Matth. 18, 23-35.
Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to reckon with his servants. And when he began to reckon, there came before him one that owed him ten thousand pounds. Since he did not have the money to pay, the master ordered him to sell his wife and children and everything he had and to pay. Then the servant fell down and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me; I will pay thee all. Then the master of the same servant was sorry, and let him go, and he forgave him the debt also. Then the same servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred pennies; and he attacked him and choked him, saying, Pay me what you owe me. Then his fellow servant fell down and begged him, saying, Have patience with me; I will pay you all. But he would not, and went and cast him into prison, until he should pay the debt. When his fellow servants saw this, they were very sad and came and told their master everything that had happened. Then his lord summoned him and said to him, "Servant of the wicked, I have forgiven you all these debts because you asked me; should you not also have mercy on your fellow servant, as I have had mercy on you? And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, until he paid all that he owed him. So shall my heavenly Father do unto you, if ye forgive not your brother his trespasses from your heart.
1. this gospel or parable was spoken by the Lord Christ in response to the answer he gave to
St. Peter, whom he had commanded before to loose the keys and bind them, Matth. 16, 19. and when St. Peter asked him: How often should he forgive his neighbor, whether it would be enough seven times? and he answered him:
"Not seven times, but seventy times seven times," said this parable, concluding that if we do not forgive our neighbor, the heavenly Father will go with us, just as this king went with his servant, who would not forgive his fellow servant so small a debt, when he had forgiven him so great a debt.
(2) First of all, before we really take hold of the gospel, let us see what a puff this is, that this servant is also denied his right here. For the other servant, who owed him a hundred pennies, should have given him such money, according to all law; so he would also have had a good right to demand what was his. If it had come before all the world, then everyone would have had to fall to him and say: It is fair and right that he should pay if he is in debt. How then is it that the Lord cancels the law, and condemns this servant for demanding and paying his due? Answer: Therefore it is written, that we may see how it is very different before God from what it is before the world, and how that which is wrong before God is right and just before the world; for before the world this servant passes for a pious man, but before God he is called a scoundrel, and is blamed for having acted as one worthy of eternal damnation.
(3) Therefore, if we want to act before God, it is decided that we must stand free and let go of our goods, our honor, our rights, our wrongs, and all that we have; and it will not excuse us if we say, "I am right, therefore I will not suffer anyone to do me wrong," since God wants us to forgive all of our rights and to forgive our neighbor. But our high schools and scholars have so far preached much differently, saying that we are not obliged to yield to another and to forgive ourselves of our right, but that it is right for each one to do his right. So this is the first poof. Now let us move on to the gospel.
4. so have often told me that the evan
The gospel or kingdom of God is nothing else than such a state or regiment in which there is the forgiveness of sin; and if there is not such a regiment in which sin is forgiven, there is no gospel nor kingdom of God. Therefore, the two kingdoms, in which sin is punished and sin is forgiven, or in which justice is demanded and justice is abated, must be far separated from each other. In God's kingdom, where he rules through the gospel, there is no demanding of justice, nor is there any dealing with justice; but there is only forgiveness, forbearance and giving, and neither wrath nor punishment, but only brotherly service and benevolence.
(5) But this does not abolish worldly law, for this parable or similitude teaches nothing of the worldly kingdom, but only of God's kingdom. Therefore, whoever is under worldly rule is still far from the kingdom of heaven, for all this still belongs to hell. But if a ruler governs his people in such a way that he does no wrong and punishes the wrongdoers, he does well and is praised; for in the government it is said: Pay what you owe; if not, you will be thrown into prison. We must have such a regime, but it does not lead to heaven, nor does it make the world happy; rather, it is necessary that it should not become worse, it is only a protection and a stay for wickedness; for if it were not so, one would devour another, and no one could keep his life, goods, wife and child. So that all might not perish, God has appointed the sword, by which wickedness may be partly warded off, so that the outward rule may create peace and no one may do wrong to another. Therefore it must be let go. But, as I said, it is not used for those who belong to heaven, but only so that people do not fall deeper into hell and make the game worse. Therefore no one who is under worldly rule may boast that he acts rightly before God: everything is still wrong before him, for you must come far enough to forgive yourself for what the world considers right.
6. this is what the gospel wants here, which describes to us on both parts vain ver-.
