Matth. 23, 34-39.
Therefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scholars of Christ: and of them ye shall kill and crucify some, and some ye shall scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city: that upon you may come all the righteous blood that is shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias the son of Barachai, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar. Verily I say unto you, that all these things shall come upon this generation. O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings; and ye would not. Behold, your house shall be left unto you desolate. For I say unto you: Ye shall not see me from henceforth, till ye say, Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the Lord.
You have interpreted this gospel in the postilion according to its length, you will read it well yourself. We want to describe the history of today's feast a little, how it happened to the dear St. Stephen with the stubborn Jews about the preaching of the Gospel. St. Lucas describes the history quite clearly with many words in the stories of the apostles, chapters 6 and 7. But do it most of all, that in this history everything is written that we have preached, so that you may see an example of the teaching that you have often heard. So it has happened, recently want to overflow.
002 When the gospel was strong, and there were many disciples at Jerusalem, there was such a rule among the disciples, that they gathered together all the goods together, whether they were fields, or houses, and sold them, and carried the money to the apostles' feet. At that time there was a murmur among the Greeks against the Hebrews, because their widows were overlooked in the daily handouts. Then the apostles had counsel among themselves, and called the disciples all together, saying, "It is not fit that we should omit the word of God, and serve at meat. Therefore, brethren, appoint among yourselves seven men, who are famous for being full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom we may appoint for this need. But let us persevere in prayer and
*This sermon appeared in a single print from 1524. Red.
Office of the Word of God. Then they sent out seven men, among whom Stephen was also one, who are still called deacons; this was such an office that they were to have temporal goods among themselves and distribute them to the church.
(3) So it went on at that time. The apostles waited to preach; the seven men were ministers, distributing the goods. Now Stephen, when he went out to the market among the people, as his ministry required, because he was full of the Spirit, faith and strength, he performed miracles and great signs among the people. This greatly displeased the Pharisees and chief priests; therefore the learned Jews of the school called the Libertines, and the Cyrenes, and the Alexanderes, and those that were of Cilicia and Asia, lay themselves against Stephen, and consulted [and disputed] with Stephen. And when they perceived that they could not withstand him, they appointed and judged certain men, saying that he was a blasphemer, that he had spoken against God and the temple, and moved the people. Then the elders went to him, dragged him before the council, and brought up false witnesses, saying, He said that Jesus would destroy the temple etc. Then the chief priests asked him, Whether it were so with him, as these witnessed against him?
4th Then Stephen began a long discourse, and ran through all the Scriptures, through all the
*) (c d)
He said how none of them built a temple for our Lord God. And when he comes to the end, he says thus: David wanted to build a church for our Lord God; but he did not, Solomon did. And so he continues and says, concluding from all his speech, that God does not dwell in houses made with men's hands, and says: "But the Most High does not dwell in temples made with hands, as he says through the prophet" (Is. 66, 1. 2.): "Heaven is my throne, and the earth is the footstool of my feet; what house will you build me? says the Lord, or what is the place of my rest? Hath not my hand made all these things?" With these words he closes his sermon and speech; [after which he turns his words to them, *] and lifts up and reads them a good text, saying:
(5) Ye stiffnecked and unstouthearted, ye always resist the Holy Ghost, as your fathers did, so do ye. What prophets did not your fathers persecute and kill, who before proclaimed the future of the righteous, whom you have now become traitors and murderers? Ye received the law by the dealings of angels, and kept it not." That is, I think, a text read. But what do they do about it? Does he also profit them with such kind preaching, or with such harsh words? No, but he emboldens them still more, and makes them altogether obdurate, mad and foolish, as Lucas further says: "When they heard these things," saith he, "their hearts were cut in pieces, and they kicked at him with their teeth." But what did the dear Stephen do, since they thus remained hardened? Lucas says: "And when they were thus furious and angry, Stephen looked up to heaven, being full of the Holy Ghost, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, and said, Behold, I see the heavens open, and the Son of man standing at the right hand of God."
(6) They could not bear these words, which pierced their hearts; therefore, when they heard such words, they became much more fierce.
