Luc. 19, 1-10.
And he went in, and passed through Jericho. And, behold, there was a man called Zacchaeus, which was a ruler of publicans, and was rich: and he desired to see Jesus, who he was, and could not before the people; for he was small in person. And he ran before, and went up into a mulberry tree, that he might see him; for there he should pass through. And when Jesus came to the same place, he looked up, and perceived him, and said unto him, Zachaea, come down quickly: for I must return unto thy house this day. And he came down with haste, and received him with joy. When they saw this, they all murmured that he was entering a sinner's house. And Zacchaeus stood and said unto the Lord, Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have defrauded any, I restore fourfold. And Jesus said unto him, This day is salvation come unto this house, because he also is the son of Abraham. For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.
In this gospel the divine goodness is held up to us once again, as in a mirror, so that he must look upon, receive and comfort all who are distressed in spirit and who seek him; and the more contemptible they are before men, the more pleasing they are in the sight of God. For the name "publican" was a notorious and contemptible name among the Jews. So this Zacchaeus was the noblest and highest among the tax collectors and therefore the most despised. Above that he was also rich, from whom the kingdom of God should have been taken away, according to this saying of Christ in Luke Cap. 18, 25.
go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God". For the rich are wont to become so involved in the love and lust of riches that they cannot seek Christ; indeed, they do not even desire to see him. For all their comfort is based on money and goods: the more they get, the greater their desire for them. But when fortune turns and they take some damage to money and goods, there arises such a cry and lamentation that all the world knows to say, blame evil people, do not know nor realize that it comes from God. Christ has no dealings with such rich people.
If they ask nothing of him, he asks nothing of them; if they do not seek him, he lets them go.
2 Therefore this history of Zachaeo is told here as a miracle, that he was rich and yet desired to see Christ. But what kind of man he is and how he is rich, we learn clearly from the Gospel. If God wanted our rich people to be like this, they would undoubtedly also see Christ. Therefore, let us first examine this Zachaeum, what he thought of himself and what he thought of Christ.
(3) It is clear from the Gospel that he stank to himself and smelled nothing at all before his eyes, who also thought himself unworthy that such a great and mighty prophet should lodge with him; he considered the chief priests of Jerusalem and many others worthy of such a guest. And if you had asked him if he would also take JEsum into his dwelling, he would undoubtedly have answered thus: Ah! who should I be, poor man, who should have such an excellent man as a guest; I will gladly be content that I may see him. Therefore he climbs up a mulberry tree, so that he may see the Lord when he passes by. If you had asked him, "Would you like to have him with you, if it could happen?" he would have answered, "God would have me have such great grace before him that he would only want me, but I am not worthy of it. He must be looking for other people who are much more than I am. Such his humility and his self-contempt the evangelist afterwards gives to understand clearly, since he says, how he accepted the Lord with joy into his house.
4 It is written in the prophet Jeremiah Cap. 17, 9. 10. where God says: "The heart of man is evil and unsearchable, who can know it? I, the Lord, search the heart and test it." Zacchaeus here did not know that his heart was righteous in the sight of God, but Christ knew it well and revealed it to the whole world. "Where then is there a God like our God?
Who sitteth on high in heaven, and looketh down into the deep? Ps. 113, 5. 6. May not the man rejoice whom his own conscience condemns and punishes, whom the whole world despises? for God is such a man, who is the Most High, and yet searches the deepest recesses of the heart, who also recognizes the most secret thoughts and desires in man; as we may see here in Zachaeo.
(5) We must also be careful here what the divine thoughts and pleasures are about these human and external, seeming and great things; for if God had been careful about these external and glittering things, which man considers good and divine and wonders about, Christ would certainly not have had fellowship with the tax collector and with such a despised man. He would much rather have gone to the highly famous bishops of Jerusalem, who were God's governors, who were appointed and preferred to preach and teach the law of God to the people, who also had the power to change both divine and secular law according to their pleasure. Christ, you are truly a heretic and a despiser of the episcopal dignity and authority, because with this tax collector you make the revered doctors of the law bitter and angry, and also because they are contemptible before the people. Have they not justly condemned you and sentenced you to death? But let this be far from you; rather, woe to all those who, under the appearance and cover of God's power, despise the truth! For those who today boast about the episcopal title, and how they are God's governors, are much worse or even equal to Caiphas and Annas, and the whole Pharisaic mob. For God does not look at the person, nor does He judge by outward appearance and character.
