Matth. 25, 1-13.
Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet their bridegroom. But five of them were foolish, and five were wise. The foolish took their lamps, but they did not take oil with them. But the wise took oil in their vessels, with their lamps. When the bridegroom left, they all became sleepy and fell asleep. But at midnight there was a cry, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him. Then these virgins all arose and trimmed their lamps. But the foolish said to the wise, "Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out. Then the wise answered and said: Not so, lest it break both our lamps and yours. But go ye to the merchants, and buy for yourselves. And as they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut. At last the other virgins also came, saying: Lord, Lord, open to us. And he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not. Watch therefore: for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man shall come.)
I have not taken this gospel before me to confirm the legend of St. Catherine, which, if you look at it right, has more lies than truth in it. Be that as it may, let us abandon the legends because they are uncertain, and let us take the gospel before us, which can neither deceive nor mislead us. You have heard in the parable how ten virgins with their lamps came to meet the bridegroom: five of them were wise, but the others were foolish. In which two kinds of Christians are shown to us, namely, righteous Christians and fictitious ones who let themselves be considered Christians.
(2) But here we will not speak anything at all, nor will we include in these two generations those who promise and persecute the gospel, for they are not worthy to be called foolish virgins. But this is the nature and manner of the gospel, that it must be persecuted, the devil cannot bear it; therefore he opposes it with all he can muster. Therefore, one must not be mistaken that this is how it happens when the
*Marginal gloss to v. 3: their lamps. The lamps without oil are the good works without faith, which must all go out; but the oil vessel is faith in conscience by the grace of God, which does good works that endure. But as here the oil gives none of the others, so each one must believe for himself.
For Christ says: "If a strong man keeps his house, his own remains in peace. But if a stronger man comes upon him and overcomes him, he takes away his armor, on which he relied, and divides the spoil," Luc. 11:21, 22.
When Christ, the stronger, came in his first future (for before the devil had the reign over the whole world), he was weakened as a false prince; so it is now and before the other future. The devil ruled in the high schools for a long time, and everything was at peace. But now, when the holy gospel has come by the grace of God, and touches our doctors in the wool, and touches them, and exposes their mischief, they rage, rage, rage, and rage, as they would be mad and foolish, furious and senseless; there is no more peace. Yes, they say, we are Doctores and Magistri nostri, we are commanded by the pope to interpret the Scriptures. Certainly, yes, if it were directed with their exercitiis, copulatis summis, and such laborinthis [dreams, glosses, and what is more of the devil's filth *]; if they would extinguish hell with their quests (questions), and exclude heaven with their distinctions: then it would be something. It does not apply here great
*) (c d)
The titles they use are not Aristotle, Plato or Averrois; we have to speak of another, which is more important to us, that is, the holy Gospel. This does not teach you how to gain honor, favor, gold, silver, joy and courage in this world, as these do who lead them; but it is such a great, worthy, excellent, mighty thing that it teaches and instructs you how to overcome sin, death, the devil and hell. To fight against this is not to be scolded; it must be a clear, sharp and strong sword against such violence. Therefore it is nothing with these weak, poor sophists; "we have not to fight with flesh and blood," says Paul to the Ephesians Cap. 6, 12, "but with princes and mighty men, with the world rulers of darkness in this world, with the spirits of wickedness under heaven."
4 For this reason the gospel must suffer so much trouble, and there will be no end of it yet. But he that understandeth it aright suffereth not such tempests and torrents of water, but continueth steadfast. Even if one man stands up today and preaches this way, and another man stands up tomorrow and preaches another way, the evangelical man does not fall there and then, but remains until the end. Therefore he is truly blessed, as Christ says: "He who perseveres to the end will be blessed," Matth. 24, 13. It is like in a battle, where two armies lie against each other: they fight on both sides, each of them keeps himself to the best of his ability, and dares not to leave the group, fights fiercely against the enemies, whom he considers to be unjust and mortal enemies.
