Matth. 4, 1-11.
Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, that he might be tempted of the devil. And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he hungered. And the tempter came unto him, and said, If thou be the Son of God, let these stones become bread. And he answered and said, It is written: Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. Then the devil brought him with him into the holy city, and set him upon the pinnacle of the temple, and said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, let thyself down: for it is written: He shall command his angels concerning thee, and they shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone. Then said Jesus unto him, Again, it is also written: Thou shalt not tempt thy Lord God. Again the devil led him up into a very high mountain, and shewed him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them. And said unto him, All these will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. Then said Jesus unto him, Remove thyself from me, Satan: for it is written: Thou shalt worship God thy Lord, and him only shalt thou serve. Then the devil left him; and behold, the angels came to him and ministered to him.
(1) This gospel is read today in the beginning of the fasts, that the example of Christ should be presented to the Christians and that the fasts should be kept, which is a mere monkey game: first of all, because no one can attain such an example and fast forty days and nights, as Christ did, without any food. Christ rather followed the example of Moses, who also fasted forty days and forty nights when he received the law of God on Mount Sinai. So Christ also fasted to bring the new law to us and to bring it to an end. Secondly, that our fasting is a false thing and instituted by men. For though Christ fasted forty days, yet his word is not that he would have us fast and do so. He has done more things that he does not want us to do, but what he tells us to do and not to do, we must see that we have his word.
*) Invocavit called. D. Red.
(2) But this is the very worst, that we have accepted and practiced our fasting as a good work: not to compel the flesh, but as a merit before God, to put away sin and obtain mercy. Which part has made our fasting so blasphemous and shameful in the sight of God, that no drinking or eating, no gluttony and drunkenness could have been so evil and stinking; it would also have been better to have drunk day and night than to have fasted like this. Above all, if it had been all right and just that such fasting should have been for the mortification of the flesh alone; but since it is not free and left to each one to accept of himself willingly, but forced by man's commandment, that they have done it unwillingly: I will not say how much harm has come from it, that pregnant women and the fruits, and sick and weak people are spoiled by it, so that it might not be called a holy but a devilish fast. Therefore
We must look closely at the gospel, as we are taught to fast in the example of Christ.
The scripture holds two kinds of good fasting before us: one, which one willingly accepts to subdue the flesh in the spirit, of which St. Paul 2 Cor. 6, 5 says: "with work, with much fasting, with much watching". The other, which must be endured and yet willingly accepted, from want and poverty, of which St. Paul 1 Cor. 4, 11. says: "We still hunger and thirst until this hour," and Christ Matth. 9, 15. says: "When the bridegroom is taken from them, then they will fast." Such fasts Christ teaches us here, since he is alone in the wilderness and has not food, and bears such lack gladly. Those fasts can be left when one wants, and can be atoned for with food; here one must keep and wait until God Himself changes and atones for them. Therefore it is much nobler than the other, because it is done in greater faith.
(4) This is also the reason why the evangelist precedes with great diligence, saying, He was driven by the Spirit into the wilderness, that there he might fast and be tempted; lest any man follow the example of his own choice, and make of it a selfish, self-willed, and accepted fasting; but wait for the Spirit, which will send him fasting and temptation enough. For he who, without the Spirit's prompting, would wilfully put himself in danger of hunger or some temptation, if he has God's blessing to eat and drink and have other things to do, is tempting God. We should not seek lack and temptation; they will come on their own, so that we will do the best we can and keep it honest. It is said: Jesus ductus est Spiritu indesertum; and not: Jesus elegit sibi ipsi desertum (Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert; and not: Jesus chose the desert for himself). "Those whom the Spirit of God drives are God's children", Rom. 8, 14. God wants His goods given so that one may need them with thanksgiving, and not leave them and try them; for He wants them and forces them by the Spirit, or by necessity, which cannot be avoided.
(5) But this history is written both for our learning and for our admonition. At
The first, for a lesson, that we should know how Christ has served and helped us with this fasting, hunger, temptation and victory; so that he who believes in Christ shall suffer no lack and no temptation shall harm him, but shall have enough in the midst of lack and be secure in the midst of temptation; for his Lord and Head has overcome all these things too well for him, of which he is certain, as he says John 16:33: "Be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." If he was able to feed Christ forty days without any food, he is also able to feed his Christians.
