, or in the sense of the letter of the Word, are goods and truths clothed, and only some naked as in its spiritual sense and goods and truths clothed are called appearances of truth: for the Word in the ultimates is as a man clad in clothing, who yet, as to the face and hands is naked, and where the Word is thus naked, there, its goods and truths appear naked as in heaven, thus such as they are in the spiritual sense; wherefore it can never happen but that the doctrine of genuine good and genuine truth, derived from the sense of the letter of the Word, may be seen by those who are enlightened of the Lord, and be confirmed by those who are not enlightened. The reason why the Word is such in the sense of the letter, is that it may be a basis for the spiritual sense; hereby, also, it is accommodated to the apprehension of the simple, who can only perceive those things which are so said, and when they perceive can believe and do: and whereas Divine Truths, in the sense of the letter of the Word, are most of them appearances of truth, and the simple in faith and heart cannot be elevated above those appearances, hence it is not sin and blasphemy to interpret the Word according to appearances, if so be principles are not formed from them, and these confirmed even to the destruction of Divine Truth in its genuine sense. AE 778.

By saying a word against the Holy Spirit, is meant to speak well and to think ill, and to do well and to will ill, respecting those things which relate to the Lord, His kingdom and church, and also which relate to the Word, for thereby the false lies concealed inwardly in the truths which are spoken, and in the goods which are done, which is hidden poison, whence they are called an offspring of vipers. In the other life it is allowed to an evil [spirit] to speak what is evil and also what is false, but not what is good and true; inasmuch as all in that life are compelled to speak from the heart, and not to divide the mind: they who do otherwise are separated from the rest, and are immersed deep in the hells, from which they can never come forth; that such are they who are meant by saying a word against the Holy Spirit, is manifest from the Lord's words on the occasion, "Either make the tree good, and the fruit good; or make the tree corrupt, and the fruit corrupt. How can you speak what is good when ye are evil?" The Holy Spirit is the Divine Truth proceeding from the Lord, thus the Holy Divine itself, which is thus interiorly blasphemed and profaned. The reason why it will not be remitted to them is because hypocrisy or deceit about Holy Divine things infests the interiors of man, and destroys the all of spiritual life belonging to him. AC 9013. See also AC 8882, 9264, 9818. DP 98, 231. TCR 299.

Verse 33. Either make the tree good, &c. - See Exposition, chap. 3:10, 7:16, 18.

Verse 34. O, generation of vipers.-The quality of the Jewish nation is openly declared in Matthew 23:13, and following verses. Such being their quality, they are called a wicked and adulterous generation, Matt 12:39; also a generation of vipers, Matt 3:7; and in Matt 12:34, "O generation of vipers, how can you speak good things, being evil?" AC 4314.

Verse 35. The good man out of the good treasure of the heart, &c. - Whatsoever any one wills from the love-principle, that he wills to do, he wills to think, he wills to understand, and he wills to speak. By the heart, in the Word, is meant the will of man; and inasmuch as man's thought and speech originate in the will, it is said, "Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks." DLife 48, 51.

Verse 36. Every idle word that men shall speak, &c. - The angels discover a man's love from the tone of his speech, his wisdom from the articulation of the tone, and his science from the sense of the expressions; and they say, further, that those three things are in every expression, because the expression is as the conclusion, for therein is the tone, the articulation, and the sense. It has been told me by the angels of the third heaven, that from every expression of one who speaks in a series, they perceive the common or general state of his mind, and also some particular states. From these considerations it is concluded, that in the works of a man, whose natural mind by three degrees descends into hell, are all his evils and the falses of evil; and that in the works of a man, whose natural mind ascends into heaven, are all his goods and truths, and that the former and the latter are perceived by the angels from the man's speech alone and action alone. This is the ground and reason why it is said in the Word that man is to be judged according to his works, and that he is to render an account of his works. DLW 280, 281. See also HH 507. AC 9264.

Verse 39. An evil and an adulterous generation seeks a sign, and a sign shall not be given to it, except the sign of the prophet Jonah, &c.-In the Word, in many passages, mention is made of a sign and of a miracle; and by a sign is meant that which declares, testifies, and persuades concerning a thing sought for; but by a miracle is meant that which excites, strikes, and occasions amazement. Thus a sign moves the understanding and faith, and a miracle the will and its affection; for the will and its affection is what is excited, is struck, and is amazed, and the understanding and its faith is what is persuaded, and to which is applied declaration and testification. That a sign and a miracle differ, may be manifest from this consideration, that the Jews, although they had seen so many miracles worked by the Lord, still asked. signs from Him..

