6th As if the Lord would say, O thou wouldest know what is for thy peace, that thou shouldest not be destroyed, but shouldest stand still, and keep both temporal and eternal peace, thou wouldst mean it this very day. Now and then it would be time for thee to know thy best; but thou art blind, and wilt miss the time: so then shall there be neither help nor counsel. As if he wanted to say: Here you are well-built and there are mighty people in you; they are safe and happy, think there is no need: but it is still about forty years to do, then it will be over with you. He continues to declare this with these words:
The time will come upon you when your enemies will make a fortress for you and for your children with you, and will besiege you, and in every place they will fear and drag you, and will not leave one stone upon another, because you have not known the time in which you are afflicted.
7 The Jews, however, stood stiffly, relying on the promise of God that they meant no other, but that they should remain forever; they were sure, and thought that God would not do such a thing: "We have the temple, God Himself dwells here, so we have good people, money and goods enough; in spite of whoever
do. For even the Romans and the emperor, after winning the city, declared that the city was so well built and so strong that it would have been impossible to win it if God had not especially willed it. Therefore, they rested on their own glory and placed their confidence in false delusion; this also deceived them.
8 But the Lord saw deeper than they, saying, O Jerusalem, if thou knewest what I know, thou wouldest seek thy peace. "Peace" in Scripture means when one is well. Thou thinkest thou hast good days; but if thou knewest how thine enemies shall besiege thee, and fear thee, and drive thee in every place, and drag thee, and break down every house, and leave not one stone upon another: thou wouldest well accept the word, which would bring thee right peace and all good. [The miserable history of the destruction of Jerusalem you may read elsewhere, from it, whoever will, will understand this gospel well.]
(9) God had so sent that the city was besieged at the time of Easter, in which the Jews came together from all the countries to Jerusalem, and were with each other, as Josephus writes, almost thirty times a hundred thousand men. This is an awfully large people, and would have been enough if there had once been a hundred thousand of them: God baked them together, melted them into a heap and forged them. But the apostles and Christians had all gone out into Herod's country, Samaria, Galilee, and were scattered among the Gentiles. So God took out the grain and poured the chaff into a heap. And there was such a great multitude that they should have eaten up a kingdom, let alone a city. They were also in such misery and famine, when they had eaten it all and had nothing left, that they had to eat the sinews of their crossbows and the straps and laces of their shoes, and at last a woman, in great grief, slaughtered her own child, which was taken from her by the soldiers, who smelled the roast from afar. They needed pigeon droppings for delicious food, and they were worth a lot of money. Summa, it was a
*) (d)
such misery and such bloodshed that it would have pitied a stone; that no one could have believed that God could be so cruelly angry and torture a people so miserably. The houses and the inns were full of the dead who had died of hunger. The Jews were still so mad, defying God and not wanting to surrender until the emperor did so by force and they could not stay in the city any longer, so he conquered the city.
010 And when some of the Jews were so mischievous as to eat money that it should not be taken from them, the soldiers thought that they had eaten all the money; therefore they cut open the bellies of thousands of them, and sought money of them. There was such a slaughter and strangling that even the Gentiles were moved to pity, and the emperor had to order that they should no longer be thus strangled, but should be taken captive and sold. The Jews were so cheap that thirty of them were bought for a penny; they were scattered all over the world and were considered the most despised people, so that even today they are still the most despised people on earth, scattered everywhere, have no cities or land of their own, and cannot come together, so that they can never again establish their priesthood and kingdom, as they think they can. Thus God has smelled the death of Christ and all the prophets; thus they have been rewarded for not recognizing the time of the visitation.
We are here to learn, because it applies to us, not only those of us who are here, but to the whole German country. It is not a joke, we must not take it for granted that it will be different for us. The Jews did not want to believe it either, until they found out and realized it. We are now also afflicted by God: He has opened His treasure, His holy Gospel, for us, so that we may know His will and see how we have been in the power of the devil; but no one wants to accept it seriously, yes, we despise it and consider it a mockery, no city, no prince is grateful to God for it; and, what is even greater, [the several parts of] the Gospel have been destroyed.
*) (d)
persecution and reproach. God is patient and watches us for a while, but if we allow Him to cancel the word again, the same wrath that went over the Jews will also go over us. For it is the same One Word, the same God and Christ, as the Jews had; therefore the punishment will certainly be the same in body and soul, and I am afraid that Germany will lie in a heap. The peasants have also risen; we have lost a large nation, almost a hundred thousand men, only between Easter and Pentecost. It is a great work of God, worry that it will not remain so, but will only be a forerunner and a threat, so that he will frighten us, so that we should be careful. It is no more than a fox's tail: if he comes with the whip afterwards, he will throw it in honestly.
(12) But we shall do even as the Jews did, and shall not respect it until we have neither counsel nor help. Now we would like it to happen, now and then it would be time for us to recognize our best and accept the gospel with peace, because grace is presented to us and peace is offered; but we let one day after another, one year after another go by, yet we do less than before, no one asks now, no one is serious. When the time is up, no more pleading will help. We do not take it to heart, we think we are safe, and do not see that God punishes us so miserably with the false prophets and sects that He sends to us everywhere, who preach as surely as if they had even eaten the Holy Spirit. Those we thought were the very best, they go on and mislead people, so that they do not know what to do or what not to do.