6 On the other hand, as a reminder that according to such an example we also gladly suffer want and temptation, to serve God and to do good to our neighbor, as Christ has done for us, as often as necessity requires; as it certainly does when we are to teach and confess God's word. Therefore this gospel is a good comfort and strength against the unbelieving, shameful belly, to raise and strengthen our conscience, that we should not care for bodily food, but be sure that he will and can feed us.
(7) But how this temptation is approached and how it is overcome, all this is very finely illustrated for us here in Christ. First, he is driven into the wilderness, that is, he is left alone by God, angels and men, and all creatures. What kind of challenge would it be if we were not abandoned and left alone? But it grieves me that we should feel nothing holding our backs. It grieves me to feel that there is nothing to sustain us, but that I must feed myself and have no money, no thread, no fence, and feel no help from others, and there is no counsel. That is, led into the wilderness and left alone. There I am in the right school, and learn what I am, how weak my faith is, how great and strange a thing it must be for a right faith, and how deep the shameful unbelief lies in all men's hearts. But he who has his bag, cellar and floor full is not yet driven into the wilderness, nor is he left alone; therefore he does not feel the temptation.
8. On the other hand, the devil approaches and challenges Christ with the same concern for the belly and with unbelief in God's goodness, and says: "If you are God's son, say that these stones become bread"; as if he should say: Yes, rely on God and do not bake; wait until a roasted chicken flies into your mouth; now say that you have a God who cares for you; now where is your heavenly Father who cares for you? I mean yes, he lets you fine: eat now and drink of your faith, let see how full you become; yes, if they were stones. How fine you are God's son! How fatherly he is toward thee, that he sends thee not one crust of bread, leaving thee so poor and meager; believe now more that thou art his son, and he thy father. With such thoughts he truly challenges all God's children. And Christ certainly felt them; for he was not a stick nor a stone; though he was and remained pure and without sin, as we cannot remain.
(9) Now that the devil has challenged Christ with the care of the belly, or with unbelief and avarice, is proved by Christ's answer, when he says, "Man does not live by bread alone"; that is, as if he were saying, "Thou wilt point me to bread alone, and deal with me as if I should think of bodily food alone. This temptation is very common, even among pious people, and it is especially felt by those who are poor and have house and child and nothing in them. Therefore St. Paul says in 1 Timothy 6:10 that covetousness is the root of all evil, for it is the fruit of unbelief. Do you not think that it is the fault of such unbelief, worry and avarice that people shy away from married life? Why do you leave it and remain in unchastity without worrying that you will die of hunger and lack? But one should look at Christ's work and example here, who suffers forty days and nights of want, and yet is not abandoned at last, but is also provided for by angels.
(10) Thirdly, behold, how Christ opposes and overcomes such temptations of the belly: he sees nothing but stones and things that are outside; then he closes his eyes, and keeping the word of God, he strengthens himself with it, and with it he overthrows the devil. This saying
All Christians should also grasp this with chivalry when they see that everything is lacking and lacking, and everything has become stones, so that their courage falters, and they should say: What would it be if all the world were full of bread, yet man does not live by bread alone, but there is more to it, namely, the word of God. But the words are so fine and mighty that we must not run over them so, but rather stroke them out.
11 Christ takes such words from the fifth book of Moses, Cap. 8, 3.When he says, "Thy God humbled thee, and caused thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou and thy fathers knew not; that he might shew thee that man liveth not by bread only, but by all things that come out of the mouth of the Lord: By the fact that he let you go hungry and yet you remained alive, you might well grasp that God feeds you without bread through his word; for if you were to live and feed on bread alone, you would have to be full of bread without ceasing. But the word that feeds us is that he promises and proclaims to us that he is our God and wants to be our God.