That by a sign is meant testification, that they might be persuaded and believe that the Lord was the Messias and the Son of God who was to come, is evident; for the miracles, which the Lord had worked in abundance, and which they saw, were not signs to them, by reason that miracles are not signs, as was said above, except with the good. The reason why Jonah was in the belly of the whale three days and three night, and this was taken for a sign, was, because it signified the burial and resurrection of the Lord, thus the glorification of His Humanity to the full. AE706.

An adulterous generation.-By whoredoms and adulteries, in the Word, are meant falsifications of truth and adulterations of good, on which account the Jews are called by the Lord an adulterous generation. AE 433. See also SS 51. DLife 79.

Verse 40. the third day denotes the Lord's coming and resurrection; this appears from Jonah, in that he was "Three days and three nights in the belly of a fish," Jonah 1:17; concerning which circumstance the Lord thus says in Matt 12:40, "As Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a whale, so shall the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth:" it is to be observed that in the internal sense of the Word, three days, and the third day, signify the same thing, as also in other passages. AC 2788.

Verses 43, 44, 45. When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, &c. - The unclean spirit denotes the uncleanness of life belonging to man, and also the unclean spirits who are attendant upon him, for unclean spirits dwell in the uncleanness of the life of man; dry places, or where there are no waters, denote where there are no truths: the empty house denotes the interiors of man again replete with uncleannesses, that is, with falses derived from evil. AC 4744.

The house void-denotes that the internal is without faith and charity, and yet full of evils and falses. AC 7045.

The house swept-denotes in a good sense that all things are prepared and full of goods, because by sweeping the house, in a good sense, is meant that a man purges himself from evils, and thus prepares himself for the entrance of goods. In the opposite sense, sweeping the house signifies the deprivation of all goods and truths, and thus the being filled with evils and falses, AC 3142.

The last things of that man are worse than the first.- When man has explored himself, and acknowledged his sins, and done the work of repentance, he must remain constant in good even to the end of life; but if he afterwards relapses to the former life of evil, and embraces it, then he is guilty of profanation, for then he conjoins evil to good, hence his latter state is worse than the former, according to the Lord's words. AC 8394. See also B.D.N.J. 109, 172. D. Lord. 48. DP 133, 231. AE 10.

Verses 43, 44, 45. A seventh kind of profanation is committed by those who first acknowledge Divine Truths, and live according to them, and afterwards recede and deny them. This is the worst kind of profanation, because such persons mix things holy and profane in such a manner that they cannot be separated; and yet in order to their admission into either heaven or hell they must be separated, and as in such persons this cannot be effected, all the intellectual and voluntary human faculty is destroyed, and, as was said before, they become no longer men. It is nearly the same with those who in their hearts acknowledge the Divine things of the Word and the church, and entirely immerse them in their proprium, which is the love of having dominion over every thing, and respecting which much has been said above; for these after death, when they become spirits, will not be led of the Lord, but entirely by themselves; when their love is not restrained, they desire to rule not only over heaven, but also over the Lord; and because they cannot do so, they deny the Lord and become devils. It is to be observed that the life's love, which is also the ruling love, remains in every one after death, and cannot be removed. The profane of this kind are meant by the lukewarm, of whom it is thus written in the Revelation, "I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot; I would you were cold or hot. So then because you are neither cold nor hot, I will spew you out of My mouth," Rev 3:15, 16. This kind of profanation is also thus described by the Lord in Matthew, "When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man," &c, Matt 12:43, 45. The conversion of a man is here described by the unclean spirit out of him; his returning to his former evils, after casting out things true and good, is described by the return of the unclean spirit with seven others more wicked than himself into the house, which he found garnished for him; and the profanation of what is holy by what is profane is described by the last state of that man being worse than the first. DP 231. See also AE 1160.

