Luc. 2, 33-40.
And his father and mother marveled at the things spoken of him. And Simeon blessed them, and said unto Mary his mother, Behold, this man is set for a fall, and for a standing out of many in Israel, and for a sign to be contradicted. (And a sword shall pierce through your soul) that the thoughts of many hearts may be made manifest. And there was a prophetess, Hannah, the daughter of Phanuel, of the family of Asher, who was well bedded, and had lived seven years with her husband, after her virginity, and was now a widow of four and fourscore years, who never came out of the temple, serving God with fasting and prayer day and night. The same also joined
At that hour he praised the Lord and spoke of him to all who were waiting for salvation in Jerusalem. And when they had finished all things according to the law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee to their city Nazareth. But the child grew and became strong in spirit, full of wisdom, and God's grace was with him.
(1) It would seem that the previous epistle was preached on this Sunday out of sheer ignorance, that the same ordainer meant it to be preached on the young child Christ, because it speaks of a young heir who is lord of all goods; just as the same epistle and gospels are preached much more on uneven days out of the same ignorance. But there is nothing in the order, is the same much, which is preached on which time, if only the right mind would remain in its order. So this gospel was preached on the day of our Lady's light mass, when she brought the child into the temple, and yet it is read on this Sunday. I say all this so that no one may mislead the order of the times or hinder the understanding and order of the Gospel. We will divide it into two pieces: one from Simeon, the other from Hannah. It is a rich gospel in measure and order: first, the man, Simeon; then, the woman, Hannah; both old and holy.
The first part, by Simeon.
His father and mother were amazed at the things that were said about him.
What are the strange things and by which were they said by him? They are, of course, the things that St. Simeon says hard before, when he took the child Jesus in his arms in the temple, and said: "Lord God, now you leave your servant in peace; for my eyes have seen your Savior, whom you have prepared before all people: the light to enlighten the Gentiles, and in honor of your people Israel." Of these things, says Lucas, they marveled that the old holy man stood there before them in the temple, took the child in his arms, and with joy spoke so gloriously of him that he should be a light to all the world, a savior to all people, an honor to all the people of Israel; and he himself thought so highly of him,
that he was happy to die now that he had seen the child.
(3) Now was it ever reasonable to wonder that such things were publicly said of the great man in the public holy place, when he was a poor despised child, his mother poor and lowly, and his father Joseph not rich; how should such a child be considered to be the Savior of all people, the light of all nations, and the honor and glory of all Israel? Now that it is recognized, it no longer seems so strange; but when nothing of it was yet recognized, it looked so strange, and the poor child was out of all proportion to such a mighty great being as Simeon says of it. But Joseph and Mary believed it nevertheless; therefore they were also astonished. If they had not believed it, they would have despised it, and it would not have been miraculous, but false and useless. Therefore, such miracles praise a high great faith in Joseph and Mary.
004 But if any man say, How marvelled they at this alone? If they had heard before from the angels that he was Christ and the Savior, and that the shepherds also spoke gloriously of him, it was also a wonder that the kings or magi from such distant lands worshipped him with their sacrifice. So Mary knew well, how she had conceived him of the Holy Spirit and had born him miraculously, and heard from the angel Gabriel that he should be called great and the Son of God: that recently had come through vain miracles until now, since no miracle happens, but only the things are proclaimed and said, which have not happened, nor been seen in him.
(5) I think it is not high to go up here, nor far to search. The evangelist does not deny that they also wondered before; but according to simple opinion he wants to describe here what they did to it, since St. Simeon speaks so wonderfully of the child. As if he should say: Since Simeon says such great things about the child, his parents despised it.
but firmly believed it. Therefore they stood and listened to him and were amazed at his speech; what else could they do? This does not deny that they were equally or more amazed before.
(6) But what this wonderment means spiritually is to be sought hereafter; now we are on the written understanding, which serves as an example of our faith, that we may also learn how God's works over us are so strange, that He sees the beginning and the end quite differently: the beginning is nothing, the end is all things; just as here Christ the child is nothing to be seen at all, and yet at last He has become the Savior and light of all people.
(7) If Joseph and Mary had judged by sight, they would have regarded Christ no more than a poor little child. But now they let go of the vision and hang on the words of Simeon with a firm faith; therefore they marvel at the speech. So we also must let go of all our senses in the works of God, and only cling to his words, so that our eyes or senses do not offend us.
8 It is also written that they marveled at this speech of Simeon, to show how God's word never goes out without fruit and is preached; as he says Isa. 55:11: "My word that goes out of my mouth," that is, out of God's messenger's mouth, "shall not return to me empty, but shall do all that I will, and be swift in all that I send it. Thus the evangelist says: Simeon made a hearty and beautiful speech, preaching the truthful gospel and the word of God. For what is the gospel but a preaching of Christ, how he is a Saviour, light and glory to all the world; from which preaching the heart is glad, and is astonished with joy at such great grace and consolation, if it believes in it.
(9) But though the speech was beautiful and wonderfully comforting, yet there were few of them that believed it; yea, they despised it as foolishness, and went and stood in the temple, one praying, and another doing another thing, giving nothing unto these words of Simeon. But because God's word must bear fruit, there were some of them who gladly believed it.
and miracles, namely, Joseph and Mary. And here the evangelist secretly punishes the unbelief of the Jews, that there were many of them (because it happened publicly in the temple), and yet no one wanted to believe, they all resented the childhood. So we learn here that we should hear God's word gladly, for it does not come without fruit.
10 From this follows the spiritual meaning of this astonishment of Joseph and Mary. The Temple is a place of God, therefore it means all places where God is; among them it also means the holy Scriptures, in which God is found as in His right place. To bring Christ into the temple is nothing else than what the Apostles said. 17:11: when they had received the gospel with all eagerness, they ran with it into the Scriptures, inquiring daily whether it was so.
11 Now in the same temple is Simeon, who is a person of all the prophets, who were full of the Holy Spirit, as Lucas says of Simeon, and spoke and wrote from the Holy Spirit, and waited for the coming Christ, as this Simeon did; neither did they cease nor end until Christ came, as St. Peter says in Acts 3:24, that all the prophets spoke for Christ's time. 3, 24, that all the prophets spoke of Christ's time. And he himself, Christ, Matth. 11, 13. says that the prophets and the law lasted until John, that is, until Christ's baptism, when he began to be the Savior and light of all the world.
12) This is what is meant in Simeon, that he should not die, because he had seen Christ. That is why he is also called "Simeon," that is, a hearer, that the prophets had only heard of Christ as of the one who was still behind them and would come after them; that is why they had him on their backs and heard him. Now when one comes with Christ and the gospel thus into the temple and looks at the Scriptures, the sayings of the prophets stand so warmly to him, catch him in their arms and all say with great joy: This is the man, this is he, since we have spoken of; now our speech has come to its end, with peace and joy. And there they all begin to give the most beautiful testimonies of how this Christ is the Savior,
the light, comfort and glory of Israel, and all that Simeon says and proclaims here. St. Paul says Rom. 1, 2, how God promised the gospel through the prophets in the Holy Scriptures. Scripture. Explain what Simeon and the temple are. Item Rom. 3, 21: "Faith is testified by the law and the prophets"; and Christ Joh. 5, 39: "Search the Scriptures, for they bear witness of me"; item v. 46: "If you believed Moses, you also believed me, for he wrote of me." This could be proved with examples, but it would be too long. Above, on the day of Christ, in the high mass Epistle and Gospel, we have seen examples of how the apostles bear such beautiful and skillful witnesses from the holy Scriptures. Item, in the Christmas mass Gospel we have also said about the swaddling clothes, where the child is wrapped.
13 Now let the saying of Moses be enough, Deut. 18, 15, which the apostles Apost. 3, 22. and Cap. 7, 37. and many times, saying: "God will raise up a prophet from among your brethren, whom you shall hear as you hear me." Here Moses ends the people's listening and their teaching publicly to this prophet, Christ, that they should hear him from now on. And this is a testimony that Christ was to be a light and a savior after Moses, and without doubt better than Moses; otherwise Moses would not end his teaching and leading to him and keep silent, but would stretch forth beside him. Item Isaiah Cap. 28:16 says, "Behold, I will lay in Zion a choice and precious cornerstone, and whosoever believeth in it shall not be put to shame." Behold, this and similar sayings, just as they agree with the Gospel, say of Christ just as the apostles preached of him, so do all the Scriptures henceforth.
014 Therefore this Simeon must be an old man, that he might be full of the prophets of old, and of an even figure. And grasp him not in the hands nor in the lap, but in the arms. Although this has something deeper in it, it is enough for us now that the prophecies and sayings of the Scriptures present Christ in the same way and offer Him to everyone, not keeping to themselves; as one does with that which is
on the arms. St. Paul says Rom. 4, 23. and Rom. 15, 4. that all things were written not for their sake but for ours. And 1 Petr. 1, 12. says: "The prophets have not given to themselves, but to us, that we have heard from Christ."
(15) Therefore Lucas did not say that they marveled at what Simeon said, but said, "the things spoken by the child"; he did not mention Simeon's name, but was diligent to draw us from Simeon to this spiritual meaning, so that we might understand the sayings of Scripture.
16 Now, only his father and mother wonder about these sayings. But the evangelist has put a mark on the names Joseph and Mary, calling them father and mother, to give us the spiritual meaning. Who is Christ's spiritual father and mother? He himself calls his spiritual mother Marc. 3, 34. 35. Luc. 8, 21.: "Whoever does the will of my Father is my brother, my sister and my mother." St. Paul calls himself a father 1 Cor. 4, 15.: "Though ye have ten thousand schoolmasters in Christ, yet have ye not many fathers: for in Christ, through the gospel, have I begotten or begotten you." So it is clear that the Christian church, that is, all believing people, are Christ's spiritual mother, and all apostles and teachers among the people, if they preach the gospel, are his spiritual father. And as often as a person becomes a believer anew, Christ is born from them. These are they who marvel at the sayings of the prophets, that they speak so beautifully of Christ and so gloriously of him, testify so masterfully to the whole gospel, that there is no greater delight in this life than to see and experience such things in the Scriptures.