(12) Now this is the opinion of Moses and Christ: Whoever has the word of God and believes, he certainly has the two things: the first, if he lacks and does not have, but must suffer hunger, the same will sustain him so that he will not die of hunger or perish, as if he had full food; for the word which he has in his heart nourishes and sustains him even without food and drink. But if he has little to eat, a morsel or piece of bread will feed and nourish him as well as if he had a royal meal; for not the bread, but the word of God also nourishes the body naturally, as it creates and sustains all things, Heb. 1:3. The other piece, that bread will certainly be found at last, it may come from wherever it will, and if it should rain from heaven, like man, since none can grow or increase. Every man may freely rely on these two things, so that he must either get bread and food in hunger, or if not, then the hunger must become so painful and deceptive that it feeds as nearly as the bread.
(13) Now what is said of eating and nourishing is to be understood also of drinking, clothing, house, and all necessities, so that he may well let us become bare and lacking in clothing, house, etc., but in short, at last, nuthatches must be found, and rather the leaves of trees must become skirts and coats; or if not, rather the skirt and coat that we have on must never grow old; just as it happened to the children of Israel in the wilderness, Deut. 8, 2. 4. that their clothes and shoes did not tear. So also the wild deserts had to become their houses, and there had to be a way where there was no way, and there had to be water where there was no water, stones had to become water. For there is God's word that says: "He provides for us"; and St. Paul 1 Tim. 6, 17: "God gives us all things abundantly to enjoy"; and Matth. 6, 33. 34: "Seek first the kingdom of God, and all the rest shall be added to you; only do not worry" etc. Such words must remain true and endure forever.
(14) All this one would like to learn by daily experience. For it is believed, and I do believe it, that not as many sheaves grow as men live, but that God daily blesses and multiplies the grain in the sack, the flour in the trough, the bread above the table and in the mouth, as Christ did John 6:12 ff. It is also common to see that poor people and their children are fatter, and their food is more plentiful and grows better than all the rich people's food. But that the wicked sometimes suffer misery, or die of hunger in the time of trouble, is a special plague, like pestilence and war etc. Otherwise, it is seen in all things that it is not food but God's word that feeds everyone.
(15) Now that God feeds all the world by bread, and not by the word alone, without bread, it is because he hid his work under it, to exercise faith; just as he commanded the children of Israel to arm themselves and to fight, and yet did not want the victory to be by their sword and deed, but wanted himself to strike and win the enemies under their sword and by their deed. Here he also wants to say: The warrior does not win by his sword alone,
but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord; as David also sings Ps. 44:7: "My sword is no help to me, neither do I lean upon my bow"; item, Ps. 147:10 and 33:16, 17: "He hath no breath in his strong legs, and a warrior is not helped by his strength: a horse is not sure to help." Nevertheless he needs man and horse, sword and bow; but not by strength and might of man and rust, but under the veil and cover of man and horse he fights and does all things. He proves this by the fact that he has often done this without man and horse and does it every day, wherever the need arises and is not tempted.
(16) In the same way he does with the bread; because it is present, he feeds by it and under it, so that it is not seen, thinking that the bread does it; but where it is not present, he feeds without bread, only by the word, as he does under the bread; so that the bread is his helper, just as Paul 1 Corinthians 3:9 says, "We are God's helpers. 3:9, "We are God's helpers," that is, through and under our outward preaching ministry he gives grace inwardly, which he could and does give even without our ministry; but because the ministry is there, we should not despise it, nor tempt God. Thus he nourishes us outwardly by bread; but inwardly he alone gives the flourishing and sustaining, which bread cannot give. And summa: all creatures are God's larvae and mummers, which he wants to let work with him and help to create all kinds of things, which he otherwise can and does do without their cooperation; so that we only hang on his word alone, thus: Let there be bread, that we may trust nothing the more; or let there not be, that we may despair nothing the more; but need it when it is there, and lack it when it is not there; certain that we shall live and be nourished at both times by the word of God, whether there be bread or no bread. With such faith one rightly overcomes avarice, belly and temporal care of food.
The other temptation is contrary to the first and equally senseless. This one goes like this, that the devil teaches us to tempt God, as he here calls Christ to fall down from the pinnacle of the temple; which is not the case.
because there was a good stairway for him to go down. And that this temptation is to tempt God is also proven by Christ's answer, when he says: "It is written: Thou shalt not tempt God"; thus he indicates that the devil wanted to tempt him to tempt God.