(6) Who does not believe that Christ had a great multitude of the people following him, even thousands of people? But which of so many does he accept so kindly? Perhaps the one who cries out? or the one who walks along in a golden and velvety choir cap? or the one who carries a large monstrance full of sanctity.
Or those who carry large candles and burning torches? No, he looks at none of them; but the most despised Zachaeum, who had no rosary from his head, was not adorned with any episcopal dignity or power, but with a devout and humble heart he desired to see Christ. That was his sanctuary, that was his snow-white adornment before God's eyes; which adornment Christ especially commanded His disciples, when He said: "Be without guile, as doves", Matth. 10, 16.
(7) Again, we see that Christ was utterly disgusted and abhorred both by example and by doctrine with the outward splendor that the world is now passing through and extolling under the papacy; as there are the processions and church dedications, where great and inordinate splendor is practiced, for which the bishops give indulgences, and the preachers extol and exalt. Therefore, will you preachers, because you do not have the Spirit of God, teach and preach what is an abomination in the sight of God? Christ says in Luke 16:15: "What is high among men is an abomination in the sight of God." Unless you save and free the hearts of men from this splendor and outward larvae, Christ will find neither room nor place in them. Everything must go, if Christ is to dwell in you otherwise. He himself says: "Unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven," Matth. 18, 3. For it is impossible for people to recognize what belongs to Christ, unless these outward things are first torn out of the heart and eradicated. Christ has no splendor nor appearance in the sight of the world; for the prophet Isaiah Cap. 53, 3. says that he is the most despised of all men; but he looks and searches the hearts and makes the same peace. "The kingdom of God," says Christ Luc. 17, 20. 21, "does not come with outward gestures. Nor shall it be said, Behold, here or there it is. For behold, the kingdom of God is within you"; that is, God's kingdom does not stand in works that are in place, food,
They are not bound by clothing, time or person, but are free in faith and love. That is why it is certain that this church bragging has no rhyme or reason with Christ. Zacchaeus only wanted to see who Christ was, and because of his unworthiness he was not allowed to demand anything more. Therefore, we are all foolish, who dare to make a gracious, kind God with outward splendor, and especially with human, fictitious, seeming, glittering works and statutes.
(8) All the words of this Gospel have a special power and quality in them and mean something secret, if only we would ask God for grace to understand. "Jericho", as the Hebrews say, means moon. Now the Gospel says that the Lord passed through Jericho, and that almost rhymes here. For just as the moon is inconstant and is always not seen by us in the same size, now it increases, soon it decreases, and there is no continuance: so is man also in his conscience, he cannot remain firm on any thing: now he falls, now he stands; now conscience presses him here, now there, and is quite inconstant; and would therefore have to remain in such inactivity, if Christ, the right physician, were not there and made him well. For when this cry goes out, "The kingdom of heaven is at hand; amend your ways," Matt. 4:17, man, in such inconstancy, has recourse to his works and wants to adorn himself with them. But he accomplishes nothing with it; he remains inactive, fickle and unstable as before. For works do not quiet the conscience, nor do they make peace in the heart; and the more one blushes with them, the more unfaithful and uncertain he becomes. But when Christ, the messenger of peace, comes along, the inconstancy ceases, for then the conscience clings to him as to a firm, strong, immovable rock that the gates of hell cannot overcome, Matth. 16:18.
9th Therefore when Christ passeth through Jericho, Zacchaeus' simplicity desireth to see him. For a wicked, simple-minded layman, when he hears that salvation is in Christ alone, runs before the deceivers and
The first time you pass by the deceivers of the heart, as Zacchaeus does here, and climb the mulberry tree or wild fig tree. The same wild fig tree has beautiful green leaves, pleasant twigs and lovely branches, and is everywhere beautiful to look at from everyone's point of view; but if you look for fruit among the leaves, you will not find any at all: therefore it is also called a wild or wild fig tree, because it pretends to be that, namely, appearance and no benefit; for which reason it was also not unreasonably cursed by Christ when he went to suffer, Marc. 11, 13. 14.
010 This wild fig tree signifieth him that teacheth outward and human things for a pretence; it maketh men to look, and shutteth their eyes and their mouths, but nourisheth nothing at all, because it bringeth forth no fruit. When a thirsty, hungry soul comes, it runs and climbs up to see the Lord; it hears and learns everything that is preached to it, because it thinks everything is beautiful and green, like the leaves on the wild fig tree. But when Christ comes, he cries out to her, saying, Let her come down, for there is no fruit above; and he says, He is the living bread, which always satisfies his own. "I", he says here to Zachaeo, (not human statutes) "must remain in your house"; for blessed are those who thirst for Christ.
