John 1:19-28.
1 The evangelist describes with many words and makes great the testimony of John. For although it would have been enough for him to write of John, "He confessed," he repeats it again and says, "He did not deny and confessed. No doubt he is praising John's faithful constancy in a great trial, so that he was tempted to a great apostasy from the truth. And look at the circumstances.
(2) The first to be sent to him were not servants or commoners, but priests and Levites of the highest nobility, who were Pharisees, that is, the rulers of the people. This was a glorious message to such a lowly man, who should have been glad and hopeful of such honor, since the favor of lords and princes is so highly esteemed in the world.
3 On the other hand, they do not send to him bad men, but those of Jerusalem, that is, the capital and the whole council and principality of the Jewish people; so that it was as if the whole people came to him and offered him honor. O what a wind this has been! How should it blow out where it meets a vain worldly heart!
4. thirdly, they offer him not a gift nor a common glory; but the very highest glory, the kingdom and all authority, and are ready to accept it for the Christian. This is ever highly and sweetly tempted. For if he had not known that they would take him for the Christ, he would not have said, "I am not the Christ." And Lucas Cap. 3, 15. 16. also writes that since everyone thought he was the Christ, John said, "Whom ye think I am, I am not; but I am sent before him."
5th To the fourth: Since he did not want such honor, they tried another, and are ready to accept him for Elijah. For they had a prophecy in the prophet Malachi at the last v. 5. 6. where God says: "Behold, I will send you the prophet Elijah, before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord, who will convert
the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers, that when I come I may not smite the earth with the spell."
6. to the fifth: Since he does not want to be Elijah, they try even further and offer him a mean honor of a prophet. For they had not had a prophet since Malachi. John still stands firm and does not waver, tempted by so many knocks of honor.
7th To the sixth and last: Since they knew no more honor, they put it to him themselves, how and what he would be held, ever wanted to make him honor. But John does not want their honor, and answers nothing more, except that he is a voice that calls to them and to everyone; this they do not respect. What all this means, we will hear later. Now let us see the text.
This is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, "Who are you?
8. they sent to him; why did they not come to him themselves? John had come to preach repentance to all the people of the Jews. They did not heed such preaching; therefore it is certain that they sent to him out of no good pure opinion and offered such honor. They did not believe in their hearts that he was Christ or Elijah or a prophet, otherwise they would have come themselves and been baptized as the others were. What were they looking for in him? Christ shows Joh. 5, 33. 35.: "You sent to John and he testified to the truth. He was a burning and shining light; but ye would rejoice one hour in his light." From these words it is clear that they sought their own honor in St. John, and wanted to use his light, that is, his high famous name, to adorn themselves before the people. For if John had fallen to them and accepted their offered honor, they would have become great and glorious before all the people, as those worthy of such a holy great man's friendship and honor. What else would this have been, but that all their avarice, tyranny, and excess would have been confirmed for the people?
vain holy, delicious thing? And so John would have become the greatest cover of shame with his holiness that ever was or could be; and Christ's future would have been regarded with all fairness as reprehensible, because it was contrary to all the nature of the priests and the tyrants with whom the great holy man John stood.
(9) Therefore we see here how they dealt with a trickery, and how they tempted John, that he should deny Christ indeed, and become a Judas Iscariot, and justify all their iniquity, and bring his honor and the people's following unto them. Are they not fine merchants who offer honor to John, that they may bring his honor to themselves? They offer him an apple for a kingdom, they want to change his guilders with pennies. But he is passed as a foundation, as follows.
And he confessed, and did not deny, and he confessed: I am not Christ.
(10) John's confession has two parts in it: one that he confesses, the other that he does not deny. That he confesses is the confession of Christ, since he says: I am not the Christian, as the text says: He has confessed: I am not the Christian. And to the same confession belongs also that he confesses that he is not Elijah, nor a prophet. But that he does not deny, is that he confesses what he is, since he says that he is the voice in the wilderness, which prepares the way of the Lord with its cry. And so his confession is a free confession, confessing not only what he is not, but also what he is. For the part of the confession, if someone confesses what he is not, is still dark and imperfect, so that one cannot know what and how one should think of him. But here John says openly what and what is not to be thought of him; and makes them sure and certain, confessing that he is not the Christian, and not denying that he is the voice before his future.