17 But the other, the great company of the unbelievers, despise this Simeon, mocking him and turning his word to him as a fool, playing their monkey games in the temple and being rude, even putting idols and the altar of Damascus in it, as King Ahaz did, 1 Kings 16:32, 33. These are all those who are rude to the Scriptures.
They desecrate and break it, and commit all sin and dishonor in it, as the pope does and has done through his Decretals and the high schools through their Aristotle. However, they are devout, consecrate and uncover many stone and wooden churches, chapels and altars, are also angry with the Turks for desecrating and breaking such churches, and think that God should reward them for desecrating and destroying His most beloved temple, which is innumerably better and eternal, ten thousand times worse. It is a blind, mad people, plump into it; let them go, one blind after the other, into the eternal pit.
(18) It might move a simple mind that Lucas calls Joseph the father of Christ, and does not shun the virginity of Mary. But he has spoken this according to the custom as they are kept and called among the people, and according to the custom of the law, which also calls stepfathers fathers; as is also the custom of all the world. Rather, he is called his father because he was his mother's trusted husband and bridegroom. But that he did not shy away from speaking in this way was sufficient cause that he described her virginity so clearly beforehand that he probably thought that no one could understand Joseph Christ's natural father. Therefore, as it has been without all danger by his construction; so he has also written without all shyness. For his foregoing text is sufficiently compelling that Mary is his natural mother and Joseph his natural father; and therefore both are true, that he has father and mother.
And Simeon blessed them.
(19) This blessing is nothing else than wishing them happiness and salvation, honor and all good things. He has also blessed not only the child, but all of them, says Lucas, child, father and mother.
(20) This blessing seems to be a badly small thing, for people also bless and desire one another in this way. But to bless Christ and his parents
Blessing is a very strange work, for the reason that Christ and nature are completely contrary to each other. He condemns all that the world chooses, gives cross and all evil to suffer, and deprives all pleasure, good and honor of this world, teaches that it is all foolishness and evil that people deal with. Behold, this will no man suffer of him, neither can; there goeth cursing, blasphemy, persecution of Christ, and all his own; and there are very few Simeons that bless him, but all the world full that curse him, and wish him all evil, and dishonor, and calamity. For he that hath not the mind to despise all things willingly, and to suffer all things, shall not long bless and praise Christ, but shall soon be offended at him.
(21) There are some who praise and bless him, because he does what they want and lets them be what they want. But there he is not Christ, neither doeth Christ's works with them; but is what they are and will. But when he begins to be Christ with them, that they should leave their works, and that he alone should be in them, then is all fleeing, blaspheming, and cursing.
(22) Some think that when they see the infant Christ present with his mother, as Simeon did, they will cheerfully bless him. But they lie; they would certainly have turned away his infancy and poverty, and his contemptible form. This they prove by leaving such poverty and form, hating and persecuting in the limbs of Christ, under which they would still like to find the head, Christ, every day. Therefore, as they now flee and hate the cross and the despicable form, so they would certainly do if he were even now before their eyes. Why do they not do such honor to the poor? Why do they not honor the truth? But Simeon was not so minded, did not resent his form; indeed, he confesses that he is a sign of contradiction, and is pleased that Christ rejects all high form and presents the form of the cross. For this purpose, he not only blesses him, but also his limbs, mother and father.
(23) Therefore Simeon, as a preacher and lover of the cross and enemy of the world, is here a great exemplar in this blessing.
pel to praise and honor Christ in His despised, cursed, rejected form, which He led in His own person at that time, and still leads in His limbs, who for His sake bear poverty, shame, death and all kinds of curses, and yet no one joins them, receives them, nor blesses them; but with prayers and fasting, endowments and works they want to be pious people and Christians.
24 Here the spiritual meaning breaks out, that the spiritual Christ, his spiritual father and mother, that is, the Christian church with the apostles and their followers, are subject to all kinds of curses on earth, and as St. Paul says in 1 Cor. 4:13, are like the refuse, chaff and foam of this world. Therefore they may well receive their blessing and comfort from elsewhere, from Simeon in the temple, that is, from the prophets in the holy Scriptures, of which Paul says Rom. 15:4: "All things that are written are written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the Scriptures may stand fast in hope."
025 Behold, so a Christian man must not think nor undertake to send his things so as to be praised and blessed before the people of the world. No, that is already decided, he must wait for shame and cursing, and surrender to it, and wait for no blessing at all, except from Simeon in the temple. The Scripture is our comfort, praising and blessing all who are cursed by the world for Christ's sake. The 37th Psalm goes completely to this; item the 9th and many others, all of which sing how God redeems all who suffer before the world. And Moses 1 Mos. 4, 9. writes that God took such hard care of the pious Abel after his death that he was moved to revenge even uninvited, only by his blood, and did much more with him after his death than in his life; so that he shows how he cannot leave even the dead, yes, the dead less than if they live who believe in him. Again, when Cain was slain, he was silent, taking care of his nothing.
(26) These and similar sayings of the Scriptures are our comfort and blessing, if we are Christians; we must keep them and be content with them. There we see how blessed
they are who suffer curses, how wretched they are who curse. God cannot forget nor let them forget; He will not remember nor know them. What would we have richer, greater comfort and blessing? What is the blessing and consolation of the world compared to this consolation and blessing of Simeon in the temple?
And he said unto Mary his mother, Behold, this man is set for a fall and a rising of many in Israel, and for a contradictory sign; and a sword shall pass through thine own soul, that thoughts out of many hearts may be discovered.
(27) Why does he not say this to the father and call the mother by her name? He attacks nature here, calls the natural mother and not the father. That is why the mother alone was quite naturally hurt by what happened to her natural child. Perhaps this is also why Joseph would not experience the time of Christ's suffering, which would only come upon the mother, and to all suffering would also be added the fact that she had to suffer like a poor abandoned widow, Christ like a poor orphan; which is beyond measure pitiful, that God Himself in Scripture also holds harshly over widows and orphans, calling Himself a judge of widows and a father of orphans.
28. For Mary held all three states: the virgin state, the conjugal state, and the widow state; and the last is the most miserable, having neither protection nor succor. A virgin has her parents; a wife has her husband: a widow is forsaken. And in such a miserable state Simeon proclaims so much sorrow to her. Thereby he indicates and translates his blessing to her, as he means it, namely, that it is a blessing before God, not before the world. For in the sight of the world it should turn back, and not only be unblessed, but also its child should become like a target and a mark, since everyone aims at it and curses it; just as all arrows and bows aim at a target. Behold, that is, I mean, blessed in the temple. It was necessary for her to be strengthened and comforted by spiritual and divine blessing against such a weapon of future malediction.
because she alone had to bear and suffer in her soul such a great storm of the betrayal of her child.
29 First, he says, Christ is set for the fall and rising of many in Israel. This is the first comfort that his mother should experience and bring up in him, that many would be offended by him, even in Israel, which was the chosen people. Therefore it is a bad consolation in the eyes of men that she is the mother of the Son, against whom so many should be offended and fall, also in Israel. Some have interpreted this text in such a way that many have fallen against Christ, and their hope has fallen blessedly, so that they may rise in humility; as St. Paul fell and rose; just as all saints of works must fall and despair of themselves, and rise in Christ, if they are to be saved otherwise. This is good sense, but not enough in this place. Simeon speaks of Christ in such a way that many Jews are offended and angry with him, so that they will fall into unbelief, as has happened and is still happening. What a saddening image and reputation, and a terrible proclamation to hear in the ears of this holy mother.
(30) But the cause of this fall is not Christ, but the presumption of the Jews; and thus it comes to pass, that Christ is come to be a light and a Savior to all the world, as Simeon saith, and that through faith in him every man might be justified and saved. Since this was to happen, all other righteousness had to be rejected by ourselves, except Christ sought by works. The Jews did not like this, as St. Paul says Rom. 10, 3: "They do not recognize the righteousness that God gives (through faith), and seek how to establish their own righteousness; therefore they are not subject to divine righteousness." So they stumble against faith, fall deeper and deeper into unbelief, and harden their righteousness, so that they also persecute to the utmost all who believe.
(31) So also all the saints of works must still do, standing on their works, and falling away from the faith, and making such a case against Christ, that they burn, condemn, persecute all those who
reject their works, or do not want to let anything be; as we now see in popes, bishops, doctors and all papists. And this they do in the opinion that they are doing God a great service, to protect the truth and to preserve Christianity; just as the Jews also pretended that they received worship and the Law of Moses, when they killed and persecuted the apostles and Christians.
32 Therefore, as Simeon here promises the mother of Christ that not all Israel will accept him as the light and Savior that he is, nor only some or a few, but many will stumble and fall against him: so the spiritual mother of Christ, the gathering of Christians, must not be surprised that many of the false Christians, previously of spiritual standing, do not accept the faith. For this is the very people who rely on works and seek their own righteousness, and should and must offend and fall in Christ and his faith, persecuting and killing what they speak or do against them. For this also the spiritual Simeon proclaimed long before; these are the prophets, which say almost all things of this case. Isaiah Cap. 8, 11-15. thus says: "God says to me with strength, and teaches me not to walk in the way of this people, and tells me to say to them: You shall not call this a riot or an outrage. For all that this people speak is but of sedition. But fear not him, neither be dismayed at him; sanctify God the Lord, and let him be your fear and terror: and he shall be unto you a sanctification, and a rock of falling, and a rock of trouble unto the two houses of Israel, and a snare and a net unto the inhabitants of Jerusalem: and many of them shall be vexed, and fall, and be broken, and be entangled, and seen." There are many more of these sayings, from which it is proved that Christ must be a stone on which the very best and the highest stumble, as also the 78th Psalm v. 31. says: "He has strangled the fat ones of Israel, and prevented their chosen ones." For Christ is set up as a Savior, and may not depart nor be changed; so these hopeful ones are also hard and stiff-necked, and will not depart from their deeds, but run away.
So with the head against Christ, one part must break and fall. But Christ must remain and cannot fall; therefore they must fall.
33 Again, as firmly as he stands against the worksaints and does not yield to them, so firmly does he stand against all who build on him, as Isaiah Cap. 28, 16: "I will lay a cornerstone for a foundation, and all who believe in it shall not be put to shame." And he himself Matt. 16:18: "Upon the rock I will build my church, and the infernal gates shall not prevail against it." Now as falling and breaking is nothing else but unbelief and sinking into works; so rising and being built upon this rock is nothing else but believing and stepping out of works. Now these are the believers, to whom alone and no one else Christ is set to rise. Just as in Christ's time many in Israel stood up by him, so it must remain until the end of the world, so that no one may stand up by any work or human teaching, but only by Christ; which is done by faith, as is often said, without any works or merit; and works must first follow standing up.