Firstly, the Lord releases the servant from all his sins; secondly, he demands that he also forgive his fellow servant and make up for his sins. This is what God wants, and this is how His kingdom is to be; no one is to be so wicked and so angry that he cannot forgive his neighbor; and as it is written here before, if he angers you seventy times seven times, that is, how often he can do against you, you are to let go of your right and give him everything freely. Why is this? Because Christ also hath done these things unto thee: for he hath begun and established such a kingdom, wherein is all grace, which shall never cease; that all things may be forgiven thee, as often as thou sinnest; seeing he hath sent forth the gospel, which preacheth no punishment, but all grace. Because the rule stands, you can always get up again, however deeply and often you fall. For though you fall, yet the gospel, this mercy seat, remains standing forever; therefore, as soon as you return and rise, you have grace again. But this is what he wants from you, that you also forgive your neighbor when he does something against you; otherwise you will not be in this gracious kingdom, nor enjoy the gospel, that your sins may be forgiven. This is recently the concept and the opinion of this gospel.
007 But therein is not forgotten who they are that receive the gospel, and to whom it savors. For it is indeed a fine kingdom and a gracious government, because therein is preached the vain forgiveness of sins; but it goeth not to every man's heart. Therefore there are many wicked people who abuse the gospel, live freely and do as they please, thinking that no one should punish them, because the gospel preaches the forgiveness of sin. The gospel is not preached to those who thus despise the high treasure and treat it lightly; therefore they do not belong to the kingdom, but to the worldly government, that they may be prevented from doing whatever they desire.
8 To whom then is it preached? To those who feel such misery as this servant feels. Therefore, see how he is. The
The Lord had mercy on his misery and gave him more than he could ask for. But before this happens, the text says that he, the Lord, wanted to have an account with his servants beforehand; and when he began to reckon, this one comes to him, who owed him ten thousand pounds; but since he did not have to pay, the Lord ordered him to sell his wife and children and everything he had, so that he would be paid. This was not a happy sermon, but a great earnestness and a most terrible judgment; he was so afraid that he fell down, begged mercy, and said (promised) more than he had and could pay, saying, "Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all." Here we have a picture and an illustration of those to whom the gospel comes in measure.
For this is how it is between God and us. When God wants to keep account, he sends out the preaching of his law, by which we learn to recognize what we owe. As when God says to the conscience, "You shall have no other God," but hold me only for God, love me with all your heart, and put your trust in me alone; this is the account and the register in which it is written what we owe, which he takes in his hand, reads it to us, and says: See, this is what you should do: you should fear, love and honor me alone, you should trust in me alone and provide yourself the best for me; so you do the opposite and are an enemy to me, do not believe in me and put your trust in other things; Summa Summarum, there you see that you do not keep a letter of the law.
(10) When the conscience hears this and the law comes to one, he sees what he owes and has not done, realizes that he has not kept a letter, and must confess that he has not believed or loved God for a moment. What then does the Lord do? When the conscience is thus caught, and realizes that it must be lost, and it becomes fearful and anxious, then he says: Sell him and all that he has, and let him pay. This is the judgment that follows as soon as the law reveals sin, saying, "You shall do this, and you shall pay.
1792 D- n. 284-2S6. On the twenty-second Sunday after Trinity. W. xi, E-ssos. 1793
you have not done it. For the penalty for sin is to pay. For God did not give His law to let those go unpunished who do not keep it; it is not sweet nor kind, but brings with it bitter, horrible punishment, and gives us to the devil, throws us into hell, and keeps us in punishment, so that we must pay even the last penny. St. Paul interpreted this correctly to the Romans Cap. 4:15: "The law brings no more than wrath," that is, when it reveals to us that we have done wrong, it brings nothing home to us but wrath and disgrace. For when the conscience sees that it has done wrong, it feels that it must be of eternal death; then the punishment follows as soon as, so it must despair. This is why the Lord calls this servant to be sold with everything he has, because he cannot pay.