011 But if any man should say, The evangelist perverteth his speech, that he calleth this a confession, when John saith that he is
not the Christ, so it is more a denial; for he denies that he is the Christ. To say no is ever to deny, and the Jews desired that he should confess that he was Christ, which he denies, and the evangelist says he confessed; and again, which is rather a confession, since he says, "I am the voice in the wilderness." But the evangelist looks at and describes the story as it is before God, and not at the words as they are before men. For they dealt with it, that he denied Christ, and did not confess himself to be. But because he remains steadfast in this, and confesses what he is and what he is not, his work before God is a noble confession and not a denial.
And they asked him, What? Art thou Elias? He said: I am not.
12. as it is said above, the Jews had the prophecy of Elijah, Mal. 4, 5, that he would come before the day of the Lord. Therefore it is still a common saying among Christians: Elijah shall come before the last day. Some put Enoch to it, some John the Evangelist; we will also speak a little about this.
(13) First of all, the whole reason is whether Malachi the prophet speaks of the other future of the Lord at the last day, or of the first future in the flesh and through the gospel. If he speaks of the last day, then Elijah is certainly to be waited for; for God will not lie. But that Enoch or John should also come is not founded in Scripture; therefore it is also to be considered fables and theidings. But if he speaks of the future of Christ through flesh and word, then there is certainly no Elijah to wait for; but John is the same Elijah proclaimed by Malachi.
14 But I am of the opinion that Malachi did not speak of any other Elijah than John, and that Elijah of Tesbi, who went to heaven in a fiery chariot, 2 Kings 2:11, is not to be waited for at all. To this opinion I am first of all led by the speech of the angel Gabriel Luc. 1, 17, which he said to Zachariah, John's father, and said: "He will come before his face".
go in the spirit and power of Elijah, to convert the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the unbelievers to the wisdom of the righteous." With which words we see that the angel points to the prophecy of the prophet Malachi; and also carries out the same words of the prophet, who also says that Elijah is to convert the hearts of the fathers to the children, as is told above. Now if another Elijah had been prophesied by Malachi, the angel would undoubtedly not have pointed him to John. He did the same to the virgin Mary, Luc. 1, 31, and pointed to her the words Isa. 7, 14: "Behold, a virgin is with child, and shall bring forth a son." Gabriel applied these words to Mary, saying, "Behold, you will conceive in the womb and bear a son.
The other, the Jews themselves, from ancient times, also understood Malachi of the future of Christ in the flesh. That is why they asked John if he was Elijah who was to come before Christ. But they were mistaken in that they understood the first, bodily Elijah. For even though the text forces Elijah to come first, it does not force that he is Elijah; for it does not say that Elijah of Tesbi is to come, as the Scripture calls him 1 Kings 17:1 and 2 Kings 1:3, 8, but rather that he is an Elijah, a prophet, which is indicated by the angel Gabriel Luc. 1, 17. thus: "in the spirit and power of Elijah", as if he should say: There will be a true Elijah; just as one says in German custom of one who has another's kind and deed, that is a true N. As when I say: The pope is a true Caiphas, John Huss is a true Paul. So also God promises through Malachi one who is to be a true Elijah; but this is John.
16 But I did not believe the reason of the Jews alone, if Christ did not confirm it Matth. 17, 10.; when the disciples had seen Elias and Moses on the mountain Thabor, they said to the Lord, "What then do the scribes say, Elias shall come before?" As if to say, You have already come, and Elijah has never come before, but now appears after you, and yet they say he must come before. Then Christ did not reject this understanding, but affirmed it
And said, Elias shall come, and bring all things again. But I say unto you, that Elias is come already, and they have not known him, and have done unto him as they would. Then the disciples understood," saith Matthew, "that he spake of John the Baptist." And Marcus adds, Cap. 9:13: "I say unto you, Elias is come already, and they have done unto him as they would, as it is written of him."