Thou seest, therefore, how all the Scriptures urge faith alone, and reject works as unfit, even as grievous, and hindering to justification and that rising. For Christ alone will be set to rise, or must fall. He does not allow anything to be set beside him for rising. Is it not an abominable being for the life of the papists and clergy, which thus runs sternly and squarely with its head against this rock, and walks so contrary to the Christian life, that it may well be called the nature and rule of the Antichrist. This standing up also says the spiritual Simeon to the spiritual mother of Christ. For all prophets teach Christianity how only in Christ all people must stand; as St. Paul also introduces Rom. 1, 17. and Hebr. 10, 38. the prophet Habakkuk Cap. 2, 4. "The righteous lives by his faith."
35 Therefore we see how this falling down and rising up in Christ is entirely spiritual, and the
Falling is different from rising. Falling down does not affect the great, highly learned, powerful and holy people, who stand too firmly on their own; as the gospel shows us, Christ has no quarrel or dispute with sinners, but deals with them in the most friendly way. But with the eccentrics, scribes, princes of the priests he can nowhere get away, has no mercy on them either. Therefore, just as falling down only benefits those who are already standing, so rising up only benefits those who are lying down and have fallen. These are all the merciful, single spirits, who know themselves that they are nothing, and that Christ is all things.
(36) And Simeon has added the word "Israel" to it. For Christ was promised by all the prophets to the Israelite people alone, and it was also proclaimed how many of the same people would fall away for the sake of their own righteousness. Which is indeed frightening even to us Gentiles, to whom nothing is promised; but by pure grace, unthinking and unawares, we have come and risen up in Christ; as St. Paul teaches Romans 15:9 and is said above in the epistle of the next Sunday in Advent. Therefore, this fall in Israel should go to our hearts, as the apostle reminds us in Romans 11:20, so that we do not also fall, yes, unfortunately, we have already fallen and been deceived by the Antichrist worse than the Jews and the Turks, so that we only bear the name of Christ to the shame of God and to our detriment.
37 Secondly, Simeon says that Christ has been set as a sign, which is contradicted. Is it not a pity that the Savior and the light of the world should be contradicted, condemned and damned, whom it was right to pursue and seek from one end of the world to the other? But from this one learns what the world is and what nature does with its free will, namely, it is the devil's kingdom and God's enemy; and not only does it do against God's commandment, but it also senselessly and furiously pursues and kills the Savior, who is supposed to help it keep God's commandment. But one thing follows from the other: those who are opposed to him must also be opposed to him, they cannot
to do otherwise. Again, those who stand up to him must confess, intercede and preach him; they may not do otherwise. But the sword goes through their soul, as follows.
38 Now mark the words. He saith not thus, This is contradicted; but: He is set for a mark, that he may always be contradicted; as a target or mark is set for archers, that all bows and rifles, arrows and stones, may be aimed and driven at it; the same is set, that the shots may not go elsewhere, but only at the mark. Thus, Christ is the target to which everyone attaches himself; all contradiction aims at him so completely. And though the gainsayers are most divided among themselves, yet they are united in that they contradict Christ. This is proven in Luc. 23, 12: since Pilate and Herod were deadly enemies to each other, they nevertheless became one over and against Christ. The Pharisees and Sadducees were also exceedingly divided, but against Christ they all became one; so that David marvelled, and said of them Psalm 2:1, 2: "Why do the people rage thus? and why do the people strive so vainly? Why do the kings of the earth thus come together, and the princes become one against God and against his Christ?"
39 So too, all the heretics, however diverse they were among themselves and against one another, yet they were all in unity against the one Christian church. And now also, though no bishop with another, no foundation, order or monastery respects the other, and there are as many sects and differences as there are heads, yet they are all of one mind against the gospel; just as the prophet Asaph writes Ps. 83:6, 7, 8, that all nations were gathered together against the people of Israel, Edom, Ishmael, Moab, Hagarim, Gebal, Ammon, Amalek, Philistim, Zur, and Asshur, none of whom was one with another. Wickedness and lies are divided among themselves; but against truth and righteousness they must become one, that all strife, all contradiction, may burst upon this mark and purpose. And they have a good reason for this, as they think. For every group
The people fight only against their own opponents: Pilate against Herod, Pharisees against Sadducees, Arius against Sabellius, monks against priests. But every group has its own followers and friends, and their quarrels and peace are only piecemeal.
40 But Christ is quite rude and unreasonable, punishing them all, regarding Pilate as much as Herod, Pharisees as much as Sadducees, and keeping it with no part. Therefore as he is against them all, so again they all fall together against him. So the truth is against all lies and falsehood: therefore also all their lies hang together against the truth and make a goal of contradiction out of it. All this must therefore come to pass. For Christ and the truth find no man pious and of his own accord; as the Psalter says Ps. 116:11: "All men are liars." Therefore he must punish them all without distinction, and reject their doings, that they may all be made poor and deserving of his grace. But they do not all suffer this, nor do they all want it, even the least part.
41 Thus we have the two Simeons: the physical Simeon proclaims to the physical mother how Christ in his own person is a goal set for the opponents. With this he shows what the spiritual Simeon, the prophets, say about the Christian faith to Christianity, namely that the same faith and gospel, the living word of truth, is a rock over which many fall and rise, and finally a goal which is contradicted, that also Isaiah Cap. 53, 1. says about it with wonder: "Who believes our preaching?" As if he should say, "Very few. Item Isa. 8, 15. and Cap. 28:13, he says that so many fall away from this word that hardly the yeast and the basic soup of the people will be saved. In the prophets such falling, rising and contradicting is described superfluously.
(42) Simeon said before that Christ was a light and a savior to all the world, which the prophets also say. This proclaims what Christ is and how he stands against the world. But here, when he speaks of falling, rising and opposing, he proclaims how he succeeds and succeeds, what the world is and how it opposes Christ.
place. Thus it is found that Christ would be willing and sufficient to do as a light and savior of all the world, and also shows himself abundantly and superfluously to it; but the world not only does not receive him, but it only becomes worse from it, and also contradicts and persecutes him to the utmost.
From this the world is known as the devil's kingdom, not only full of evil and blindness, but also a lover of evil and blindness; as Christ says John 3:19: "The light has come into the world, and the world prefers darkness to light. Behold, we see how our walk on earth is among the devils and God's enemies, that justly this life should be terrifying to us.
(44) From this we learn, and are assured, that where our word and faith are vexed and contradicted by many, first by the great, learned, and ecclesiastical, we may on our part be comforted and rejoice. It is a sign that our word and faith is right, and goes with it, as Simeon here and all the prophets say of it. It must bump, fall, rise and contradict, nothing else will come of it. Whoever wants to have it differently, may look for another Christ. This Christ is set for the fall and rising up of many in Israel, and for the goal or mark of contradiction; so surely also his member, every Christian, must be so for the sake of his faith and word. It is called antilegumenos, contradicted; one must condemn, banish and curse his opinion and faith as the worst heresy, error and foolishness. Where this is done, it is done right; where it is not done, there is neither Christ, nor his mother, nor Simeon, nor prophets, nor faith, nor gospel, nor Christians. What should contradicting be but not only denying, but blaspheming, cursing, condemning, banishing, forbidding, and persecuting with all shame and disgrace as the worst heresy?
But the little word gives still another consolation. He says he is a goal that is contradicted, but not overthrown or destroyed. All the world may condemn my faith and word, heretical from
But she must let me keep him, cannot take him from me; she does not get any further with all her raving and raging than that she contradicts me, and I must be her mark and goal. Nevertheless she falls and I stand. Let them contradict as much as they want, God, who resists and fights with his works against their word; let us see who will prevail here. Here are works, and God's works that set, that is, make strong and firm the mark, on good ground. There is a goal set by God, who will overthrow it? But there is no more there, but flying words and a fainting breath from the mouth. The flies almost scratch with their fists and sharpen their beaks, but do no more than throw at the wall, but leave it standing.
46. From this it follows that the doctrine and faith of the pope, the bishops, the monasteries, the high schools is a vain worldly and devilish thing; for there is no falling, no contradicting: Neither do they suffer, but have glory, power, riches, peace, and pleasure, and are our Lord's God's true mastiffs on his throne; unless any of them be martyred with spiritual temptations of the devil in faith and hope, as some are found. For where Christ is and his faith, there must be contradiction, or there is never Christ; if men do not do it publicly, devils must do it secretly. And these are very severe temptations, in unbelief, despair and blasphemy. These may be preserved; but the rest go without Christ, without Mary, without Simeon, without all truth; meanwhile they say many masses, sing up and down, wear plates and spiritual garments, and are Solomon's monkeys and Indian cats. Yes, because they do not want to suffer contradiction, nor are they worthy, nor do they have anything, nor do they desire to be contradicted: so they go on and become contradictors themselves. What else should they do? It is their own work to condemn, forbid, curse and persecute the truth.
47 I say this because I want to have done enough of my duty herewith, and
shows every Christian his danger, that he knows to beware of the pope, of the high schools, of the spiritual state, where God's word is not in action, as of the devil's own kingdom and nature; keep to the Gospel, see where there is contradiction and where there is praise. If there is no contradiction, then Christ is not there either, and such contradiction is not from the Turk, but from his very neighbor. Christ is not a mark set for the fall of many in Babylon or Assyria, but of many in Israel, that is, among the people, since he is within and they boast of him as his own.
48 Thirdly, Simeon says to Mary his mother, "A sword shall pass through your soul. This is not said of the bodily sword, but as it is written of Joseph, Ps. 105:18: "Iron passed through his soul"; and Ps. 107:10: "He redeemed them that sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, in oppression and in iron"; item Deut. 4:20: "I have redeemed you out of the iron furnace of Egypt." And it is said that she would bear great sorrow and woe in her heart, even though she would not be martyred in her body. How this happened, everyone knows well. Therefore, this speech must be taken according to the Hebrew way, that it speaks of great suffering and sorrow of the heart, just as we call such sorrow "heartbreak" in the German way, since one says: My heart wants to break; item: My heart wants to burst etc.