(13) But this is only a lifting up, although terrible and horrible enough; for there is no greater heartache and sorrow than when God sends us sects and false spirits, because they are so insolent and dare so boldly that it is to be pitied. Again, the word of God is such a great treasure that no one can sufficiently comprehend it. God holds His treasure in great esteem, and when He gives us home
He seeks with grace, he would like us to accept with love and thanksgiving; he does not want to force us, as he would like to do, but wants us to follow with pleasure and love. Although he does not wait until we come, but comes before us, comes into the world, becomes man, serves us, dies for us, rises again, sends us the Holy Spirit, gives us his word again, opens heaven so wide that it is all open, gives us rich promise and assurance that he will provide for us temporally and eternally, here and there, and pours out his grace completely. That is why the time of grace is here now, but we despise it and throw it to the wind; he will not give it to us and cannot give it to us.
14 For if we transgress and sin, he is better able to spare us and to look us in the eye; but if we despise his word, he will punish us, even if it lasts a hundred years. But it will not last that long. And the brighter the word, the greater the punishment will be. I fear that it will cost the whole of Germany, that God wants me to be a false prophet in this matter; but it will happen all too surely. God cannot leave the shameful contempt of His word unscented, nor will He be lukewarm about it; for the Gospel is so richly preached that it has not been so clear since the time of the apostles as it is now, praise God. Therefore it will apply to Germany that I am concerned, it must go into the ground, where we do not send ourselves differently into the matter.
(15) We, who have heard the gospel for a long time, should sincerely ask God to give peace for a longer time. The princes and lords want to lead it out with the sword alone; they are too bold in grabbing God's beard; he will also strike them on the mouth. Therefore, it is high time to ask God with earnestness, so that the gospel may continue to come in Germany to those who have not yet heard it. For if the punishment would come upon us so soon, then it is already over, so many souls remain behind before the word comes to them. That is why I wanted us to spread the gospel, the delicious
1474 D-321-323. on the tenth Sunday after Trinity. W. xi, is78-is8v. 1475
Treasure, not so horribly despised, not only by us, but also by them, who are yet to hear it. It has become a little quiet, God grant that it may remain so, and that both the princes and peasants may not become any more mad; for should it begin again, it is to be feared that there would be no end to it.
(16) But we are like the Jews. They paid more attention to their bellies than to God, and were more concerned about how to fill their bellies than how to be saved; therefore they lost both, and it was right for them. Because they did not want to accept eternal life and joy, God took away their belly, so that they now lost body and soul. They also immediately turned to the cause, as ours do now: We would gladly accept the gospel if there were no danger to life and property, if it did not cost us women and children; for where we believe in Him, said those John 11:48, the Romans come and take away our land and people. As nothing less has happened; for "what the wicked fears, that will be given to him," says Solomon Prov. 10:24. This prevented the Jews from not believing God, and they did not consider the great rich promises that God made to them. So we also pass by and do not see the mighty, comforting promises that Christ makes to us, as when he says Matth. 19, 29: "I will give you back a hundredfold, and there eternal life; leave your wife and child, I will keep them well, I will give them back to you, only dare to put them on me. [Do you think I could not build you another house? Do you take me for such a bad man? *] If your property is taken from you, good riddance, heaven and earth is mine, I will certainly pay you well.
(17) Over these and many such sayings we pass by, despising them, seeing only what we have in the box and how our pockets will be full, and not seeing that God has also given us this that we have, and will give us more in addition; seeing also
*) (d)
Not when we lose God, that the belly must also go. Therefore, it serves us right that we lose both God and the creatures.
18. but those who believe in God dare to trust in God and put everything under God's control, so that he will do it according to his pleasure, thinking thus: God has given you your house, your farm, your wife and your child; you did not produce them yourself; because it is God, I will dare to trust in him, he will keep it, otherwise I would have to leave it; therefore I will dare to trust in him fresh and leave what I have for his sake. If he will have me here, he will give me something else; for he has promised to give enough here and there forever: if he will not have me here, then I owe him a death that brings me to eternal life; if he demands me, then I dare it because of the word.
(19) Whoever does not do so denies God, and must nevertheless lose both temporal and eternal life. The stinking belly, which is our God, makes us not adhere to the word of God, wanting to be sure beforehand how I will feed myself and where my goods are. The Gospel says: Trust in God, and I will surely have my belly supplied, and I will give enough. And if I have only ten florins, they give me courage to think that I have ten days' food, to rely on such a paltry supply, and not to trust in God, who has fed me hitherto, that he will feed me tomorrow.