(17) Now there is never any writing of Elijah to come but this of Malachi, and Christ himself points it to John. And whether anyone is moved by the fact that Christ says, "Elijah will indeed come, and bring all things again," nothing compels; for he himself interprets these words, saying, "But I say to you that Elijah has already come. etc. That the opinion is thus, that ye have heard of Elias, that he should come first, and bring all things again, is right and true; it is thus written, and must so come to pass: but they know not of whom Elias is said, because he is already come. So that Christ confirms the Scripture with such words, and the mind of Elijah to come; but yet rejects the erroneous mind of another Elijah than John.
18 But most strongly, Matt. 11:13 ff, Christ proves that no other Elijah is coming, saying, "All the prophets and the law prophesied except John. And if you will accept it, he is the Elijah who is to come. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear." Here it is evident that only one Elijah was to be future; for if there were another, he could not say, "John is the Elijah who is future," but would have had to say, "John is the Elijah of one," or badly, "He is Elijah. But now he tells John that he is Elijah, whom everyone waits for, as the future one, without doubt, who was proclaimed; so he gives enough to understand that Malachi's prophecy to John is fulfilled, and according to it there is no other Elijah to wait for.
19 Therefore we also insist that the last preaching before the last day is the gospel, through which Christ has come into all.
And before this preaching and future John came and prepared the way for it. Also if all the prophets and the law prophesy up to John, it is not necessary that someone extends them over John to another, future Elijah; so also Malachi's prophesy must rhyme with John's time. Because he draws all prophets to John's time, he does not let any pass by. And so we conclude that there will be no more Elijah, but the gospel will endure to the end of the world.
Are you a prophet? and he answered, No.
20 Here some think that the Jews asked about the prophet, because Moses writes 5 Mos. 18, 15: "I will raise up a prophet from among their brethren, like you" etc. But this saying is interpreted by Peter Apost. 3, 22. and Stephen Apost. 7, 37. to Christ Himself; as it is to be interpreted. And the Jews certainly considered the same prophet Most like Elijah; therefore they also understood him to be Christ, and asked John if he was a common prophet like the others, since he was neither Christ nor Elijah. For they had not had a prophet since the time of Malachi, who is also the last, and closes the Old Testament with the saying above about Elijah's future; so that John is the next and first after Malachi, who closes his book from him and points to him; so they ask whether he is one of the prophets? as also Christ says of him Matt. 11:9: "What went ye out to see? Did you want to see a prophet? Yea, I say unto you, who is more than a prophet." And Matthew Cap. 21, 26. says: "They all took John for a prophet."
(21) Now here it is asked, how John confessed the truth, denying that he was not Elijah, nor a prophet, and yet Christ himself called him Elijah, and more than a prophet? And he himself knew that he had come in the spirit and power of Elijah, and that the Scriptures called him Elijah? If it is said that he did not confess himself a prophet because he is more than a prophet, then
it reads shamefully, as if he wanted to exalt himself and boast. Therefore, it is to be held that he confessed the truth in the most simple way, namely, that he was not Elijah, whom they asked for, nor a prophet. It was common for prophets to lead and teach the people, and they sought advice and help from them. John was not one of these, nor did he want to be one, since the Lord was present to all the prophets, whom they were to follow and adhere to, so that he did not want to draw the people to himself, but to lead them to Christ, as had to happen out of necessity before Christ himself came. Also because a prophet proclaims the future of Christ, but John shows the present; which is a different thing from the office of a prophet. As if a priest, in the presence of the bishop, were to turn the people away from him and say to the bishop, "I am not a priest; he is your priest," and yet, in the absence of the bishop, rule the people as well as the bishop.