5 Therefore, a devout Christian should guard himself with the holy gospel against his enemies, the devil and all his followers, and should preach the gospel loudly and clearly, faithfully asking God to let it go forth according to his nature and way; truly, it will not return without fruit and riches to him who sent it; as St. Paul admonishes the Ephesians, chap. 6, 13-20. Paul admonishes the Ephesians Cap. 6, 13-20: "For this reason," he says, "take hold of the armor of God, so that you may be able to resist the
evil day, and in all things be ye armed. Stand therefore, girding your loins with the truth, and clothed with the cancer of righteousness, and shod on your feet with the armor of the gospel of peace. In all things take hold of the shield of faith, with which ye may quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take unto you the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray always in all things, with supplication and supplications in the spirit, and watch for it with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints, and for me, that the word may be given to me with the joyful opening of my mouth, that I may make known the mystery of the gospel, concerning which I am an ambassador in the chain, that I may act joyfully therein, and speak as it befits."
(6) Therefore we must be careful that if we do not want to preserve the gospel with its own power, but with our own strength, it will be lost; for if one wants to defend it in the best way, it will fall. Let us refrain completely from worrying; the gospel does not need our help, it is powerful enough on its own: command it to God alone, he alone will protect it and handle it well. So I do to him, although there are many and great obstacles against us; all this does not concern me at all for the sake of the gospel, nor do I care how I defend it. I and all of us are too weak to defend such a word; I have commanded it to the dear God, it is ever his word, he is man enough to defend and protect it, no matter how much they rage and rage.
Therefore, it is a very bad thing that this poor group of sophists opposes it. What do these bats want to do with their feather wipes? Let them go, they are an unlearned people by the grace of God. That is still nothing, they are still merciful enemies; it must still become much different, so that the whole world will lie down against it, and promise and condemn this word. But we have the consolation, and are certain of it, that the gates and all the power of the hells may not prevail, and that they may not be destroyed.
In all this there is no better counsel than to preach the gospel badly and loudly from now on, and to ask God to guide and lead us. I do not know any other way to do it, and I also do it this way and am happy about it in the name of God.
8 Therefore I say, that these adversaries and persecutors of the gospel are not worthy to be numbered among the foolish virgins. For the Lord speaks here of those who gladly hear the gospel, of Christendom; whom he likened to ten virgins, of whom five are wise, but five are foolish. Here the Lord calls all Christians virgins. The foolish virgins are the Christians who let themselves be considered Christians, and hear the gospel, want to be good evangelicals, and can say many things about these things, they praise the word and say: A fine thing it is, it is so, it must be understood, it cannot and may not be otherwise according to the Scriptures; and how they know how to speak of it more with pretty adorned words. To them St. Paul says in 1 Cor. 4:20: "The kingdom of God is not in words, but in power." It is not with words, but with life; not with words, but with works. But because they are able to say many things, and are not willing to follow them with works and deeds, they are truly foolish virgins, having only the lamps, that is, the outward show and splendor, and doing after their manner, as Christ says of them in Matthew, Cap. 7:21, that they always say, "Lord, Lord!" The mouth is there, but the heart is far from them; the oil is not in the lamp, that is, the faith is not in the heart. But they do not think about it, they do not know it, and they think that their lamps are ready. Their way is, that they like to hear preaching of faith, and when they have heard the word, they make themselves and invent a thought, a delusion in the heart; which they take for the oil: and yet they harden *) alike in their habit than before, are after their old manner alike as angry as before, alike as miserly, alike as un-
*) Walch has "harden", b, "persist". D. Red.
mercifully to the poor, without art and science as before. This faith or delusion, which they make for themselves, is a creature of man; therefore it is like the foam on the water or the Gäscht on the bad beer, which soon passes away and has no continuance.
