Dressed and improved by Luther. 1530.
The old holy fathers and teachers held the green and the dry wood against each other and thus played with them: From the green wood (or tree) came sin and death, from the dry wood (tree) righteousness and life; therefore they said: Do not eat from the green tree there, Gen. 2, 17, otherwise you will die; but here eat from the dry, or you will remain dead. You want to eat and nibble from a tree, I will prepare a full one for you, which you can never eat.
But as it was difficult to abstain from that green tree, so it is difficult here to enjoy or eat from the barren one; for there was the form of life, pleasure and good, but here is the form of death, suffering and gloom, because this tree is green, the other is barren. Therefore it is still deeply rooted in the heart that man seeks life where there is certain death, and flees death where there is certain life.
But the cross must be made in such a way that it is
The one who is the cause of woe should not be self-selected, as the Anabaptists and all works saints teach, but should be interpreted.
Necessitas (necessity). For we must be conformed to the image of the Son of God, Rom. 8, 29.
All who want to live godly in Christ must suffer persecution, 2 Tim. 3, 12.
In the world you are afraid. Item: You will be sad, weeping and wailing, but the world will rejoice, Joh. 16, 20.
If we suffer with them, we will also be raised to glory with them, Rom. 8:17.
If you are without chastening, which they have all received, then you are bastards and not children, Heb. 12:8. Otherwise, what is the purpose of so many comforting sayings in Scripture?
Causa (Cause). For the devil, a powerful, evil, cunning spirit, hates the children of God. In addition, the holy cross serves to train faith, to punish the word; item, to curb the remaining sin and hope. Yes, a Christian can do without the cross as little as he can do without food and drink.
Pretium (reward). Christ sanctifies all the sufferings and afflictions of His believers with His touching; whoever does not suffer indicates that he does not believe that Christ has given him his suffering. But if someone does not want to carry the cross that God lays out for him, no one forces him; he may always go and deny Christ, but that he may know that he has no fellowship with Christ nor part in any of his goods.
Behold, a merchant, hunter, man of war thar (dares) to suffer so much for the sake of uncertain good and victory; and here, since certain
Glory and blessedness follow, it turns sour to suffer only a little, as Isaiah, Cap. 54, 7.; Christ, Joh. 16, 16.; Peter, 1. Ep. 1, 6.; Paul, 2 Cor. 4, 17. call it "a little" or little use.
See how the adversaries, the devil's martyrs, are divided and torn by so many ways and means of their teaching, how their hope does not succeed, how much danger and misfortune they have to worry about, not sure of their doings for a moment. And these penalties are only temporal. What shall I think of the guilt, namely, that they are eternally lost without God, both by the devil's lift and with an evil conscience? And although they are uncertain of their future course, they rejoice in vain and in the hope of all things lost, whereas we have to take comfort in certain divine assurances.
In sum, because it is the same God and the same thing in which he has kept the faith of all the saints, so that he would be found true, he will not want to become a liar for our sake alone, nor will we make him a liar; let God grant that we believe or not, he will nevertheless defend his word and certainly help. But here it takes effort and work, first of all, to avert one's eyes from violence; and secondly, to hold fast to the word. Eve let go of the word and held to the visible; but a Christian lets go of what is before his eyes and holds to the word. The wicked do not do this, but now cling to the emperor, so that they will receive temporal things; but because they despise the word, they fall to the ground and are eternally lost. Anno 1530.
Of this can still be read in:
II. part, 1. B. Mos., 37. cap., § 157-175, 312-327, of the tribulations of the Christians.
- Genesis 41, § 3-13, about the cross and patience of the faithful, especially Joseph.
- Genesis 45, § 8-37, of the cross, the chastisement of the pious.
IV. Theil, Ausleg. d. 22 erste Ps.; 4. Ps., Unterweisung, wie man sich im Kreuz zu verhalten.
XI. Theil, 2. Pred. am 4. S. n. Ostern, vom Kreuz.
- Ecclesiastes on the Day of the Exaltation of the Cross, of the wrong and right exaltation of the cross.
XII. Theil, XIV Sermon of the Cross and Suffering of the Faithful.
- XXXII Several Sermons; on the Day of the Cross Invention, of the Abuse and Right Use of the Cross.
- Church Post; on the 2nd Sunday after Easter, an exhortation to patience in suffering.
XIII part, sermon on the 3rd Sunday after Easter, treatise on the cross and suffering.
XIIIa&b. Theil, Pred. am 4. Sund. n. Epiph., vom Kreuz und Leiden.