22 John also pointed the people away from himself to Christ. And as this is more and a greater ministry than that of a prophet, it is not greater because of his worthiness, but because of the presence of his Lord, Matth. 11, 9. And in such a praise that John is more than a prophet, not his dignity, but the dignity of the present Lord is shown; for it is customary that a servant is kept greater, more worthy and more honest in the absence of his Lord than in the presence.
(23) So also a prophet is of a higher estate than John, though John's ministry is greater and nearer. For a prophet rules and leads the people, and the people cling to him; but John does no more, but only points from himself to Christ, the present Lord. Therefore he has denied himself a prophet in the most simple way, even though he had all kinds of a prophet superfluously. All this was done for the sake of the people, so that they would not take his testimony as a prophecy of a prophet and wait for Christ to come to another time, but would recognize him as a forerunner and a forerunner, and would not take him as a prophet.
followed his pointing to the present Lord. This is what the following text wants:
Then said they unto him, What art thou that we answer them which sent us? What sayest thou of thyself? He said: I am a voice crying in the wilderness, Direct the way of the Lord, as the prophet Esaias said.
24 This is the other part of his confession, in which he confesses what he is, since he does not want to be Christ, nor Elijah, nor a prophet. As if to say: "Your salvation is much nearer than that a prophet should be here; do not cast your eyes so far away into another time: the Lord of all prophets is himself here, no prophet is allowed here; the Lord goes forth, and I am his forerunner, he follows me at my heels. I do not prophesy of him as a prophet, but I call as a forerunner, that one gives him space and place, that he could go along. I do not say, Behold, he is future, as the prophets; but I say, Behold, he cometh, and is here. I do not say words about him, but point him out with my finger; as long before Isaiah proclaimed that such a cry to make room for the Lord should go before him. I am the same, and not a prophet. Therefore stand aside, give place, and let the Lord himself walk among you presently, and look for no more prophecy from him.
(25) Now this is the answer that no learned, wise, holy man can suffer, and John must have the devil in all his letters and be a heretic; for only the sinners and fools take him for a holy, pious man, and give place to his cries and make way for the Lord, putting aside what hinders his way. But they throw wood, stones, and dung into it, and even kill both the forerunner and the Lord himself, because they may say such things to them. How so? John says they are to judge the way of the Lord, which is saying this much: they have not the Lord, nor his way in them. What do they have? Where the Lord is not, nor his way, there must men's own way, and the devil, and all evil.
be. See now if the holy wise men should not be justly angry with John and condemn his word, then strangle him with his Lord. Should he be so bold as to condemn such holy people to the devil, and reproach all their ways for being wrong, ungodly and damnable, and pretend that their ways are not the ways of the Lord, and that they should first of all condemn the Lord's ways and have led all their holy lives in vain?
26 If he were to write it secretly on a tablet, they might have patience. But now he brings it into the voice, and not only into the voice, but cries it out loud, not in a corner, but freely under heaven, in the wilderness, before all the world, and makes the saints publicly sinful before all people and disgraceful with all their nature and conduct, so that people no longer think anything of their appearance; so that honor and enjoyment, which they had before with their holy life, are gone. This is not to be suffered by such holy people, but for the sake of God and righteousness they must condemn the false doctrine, lest the poor people be deceived and the worship of God be suppressed, and both John and his Lord be put to death for the love and service of God the Father.
27. This is the preparation of the way of Christ and the actual ministry of John, that he should humble all the world and say that they are all sinners, lost, condemned, poor, meager, wretched people, and that no life, no work, no status as holy, beautiful or good seems to be condemned, unless Christ lives, works, lives and does everything through his faith, beautiful, or good, that is not condemned, unless Christ the Lord dwells in it, works in it, walks in it, lives in it, and is and does everything through his faith, so that they all need Christ and make themselves partakers of his grace with all their desire. Behold, where such things are preached, that the work and life of all men is nothing, this is the right voice of John in the wilderness and the pure truth of Christian doctrine; as Paul does Rom. 3:23, where he says: "They are all sinners, and lack the praise that God should have of them." This means to humble oneself properly, and to cut out and destroy the presumption of all men. Now this means truly
"directing the way of the Lord", giving space and making room.