*) (c d)
They shouted loudly and covered their ears, and with one accord rushed in to him, pushed him out of the city and stoned him. How does Stephen relate to this? In such his torture he committed his spirit into the hands of his Lord Christ, and did not look upon his enemies' fury and hardened heart, but prayed for them, saying, "Lord, do not lay this sin to their charge, for they know not what they do." And when he had made such a prayer on his knees for his enemies, says Lucas, "he fell asleep". This is the history of St. Stephen; if you want it more clearly, read it in the histories of the apostles.
(7) In this history you see first of all how a Christian congregation is to be organized; in addition you see quite a picture of a spiritual regiment, which the apostles lead here. They care for souls, preaching and praying, but they also care for the body, raising up some men to distribute the goods, as you have heard. Thus the Christian regime provides for the people in body and soul, so that no one has any lack, as Lucas says, and all are fed abundantly and well provided for both in body and soul. This is a good picture and example, and it would be good to start it this way, if there were people who would divide a city, like this one, into four or five parts, and give each part a preacher and some deacons, who would supply the same part with sermons and distribute the goods, visit sick people, and see to it that no one suffers from lack. But we do not have the people to do this, so I do not dare to start it until our Lord God makes Christians.
(8) Now, as you know, in the papacy they have made epistles and evangels out of deacons. And when a bishop is now made, he is not made to preach, for he has it before from the priesthood, as otherwise any bad priest: but only to be set on stallions, and to say, Most gracious Squire! Neither do they choose deacons for the office which they had in the days of the apostles, but that he should stand by the altar, and preach some epistle or gospel there.
This is how it is organized, and thus everything has fallen into disuse. What belonged to preaching and praying was called mass; what belonged to caring for people was called epistles and evangelists. The Spittelmeister, the nuns' priests, and the guardians of the poor still have a piece or a picture of it.
(9) Therefore, if one wants to establish a common church, one must know what the offices are that are to preside over the church. A bishop is called a minister of God, who is to distribute divine and spiritual goods, preach the gospel and provide the people with the word of God; he must have servants, that is, deacons, who are to serve the community in such a way that they keep a register of the poor people, provide them with all necessities from the community's money, visit the sick and take care of the goods in all places. This is the first part you will see in this history.
(10) Secondly, a dispute arose between the Jews and Stephen over this matter: St. Stephen preached the Christian faith. Stephen preached the Christian faith, namely, that we attained a gracious God only through faith in His Son Jesus, whom they had killed, without our work or merit, and that God does not look at the person, but whoever calls on the name of the Lord, whether Jew or Gentile, should be saved, Rom. 10, 12, 13; as the same St. Stephen's words show and bring. The Jews could not stand such preaching; therefore they blamed him for speaking and preaching against the holy temple and against the law of Moses. This is what St. Stephen told them: I know well that Solomon built a temple; David also wanted it built; so also the ancient fathers had the tabernacle: but God does not dwell in temples. That was one heresy. The other, that he preached that one could not be saved by works. And about this, because they had never kept the law, as he told them under their eyes, he said to them: If they wanted to be saved in any other way, they would have to begin in another way, namely, they would have to have Christ, whom they had murdered and crucified. This was
a strange, even a shameful and foolish sermon. Therefore they went and said, "This man blasphemes Moses," because he speaks against the law, and says of one who should change the law; this must surely be heresy; it does not behoove us to be silent; it offends God and our law, so it is time to fight back.
(11) The two heresies have been condemned from the beginning of the world and will be condemned until the end of the world, as can be seen now. But how shall one do to him? Should we let it remain heresy, or should we fight against it? One must do to him as St. Stephen does here. For when they thus turned on his sermon, he was prepared, could shut them up, knew the reason and cause that they had to understand it, takes before him their own Scripture, as you have heard, this saying of the prophet Isaiah Cap. 66, 1: "Heaven is my throne, the earth is a footstool for my feet. Behold, this saying is so strong and clear that they could not oppose it, for all their wisdom lies low, and all their things are cast down to the ground with it. So we are to subdue and overthrow the adversaries of the gospel with the word of God, otherwise we will not harm them.
