What kind of king Christ is, and how his kingdom is affected.)
Held on Epiphany, Jan. 6, 1532.
I. Text according to the first printings.
And you, Bethlehem Ephrata, who are small compared to the thousands in Judah, from you shall come the one who is Lord in Israel, which has been from the beginning and from everlasting etc.
(1) This saying of the prophet, which the holy apostle and evangelist Matthew, Cap. 2. of the Lord, that he should be born in the village or town of Bethlehem, etc. shows us how his kingdom would be different from the kingdom of the world or of the devil. For thus he saith, Thou art the city, though there be many greater and mightier in Judah, out of which shall come unto me the greatest of kings: in thee shall be born unto me a man and a duke, to be a ruler over my people. If he is to be a ruler over God's people, his kingdom must be a divine kingdom and not a worldly kingdom.
This is the sermon that we preach and hear every year, and it is one of the joyful consolations that testifies to us what we should look upon this King for; namely, that Christ's kingdom is a kingdom over God's people, not over the world's or the devil's people. For he shall be a duke and lord over my people. A Lord shall he be, and over God's people, and a beggar, a wretched, despised child or man here on earth, and yet the Lord most powerful. Rhyme these two together, push them together.
men in the reason! A beggar is not a lord, and he who is a lord must not be a poor beggar, must have money etc. The words must ever be true that he is a great lord over my people, and that Bethlehem is small.
003 For this kingdom is not to be understood of a tyrant or tyrannical kingdom. Therefore he also makes Bethlehem so small, and takes away from the eyes everything that is tyrannical, so that he is not such a king, who is wonderfully mighty, before whom everyone should fear and be afraid. For here is no money, sword, guns, violence etc., but there is much another kingdom, which is not terrifying. For who should be afraid of a child and a poor beggar? Therefore he takes away all that is mighty and powerful. For when one calls God's power, a pious heart must immediately be terrified by it.
4 Therefore there is no dominion or power here, and yet he is a lord, almost poor according to the world, and yet abundantly rich according to the spirit. In the sight of the world he shall be nothing; thou shalt not be afraid of him, as if he should kill and strangle, but a meek, poor beggar child, but a lord in spiritual being, that is, that is, death, life, sin, righteousness, falsehood, truth, all good and all evil. This means spiritual being before God, as: being redeemed from sins.
and on the other hand be adorned with righteousness, be saved from death and be endowed with life, be taken from the lie and come into the truth, be transferred from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light. There, in that spiritual being, the devil is a lord, who is a lord in hell over sin, death, fright, despair, blindness, making people divided. This king of ours is also a spiritual lord, but he must cast the lord, who is a lord in sins and in death, under him and drive him out, and instead of sins help you to become devout in heart, instead of death to become alive, instead of mourning to become joyful and blessed. For he is not a lord, as in the world and in castles, who rules men with the sword, and makes them righteous with laws.
(5) Forasmuch then as he hath no kingdom outwardly, bodily, his kingdom must be inward and spiritual; that is, how to be righteous, alive, happy, and blessed in the sight of God, or to go to hell before God, to remain in sins and death. But now he is not such a lord, who drives us into sin or pushes us into hell; for there is already one, and the kingdom already has its lord, who is the devil. Since he cannot rule worldly or spiritually evil, he must rule spiritually good, which is a heavenly, just and blessed kingdom. This is a God not of the dead but of the living, not of sinners but of the righteous, not of hell and the devil but a God of heaven. He belongs to his people to bring them there, to keep them in life, in blessedness and in heaven, to save them from sins and death. etc.
Now faith belongs to him who grasps these things and relies on them completely. For if such hearty confidence is not present, then you lose Christ, then the devil speaks to you that Christ is angry with you, you must die, for Christ is your angry judge etc. Therefore also the devil's kingdom is nothing else, but to frighten people, to push them into sin, to challenge them with despair, to chase them into hell. So the devil can portray Christ to you. But the prophet does much differently to him, saying that his reign is good.
Who alone helps, saves and comforts is not evil. For Christ is such a kind Lord that even at the last judgment he will help and assist all those who have relied on him. But for this reason he strikes here also among the wicked, that his kingdom may continue, that the wicked may be punished, and that those who must suffer from the wicked may be delivered, even though he is a poor beggar compared to the wicked devil, the wicked, rich king.