(28) Now here are found two kinds of men: some who believe the voice of John, and confess that it is so with them. These are the ones to whom the Lord comes, for his way is prepared and made ready; as Peter 1 Ep 5:5 says: "He gives grace to the humble"; and he himself Luc 18:14: "He who humbles himself will be exalted. For you must learn well here, and grasp the words spiritually, what the way of the Lord is, and how it is to be made ready, and what hinders it, so that it does not find room in us. The way of the Lord, you have heard, is when he does all things in us, and all our works are not ours but his; which is through faith.
29. But the preparation does not consist in preparing yourself worthily with your prayers, fasting, fasting and works of your own, as all the sermons in Advent now do and deceive; but, as has been said, it is a spiritual preparation, which consists in a thorough knowledge and confession that you are unfit, a sinner, poor, condemned and miserable with all the works you can do. Such a heart, the more it is so minded, the more it prepares the way for the Lord, even if it drinks malvasia and walks on roses, and prays not a word.
The hindrance that does not give room to the Lord is not only the gross physical sins of unchastity, anger, pride, avarice, etc., but rather the spiritual arrogance and the Pharisaic right pride, which respects his good life and work, is sure of it, and does not condemn it itself, and also wants to have it uncondemned. Now these are the other part of men, namely, who do not believe John's voice, but say that it is of the devil, and forbids good works and condemns worship. These are the ones to whom it is said most and most strongly: Direct to the way of the Lord; and they accept it least.
31 Therefore John speaks to them with sharp words Luc. 3, 7. 8.: "You vipers, who will show you how to escape the wrath to come? therefore do fruit.
of repentance, who are righteous." But, as has been said, the more one tells such of the Lord's way, the more they hinder it and become more senseless; they do not want their thing not to be the Lord's, until they, to praise and honor God, kill the truth and word of John with him and his Lord.
32 Therefore, behold, it is not a great confession of John, that he may open his mouth and freely say that he is not Christ, but that he is a voice which they do not like to hear; and he reproaches the great teachers and leaders of the people that their thing is not right and not of the Lord. And as it happened with John, so it goes on from the beginning of the world to the end. For the arrogant holiness cannot hear that it should first prepare the way for the Lord, if it thinks it is sitting in the lap of our God, and lets itself be danced with and flattered *), they have long since completed the way, before God thought to look for a way in them, the tender saints. So now the pope and his own have also condemned the voice of John: "Judge the way of the Lord." Summa, it is an unpleasant voice, without the poor sinners and sorrowful consciences, whom it tastes in the heart.
But is it not perverse and strange that he says, "I am the voice of one who calls"? How can a man be a voice? He should say: I am the one calling with the voice. But this is spoken according to the Scriptures: just as God said to Moses in Exodus 4:16, "Aaron shall be your mouth," that is, he shall speak for you. Item Job 29, 15: "I was an eye to the blind and a foot to the lame." So also in German we say of a miser: Gold is his heart and money is his life. So here also: "I am a voice of the caller", that is, I am a caller and have the name of my work; just as Aaron is called a "mouth" because of the mouth work, so I am a "voice" because of the call. And that in Hebrew is vox clamantis (a voice of a caller), should be
*) Perhaps as much as, gossip and brag.
D. Red.
In Latin: vox clamans, in German: Ich bin eine rufenende Stimme; wie Paulus Rom. 15, 26.: Pauperes sanctorum spricht, und 1 Tim. 3, 16.: Mysterium pietatis, pro pauperes sancti und mysterium pium, die Armen der Heiligen, das Geheimniß der Gotttseligkeit, das ist, die armen Heiligen, das godtselige Geheimniß; gleich als wenn ich sage: die Sprache der Deutschen, sage ich besser: die deutsche Sprache. So here: a voice of the calling, that is, a calling voice. The Hebrew tongue has much more of the way of speaking.