(11) What then does the servant do? He goes to the fool, and thinking he will pay, falls down and asks the Lord to have patience with him. This is the plague of all consciences: when sin comes and bites, so that they feel how they are in trouble with God, they have no rest, run to and fro, seek help here and there to get rid of their sins, and presume to do much more to pay God. Just as we have been taught until now; so many pilgrimages, monasteries, convents, masses and other foolish works have come about; we have fasted and scourged ourselves, and have become monks and nuns: all because we have taken upon ourselves to begin such a life and to do so many works that God should look upon them and be paid for them, and have thought that we wanted to quiet our consciences and make ourselves satisfied with God; so we do just as this fool does here.
12 Now such a heart, which is thus afflicted with the law, and feels its misery and distress, is quite humbled; therefore it falls down before the Lord and begs mercy, without yet having the defect that it wants to help itself; this cannot be torn out of nature. When the conscience feels such misery, it is allowed to speak more than all the
If the angels in heaven are able to do this, it is easy to persuade them to do everything that can be demanded of them, because they always find themselves so skilled that they still hope to do enough for sin with works.
(13) Look at the way they have done it in the world until now, and you will find it so. So they preached: Go to church, go to a monastery, say masses, and your sins will be forgiven. And since the consciences were urged in confession, we did everything they told us to do and gave more than they said. How should the poor people do? They were glad that they could be helped in this way; therefore they ran and martyred themselves so that they would put away their sin. It has not yet helped, for the conscience has remained in doubt as before, not knowing how to deal with God; or if it has been certain, it has become even more angry and has fallen into a presumption that God should look at the works. Reason cannot refrain from this, nor can it avoid refraining from it.
014 Therefore therefore cometh the Lord, and hath mercy on the wretch, because the servant lieth there entangled and bound in his sins, and is such a fool that he will help himself out, and looketh for no mercy, and knoweth of no grace, but feeleth nothing but the sin that oppresseth him, and knoweth none to help him: then the Lord hath mercy on him, and letteth him go.
(15) Now we have an illustration of what the gospel is, what its nature is, and how God deals with us. So when you are in sins and are afraid to get out of them, the gospel comes and says: "No, not so, my dear friend, it does not help that you are tormented and afraid: your works do not do it, but God's mercy does it, that He lets Himself mourn over your misery, and sees that you are in such anguish, and are choking in the mud, and cannot help yourself out, that He sees that you cannot pay; therefore He gives you everything. Therefore it is pure mercy; for he forgives thee the debt, not the sin.
because of your works and merits, but that your crying, lamenting and falling down makes Him mourn. This means that God looks upon a humble heart, as the prophet David says in Psalm 51:19: "A broken spirit, these are the sacrifices before God; a broken and bruised heart, you, God, will not despise." Such a heart that is broken, he says, and thrown down, that cannot help itself, and becomes glad that God reaches out to it, that is the best sacrifice before God and the right way to heaven.
(16) Therefore it follows from mercy, because God is sorry for misery, that he relinquishes his right and cancels it; he no longer says, "Sell what you have and pay. He might have continued and said, "You must pay, I have the right to do so, and for your sake I will not revoke my right; then no one could have punished him for it. Nor does he want to deal with him according to the law, but turns the law into mercy, has mercy on him, and gives him away with his wife and child and all that he has, and gives him the debt for it. This is what God proclaims through the gospel: He that believeth shall not only be forgiven his trespasses, but also his punishment. No works need be added to this, for anyone who preaches that guilt and punishment can be removed by works has already denied the gospel. For it does not suffer with one another that God should have mercy on you and that you should earn something. "If it is mercy, it is not merit; but if it is merit, it is right, and not mercy," Rom. 11:6. For if thou payest what thou owest, he will not do thee mercy; but if he do thee mercy, thou payest not. Therefore we must let him alone act against us, receive from him and believe. This is what the gospel wants here.
17 Because this servant has been humbled by the knowledge of his sin, the word is very comforting to him, that the Lord absolves him and forgives both his sins and his pain. This is to show that the gospel does not affect reprobate hearts, nor those who go about boldly, but only such troubled consciences as know their sin.
They would like to be rid of them, but God has mercy on them and gives them everything.
(18) So this servant received the word and became God's friend. For if he had not received it, it would not have helped him, and the slackening would have been nothing. Therefore, it is not enough for God to offer us forgiveness of sin and a golden year full of grace, but it must also be grasped and believed. If you believe it, you are free from sins and everything is bad. Now this is the first part of a Christian life that this and all the Gospels teach us, which is actually in the faith that acts against God alone; besides, it is also indicated that one cannot grasp the Gospel unless there is a sorrowful, wretched conscience beforehand.