7 This is now spoken of the nature and kind of Christ's kingdom, what kind of kingdom it should be, namely a kingdom of grace and of God's people. But furthermore, it also indicates what kind of person Christ the King would be. Therefore, this is how we want to continue the text. For the scribes, who were not allowed to preach it freely before Herod the king, but pulled their heads out of the noose, and left Herod and the prophet together, as if to say: You ask us where the newborn king is to be born? We do not say it, but the prophet says it. For it is thus written in the prophet Micah, to the same we direct thee, lest thou slay us. Although Herod did not ask much about it, because he was under the delusion that he wanted to remain king and probably exterminate it, as he proved with the innocent children. For at that time Herod had the kingdom under him with great power, so that no one was allowed to speak or protest against him. Therefore they answered him only from the prophet and did nothing else. But now that the prophet is dead, he may speak that Christ is King and Lord, who shall reign over his people, and that the end thereof was before the days, or before the days of the world. They themselves did not understand or believe this, nor did they report it to Herod the king.
(8) For Christ the King to be born in the city of Bethlehem was inevitable and could not be otherwise. For Bethlehem is a city seen before the eyes, and a worldly, bodily, outward thing. Therefore this king must have been born like a man and must have been a man like other men born in the city; and
Moreover, that he also should be a ruler over the people of Israel, it must be as with another king who is a man, having flesh and blood.
009 But the prophet adds that his going forth is before the days of the whole world, as if to say, This king was not born until he came forth at Bethlehem. It is true that he came forth at Bethlehem, which is one beginning; but he has another beginning, which was from everlasting, and before any day was ever called. For that he saith, Out of thee shall the duke come forth unto me; that is, in thee shall he be born; and his going forth is from everlasting; that is, from everlasting was he born. The prophet calls it a coming forth, and they themselves interpret it thus, that to come forth from Bethlehem, or to Bethlehem, means that this child shall be born in Bethlehem. Just as one says, "Where are you from?" or "Where are you from?" that is, "Were you born there?" so also, "From Bethlehem he will come," that is, he will be born there.
010 But whence cometh he more? shall he come from Bethlehem alone? No; but before there was a day, or before heaven and earth were, he was already there. Name that! But it cannot be named. Through the mother Mary he came from Bethlehem, and yet he was also in eternity, when neither time nor hour could be counted, when there was neither day nor night.
(11) Herod should not have understood this, nor was he worthy of it; for what is a nut of muscatel to a sow? Such fools should only be answered by physical birth. He heard that a king would be born, but where? he did not know. But the scribes say: in Bethlehem; they leave it at that. He is born in Bethlehem, and will be born before the world is made. This is the King and Lord over my people, a true man from a mother who is a virgin, and is a King, born in the city of Bethlehem in the time of Herod; and yet this true man is called, that he also was born and came forth before the world or before the days. This is our Lord, and so he is to be known, and so
go the sayings that he was born at the same time a man and also a God.
(12) Now here the world and reason want to become mad and foolish, and soon, when it hears that this king has two births, that he is a true man born of a virgin in the flesh, and true God, before the world, it puzzles and thinks: From whom then was he born? since before the world there was no woman, nor man, nor marriage, nor sun, nor moon, but nothing at all; from whom then was he born, since there was nothing yet? From this it follows that he was also born of God, since before the world there was nothing but God alone. So reason is caught here and must conclude, if it believes that there is a God who created heaven and earth, that the same God was before the world. If anyone was born before the world, as the prophet here testifies about Christ, he must certainly have been born of God and must necessarily be God. For between God and the creature there is nothing but God alone. Now the world is a creature. Therefore, this king must also be a true God before all creatures. For if he alone were a man, born of a virgin, he would not have been able to help us, and would have been eaten by the devil as well as we, for the devil was able to do that.
(13) For God was able to create Eve from a man's rib, which is a greater miracle than making a virgin a mother, for here it is more like and more agreeable that a woman's image should bear a womb than that a woman should be made from a rib, since a woman otherwise naturally bears fruit; - should he not then also be able that this son should be born of a virgin, since he made Adam from the ground and Eve from Adam's rib? which is much more marvelous than that a virgin should conceive and bear a son. But this is the greatest miracle, surpassing all others, that a virgin should bear not only a son, but such a son as was born before the world began.
