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Luke 10

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1 And after these·​·things the Lord appointed seventy others also, and sent them two and two before His face, to every city and place, whither He Himself was·​·about to come.

2 Then He said to them, The harvest is indeed much, but the workers are few; entreat you therefore the Lord of the harvest, that He may send·​·out workers into His harvest.

3 Go you; behold, I send· you ·out as lambs in the midst of wolves.

4 Carry neither purse, nor pack, nor shoes, and greet no one by the way.

5 And into whatever house you enter, first say, Peace to this house;

6 and if indeed the son of peace be there, your peace shall rest upon it; but if not, it shall return to you.

7 And in the same house remain, eating and drinking such things as are with them; for the worker is worthy of his wage. Do not pass·​·on from house to house.

8 And into whatever city you enter, and they receive you, eat what is set·​·before you,

9 and cure the weak who are in her, and say to them, The kingdom of God is near to you.

10 But into whatever city you enter, and they receive you not, going·​·out into her streets, say,

11 And the dust which sticks to us from your city we do wipe·​·off against you. Nevertheless know this, that the kingdom of God is·​·near to you.

12 And I say to·​·you that it shall be more·​·tolerable for Sodom in that day than for that city.

13 Woe to thee, Chorazin! Woe to thee, Bethsaida! For if the works of power had been·​·done in Tyre and Sidon which have been·​·done in you, they would have repented long·​·ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes.

14 But it shall be more·​·tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the judgment than for you.

15 And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted even·​·to heaven, shalt be thrust·​·down even·​·to hell.

16 He who hears you, hears Me, and he who spurns you, spurns Me; and he who spurns Me, spurns Him who sent Me.

17 And the seventy returned with joy, saying, Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Thy name.

18 And He said to them, I beheld Satan, as lightning, falling from heaven.

19 Behold, I give to you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing whatever shall hurt you.

20 Nevertheless rejoice not in this, that the spirits are·​·subject to you, but rather rejoice that your names are written in the heavens.

21 In that same hour Jesus leapt·​·for·​·joy in Spirit, and said, I profess Thee, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because Thou hast hidden these things from the wise and intelligent, and hast revealed them to infants; yes, Father, for so it was for good·​·pleasure before Thee.

22 All·​·things are delivered·​·up to Me by My Father; and no·​·one knows who the Son is, except the Father, and who the Father is, except the Son, and he to whom the Son intends to reveal Him.

23 And turning to the disciples, He said by themselves, Happy are the eyes which look·​·upon what you look·​·upon.

24 For I say to you that many prophets and kings willed to see what you look·​·upon, and have not seen them, and to hear what you hear, and have not heard them.

25 And behold, a certain lawyer stood up tempting Him and saying, Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?

26 And He said to him, What is written in the Law? How readest thou?

27 And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God out·​·of thy whole heart, and out·​·of thy whole soul, and out·​·of thy whole strength, and out·​·of thy whole mind,* and thy neighbor as thyself*.

28 And He said to him, Thou hast answered rightly; this do, and thou shalt live.

29 But he, willing to justify himself, said to Jesus, And who is my neighbor?

30 And Jesus, taking·​·up his question, said, A certain man came·​·down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among robbers, who having stripped him, and having inflicted blows on him went·​·away, leaving him when he was half·​·dead.

31 And by chance, a certain priest came·​·down by that way, and seeing him, passed·​·by·​·on·​·the·​·other·​·side.

32 And likewise also a Levite, when he was at the place, came and saw, and passed by on the other side.

33 But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came upon him, and seeing him, was moved·​·with·​·compassion*.

34 And coming near, he bound up his wounds, pouring·​·in oil and wine, and he set· him ·on his·​·own beast·​·of·​·burden, and brought him to an inn, and took·​·care of him.

35 And going·​·out on the morrow, he set·​·out two denarii, gave them to the host, and said to him, Take·​·care of him, and whatever thou spendest·​·more, when I come·​·again, I will repay thee.

36 Which now of these three thinkest thou was neighbor to him who fell among robbers?

37 And he said, He who did mercy with him. Then Jesus said to him, Go, and do thou likewise.

38 And it came·​·to·​·pass as they went, that He entered into a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha received Him into her house.

39 And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at the feet of Jesus, and heard His Word.

40 But Martha was concerned* about much ministering, and standing·​·by said, Lord, dost Thou not care that my sister has left me to minister alone? Tell her, therefore, that she should help me.

41 And Jesus answering said to her, Martha, Martha, thou art·​·anxious and fretful about many things;

42 but one thing is needful, and Mary has chosen that good part which shall not be taken away from her.

   


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

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #6844

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6844. Take off your shoes from upon your feet' means that the powers of the senses, which form the external levels of the natural, should be removed. This is clear from the meaning of 'shoes' as the powers of the senses forming the external levels of the natural, dealt with in 1748; and from the meaning of 'feet' as the natural, dealt with in 2162, 3147, 3761, 3986, 4280, 4938-4952. 'Taking off' plainly means removing since one is talking about the powers of the senses. Particular expressions have to be used in application to the actual matter to which they refer; thus 'being taken off' is applied to shoes, and 'being removed' to the powers of the senses. The implications of all this need to be stated. Anyone can see that here 'shoes' represent something that does not accord with Him who is holy and Divine, so that 'taking off one's shoes' was representative of the removal of things like that. Without this representation what would it matter to the Divine whether a person drew near in shoes or in bare feet, provided that inwardly he is the kind of person who can draw near the Divine in faith and love? Therefore the powers of the senses are meant by 'shoes', and those powers, which form the external levels of the natural, are by nature such that they cannot remain when one thinks with reverence about the Divine. Consequently because it was a time when representatives had to be observed, Moses was not allowed to draw near with his shoes on.

[2] The reason why the powers of the senses that form the external levels of the natural are by nature such that they cannot receive the Divine is that they are steeped in ideas of worldly, bodily, and also earthly things because they are the first to receive them. Therefore sensory impressions contained in the memory as a result of the activity of the senses draw their nature from the light and heat of the world, and hardly at all from the light and heat of heaven. As a consequence they are the last things that can be regenerated, that is, receive something of the light of heaven. This explains why, when a person is ruled by his senses and sensory impressions control his thinking, he inevitably thinks of the Divine as he does of earthly things. If also he is ruled by evil those impressions make him think in ways altogether contrary to the Divine. When therefore a person thinks about the kinds of things that have to do with faith and love to God he is raised, if he is governed by good, from the powers of the senses which form the external levels of the natural to more internal levels, consequently from earthly and worldly things nearer to celestial and spiritual ones.

[3] This is something people do not know about, the reason being that they do not know that internal levels distinct and separate from external ones are present within them, or that thought exists on increasingly internal levels as well as on more external ones. And unaware of these things a person cannot reflect on them. But see what has been stated already about thought ruled by sensory impressions:

People whose thought is ruled by sensory impressions have little wisdom, 5084, 5089, 5094, 6201, 6310-6312, 6314, 6316, 6318, 6598, 6612, 6614, 6622, 6624.

A person may be raised above the level of the senses, and when he is raised he comes into a quite gentle light; and this happens especially to those who are being regenerated, 6183, 6313, 6315.

All this now shows what is meant by 'taking off one's shoes from upon one's feet'. A person's natural divides into the external, the middle, and the internal, see 4570, 5118, 5126, 5497, 5649. The internal natural is meant by 'the feet', the middle natural by 'the soles', and the external by 'the shoes'.

  
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Thanks to the Swedenborg Society for the permission to use this translation.