In those days Peter stood forth in the midst of the disciples, and said, Men and brethren, this scripture must be fulfilled, which the Holy Ghost spake aforetime by the mouth of David of Judah, which was a forerunner of them that caught Jesus. For he was numbered with us, and had inherited the seizure of this office. He possessed the field for the wages of iniquity, and rose up, and brake in pieces in the midst, and poured out his bowels. And it was known unto all them that dwell in Jerusalem; so that the same field is called in their language, Akeldama, that is, a field of blood.
For it is written in the book of Psalms: Their dwellings must become desolate
And let no man dwell therein, and receive his bishopric from another. So then, among the men who have been gathered with us all the time that Jesus has been coming and going among us, from the first baptism of John until the day he is taken from us, there must be a witness of his resurrection with us, one of these.
3rd "And they set two, Joseph, called Barsabas, surnamed Just, and Matthiam, praying, saying: O Lord, the foreteller of all hearts, show us which of these two thou hast chosen, that one may receive the charge of this ministry and apostleship, whereof Judas is departed, that he may go into his own place. And they gave the lot over them, and the lot fell upon Matthiam, and he was assigned to the eleven apostles."
On the day of the Annunciation of Mary.*)
Luc. 1, 26-38.
And in the sixth moon the angel Gabriel was sent by God into a city of Galilee, which is called Nazareth, unto a virgin, which was trusted unto a man, whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, blessed art thou: the Lord is with thee, thou that givest gift among women. When she saw him, she was frightened by his words and thought: What greeting is this? And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favor with God. Behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bear a son, and shalt call his name Jesus. He shall be called great and the Son of the Most High, and God the Lord shall give him the throne of his father David; and he shall be king over the house of Jacob for ever, and his kingdom shall have no end. Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be? for I know of no man. The angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Most High shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. And behold, Elizabeth, thy friend, is also with child with a son, in her old age, and now goeth in the sixth moon, which is in cry, that she is barren. For with God no thing is impossible. And Mary said, Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord: be it done unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.
(1) This is a joyful and sweet gospel, in which faith is held forth to us once more, as in all the other gospels; for we shall hear how Mary the Virgin has such a high faith, the like of which we have not found much in Scripture; by which also we shall be provoked to faith. For this gospel holds out to us a doctrine and an exhortation. And here we shall see how great a thing faith is, what its nature and manner is, how it relies on no other thing than the mere word of God. Which we will find here, if we look at the circumstances of this history correctly.
For the first time Mary hears here and is announced to her by the angel that she should bear a child and become a mother. Now this was not a great thing; for this might also easily be believed by another virgin, where she is entrusted to a man. But let us see that this virgin herself speaks here and answers to the message of the angel: "How is this to happen, since I know of no man? She is surprised at what was announced to her, namely that she should become a mother, when she does not know of any man: nor does she believe the words of the angel. That is a great faith, to become a mother and to remain a virgin, that truly surpasses sense, thought, and all human reason and experience. Here Mary has no example in all creatures of the earth, on which she could hold and strengthen herself, yes, they are all against her faith; because she alone is there, who against all human reason, sense and thought, without the help of a man, should give birth and become a mother. Do you not think that such a puff of faith has gone to her heart? For she was also flesh and blood like ours. Therefore she had to let go of everything, even herself, and cling only to the word which the angel proclaimed to her from God.
3. secondly, here is the greatness of this message, which also challenged her faith, for it was proclaimed that she should receive the Most High and the Son of God.
and give birth, whose kingdom would be without end. How did this rhyme with her? She was a poor little maid of thirteen, fourteen or fifteen years; for it is to be believed that she was not highly respected in Nazareth, as she says of herself in her Magnificat: "He looked upon the lowliness of his maid", Luc. 1, 48; but her parents were of a lowly nature and standing, common simple people, yes, who knows whether her father and mother lived that time. It is said that she was an orphan; and it is not, as some say, that Joachim and Anna, her parents, were rich, and divided their goods into three parts, giving one part to the church, the other to the poor, and the third to Mary; it is a fictitious thing; though more things are said without scripture and reason.