14 Therefore, since the devil, death and sin have taken hold of this man, they have been overcome. For if he alone is a
If Adam and Eve had been a pure human being, they would have snatched him away, like all of us; but because he is not only a human being, but also such a person who was before the world, therefore the devil is trapped here in his own art. For thus he thought, As many men as came from Adam and Eve, I have killed them all together: and here cometh the son of a poor carpenter, to reign and to be king; I will kill him also, as the rest. But this person could not and did not have sin, nor die, could not perish, nor be wronged, sued or condemned, and yet had to die and be condemned. Thus with all wiles and wiles the devil layeth hold on this person; but hereby this person overcometh all these things, that he was born before the world, before sin, life, death, devil, or any thing. Therefore, if they now cling to me, they will gain nothing, but rather will be overcome.
(15) So this King has two origins: the first is from God the Father in eternity before the world; the other is that he came forth from the virgin in the world, who is a Lord and was born in Bethlehem, and was also born before the world. This is one person, not two persons, and yet true God and man; so that Mary the Virgin is not only the mother of the flesh and blood of him whom she begot and gave birth to, but also of him who was born before the world. For it is the same person who was born before the world of the Father in eternity and of the Virgin in the world, and thus baked together One Person, true God and man.
(16) Therefore, this is our victory and our glory, that we know that this king is not only a man, but also true God. But first of all we must begin and take the first beginning, that he is born in Bethlehem, as the first, and after that also the other beginning. Thus the prophet preaches, and so do we evermore, that the bodily birth of the mother and virgin is to be the first, and that only after this is the eternal birth to be speculated on, even though it has happened sooner than the bodily birth. For
You shall leave God satisfied with me; you shall not recognize God with your poetry and speculation without harm and danger, unless you go to the manger and first look at the birth of the virgin; the same son of the virgin who sucked at her breasts, who was born in Bethlehem, first learn to recognize him well. If you stay with this mother's son, the text will flow from him and conclude that this son was also born before the world; this will then follow from him.
(17) But if you turn back and lift up from God how he rules the world, how he scorched Sodoma and Gomorrah with hellish fire, whether he provided this one or that one or not, and thus begin the works of the high majesty, you will immediately break your neck and be thrown down from heaven, as Lucifer's fall was. For that is to lift up above and build the roof before you have the foundation. Therefore you must lift up below, and let God do what he does; saying, I will not know him unless I have first known this one. For so go the sayings: "I am the way, the truth, and the life"; item: "No one comes to the Father except through me"; and the like etc. But whoever begins to speculate about the divinity above, how God rules the world and punishes people as a strict judge, it happens to him according to the saying of Solomon, that whoever wants to explore the majesty, he is so struck down by the glory that he cannot bear it.
(18) Therefore it is an art to know this king, that he is true God and man. But as I have said, begin first at Bethlehem, saying, I know a King born of a virgin, who is truly of my flesh and blood. When thou hast therefore apprehended him through mankind, then believe also further, the text shall be found, that he which is born of a virgin is also born from everlasting. So you will be safe under the shelter of the flesh and blood of this person. Summa, there is one person and there are two exits. The mother gave birth to a human being, but not only to a mere human being.
man, but she also gave birth to GOd. Therefore, whoever blasphemes this man blasphemes God; whoever worships him worships God; whoever believes in him believes God; whoever touches him touches God; whoever strikes him strikes God; whoever hears him hears God.
he who hears God, he who sees Him sees God, he who honors Him honors God, whose praise and honor we have sought here with this brief interpretation alone, so that His name alone may be sanctified and His kingdom increased from now until eternity, amen.
