Matth. 11, 2-10.
And when John heard the works of Christ in prison, he sent two of his disciples, saying, Art thou he that should come, or shall we wait for another? Jesus answered and said unto them: Go and tell John again what you see and hear; the blind see, and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them. And blessed is he who does not take offense at me. As they went, Jesus began to speak to the people of John, "What did you go out into the wilderness to see? Did you want to see a reed that the wind weaves to and fro? Or what went ye out to see? would ye see a man clothed in soft raiment? Behold, they that wear soft garments are in the houses of kings. Or what went ye out to see? would ye see a prophet? Yea, I say unto you, he also is more than a prophet. For this is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my angel before thee, which shall prepare thy way before thee.
The most that I find about this gospel is that whether St. John did not know that Jesus was the true Christ? although it is an unnecessary question, since not much was involved. St. Ambrose thinks that he did not ask out of ignorance or doubt, but out of Christian opinion. Jerome and Gregory
write that he asked whether he should also be his forerunner in hell; which opinion has least reason; for the text speaks clearly: "Are you the one who is to come, or shall we wait for someone else? Which waiting, according to the words, of his future on earth, refers to the Jewish people; otherwise he should say, Or are they waiting for thee in hell? Also because Christ
When John answers that he has come by his works, it is certain that John asked about the bodily future, because Christ himself understands and answers it. Although I do not deny that Christ also went to hell, as we pray in faith.
2 It is certain that John knew that Jesus was coming, for he had baptized him and testified that he was the Lamb of God who took away the sin of the world; he had also seen the Holy Spirit come upon him in the form of a dove and had heard the voice from heaven: "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased," Marc. 1:11; as all four evangelists abundantly write. Why then did he ask this question? Answer: Of course, it was not done without a necessary reason. First, it is certain that John asked the question for the sake of his disciples, for they did not yet hold Christ as he was to be held. And John did not come to draw the disciples and the people to himself, but to prepare the way for Christ, and to lead everyone to Christ and make them his subjects.
Now John's disciples had heard many glorious testimonies about Christ from him, how he was the Lamb of God and the Son of God, and how Christ should become great, but he should become small. His disciples and the people did not yet believe all this, or could not understand it; but they themselves and everyone thought much of John himself, and not of Christ; therefore they clung hard to John, so also that they were jealous for his sake, and became unwilling of Christ, when they saw that he also baptized and received disciples, and drew the people to himself, and complained of the same John, when they were afraid that their master would become smaller; as John Cap. 3, 26.
(4) They were moved to such delusion by these two causes. The first, that Christ was not yet called among the people, except by John alone; neither had he yet done a sign, and was no one in reputation except John alone; therefore it was strange to them that he should point them and everyone from himself to another, when there was none.
because he himself had a name and reputation. The other was that Christ walked along so poorly and simple, the son of a poor carpenter and a poor widow, not of the priesthood or the learned, but a layman and a common craftsman; he had never learned anything, had been brought up in carpentry like another layman; that such a high and glorious testimony of John and the poor layman and craftsman Jesus did not rhyme at all. Therefore, even though they believed John was telling the truth, they thought, "Perhaps it will be another than this Jesus," and waited for one who trotted along as a highly learned chief priest or powerful king. And John could not lift them out of such delusion with his words; they clung to him and held JEsum much lower, but still waited for the glorious entrance of the great man, of whom John said; and if it should ever be Jesus, he would have to present himself differently, saddle the stallion and put on the spurs, and burst in as a lord and king of Israel, as the kings of old had done: as long as he did not do this, they wanted to stay with John.
5. But when Jesus began to marvel, and to cry out, John thought that he would now turn his disciples away from him, and bring them to Christ, lest after his death they should set up a hereditary sect, and become Knights of St. John, but should all cleave to Christ, and become Christians; and sent them away, that they should henceforth learn, not by his testimony only, but by Christ's words and works themselves, that he was the right man, of whom John had said; For his works and entrance were not to be waited for with drums and trumpets and such like worldly trappings, but in spiritual power and grace, that the pavements and carpets might not be mounted and trodden upon, but that the dead might live, the blind see, the deaf hear, and all manner of evil, both bodily and spiritual, might be cast out. This was to be the splendor and entrance of this king, whose deeds all the kings, all the scholars and all the rich of the whole world could not do the least. This is what the text wants.
But when John heard the works of Christ in prison, he sent two of his disciples, saying, Art thou he that should come, or shall we wait for another?
6 As if he were to say to his disciples, "You hear his works, I who have never done any, nor anyone before him; now go yourself and ask him whether he is he or not? now put away the crude earthly delusion that you think he will ride in on stallions and cuirasses; he begins to become great, I must now become smaller; my nature must cease and his must begin; you must leave me and now cling to him.