(9) The other virgins, the wise ones, not only carry the lamps in their hands, but also have the oil, that is, the right faith that God created and made in their hearts, along with the lamp. They have these so that they can defend themselves; for they have God's work with them, and not a made-up human delusion that may not hold the sting when death blows under their eyes. These are hardened in divine promise and the Spirit of God works great things through them, even now they would rather die than live. Now look at it, this parable will be hard before the last judgment of God, and it will be done in this way with all Christians; for many of them will turn, and that several part, some to the preached faith, the others to the right faith. Therefore it is to be considered, after the word of God is thus begun and works unequally, that the last day is not far off.
(10) Now notice in this gospel that by the lamps without oil we are given an external thing and a bodily exercise without faith in the heart; but the lamps with the oil are the internal riches, also the external works with true faith. For if faith is of the kind that God creates and awakens in the heart, then man trusts in Christ; yes, he is also so strongly founded on Christ that he defies sin, death, hell, the devil and all God's adversaries, and is not afraid of any misfortune, no matter how hard and cruel it may be. And this is the kind of right faith, which is not at all like the faith of the Sophists, Jews and Turks, who fall upon a thing with human thoughts alone, presume, believe that this or that is so. But God has nothing to do with such delusion; it is man's work, and such a delusion comes from
Nature, from the free will of man, so that they can speak according to it and say to others: I believe that there is a God, that Christ was born, died and rose again for me; but what it is and how strong such faith is, they know nothing about it. And even though one has such faith from God, it is nothing unless there is oil, and unless God pours in the right oil and gives his Son, Jesus Christ, to the heart as his very own, and all that he has.
From such righteous true faith comes the wonderful change that Christ gives Himself and His goods to the believer, and takes for Himself the heart of the believer and what is in it. But what is now in Christ? Innocence, godliness, righteousness, blessedness and all good things; item, Christ has overcome sin, death, hell and the devil. So all this happens in him who understands, firmly believes and trusts that he will become an overcomer of sin, death, hell and the devil in Christ Jesus. Also the innocence of Jesus Christ becomes his innocence; like Christ's piety, holiness, blessedness, and all that is in Christ, is in a believing heart with Christ.
12 Therefore our lamps shall not be put out. For if we go to God the Lord with our own works, however beautiful they may shine and shine before the world, it is all in vain and condemned. For if the wise virgins alone had had the lamps, it would have been of no use to them at all, as well as to their companions; for eternal life cannot be obtained by our good works, however good they may be, but only by faith, that you then say from your heart: O Lord, though I am not worthy to see heaven for a moment, neither can my works redeem me from sin, death, the devil, and hell: yet thou hast given me thy Son Jesus Christ, who is far more excellent and precious than heaven; he is also far stronger than sin, death, the devil, and hell.
13. But God awakens such faith in us; from it also follow the right Christian works, with which we come to the aid of our neighbor and serve him. But if anyone would hope in such works and put his trust in them, he would be condemned, for he would not give glory to God and the faith He awakens and creates, but to the creature and to works, which is a great blasphemy. As I am concerned, there are many such saints of works in our times, who also deceive themselves and other people with good works (as they call them). They also say that our works are nothing, and yet they work on free will; but as for grace and faith, they know less than a man knows about the Psalter.
(14) Therefore, beware of the faith that is made up and fabricated, for true faith is not the work of man. For this reason, even imaginary and made-up faith cannot stand the test of death; it is overcome and even overthrown by sin, by the devil, and by the pains of hell. The right faith, however, is a complete trust in Christ in the heart, and only God awakens this in us. He who has it is blessed; he who does not have it is condemned, Marc. 16, 16. Such faith does not come from one's own willingness, but when the word of God is preached publicly and clearly, then such faith and hope arise, and such strong confidence in Christ.