II. text according to the Jena edition.
This saying from the prophet Micah, which the holy apostle and evangelist Matthew introduces in the 2nd chapter, v. 6, Joh. 7, 42, about the Lord Christ, that he should be born in the small town Bethlehem etc., shows us how the kingdom of Christ would be a much different kingdom than the kingdom of the world or of the devil. For thus he saith, Thou art the city, though thou be small, and lowly, and despised, and unequal unto the greater and mightier cities of Judah; out of thee shall come the greatest of kings unto me. For in you shall be born to me the right man and duke, who shall be ruler over my people. If he is to be ruler over God's people, his kingdom must be a divine kingdom and not a worldly kingdom.
(2) This is the comforting sermon of our Lord Christ and his kingdom, which we repeat and renew to ourselves every year, teaching us and testifying to us what we ought to regard him and his kingdom for, namely, the right Lord or King over God's people, and therefore his kingdom a spiritual kingdom, not over the world or the children of the devil, but over God's people; as the words of the prophet bring, when he says, "He shall be the right duke and lord over my people." A "lord" he shall be; and not a commoner, but the most powerful lord: in addition "over God's people", and yet so beggarly poor, miserable and despised on earth, that he has not where to lay his head, Matth. 8, 20. Luc. 9, 58.
These two, lord or dominion, and poor or poverty, rhyme together, group them with your reason, and notice, then you will hear, a beggar is not a lord, and he who is a lord must not be a beggar, but must have money and goods, honor and power etc. Now, nevertheless, the words of the prophet, that he is a lord over
God's people, be true and remain true, that and no other, how poor he can be more and more.
(4) From this, if the prophet is true, it is evident that the kingdom of Christ, of which he speaks here, is not a temporal but a spiritual kingdom, not a temporal but an eternal kingdom, and therefore cannot be understood by any tyrant or kingdom of the world. Therefore he also makes Bethlehem so small, and tears away from the eyes everything that is great, glorious, mighty and tyrannical, that one completely drops the thoughts of worldly power, and yet keeps his Lord or King firmly in the heart, and strongly concludes that he will not only use the mere name "King", but also perform royal work and office to all who adhere to him. For since there is nothing here of which a king is known before the world, and yet a royal title stands there, this kingdom need not be a tyrannical kingdom, in which one rides by force, so that everyone is afraid and frightened. For here is no bodily power, dominion, money, sword, guns, nor carbines, nor anything terrible; but vain inability, no reputation, great poverty, powerlessness and contempt. For who would fear or be afraid of a young child in his mother's womb, in a common stable, in poverty, frost and adversity? Therefore the prophet takes away everything that is great, mighty, glorious and mighty or seems to be, so that no one has to be afraid of this king and his kingdom, since pious hearts are naturally frightened when they hear of violence, but especially when one speaks of God's violence.
5 For this reason, there is no temporal dominion or power here; and yet a lord
or king, who is a poor beggar according to the world, but the richest and most powerful lord and king according to the spirit. In the sight of the world he is and shall be nothing, that thou mayest not fear nor flee from him, as one who cannot and will not anger and choke anything, but shouldest extend to him all kindness and friendliness, as to a gentle little child.
6. in the spirit above spiritual beings his power and dominion shall be over death and life, sin and righteousness, lies and truth, over all good and evil; so that he may reign as a spiritual lord and king in the spiritual, eternal kingdom before God and deliver those who believe in him from sins and adorn them with righteousness, save them from death and endow them with eternal life, so that they, having been taken out of darkness and lies, may come to the light of truth and be transferred from the devil's kingdom into God's kingdom. For this kingdom is a kingdom of grace, forgiveness of sins, eternal life and blessedness.
7 On the other hand, the devil also has a kingdom, is also a spirit, also rules, as St. Paul says, Eph. 6, 12, but in the darkness of this world. For he is a lord in hell, a prince of the world, a founder of lies and murder, whose kingdom and reign is in sins, death, terror, despair, blindness, war, blood and eternal destruction, and goes against the kingdom of Christ's foundation and order to abolish, desolate or even hinder it. Against such terrible power and destruction of the devil, God has promised and given us this our King, our Lord Christ and His kingdom, and has caused to be born in Bethlehem, according to the word of the prophet, a Lord, not over great empires or kingdoms, but over sin, death, the devil and hell, who will deliver us from the devil's kingdom and abominable tyranny, throw him under himself and tread him down, take all power and authority from him, and break his works, sin and death in us, so that we may be freed from sins, be pious and righteous before God, and, having been brought from death to life, praise and glorify him with a joyful heart forever. For he is not a worldly lord; much less a cruel tyrant who rules people with sword and force or compels them with laws.
