Marc. 16, 1-8.
And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary Jacob, and Salome, bought specimens, that they might come and anoint him. And they came unto the sepulchre on a sabbath day very early, when the sun was gone out. And they said one to another, Who shall roll us the stone from the door of the sepulchre? And they looked there, and perceived that the stone was rolled away; for it was very great. And they entered into the sepulchre, and saw a young man sitting on the right hand, clothed in a long white garment; and they arose. And he said unto them: Do not be dismayed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, the crucified one; he has risen and is not here. Behold the place where they laid him. But go and tell his disciples and Petro that he will go before you into Galilee; there you will see him, as he told you. And they went out quickly, and fled from the sepulchre: for trembling and terror had come upon them; and they told no man; for they were afraid.
Of the fruit and power of Christ's resurrection.
1. as we have heard in the passion of the Lord, that it is not enough to know the history and the story alone: so also it is not enough that we know how and when the Lord Christ rose again; but it is necessary also to preach and know the use and benefit both of the passion and resurrection of Christ, namely, what he thereby gives us.
*) This sermon is in the editions a b c, but from then on it has been omitted.
has been preached. For if the history alone is there, it is a useless sermon, which the devil and the ungodly know, read and understand as well as the right Christians; but then, if one preaches what it serves, it is a useful, wholesome, comforting sermon.
2. Christ Himself indicated the benefit of His suffering and resurrection when He said to the women, as Matthew Cap. 28:10, "Fear not: go and tell my brethren, that they may go into Galilee; there shall they see me." This is the first word they heard from Christ.
After his resurrection from the dead, he heard that he might confirm all the previous sermons and benefits he had shown them, namely, that they would apply to us who believed in him, so that he would precede all of them and call the Christians his brothers who believe, and yet do not see it, as the apostles did.
(3) And he tarrieth not here, until we ask or call upon him, that we may become his brethren. Now do any say here of our merit, that we may merit? What did the apostles deserve? Peter denied the Lord three times; the other disciples all fled from him, staying with him as a hare stays with its young. He should have called them fugitives, even traitors and evil-doers, not to mention brothers. Therefore, this word was sent to you through the women out of pure grace and mercy, which the apostles felt at that time, and we also feel it when we are in the midst of sins, temptations and condemnation.
4 This is a word full of comfort, that Christ takes care of such a desperate boy as you and I are, and calls us all his brothers. If Christ is our brother, I would like to know what is wrong with us. Just as it is with brothers in the flesh, so it is here. Bodily brothers sit in common goods, and at the same time have One Father, One Inheritance, otherwise they would not be brothers: so we also sit with Christ in common goods, and at the same time have One Father and One Inheritance, which inheritance does not become less by division, like other inheritances, but always becomes greater and greater; for it is a spiritual inheritance. But the bodily inheritance is diminished when it is divided into many pieces; but here, in the spiritual inheritance, it is thus: whoever obtains one piece has it all.
5 Now what is Christ's inheritance? His is life and death, sin and grace, and all things that are in heaven and earth, eternal truth, strength, wisdom, righteousness; he rules and reigns over all things, over hunger and thirst, over fortune and misfortune, over everything that can be conceived, whether in heaven or on earth, not only spiritually but also spiritually.
and also bodily; and summa summarum, he has everything in his hand, whether eternal or temporal. If then I believe in him, I shall be partaker of all goods with him, and shall not obtain one part or piece only, but, like him, all things, eternal righteousness, eternal wisdom, eternal strength, and shall become one lord and reign over all. My belly shall not hunger, my sins shall not grieve me, I shall fear no more death, nor be afraid of the devil, neither shall I want one thing, as I want the Lord Christ Himself.
(6) Therefore the sayings in the prophets, and especially in the Psalms, are understood now and then; as when David saith, Ps. 34:11, "The rich shall be in want, and shall hunger: but they that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing. And in another Psalm, "The Lord knoweth the days of the upright, and their inheritance shall be for ever: they shall not be ashamed in the evil time, neither shall they have enough in the time of trouble," Ps. 37:18, 19. And soon after, v. 25: "I have been young, and have waxed old, and have never seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed go after bread." This all entails that we are and are called brothers of Christ, not by merit, but by pure grace. Yes, if God would put such things into our hearts, so that we would feel them, we would be healed; but it goes in one ear and out the other. And this is what Paul praises so highly and greatly to the Romans, when he says in Cap. 8, 14-17: "Those whom the Spirit of God impels are the children of God, for you have not received a servant spirit, so that you should fear again; but you have received a childlike spirit, through which we cry out: Abba, dear Father! This same spirit assures our spirit that we are children of God. If then we are children, we are also heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if we otherwise suffer with Him, that we may also be exalted with Him to glory."