7 But how needful it was that he should turn his disciples away from himself unto Christ is easily seen; for what would they have gained by following John's holiness a thousand times, and not having attained to Christ? Apart from Christ there is neither help nor counsel, however holy men may be. Just as now. What good is it for monks and nuns to keep and follow the Rule of St. Benedict, St. Bernard, St. Francis, St. Dominic, St. Augustine, if they do not take hold of the one Christ alone and leave their John? All Benedictines, Carthusians, Barefooters, Preachers, Augustinians, Carmelites, all monks and nuns are certainly lost, and only the Christians are blessed: what is not Christian, even John the Baptist does not help, who is the greatest saint of all, as the Lord says.
(8) But John is gentle with them, tolerating their weak faith until they become strong; not rejecting them because they do not believe him so firmly. So must consciences be treated, which are imprisoned in the examples and rules of holy men apart from Christ, until they are brought out.
Jesus answered and said unto them: Go ye, and tell John again those things which ye see and hear: The blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them. And blessed is he who does not take offense at me.
(9) Christ also answered John for the disciples' sake. He answered in two ways: first, with works; second, with words. He did the same in John 10:24, 25, when the Jews surrounded Him in the temple and asked, "If you are Christ, tell us." But He directed them to the works, saying, "I preach unto you, and ye believe not: the works that I do in My Father's name bear witness of Me." Item v. 38: "If ye will not believe Me, believe ye the works." So also here, he first shows them the works, then also the words, when he says, "Blessed is he who does not take offense at me." With which words he not only confesses that he is, but also warns against offense: "If he were not, he would not be blessed who did not take offense at him. For all saints can be respected, Christ alone cannot be respected; no saint helps, Christ alone helps.
010 But the answer by works is more certain. First, because neither John nor any man had done such works before; and second, because they were spoken of before in the prophets. Therefore, when they saw that it was as the prophets had said, they could and should be sure. For thus Isaias Cap. 61, 1. 2. said of it: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, therefore he hath anointed me to preach the gospel; to the poor he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and vision to the blind; to preach the acceptable year of the Lord." In saying, "He hath anointed me," he understands that he is Christ, and Christ shall do such things; and he that doeth such things shall be Christ. For Christ in Greek is Messiah in Hebrew, unctus in Latin, and anointed in German. Kings and priests are anointed to the kingdom and priesthood. But this anointed king and priest, says Isaiah here, should be anointed by God Himself, not with temporal oil, but with the Holy Spirit who rests on him; when he says here: "The Spirit of the Lord rests on me"; therefore and this is my anointing, so that He has anointed me. This is how he preaches the gospel and gives sight to the blind,
heals all kinds of sickness and preaches the pleasant year, the time of grace etc. Item Is. 35, 4. 5. 6.: "Behold, our God Himself will come and save us. Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped; then shall the lame leap as a hart, and the tongue of the dumb be loosed" etc. Now if they held the Scriptures against these works, and the works against the Scriptures, they could see John's testimony in Christ, that he must be the right man. And Lucas Cap. 7, 21. writes that at the hour when John's disciples asked him, Christ healed many of their sicknesses and plagues and spirits, and gave sight to many who were blind.
(11) But we must take to heart the faithful example, that Christ refers to his works, and will make the tree known by its fruits; so that he has come before all false teachers, pope, bishop, priests, and monks, who should be in the future, and come under his name, saying, We are Christians; just as the pope boasts that he is Christ's governor. For here we have this: where works are not, there is not Christ. Christ is a living, active, fruitful being, which does not rest, it works without ceasing where it is. Therefore, the bishops and teachers who do not lead Christ's work, we should keep and avoid like wolves.
012 And they say, Yea, it is not needful that any man should do these works of Christ: how can all the saints make the blind to see, the lame to walk, and other miracles like unto Christ? Answer: Christ also did other works, such as patience, love, peace, sedan chair, and the like, which every man ought to do. Do these, and we shall know Christ also by his works.
But here they say: Christ says Matth. 23, 2. 3.: "The scribes and Pharisees sit on the seat of Moses, what they tell you to keep, keep and do; but do not do according to their works: for they say, and do not" etc. Here Christ commanded that one should look at the doctrine, not the life. Answer: What do I hear? Have you now become Pharisees and gleaners?
and confess it yourselves? if we said it of you, you should be angry. Well then, if you are these gleamers and accept these words, you must also suffer all the other words that Christ says against the Pharisees. But because they protect themselves with this saying of Christ and shut the mouths of the simple, we want to look at it harshly, because the murderers of Christ in the Costnitz Concilium also attacked John Huss with it, and think that they have freedom of their tyranny in it, that no one should contradict their teaching.
14 Therefore it is to be noted that teaching is also a work, even the most noble work of Christ; for here among his works he also tells that the gospel is preached to the poor. Therefore, just as tyrants are to be recognized by their works, so also by their teaching. Where Christ is, there the gospel is certainly preached; where it is not preached, there Christ is not.