(8) Since he does not have an outward, physical kingdom, his kingdom must be a heavenly and spiritual kingdom, in which people are taught how to be justified, alive, happy and saved before God through Christ; or, if they do not accept Christ, they must die in their sins and be cast into the abyss of hell, and be eternally damned. Now he is not such a Lord, who drives us into sin or pushes us into hell; but who delivers us from the power of the devil, who is the cause of sins and death, through his blood.
(9) Since Christ can neither temporally nor spiritually rule over people to their detriment, he must rule spiritually for their good, and his kingdom must be a heavenly, righteous and blessed kingdom. Therefore he is also a God, not of the dead, but of the living, Matth. 22, 31, not of sinners who remain unrepentant in their sins, but of the righteous; not of hell and the devil, but a heavenly king in God's kingdom. For this purpose he came into the world, and there he also deals, that he might deliver his people from sin and death, and bring them and keep them in life, eternal blessedness and the kingdom of heaven etc.
(10) It is necessary to have a firm faith that fasts and completely relies on this. For if there is no such hearty confidence, you lose Christ, and the devil sets upon you, insinuating that Christ is your judge, who is angry with you and willing to condemn you. Therefore the devil's kingdom is nothing else but to frighten people, to push them into sin, to challenge them with despair, to chase them into hell. This is how the devil can portray Christ to you, but the prophet does much differently, saying that his dominion is directed to help, save and comfort alone. For since he has been ordained with his kingdom against the devil's kingdom, and is a ruler over God's people and not against them, his kingdom cannot and may not be anything else than a kingdom of help, protection, salvation and eternal comfort. There you will hear nothing else, but only comfort of heart and refreshment for the fainthearted and troubled conscience. For Christ is such a kind Lord that even at the last judgment he will help and assist all those who have relied on him.
For this reason he also throws and smites among the wicked, that his kingdom may continue, that the wicked may be punished, and that his own, who suffer from the wicked, may be redeemed; although the world and the wicked look upon it much differently, because the wicked live in joy, have peace, and remain unpunished for a long time; whereas the pious are daily chastised and persecuted, and many of them perish miserably and are murdered. This is what is said about the nature and kind of the kingdom of Christ, what kind of kingdom it should be, namely a kingdom of grace, life and eternal blessedness, and God's people.
11 Furthermore, the prophet indicates what kind of person Christ, the King, will be in this kingdom. Therefore we want to continue this text. For the scribes, who also did not (dare to) indicate it completely, omitted the most necessary part; for they were afraid of Herod and thus pulled their heads out of the noose, leaving the prophet and Herod together; as if they wanted to say: You ask us where the newborn king is to be born? we do not say this, but the prophet says it; for thus it is written in the prophet Micah: "And you Bethlehem" etc.; to which we direct you, otherwise you might reward us badly. Although Herod did not ask much about it, because he was under the delusion that he wanted to remain king and probably exterminate it, as he proved with the innocent infants. For at that time Herod had the kingdom under him with great power, so that no one was allowed to speak against him, nor to murmur. Therefore they answered him only from the prophet, that Christ should be born in Bethlehem in the land of Judah, and they kept silent about what followed.
(12) But the prophet, though he is dead before the world, yet his testimony stands in clear and explicit words, freely confessing that Christ is an immortal, eternal Lord and King, who will reign over his people for and in a spiritual, not a temporal, way, which began before the days of the world, or before the days of the world were. This they themselves, the Pharisees and scribes, did not understand, nor did they believe, nor did they give any credence to the King Hero.
of the can indicate. For Christ, the King of the Jews, to be born in the city of Bethlehem had to happen as the prophecy says and not otherwise. For Bethlehem was a city seen before the eyes, and a worldly, bodily, visible building; therefore this King must have been born bodily, like another man, and be a true man, like other men born in the city. Moreover, that he should also be a ruler over the people of Israel, it must be with him, as with another king, who is a man, having flesh and blood.