And they that were sent, which were of the Pharisees, asked him, saying unto him, Why baptizest thou then, if thou be not Christ, nor Elias, nor a prophet? John answered them, saying: I baptize with water, but he is come in the midst of you, whom ye know not. He it is that shall come after me, which was before me, that I am not worthy to loose his shoe laces.
It seems as if the evangelist leaves something out in these words, and that the whole speech is like this: I baptize with water, but in the midst of you he has come who baptizes with fire; just as Lucas Cap. 3, 16. says: "I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with fire"; and Apost. 1, 5. "John baptized with water, but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost." But though he is silent here about this other baptism, yet he gives enough to understand that another baptism should be future, because he says of another who comes after him and without doubt should not baptize with water.
35 This is where the other thrust begins, that John may be tempted on the left side. For since they could not move him with curls, they attacked him with threats. And here their false humility breaks out, and it shows that it was a basic hope. This is what they would have done even if John had followed them, if they had had enough. Therefore learn here to beware of men, especially when they are kind and gentle, and as Christ says Matt. 10:16, 17: "Beware of men; be wise as serpents, and simple as doves,
That is, do not trust the sedan chairs and do not do evil to the enemies.
(36) Behold, these Pharisees, who let themselves be heard saying that they would receive John for Christ, when it is not according to their will, turn and punish even John's baptism; as if to say, Because thou art not Christ, nor Elias, nor a prophet, thou shouldest ever know that we are thy rulers according to the law of Moses, and thou shouldest keep the same as a subject; not to make a play of thine own, without our command, knowledge, and leave. Who has given you the power to bring up a new way among our people with your baptism? you are struggling for misfortune with your sacrilege and disobedience.
37 But John, just as he despises their hypocrisy, so he also despises their distrust, remains steadfast and confesses Christ as before. To do this, he touches them rudely and blames them for ignorance. As if he should say: "That I baptize with water, I do not have from your command, there is also nothing in it; there is another, from which I have command, you do not know it, in which I have enough left. If you knew him or wanted to know him, you would not ask where I got the power to baptize, but would also let yourselves be baptized; for he is so much greater that I am not worthy to untie his laces.
38) The word of John, when he says: "He is the one who will come after me, who was born before me," which the evangelist uses three times in this chapter, some have almost acted and made themselves dark, because they have drawn it to the divine eternal birth of Christ, as if John wanted him to be born before him in eternity. But what great thing is this, that he was born before John in eternity, if he was also born before the world and all things? So he should not come after him alone, but after all things; because he is "the first and the last," as Revelation 1:11 says; so that both his future and his former being agree on one. But John's words are light and simple, and speak of Christ as already being a man. For that he says, "He shall come after me," cannot be understood that he should be born after him.
John was thirty years old at the time he said this, just as Christ was.
39 Therefore the mind is sure to speak such words of the ministry, saying, I am come, that is, I have begun to preach; but I shall soon cease, and another shall come and begin to preach after me. So also Lucas says Apost. 1, 22. that Christ began from the baptism of John; and Luc. 3, 23.: "Jesus was thirty years old when he began." And Matth. 11, 3: "Are you the one who is to come?" that is, the one who is to begin to preach? For Christ's life begins only after his baptism, when the Father glorifies and testifies to him. And that is also when the New Testament and the time of grace begins, not at the birth of Christ; as he himself says Marc. 1, 15: "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. For if he had not begun to preach, his birth would have been of no avail; but when he began to do and to teach, there came to pass all the prophecies and all the Scriptures, and a new light and a new world.
40 Thus we have what it is, "He shall come after me"; but it is not yet clear what it is, "He was before me, and he was before me"; which they draw to the eternal birth. We remain in the simplicity that this is also said of the preaching ministry, on the opinion: "Although he does not yet preach, but will first come after me, and I will preach sooner than he; yet he is already present, and so near, that before I began to preach, he was already there and ordained to preach; so that this word "before me" points to John's ministry and not to his person, thus: "He was before me," that is, before my preaching and baptism, thirty years, but he had not yet come and begun. So that he proves his office, that he is not a prophet who proclaims about the future of Christ, but precedes the present, as he is so very near, that he also existed so many years before his beginning and coming.