20. Is this not a shameful plague, that I only rely on a penny, that I have to eat tomorrow? Fie on the shameful belly! Shall a penny be worth more to me and give me greater courage than God Himself, who has heaven and earth under Himself, who gives us breath and life, grain and all things? Why do you not think: The God who created me will feed me well if he wants me alive; if he does not, ei, then I will have nothing? *)
21. yes, says the belly, I don't find GOtt in my box. You great ass, who
*) so I will have much one better? (d)
makes you sure that you will live tomorrow? You are not sure if you will have the belly tomorrow, and you want to know where the food and the food is. Well, how well are you sure? If this were to go to our hearts, we would see what an infernal regime is in the world, even that it is the devil himself. Is it not an abominable thing that God, who feeds so many mouths, should not count so much with me that I trust him that he will also feed me; yes, that a florin should count more than God, who pours out his goods so abundantly? For the world is full of God, and full of God's work; he is everywhere with his goods: yet will we not trust in him, or accept his visitation. Fie on thee, thou cursed world! what a child is it, that it cannot trust in God one day, and yet trusts in a florin!
Now we see, I think, what the world is, how it despises God because of the belly and yet must lose the belly with body and soul. O how we are such unholy people, we should spit at the world. If one thought that he was such a hopeless wretch that he could not trust God, he should not wish to live. Only strangled; for we are too deeply trapped in the old Adam. The world is limbo, yes, quite a devil's realm and a forecourt into hell, without the body still being there, otherwise it is the right hell together.
(23) For this reason Christ admonishes us with weeping eyes to recognize our salvation and to accept His visitation, lest the plague also follow, which will surely come upon those who do not accept it, who are safe until sudden and sudden destruction overtakes them. God give His grace that we may know ourselves! Now continue in the Gospel:
And he went into the temple, and began to cast out them that sold and bought therein, and said unto them: It is written, My house is a house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of murderers.
24) This is the other part of the Gospel, where the Lord with earnestness and the fist
He reaches into the temple and casts out those who sell and buy in it. For the first part was nothing else than an exhortation and stimulation to faith. Here the Lord shows us what the temple of God is, and introduces sayings from the Scriptures and especially from the prophet Isaiah Cap. 56, 7, where God says: "My house is a house of prayer to all the Gentiles," but you have made it a storehouse. Here is a strong saying that the prophet says: "To all the Gentiles", against the Jews, who relied on the temple of God at Jerusalem, and thought that this material house would remain standing forever, and would be impossible that God should break this temple or destroy the city: the word of God does not lie. That is why they killed Stephanum when he spoke against the holy place and said that Jesus would destroy this city and change the customs that Moses had given them, Acts 6:14 ff. 6, 14. ff. Then they said: For the prophets have praised this house, and Christ Himself says that it is a house of prayer: and their apostle says that He will destroy it.
025 Now therefore this saying must be understood, that the city Jerusalem, and the temple, and the people, should remain until the time of Christ: upon which all the prophets went, and delivered them all into Christ's hand: as he did, so should it be, and so should it remain. Therefore the saying of Jeshua does not go further than Christ; just as the prophets all say that after this a kingdom will come as wide as the whole world; as it is written in Malachi Cap. 1, 10. 11: "Who would open a door in vain? From the going forth even unto the going down of the suns is my name great, and I have an offering in all the earth: for great is my name among the heathen." Here the prophet speaks of the spiritual kingdom of Christ, who would build a house of prayer for himself as far as the world.
26) It is true that God Himself sanctified the temple at Jerusalem as holy, not because it had beautiful stones and fine buildings, or because it was consecrated by bishops, as is now done with folly and jiggery-pokery; but God had consecrated and sanctified it with His word, when He had
said: This house is my house, because his word was preached in it. Where God's word is preached, there is his right house, where God dwells with his graces. Where his gospel is, there is a house of prayer, where one should and may pray properly, and God also wants to hear it, as Christ says in John Cap. 16, 23, 24: "If you ask the Father for anything in my name, he will give it to you. Hitherto ye have asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive." Again, where the word is not, there is the devil.
(27) That we have followed the Jews in building so many churches would have been fine if we had done it so that the word of God would be preached in them; for where the word goes, God is present, looking down from heaven and pouring out his grace; for this reason he says to the Jews, "I do not want you to make a murderer's pit out of my house. For there were changers in it; they sold sheep and oxen, that strangers might buy it for sacrifice and worship. Why then is it called a den of thieves? He truly gives it a shameful name. The priests did not ask how the word of God was preached in it, even though they sang and sang and read the prophets and Moses; but God does not respect such murmuring of the psalms, it belongs to the children.
They have done the same as our clergy and monks, who have also made murder pits out of the churches and monasteries, have preached poison, and have basically held masses for the sole purpose of giving them money and presence to fill their bellies; they have thus made a storehouse in which they set up their merchandise, and destroy and strangle the sheep with their doctrine; so that it is called a murder pit of souls. This title should also be written to all churches in which the gospel is not preached, for there they mock God, strangle souls, cast out the right word and commit murder, for whoever hears their word must die. O, how are we so
have been shamefully deceived! But now we should praise God that this word brings us life again, drives away the murderers and teaches us to pray rightly; for a righteous heart must pray, not with the mouth, but with the heart.
29 Thus we have the other part of the gospel, how Christ casts out the sellers, that is, the servants of the belly, and makes room for his word. It would be good if the monasteries were also decorated in this way and made into schools or preaching monasteries; if not, then they are and remain murder pits; for if Christ calls his own house a murder pit, how much more would our temples, which God has not consecrated, be called murder pits?