(49) We must save further mention of this until the Passion; now it is enough that we see how Simeon translates his dedication with a bitter gloss, so that it would not be understood as a temporal dedication before the world. But what does it mean that Simeon says this only to Mary, his mother, by name and not to Joseph? It means, of course, that the Christian Church, the spiritual Virgin Mary, remains on earth, is not destroyed, although the preachers and their faith and gospel, the spiritual Christ, are persecuted: just as, although Joseph dies first and Christ is martyred, that Mary is a widow and deprived of her child; nevertheless, she remains and such sorrow goes on all the world.
through her heart. So the Christian church remains a widow forever; and that her Joseph, the holy fathers, should die and the gospel be martyred, passes through her heart; she must suffer the sword and yet always remain until the last day.
(50) What could be more bitter to a Christian heart than to see and experience how fiercely the tyrants and unbelievers persecute and destroy the gospel of Christ, as is happening now under the pope more than ever before? Then it is according to her name; for Mary is called a bitter sea. In this is expressed that not only bitterness is in her, but much and vain bitterness, that not a drop, not even a river, but a whole sea of bitterness is in her; for all suffering floods her, so that she is called Mary, a bitter sea.
51 Finally, Simeon says that all this happens because the thoughts of many hearts are discovered. O, a blessed necessary fruit of this falling and contradicting. But that we may understand this, it is to be noted that there are two kinds of vexation and seduction among men. One is gross, in the gross sins, such as: Disobeying parents, killing, unchastity, stealing, lying and blaspheming etc., and these are sins against the other table of Moses. Here it is not necessary that they take offense at a sign of contradiction; their thoughts are already in the day by such their evil nature. The scripture speaks little of this trouble.
52) The other, Casbi, the beautiful daughter of Zur, the prince of Midian, over whom four and twenty thousand of Israel were slain, as Moses wrote in Numbers 25:15: "This is the right kind of seduction in the holy and beautiful sins of good works and worship, which bring all the world to all kinds of misfortune, and no one can be sufficiently guarded against them. These are sins against the first table of Moses, and against faith, against God's glory and His works.
(53) For there is no greater, more dangerous, more poisonous trouble than the outward good life in good works and spiritual walk; there are all honest, reasonable, honorable,
pious people in that it would not be possible for a soul to remain saved or unconvinced unless God set this sign and goal, on which they stumbled and discovered their heart. Here, through their beautiful words and beautiful works, one sees into their heart, and finds that such great saints and wise people are pagans and fools, because they pursue faith for the sake of their works, wanting to be unpunished in their nature. Thus their thoughts are discovered, and it is seen how they build upon their works and themselves, and thus not only sin against the first commandments without ceasing, but are also hostile, and strive to destroy and destroy all that is due to faith and to God, but not otherwise than for the sake of God and to preserve the truth. Behold, the pope, the bishops and almost all the clergy are now of this kind; they have filled, filled, filled the world with snares and vexations with their beautiful glittering and coloring of the spiritual life, since there is no faith but vain works within, no gospel but vain laws of men rule.
The whole of Scripture has to do with this trouble, because God is fighting against it with all the prophets and saints. This is the true gate of hell and the broad road to damnation; therefore this whore is called Casbi, mendacium meum, my lie. All that glitters is false and faithful, but her beautiful adornment and adornment deceives even the princes of Israel, and is called not only mendacium, but meum mendacium, my lie, because such deception is almost loved and provoked by everyone.
55. In order that God may protect us here, he has set up his Christ as a goal, against which they should stumble, fall and contradict, so that we may not, deceived by their works and words, accept their life as good and follow it; but recognize how before God no real life is good without faith; and where there is no faith, that there is vain Casbi, vain lies and deceit. Which is evident in them, as soon as one preaches such things against them, and regards their things as nothing in comparison with faith. See, then you must be a heretic with your faith; then they break out and reveal their heart to you without their will and knowledge, so that you may see what a lie and deceit they are.
an abominable abomination of unbelief lies under the beautiful life, what a wolf under the wool, what a harlot under the garland, that she immediately becomes insolent, and will have taken such her shame and vice for vain honor and virtue, or will kill you; that God through Jeremiah well says to her Jer. 3, 3. "You have overcome a whore's forehead, will not be ashamed"; and Isa. 3, 9. "You have not covered your sin, but have preached it, like Sodoma and Gomorrah." Wouldn't that be a great impudent whore, who would let her adultery be sung in honor even before her conjugal husband? So do all the preachers of works and faithless teachers, who insolently preach works, condemning faith, conjugal chastity; their fornication shall be chastity, and true chastity shall be fornication. Behold, all this would remain concealed, nature and reason would not want to experience such bad virtue, the works are too pretty and the gestures too fine. Yes, nature conceives all this, takes pleasure in it, thinks it is right and well done, stays on it and hardens itself in it. Therefore, God sets a sign for it, so that it may stumble against it, and everyone may learn how much higher a Christian life is than nature and reason. All her virtues are sin, all her light is darkness, all her ways are error. It must have entered another heart, skin and nature; this heart does not discover itself otherwise than that it is God's enemy.
56. this is what was meant in ancient times in the Palestinians 1 Sam. 5, 6. whom God afflicted that their intestines ran out below, since they had God's ark with them. The intestines are the thoughts of the unbelieving heart, which burst out as soon as God's ark comes to them, that is, when the gospel and Christ are preached; they do not like to suffer this badly. So it happens that these saints, whom no one can recognize in themselves, when mau holds Christ against them, their heart is also revealed, that as St. Paul says 1 Cor. 2, 15: "A spiritual man judges all men, and he is judged by no one"; for he knows how they are minded and how their heart stands, from this, when he hears that they do not receive God's word and faith. Continue in the text:
And there was a prophetess, whose name was Hannah, the daughter of Manuel, of the family of Aeser, who was of a good age, and had lived with her husband seven years from her virginity, and was a widow unto the fourth and fiftieth year: she came never out of the temple, and served God with fasting and prayer day and night.
57. Would anyone here say, "In this Hannah, you see that good works are praised as fasting and praying and going to church, so they must not be rejected? Answer: Who has ever rejected good works? We only reject the good works that seem false. Fasting, praying, going to church are good works, if they are done right; but this is the trouble, that the blind heads fall into the Scriptures, plump with boots and spurs, looking only at the works and examples of the dear saints, wanting to learn and follow them as soon as possible. Then they become vain monkeys and gleamers; for they do not also look, as the Scripture indicates, at the person much more than at the works. Abel's sacrifice and work is also praised in the Scriptures, but before that the person much more. So they leave the person and take only the example. With this they only grasp the works and lack faith, eat the bran and spill the flour; as also the prophet Hosea Cap. 3, 1. Says, "They look for another god, and love the triesters of the grapes." If thou wilt fast and pray with this holy Hannah, it is well; but see that thou follow the person first, and afterward the works, become also a Hannah first. But let us see how St. Lucas handles the works and the person, so that we may rightly grasp the example.
(58) First, he says that she was a prophetess, undoubtedly a holy, pious prophetess; so certainly the Holy Spirit was in her: by this the person, without any works, was good and justified beforehand; therefore the works that followed were also good and justified. So you see that St. Lucas does not mean that she became pious and a prophetess by works, but that she was a pious prophetess beforehand, and that she was a pious prophetess after works.
then by them also the good works become. Why then do you want to divide and reverse the example and the gospel, reading first and only the works, when Lucas first describes the person and not only the works?
59 Secondly, he praises her as a widow who has done works befitting her widowhood and has remained in her profession. But he does not distinguish these works as if they alone were the right good works and service of God, and all others were rejected. St. Paul describes the life of widows in 1 Tim. 5:3, 4, 5, 6: "You should honor widows who are true widows. For if a widow has children or nephews, she must first learn to rule her house in a Christian way and do good to her parents; this is pleasing and good to God. But she that is a true widow, and lonely, putteth her hope in God, and continueth in prayer day and night. But she who is in lusts is dead and alive" etc.
60 From this you see that this Hannah must have been a widow, lonely, without children and parents, whom she was not allowed to wait for; otherwise she would not have served God, but the devil, so that she would never have come from the churches and would have had her house divinely governed. And this is also stated by Lucas, when he writes that she was a widow until her fourth and eightieth year; so that he wants everyone to be able to easily reckon how her parents must have been dead and her children cared for, that she was cared for by them as an old mother, and was henceforth allowed to do nothing but pray and fast, and deny all pleasures. For Lucas does not say that she lived like this for the whole four and eighty years, but at the time when Christ was born and brought into the temple, when she first began to walk like this, when she took care of all things, all children and parents, and became completely lonely.
Therefore, it is a dangerous thing to look only at the works and not at the person, profession or occupation. It is very displeasing to God that someone should abandon the works of his profession or occupation and want to attack the works of the saints. That is why such a married woman wanted to follow this Hannah,
Leaving husband and child, house and parents, so that she waltzed, prayed, fasted and went to church; what else would that be, but to try God, to mix marital and widowhood, to leave one's own profession and devote oneself to other people's works? That would be walking on one's ears, dragging one's feet, and turning one's head upside down. Good works should be done, prayer and fasting, provided that the works of your profession and standing are not thereby neglected or hindered. God's service is not bound to one or two works, nor is it divided into one or two ranks, but into all works and all ranks. Hannah's and her lonely widow's work is all fasting and praying, as St. Lucas agrees with St. Paul here. A married woman and her work is not all praying and fasting, but ruling children and house divinely, waiting for parents, as St. Paul says 1 Tim. 5, 4. This also moved the evangelist, when he wanted to write about this Hannah's work, that he so diligently emphasizes her status and age with so many words, that he thereby repulses all who wanted to burst upon the works and suck poison from the roses, and first admonishes her of her profession.
62 Third, for the same reason, he also writes that she lived seven years with her husband from her virginity, praising her conjugal nature and the work of the same estate, so that no one would think that she had only prayer and fasting for good works. For she did not do this when she lived with her husband, not even in her virginity, but when she became a well-aged, solitary widow. And yet her virginity and marital status with its works are also praised and set as an example as true good works. Why, then, would you let these go and cling only to the good works?