41 And this is what he says: "He has come into the midst of you, whom you do not know.
net." As if he should say: Do not let your eyes see past in the future time. He has already been among you in the Jewish nation for thirty years, when the prophets say: "Look before you, and do not let him go. You do not know him, therefore I have come to show him to you. But that he says, "He has come in the midst of you," is spoken according to the Scriptures, which say, "A prophet shall arise," or stand up; item Matt. 24:24, "False prophets shall arise," or stand up, or rise up. And God says Deut. 18, 15: "I will raise up a prophet from among your brethren" etc. Such raising up, appearing, rising, awakening John wants to show that it is fulfilled in Christ; he has already appeared in the midst of their brethren, as God promised, and they do not know him.
(42) Now this is the other ministry of John and of an evangelical preacher, that he not only makes all the world sinners, as has been said above, but also comforts us and shows us how to be freed from sins by pointing to the one who is to come. By this he points us to Christ, that he should save us from sins, if we receive him by a true faith. The first office says: You are all sinners and lack the way of the Lord. If we believe this, the other ministry follows and says: "Wait and accept Christ, believe in him, and he will save you from sins. If we believe this, we have it; of this we will say more hereafter.
This happened at Bethabara, on the other side of the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
The evangelist writes John's testimony so diligently that he also remembers the place where it happened, for it is great in the testimony to confess Christ, and it has much impetus. However, he undoubtedly wanted to reveal a spiritual secret in it; we will now see this further.
II. of the spiritual interpretation of this story in the Gospel.
44 This is the sum of it: In this gospel, the ministry of preaching is described.
of the New Testament, how it behaves, what it does and what happens to it.
45 First of all, it is a calling voice, not a scripture. For the Law and the Old Testament is a dead scripture, written in books; but the Gospel is to be a living voice. For this reason John is a figure, an image, and the first of all preachers of the Gospel: he writes nothing, but shouts everything with a living voice.
The other is the Old Testament, the Law, preached in the tents of Mount Sinai, among the Jews alone. But John's voice is in the wilderness, free, public, under heaven, before all the world.
In the third place, it is a shouting, bright, loud voice, that is, speaking confidently and fearlessly, fearing no one, neither death, hell, life, the world, devils, men, honor, shame, nor any creature; as also in another place Isaiah Cap. 40, 6. ff. says; "There is a voice that saith, Shout. What shall I call? All flesh is grass, and all fine glory like the flower of grass. The grass is withered, and the flower thereof is decayed; but the word of the Lord abideth for ever"; item: "Climb up a mountain, thou that preachest in Zion, and lift up thy voice with power, thou that preachest; lift up, and fear not"; for the world cannot suffer the gospel, therefore there must be a strength to despise it, and to cry out unafraid.
The fourth, John's garment is made of camel hair and has a leather belt, Matth. 3, 4. Although this means a strict, chaste life of the preachers, it should mean primarily the kind of preachers, or the gospel: this is a voice not adorned with soft clothes, it does not pretend nor flatter; it is a sermon from the cross, a hard, rough, sharp word to the old man, and girds the loins to spiritual and physical chastity. But it is and will be taken from the deceased patriarchs' lives and words, who have been cameos, and have borne the burdens of the law and the cross. He also eateth wild fowls, and wild honey: not the wild fowls of this land; but there are other beasts in those lands. This means those who receive the gospel,
The gospel takes the humble sinner to himself and into himself.
The fifth, John, is on the other side of the Jordan. The Jordan actually means the holy scripture, which has two sides. The left side is the fleshly mind, which the Jews have on it; there John is not. For the same does not make sinners, but hopeful saints in their works. The right side is the right spiritual mind, which rejects all works and kills them, so that only faith remains in humility; the same is led by the gospel, as Paul does Rom. 3, 23, and says: "The Scriptures, insinuated that they are all sinners" etc.