(15) That we may now allow our Pharisees to keep not their life, but their doctrine: let them teach, and we will gladly spare their lives. But now they are much worse than the Pharisees, who taught the doctrine of Moses, even though they did not; but our idols are idols, there is neither doing nor leaving, neither living nor teaching: they sit on Christ's throne and teach their own lies, keep silent about the gospel; therefore this saying of Christ cannot protect them, they must be wolves and murderers, as Christ calls them Joh. 10, 1.
So Christ wants them to listen to the Pharisees, but no further than in Mosi's chair, that is, when they teach Mosi's law, God's commandment; for in the same place where he forbids to do according to their works, he also counts their doctrine among their works and says: "They bind together heavy and unbearable burdens, and lay them on men's necks, and will not stir them with a finger," Matt. 23:4. 23:4. Behold, their unbearable doctrine also he will have forbidden first of all among their works, as the noblest. That finally the opinion of this saying is this: All that they say from Moses, that keep and do; but what else they teach and do, that do not keep. Rather
We only hear our Pharisees in Christ's chair when they preach the gospel to the poor, and do not hear or keep what they otherwise teach and do.
(17) Thus you see how finely the uncouth papists have made this saying the basis of their doctrine, falsehood and violence, when no saying is stronger against them and more highly condemns their doctrine. For Christ's words stand clear and firm: "Do not do according to their works." But their doctrine is their work, and not of God; they are a people raised up only to lie and to forge Scripture. Even where life is not good, it is still strange that one should preach rightly; he must always preach against himself, which he hardly does without additions and secondary doctrines. And Summa Summarum: whoever does not preach the gospel, you must know that he is not sitting on the throne of Moses or Christ; therefore you must not do according to his words or works, but flee after the manner of Christ's sheep, John 10:4, 5: "My sheep hear my voice, but they do not hear the voice of strangers, but flee from them." But if you want to know what their chair is called, listen to David, Ps. 1:1: "Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the way of sinners, nor sit in the chair of scoffers," and Ps. 94:20: "Will you also be a companion of the chair of wickedness, which invents burdens with statutes?"
(18) What is this that he says, "The poor have the gospel preached to them"? Is it not also preached to the rich and to all the world? Or how is the gospel such a great thing that it is said to be such a great benefit, since so many people are hostile to it? Here we must know what the gospel is, otherwise we could not understand this place. Therefore it is to be noted well and diligently that God has sent two kinds of words or sermons into the world from the beginning, law and gospel. You must distinguish and recognize these two sermons, for I tell you that apart from the Scriptures there has not yet been written a book, nor is there one by a saint, in which these two sermons have been dealt with in a different way, since there is great power in knowing them.
(19) The Law is the word in which God teaches us and commands us what to do and what not to do; these are the Ten Commandments. Now where nature alone is without God's grace, the law is impossible to keep, for the reason that man, after Adam's fall in paradise, is corrupt and has a vain evil desire to sin, and cannot from the bottom of his heart be in favor of the law; as we experience all this in ourselves. For there is no one who would not rather that there were no law; and everyone finds and feels in himself that it is hard to be pious and do well, and easy to be wicked and do evil. And such heaviness or unwillingness to do good makes us not keep God's law; for what is kept with unwillingness, heaviness and unwillingness is equal before God as not being kept; and thus the law of God overcomes us by our own experience that we are naturally wicked, disobedient, and lovers of sins and enemies of God's laws.
20 From all these must now follow one of the two, presumption or despair. Presumption follows when a man takes the law before him to perform with works, almost practicing to do as the words say. He serves God, does not swear, honors father and mother, does not kill, does not commit adultery, and the like. But he is not aware of his heart, he does not see what kind of opinion he lives so well, covers the old mischief in his heart with such a beautiful life. For if he really looked at himself in his heart, he would find how he does all this with unwillingness and compulsion, that he is afraid of hell, or seeks heaven, when he does not also seek much less, namely, honor, good, health, and fear of disgrace, or harm, or plagues. Recently, he would have to confess that he would rather live differently, if the consequence of that life did not keep him away; for he would not do it merely for the sake of the law. But because he is not aware of such an evil reason, he goes along safely, looks at the works alone, not into the heart; he misses that he is keeping God's law well, and thus Moses' face remains covered before him, that is, he does not recognize the law's opinion, namely, that it wants to be filled with a happy, free, joyful will.