013 But the prophet adds another thing, that his "going forth is from the beginning, and from everlasting:" as if to say, This king began not, when he came out of Bethlehem: it is true, in Bethlehem he goeth forth, that is one going forth: but he hath another going forth, which was from everlasting, and before they called it a day. For that he says: "From you the duke shall come to me", that is, in you he shall be born to me. But he does not leave it at that, but speaks further: "Which exit is from eternity", that is, from eternity he was born. The prophet calls it an exit, and they themselves interpret it in this way, that "from Bethlehem" or "going out to Bethlehem" means that this child is to be born in Bethlehem.
14 But where does he come from more? Shall he come from Bethlehem alone? No, but before there was a day, or before heaven and earth were, he was already there. Name that! But it can neither be named nor explained with words. He was born of Mary the mother, and came out of Bethlehem; and yet was for ever, when time and hour could not be numbered, when there was neither day nor night.
(15) Herod should not have understood this, nor was he worthy of it, for what is a sow to do with a nut? nor is it proper to answer such fools otherwise than by bodily birth alone. He heard that a king would be born, but he did not know where. But the scribes said, In Bethlehem; and they left it at that. It is true, at
He is born in Bethlehem, but not only, but is also born before the world is made, so that he is born both temporally and eternally, and therefore is true God and man. This is he, saith God by the prophet, who shall be king and lord over my people: a true man born of a virgin in the city of Bethlehem in the days of Herod, and also born or come forth before the world, and from everlasting hath been; which is our Lord Jesus Christ. And so he is to be known; for this saying is a strong and clear testimony of him, that he is both true man born of Mary, and eternal true God born of the Father forever.
(16) Now here the world and reason want to become mad and foolish. When it hears that this King, Christ, has two births, that he is a true man, born of the Virgin Mary in the flesh, and that he is true God before the world, it ponders and thinks, from whom then was he born? since before the world there was no woman, nor man, nor marriage, nor sun, nor moon, but nothing, only God. From whom then was he born, since nothing has yet been? This is what the world and reason do, and cannot and cannot do otherwise; but faith keeps the words of the prophet and the like sayings in the Scriptures, and does not fall with reason, but believes, as the words say, that he was not only born as a man, and came out of Bethlehem, but was also from everlasting.
From this it certainly follows that this King, who has been from the beginning and from eternity before all creatures, must also be true God. For if he alone were a man, born of a virgin, he would not have been able to help us from the power of the devil, and would have been executed by the devil as well as other men on earth, who all have to die.
18) Now how this is possible, that a virgin should bear a son, faith does not puzzle out; but gives itself up captive, and follows the word of the prophet, who says, "Out of thee shall the Lord come unto me," etc. "For with God no thing is impossible", Luc. 1, 37. For he was able to bring forth Eve from the
For here it is more like and more agreeable that a woman's image should bear a child, than that a woman should be born of a rib; since a woman otherwise naturally bears fruit - should he not also be able that this son should be born of a virgin? since he built Adam from the earth and Eve from Adam's rib; which is much more wonderful than that a virgin should conceive and bear a son. But this is the greatest miracle, which surpasses all others, that a virgin not only bears a son, but such a son, who was also born before the beginning of the world for eternity, that is, who is also true God. For this is what the prophet means when he says: "His origin is from the beginning and from eternity" etc.
(19) Therefore, when the devil, death, and sin came upon this man, the virgin Son, they came upon him and overcame him. But if he had been a pure man, they would have carried him away, as they do all men. But because he is not only a pure man, but also such a person, who was before the world, that is, true, eternal God, therefore the devil is caught here in his own art, because he thought: All men, as many as came from Adam and Eve, I have killed all of them; here comes a poor carpenter's son, who wants to rule and be king, him I will also kill, like all the others. But neither the law, sin, nor death had any power over this innocent eternal person, because he was without all sin. The law accused him as a sinner and condemned him to death, so that he had to die; but because he is the prince of life, through whom alone all believers have eternal life and blessedness, he could not remain in death, Ps. 16:10. So the devil also layeth hold on this person with all his wiles and wiles, but in this way this person overcame all these things, because he was born before the world, before sin, life, death, the devil or any creature. That is why they could not create anything in this person. Therefore, they could not do anything to this person, but because they had
They have had to serve that they now, caught in eternity, have to be his footstool.