50 Now, in the sixth place, the controversy arises between the true and false preachers; the Pharisees cannot stand John's voice, they also despise his doctrine and baptism, and remain obdurate in their works and teachings. Yet, for the sake of the people, they pose as if to uphold him. But since he does not want as they want, he must have the devil and finally be beheaded by Herod. This is how it is now and has always been. No false teacher wants to be seen to preach without and against the gospel, but rather to hold it up and believe. But he nevertheless takes it and wants to have it on his mind; the gospel cannot suffer this, because it stands firm and does not deny; therefore it is scolded for heresy and error, as the doctrine of the devil, until they do it by force, and forbid it and cut off its head, so that it must neither be preached nor heard anywhere, as it was done to John Huss by the pope.
(51) Now this is a true Christian preacher, who preaches nothing but what John preached and remains constant on it. Namely, that he first preach the law well, by which the people are to learn how great things God demands of us, who can do none through the inability of our nature, corrupted by Adam's fall, and so baptize with the Jordan. For the cold water means the teaching of the law, which does not kindle love, but rather extinguishes it. For through the law man recognizes how difficult and impossible the law is. About this
He is hostile to it, and his desire for it grows cold, so that he wallows in it, even as he is contrary to the law out of his heart. This is a grave sin, that one is hostile to God's commandments. Then he must humble himself and confess that he is a lost man and that all his works are sin with his whole life. With this, John's baptism has taken place, and he is well baptized, not only watered, but also baptized. Then he sees what John's word means: "Repent" etc. Then he understands that John is right, and that everyone needs to amend or repent. But the Pharisees and saints of works do not come to their senses, nor do they baptize themselves, thinking that they do not need repentance; therefore John's word and baptism is a fool's work in their eyes.
62) Secondly, when the first doctrine of the law and baptism are finished, that a man, humbled by his own knowledge, should despair of himself and of all his ability, the other part of the doctrine begins, in which John points the people from himself to Christ, saying, "Behold, this is the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. This is saying a lot: I first made you all sinners by my teaching, condemned all your works, and said that you must despair of yourselves; but so that you also do not despair of God, behold, I will show you how you shall be rid of your sins and attain salvation. You cannot put away your sin or make yourselves godly by works; another man must do it. I cannot do it either, but I can show him. It is this Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God. He, and no one else, neither in heaven nor on earth, takes sin upon himself, so much so that even you could not pay for the smallest sin. He alone must take upon himself, not your sin alone, but the sin of the world; and not some sins of the world, but all the sins of the world, whether great, small, much, or little. This then is called the righteous
The gospel preached and heard, and the finger of John recognized, that he might show thee Christ, the Lamb of God.
53. If you can now believe that such a voice of John is true, and follow his finger, and recognize the Lamb of God to bear your sin: then you have won, then you are a Christian, a lord over sin, death, hell and all things; then your conscience must become glad, and become fond of the tender Lamb of God from the heart, and love, praise and thank the heavenly Father for such abysmal riches of His mercy, preached by John and given in Christ, and become most willing to do His divine will, whatever you can, with all your strength. For what can be heard more comfortingly and sweetly than that our sins are no longer ours, nor upon us, but upon the Lamb of God? How can sin condemn such an innocent lamb? It must be overcome and destroyed on him; so surely death and hell must also be overcome with sin, as the merit of sins. See what God the Father has given us in Christ.
54 Therefore beware, beware, lest you presume to put away your least sin by your deeds before God, and take such a title from Christ, the Lamb of God. For John testifies, saying, "Amend yourselves, or repent;" but that he does not mean by this that you should amend yourself and put away a sin by yourself, he testifies powerfully with the other part, saying, "Behold, the Lamb of God takes away all the sin of the world;" but he means, as said above, that each one should recognize himself in need of amendment; yet not seek it in himself, but in Christ alone. May God the Father help us to this knowledge of Christ according to all His mercy, and send into the world the voice of John with many multitudes of evangelists, amen.