12 Now with this saying of Isaiah he thrust them hard before their heads. As if St. Stephen should say: You hear this saying, you also read it and know it well, that God says: "Heaven is my chair, the earth the footstool of my feet"; what do you dare to put God in your temple? Look at the heavens against your temple: will you take him into such a narrow house, who reaches beyond the heavens, and has such long thighs that he touches the earth with his feet? Are you so foolish as to understand the Scriptures? What should the poor blind people do? They could not call the prophet a liar, the words were clear there, they were also as well known to them as any saying in the Scriptures, they had to fall silent and become disgraced. Therefore, because they are ashamed and overcome, they go to him out of stubbornness and take it by force (as the Pharisees and hypocrites do), pervert his words, interpret them against him and say that he said that temples should not be built.
and do not keep the law; therefore kill the dear Stephanum over it, which must hold out over the two pieces.
013 There ye see what a herb unbelief is: though it be overcome, and made ashamed and ashamed to stink, yet it will not depart; the more it stirs, the more bitter it becomes. Therefore you must not think that you want to convert unbelievers, if you still have such clear sayings that they themselves feel that it is public Scripture, so that they cannot move it: they remain in their hardened hearts and want to be right, God grant, it costs what it may; yes, they may still well say that they are masters of the Scriptures, and they alone are those who know the Scriptures, and say: Should such delicious people, who know the Scriptures and handle them day and night, be troubled and broken-hearted about them, learn from that beggar? [Yes, they say, "Hey, do you want to teach us? You should be our disciple. Out with the heretic, always away, he is a blasphemer, he speaks against God and the holy Christian church, which has kept it so long; that does not suit us; out with the boy; bring fire and burn, otherwise nothing good will come of this boy. So the pious people have to take care of him, and they are like St. Stephen here. Therefore, as I said, no one should dare to convert a heretic or to overcome him in such a way that he would be satisfied; but do to him as St. Paul said to Tito, Cap. 3, 10. 11. "Avoid an apostate man, when he is admonished once and again; and know that such a one is converted, and sins, as he hath condemned himself."
(14) Let us now learn from this and set an example, so that we may know and be able to judge all our doctrine according to it. First, not to serve our Lord God by building churches. For thus he says to his people, whom he ruled outwardly, to the Jews, as it is written in the other book of Moses, Cap. 29, 45, 46: "I will dwell among the children of Israel, and I will be their God, and they shall know that I am the Lord their God, which have made them
*) (d)
I, the Lord, their God," which means, "I will dwell in you and work in you; you shall be my dwelling place, in which I will work and create. But to the tabernacle and the tabernacle he gave this name, and called it a tabernacle of testimony, because God wanted to testify in it and speak to the people, and did not want to give it the name that it was his dwelling place; although it should be a sign that God wanted to dwell there and be found in the place, that it thus stood there like a sign, so that they should see that God was with them, and would have an outward testimony that God's people were there; as we Christians have baptism.
(15) And as a prince dwelleth not in his shield, but by the shield it is seen where the prince reigneth and dwelleth: so also the temple of Solomon alone was a sign and a witness that God would be found there of his people. For God had said before through Moses that His name should dwell there, that is, that one should sacrifice there and call upon Him: not that He wanted to dwell there and be bound to this place alone; for thus He says to the Jewish people through Moses, Exodus 20:24: "In the place where I make remembrance of My name, there will I come to thee and bless thee." This is said: I do not want you to build houses for me, I do not need them; but that you may have a sure sign where my people are, I will choose a place of which it shall be said that our Lord God has chosen it, where God may be praised and honored, and where distress may be presented to him; as Solomon says to God, when he wanted to build him a house, 1 Kings 8:27-30: "Do you also think that God dwells on the earth? Behold, the heavens and all the heavens may not provide for thee; how then will this house which I have built? But turn to the prayer of thy servant, and to his supplication, O Lord my God, that thou mayest hear the praise and the prayer which thy servant maketh before thee this day; that thine eyes may be open upon the house day and night, upon the place of which thou hast said: My name shall be there. Thou wouldest hear the prayer that thy servant maketh in this place, and wouldest
hear the supplication of thy servant and of thy people Israel, which they shall do here in this thy dwelling place, in heaven; and when thou hearest, be gracious."