How does the poor, thirsty, weary soul do? It descends in haste and accepts the Lord Jesus with joy, so that it may be a sanctified temple of the Lord for eternity; as St. Paul says in 1 Cor. 6:19, 20: "Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and are not yourselves? For ye are bought with great price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's." When this temple is consecrated, there is no ringing of bells or cymbals, there is no whistling of the organ, there are no shawms, there are no flags raised to the tower; but this is a hidden temple, known only to the Holy Spirit, of which neither man nor the devil knows anything; only God looks upon this temple, which is
sees everything in the hidden. For God does not want the world to know when He sleeps with His bride.
(12) Therefore the preachers do not do anything with it, who as today at the consecration of the church in their sermons proclaim and cry out those who have made their will to the church, to wood and stones, or have donated a memorial, so that everyone knows that he or she has done it. Christ says in Matthew 6:1-4: "Take heed to your alms, that ye give them not before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven. When you give alms, do not sound the trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in their synagogues and in the synagogues, so that they may be praised by men. Verily I say unto you, they have their reward. But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth, that thine alms may be hid: and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. Therefore, it serves nothing at all for Christ, nor for the Gospel, that such monkey business is done with the church masses. The outward temple has its outward praise, but the inward and spiritual temple says: "Blessed is the people, because the Lord is God," Ps. 144:15.
(13) This spiritual temple is consecrated to the Lord in baptism, when he has given his name to Christ the Captain and received the word of divine promise. And this temple will be sanctified to God forever, if he continues in faith, and in love, and in holiness, yes, so holy that whoever violates and desecrates this temple, the Lord Himself will destroy and punish him; as Saint Paul says: "Do you not know that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone desecrates the temple of God, God will desecrate him; for the temple of God is holy, and you are it," 1 Cor. 3:16, 17. Christ gave Himself for this temple of His, that it might be a sanctified temple for Him to dwell in; as again St. Paul 2 Cor. 6:16: "You are the temple of the living God. As
For God says (Deut. 26:11, 12), "I will dwell in them and walk in them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Who would not praise such a kind, friendly helper, who comes to a sinner, where we alone want to receive him? "For as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the children of God," John 1:12; for they keep his word and love him. "Therefore I and the Father," says Christ, "will come to them and make my abode with them," John 14:23.
14 But if the Lord sanctifies his temple and dwells in it, the world must grumble and be angry that the Lord has come to a sinner and not rather to the great men, the scribes and Pharisees, the saints of works, who for this very reason rebel against God and his Christ, that their righteousness and holiness should be despised by a sinner. Then these words come: "Who are you? Do you want to teach us? Do you say that our ceremonies and church pageantry are nothing? Arise, you heretic, do you think nothing of our church decorations? Did not Christ himself say, "My house is a house of prayer"? Luc. 19, 46. So it goes, we must wait for it, and so it will go and not otherwise. But my Christ does not ask about it; he lets them quarrel and grumble about it until they stop; nevertheless he dwells in his holy temples, and knows that they neither know nor understand anything.
(15) What can they say, our adversaries, that Christ says that the outward show of the temples and churches has now ceased, so that now is the time to worship, not at Jerusalem, nor on this mountain, but in spirit and in truth? Joh. 4, 21. 23. But the Jews who did not want to believe in Christ, and who were therefore still attached to the law and subject to it, he punished with serious words, because they desecrated the temple of God with their cretinism, which was ordained and suitable for prayer. But the people who believe in Christ are all devout, and are not subject to any law (especially as far as the church's pretensions are concerned).
The temple or church is therefore not ordained for prayer. Therefore the temple or church is not ordained for prayer with them now. For they will not say: Here it is, there it is. Yes, false prophets will arise and say, "Behold, here is Christ," and he will be found in the temple built with hands. Do not believe it; "for God does not dwell in temples made with hands", as Stephen says and St. Paul Apost. 7, 48. and Cap. 17, 24. and 1 Cor. 3, 16.
16 Because the Lord dwells in His temple, it is not man who lives, but Christ who lives in him, who has so infused his heart and spirit with grace that he now goes wherever the Lord wills; "for you are not yourselves," says St. Paul 1 Cor. 6:19. We are drawn by the Spirit of God wherever He wills, and we follow Him willingly and gladly.