30 I have often asked you to pray God to turn away His wrath and to ward off the devil, who is now in the world; for you have heard the great lamentation, how many of them have been slain in the uproar; it is to be feared that they are all lost; for God wants obedience, and has passed the sentence Matth. 26, 52 Himself: "He who takes the sword shall perish by the sword. The devil has possessed the world; who knows when it will be upon us! Therefore let us pray to God that His kingdom may come to us, that Christians may multiply, and that He may send wise, reasonable preachers whom the people will accept and obey. Whoever recognizes the gift of God, let him pray for the others who have not yet heard the word; it is high time.
31. *) Well then, when this plague arises and gets out of hand, that for the sake of the belly and small temporal benefits and advantages, one wilfully despises the day when God visits us by his word and grace, then also the final punishment and wrath must follow, which makes it all up and knocks the bottom out of the barrel, turning the land and the people upside down, so that one must lose both temporal and eternal things. For what else should he do to us for such blasphemous ingratitude for such great love and benefit, which he shows us through the gracious visitation? How shall or can he help us more, if we
*) From ยง 31 to the end of this sermon stands alone in d.
With iniquity and defiance they put away help from us, and continually wrestle and strive after wrath and destruction? For if they are not free from punishment who transgress the law and sin against the Ten Commandments, how much less will he leave unpunished those who blaspheme and despise the gospel of his grace? since the law does not do as much good as the gospel.
If we do not want to have the happy day, which he gives us for grace and bliss, he can also make us see and feel the dark and sorrowful night of all misery and unhappiness. And because we do not want to hear this dear word and the sermon of peace, we will have to hear the devil's murderous cries ringing in our ears on every side. Now is the time that we should recognize the day, and make good use of the rich golden year, because we have the fair at our door, and see that it is haunting us: if we provide for it and let it pass by, we must not hope and wait for a better day, nor for peace; for the Lord, who is the Lord of peace, will no longer be there either.
(33) But if Christ be no more, neither shall our things remain: and if this dear guest be cast out, and his Christians be no more suffered, the government, and the peace, and all things, shall perish: for he will also eat with us, and reign, and give enough. But he also wants to be recognized for such a Lord, that we are grateful to him, and also let this guest and his Christians eat with us and give the interest penny for him; if not, then we will have to give it to another, who will thus thank and reward us for it, that we do not keep a morsel of bread and not a penny with peace. But the world does not have to believe this; just as the Jews did not want to believe it until they learned about it and faith came into their hands; for it is decreed by God that this Christ is to be the Lord and King on earth, to whom all things are put under his feet; and whoever wants to have good and peace must pay homage to him and be obedient, or be crushed like a pot, Ps. 2:9.
And he went into the temple, and began to cast out them that sold and bought therein, and said unto them: It is written, My house is a house of prayer, but ye have made it a den of thieves.
Here he shows what he cares about and what is most important to him, which is also the cause of his weeping. And it is an even more adventurous story that he, who now wept out of great compassion and pity, so soon changed and drove away with great anger (for he burns, the dear Lord, with great devotion and zeal), and thus went into the temple as in a storm, and grasps it with his fist as the lord of the temple, of course out of an excellent hot spirit, in which he is inflamed, and sees the main cause of the misery and destruction, of which he says and has meant, namely: That in the most noble government, which is to be God's own and is called his temple, everything is perverted and destroyed, God's word and right worship is suppressed and destroyed, by those who are to be the leaders and teachers, for the sake of their shameful avarice and their own honor; as if he wanted to say: Yes, that is it, that will cause the misery and put an end to everything in this people.
35 Therefore, as merciful and compassionate as he shows himself to the poor multitude of the people who are so miserably led astray to their destruction, so great is his wrath against those who are the cause of such destruction. Otherwise, he has not much so gripped with his fist and rumoret, as he does here, that it is to be wondered at by such an excellent, kind man and so full of love. But it is the great mighty fervor and heat of the spirit, which sees where all sorrow and heartache comes from, namely, that one destroys the right service of God in such a way, and desecrates the name of God in such a way, as one pretends.
36. for the temple and the whole priesthood were ordained to speak the word of God, to praise his grace and mercy etc.
They did not teach praise and thanksgiving to God, but also made a monastic work doctrine out of it. For this they did not teach praise and thanksgiving to God, but also made a monkish doctrine of works out of it, that one earned God's grace with such a sacrifice, and if they only sacrificed a lot, God would give them heaven and all good things on earth in return; thus they built everything that they should expect from God out of pure goodness and grace on their works and merit. And in the name of the devil, they set up exchange tables and benches in the temple, and merchants with pigeons and all kinds of livestock that were needed for the sacrifice, so that those who came from distant countries and cities would find enough to buy, or if they did not have money, they would take it on exchange or borrow it, so that the sacrifice would be large and plentiful. That is to say, under the name of worship, the right worship was reversed and cancelled: out of God's grace and goodness our merit was made, out of his gift our work, which he must accept from us and thank us for it, and let himself be taken for an idol, who must do as we please, be angry or laugh at us, as we please; and in addition fill their shameful avarice with such idolatry and brazenly hold a public fair.