16 From this, everyone can conclude that one does not serve God by building churches, and that all the effort one puts into it is lost if one wants to please God and thereby gain a gracious God; as we have said more about this elsewhere. You can see this finely in this history. For if the Holy Spirit, who spoke through Stephanum here, himself rejects the house that God commanded to be built, what will he do to us, who have neither commandment nor commandment to build churches? First, you see in the words of Moses, Exodus 20:24, that God Himself promises to give His blessing in the place where a tabernacle will be built for Him; we do not have that advantage. Also, the Jews were not allowed to build a house or a tabernacle except in the place where God had said it would be built; therefore there was only one temple and house that God had mentioned and wanted built. Now there is no church, of which you may say: The place God has named and called to be built. If we had such an advantage as the Jews, that God had said, Build me a house, even if it were a sow's stall, it would be delicious; and that God had said, I will bless thee, we would be well and abundantly blessed.
17 Therefore the Jews had good reason to condemn Stephanum, because they had built the temple by God's command, so that they should not have set a stick or laid a stone, because God had commanded them to do so. This was a great advantage; but even greater and better is that He also says Exodus 20:24: "I will come there, and My name shall be there, and will bless thee." Our churches have none of these advantages: no one can say that prayer is better and more likely to be heard in church than in the field or any other place. So much is at stake when God commands something to be built or done.
18. Now God has rejected the church, which He Himself adorned and called to be built,
What will he say to us when we lift up our churches so high, since he knows nothing about them, and think that we are doing God a great service by doing so? We will stand there like fools and as if we had been hit in the mouth, when he will say: You fool, who commanded you that you should build me churches and make me an altar? Behold, I have rejected the temple which I commanded to be built, and which should have pleased me specially, because it was my command. Why then did God reject their work? Not because he wanted to tear down the church, but because they wanted to fall on works and put their trust in such works; as the hypocrites among the Jews all did, thinking that if they kept the law outwardly, they would be pious people before God. But the poor people lacked it by far, just as our works saints and hypocrites lack it now. They were also commanded not to commit adultery. Now there were many honorable men who kept their marital status right; yet they were not pious before God. How did this happen? Did God command it? Although God had commanded it, it was not kept as He had commanded.
19 Therefore God overthrew the works, because they thought they were doing God a favor and serving and benefiting Him with church buildings, as if He were a beggar; He could not stand that. For this reason he had the temple torn to pieces, as if to say, "I do not want you to make me a dwelling place, to do me good with it, or to build me a house, but you must and should take from me and receive the blessing from me. Now as the Jews have done, so do we also with our works and church buildings. But they have an advantage that we do not have, namely, that they were commanded by God to do it; but we go on, thinking that God should be pleased with our works, but He does not.
(20) Now you understand, I think, why the quarrel arose between Stephano and the Jews. They did not see why God would have wanted them to build the Temple, but thought they were doing God a service and doing a good work with it.
their church or temple building. Then St. Stephen said: "No, if you want to build a temple, make sure that you have faith; if you do not have faith, build it, just as you would build a dance floor. Therefore said he unto them, Ye always resist the Holy Ghost: as he doeth, so is it not made right for you. He wants you to have faith, so you go to pay God with works. If you are punished for it, you cannot bear it, so you persecute the holy prophets and are murderers and traitors. You have murdered the Son of God himself, as you have heard from history.
21 Thus you have a piece that no one serves God with pews, even though it was already commanded to the Jews. Therefore, if you want to do a good work, do no other than that which flows from faith. Now here you see an example of what we have taught and heard so far, namely, not to build on works nor to act with them before God, even if they were such works that God had commanded; for God does not look at the work, but at the faith: what comes from it is pleasing and acceptable to Him; but what does not come from faith is sin and rejected by God, as St. Paul says to Romans. Paul says to the Romans Cap. 14, 23, that it seems so beautiful, so holy, so divine.