(17) Then other fruits must soon follow, and a man is changed, and begins another life; as Zacchaeus did here. He was a tax collector and a usurer; now when he receives the Lord, he changes and is ready to give back everything he has cheated, and he gives half of his goods to the poor. For he thinks that they are all like him and like Christ's members; which he did before Christ came to him, and took it from the poor, and scathed and scraped wherever he knew how to scathe and scrape. Immediately he turned around, asked for nothing more, the riches are no longer his treasure, but Christ; he now uses the goods without distinction, so that he alone has abundance, and also gives food and help to the poor. He keeps the saying in Psalm 62, v. 11: "If riches fall to you, do not hang your heart on them. He uses the goods as if he did not have them, because the Lord is his inheritance. If God takes them away again, he thanks God for them and sings him the little song, like Job: "The Lord has given, the Lord has taken away, the name of the Lord be blessed," Job 1:21.
018 Why is all this done? Because salvation has come to this house; because he is also a son of Abraha. "Abraham
He believed in God," says the Scripture Genesis 15:6, "and it was counted to him for righteousness"; and through this faith he obtained the promise from the Lord that he would be a father of all believers, Romans 4:3, 18. Therefore, as many as are of faith are blessed with the believing Abraham. For he does not speak of the bodily or carnal birth, as Paul so masterfully emphasizes to the Romans. That is why John the Baptist speaks to the Pharisees in Matthew Cap. 3, 9. to the Pharisees: "Only do not think that you want to say among yourselves, 'We have Abraham for a father. I tell you, God is able to raise up children for Abraham from these stones." Such a one was Zacchaeus, whom God made flesh from a very hard stone; as he says in the prophet Ezekiel Cap. 11, 19. 20.: "I will give them a heart of flesh, they shall be my people, and I will be a God to them." So Zacchaeus was a true son of Abraha, for he received Christ into the temple of his heart, and Christ recognized him as His own, so he did not deceive those who believed in him. Indeed, Christ cannot deceive or lead anyone who believes in him; therefore, good for him who hopes in him.
(19) I consider that it was by God's special providence that the dear fathers ordained this gospel to be read and preached on this day, when they instituted the vestments and trappings of the outward consecration of the church; although by a thirsty sacrilege they greatly hinder the human heart, which is captivated with outward things, so that it cannot consider anything deeper. Yet the gospel, which is spirit and life, indicates that the temple should be sanctified to God: not the temple built of stone or wood and covered with slate; but it says that salvation has come to the house, which is a son of Abraha. And as much as the human forwardness would be seduced to external physical buildings, so much the gospel should urge to recognize the true temple of God, so that all who belong to Christ hear the voice of their shepherd, Joh. 10, 16, and not to the external manifold larvae of the church.
Consecration, for the righteous sanctification of God, give respect.
(20) But it has come to this folly in these latter times, that we have presumed to include the public truth of the gospel in the old figures, which belonged to the Old Testament, when the well-built temple of Solomon signified our bodies to be proper dwellings for the Holy Spirit. What devil then has so bewitched and blinded us that we turn the truth and the thing itself to the signs? Should we not think him mad and foolish who comes home from a foreign land, and first wants to turn back, and notice the signs or tortures that would have shown him the way home? Or would he not act foolishly who had paid money in his hands, and would rather have the promissory notes for the most ready money? We are so frenzied and senseless that we would rather have everything that human heads can think up than God's goodness and mercy, which He shows and offers us for free. As has happened with this day, we have made it a monkey's game and an outward show, which is of little use to anyone.
(21) Over and above this, there is one more thing: so that the swarm of flies would fly together more easily to the dead carrion, a little honey or blood was sprinkled on it. The godless bishops, that they ever lead us senselessly and heedlessly into this error, they have mocked it with their indulgences, so that the souls of the simple would be deceived with such pretense and would not think of their blessedness. We have had to play with such tricks and tricks of the trade. For since the bishops ceased to be bishops, it was necessary to devise other episcopal offices so that they would receive the honor of their office, lest they should be idle and disobey St. Paul, who says: "If any man desire the office of bishop, he lusteth after a good work," 1 Tim. 3:1. He speaks of a "work" and not of idleness. But the work is to preach the gospel, as Paul says: "Woe to me where I do not preach", 1 Cor. 9, 16.