37. Just as our clergy, priests and monks, who taught nothing else than to trust in our work, and directed everything in their church government toward it, had to buy it from them, and founded a daily fair in all the world; there is nothing left that would not have served them for their avarice and would have been sold for money: God, Christ, sacrament in the mass, absolution and forgiveness of sins, loosening and binding; item, over it also their own fictitious humanity, which they pretend for worship, as, the monks' brotherhood and their other merits, yes, also caps and ropes to put on the dead; likewise the bishops' and priests' nasty Chresem, all kinds of dead men's legs, which they called holy, butter letters, wives, priests' children etc. All this has to carry and give them money every day.
38 And especially the great rat king of Rome with his bag of Judas, who is first the money pit, who under the name of Christ and the church snatched all the world's goods to himself; for he reserved for himself the power to forbid everything he wanted and to allow again for money, also to take and give kingdoms when and how often he wanted, and to treasure the kings and lords as he wanted. That is to say, much more shamefully and insolently he made the temple of God into a storehouse, yes, a murderer's pit, than these did in Jerusalem; as is fitting for the Antichrist, as it is prophesied of him that he would raise up the treasures of the world and bring them to himself; and St. Peter 2 Ep. 2, 3 says of such a multitude: "Through avarice with fictitious words they will deal with you" etc.
39. Therefore Christ is justly angry here at such desecration of His temple by these miserly people, who not only despise and neglect the proper worship of God, but also repent and trample it underfoot; and thus truly made of the temple, which God had ordained to teach people God's word and to bring them to heaven, nothing but a pit of murder, where vain destruction and murder of souls takes place, because God's word is kept silent, by which the souls are saved, and instead they point to the devil's lies etc. This is the right main sin and cause, so that they deserve that they had to go to failure with temple and everything; because they destroy God's kingdom itself, he also does not want to build theirs any longer. Therefore he says, "Because you are going to build the devil's kingdom for my kingdom, I will go on like this with you again and destroy everything I have built for you. That day, when he was in the temple among them, he began the prelude, just at the last before his departure; which afterward, when he was gone, the Romans were to perform aright, namely, that they should be cleansed of all that they had, as he cleansed them out of the temple, that they should have neither worship, nor temple, nor priesthood, nor land, nor people any more.
40. praising God, he has now also begun to put down our idol and larvae, the blasphemous trendy market of the pabst, and to
To purify his church through his gospel; also as a prelude, that it may be seen that he also wants to put an end to them, as it has already begun to fall before our eyes and must fall more and more every day, and will be pushed to the ground much more horribly and must perish eternally, than the Jews have been destroyed and exterminated, because it is also a much more shameful abomination. This will only begin when the gospel is gone because of the shameful, abominable blasphemy, but at last with the last day it will have its final and eternal destruction.
41 Germany, which, praise God, now has the gospel, may see to it that it does not fare as well, as it is already, unfortunately, all too much inclined to do; for we must not think that the contempt and ingratitude, which is so rampant among us as among the Jews, will go unpunished. After that he will also let the godless world lament and cry out: If the gospel had not come, these things would not have happened to us; just as the Jews at Jerusalem blamed all their plagues on what the apostles preached, and even prophesied over their necks that where the Christ would continue with his gospel, the Romans would come and take away their land and people etc. So also afterwards the Romans also blamed their destruction on this new God and the new doctrine.
just as it is now said that because the gospel arose, it was never good.
(43) But it shall also happen to the world, that it shall become so hardened and blinded about that which it despises and persecutes God's word, that it shall lay the cause and merit of its destruction to no one but the dear gospel; which alone receives praise from God, which is still kept, otherwise it would have long since lain in a heap: nor must it bear the blame for all that the devil and his scales accomplish. Since they continue to blaspheme and do not want to recognize our own merit and the grace and benefit we have from the Gospel, God must also pay such blasphemers so that they may be their own prophets and receive a twofold reward for their twofold wickedness. The prelude has already begun, but it will not be stopped for the sake of the less pious. Just as he set an example to the Jews by driving the sellers and buyers out of the temple, and then went into the temple himself and taught for the last time until the day of his suffering, and continued for a while as long as he could, and then through his apostles until they no longer wanted to suffer: so also now we still endure as long as we live, those who cling to Christ; but when they also lay down their heads, then the world may see what it has had.
Now he said to some who presumed themselves to be pious, and despised others, the like: Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee, the other a publican. The Pharisee stood and prayed to himself thus: I thank thee, O God, that I am not like other men, robbers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this publican; I fast twice a week, and give tithes of all that I have. And the publican stood afar off, neither would he lift up his eyes to heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God, be merciful to me a sinner. I tell you: This man went down justified into his house before him. For he that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that abaseth himself shall be exalted.
(1) Here we have another image and example of divine judgment on the saints and the pious. And here in this gospel two special persons are presented to us: one who is quite good and quite pious, and one who is hypocritically pious. But before we take the example and act on the terrible judgment, we must first point out that St. Lucas once made it sound as if righteousness came through works. For this is what Lucas tends to do the most, and therefore notice that at the same time, as is also happening now, when it is preached that faith alone makes one blessed, people broke away and wanted to believe alone, and the power and fruit of faith were diminished. This is also done by John in his epistle and by James, so that they indicate that faith cannot exist without works. And so Lucas also wants to say in his preface: "I see that many have preached how faith alone makes one blessed; in this way they have made people strive and want to accept a preached faith alone: therefore I must nevertheless also preach about works, by which they can certainly guard and prove their faith. For this reason it is said everywhere in Luke, "Righteousness comes by works," as you heard the other day, "Forgive, and you will be forgiven again"; item, "Make friends with unrighteous Mammon"; and here also, as if the publican had acquired godliness by his prayer and breast-beating; and this gospel can be seen as if we were to become godly by works.