(15) But in monasteries and universities we have had to hear and learn how Christ is a harsh and sharp judge, when he alone is a mediator between God and man; thus we have raised up Mariam and many other saints who should pray for us. Therefore there are so many foundations, so many pilgrimages and so many foolish works that they cannot all be told. Behold, here in the Gospel Christ calls all Christians together one bride and he is the bridegroom; here shall be no means. What kind of marriage would it be if a mediator had to stand between the marriage and acquire something for the bride from her bridegroom?
(16) It is a bad love and a dilapidated marriage if the bridegroom does not give his bride the keys and power over wine, bread and everything in the house. So here we are to know that Christ is our dear friendly bridegroom, and we are the bride: there is no need of any means; but we ourselves are to approach him with such whole confidence as a beloved bride has ever approached her blissful, friendly, conjugal spouse. For the Christian faith brings about that Christ is the bridegroom and I am the bride. It is his riches, piety, righteousness, purity, wisdom, humility, patience, and the like, all the virtue and grace of God. If then these things are my bridegroom's, verily they are mine also; as Paul says to the Romans Cap. 8, 32: "But if for us God gave his Son, how shall he not with him give us all things?"
(17) Therefore it must be a great and mighty thing for faith that such unspeakable goods should be mine. Therefore, if my sins spring up in mortal distress, I have the piety and righteousness of my bridegroom to oppose them. He stands with me against the devil, who does not fail to come at that hour, but uses all cunning and deceit to keep me. Against hell I have heaven, against death I have life, against condemnation I have salvation, and in Christ and through Christ I become an overcomer of sin, hell and the devil. And my natural death is overcome; for now I depart from this mortal life into eternal rest.
18 Therefore beware that you make no other way to heaven, that you do not break through other streets. There is no other way than this way of faith, which is shown by the clear word of God; as St. Paul says Rom. 10, 17: "Faith comes from preaching, but preaching through the word of God. Therefore, free will and all human wisdom lie and disappear, like the foam on the water and the ferment on the bad beer; but faith, poured in by God,
is the right oil, which lasts forever and never goes out.
19 From this it follows that we may know here what is the Christian Church. The sword has been taken out of our hands, as we all know, and what the pope and the bishops have decided and decreed in their councils must all be the gospel; all the books are full of it, decree, decreetal, extravagant, and whatever else the pope's books are called. Oh, it cost the devil a lot of trouble before he established this spiritual state and gave them only these two swords. We must not only touch such error, but also trample it underfoot and even condemn it. Oh, what a poor church it would be if it stood on such unlearned, unintelligent, faithless people, on these idols of oil, who can do nothing but smear people, wash the walls and baptize the bells.
20 Here Christ speaks in the gospel that He is the bridegroom; the bride, the Christ-believing man. And this must be true and not otherwise. Now if the believing man is a spouse and bride of Christ in the truth, he is also a ruler over the pope, devil and over all this power, yes, also a judge of this ghost all with each other; as Paul says 1 Cor. 2, 15.: "The spiritual judges all things." Thou art baptized and gifted with the right faith; therefore thou art also spiritual, and shalt judge all things by this word of the gospel, and shalt not be judged of any.
021 If therefore the pope come with his sword, and say, I would that thou shouldest believe me: I and my brethren, yea, even the concilium, have established such things; how wilt thou do to him? Say therefore, My faith is founded on Christ and his word alone, not on the pope nor on the council; therefore I also shall hold fast to the gospel, regardless of all the commandments of men. For my faith is here a judge, that I should say: This doctrine is good and true; but this is evil and false. And the pope and all his followers, indeed all men on earth, are also subject to this judgment. Therefore all who speak are lying.
The judgment or interpretation of the Scriptures is with the Holy Fathers, the Pope, and his conciliates. Gracious Junker Pabst! I say here thus: He who has faith is a spiritual man, and judges all things and is judged by no one. And if a bad miller's maid, even a child of nine years, has faith and judges according to the Gospel, the priest is obliged to be obedient to him and to put himself under his feet, if he is otherwise a true Christian. This is also the duty of all high schools and scholars, and of the sophists as well. Yes, they say, though you are holy, you do not yet understand the Scriptures; we have power to interpret the Scriptures. What else is this said, but: Yes, you do not have faith? This is what the desperate sophists say, and that is why they are in the lowest place with the devil; they want to be junk lords here and know only the Scriptures and the faith, but they are far from it.