4 As it happened to Mary with her faith, so it happens to all of us that we must believe what is contrary to our understanding, thoughts, experience and example. For this is the quality and nature of faith, that it cannot suffer anything besides itself, on which man may steer or go, but the mere word of God or divine promise. Do you not think that the devil will reproach us, especially in death and distress, and say: "Behold, how the whole world is forsaken by God, and how little they are preserved; do you think he will do something special to you above all others, and thus make you blessed without all merit? and what words he will now use, [as he can most terribly pretend *]. So Mary would also have thought here and would have disputed with herself out of reason: What new thing wants to be started with you? If she had followed reason, it would have been difficult for her to do so, for she had not the slightest movement to do so, since the whole of nature and the creature were opposed to her. But what does she do? She believes, closes her eyes, although reason and all creatures are against her; her heart hangs on the word alone.
(5) Therefore the devil turns to all diligence and brings before natural things and spirits.
*) (c d)
The devil has already won, because he is fighting against the word of faith, so that he may steal the word away from man, and man may begin to wriggle. One who contends with faith will soon be confronted with the things that are contrary to the word; but faith abandons all creatures, all visible things in the world, even itself, and clings to God's word. Yes, that is how it must be, dear fellow, faith does not rest on anything, does not grope for something that it is sure of; it is also kept that way. This is also what Christ means in John 8:51, when he says: "Verily, verily, I say unto you, If any man keep my word, he shall never see death"; that is, whoever holds fast to my promise with faith shall never die. The Lord does not speak here of the keeping of the commandments of God, as the sophists interpret it, but of the word of faith and gospel. For in death you will see before you hell, the devil, sin, your own nature; so you would like to stay here longer and are horrified by such a face. If you remain in this sight, you will perish; but if you hang on the word of God and close your eyes, you will be preserved. How is that? Thus it comes to pass that the word of God is living, which death cannot swallow up; where therefore the word abideth, there abideth thou also.
(6) There was truly great faith in the young maiden Mary, that she overcame all visible contradictory things and clung only to the word of the angel. Nor is she moved, as has been said, by the fact that such great things are proclaimed to her, that she is to conceive and bear God's Son and a king; she might well have said, "Who am I, poor little worm, to bear a king? and thus have doubted it: but she closes her eyes, trusting God that he is mighty to accomplish all these things, although reason and all creatures are against it. Because she now believes, it also happens to her as the angel said.
(7) This is what happens to us, and especially when we die, our nature and the devil will present us with the
The greatness of God's abundant goods, with which he has abundantly graced and showered us, is so abundant that no human heart can comprehend or measure it, much less can anyone attain it with words. For it is an unspeakable thing that he who believes in Christ is master of death, sin, the devil and hell, and also a joint heir with Christ. A man must be appalled at this and think, "You are a poor, miserable man; who are you that you should live forever in heaven? You are not at all qualified to receive such great goods. The heart must tremble, for it is too narrow, and the goods are too great, it cannot comprehend them. Therefore, you must be wise here and not let it bother you; you must not look at your worthiness or unworthiness, but at the word and promise of God, that it is not your strength that does it; but it is God's good pleasure who lets you proclaim and promise such things.
8 Thus Christ comforts his disciples in Luca Cap. 12, 32, when he says: "Fear not, little host, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom"; as if he wanted to speak: Ye have not deserved it, ye have deserved hell: but whatsoever befalleth you is pure grace, promised unto you of the Father's good pleasure: therefore believe it, and ye shall have it. It is indeed a great thing that we are children of God and brethren of Christ, that we have power and are lords over death, sin, the devil and hell; but not all men have such power, but they alone who believe. For he who believes that God is our Father and we are his children, may fear no one; for God is his protector, in whose power are all things, the hearts of all men in his hand. Let me see, who will harm me if I believe this and have such confidence in God? Yes, I must have and feel such faith in my heart; for it does not want to float on the tongue alone, nor does it want to stick in the ears, but it goes to the bottom of the heart.