22. how do our idle and un-
Are bishops of any use to escape woe, who boast that they have come in the apostle's place? But to be a preacher is a rejected office; for it does not bring much into the kitchen to preach the gospel, there is a little profit in it. But if you consecrate a church once, that fills a lot of bags and makes the kitchen feisty. It would be right for us to weep that we have fallen into such error that today no one is allowed to speak the truth: we fear all of ourselves, we all pretend that we will not lose our benefices and fiefdoms if we preach against it, and do not rather want to fear him who says, "Whoever denies me before men will be denied before the angels of God. 12:9. Churches and temples must be built so that we may hear God's word and perform the sacraments in them; but this is a foolish work, that we think we have built a house for God, so that He may hear us in the temple and not in other places. We should thank God that He has promised us hearing in all places; but we want to force the wide temple of God into a narrow place, and catch God with a short end that heaven and earth cannot comprehend. Woe to you, you shameful unbelief!
(23) But why is it to be wondered at that worldly things, and things which men have devised, so appear before the world, and that which is righteous and Christian are so unpleasing in our eyes, since all Scripture testifies that the divine wisdom of the world is foolishness, 1 Cor. 1:18, and Christ Jesus with His word must be a rejected and despised thing in the sight of the world? Therefore, do not judge or pass judgment on the outward appearance of things, but "judge with righteous judgment," John 7:24.
(24) If we celebrate the outward consecration of the church, why should we not also celebrate the inward consecration of the church, the day of baptism? But everything must be the other way around. A bad priest or chaplain has consecrated and sanctified the right temple of God; the bishop has consecrated the other temple, wood and stones.
but not those. For it is God's work, which must be nothing in the sight of the world and be regarded as small; but what the world conceives is delicious and glorious in its sight. But in the sight of God it is also nothing.
Thus it pleased God that the idle useless bishops ever did nothing good nor useful, and that the idols of the world kept their idolatry; but with this decisiveness, that they sold the money markets at a high enough price and stalked after the money at all the church doors, and that one ever got nothing from them without money: hence the sweat of the poor people had to come. If anyone had given money to the church in his will, he was shouted out from the pulpit and commanded to the people in their devout prayer, so that they would bring others to the church as well. Such money should have been given to the living temple of God; but they themselves do not have enough, the belly servants, that they eat and drink of it. As for the wills concerning the dead temple, all bets are admonished not to forget that the stone and the wood have their ornaments, and that they have fine painted pictures; but the living temple of God is not remembered in a single word: "No one makes a will for the poor, we neglect them and leave them to suffer hardship; for it is God's commandment and God's doing, nor does it have any appearance before the world. But what men devise, that they keep and do with earnestness; they are willing to do it, and give, because they can give.
(26) Zacchaeus would much rather humble his will, half of his goods, to the right and true temple of God; for he also was the living temple of God, to whom salvation had come, in whom the grace of Christ dwelt. But we, who are dead, also care for dead things, humble our money, stones and wood; for we are harder than stones. It is time for us to repent; after this we will have no time to repent. If we have temples in which we can take God's gifts and not give God anything in them, let us be content. Let us not worship the idol and the idol made with human hands.
God is not allowed our goods nor our adornment. But we turn it around: what we should do to the living temples, we do to the dead temples. Therefore, it is no wonder that thunder strikes the churches more than the women's houses; indeed, one seldom hears that thunder does damage in the same houses. For God surely wants to indicate that such idolatrous service is very displeasing to Him. Fornication and adultery are such gross sins that even a sow could smell them with its nose: but how horrible and terrible this idolatry is, which thus goes along under the appearance of a true service of God, no one knows nor recognizes, except he who has the spirit of God.
27 Here also belong the field churches, where one wallet, which are useful to no one except
the money fools, and that the devil's army is increased by it; for these are the most shameful whorehouses, in which all brides, all believing souls, fall away from Christ, their bridegroom, and break the marriage, so that they seek their salvation there. The devil knows very well that we are so masterfully deceived, and that our hearts are subtly led astray with the seductive signs that God causes to happen to the noticeable harm of those who do not hope in Him and have not accepted the love of the truth, so that they might be saved, as Paul says in 2 Thess. 2, 10: "The eyes of the Lord look upon the righteous, and His ears upon their crying", Psalm 34, 16. Let this be said of this gospel; let us ask God for right faith and call upon Him.