(19) Conclude, then, that what is preached about our works and free will is all deceit, and that it teaches us in another way how to pay for sin and obtain grace, than what is indicated here in the gospel, namely, that the divine Majesty looks upon our misery and has mercy on us. For the text clearly says that he gives and gives to those who have nothing, and thus concludes: that we have nothing, so that we may pay God. Therefore have a free will, as you will, in temporal things, [in outward life and being, or outward piety and virtue, which a man can do of himself, *] so you hear here that it is nothing in the sight of God. What should free will be able to do? Is there nothing there but vain wriggling and trembling? Therefore, if you want to be free from sin, you must renounce and despair of all your works and go to the cross, beg for mercy, and then grasp the gospel with faith.
20 If the other part follows, then the fellow servant must also come. For faith's sake we would die every hour; for this servant now has enough, keeps his body and goods, wife and child, and has a gracious lord; so he would ever be a great fool if he went now and did all he could that he might have a gracious lord.
*) (d)
And if the Lord should say that he mocked him, he must do no work at all, but to receive such grace as is offered him, be glad and give thanks to the Lord, and do to others also as the Lord has done to him.
21 It is the same with us. If we believe, then we have a gracious God and may now do nothing more, and it would be time for us to die as soon as possible. But if we are to live on earth, our life must not be directed to earning God's favor by works; for he who does so mocks and blasphemes God, as it has been taught up to now that we must keep God's ears open with good works, prayers, fasting, and the like, until we obtain mercy. We have obtained grace, but not by works, but by mercy. If you want to live, you must do something and have something to do; it must all be directed toward your neighbor, says Christ.
22 For the servant goes out. How does he go out? Where has he been inside? In faith he was in it; but now he goes out, [there he is to show himself against the people by love. For faith leads people in from the people to God; love leads him out to the people. Before he was in it, between God and himself alone; for faith no one can see, nor be aware of what they both do to each other. That is why it is called going out of the eyes of the people, since no one is felt nor seen except God, and is directed by faith alone, and no outward work can be added to it. Now he comes out before his neighbor. If he had remained in it, he might well have died; but he must go out and live with other people and deal with them. Now love begins here; there he finds a fellow servant, whom he stops and blocks, strangles him, wants to be paid and have no mercy.
(23) This is what we have said, that we Christians should break forth and prove before men by deeds that we have a righteous faith. God does not want your works, he has enough of your faith;
*) (d)
But for this purpose he will have done them, that by them thou mayest prove thy faith before thyself and all the world. For he sees faith, but you and the people do not yet see it: you must therefore direct these works so that they may be useful to your neighbor. So this servant is an example and image of all those who are to serve their neighbor by faith.
24 But what does he do? Just as we, who allow ourselves to think that we believe, and also believe in part, and rejoice that we have heard the gospel, can speak much of it; but no one wants it afterwards with his life. So far have we come that the devil's doctrine and deception is partly laid to rest, and we now see and know what is right and what is wrong: that one must deal with God by faith alone, but with one's neighbor by works; but we can hardly bring it to that point that love will prevail, and one will do to another as God has done to him; as we ourselves also complain that some of us are becoming much worse than they were before.
025 As therefore this servant will not forgive his neighbor, but will keep his right; so do we also, saying: I am not guilty of giving to another that which is mine, and of forsaking my own right; but if he hath offended me, he is guilty of making reconciliation for me, and of forgiving me. For so the world teaches and does. And you are right. So no prince or king will force you to give to another what is yours, but must allow you to do what you want with your goods. Worldly authority is only so far removed that you do not do what you want with another's property, not that you give your property to another. This is the worldly right, as reason concludes: To each his own is due. Therefore he does not do wrong who uses his goods as he pleases and takes from no one what is his.
26 But what does the Gospel say? If God had done so and kept His right, and said, "I am right to punish the wicked and to take what is mine, who will deny me? Where would we all stay? We would all have to go to the devil.
Therefore, because he has given up his right against you, he wants you to do the same. Therefore, also cancel your right and think: If God has given me ten thousand pounds, why should I not give my neighbor a hundred pennies?