(9) They have not faith, who are so covetous, that they scrape and scrape to themselves the goods of this world, even with the other hurt: for if they had faith, they would
They trust God so much that he would feed them here in time. Since they do not trust in him for temporal goods to sustain them here on earth, how will they trust him to feed and sustain them eternally? This food here is temporal and perishable, but that which the soul has is eternal; and without the same food the soul also cannot live, just as the body cannot live without the bodily food. Therefore, if the soul is deprived of spiritual food, it is already dead and has no life in itself, which is given to it only through Christ; as he himself says in John 11:25, 26: "I am the resurrection and the life; he that believeth on me, though he were dead, yet shall he live; and whosoever liveth and believeth on me shall never die."
(10) It is the same with our enemies. If I trust in God, that he is almighty, and has all things in his power, then I am not afraid of my enemies; for God has my enemy's heart and thoughts in his hand, as well as mine; for he is a lord of death and life, let alone of men. This is what Solomon means in Proverbs Cap. 15, 11, where he says: "Hell and destruction are before the Lord, how much more the heart of man!" Because death and life are in his hand, who will do me harm without his will? But if he will let me die, well, he can make me alive again. We have all these things through Christ, if we believe in him. That is why we must hear the word of the angel here, when he says: Christ will have a kingdom and will reign forever; because the greater we can make this king, the more our faith will be strengthened, if we believe that he is as powerful as the angel says about him. If we believe this, we will have no trouble; we will not be afraid of death or hell, let alone of any man.
(11) Such was the faith of the three boys in Daniel chap. 3, 21, when they allowed themselves to be bound and thrown into a fiery oven, because they had confidence in God that he could save them even from the midst of the fire; and it happened. This is also what the 23rd Psalm means
V. 4, where he says, "Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me, thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me. And in another Psalm (3:7, 8) David says thus, "I will not fear for a hundred thousand people that are set against me round about." And says Cause, "Arise, O Lord, and help me, my God, for thou smitest all mine enemies in the jaws, and breakest the teeth of the wicked." And St. Paul says to the Romans Cap. 14, 7. 8.: "None of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. If we live, we live to the Lord; if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord's." If anyone does anything to me, he does not do it to me, but to my Lord. Well, no one can have such comforting confidence unless he has a strong faith, which is directed only to God and His Word. The human heart cannot measure such high goods, indeed, it is terrified of them where there is no faith.
(12) Therefore, in this Gospel we are presented with an example of great faith, so that we may be exhorted and encouraged to believe, and thus always increase and be strengthened in faith. Do you think that Mary did not suffer a puff in her heart? Should she have immediately believed the high things freely and freshly? No, she certainly felt a pang of unbelief in her; otherwise she would not have asked and said, "How is this to happen, since I know of no man?" That is why the angel also acts gently with her, speaks kindly and strengthens her, and says:
The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore also the holy one who is born of you will be called the Son of God.
13 As if he wanted to speak: It is not man's work that I speak to you, God will work in you supernaturally his work, which neither you nor I can understand; therefore believe my words and give glory to God: what seems impossible to you, with God everything is possible. Furthermore, comfort and strengthen them also by an example, and say:
And behold, Elizabeth, your friend, also conceives with a son in her old age.
and go now in the sixth moon, which is in cry, that it is barren; for with God no thing is impossible.
(14) With this example, the angel wants to show that even impossible things are possible in the sight of God. For Elizabeth, he says, though she was old and barren, and had come to be called barren, yet she conceived by Zachariah her husband, and bore another child. Therefore let this example move you, and believe my words; it will surely come to you, as I have told you.
15 These words, when the angel says, "With God no thing is impossible," should also comfort us when we waver and falter in our faith; as Christ also says in Mark 9:23: "All things are possible to him who believes. For Christ knows well that we cannot comprehend the abundant riches of his grace, for they surpass all our sense and thought: therefore he only provokes us to faith, for which nothing is too hard. Thus we have the main parts of this gospel badly covered; from which we learn how a right and proper faith is formed and what its nature is, so that it does not cling to any outward things, to any works as they are called, but only to God's word. Now let us also look a little at the spiritual interpretation or secret interpretation, if we have enough time left.
Secret interpretation.