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21 As if you ask an unchaste person why he does the work, he cannot answer other than for the pleasure he takes in the work, for he does it neither for reward nor punishment, thinking to gain nothing by it, nor to escape any evil by it. The law also wants such pleasure in us, so that if you ask a chaste man why he is chaste, he should say, "Not for the sake of heaven and hell, not for the sake of honor, but for the sake of this alone, so that it may please me and please me heartily, even if it were not commanded. Behold, such a heart loves God's law and does it with pleasure. Such men love God and righteousness, fearing and hating nothing but unrighteousness; but no man is so disposed by nature. But such love reward and enjoyment, fear and hate punishment and chastisement; therefore they also hate God and justice, love themselves and unrighteousness: these are hypocrites, glibners. False, liars and vain. All men are of this kind except grace, but first the works saints. That is why the Scripture says and concludes: "All men are liars," Ps. 116:11, and again Ps. 39:6: "All men are vain," and Ps. 14:3: "There is none that doeth good among the sons of men.
22. But despair follows when man becomes aware of his reason and realizes that it is impossible for him to love God's law, because he finds nothing good in himself, but only hatred for good and desire for evil. Then he recognizes that with works the law may not be done enough, therefore he despairs of the works and does not pay attention to them. He should have love, but he does not find it and cannot have it from himself. There must then be a poor, miserable, humiliated spirit, whom his conscience presses and distresses through the law, commands and demands, that he has not a penny to pay. To these men the law alone is useful, for it was given to work such knowledge and humility; that is its real work. These understand finely the work of hypocrites and false saints, that it is vain lying and deceit. In this place was David when he spoke Ps. 116,
11: "I said in my trembling, All men are liars."
Therefore St. Paul calls the law a law of death, Rom. 7, 10, 13, and a power of sin, 1 Cor. 15, 56; and 2 Cor. 3, 6, he says: "The letter killeth, but the Spirit maketh alive." All this is said: When the law and nature meet and know each other, the conscience and sin are found first; then man sees how deeply evil he is in his heart, how great his sins are, even in that which he had previously thought to be good works and not sin. Then he must judge for himself that he is nothing but a child of death, wrath and hell; then there is trembling and fright, all presumption falls away, fear and despondency come in; then man is crushed, ruined and in all things quite humble. Because the law alone works all this, St. Paul says that it is a law of death and a letter that kills, and a law that strengthens sin and works wrath, Rom. 7:13. For it neither gives nor helps, only demands and drives, and thus shows us our misery and destruction.
The other word of God is not law or commandment, nor does it require anything of us; but when this has been done by the first word of the law, and the wretched affliction and poverty of the heart has been brought to pass, then He comes and offers His sweet, living word, and promises, pledges and undertakes to give grace and help, so that we may come out of such affliction, and that all sin may not only be forgiven, but also be blotted out, and that love and desire may be given to fulfill the law.
(25) Behold, such divine assurance of his grace and forgiveness of sin is actually called "gospel. And I say again and again that you do not understand gospel in any other way than divine promise of his grace and forgiveness of sin. For this is why up to now St. Paul's epistles have not been understood and are impossible to understand, because they do not know what is actually called law and gospel. For they consider Christ to be a lawgiver and the gospel to be the teaching of new laws;
This is nothing else than closing the gospel and hiding everything.
26 For "gospel" is Greek, and in German it means a joyful message, because therein is proclaimed the wholesome doctrine of life from divine promise, and grace and forgiveness of sin is offered. Therefore, the gospel does not require work, for it is not law, but faith alone, for it is a mere promise and offer of divine grace. Whoever believes in it receives grace and the Holy Spirit, and the heart is glad and rejoices in God, and then does the law voluntarily for nothing, without fear of punishment and without seeking reward, because it has had its fill of God's grace and has had enough of the law.
27 All these promises have been made to Christ from the beginning of the world, so that God does not promise such grace to anyone except in Christ and through Christ. Christ is the messenger of divine promises to the whole world; therefore he also came and sent them out into all the world through the gospel, but before that he always proclaimed them through the prophets. Therefore it is nothing that anyone, like the Jews, would wait for divine promise apart from Christ. Everything has been drawn and decided in Christ; whoever does not hear Him does not hear the promise of God. For just as he knows no law apart from the Law of Moses and the Scriptures of the prophets, so he gives no promise apart from Christ alone.
28. But would you say: Are there many laws in the gospels and epistles of Paul, and many promises of God in the books of Moses and the prophets? Answer: There is not a book in the Bible in which they are not both of them; God has placed them all together, both law and promise; for He teaches by the law what to do, and by the promise where to take it.
29) That the New Testament is called the Gospel before other books is because it was written after Christ's future, who fulfilled the divine promise, brought it and spread it publicly through oral preaching, which was previously hidden in the Scriptures. Therefore
Stay on this distinction, and whichever book you find, whether Old or New Testament, read it with such a distinction that you notice: where there are promises, the same book is a gospel book; where there are commandments, it is a law book. But because in the New Testament the promises are in clusters, and in the Old Testament the laws are in clusters, it is called a gospel book, and the other, a law book.