27 So now your goods are no longer yours, but your neighbor's. God might well have kept what is his, but he was under no obligation to you; yet he gives himself to you completely, becomes your gracious Lord and is gracious to you, and serves you with all his goods, and what he has is all yours; why then would you not do likewise? Therefore, if you want to be in his kingdom, you must do as he does; but if you want to remain in the worldly kingdom, you will not enter his kingdom. Therefore this saying in Matthaeo Cap. 25, 35, which Christ will say to the unbelievers on the last day: "I was hungry, and you did not feed me. I have been thirsty, and you have not given me drink," and so on.
028 And sayest thou, saying that God will not look upon works, nor save any man for them? Answer: He will do them freely, not that we may gain anything by them, but that we may do them to our neighbor, and thus testify that we have righteous faith; for what have you to give him, that you may gain something, that he may have mercy on you, and give you all that you have done against him? or what has he to gain? He has nothing, except that you give him praise and thanks, and do as he has done, that in you also God may be thanked; then you are in his kingdom, and have all that you ought to have. This is the other part of the Christian life, which is called love; through it one goes out from God to one's neighbor.
(29) Now those who do not prove faith by works of love are such servants who want to be forgiven, yet they do not forgive their neighbor nor forsake their right; so it will be with them, as with this servant. For if the other servants, that is, those who preach the gospel, see that God has given them everything and that they do not want to forgive anyone.
They are grieved that they should see such things, and they are grieved that they should stand foolishly by the gospel, and that no one should go to it. What then do they do? They can do no more than come before their Lord and complain and say these things to him: You forgive them both their trespasses and their sins, and give them all things; but we cannot make them do to others as you have done to them. This is the complaint. Then God will call them to account at the last judgment, and will reprove them, saying: "When you were hungry and thirsty and miserable, I helped you; when you were in sin, I made you mourn for me and forgave you your sins; did you also do this to your neighbor? Then he will also let such a judgment pass over them: Thou. I have had mercy on thee, and have forsaken my right; thou hast not had mercy on others, nor forgiven them their trespasses: therefore now also thou must pay thy trespasses. There is neither mercy nor grace, but only wrath and eternal damnation; there is no more pleading; therefore he must be silent, and is thrown into torment until he pays the last penny.
30 This is what St. Peter also said of those who heard the gospel and fell back again, 2 Peter 2:20, 21: "It would be better for them not to know the way of righteousness than to know it and turn away from the holy commandment given to them." Why would it be better? Because when they fall back, it becomes twice as bad as it was before they heard the gospel; as Christ says in Matthew Cap. 12:45. Of the unclean spirit, which taketh unto itself seven other spirits worse than itself, cometh with them, and dwelleth in the man from whom it went out before, and so afterwards becometh worse with the same man than it was before.
31 So we are now also and will still go to several so. The same thing happened to Rome. There it stood in the time of the martyrs; but afterwards it fell, and the abomination arose that the Antichrist reigned there, and became such a being that
it could not be worse. God's grace, which is proclaimed through the gospel, is so great that people cannot grasp it; therefore, a great and brave punishment must follow. So we will also see that an honest punishment will come upon us, because we do not obey the gospel that we have and know.
32. for as often as God has sent a terrible punishment, He has first set up a great light; when He wanted to lead the Jews out of their country into the prison in Babylon, He first raised up the pious king Josiam to restore the law, so that the people would become pious; but when they fell away again, God punished them as they deserved. Likewise, when he wanted the Egyptians to perish, he had Moses and Aaron set the light on and preach to them, Exodus 4:14 ff. Item, when he wanted to destroy the world with the flood, he threw up the patriarch Noah, Gen. 6 and 7; but since the people did not believe and only became worse, such horrible punishment followed. In the same way the five cities, Sodom and Gomorrah and the others, were punished, because they would not listen to the godly Lot, Genesis 19. Therefore such terrible punishment will now also come upon those who hear the gospel and do not accept it; just as this servant in the gospel is thrown down, and must pay what he owes. That is so much to say: he must bear the chastisement. But he who bears the punishment for the guilt will never be saved. For death belongs to sin, and if he dies, he dies eternally, and is no more help nor salvation. Therefore let us take this as a warning. The
but are obdurate and do not want to listen, beware of it. *)
(33) It is a fine comforting gospel, and sweet to the sorrowful conscience, in that it has vain forgiveness of sin. But again, to the hard-headed and hardened it is a terrible judgment, and especially because the servant is not a heathen, but has belonged to the gospel and has had faith. For since the Lord has mercy on him and forgives him for what he has done, he must undoubtedly be a Christian. Therefore this is not a punishment for the heathen, nor for the common multitude who do not hear the word of God, but for those who have the gospel in their ears and on their tongue, but do not want to live by it. Thus we have the summa of this gospel.