(16) First, we are reminded how a right preacher should be skillful, where he wants to preach the word of God fruitfully, in that Lucas writes that the angel was sent by God. This indicates that a preacher should be sent by God, and not preach his word, but God's word, that he is not a lord, but a messenger and a servant of the word. For angelus is a Greek word, and in German it means a messenger, and such a messenger who carries the message in his mouth, not in letters, but in the Word. So Paul says in 1 Cor. 4, 1: "For this everyone considers us, namely, Christ's servants and stewards of God's secret.
niß." So we read Luc. 9, 52, that the Lord, who was traveling to Jerusalem, sent "messengers" to a market of the Samaritans, who ordered him lodging; the Latin and Greek text has "angels". These were certainly not angels, but his disciples; therefore I have translated it "messengers" and not "angels".
17 From this we should learn that no one should preach unless he is sent by God, that is, unless he has a sure sign from God or is called by proper authority, so that he can boast against the false apostles who have none. And it is this that St. Paul boasts of his apostleship so highly and often, indeed in all epistles, when he says Rom. 1, 1: "Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, a called apostle, set apart for the gospel of God" etc. If a worldly wise man comes and wants to judge by reason, he should say that Paul is a haughty man who only boasts, but he does not seek anything else in his glory than to testify that his word is God's word, against the false apostles, of whom there were many in his time, who could not boast of their calling, nor prove that they had God's word without doubt.
18. then he is called "the angel Gabriel", which is as much as God or God's strength, who is strengthened and hardened by God. For if a preacher does not have his strength and power from God, he will not long continue preaching, nor will he constantly proclaim the truth, but will step back when persecution and death come. He cannot stand; for he has no emphasis, he is not called Gabriel, Gotthart, that is, he is not strengthened by God. Therefore, all preachers must be called Gabriel, that is, they must have and feel God's strength with them: then they will proclaim God's word fruitfully and constantly, for fruit must surely follow. But if a preacher does not feel such strength from God, he will only be silent; he will accomplish little, yes, nothing at all. God's word is not such a small thing that it should enter with fear and trembling. The devil, the world and everything that is in the world are against it.
is high, great and holy; therefore there must also be great strength to fight against it. Which indeed human strength cannot do, God's power and might must do it, otherwise nothing will come of it.
19 This is what is said about the word "Gabriel". It follows that this angel Gabriel was sent to the city of Nazareth to Mary of the virgins, who was entrusted to a man named Joseph. "Mary" [or "Miriam" *] is a Hebrew name, and means with the Hebrews as much as with us a droplet of water, which remains hanging on a bucket or jug, which droplet has no comparison, if it is counted to the sea or against a large water. Here means the Jewish people, to whom God's word, the holy gospel, was sent, but only the smallest group, which here means Mary, accepts it and believes it; except for the apostles, otherwise there were very few Jews who accepted the gospel. What is two and seventy men against such a great and mighty nation of Jews?
020 Now this virgin Mary trusted in a man, and yet remained a virgin; signifying that the gospel is preached only to them that are oppressed and martyred under the law; for to be under the law is like being under the obedience of man. Because the man lives, the woman is under the obedience of the man; so also, because the law is there, it oppresses and tortures: but if the man dies, the woman is free, the law is abolished, and can never oppress, drive, demand, torture, nor torment. St. Paul interprets this well when he says Rom. 7, 1-1: "Do you not know, brethren (for I speak to those who know the law), that the law rules over man as long as he lives? For a woman who is under a man, while the man lives, she is bound by the law; but if the man dies, she is loosed from the law concerning the man. Now if she be with another man, because the man liveth, she is called an adulteress: but if the man die, she is free from the law, that she be not an adulteress; if she be with another man, she is called an adulteress.
*) (c d)
man. So you also, my brethren, have been put to death by the law through the body of Christ, that you may be with another, even with him who was raised from the dead, that we may bring forth fruit to God."
21. The law is the man and the conscience is the woman. Now, the woman shall have a husband and not have a husband, that is, she shall remain unchanged and virgin with him. So this goes: We are under the law and yet not under the law, that is, even though we live under the law, we are not subjected to the law, but remain free and unchanged from the law, as here Mary remains a virgin with Joseph. But this happens when I live under the law in faith, and do the works of the law freely and with pleasure, not out of compulsion of the law or that I think I will be saved by the works; but I hang on to faith alone, through which I have enough, am rich and blessed; but the works I practice and do, even if there were no law, with a joyful, happy, willing heart, everything that only the law can demand of me; which I could not do before, because I did not have faith. But I do not stand on this, nor do I rely on works, but my life is by faith alone.