The evangelist did not vow in vain before her marital state and after that her widowhood, that he would fill all the gaps superfluously for the blind saints of works. There has been a pious virgin, a pious wife, a pious widow, waiting in all three states of her due works.
64. so do thou also; consider thy station, and thou shalt find good works enough to do, if thou wilt be godly; for every station hath works enough, that it may not seek others. See, then it is true that one serves God, as St. Lucas says here: Hannah served God with fasting and prayer day and night. But the workers do not serve God, but themselves, yes, the devil, so that they do not wait for their works and become apostates from their profession. Behold, all goodness of works depends on persons and professions, as was said above in the Gospel on St. John's Day. Therefore, that is enough. Let us now see what Hanna means spiritually.
65 Simeon, as it is said above, means the holy prophets who speak of Christ in the holy scriptures; so Hannah must mean those who stand by and hear these things, and confess and say the same of themselves, as this Hannah does, who stands by while Simeon speaks of Christ. So this Hannah is nothing else than the holy synagogue, the people of Israel, whose life and history is written in the Bible. For in the temple, that is, in the Scriptures this Hannah is found. And just as Mary means Christianity, the people of God after Christ's birth: so Hannah means the people before Christ's birth. Therefore Hannah is old and over a hundred years, near her death; Mary is young and near her birth: therefore that the synagogue in Christ's day was at the end, and the church at the beginning.
66. it is therefore much said that the dear saints before Christ's birth understood and believed the prophets, and thus were all kept in Christ and His faith, so that also Christ Joh. 8, 56. himself says of Abraham: "Abraham, your father, desired to see my day; he also saw it and rejoiced"; item Luc. 10, 24: "Many prophets and kings desired to see that you see, and to hear that you hear"; item Paul Hebr. 13, 8: "Christ yesterday, today and forever." And even more clearly, 1 Cor. 10:1-4: "Know ye, brethren, that our fathers were all under the clouds, and that they all passed through the Red Sea, and that they were all under the clouds, and that they all passed through the Red Sea, and that they all passed through the Red Sea, and that they all passed through the Red Sea.
were all baptized under Moses in the clouds and the sea; they all ate this spiritual food and drank this spiritual drink; they were drunk with the rock that was to come after them in the future, and that rock is Christ. These and similar sayings testify how before Christ's birth all the saints were also blessed in Christ, just as we are. And therefore he tells Hebr. 11, 2. ff. many examples of their faith, of Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Moses, and the like, that all their life went in Christ and on Christ, whom they heard, understood through the prophets, believed and waited for his future.
67 Hence all the histories of the Old Testament rhyme so sweetly and beautifully with Christ, and all confess Him by deed, standing around Him, as this Hannah stood bodily around Him, that it is great delight to read and hear how they all look and point to Christ. And that we may see the one as an example. Isaac was sacrificed by his father and yet remained alive. In his place came a ram, which Abraham saw hanging behind him with its horns in the bushes. There is Christ, the Son of God, who, like a dying man, died on the cross; and the divine nature remained alive and was sacrificed for it the human nature, which, like the ram, hung in the same bushes with its horns, that is, with preaching, in which it pushed and punished the smoke-bushy disorderly people of the scribes and priests, and was behind Abraham, in the future after him. And many more great things are buried in this history.
68 Item, that Joseph was sold in Egypt, and after his imprisonment became a lord over that same land, Genesis 37 and 41, all this happened and was written on Christ, who through his suffering became a Lord in all the world. And who would have so much time that he would see all such histories as Samson, David, Solomon, Aaron and the like, who actually and finely mean Christ alone with all seriousness?
69 For this reason, St. Lucas has placed here a bold word that this Hanna, epistasa, that is, she stood above, or beside, and with
Such history, which happened in the temple with Christ; not, as it is written in the Latin, superveniens that she came to it, although it would also be true. But this is better, that she stood above such history. This is the same as saying that she added to it, with great diligence she pushed herself to see him; the same as one says in German: Ei, wie dringen die Leute über dem Dinge etc. Thus do all the histories of the holy Scriptures about Christ, that they are his figure.
(70) But they would not have been blessed in this, and it may be that they themselves did not know at that time that their actions rhymed with Christ. For figures and interpretations are not enough to establish faith; it must first be established with clear Scripture, understood simply according to the sound and opinion of the words. And then, after such words and foundation of faith, such interpretations of history are to be built upon faith, and thus to water and strengthen it. Therefore, as I said, their essence was not only Christ's figure, which they led outwardly in works, by which no one would have been sanctified; but they also believed in the future Christ in their hearts, through clear sayings and understood God's word without figures.
71. as, Adam and Eve had this promise after their fall, since God said to the serpent Gen. 3, 15.: "I will put an enmity between you and the woman, between your seed and her seed. He shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise the soles of his feet." In this saying and promise Adam and Eve kept, have believed in the seed of the woman, who should tread down the serpent's head, until Noah. Another promise came over him, Gen. 6, 18, when God said: "I will make my covenant with you. Therefore, when Eve gave birth to her first son, Cain, Genesis 4:1, she was glad and thought that this was the seed that God had spoken of, and said happily, "I have come upon the man of God," as if to say, "Of course, this will be the man, the seed, who will fight against the serpent; she would have liked to see Christ, but it was not yet time. After that she saw that it was not, and had to
stretch their faith further to another woman.
After that came the clear promise of Abraha, Genesis 12:3 and 22:18, when God said: "In your seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed", of which we said in the epistle. In this saying the faith of all the saints before Christ's birth has remained until his future, so that the same saying may be understood through the bosom of Abraham, as Christ says Luc. 16, 22, although it is also further expressed after David, but still all in the power of Abraham's saying. Now this is the seed of the woman, the child of Mary, who fights against the serpent to destroy sin and death. Therefore the text says that the seed shall bruise the serpent's head; no doubt he meant the serpent that deceived Eve, that was the devil in the serpent, and Adam and Eve certainly understood it that way. Who else would indicate a son or seed that would crush the head? If it was said of a sincere man, Adam would also have had the same treading, as one of his children; but it should not do Adam nor Adam's, but only a woman's, a virgin's child.
73 And it is finely divided, that this seed of the devil tramples on the head, since all his life is within. But the devil again tramples not the head of this seed, but the heel or sole of his foot; that is, the evil spirit defiles and destroys, and indeed kills the outward bodily life of Christ and his walk or work; but the head remains life, the Godhead, and also revives the soles of the feet, humanity, trampled by the devil. So also in all Christians he tramples their soles, defiles and kills their life and work; but the faith, the head, he must leave, through which also the works and the life is restored. But again, his feet remain: his outward being is strong and fierce; but his head, the sin and the inward being, is trodden down; therefore also at last his feet must be trodden down and he must die completely eternally with sin and with death. Behold, thus God has redeemed and preserved all the ancients from sins and sin through His word and their faith.
of the devil's power on the future Christ, these are this Saint Hannah with her figures.
74 For this reason she did not take the child Christ in her arms like Simeon, nor did she speak about him like Simeon, but stood by and spoke about him to others. For the dear old fathers and saints did not prophesy about Christ like the prophets, nor did they speak of him; but they stood by and confessed what was spoken through the prophets, with strong faith, and carried it on to other people and children, as Lucas says of this Hannah.
Therefore, all her characteristics that Lucas tells here are true. First, that she is a prophetess, that is, she has the mind of the prophets. Thus, the ancient saints all understood Christ in Proverbs through their faith, by which they were all prophets.
76 Secondly, she is called Hanna, which in Latin is gratia, favor or grace. For the two names, Hanna and John, are almost one name in the Hebrew language; therefore Hanna, who is favored and favored, is called in German holdreich. This means that the ancient fathers and saints did not have such faith and promise of God by their own merit, but by the favor and grace of God, before whom they were blessed and gracious out of His mercy. Just as all men are pleasant and gracious, not because of their worthiness, but by the grace of God; just as it is said of nature, which often casts its favor on an unlovely thing, and says, "Favor and love fall as easily on the frog as on the purple; item: What I love, no one suffers me. In the same way, God loves us sinners and unworthy people, and all His little girls and men must be His little girls and men. John and Hannah are vain before him.
Third, she is the daughter of Phanuel. Gen. 32:30, when Jacob had wrestled and fought with the angel, he called the same place Pniel or Phanuel and said: I have seen God face to face, and my soul is blessed.
den." So Pniel or Phanuel is called God's face. But God's face is nothing else than God's knowledge. Now no one knows God, but only faith in His words. In God's words and promises, all comfort and grace are promised in Christ; therefore, whoever believes him sees God's grace and goodness. And that means to recognize God, from which the heart becomes joyful and blessed; as also David says Ps. 4, 7. 8.: "Lift up the light of your face above us, so that you give joy to my heart", and Ps. 80, 4.: "O God, show us your face, and we will be blessed." There is much in Scripture about God's turning away and turning toward us.
(78) Behold, all the ancient fathers and saints were spiritual children of Phanuel, the divine knowledge and wisdom, by which they rejoiced; for there their faith in divine promises brought them, and made them prophets; but nothing brought them to faith and promise, for that they were the dear little man is all God's favor and mercy.
79 From this follows the fourth, that she was of the family of Azer. Aeser means blessedness, Gen. 30, 13. Thus faith makes children of divine wisdom and blessedness. For faith destroys sin and redeems from death, as Christ says Marc. 16, 16: "He who believes will be saved." Now blessedness is nothing else than salvation from sins and death.
80 So this Hannah is a daughter of Phanuel and Asher, that she is full of wisdom and good conscience from all sins and terrors of death. All this is the result of faith in the divine promise of his mercy, so that they follow each other very well: Hannah the prophetess, a daughter of Phanuel, of the family of Asher, that is, by God's favor one receives His promise and believes in it, through which one rightly recognizes God and His goodness, from which the heart becomes joyful, secure and blessed, free and rid of all sins and death.