22 Let this be said of the first piece, namely, how God does not dwell in temples built by human hands, and how one does not please or serve Him by building churches. Now follows the other piece, where St. Stephen speaks: "You have received the law through the business of angels, and have not kept it." With this he gives to understand that no one can fulfill the law with works, but it must be done by faith. You may think that St. Stephen had a mighty mind, that he could pass such a judgment on them, that they did not keep the law, if they nevertheless stood on it, as if they kept even the smallest tittle in the law; and if one should have judged it according to the world and reason, then everyone would have had to conclude that they were pious people and kept the law right; yes, they were partly such people in
If you were to go out to all the monasteries, even among the Carthusians, you would hardly find one who could boast of such piety before the world. But here you hear Stephen say that there are boys in the skin, they have not kept the law; for the Holy Spirit sees deeper than we do: he judges according to the heart, not according to works.
This is what I have often said, that we may conclude with joy: He that hath not faith is damned. Now it is certain that whoever keeps the law will be saved. Therefore Stephen concludes strongly that they do not keep it. As if he wanted to say, "Even though you are righteous people, you are the most desperate of boys in your hearts, as well as murderers and traitors. The Jews thought it was so, and knew not otherwise, that they had kept the law: therefore if he had said it openly, they would not have admitted it: You murderers, you adulterers, you thieves; for then they would have gone and said: We have not strangled anyone with our hands, we have not weakened anyone's wife or child, we have not stolen anything from anyone. Therefore they could pretend that they were pious people, and he could now say that they had not kept the law, and even called them traitors and murderers of innocent blood; therefore he would have to die. So it goes on to this day; as we see that the papists do: if one says that their thing is nothing and damnable, they cry out that we forbid good works, and therefore persecute the righteous, and think that they are doing God a service by it.
(24) Now you learn that without faith no law is kept, so that you may freely and strongly conclude that he who does not have faith has not fulfilled any letter of the law. This is because Christ said, "He who does not believe is condemned," Marc. 16:16. Now God condemns no one except the one who disobeys the law and does not keep it. Therefore it certainly follows that he who does not believe is condemned and does not keep the law; but he who believes is followed by the Holy Spirit, who makes him fulfill the law. But where there is not the Holy Spirit, there may be
A man may pray, sacrifice, fast, and do many works, but inwardly there remains in his heart resentment and distaste for the law, and also for God, as the one who gave the law, so that he is never at ease with God and has no joy or peace in his heart; he is always full of grief and hope. Then he is also not kind in his heart toward his neighbor; yes, what he does good to him, that is all done for a pretense: before him he is good to him, but when he comes from him, he scratches *) and scratches him. Summa, he is a poisonous evil mouth, loves no one but himself. And these same people still lead a seeming life, going about with other works, so that they themselves think they are pious; there they go and build churches, endow altars, and do other works that are neither useful to God nor to their neighbor, and deceive other people and themselves.
(25) And here the consciences have been so straitened that we have considered these works greater and more holy than even those which God commanded. If one has committed adultery, it is not as great as if he had eaten meat on Friday. So also with the churches: if one has cut a little into a stone, the church has been desecrated; but if one has murdered his neighbor, he has been forgiven much less than if he had desecrated a church or churchyard. Such things have been taught and preached in our churches and temples, and have also been practiced there, so that in no place has God been blasphemed and desecrated more than in the very churches and places of worship as they have been called; so that I may well say that it would be better that all churches were dancing houses than such churches, where such foolish work is preached and practiced inside, so that God's honor is taken away and countless souls are destroyed. Yes, I would almost say that these churches are worse than all common women's houses; for there one poisons and desecrates a thousand or more souls at once, and such a preacher is a thousand times worse than a women's host, who preaches so many tender sea-
*) "Krimmen" or "krammen" - to claw.
D. Red.
len with such his sermons. We have often said more about this, God grant that we may only recognize such things.
26 Furthermore, St. Stephen also gives a teaching of Christian love, and one might well raise a question here: Whether St. Stephen was right to attack the Jews in such a hostile manner and to rebuke them in such an evil way? You have heard in the first epistle of Peter Cap. 3, 9. 15. that Christians should not rebuke and scold, but with all meekness show the reason for their faith and answer for it. Is it not called scolding when one reads such a text to the enemies, as St. Stephen does here to the Jews? He was a lowly man; they were great lords. Now it is also forbidden in the law, Exodus 22:28, not to curse the great lords, and the pope also says not to touch them. Why? They would get angry and it would become a riot. How then does St. Stephen here, forgetting that they are great lords, call them murderers, traitors and evil-doers?