(34) But that the sophists here are wont to dispute whether the sin which was forgiven before will come again, I leave aside; for they know not what forgiveness of sin is, and think it a thing that cleaveth and lieth still in the heart, when it is the whole kingdom of Christ, which endureth for ever without ceasing. For as the sun shineth and shineth no less, though I shut mine eyes: so this mercy seat, or forgiveness of sins, standeth for ever, though I fall. And as I see the sun again when I open my eyes again, so I have the forgiveness of sin again when I get up and come to Christ again. Therefore, forgiveness should not be so narrowly defined as the fools dream. Let this be said of this gospel.
On the twenty-third Sunday after Trinity.*)
Matth. 22, 15-22.
Then the Pharisees went and held a council, as they caught him in his speech; and they sent unto him their disciples, with Herodi's servants, saying: Master, we know that thou art true, and teachest the way of God aright, and askest after no man: for thou regardest not the reputation of men. Therefore tell us, what do you think? Is it right to give interest to Caesar, or not? When Jesus perceived their wickedness, he said, "You hypocrites, why do you tempt me? Give me the interest coin. And they offered him a penny. And he said unto them: What is the image and the superscription? And they said unto him, The emperor. And he said unto them, Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and unto God the things that are God's. When they heard this, they were astonished and left him and went away.
(1) In this gospel we are shown how high reason and human wisdom come into conflict with divine wisdom, and how it is so disgraceful when it wants to be the wisest of all; as happens here with the Pharisees, who were the best and most knowledgeable people among the Jews, as they also prove; nor must their wisdom become foolishness. They could not punish Christ in his preaching, nor in his works; and yet they would gladly have had cause to kill him. Therefore they thought to attack him most cleverly, and laid before him a pointed syllogism (conclusion), so pointed that human reason could not have conceived it more pointedly, and thus said to him:
Master, we know that thou art true, and teachest the way of God aright, and askest after no man: for thou regardest not the reputation of men. Therefore tell us: What do you think, is it right to give interest to the emperor or not?
They thought, "Let us seize him, for he must either say yes or no. If he says yes, we will overcome him; if he says no, he is guilty of death. If he says yes, we have overcome him; if he says no, he is once again guilty of death. In that they say, "Master," they want him to answer and say right; and when they say, "We know that thou art true," they exhort
*) This sermon is found in a b c. D. Red.
him from his office. Where should Christ go, all doors were closed to him! But he did not want to go out to the hole.
(3) Was not this a cunning little thing? do they not sufficiently show that they were wise men? as the Lord would have answered if he had been a prisoner. Yes, wasn't it wise enough that they took Herod's servants with them? And they thought they would handle the matter with cunning so that he would not escape them. If he says no, then Herod's servants are there and will kill him as a rebel and who sits against the Roman Empire. If he speaks yes, then he speaks against the Jewish freedom, then we want to set the people on him. For the Jews wanted to be a free people and have their own king from their own tribe, as they were promised by God through Moses, when he says in the fifth book: "You shall set one of your brothers over you as king", [you cannot set any stranger over you who is not your brother, *] Deut. 5, 17, 15. 17:15, and they knew not otherwise, that the same kingdom should stand until the time of the right king, until Christ: as the patriarch Jacob declared, saying, The scepter of Judah shall not be taken away, nor a master from his feet, until the coming of the hero,
*) (a b)
Gen. 49, 10. For this reason God also chose this people specially and made a kingdom out of them for the sake of the one Christ. They also had many other sayings that they should not serve anyone, that they were the head and not the tail. etc., Deut. 28, 44. The Pharisees and scribes have driven these and similar sayings into the people, and they have also insisted on them; as they have now blasphemed into the people, so that the church may not err. Therefore they thought: If he says yes, then he blasphemes God, then he is guilty of death as a blasphemer, the people will stone him; because God promised and promised freedom to this people, who have always been God's people, even in the middle of the prison.