Fifth, we will go deeper into the spiritual interpretations. She is seven years married and with her husband, after that
four and eighty years a widow, without a husband. The entire Biblia should be understood and invented in this number alone, whoever has the time and skill to do so. But in order to see how we Christians do not need Aristotle or the doctrine of men, but find enough to study in the Scriptures for eternity, if we want to, let us also look at the number of the aforementioned miracles of the Scriptures. The seventh number, according to common interpretation, means this temporal life, which is accomplished through the body, therefore that all time is comprehended in the seven days of the week, Genesis 1, and is the first and noblest comprehension of time, invented in Scripture. For Genesis 1 says Moses, how God created the days at the first and put them into the seventh number at the very first; after that the weeks are gathered into months, months into years, years into lifetimes etc. So now these seven years shall signify the whole life of the old saints, led in outward and bodily walk.
But who was the husband? St. Paul Romans 7:2 states that a married man means the law. For as a woman is bound to her husband while he liveth, so are all they bound to the law who live under it. Now the law has not been given to any nation on earth, but only to Hannah, the Jewish nation, as Paul says in Romans 3:2: "God's words are given to him before all the Gentiles;" and Psalm 147:19, 20: "God declares His word to Jacob, and His judgment and law to Israel. He has not done so to any nation, nor revealed His judgments to them"; item Ps. 103, 7: "He has revealed His ways to Mosiah, and His will to the children of Israel." But he did not reveal the gospel to this people alone, but to all the world, of which Psalm 19:5 says: "Into all the world her voice went, and into all the ends of the earth her words," that is, the apostle. Therefore this Hannah, seven years married to her husband, is alone this people under the law according to the outward walk and bodily being.
83 Now we have heard in the next epistle that those who live under the law do not live well, for they do only works of the law, without will and desire, and are
Servants, not children. For no man keepeth the law aright, except he do it of his own free will. But no one gives such a will except the faith of Christ, as is often said; but where he is, he then does righteous works and fulfills the law, and is like him, being under the law and not under it, as Christ was also under it.
Because of this, that St. Lucas, or rather the Holy Spirit, did not throw this holy Hannah, the holy old people, under the law alone and made them servants, he further shows how, besides such a walk under the law, she also walked in free faith and spirit, and did not fulfill the law with works alone like the servants, but rather with faith. This is what the four and eighty years of her widowhood mean, by which is meant the spiritual life in faith of the old saints; for widowhood, which is without a husband, means that they have been free from the law. And so both lives ran together at the same time. According to the soul, they were justified without the law and its works, by faith alone, there they were true widows; but according to the body, they walked in the law and its works. But they did not think that they were justified by it; but being justified by faith beforehand, they kept the law freely, in vain, to the glory of God. And whoever lives in this way also wants to keep the law, and then the works do him no harm, nor do they make him a servant, just as Christ and the apostles kept them. Behold, these are they who live at the same time seven years with the man, and four and eighty years without the man, who are at the same time without the law and under the law, as St. Paul 1 Cor. 9:20 says of himself, "I am under the law with them that were under the law, though I was not under the law."
How is he both under the law and without the law? Namely, he outwardly and gladly kept works for the service of others; but inwardly he kept faith, and by it he justified himself, without all works of the law; for he did works of the law, and yet would not be justified by them; even as he was not justified by them.
may. In this way, all of Hannah, the holy people, also kept the law. For he that believeth, and is justified thereby, may do the laws and works of all the world, but not the law of God; and yet they hinder him not; for he doeth them freely, without opinion, to become righteous. But those who are only seven years of married Hannah, and not four and eighty years of widow Hannah, these are the ones who live under the law alone, without spirit and faith, forced servants: who think that if they keep the work of the law, they will become righteous by it; therefore they will never become righteous nor just, as is sufficiently said in the epistle. But it is well ordered that the seven years of marriage are set first, and then the four and eighty years of widowhood. For also St. Paul 1 Cor. 15, 46. says: "The natural, sensual man is earlier than the spiritual."
If a man is to become spiritual and have faith, he must first be under the law; therefore, without the law no one knows himself, which he lacks; but he who does not know himself does not seek grace. But when the law comes, it demands so much that man must feel and confess that he is not able; then he must despair of himself and, humbled, groan for God's grace. Behold, therefore the seven years go before, the law before grace, as John the forerunner of Christ. The law kills and condemns the natural, sensual man, so that grace may raise up the spiritual, inner man.
(87) But no years are given to her virginity, which means the barren life before the law and before grace, which is nothing before God. Therefore, virginity in the Old Testament, as a barren state, was completely despised and rejected.
88. *) But how is it that the faith
*) The part of this sermon that is missing in the 1540 and subsequent editions, namely §§ 88-93, was printed in the Wittenberg Gesammtausgabe of 1563, vol. IV, p. 472 b ff. with the following caption: "This following part in the interpretation of the Gospel of Luke 2 on the Sunday after Christ's Day, about these words:, 'Hanna
or the spiritual life of the inner man, who is without law, a widow, without man, through 84 means? Here we want to walk and play a little spiritually, as St. Augustine used to do. It is known to everyone that these two numbers, seven and twelve, are almost the most glorious in the Scriptures. For there are many sevens and many twelves in them, no doubt because of the twelve apostles, who began and established the faith in all the world, and their doctrine and nature is all faith. Just as some Moses received the law from angels, thereby making a married Hannah and forcing works in the outward man: so the apostles, whose number was twelve times greater than Moses, received the gospel not from angels, but from the Lord Himself, thereby becoming widows, free believers, righteous without any works. Now the same apostolic faith, as has been said, the ancient saints also had apart from the law. Therefore they obtained not only the seventh number, but also the twelfth, and possessed not only the single Moses, but also the twelve times more, the apostles, and lived in both doctrines and natures; as we have heard. So that the seventh number signifies rightly the single Moses, and the twelfth number the apostles, of whom there were twelve times as many as Moses. Be it therefore concluded, that the twelfth number signifies the apostles, the apostolic doctrine, the apostolic faith, and the right widow, spiritual, lawless estate; as the seventh number signifies Moses, Moses' doctrine, works and essence of the law, the right conjugal bondage estate.
89) These twelve apostles are signified by the twelve patriarchs, by the twelve precious stones of Aaron's priestly garment, by the twelve princes of the Israelite people, by the twelve stones of Jordan, by the twelve foundations and gates of Jerusalem, and so on.
was a widow at four and eighty years', is also omitted in the church postilion, because alone in it is acted, what these numbers seven, twelve and four and eighty spiritually mean. But it is with raised and here inserted that with the time did not go down. And rst in this short piece especially to see how with great diligence and earnestness the dear blessed man searched in the holy scriptures and wanted to investigate everything most exactly." Cf. Erl. Ed. 10, 261. ed.
more. For all Scripture urges faith and the gospel, which was begun and established by the apostles. So the same faith is also signified by these four and fourscore years, wherein the twelfth number is miraculously comprehended.
First of all, four and eighty is twelve times seven, which means that the teacher of the law is only one, Moses, who only makes seven once, which is his law and law's life. But the apostles are twelve and twelve times as many as Moses. Since here four and eighty are as many as seven, and twelve as one, and the law is given by one, and the gospel by twelve, it is fitting that seven should mean Moses, and four and eighty the apostles, and so that Moses' people should be the married Hannah, and the apostles' people the widow Hannah; one outwardly in body and works, the other inwardly in spirit and faith. This also means that faith surpasses works as much as twelve surpass one, and four and eighty surpass seven. And it comprehends the whole sum and inheritance, as the apostle calls it, 1 Thess. 5:23, that it is holokleros, the whole inheritance; just as the twelfth number comprehends the whole nation of Israel divided into twelve generations. For he who believes has it all, is heir, child and blessed. Therefore see the divine order, since this Hannah would not be a widow in the twelfth year, nor married in the first few years, yet he has sent in these seven and four and eighty years, that such a single number might be found and rhyme with the twelfth number; and yet much more meaning is mixed in with it from the seventh number, from the married and widowhood state; as we have seen.
Secondly, the arithmeticians divide the numbers and call it aliquots, that is, they look at how many times a number may be divided, so that all parts are equal. Thus, twelve may be divided five times, all the way into equal parts. For twelve, first, is twelve times one, which are all equal. The second is six times two; the third, four times three; the fourth, three times four; the fifth, twice six. Above this division there is none more equally divided than seven, and five is also twelve; item, three, and
nine, one and eleven; but the pieces are unequal and are not kind of equal division. Now take the number of the same equal pieces, and pile them up separately, and see how much they make. As, here the twelve are divided five times, so I take together 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, which make fifteen, probably three over the main sum. That is why they call such a number a rich superfluous number, because its multiplications bring more than it has itself. Again, some number divisions bring less than the main number is. As, eight divides three times equally, namely, eight times one, four times two, twice four. Now I, 2, 4 bring only seven, one under eight; they call this the decreasing number. Between the two they now put the third number, since the parts of the main sum carry the same; as, six is six times one, three times two, and twice three. Now 1, 2, 3 also make six.
Here, too, Moses, the seventh number, does not suffer from this division, as all odd numbers do; for this equal division must have even numbers. But the apostles, the fourth and eightieth number, is a rich, superfluous number, which divides eleven times into equal parts. For Judas the betrayer does not want to be in the rich division, even though he is in the number: he leaves a gap in the division, so that there are not twelve of them, and yet he makes a full twelve in the number. He is with in number and name, but not in fact. To the first, the number is four and eighty, 84 times one; to the second, 42 times two; to the third, 28 times three; to the fourth, 21 times four; to the fifth, 14 times six; to the sixth, 12 times seven; to the seventh, 7 times twelve; to the eighth, 6 times fourteen; to the ninth, 4 times one and twenty; to the tenth, 3 times eight and twenty; to the eleventh, 2 times two and forty. Now add up the number of divisions: 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 12, 14, 21, 28, 42, and you will find 140, 56 more than the main number.
What is all this, then, but that the undivided Moses, the law, like the seventh number, remained in itself, coming no further than the Jewish people, even less, even more people comprehended. But the apostles, the gracious spiritual life and the gospel, broke out and
overflowed abundantly into all the world. And as one against twelve is so poor and little, that it could not be less still poorer; so also seven against four and fourscore is a single poor thing. For the law with its works gives nothing to all its servants, but only the temporal good and honor of this life; a poor, miserable good, which does not increase itself, but only consumes. So again, twelve against one is a rich thing, and in addition multiplies itself and does not consume; for faith is blessed and overflows forever with good and honor. This has been said enough this time, so that it may be seen how not one tittle is written in vain in the Scriptures, and how the dear old fathers set examples before us with their faith, but with their works they always exemplified that in which we are to believe, namely Christ and his gospel; so that nothing is read in vain from them, but all their things strengthen and improve our faith. Now we come further with this Hanna.
