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The Esoteric Gospel of Matthew 12:38-50
Aug. 16th, 2022 10:46 amThe Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 12, verses 38-50 reads:
38 Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee.
39 But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas:
40 For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
41 The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here.
42 The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here.
43 When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none.
44 Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished.
45 Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation.
46 While he yet talked to the people, behold, his mother and his brethren stood without, desiring to speak with him.
47 Then one said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to speak with thee.
48 But he answered and said unto him that told him, Who is my mother? and who are my brethren?
49 And he stretched forth his hand toward his disciples, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren!
50 For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in Heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother.
Prophecies
Jesus is asked for a sign, and responds with prophetic language. This passage is much discussed and much interpreted, and I'm not going to go into detail on it here. If you've never read the Book of Jonah, by the way, it's worth taking the time.
Exorcism
Jesus then gives us a very important spiritual teaching, in the discussion of the evil spirit driven out of a man. For demons, we can read self-perpetuating, destructive habits. In the modern world, we usually refer to these as "addictions" and ignore or deny the idea that they may have a personal identity analogous to that of a human being. This doesn't matter, though, the teaching still applies-- if a destructive power has taken root in your soul (psyche), and you want to change this condition, it is not enough to rid yourself of the behaviors or habits that the destructive power causes. The soul must be purged, but it cannot only be purged; it must be filled.
This is precisely what is done in 12-step programs when the recovering addict starts by "admitting that he is powerless over" his addiction, and then continues by "coming to believe that a power greater than himself can restore him to sanity" and "making a decision to turn his will and his life over to the care of God as he understands God." The destructive behavior must end, but the void in the soul must be filled.
In a letter to Bill Wilson, the founder of Alcoholics Anonymous, Carl Jung wrote of an alcoholic that both knew that
A demon is a spirit; a low-level spirit. If Jung is right then in addictive behavior, the encounter with the evil spirit acts as a stand-in for the encounter with God, who the addict is not able to reach. It's an interesting exercise to consider the various addictions to which people succumb in our world and match them with various aspects of the Divine. What is the alcoholic seeking? The porn addict? The shopping addict? The guy that can't turn off cable news?
Who Is My Mother? Who Are My Brethren?
The next passage is often used by Protestants in an attempt to attack traditional Christianity's veneration for the Mother of God, but it has little to do with this. Instead Jesus is reminding us of something we've encountered already: The Kingdom of God is the Noetic Realm, and human social categories do not apply here. To "do the will of my Father in Heaven" is to unfold one's life-purpose in harmony with the Divine, and those who are able to do this transcend separation, which is a condition of the material world. Those who have attained this state have also long since outgrown the ordinary human social structures that we have inherited from our primate ancestors.
38 Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee.
39 But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas:
40 For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
41 The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here.
42 The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here.
43 When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none.
44 Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished.
45 Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation.
46 While he yet talked to the people, behold, his mother and his brethren stood without, desiring to speak with him.
47 Then one said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to speak with thee.
48 But he answered and said unto him that told him, Who is my mother? and who are my brethren?
49 And he stretched forth his hand toward his disciples, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren!
50 For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in Heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother.
Prophecies
Jesus is asked for a sign, and responds with prophetic language. This passage is much discussed and much interpreted, and I'm not going to go into detail on it here. If you've never read the Book of Jonah, by the way, it's worth taking the time.
Exorcism
Jesus then gives us a very important spiritual teaching, in the discussion of the evil spirit driven out of a man. For demons, we can read self-perpetuating, destructive habits. In the modern world, we usually refer to these as "addictions" and ignore or deny the idea that they may have a personal identity analogous to that of a human being. This doesn't matter, though, the teaching still applies-- if a destructive power has taken root in your soul (psyche), and you want to change this condition, it is not enough to rid yourself of the behaviors or habits that the destructive power causes. The soul must be purged, but it cannot only be purged; it must be filled.
This is precisely what is done in 12-step programs when the recovering addict starts by "admitting that he is powerless over" his addiction, and then continues by "coming to believe that a power greater than himself can restore him to sanity" and "making a decision to turn his will and his life over to the care of God as he understands God." The destructive behavior must end, but the void in the soul must be filled.
In a letter to Bill Wilson, the founder of Alcoholics Anonymous, Carl Jung wrote of an alcoholic that both knew that
His craving for alcohol was the equivalent, on a low level, of the spiritual thirst of our being for wholeness, expressed in medieval language: the union with God.
A demon is a spirit; a low-level spirit. If Jung is right then in addictive behavior, the encounter with the evil spirit acts as a stand-in for the encounter with God, who the addict is not able to reach. It's an interesting exercise to consider the various addictions to which people succumb in our world and match them with various aspects of the Divine. What is the alcoholic seeking? The porn addict? The shopping addict? The guy that can't turn off cable news?
Who Is My Mother? Who Are My Brethren?
The next passage is often used by Protestants in an attempt to attack traditional Christianity's veneration for the Mother of God, but it has little to do with this. Instead Jesus is reminding us of something we've encountered already: The Kingdom of God is the Noetic Realm, and human social categories do not apply here. To "do the will of my Father in Heaven" is to unfold one's life-purpose in harmony with the Divine, and those who are able to do this transcend separation, which is a condition of the material world. Those who have attained this state have also long since outgrown the ordinary human social structures that we have inherited from our primate ancestors.