18 And this follows the first temptation quite well. For where the devil feels a heart that trusts in God in want and need, he soon leaves off the temptation of the belly and stinginess and thinks: "Harp, if you want to be completely spiritual and faithful, I will help you to be so; go to it and attack it on the other side, that they should also believe, since God has not commanded to believe, nor does he want one to believe. As if God had given you bread in the house, as He does yearly in all the world, and you did not want to use it, but caused yourself trouble and want, saying, "Well, you should believe God; I will not eat the bread, but wait until God sends me heavenly bread. Behold, this would be God's temptation, for He is not called to believe where there is that which one may and should acquire. How can you believe when you already have it?
(19) So you see here that he is pretending to Christ's lack and need, when there is neither lack nor need, but there is a good way beforehand that he can come from the temple without such a newly invented unnecessary descent. Therefore he also brings Christ to the temple, to the holy city, says the evangelist, and sets him in a holy place. For he makes such delicious thoughts to a man that he thinks he is full of faith and on the right holy path; and yet he is not in the temple, but only on the temple by heart, that is, he is not in the right holy sense of faith, but outside of it, in the appearance of the right faith; and yet he is in the holy city, that is, such people are found only in Christendom and among the right Christians, who hear much preaching of the faith. For this purpose he uses the sayings of the Scriptures. For such people also learn the Scriptures by daily hearing; but no further than on their delusion and false faith. For here he introduces from the Psalter Ps. 91, 11, how God
commanded the angels to guard God's children and to carry them on their hands. But the prankster omits what it says, namely, that the angels shall keep God's children in their ways. For thus the Psalm reads: "He hath commanded his angels concerning thee, that they should keep thee in thy ways" etc.; that thus the guard of the angels does not extend further according to God's command, than to the way in which God has commanded us to walk. Where we walk in such God's ways, the angels shall perceive ours. But the devil leaves the way of God standing, and points and draws the angels' guard to all kinds of things, even to those that God has not commanded; this then is lacking and is God's temptation.
20 Now, this challenge rarely happens in gross external things, such as bread, clothing, house etc. For although one finds many daredevils who put their life and limb, property and honor in danger without need; as those do who wilfully go into battle, or jump into the water, or play for money, or otherwise put themselves in danger, of whom the wise man says, Sir. 3:27: "He who takes pleasure in danger will perish in it"; for after that one wrestles, after that one succeeds, and good swimmers like to drown, and good climbers like to fall. Yet it is rare to find those who, on false faith in God, abstain from bread, clothing and other necessities, if they are available. As inan ran of two hermits, who would not take bread from the people, but God should send it to them from heaven, that one died over it and went to the devil, his father, who taught him such faith and let him fall from the pinnacle of the temple.
(21) But in spiritual matters, this challenge is formidable, since it is not a matter of nourishing the belly, but of nourishing the soul. Here God has presented a way and a way in which the soul can be nourished eternally in the most abundant way without any lack, namely Christ our Savior. But no one wants this way, this treasure, this supply. Everyone seeks other ways, other supplies to help his soul. These are they, the righteous, who believe to be saved by their own work; the devil sets them up for salvation.
fine on the temple. They also follow, and go down, where there is no way; believing and trusting in God in their works, where there is neither faith nor trust, way nor footbridge; but they fall off their necks. But he brings the Scripture to this, and persuades them by it, that they believe the angels guard them, and their way, doing and trusting are pleasing to God, and that he has commanded them by the Scripture to do good works; but they do not see the Scripture as it is falsely presented.
(22) Who these are, we have sufficiently and abundantly named, namely, the works saints and unbelieving hypocrites among the name and multitude of Christian beings and people. For in the holy city the contestation must happen and is strange against each other. In the first temptation, lack and hunger is the cause of not believing, since one would like to have full sufficiency, that one should not believe. In this one, abundance and full sufficiency are the cause of not believing, since one gets tired of the common treasure and takes something of his own to provide for his soul. So it is with us: if we have nothing, we despair of God and do not believe; if we have abundance, we get tired of it and want to have something else, and again we do not believe. There we flee and hate lack and seek abundance; here we seek lack and flee abundance. No, as God does with us, it is not right. It is a groundless wickedness of our unbelief.