(22) So then I live under the law, and yet I am not under the law; for I do not do works because the law requires them, no; but I am free from the law through faith, which is not bound by any law or work. Now he is not idle, but works first of all right fundamental good works; but he has not put his trust in works, but in faith alone *). So St. Paul says to the Galatians Cap. 2, 20: "What I live by in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God"; as if he wanted to say: The works that I do while I live in the flesh are not my life, on which I stand or build; but faith is my life, which is my comfort, hope and confidence; by this alone, and not by my works which I do in the flesh, I hope to be saved. Therefore he also says from the prophet Habakkuk Cap. 2, 4. to the
*) by God's grace alone (c d). D. Red.
Romans Cap. 1, 17: "The righteous shall live by faith." And so faith in the law keeps us pure and unchanged.
23. That ye may understand, take an example and likeness: If I keep this day as if it were commanded me, and in that I keep it, I think I have done a good work; but if I do not keep it solemnly, I think I have broken it, and sinned against it: if I thus remember, my virginity is already gone, I have already lost the garland; for I am defiled by the law, and have slept with the man. But if I celebrate the day, and think that I do no good work in it, and if I slacken the celebration, yet have nothing broken thereby; and so do not fall on it, if I hold it, as if I had done a good work, by which I would be saved: so I remain pure and undefiled by the man; for right faith keeps me in my virginity; but unbelief *), which I hold, if I did not celebrate, if I had done a sin, makes me unclean.
(24) Now see what is the right faith, which is not based on any work, but only on the unmerited mercy of God; but few people have such faith. That is why Mary is called a droplet of the sea. For as the sea exceeds the drop of water beyond all measure, so also the true Christians who have this righteous faith are in no way like the rest of the multitude, even though they also have the name.
025 Now therefore ye have heard how the law is the man, and the conscience is the woman. If the conscience cleaves to the law, so that it commits sin when it does not keep the law, and does a good work for salvation when it keeps the law, virginity is already lost. For this alone is spiritual virginity, which is based on faith in Christ, and does the law freely, without constraint, with love, to please God. If we keep the law or commandment of God according to the possibility of nature, that is, without the Spirit of God, it becomes pure hypocrisy, and a woman who has many children;
*) Instead of "misbelief", ä have "misuse".
D. Red.
For as a woman hath fruit of a man, so do the people under the law, which bringeth forth much fruit, that is, doeth much work of the law.
26 This is also shown to us by the two wives of Elkanah in the first part of Samuel, Cap. 1, 1. 2. The one, Peninnah, had many children, but the other, Hannah, had no children. These are the two nations of the law: one does many works, but without faith, unwillingly and unwillingly, and these are defiled women; the other does the works of the law in faith, freely, willingly and cheerfully; these are pure virgins. This is how it is with the pope's commandments. If the pope commands this or that, and I say, "Well, I will do the work to please the pope; I do not care much about it, my blessedness is not in it; I do it freely, not as if I had to do it: then the bride is still pure and unchanged. But when I think: If you do not keep the pope's commandment, you are committing a mortal sin: then the bride becomes a whore, and forfeits her virginity; for then she has lost faith, and believed that works make her blessed or damned, and not mere faith in Christ.
(27) Notice also, as I have said, that the gospel is most excellent to preach to those who are under the law, but do not practice the works of the law, that is, who feel the weight and burden of the law, that it requires of them those things which they are not able to do by their own strength, but do not fall into it with their natural ability, that they may keep it by outward works alone; but in their fear and impossibility *) they wait for greater help, that they may accomplish it from the heart. To such troubled consciences, who recognize their misery and sin and are thirsty, the angel, the preacher of the word of God, is sent; he proclaims to them the word that they should become mothers of Christ, in whom God dwells through Christ, God and man. Let this be said of this Gospel; let us now also set forth the interpretation of the angelic greeting.