(30) Now we return to the text, "The poor have the gospel preached to them. From the above it is easy to understand that among all the works of Christ there is none greater than that the gospel is preached to the poor, because it is nothing else than this: "To the poor is proclaimed the divine promise of all grace, comfort, offered and presented in Christ and through Christ, that whoever believes shall have all sins forgiven, the law fulfilled, the conscience redeemed, and finally eternal life given. What could a poor, miserable heart and troubled conscience hear that is more joyful? How could a heart become more defiant and courageous than from such comforting, rich words and promises? Sin, death, hell, the world, the devil, and all evil are despised when a poor heart receives and believes such comforts of divine promise; to make the blind see and to raise the dead is a poor thing compared to preaching the gospel to the poor; therefore, last of all, it is the greatest and best of these works.
But this is to be noted, that he saith, The gospel is not preached but unto the poor only: that he might mean, without doubt, that it is a preaching for the poor only: for it is ever preached unto the whole world. And Marc. 16, 15. he says: "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature." These poor are certainly not the beggars and the poor in body, but the poor in spirit, that is, those who do not desire nor love goods; rather, they are the brokenhearted poor who, through the anguish of their consciences, desire and long for help and comfort so much that they desire neither temporal goods nor honor.
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would like. There is real spiritual poverty; these are the ones to whom such preaching is even and tastes into the heart; to them it is as if they were redeemed from hell and from death.
32 For this reason, though the gospel is heard by all the world, it is not accepted except by the poor. About this, it can also be preached and proclaimed before the whole world, as it is a sermon only for the poor and no rich man can grasp it. Whoever wants to grasp it must first become poor. Just as Christ says in Matth. 9, 13 that he did not come to call but only sinners, even though he called all the world. But his call was of this kind, that he should be accepted only by sinners, and that all should become sinners whom he called; which they would not do. So also they should all become poor who heard the gospel, that they might be able; but they would not. Therefore it remained only with the poor. So also the grace of God was preached before all the world to the humble, that they all might become humble; but they would not.
(33) Now you see who the greatest enemies of the gospel are, namely, the saints of works, who presume, as was said above; for with them the gospel cannot be at all one. They want to be rich in works, so the gospel wants them to be poor; so they do not give way, so the gospel cannot give way either, it is God's imperishable word. Thus they run upon one another, and thrust themselves; as Christ saith Matt. 21:44, "Whosoever shall fall upon this stone shall be broken: but upon whomsoever it shall fall, it shall pound him to powder." Again, they condemn the gospel for error and heresy; and, as we see daily and have seen from the beginning of the world, there is no peace, no grace, no atonement between the gospel and the works saints. But under this Christ must allow himself to be crucified; for he and his own must be stuck in this jam, between the gospel and the works, and is thus crushed and ground, like the wheat between the two millstones. The lower stone is the quiet, peaceful and immobile gospel; the upper, the works and their masters, who rage and rage.
(34) With all this he powerfully meets their carnal and earthly mind, which they had of Christ's future. They thought that the great King, of whom John preached so highly that he was not worthy to unloose his shoes, would come with such splendor that everything would be gold and precious ornaments, and the streets would be paved with pearls and silk. Since they carried their eyes so high and waited for such splendor, Christ pulled them down and held before them the blind, the lame, the deaf, the dead, the mute, the poor, and only everything that is most repugnant to such splendor, and can be found in such a form that no one sought such a hospital servant, let alone such a king, that the great man John is not worthy to untie even his shoes. As if he should now say to them, "Let your high countenance depart; look not at my person and form, but at the works that I do. Worldly rulers, because they rule by force, must have around them rich, high, healthy, strong, clever, skillful people, with whom they must deal, and have need of them; for without such people their kingdom cannot stand: therefore they cannot wait for the blind, the lame, the deaf, the dumb, the dead, the lepers, and the poor. But my kingdom, because it does not seek benefit from others, but only gives benefit, and has enough in itself and needs no one: therefore I cannot suffer for myself those who already have enough, who are healthy, rich, strong, pure, alive, pious and skilled in all things; for to such I am of no use, they can have nothing from me, yes, they would be a disgrace to me, because it would be considered that I need them and have pleasure from them, as the rulers of the world have from their subjects. That is why I have to position myself differently, and keep to those who can enjoy mine, have to deal with the blind, the lame, the mute and all kinds of infirm. This is demanded by the nature and character of my kingdom; therefore I must also keep myself so that such people can be around me.
35 Then comes the word, "Blessed is he who does not take offense at me. Why is this? Because the two seemed so far apart: Christ's contemptuous
The two were not able to be rhymed together by nature. Nature could not rhyme the two together. Now all the Scriptures stood on Christ, and were dangerous to be lacking; so nature said, "Should this be the Christ of whom all the Scriptures say? Should he be the one of whom John does not think himself worthy to unloose his shoes, if I hardly think him worthy to wipe my shoes? Therefore, truly, there is great grace not to be offended in Christ; and there is no more counsel or help here, but to look at the works and hold them against the Scriptures; otherwise it is not possible to avoid the offense. The form, the shape, the gestures are too low and too contemptible.