20 So this king has two origins. The first from God the Father in eternity, before the world; the other, that he came forth from the Virgin in the world at Bethlehem, who is a Lord over his people etc. This is one person, not two persons, and yet true God and man; that therefore Mary the Virgin is not only a mother of the flesh and blood of him whom she suckled and nourished, but also of him who was born before the world. For it is the same person who was born before the world of the Father in eternity and of the Virgin in the world, and thus united together One Person, true God and man.
21 Therefore this is our comfort and glory, that we know that this King is not only a man, but also true God. But first of all we must begin and understand the first beginning, that he will be born in Bethlehem, and then the other beginning. Thus the prophet preaches, and we also preach, that the bodily birth of the mother, the virgin, should be the first, and that only after that one speculates about the eternal birth, even though it happened sooner than the bodily birth. For thou shalt leave me satisfied with God; thou shalt not know him, even with thy thinking and speculating, without harm and danger; unless thou go to the manger, and look aright at the birth of the virgin: the same son of the virgin, which lieth and suckleth at her breasts, which was born in Bethlehem, him, I say, learn well first. If you stay with this mother's Son, the text will flow from Himself and conclude that this Son was also born before the world, which will then follow from Himself. But if you turn it around and start from God, how he rules the world, how he burned Sodoma and Gomorrah with hellish fire and turned them around, whether he provided this one or that one or not: if you thus start from the works of the high majesty and thereby want to recognize God and come to him, then you will immediately break your neck and be thrown down from heaven, like Lucifer's fall.
is the way it is. For that is to raise the top and build the roof before you have laid the foundation.
22. therefore, if you want to go right, you must start from the bottom and let God do what he does, and say: I do not want to know him, unless I have first recognized this son of the virgin, both his person and office; as these sayings and the like teach me: Joh. 14, 6.: "I am the way, the truth and the life"; item: "No one comes to the Father, except through me. No one knows God, the only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, who has declared it to us" etc., Joh. 1, 18. But if anyone begins to speculate about the Godhead, how God rules the world and punishes people as a strict judge, it will happen to him according to the saying of Solomon: Whoever wants to investigate the majesty, he will be so struck down by the glory that he will not be able to bear it.
(23) Therefore it is an art to know this King, that he is true God and man; but, as I have said, first of all begin at Bethlehem, and say, I know a King born of a virgin, which is truly of my flesh and blood, in all things like unto me and like unto other men, except that he be not a sinner, as we are (2c), Hebr. 7, 26. If then you have grasped him by faith through humanity, then believe further, the text will be found that he who is born of the virgin is also born of God for eternity. So you will be safe under the tabernacle of the flesh and blood of this man and thereby come to his knowledge.
24. Summa, it is one person and two exits. The mother gave birth to a man; but not only to a mere man, but she also gave birth to God. Therefore, whoever blasphemes this man blasphemes God; whoever worships him worships God; whoever believes in him believes God; whoever touches him touches God; whoever strikes him strikes God; whoever hears him hears God; he who sees him sees God; he who honors him honors God; - whose praise and honor we have sought here with this brief interpretation alone, that His name alone may be sanctified and His kingdom increased from now until eternity, Amen!
Here can also be read in:
IV. Theil, Kurze Ausleg. der 25 ersten Ps.; 2. Ps., § 1-19, 8. Ps., 22. Ps., § 46 ff, 24. Ps., § 8 ff, von dem Reich Christi.
- Interpretation of the first 22 Ps.; 8th Ps., describing the kingdom and the church of Christ.
- Short exposition of other Ps. 45, of Christ, the King of honor.
V. Part XI. Interpretation of the 2nd Psalm, § 1 ff, about the raging of the world against Christ and his kingdom.
- XII. Explanation of the 8th Psalm, about Christ, the King of honor, and about his kingdom.
- XVII Interpretation of the 45th Psalm, a bridal song of Christ, the King of Glory.
- XXVI. 2. interpretation of the 110 Ps. of the Kingdom of Christ.
- XXV. I. Interpretation of the 110th Psalm of the Kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Part VI, Short Interpretation of Isaiah, Chapter 4, 9, 49 and 50, about the Kingdom of Christ.