22 Now one would like to speak: How then, if the pope were also a Christian? One stands up against him and says: I am a Christian, therefore, dear brother, you shall hear me; so the pope also speaks these words: Hear me, I am also a Christian: who shall judge us this war? The holy scripture; here one goes then right to the market. There you shut the mouths of the sophists, Papa, Papa, Concilium, Concilium, Fathers, Fathers, High School, High School, High School! What is it to us? One word of God is more than this bunch with all its violence. But it is here that the greatest quarrel and strife arises in Christendom, just as in the body of Rebecca, when Esau rises up against Jacob, Gen. 25:22. There they say that one should listen to the teachers, and what the pope and the concilia decide. They lie as jacks and peelers, the devil says so. God speaks from heaven: "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased, obey him", Matth. 17, 5.; and Christ himself speaks in Johanne Cap. 10, 16.: "My sheep hear my voice." Therefore we must daily exercise ourselves in the holy Scriptures, so that we may overcome such laws of men, and with the gospel crush this seed, the devil's head.
23 Thus the three-pointed crown of the pope falls down. Therefore, when the pope and the bishops come and hold up the word of God to me: If I am a lamb of Christ, I immediately say: Bene veneritis: Give him up who comes in the name of the Lord. But if they bring with them their bulls, their jealousy and the gossip of men, then I say: "Get up, devil, it is written: "You alone shall worship God, your Lord, and serve Him alone", Deut. 6, 13; Matth. 4, 10. He has given me His son, I am not allowed to do anything else; I am certainly His bride and He is my bridegroom. Here the Christian church is founded on the gospel, to which even the gates of hell are not subject. I have my Christ here as well as they have him who live in Rome or Jerusalem. I may have a lesser faith, the other a greater: but it is a faith by which I hold Christ; as one letteth out of a cask wine into a glass, another into a great silver cup, one into a wooden vessel, yea, even at times into a pitcher. The wine is the same, but one has more than the other, and keeps it better than the other.
(24) Therefore you see how we are all equal through one faith, which gives us Christ as a bridegroom, and we are all in this one bride, one Christian church of this bridegroom Jesus Christ. Where do our holy fathers and worthy lords come from, who have the spiritual sword and the temporal one in their power, and want to be our princes and lords? It is public that they do not have the spiritual sword; so God has never given them the temporal one either. So now it serves them right: because they raise their regiment so high, it is humiliated and they sit down between two chairs. So they come out with their rusty spears: "Well, they say, we are the old gray heads, our university at Cologne has stood so long, the laudable university at Paris has fought so long with the heretics: should we have erred so long? that can never be. Yes, if they want to argue about age, our Christ and his gospel are old.
ter than the High School of Paris. They themselves speak much of this and say: Christ has all angels and believers in his grace, he is also the wisdom, against whom all their counsel and plots must break; so they want to drive in with these sweet, friendly, Christian words and tear us away from the right faith.
(25) Do not let all this deceive you, my dear friends; if God is for us (as I am sure He is), who will harm us? Faith is stronger than all enemies. No one can extinguish our lamps. Therefore, let each one see for himself that he has these two together: the oil, which is, the right
Trust and faith in Christ, and the lamps, the vessel, that is, the rote service toward your neighbor. In these two is the whole Christian life. Believe in God and in Christ His Son; help your neighbor: this is what the whole Gospel teaches. Parents should tell this to their children in the home and everywhere, and children should always practice these words among themselves. I should also say about the sleep of the virgins and the bridegroom's departure for the wedding; the hour is past, another time we will preach more about it, now it is enough. May God have mercy on us all, amen.