36 But notice here that there are two kinds of vexation. An offense of doctrine, and an offense of life: the two offenses are well to be noted. The trouble of doctrine is when one believes, teaches, or holds differently of Christ than is to be believed, taught, and held; as here the Jews held and taught differently of Christ than He was, providing themselves with a worldly king. The Scriptures deal most with this trouble, which Christ and Paul also always deal with, and which no one else seems to remember. And notice that Christ and Paul speak of such trouble.
37 Not for nothing do I urge you to notice this. For under the pope's rule, this agitation has been completely silenced, and now neither priests nor monks know how to speak of agitation, for what is public sin and evil living, which the Scriptures do not call agitation, but they interpret and force the word to that effect. Again, the whole being which they lead as the best, and all their doctrine, that they may think to help the world, they regard not as vexation, but as vain improvement; though they are vile vexations, such as never were under the sun. For they teach the people to regard the mass as a sacrifice and a work; item, to become godly by works, to atone for sin, and to be saved; all of which is nothing poorer than to reject Christ and destroy the faith.
So now the world is full of trouble up to heaven, that it is terrible to think.
For now no one seeks Christ in poverty, blindness, death, etc. but all want to go to heaven by another way, and yet must miss.
(39) The vexation of life is when one sees and learns from another a publicly evil work. But the trouble is impossible to avoid, since we must be among the evil life, and is not so dangerous; for each one recognizes that it is evil, and is not deceived, but courageously follows the recognized evil, there is no glitter nor appearance. But that evil is the most beautiful service, the finest works, the most honorable life, which is impossible for reason to reprove or recognize; only faith recognizes through the spirit that it is wrong. Christ warns against anger when he says Matth. 18, 6: "Whoever angers one of the least of these who believes in me, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and lowered into the sea, where it is deepest."
40 Therefore see to it that he who does not preach Christ to you, or preaches him otherwise, than he who deals with the blind, the lame, the dead, and the poor, as this gospel instructs, flee him as the devil himself; for he teaches you to be foolish and to be angry with Christ, as the pope, the monks, and the high schools are now doing. Which all beings are so full of trouble from the top of the head to the heel, from the skin to the marrow, that the snow is hardly water; and cannot exist without vain trouble, since trouble is their nature and their very being. Therefore, to want to reform monasteries and high schools and yet preserve their essence is just as much as to squeeze the water out of the snow and yet preserve the snow. But what is preaching Christ among the blind and the poor, we will see at the end of the text.
As they went, Jesus began to say to the people of John, "Why did you go out into the desert to see? Did you go out to see a reed that the wind blows to and fro? Or what did you go out to see? Did you want to see a man in soft clothes? Behold, those who wear soft garments, find
in the kings' houses. Or, what did you go out to see? Did you want to see a prophet? Yes, I tell you, who is also more than a prophet.
41 Because Christ thus commends John, that he is not a reed, nor softly clothed, and more than a prophet, he sufficiently intimates, by these blunt words, that the people were of opinion that John was a reed, softly clothed, and a prophet. Therefore we must see what he means by this, and why he punishes and rejects such their opinion. It is sufficiently said that John was to show Christ, so that they would not be offended by Christ's humble future.
42. Now because the power was that they should receive John's testimony and know Christ, he praises John first of all for the constancy of it, thus meeting their unstable opinion, because they did not believe John's testimony; as if he should say: You have heard John's testimony about me; now you do not cling to it, you are angry with me, and your heart is still going back and forth, waiting for someone other than me; yet you do not know which one, when or where; and so your heart is like a reed that the wind blows back and forth; you are not sure of anything; you want to hear something other than from me. Do you now think that John should also turn his testimony away from me like this, and throw your thoughts to the wind, saying of another whom you like to hear? Not so, John does not waver, neither does his testimony, he does not follow your wavering delusion; but you must cling your wavering to his testimony, and thus remain on me, thinking of no other.
43 And the second time he praised him for the hardness of his garments, as if to say, "Perhaps you will believe him that I am according to character, but you are waiting for him to say something else about me that is soft and that you will gladly hear. It is also hard and sharp that I come so poor and despised; you want me to break in with pomp and tornir? If John said that about me, he would not be so rough and harsh. But think not of this; he that shall preach of me must preach no other way, but as I do.
John does; nothing comes of it, no other form and manner do I lead; but they that teach otherwise, they flatter, and are in kings' houses, not in the wilderness; they are rich and respected before men; these are doctrines of men, which teach of themselves, not of me.