94 Lucas says that it never came from the temple. O a salutary, necessary admonition! We have heard that this temple is the holy scripture. Now there was a particular plague among the Jewish people, that they loved to hear false prophets and the doctrines of men; which they also proved by setting up many altars and services outside the temple, on the mountains and in the valleys, which Moses forbade them to do in Deut. 5:32 and Deut. 12:32, saying, "What I command thee, that keep, neither add to nor subtract from;" as if to say, "I will that thou shouldest be such a Hannah, which cometh not from the temple. But they were not all Hannah; therefore they departed from the temple to their altars, that is, from God's commandment, and above God's commandment they also followed their own little fools and false prophets.
But it was nothing against our nature now. We are not only seduced from the temple by Pabst's and man's doctrine, but have also broken it and desecrated it with all kinds of sacrilege and abominations, and therefore walk in a purely self-willed nature, more than anyone may complain. But it should be, truly, as St. Anthony diligently teaches his own, that no one should undertake to do anything that is not in
The man is blessed who walks not in the way of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of deceivers; but in the law of God is his will, and of the law of God he writes day and night. St. Peter says 1 Ep. 4, 18.: "The righteous will hardly be blessed who is in the. That is, the evil spirit also draws to himself those who rely solely on God's word, yet may hardly remain; where then will the secure wild spirits remain, who go to and fro on the teachings of men?
A good life cannot stand the doctrines of men; they are annoying and dangerous, like a rope in its path. It must remain in the temple and never escape. So did the ancient saints, of whom St. Paul says Rom. 11:4, that God said to Elijah: "I have kept for myself seven thousand men who did not worship Baal. Therefore David complains about such hunters and deceivers, Ps. 140, 5. 6.: "O Lord God! keep me from the hands of the wicked, and keep me from the wicked men, who intend to push my footsteps out of the way; for those who hope hide ropes from me, and spread their ropes as a net by the way, and set me at naught." All this is said against the doctrines of men, which tear from the temple. For the word of God and the doctrine of men do not want to get along with each other in one heart. The nonsensical murderers of souls, the papists, still speak with their final Christian, the pope: One must have and keep more things than are written in the Bible; and they seduce all the world to hell with their spiritual estates and orders.
97 Finally, he says that she served God by fasting and praying day and night. Now the works of faith follow. First she must be Hannah, a prophetess, a daughter of Phanuel, of the family of Asher, seven years a wife, four and eighty years a widow, and always in the temple: then fasting and praying is right, then Abel's sacrifice is acceptable, then one serves God with fasting and praying day and night. But whoever believes in the
If a man begins with works, he perverts all things and gains nothing. Thus, when St. Paul had taught the Romans faith, he then begins Rom. 12:1, teaching them many good works and saying that they should offer their bodies a holy, living, acceptable sacrifice for God's service, which is done by mortifying the body with fasting, vigil, clothing and work. This is what this Hannah does.
98 All the saints of old have done this, because fasting is a way of mortification and chastening of the body, which, although the soul has been justified and sanctified by faith, is still not entirely pure from sins and evil inclinations. Paul says of himself 1 Cor. 9:27: "I mortify my body, and bring it into subjection, lest I myself become reprobate, who teach others." So also St. Peter teaches 1 Ep. 2, 5: "You shall offer spiritual sacrifices," that is, not sheep nor calves, as in the law of Moses, but your own bodies and yourselves, by putting to death sin in the flesh and mortifying the body. Now no one does this except one who has believed before.
(99) For this reason I have often said that works according to faith should be only of this kind and opinion, not to earn much or to become pious, for this must be before works: but only to mortify the body and to be useful to the neighbor. And this is the right service of God in works, that such works be done freely in vain, in honor of God. Otherwise, what may he do of your fasting, if you do not thereby subdue the sin and the flesh that he wants subdued? As those who fast for the saints, and on special days and times, regardless of the mortification of the body; for they only make a fruitless work of it.
(100) But this Hannah does not have certain special days, she does not fast on Saturday and Friday, nor the apostle's evening or Quatember; nor does she have any distinction of food: but day and night, says St. Lucas, and serves God with it, that is, she breaks off her body without ceasing, not to do a work with it, but to serve God with it, to curb sin.
Of which fasting St. Paul also teaches in 2 Cor. 6:4, 5, and says among other things: "With much fasting let us prove ourselves servants of God. But our foolish fasting, devised by men, makes itself seem delicious, if it does not eat meat, nor eggs, nor butter, nor milk for several days; nothing at all ordered to mortification of the body and of sin, that is, to God's service, but the pope and papists we serve with it and the fishermen.
(102) She also prayed day and night; she certainly also watched. But it is not to be understood that she prayed and fasted day and night without ceasing; she also ate, drank, slept, and rested: but that such was her work, that she walked by day and by night. Therefore, what a man does by day or by night need not be understood to have been done all day and all night.
This is the other part of worship, in which the soul is sacrificed to God, just as the body is sacrificed in fasting. And by prayer is understood not only the oral prayer, but everything that the soul manages to hear in God's word, to speak, to write poetry, to contemplate etc. For many psalms are spoken in prayer, in which hardly three verses ask something; the others say and teach something, punish sin, talk with God, with oneself and with people. Behold, such work of worship has been of all the dear fathers and saints of old, that they might seek nothing but that God's glory and man's blessedness might be accomplished. Thus we read in the Scriptures many sighs and desires of the ancient fathers for Christ and the salvation of the world, as everyone can see especially in the Psalter.
But our prayer now is only to murmur the seven times, to count the rosaries, and to babble the like words. But no one seriously thinks of asking and obtaining anything from God; rather, they do it as a duty and leave it at that: like a thresher beating with his flail, they beat with their tongue and earn their bread only from their belly. Much less do they object that they serve God in it, that is, that they pray for the common needs of Christendom; but the very best think it is
if they are pious and ask for themselves. That is why they deserve only more hell with their prayers, just like the gypsies, because they serve neither God nor the people, but their own belly and property. But if they were to serve God with it and their neighbor as they should, they would have to leave their number of words behind and forget them; they would not think how many psalms or words, but how sincerely they sought God's honor and their neighbor's salvation in it, that is, the right service of God, and would often pray a whole day on one piece, which would be the hardest for them. That would be a right Hanna prayer and service. For Lucas did not write of her in vain that she served God with her prayer, so that He might reject all the worms and worms of our foolish prayers, so that we only heap up and increase sin, because we do not serve and seek God in it. Now let us return to the text.
The same also came at the same hour, and gave thanks unto God, and spake of Him unto all them that waited for the redemption at Jerusalem.
(105) Our [old Latin] texts have thus: to the redemption of Israel; but the Greek holds thus: they that waited for redemption at Jerusalem; that Hannah spake unto them that were at Jerusalem, waiting for redemption. For if she never came from the temple, no one could tell her about it, except those who were in Jerusalem, who would be citizens there immediately, or otherwise come in. But what is said, that she stood there or at it, is sufficiently said in the spiritual interpretation. For when one comes with Christ into the temple of the Scriptures, there to present him to God and to give thanks, there this holy Hannah is found at the same hour with all the saints of the whole synagogue, who look upon him with one accord and point to him with their faith and their whole life.
(106) Besides, this holy woman is also shown bodily her great worthiness, that she had this grace before so many great people, that she recognized the poor child as the right Savior; so without doubt priest.
*) (f g)
who received such sacrifices from Mary and Joseph and yet did not recognize the child, perhaps mistaking everything they heard and saw from Simeon and Hannah for women's theidation. There must have been a special enlightenment of the spirit in her, and she looked like a great saint before God's eyes, who gave her the light in front of all people.
(107) And, behold, there are five persons together: the child Christ, the mother Mary, Joseph, Simeon, and Hannah; and among these few there are all kinds of persons, male and female, young and old, virgin and widow, married and unmarried; so that in time Christ takes up and gathers to Himself all classes that are blessed, and may not be alone. Therefore, whoever is not found in these classes is not in the state of blessedness.
She thanked God. The Hebrew tongue needs the word "confess" almost far and wide, which we hardly attain with three words, as, confess, confess, give thanks; therefore, when it wants to give thanks, it speaks confess; and is also not badly nor unevenly spoken. For to give thanks is nothing else than to confess the benefit received, and the goodness of the benefactor and the unworthiness of the needy. He who recognizes and confesses such things gives thanks righteously. Confessing is also confessing a thing, of which Christ says Matth. 10, 32: "Whoever confesses me before men, him will I confess before my Father who is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven."
(109) All that has been said above about the blessing of Simeon, how it is a strange, high virtue to bless Christ, whom all the world curses, so it is also a strange, high work to thank God about this same Christ. Those who recognize him do so, but there are few of them. The others blaspheme God, condemn, persecute, contradict Christ and his teachings. But what they do to his teaching, they do also to himself and to God, his Father, as he says Luc. 10, 16: "He that despiseth you despiseth me; and he that despiseth me despiseth him that sent me." It is frightening that the world is so full of
blasphemers and cursers, and we must dwell among them. Thus St. Paul proclaimed in 2 Tim. 3, 1. 2. that in these last times there would be many blasphemers. This is now fulfilled by the pope with the high schools, foundations and monasteries, which do no more than condemn, persecute and curse the gospel of Christ.
Therefore let it not be a small grace to you, if you come to know Christ and thank God for it, and do not consider him a damned, cursed heretic and deceiver, blaspheming God in his teachings, despising and relying on him, as the greatest number do. For Christ is not concerned that his person and name be much honored, as all his enemies do; but he wants his doctrine to be honored, which is the right art; as he says Luc. 6, 46: "Why do you call me, Lord, Lord, and do not do what I say?"; and Marc. 8, 38: "Whoever confesses me and my words among this wicked sinful people, I will also confess him. Here you hear that he is concerned about his doctrine. The pope with his papists also call him Lord, yes, in his name, and in his honor and service they condemn his teaching, strangle his Hannah and persecute her out into the world. It is frightening and unbearable to see the countless multitudes who blaspheme God about Christ and swarm to hell.