002 Now ye have heard that before a man doeth any good thing, he must first be godly. For this is always true: "A good tree cannot bear evil fruit"; and again: "An evil tree cannot bear good fruit. So man must also be pious beforehand, if he is to do anything good. So here, too, he concludes for certain that the tax collector had struck his breast, and that the verdict had come that he had been pious.
(3) This was done, or written, that we should open our eyes, and not judge men by outward appearances:
Therefore you must look into the heart of both of them and not judge them by their works, because if the heart is righteous, then everything is righteous. For if I judge the publican by his works, it will soon be wrong, for there seems to be nothing but sin in him. Item: If I want to judge the tax collector or Pharisee here also according to works, it is also wrong; for he stands in the holy place, does the best prayer that there is, namely, praises and thanks God with high works, fasts, gives his tithe, harms no one; Summa Summarum, everything is glistening in him, what there is outwardly and inwardly.
4 Therefore, as he judges, so judge all men; for no one can reject such an honorable, virtuous life. Who would say that fasting is not good, that praising God is evil, and that giving to anyone who is guilty of poverty is evil? When I look at a priest, monk or nun, I consider them pious. Who can say otherwise? Therefore, if I am to judge that the one is evil and the other is pious, I must look them both in the heart. I cannot get in there, because by the right distinction of the works, as Christ says: "By their fruits you shall know them", Matth. 7, 20.
(5) Now speak of the tax collector that he must have heard a word from God earlier, which went to his heart, which he believed and thus became devout; as Paul says Rom. 10:17: "Faith comes from preaching, but preaching through the word of God." When the word falls into the heart, man becomes pure and devout. Now, here the evangelist does not indicate that he has heard the gospel, but he indicates that he has heard it elsewhere, so that it may happen where it will; for he says: "God, be merciful to me, a sinner!" No reason is able to recognize this. Therefore it must have been known to him beforehand in his heart that God is gracious, merciful and kind to all those who recognize their sin, call upon him and desire mercy; when he heard that God is gracious by nature to all those who humble themselves and place their comfort in him. But to preach such things is the true gospel.
(6) Therefore, the beginning of godliness is not in us, but in God's word: he must first sound his word in our hearts, so that we may learn to know God and believe in him, and then do good works. Therefore, from this it must be believed that the tax collector heard God's word: if not, it would certainly be impossible for him to have recognized himself as a sinner, as this gospel reports. It seems not here; for St. Lucas presses harder on the outward works and evidence than on the faith, and sounds much more on the outward nature and walk than on the root and faith of the heart within: yet still it must be inferred that he had heard the gospel before. Otherwise, the beating of the breast and confession would not have happened if he had not had faith in his heart beforehand.
This is also the right fruit, for it brings glory to God, since God wants nothing but the sacrifice of praise, as the 50th Psalm v. 23 says: "He who gives thanks praises me, and this is the way that I show him the salvation of God. In this way the tax collector also walks here, giving the sacrifice of praise to God and sin to himself, scolding himself and praising God, disgracing himself and setting the truth above himself. Therefore we must praise and extol the work; for it gives the highest glory to God, the right worship. For thus it sounds inher, "God, be merciful to me a sinner." As if he wanted to say, I am a knave, I confess, as you yourself know. You see, he confesses the truth, and wants to be blasphemed and reviled by God; yes, he does it himself, throws himself down to the very lowest and rises up again to God, gives God the glory that he is kind, merciful, but in him there is nothing but all sin. So these are the true fruits of faith.
(8) So we have known from the fruit the faith of the publican. Now how do we know that Christ says, "He has gone home justified, since he was justified by faith before he beat his breast? He must have been righteous before. How then does Christ say that he went home to his house justified? It is what I have often said: Is the
Believe righteously, and it will break forth and bear fruit. If the tree is green and good, there is no cessation; it shoots forth and bears fruit and leaves; nature gives it, I must not command it and say, Hear, tree, bear apples. For if the tree is there and is good, the fruit follows unbidden. If faith is there, works must follow. If I recognize that I am a sinner, then it must follow that I say, "Oh God, I am a boy, make me righteous! So this one respects nothing, speaks freely; even if he is disgraced before all people, he asks nothing; as the 116th Psalm v. 10. says: "I believe, therefore I speak, but I am very humiliated"; and says: "God, be merciful to me, a sinner!" As if to say, "Now I see that I must go to ruins, for I am a wicked man, and I know my sin: unless it be that I believe and cleave to God's mercy, and call upon God's grace, I must perish.
(9) So then faith casteth itself up unto God, and breaketh forth, and so is made sure by works. When this happens, one is recognized by me and other people as well. For when I thus break forth, I spare neither man nor devil, I cast myself down, I will know of no high things, I count myself the poorest sinner that is on earth; this then makes my faith sure. And this is what he says: "This man went down justified to his own house." So faith is given salvation as a captain, works as witnesses, which make one so sure that he grasps from the outward walk that faith is righteous.