The answer to this is soon given. I have said before: If one had people, then it would be good to preach and easy to make a Christian order. If you have such a spirit as St. Stephen's, you rebuke well; but if you have not the spirit, you rebuke never well. Therefore, as I have often said, the works of the saints seem at times to be evil; again, the works of hypocrites are considered better than the works of the saints. Therefore St. Peter forbids not to rebuke as flesh and blood rebuke and curse; but he does not forbid to rebuke as the Holy Spirit rebuke and do. St. Stephen had great faith and Christian love. If you also have both of these, the Holy Spirit will either rebuke you or be kind to you, depending on the time and the matter. Such a heart, as St. Stephen does here, cannot suffer Christ to be blasphemed and suppressed in this way. Now this is called divine zeal, as the Scripture calls it, in the 69th Psalm v. 10: "Zeal for your house devours me."
Here, love forces St. Stephen to suffer so much and he is angry about it;
Because he cannot bear such dishonor and blasphemy, which God reflects here, because of his great love. Therefore he does not see how lowly he is or how great lords they are, but scolds them freely in the worst way. Now if thou hast such a spirit, thou mayest reprove and be glad: but if thou hast not the spirit, and wilt do the work afterward, thou shalt fail: and it shall be unto thee as it was unto the Jews, who also fell to works, when Solomon built the temple, and did a good work, saying, Why then should we reject the temple? For this reason Stephen did not sin against St. Peter, for he did not reproach him for his own sake, but defended the Lord. Just as we should do if a bishop or priest, or our neighbor, be he what he may, is a full sow, has two, three, or four whores, and is laden with other gross vices; then say, "I will gladly cover this up, and will not say it. But if he open his mouth, and preach, and set a thing against Christ, which shall not be covered, but uncovered, then shalt thou not hold thy peace, but speak against it, and uncover such seduction, and say, No, I will not hold my peace, thou must be put to shame there: for thou wilt destroy souls, and oppress Christ; there is no silence. "Cursed be the man who is silent," as Jeremiah Cap. 48:10, where one must strike with sharpness, so that it goes to the destruction of souls.
(29) I also have the word that I am fierce and biting. I do not boast that I have the spirit that St. Stephen had; but I know well that I do not touch them for the sake of their lives, but I cannot keep silent about the doctrine: and the more they forbid us, the more we want to bite and open our mouths wider and wider. In that case, you don't have to look at who is big or who is small; it is
*) The edition d has: "probably cheerfully scold".
D. Red.
concerns our Lord. What is it to me that I reproach the pope? Neither he nor I will get better from it. But it is Christ's business, for whom he is after his honor, glory, and praise, because he preaches and teaches such doctrines as serve only to bring about Christ's downfall. For if Christ stands, the pope falls; if the pope falls, Christ stands.
(30) So you should answer when they say that St. Stephen scolded them that he did it out of great love. And this can be seen in the fact that he meant them well. For when he was executed and stoned, he did not kneel and pray for himself, but when he wanted to pray for his murderers and enemies, he knelt down and cried out loudly, saying, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them, for they do not know what they are doing," as you have heard. There you see that he does not pray for himself as diligently as for these his enemies. From this you can feel and notice that he does not punish them because he wanted to avenge himself with it, but because he sought God's honor. There was an exuberant love that he also wanted to lay down his life for them. Therefore, the text makes it clear that his rebuke must have been a deliciously good work, for which the Holy Spirit drove him. And his prayer was so great before God that I think, as Augustine also says, that through such prayer he also brought Paul to him,
Lastly, there is also a fine consolation that St. Stephen's heavens are open and that he has fallen asleep. We should know that our Lord God is with us if we believe, and that death is not death to those who believe. So in this history you have painted the whole gospel, faith, love, cross, death and life. There is still a whole sermon to be preached about this, but time does not permit it, and I have preached and written enough about it before. Therefore, let us leave it at that for now, and call upon God for mercy, so that we may grasp this, and one day also live our lives according to it, amen.