The title that we are Christ's brothers is so high that a human heart cannot understand it. If the Holy Spirit does not give this grace, no one can speak:
Christ is my brother. For reason is not so bold as to say so, though someone says it with his tongue, as the new spirits do. It cannot be said thus; it is necessary that the heart should feel it thus; otherwise it is all hypocrisy. If you truly feel it in your heart, it will be such a great thing to you that you will rather keep silent than say anything about it; indeed, before the greatness of this good thing you will still doubt and waver whether it is true or not. Those alone who cry out, "Christ is my brother, Christ is my brother," are not true spirits. It is much different with a Christian, and it is a very strange thing, so that the flesh must be appalled at it, and must neither say nor confess it.
(8) Let us take care that we do not hear these things only with our physical ears, but that we also feel them in our hearts; for then we will not be so insolent, but will marvel at them. The righteous and pious Christians go along in contempt of themselves and in fear, thinking thus: "I, poor wretched man, who am drowned in sins, shall I now be worthy that the Son of God should be my brother? How do I, wretched, poor creature, come to this? Shudder at once and chew on it, for it really takes great effort to believe it; indeed, if one felt it as it is in truth, then man would have to die immediately from the hour; for man, as he is flesh and blood, cannot understand it. In life, man's heart is far too narrow to comprehend such things; but after death, when the heart is enlarged, then we shall feel what we have heard through the word.
9 In the Gospel of John Cap. 20, 17. Christ tells Mary Magdalene this use and purpose of his death and resurrection even more clearly, as he says: "Go to my brothers and tell them: I ascend to my Father and to your Father, to my God and to your God." This is also one of the great comforting sayings, on which we can defy and insist. As if Christ said: "Go, Mary, and tell my fugitive disciples, who would have deserved punishment and eternal damnation, that
This resurrection of mine is for their benefit; that is, through my resurrection I have made my Father their Father and my God their God. These are few words and short; but they have something great in them, namely, that we have such great trust and confidence in God as Christ His Son Himself. Who can comprehend such exuberant joy, let alone speak of himself, that a poor stinking sinner could and might call GOd his Father and his GOd, as Christ himself?
(10) The master of the epistle to the Hebrews took this word of the Psalm (Ps. 22:23) to heart when he said of Christ, "For this cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren, saying, I will declare thy name unto my brethren, and sing praise unto thee in the midst of the congregation," Heb. 2:11, 12. If there were any worldly lord who would stoop so low as to say to a thief, or a murderer, or a Frenchman, Thou art my brother, that would be a great thing, and everyone would marvel at it; but that this King, who sits in glory at the right hand of God his Father, should say to a poor sinner: This is my brother, no one takes to heart, nor does anyone take it seriously, on which our highest comfort and defiance against sin, death, the devil, hell, the law, and against all misfortune, both in body and soul, hangs.
(11) Therefore, if we are blood and flesh, subject to all evil, it follows that our brother must also be so; otherwise he would not be like us in all things. Therefore, that he might be like us, he tasted all things as we do, that he might become our true brother, and lead us out, that we also might be like him again. This is what the epistle to the Hebrews Cap. 2, 14-18, is very fine, when it says: "Now that the children have flesh and blood, he also became partaker of the same, that through death he might take away the power of him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver those who through fear of death were subject to bondage all their lives; for he has taken away the power of death, that is, the devil, and delivered those who through fear of death were subject to bondage all their lives.
Nowhere does he take the angels to himself, but he takes the seed of Abraham to himself. Therefore he had to become like his brethren, that he might be merciful, and a faithful high priest before God, to make reconciliation for the sin of the people; for in that he suffered and was tempted, he is able to help them that are tempted."
12 St. Paul has summarized the benefit and use of both the suffering and resurrection of Christ in a short saying, as if in a bundle, when he says to the Romans Cap. 4, 25. Thus he says: "Christ is
given for our sins, and raised for our righteousness. *) But more of this hereafter.
*But enough of this is said for this time: whoever wants to, think about this matter very carefully; also more about it is written in the Postille; whoever wants to have it, may look for it and read it; now we want to do something else. Because in many places the papist abuse is still practiced, that it often runs to the Sacrament on Easter Day, and such a habit is so deeply ingrained that it can hardly be eradicated everywhere: so we want to do an instruction for the simple, how they should keep with the Sacrament in this time. (This addition in b comes from the editor Stephan Rodt.) D. Red.