(10) We have this also in Abraham: when he sacrificed his son, God said Gen. 22:12: "Now I know that you fear me. Yes, if he had not feared God, he would not have sacrificed his son; but by doing so he recognized that the fruit was good. Let us now be well told.
11 Now this is that St. Lucas and St. Jacob say so much about works that one does not go there: Yes, I will now believe, and thus make for oneself a fictitious delusion, which alone floats on the heart, like a foam on the
Beer. No, no, faith is a living, essential thing that makes a person completely new, changes his mind and turns him completely around. It goes to the bottom and there becomes a renewal of the whole man; thus, if I saw a sinner before, now I see by his other walk, by his other nature, by his other life, that he believes. It is a great thing about faith. And so the Holy Spirit has moved on the works, because they are witnesses of faith. Now in those whose works are not seen, we can soon say and conclude, "They have heard of faith, but it has not sunk to the bottom. For if thou wilt continue in pride and unchastity, in covetousness and wrath, and wilt much prate of faith, St. Paul will come and say, 1 Cor. 4:20: Hear, beloved, "the kingdom of God is not in words, but in power and in deeds"; it is to be lived and done, and not to be set up with prating.
(12) So on both sides we go out: if it be said that we must believe alone, we will leave off works and fruits; if we preach of works, we will take comfort in works. Therefore, we must take the middle course: faith alone must make one pious and saved; but in order to know that faith is right, you must also prove it by works. God will not suffer you to fight with mirrors; therefore he has given you your sermon praising works, which alone are a witness that you believe, and are to be directed so that nothing is earned by them, but are to be done freely and without cost to our neighbor.
(13) Now this must be done, that it may be used. For this reason, God also instituted works, as if to say: If you believe, you have heaven; but still, so that you do not deceive yourselves, do the works. This also the Lord finely signified in John, Cap. 15, 17, when he thus saith unto his disciples, I command you, that ye love one another." And before in the supper, Cap. 13, 34, 35, he said, "A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another, as I have loved you.
I have. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another." And soon before v. 15 he says, "An example have I given you, that ye should do as I have done unto you." As if to say, You are my friends; but now men will not know this by your faith; but when you show the fruits, and break forth into love, then they will know you. The fruits will not make you blessed nor my friends, but they must prove the same, that you are blessed and my friends. Therefore, notice this: faith alone makes you godly; but because it is hidden in me, and is a great life, a great treasure, works must bring forth and testify to faith, praising God's grace and condemning the works of men. You must cast down your eyes and humble yourself before everyone, so that you also bring your neighbor with service: for this reason God lets you live; otherwise your head would soon have to be torn off. You can almost see this in this pious man.
014 So ye find two judgments: one according to faith, and the other according to outward works. You have the reason that faith is hidden; he who believes feels it, but it is not enough; it must break out, as you see here in the publican. He breaks out, and with the humility that he does not lift up his eyes to heaven, strikes his breast and praises God, then he serves me, so that I can say, when I am in sin, "Behold, the tax collector was also a sinner; now he says, "God, be merciful to me, a sinner," so I will also do to him. Then I will be fed with it, so that when I once see my sin, I will look at his example, feed and nourish myself with it, saying, "O God, I see in the publican that you are merciful to poor sinners. He keeps the faith for himself; he shares the fruit with other people by heart.
(15) So the tax collector walks in the right way here and is justified twofold: once by faith against God, and the other time by works against me. Then he gives glory to God, and pays him by faith that he praises him. It does
he also does the duty with love, gives me the words in my mouth, how I should ask. Now that he has paid everything, to God and to me, faith brings him to it, but in spite of that he demands something from God for his own sake.
(16) This is one person of the publican, who is justified according to faith, which is spiritual judgment; according to the flesh he is of no use. For the Pharisee walks along and does not regard him; he does not look at him, does not see his faith, leaves it behind, looks at him only according to his sins, and does not know that God has looked at him and converted and corrected him. So, if a carnal man wants to judge a sinner according to his sins, he must fail, it is not possible otherwise.
Now let us also look at the fool, the Pharisee. There are the most beautiful works. First, he gives thanks to God, fasts twice a week, and yet in honor of God, not St. Nicolas or St. Barbarian, gives tithes of all his goods; and has not broken a marriage, has not done violence to anyone or taken away his own; so he has kept himself pious. If this is not a beautifully honorable life, I am surprised. Truly, no one could have reproached him according to the world; indeed, one should have praised him; indeed, he does it himself.
18 Therefore God falls first and says that all the Pharisee's works are blasphemies. Lord God forbid, what a judgment this is! Nuns and priests would be horrified and tremble to the marrow, none of whom is half as pious as this one. Would God that we still had so many such gleissers and Pharisees now.