44 Thirdly, he commends him for the worthiness of his ministry, that he is not only a prophet, but more than a prophet; as if to say, Your flying, blowing thoughts take him for a prophet, and for him that speaketh of Christ in the future, as the other prophets have done; that ye may once more stretch forth your hearts unto another time, wherein ye wait for Christ, according to the testimony of John, that ye receive not me: but I say unto you, your thoughts are false. For as he forbid that ye should be as a reed blowing, and wait for any other person than me, neither suffer ye to wait on me for any other gift than mine: so also he forbid that ye should wait for no other time: but his testimony meeteth this person, these gifts, and this time, meeteth your slippery thoughts in all places, and bindeth you fast unto me.
45 If then ye would do him justice, ye must badly follow his testimony, and believe that this is the person, the gifts, the time, which ye must accept, and leave off your delusion, and the waiting for another person, gifts, and time. For it is determined that he is not a blowing reed, not a soft robe man, and before that not a prophet of times to come, but a messenger of things present. He will not write, like the other prophets; but he will show and proclaim orally, whom all the prophets have described, as follows:
For this is he of whom it is written, Behold, I send my angel before thee, which shall prepare thy way before thee.
46 What is this said, but this: You must not wait for another, nor for my other gift, nor for another time; here I am present, of whom John speaks. For he is not a prophet, but a messenger; and not a messenger only, which is sent from him that hath the power.
92 L. ro, ros-107. on the third Sunday of Advent. W. xi, 126-122. 93
He who remains at home, but who comes before the face of his Lord and brings the Lord with him, so that it is one time, the time of the messenger and the time of the Lord. Therefore, if you do not receive him as such a messenger, but make of him a prophet, who alone proclaims the future of the Lord, as the other prophets have done, you fail me and this Scripture, and all things.
47 Here we see that Christ is most concerned that they take John for a messenger and not for a prophet, for to this he refers to Scripture and the saying of Malachi, Cap. 3, 1, which he does not do for the other two things, the person and the giver. For this is still the error of the Jews today, that they wait for another time. And if at that time they had believed that the time was at hand, and had let John be a messenger and not a prophet, it would have been easy for them to have been advised of the matter, because of the person and the giver; since in the end they had to accept the person, at the very least according to the time that had elapsed; since there should be no other time than the days of John, the messenger and the one who prepared the way for his Lord. But now they let go of the time and look to another time, it is much less possible that they will keep the person and the gift; but remain reedless and soft-hearted, as long as they consider John to be a prophet and not a messenger.
(48) We must be accustomed to the Scriptures that angelus, which we call an angel, is actually said as much as a messenger: not a messenger who carries letters; but who is sent to advertise the message orally. So this name is common in Scripture to all God's messengers, in heaven and earth; be they holy angels in heaven, or prophets, or apostles on earth. For thus Malachi Cap. 2, 7. of the priesthood: "The lips of the priest keep knowledge, and out of his mouth shall one seek the law of God; for he is an angel of the Lord of hosts"; and Hag. 1, 13.: "Haggai, the angel of the Lord, spoke among the angels of the Lord"; item Luc. 9, 52.: "Jesus sent angels before his face into a village of the Samaritans." So they are all God's angels and messengers,
who proclaim his word. Therefore also "gospel" comes, which is called a good message. The heavenly spirits are especially called angels, because they are the highest and noblest messengers of God.
(49) So John also is an angel or messenger of the mouth, but not only such a messenger, but also one who prepares the way before the face of the Lord, so that the Lord himself follows him on foot, which no prophet has ever done. Therefore he is more than a prophet, that is, an angel or messenger and forerunner, that in his time the Lord of all prophets himself comes with him.
50 And to prepare is here to make ready the way, that out of the way may be put that which may hinder the way of the Lord; even as yet a lord's servant before his lord's face put aside wood, stones, people, and all that stood in the way. But what was in the way of Christ that John should put aside? Sin, no doubt, but rather the good works of the trustworthy saints, that is, he was to make it known to everyone that all men's works and beings are sin and ruin, and that they are in need of Christ's grace. He who knows this and recognizes it thoroughly is humbled in himself and has finely prepared the way for Christ; we will go on about this in the gospel to come. Now is the time to make this gospel useful to us.
(51) Now as we have said in the other gospels that we should take the two teachings from it: to believe and to love, or to receive and to do good works, so we should also do here, praising faith and practicing love: faith receives the good works of Christ, love does good works to the neighbor.
First, our faith is strengthened and improved by the fact that Christ is presented to us in his own natural works. That he deals only with the blind, the deaf, the lame, the lepers, the dead, and the poor, is love and kindness to all who are poor and miserable.
and frail consciences. Now here is the need of the faith that builds on this gospel and relies on it, do not doubt that Christ is as this gospel models him, and do not think anything else of him, do not let anything else be persuaded of him, so he certainly has him as he believes and as this gospel says of him. For as you believe, so you have. And blessed is he who does not take offense at him here.