The third temptation is temporal honor and power; as the words of the devil clearly show, when he instructs Christ about all the kingdoms of the world and offers to give them to him, where he would worship him. Therefore, those who fall away from the faith for the sake of honor and power, that they have good days here, or do not believe further, because honor and power remains. The heretics are also of this kind, who cause sectarianism and rebellion in the faith among the Christians, so that they are exalted in the eyes of the world and are held in high esteem. That this third temptation may be put on the right side, as the first on the left: that the first is the temptation of misfortune, being provoked to anger, impatience, and unbelief; the third is the temptation of the first.
and last, the temptation of happiness, being tempted to lust, honor, joy, and all that is high; the other and middle one is entirely spiritual, dealing with blind tricks and error to seduce reason from faith.
For whom the devil cannot overcome with poverty, want, need and misery, he attacks with riches, favor, honor, lust, violence etc., and fights against us on both sides; yes, "he goes about and about," says St. Peter 1 Peter 5:8, "that whom he cannot overthrow with sorrow or love, that is, neither with the first on the left hand nor with the third on the right, he sets himself over and against them, and attacks them with error, blindness, and the false understanding of the Scriptures. Where he wins, it goes well neither to the left nor to the right; but if one suffers poverty or has abundance, if one contends or is won in it, all is lost. For in error neither patience in misfortune nor constancy in fortune helps; for in both these things heretics are often powerful, and the devil also likes to pretend that he is conquered, though he is not conquered in the first and last, if he has only won in the middle and second. For he also makes his own lack much and be patient, again despising the world, but none with a right heart and faith.
(25) Now these three temptations are all severe and hard, but the middle one is the greatest, for it challenges the doctrine of faith itself in the spirit, and is spiritual and in spiritual things. The other two challenge faith in outward things, as, in happiness and unhappiness, in love and sorrow etc., though they also both seek us deeply. For woe is it that one should hold to heaven, and always lack, and eat of stones where there is no bread. Again, woe is it to despise favor, honor, and goods, friends and companions, and to forsake that which one already has. But faith can do it all, founded in God's word; if it is strong, it is easy for it.
26. the order of these temptations, as they were encountered by Christ one after another, cannot be known with certainty; for the Evangelists
do not agree. The ones that Matthew puts first, Lucas puts last, Luc. 4, 4. ff., and again, the ones that he puts first, Matthew puts last, as if he did not care much about the order. But where one wanted to preach and say about it, the order of Luke would be best. For it is easy to recite and tell that the devil first attacks with lack and misfortune; if that does not work, then with happiness and honor; and finally, if all this does not help, that he completely falls into it and strikes with error, lies and other spiritual tricks. But because they do not go like this in practice and experience, but as it happens that a Christian is challenged now with the last, now with the first etc. Matthew did not pay attention to the order, which would be just to tell a preacher about it. And perhaps it also happened to Christ during the forty days that the devil did not keep order with him, but today with this, tomorrow with the other, for ten days again with the first, and so on, as it happened.
At the last the angels came to him and ministered to him. This must have happened bodily, that they appeared bodily,
They brought him food and drink, and served him at table and in all his needs. For the service was done outwardly to his body; even as the devil, his tempter, no doubt appeared in bodily form, perhaps also as an angel. For him to set him on the pinnacle of the temple and show him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment, he must have been something higher than a man; just as he also offers himself something higher, since he offers him all the kingdoms on earth and wants to be worshipped. Of course, he will not have taken the devil's form, because he likes to be beautiful when he wants to lie and deceive; as St. Paul says of him in 2 Cor. 11, 14 that he presents himself as an angel of light.
28 But these things are written for our comfort, that we may know how many angels minister unto us again, when a devil striketh against us: if we fight valiantly, and if we stand, God will not suffer us to lack, but rather angels must come down from heaven, and become our bakers, and our waiters, and our cooks, and minister unto us in all our need. It is not written for the sake of Christ, who does not need it. If the angels have served him, let them also serve us.