He is a mark of contradiction, since now more are bumping into each other and falling than ever before. A common saying is: Deo gratias (Thanks be to God!), but among thousands there is hardly one who says it with truth. In Elijah's time there were only seven thousand men left among so many Jews, of whom there were undoubtedly more than ten times a hundred thousand when the time was still gracious; what should be now in the ungracious last time, which Daniel calls a time of wrath? Dan. 11, 36. One would like to say to God now with the 89th Psalm v. 50: "Almighty God, where is your mercy now, which was so great before? Have you created all men in vain?"
She also did not thank God alone, but also spoke of Him to all who were waiting for salvation. The addition is made by St.
Lucas did not say in vain that this Hannah had only told those about Christ who were waiting for salvation. There will not have been many of them, and no one among the highly learned priests; what should such high, holy, learned people hear and learn from an old, foolish hag? We are the right masters among the people. Without any doubt, their saga has been so respected before the same great lords. For God's word, spoken by Christ, is of such a nature and does not become other than that it must be contemptible, foolish, heretical, impudent and presumptuous in the high, learned, spiritual ears. Therefore, only the hungry, single souls who are waiting for salvation, as Lucas says here, that is, who feel their sin, desire grace, light and comfort, who know nothing of their wisdom and righteousness.
Now the faith and knowledge of Christ cannot remain silent. He breaks out and says of himself what he knows, so that he may also help others and share his light, as the 116th Psalm v. 10 says: "I have believed, therefore I also speak. He is far too gentle and too good to keep such a treasure for himself alone. But when he speaks, he encounters all the misfortunes of the faithless saints; he does not inquire about them, but goes through them freshly. And who knows what happened to this Hannah? Unless her old age and her feminine image were regarded and despised as a foolish fool, otherwise she would hardly have lived to see her commit such error and heresy, and to speak of Christ in such a new and unheard-of way, against all the teaching and art of the learned priests and teachers of the law, who are full of wisdom and righteousness, and have no right to salvation, but only the crown and reward of their works and merit. For whoever would speak of the redemption of Christ pretends that they are captives of sin and blindness. But this would be too close to such high saints that they should be sinners and blind; therefore it is not for them to suffer to hear or let speak of Christ and his redemption, and they should condemn it as a harmful error and devilish heresy.
114 From this it is easy to understand how the spiritual Hannah gives thanks to God, and says of Christ to all who are waiting for salvation.
Jerusalem. For the dear saints in the Old Testament have well known Christ. Therefore God praises and thanks all their lives, says that in the Bible, and also saws nothing else, but from this redemption, as Christ is given only to the meager and hungry. This is proven by all the histories. For God has never helped those who have been strong and abandoned themselves; in turn, never abandoned those who have been meager and eager for His help. Much, indeed, all the examples of the Bible could be applied to this. But it is clear enough, and obvious to everyone who reads it.
The reason he describes such saying, listening and waiting at Jerusalem is that Jerusalem is called a face of peace, and means that the hearts that only look for peace are not quarrelsome. For St. Paul writes in Romans 2:8 that those who are quarrelsome cannot grasp the truth; divine truth wants to have quiet hearts that listen and let themselves be told; but those who are boisterous and tumultuous, wanting to be right themselves, or to know signs and causes beforehand, never catch it: they are in Babylon in the tumult, not in Jerusalem in looking for peace. Therefore they neither wait nor listen to this legend and salvation. But whoever wants to read Israel for Jerusalem may do so; there is not so much danger in the change of these two words "Jerusalem" and "Israel.
And when they had accomplished all things according to the law of God, they returned home to Galilee, to Nazareth, to their own city.
What the things are that they have accomplished according to the law of God, the gospel will give on the day of the light of our women. But what Galilee and Nazareth are, is to be said on the Evangelium annunciationis (Annunciation of Mary). This is to be noted here, because St. Matthew Cap. 2, 13. ff. writes that after the Magi had returned home, who found Christ in Bethlehem, and offered gold, frankincense and myrrh there etc., the angel appeared to Joseph in his sleep, and called him to flee into Egypt with the
The child and the mother; and Joseph did so. How this rhymes with the fact that Lucas says they returned home to Nazareth after the six weeks were over, and accomplished all things according to the law of God. Here we must consider one of the ways, that they went into Egypt before, soon after the six weeks, and after that they went out of Egypt in its time again to Nazareth; or, that methinks and I stay with it, they went straight home before after the six weeks, as Lucas says here; And the appearance of the angel, of which Matthew says that they were to flee into Egypt, happened at Nazareth, not at Bethlehem; and it happened after the departure of the Magi, as Matthew says, but not so soon after. But he says that it happened after that for the sake of the order of his writing, because he writes after the Magi soon after about the flight in Egypt, leaving aside that Lucas writes here about the sacrifice in the temple. And so it becomes clear how the two evangelists are not against each other.
The holy cross is also painted with this, that the poor mother and child, having been seven or eight weeks in the country, for the sake of this accidental birth, when they have hardly returned home and settled down again, and the house has been set up again, they must quickly go back, leave everything behind, and wander farther than before. And the Lord Christ starts his pilgrimages in his birth and always goes on pilgrimage on this earth, not keeping a certain place or place. How unequally is the royal child brought up and held against other children? how should such a case seem to us to be so unreasonable and hard? But the poor mother must leave with the poor child in Egypt before the wrath of Herod; of this further in his time Gospel.
And the child grew, and was strong in spirit, full of wisdom, and the grace of God was in him.
118) Some have been presumptuous, not satisfied with what the Scripture says, wanting to know what Christ did in his childhood; their presumption has been justified; they have excelled.
a fool or knave and a book invented of the childhood of Christ, neither afraid nor ashamed to present his lies, and parades how Christ went to school and much more of the same foolish, blasphemous alphabets; thus jokes with his lies about the Lord, whom all angels worship and fear, and all creatures tremble, that the knave would have been worthy if a millstone had been hung around his neck and drowned in the deep sea, that he did not esteem his and all the Lord more highly than he would have esteemed his gout and monkey. One still finds those who print such a book, and read it and believe it; that is what the knave wanted. Therefore I say, such books should burn pope, bishops and high schools, if they were Christians. But now they do much worse and are blind leaders, remain also blind leaders.
Christ did not go to school, nor were there any such schools at that time. He has also never learned a letter, as the gospel says Joh. 7, 15. that the Jews were astonished and said: "Where does this man learn the Scriptures, since he has not learned them? The same Marc. 6, 2. 3. they also marveled at his art, saying, "Is not this the son of Joseph and Mary? do we not know his friends? where then did he get such wisdom and all this?" It seemed strange to them that a layman and a carpenter's son should be so learned and yet have learned nothing. That is why they were angry with him, as the Gospel says, thinking that he must be possessed by the evil spirit.
120 Let us stay with the Gospel, which says enough about his childhood, as Lucas writes here: "He grew and became strong in spirit and full of wisdom" etc. Item after that, that he was subject to his parents. What more should he write? It was not yet time for him to do miraculous signs. He walked and was brought up like another child, without that, as some children are almost skillful before others, so also Christ was a particularly skillful child before others. Therefore, nothing more could be written about him, because Lucas writes. He should also write,
what he would have eaten, drunk and put on all day, how he would have walked, stood, slept and watched, what kind of writing would that have been?
121 Therefore it is not necessary to believe, even if it is not true that his knitted skirt, which his crucifiers did not want to share, grew with him from his youth; perhaps his mother did not make it, but it was a common garment in the country for the poor. One should have a pure faith, believing nothing without scripture. There is enough in Scripture to believe everything that is left, especially since Christ's miracles and works began only after His baptism, as John 2:11 ff. and Acts 10:37 are written. 10, 37.
(122) After this, here also the pointed ones labor over the words of Luke, how Christ, if he had been God, might always have increased in spirit and wisdom. For they admit that he has increased, which is a miracle; for they are so quick to do miracles when there are none, and to despise when there are. Such trouble and question they make for themselves; for they have invented for themselves an article of faith, that Christ was full of wisdom and spirit from the first moment of his conception, that nothing more could have entered into it. Just as if the soul were a wineskin, which one fills until nothing more goes in; they themselves do not know what they are talking about, or what they are saying, as St. Paul writes 1 Tim. 1, 7.
If I could not understand what Lucas means, that Christ has increased in spirit and wisdom, I would do honor to his word, as God's word, and believe it to be true, though I could never know how it might be true; and I would abandon my own dreamed articles of faith, as human folly, which is far too small a measure or guide to divine truth. We must all confess that Christ has not always been equally joyful, regardless of the fact that he who is full of the Spirit is also full of joy, since joy is the fruit of the Spirit, Gal. 5:22. Item, Christ has also not always been equally sweet and gentle: he became angry and weary, for example, when he led the Jews out of the
Temple, Joh. 2, 15-17. and was grieved in anger because of their blindness, Marc. 3, 5. etc.
124 Therefore we are to understand the words of Luke in the most simple way about the humanity of Christ, which has been an instrument and house of the Godhead. And though he has been full of the Spirit and grace all the time, yet the Spirit has not moved him all the time, but has now awakened him to it, now as the matter has come to pass. So too, although it has been in him from the beginning of his conception, yet as his body grew and his reason increased more naturally than in other men, so also more and more the spirit sank into him and moved him the longer the more. That it is not mirror fencing when Lucas says that he became strong in spirit; but as the words are clear, so it also happened in the most simple way, that he truly, the older the greater, and the greater the more reasonable, and the more reasonable the stronger in spirit and full of wisdom he became before God and in himself, and before the people; no glosses must be left here. And this mind is without any driving and Christian, is not power at whether it bumps into their dreamed article of faith.
125 St. Paul agrees with this in Phil. 2, 7, when he says that Christ expressed himself in his divine form and took on a servile form, became like other men and was found like a man. St. Paul does not speak these words of the likeness of nature, for he says: Christ, the man, after he was already man, became like other men, and so also gave birth. Since all men naturally increase in body, reason, spirit, and wisdom, and there is no one else who is born, Lucas agrees with Paul that Christ also increased in all respects, and was a special child who increased especially before others. For his complexion was more noble, and God's gifts and graces were more abundant in him than in others. So that these words of Luke have even a light, bright and simple mind, if only these clever ones let out their subtleties (quibbles). Let this be said of the gospel.