- 1. interpretation of the prophet Joel, 3rd chapter, a prophecy of the kingdom of Christ.
- Expository of the Prophet Micah, Cap. 4, a sermon on the kingdom of Christ.
XI. Theil, Pred. am ander Sonnt, n. Ostern, von Christi Reich.
- Preached on the 19th Sunday of the month, by Christ's kingdom.
- 2. sermon on the 20th Sunday after Trinity, about the kingdom of Christ.
- 3. sermon on the 4th Sunday after Easter, about Christ's kingdom.
- Sermon on the prophecy of Isaiah, which was read at Christmas Mass, about the kingdom of Christ and his reign.
- 3. sermon on the next Sunday after Easter, about Christ's regiment.
XII. Theil, XXII. Predigt am 1. Pfingsttage, vom Reich Christi.
- III Sermon on the Three Kings' Day, about the Kingdom of Christ and Herod.
XIIIa. Theil, Festtheil; Pred. am hl. Christtage, von dem Siege Christi.
XIIIb. Theil, Pred. am Palmtage, von der Beschaffenheit dieses Königs und seines Reichs.
- 2. sermon on the 1st Sunday of Advent, about the power, office and work that Christ, as the true king, has and practices.
aa. About the teachings of the Lord Jesus.
V. Part XI. Ausleg. des 2. Ps., § 132 ff., von den Stücken, so Christus in s. Teaching Office. XIV. interpretation of the 23rd Psalm, § 13 ff, of the pastoral office of Christ.
XI. Theil, 2. Pred. am Osterdienstage, § 27 ff, von der Predigt. Christi.
- 1. sermon on Easter Tuesday, § 29 ff, of Christ's sermon to his disciples.
XI. Theil, Pred. am 3. Sonnt, in d. Fasten, von Christi Verantwortung gegen seine Blästerer.
- Sermon on Sunday. Judica, defense of Christ against his enemies.
- 3. sermon on the 4th Sunday, after Easter, of Christ's penal office.
- 2. sermon on the day of Christ's ascension, of Christ's punishment to his disciples.
bb. Of the miraculous works of the Lord Christ.
XI. Part, Sermon on Sunday, in the Mid-Lent, of the Feeding of the 5000 Men.
- 2. sermon on the 12th of Sunday after Trinity, about the giving of Christ in the miracle of the deaf-mute.
- 1. and 2. sermon on the 16th Sunday after Trinity, about the raising of the young man at Nain.
XII. Part, XII. Sermon on the raising of Lazarus.
XIIIa. Theil, 2. Pred. von der Passion, § 21 ff., von zwei Wunderwerken bei Christi Gefangennehmung.
XIIIa. Theil, Pred. am 3. Sund. n. Epiph., von der Heilung des Aussätzigens und des Hauptmanns Knechts.
- Sermon on the 21st of Sunday, Trinity, about the miracle of the King's Son.
- Preached on the 16th Sunday of the month of Trinity, on the resurrection of the young man at Nain.
XIIIb. Theil, 1. Pred. am 21. Sonnt. n. Trin., von dem Wunderwerk Christi an des Königischen Sohn.
- Sermon on Sun. Oculi, about the casting out of the devil.
XIII Part, 1st and 2nd Sermon on Sunday. Lätare, about the feeding of the 5000 men.
XIIIa&b. Theil, Pred. am 2. Sonnt. n. Epiph., von dem Wunder Christi auf der Hochzeit zu Cana.
XIIIa&b. Part, sermon on the 12th Sunday after Trinity, about the miracle of Christ on the deaf-mute. - 1st and 2nd sermons on the 24th Sunday after Trinity, about the healing of the woman with the issue of blood and the raising of Jairus' little daughter.
6. of the state of humiliation of the Lord Christ.
a. From the conception of Jesus.
XIIb. Part 1: Sermon on the Day of the Annunciation, on the Conception of Christ.
b. From the person of the Virgin Mary.
XII. Theil, XXXI. Various sermons; sermon on the Assumption of the Virgin Mary.
XIIIa. Theil, Pred. am Tage Mariä Verkünd., von der Person der Jungfrau Maria.