Verse 48. Who is My mother?-These words relate to the separation of the former human principle which the Lord had from the mother, and at length to its being fully put off, on which subject it is to be noted that the Lord successively, and continually, even to the last of life; when he was glorified, separated from Himself and put off that which was merely human. namely, what He derived from the mother, until at length He was no longer her son but the Son of God, as in respect to conception so also in respect to nativity, and thus one with the Father and Himself Jehovah. AC 2649. See also AC 2159, 3703.

Verses 49, 50. Jesus stretching forth His hand to His disciples said, Behold My mother and My brethren, &c. - By the disciples to whom the Lord stretched forth His hand, are signified all who are of His church; by His brethren are signified those who are in the good of charity from Him; by sisters, those who are in truths derived from that good; and by mother, is signified the church grounded therein. AE 746.

The reason why the Lord calls those His brethren who do the will of His Father, is because in heaven no other affinities are given but such as are spiritual, thus no other fraternities; for in heaven they do not become brothers by virtue of any nativity, and also they who have been brethren in the world do not there know each other, but every one knows another from the good of love; they who are most conjoined in that good are as brethren, and the rest, according to conjunction by good, are as relations and also as friends; hence it is that by brother, in the Word, is signified the good of love. AE 46.

That in heaven all are consociated according to spiritual relationships, which are of the good of love and of faith, and that they know each other as relations. See HH205.AC 685, 917, 2739, 3815, 4121. That hence by brethren in the Word are meant those who are conjoined by good. See AC 2360, 3303, 3803, 10490.

TRANSLATOR'S NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS.

verse 1.On the sabbaths.-It is expressed in the original tois sabbasi, in the plural number.

Verse 6. A greater than the temple is here.-The temple,in its representative sense, has respect to the Lord's Divine Humanity. See AR 918.The greater than the temple, then manifestly means what was represented, namely, the Divine Humanity Itself.

Verse 7. I will mercy.-See note at chapter 9:13.

Verse 8. The Son of Man is Lord even of the sabbath.- He is Lord of the sabbath for the same reason that He is greater than the temple, as was said above, verse 6, namely, because the sabbath was merely a representative; in the supreme sense a representative of the union of the two natures, the Divine and Human in the Lord; and in a subordinate sense, a representative of the Lord's conjunction with the heavens; and in a still more subordinate sense, of the conjunction of the good and the true in every regenerate mind; see AC 8495; hence it was inferior to what was represented, so that what is represented might be called its Lord.

Verse 12. How much does a man differ from a sheep?- This is a most important question, to which every one is bound to give a proper answer: yet a proper answer cannot be given until it be known, agreeably to what our enlightened expositor testifies, that a man is gifted with a degree of life superior to that of a sheep, by virtue whereof he is enabled to regard his Eternal Creator, and to be conjoined with Him by faith and love; whereas a sheep has no such faculty. See AC 5114.

Verse 30. He that is not with Me is against Me, and he that gathers not with Me scatters, &c. - The Lord here again speaks in reference to the heavenly marriage and its opposite; for to be with Him, has respect to the will or love;and to gather with Him, has respect to the understanding or wisdom.In like manner, to be against Him, has respect to evil in the will; and to scatter,has respect to what is false in the understanding.

Verse 31. Every sin and blasphemy, &c. - Sin, again, relates to evil in the will, and blasphemy, to what is false derived from evil in the understanding, thus both together denote the infernal marriage.

Verse 39. An evil and adulterous generation, &c. - The infernal marriage is here again pointed at; for an evil generation refers to the love of evil in the will, and an adulterous generation, to the love of the false grounded in evil in the understanding.

Verse 40. As Jonah was in the belly of the whale, &c. - It must be very manifest to every considerate reader, that the words contained in this verse were spoken in reference to their internal or spiritual sense, because, in their external or literal sense, they are not true, for the Son of Man did not lie in the heart of the earth three days and three nights. Besides, the singular expression the heart of the earth, is of itself a sufficient indication that something more was intended to be expressed than the mere interment of a dead body.

Verses 41, 42. Shall rise up in judgment with, and condemn.- To rise up in judgement with, means to oppose from principles of truth; to condemn, means the same from principles of good; thus both together denote the heavenly marriage so often referred to above.

Verse 44. Void, swept, and garnished.- These three expressions, according to their spiritual interpretation, contain a connected sense, although, in their literal meaning the sense is scattered and unconnected; for void has reference to the want of truth, swept to the want of good, and garnished to the want of both.