19 Now what is lacking in him, the pious man? No more than that he does not recognize his own heart. There you have it, that we ourselves are our greatest enemies, who hurt our eyes and our heart; for as he feels, so he says. For if I should ask him or such a gleaner: Dear, do you also mean it as you say? he would swear an oath, it would not be otherwise. But see how God's sword cuts so deep and goes to the bottom of souls, Hebr. 4, 12. Everything must come to ruin here, or fall completely to the ground and humble oneself, otherwise it cannot be done.
nothing will stand before God. So here a pious woman must fall down and kiss the feet of the worst whore, yes, the footsteps.
(20) Now let us look at this more closely, and hear what the Lord says about it. The publican stands there and humbles himself, saying of no fasting, of no good work, nor of nothing; nor does the Lord say that his sins are not so great as the sins of the sinner. Despite this, that someone now rises above the least sinner. If I exalt myself a finger's breadth above my neighbor, even above the most grievous sinner, I am cast down. So the tax collector has not sinned so much and so great a sin all his life as this man does, saying, "I thank you, God, that I am not like other people," and yet he lies so much that heaven would crack. There you do not hear a word that says, "God, have mercy on me, a sinner!" There is forgotten God's mercy, gentleness and love; for God is nothing else but vain mercy, and he who does not stand for this, thinks that there is no God; as the 14th Psalm v. 1. says: "The fools say in their heart, There is no God." Such a thing it is about an unbelieving man who does not recognize himself. Therefore I say one more thing, even if he had committed the worst sin, when he defiled virgins, it would not have been so bad as to say, "I thank you, God, that I am not like other people, robbers, unrighteous, adulterers." Yes, yes, so I hear, you may not God, despise His goodness, mercy, love, and all that He is? Behold, these are sins. Therefore, it is nothing about the public gross sins that break out; but the unbelief that is in the heart, which we do not see, that is the real sin in which monks and priests walk; the lost corrupt cattle, they are in this sin up to their ears and do not want to be in it.
021 Further, having blasphemed God, and having to lie to Him about not wanting to be a sinner, he falls down and also sins against the neighbor's love, saying, "Neither like this publican." He could not remain unjudged and unpunished before him. There all commandments are abrogated and transgressed; for he denies God, the neighbor.
Nor does he do any good: so he is ruined, because he has not fulfilled one letter of the law. For if he had said, "O God, we are all sinners; this poor sinner here is also a sinner, and so am I, and so are the others," and if he had joined the congregation and said, "O Lord God, have mercy on us," he would have fulfilled God's commandment, namely, the first commandment, that he should give glory and honor to God; and then he would have said, "O God, I see that this sinner is in the devil's jaws; help him, dear Lord! and would have taken him on his back and brought him before God and asked God for him, then he would have fulfilled the other commandment of Christian love, as Paul says and teaches in Gal. 6:2: "Bear one another's burdens, and you will fulfill the law of Christ."
22 Now he comes here and praises himself that he is righteous. This is a venomous evil heart, boasting gloriously of his supposed good works, how he fasts and gives tithes of all that he has. After that, he is so full of hatred for his neighbor that if God would give him judgment, he would push him deepest into hell. Behold, is not this an evil heart, and dreadful to hear, that I would lead all men to the devil, only that I should be praised? It is still so finely flowered and adorned with the outward change that no one can punish it. This is to recognize the tree from its fruit. For when I look at its heart with spiritual eyes, I see that it is full of blasphemy and full of hatred toward my neighbor. From these fruits I know that the tree is evil, for works are not evil in themselves, but the evil root in the heart makes them evil. This is what we are told to beware of.
Now again, on the other hand, look into his heart. There you will find that he is a believer. Then his works are also good and serve the whole world, for he teaches that one should humble himself and praise God. Again, this one makes puffed-up and hopeful saints with his works; for he is in sins, the soul is condemned, is in the devil's jaws, and
the arrogant knave comes along and boasts that his neighbor is a sinner. Summa Summarum, he deceives the whole world with his glittering life. So then one must judge the fruits with spiritual eyes, as I have now judged these: so one recognizes the tree, whether it is good or rotten.
(24) Now, from where did I get judgment? Therefore, God has given me His commandment like a mirror, in which I see what is righteous and what is evil. This says: "Love God your Lord with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself," Matt. 22:37. Now the works of the tax collector praise God and serve all the world, for they teach us to know and show us the way to the Savior of God: therefore they are good, for they praise God and benefit the neighbor. Again, the gleaner goes about blaspheming God, and with his poisonous life deceives the whole world.
(25) Here also I should say, full of the great and hurtful vice of afterkosenness, when one slandereth another, and judgeth him, and speaketh evil after him; when we are all equal, and have no cause to exalt ourselves above another. But that the authorities now punish and judge sin, that they do out of office. The sword is needed to make sin restless, because God does not want to suffer sin and does not want the wicked to have rest, as the prophet Isaiah Cap. 48, 22. Therefore, if God does not cause the sinner to be troubled inwardly, He wants to purge sin with water and fire, so that it shall have no rest from without. When such sins are to be punished, the mayors, judges and the people shall think, "O God, though I myself am a poor sinner, and much greater than he, and much more of a thief or adulterer than he, yet I will take care of my office, and will not give him rest in his sins, and so will cast them out; for this is thy divine command. I have said more about this elsewhere and especially in the booklet about the secular authorities; you may read this for yourselves, and now leave it at that and call on God for mercy.