Here now beware of trouble with all diligence. Who are they that vex thee here? All those who teach you and do not believe; who make Christ a lawgiver and judge for you, and do not let him remain a true helper and comforter for you; who make you afraid to act with works before God and against God, thereby atoning for your sin and acquiring grace. These are the teachings of the pope, priests, monks, high schools, who open your mouth with their masses and worship, and lead you to another Christ and take away this righteous Christ from you. For if you want to believe rightly and attain Christ truly, you must drop all works, so that you may act against God and before God; they are vain aversions that lead you away from Christ and from God. No work is valid before God except Christ's own works, which you must leave to act for you against God, and you must do no other work before Him, except to believe that Christ does His works for you and sets them against God; so that your faith may remain pure, do nothing, but keep still, let yourself be well done, and receive Christ's work and let Christ exercise His love toward you. You must be blind, lame, deaf, dead, leprous and poor, or you will be offended at Christ. The gospel does not lie to you, which allows Christ to see and do good only among such poor.
54 Behold, to know and receive Christ aright is to believe aright. Now those who want to do enough and become godly by their works lack this present Christ and wait for another, or believe that he should do otherwise, that he should come first and accept their work and judge them godly; they are lost forever, like the Jews; there is no help for them.
55 Secondly, he teaches us how to do works properly and shows us what good works are. All other works, except faith, we are to direct toward our neighbor. For God does not require us to do any work for Him, but only faith through Christ, in which He is sufficient; thus we give Him His glory, as He who is gracious, merciful, wise, good, true, and the like. After this think no more, but do unto thy neighbor as Christ did unto thee, and let all thy works be directed with all thy life unto thy neighbor. Seek to help the poor, the sick and all infirm, and let them enjoy your life's exercise, whoever needs you, as much as you can, with body, goods and honor; and whoever reproaches you with other good works, avoid him like the wolf and the devil, because he wants to put a nuisance in your way, as David says in Psalm 142:4: "They put a nuisance in my way.
(56) But this is what the perverse people of the papists do, who, with their worship, abolish such Christian work, and teach people only to serve God and not to serve men; they establish monasteries, masses, vigils, become spiritual, do this and that; the wretched blind people call the worship they have chosen. But know that "serving God" is nothing else than serving your neighbor and doing good with love, be it child, wife, servant, enemy, friend, without any difference, who may be yours, in body and soul, and where you can help, bodily and spiritually; that is service and good works. Ah, Lord God, how we fools go about in the world, indulging in such works, and yet we are superfluous to all ends in which we might practice them; no one seeks nor presses for them. But look at your life: if you do not find yourself among the poor and needy, as the gospel tells you, know that your faith is not yet righteous, and you have certainly not yet tasted Christ's good deed and work in you.
57. Dam behold, what a great word this is: "Blessed is he who does not take offense at me." In both these things we are offended. In the faith that we choose other ways to be godly than through Christ, and walk blindly.
We do not recognize Christ. In love we also get angry that we do not respect the poor and needy, do not look at them, and yet think that we want to do enough for faith with other works. And so we fall into the judgment of Christ, Matt. 25:42: "I was hungry, and ye fed me not"; item v. 45: "Inasmuch as ye did it not unto the least of mine, ye did it not unto me." Why is this judgment right, because we have not done to our neighbor as Christ did to us? He has given us the poor his great, rich, eternal good deeds, and we do not want to do our little service to our neighbor, so that we prove that we do not believe rightly, nor have we received or tasted his good deeds. Then many will say, "We have done wonders in your name, we have preached, we have cast out devils; but he will answer them: Depart from me, ye workers of iniquity," Matt. 7:22, 23. Why? They have not kept right faith and love.
(58) So also here in the Gospel we see how difficult it is for Christ to be recognized; one hinders himself and another resents it; it will not go anywhere, even with the disciples of St. John, although they publicly see Christ's works and hear His words.
59 Thus we also do: whether we see well,
If you have to hear, grasp and confess that Christian life is faith in God and charity or love for your poor neighbor, it will not go anywhere. The one hangs on to his worship and his own works, the other flocks to himself alone and helps no one. Even those who gladly hear and understand this doctrine of pure faith do not take it upon themselves to serve their neighbor, just as if they wanted to be saved by faith, without works; they do not see that their faith is not faith, but an appearance of faith. Just as an image in a mirror is not the face, but an appearance of it; as St. James Cap. 1, 22-24. writes very finely of the same and says: "Be doers of the word, and not hearers only, so that you deceive yourselves. For if a man be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is likened unto a man that beholdeth his face in a mirror; and when he hath seen it, he goeth away, and forgetteth what manner of man he is." So these see in themselves an image of true faith when they hear it or speak it, but as soon as the hearing and speaking is over, they go about with other things and do not act on them; so they always forget the fruit of faith, Christian love, of which Paul also says in 1 Cor. 4:20: "The kingdom of God is not in words, but in deeds."