004 But at that time they had no king, as they have no king now: and therefore there arose a great murmurings, and riotings, and commotions, among the common people. For the people had been taught by the law that they should have a king of their own, of their own flesh and of their own tribe, as has been said; therefore there was no ceasing to resist the foreign kings and overlords, until they were smitten over the heads, and some were left dead. And this happened often, for they were a stiff-necked, ill-mannered, hard people: therefore the Romans, who had the territory over them for the time, had to preserve the country well, had to divide it into four principalities, and in all places to fill it well with princes and governors, so that they, thus divided, might not so soon come together and make insurrection, that they might be the more strongly resisted where they wanted to revolt against the Roman Empire. Therefore Pilate was appointed a governor by the Romans in the Jewish country, Herod a tetrarch in Galilee, Philip his brother in Jturaea and in the region of Trachonitidis, and Lysanias a tetrarch in Abilene, as Lucas Cap. 3, 1; and all this because they subdued the Jews. Therefore the Jews became angry, mad and foolish; and especially at the time of Christ, they would have liked to have their own king. Therefore the Pharisees invented this counsel, thinking thus, Wait, the Romans will have authority; if he say no to the question, the
If he says yes, he will arouse the common people against him, and we will help him. So, as they thought, they would find a cause of death for the Lord, or ever destroy his teaching and work among the people.
(5) As the Jews do here, so it always happens that one leaves the main things and worries about other unnecessary things. So the Pharisees here take before them and worry about whether they are free or not, since they had in the law and words of God that they should be subject to no one but their king, and yet now they had to be subject to the Roman emperor. They had the scripture about how they should honor God and love their neighbor: they abandoned that and went on to other things. It was promised to them that if they did according to the word and command of God, they would be a free people. This they leave undone, and yet they want to be free and have their own king. So do we, we want to have Christian freedom, and think, if we storm images or disobey the authorities, that we are thereby Christians, and nevertheless leave faith and love standing.
(6) But what does Christ do, since the Pharisees attack him so cunningly? He strikes them with their own word, and catches them with their own counsel, that they might think to catch him, saying neither yea nor nay; as the evangelist writes and says:
When Jesus saw their mischievousness, he said, "You hypocrites, why do you tempt me? Give me the coin for the interest. And they offered him a penny. And he said unto them: What is the image and the superscription? And they said unto him, The emperor's.
7 There you see the masterpiece, which the Lord uses here. He tells them to hand over the interest coin and asks for the image and superscription. When they answered that it was the emperor's, he freely concluded that they were under the emperor, to whom they also had to give pensions and interest; as if he were to say, "Have you let the emperor in so that he coins his coin with you in common, and has he given it to you?
1806 D- it. sss^sao. On the twenty-third Sunday after Trinity. W. n. 2409-2411. 1807
If the emperor is your master, he has won the game, as if he said, "It is your fault that the emperor is your master. What should they do to this answer? "They were astonished, and went away." They thought they would masterfully overcome him, but their wisdom and prudence deceived them.
(8) This is written for our comfort, that we who believe in Christ may know that we have such wisdom as surpasses all wisdom, such strength, and such righteousness as no human strength or righteousness can compare with; for against the Holy Spirit there is no counsel. Through Christ we have this power to trample sin under foot and run over death [and such wisdom as surpasses the wisdom of the whole world **]. If Christ dwells in us through faith, we have him who does such things in us; but it does not feel like it in the face of temptation. Therefore, when I need it, he comes and gives me strength to go through freshly.
(9) Therefore let us not be anxious lest our doctrine perish and be put to shame. For let all the wise and prudent men of the world rise up against the word of God, and if they make a jest of opposing it, it is done for them. It may well happen that they bark and bite against it, so that people think that the gospel will perish; but if they sit down to it and want to overthrow it, it is certain that they will lay a bare one,†) and with the grip with which they want to catch, they will be caught at last. As we see here in the Gospel, and in Paul now and then, and especially in the history of St. Stephen: there we see how they did not rightly guide the Scriptures, yes, which they guided, was just against them. For the Jews accused Stephen of speaking against the temple, Acts 6 and 7. 6 and 7, and thus against God, who would have built the temple, brought forth scriptures, that they might think to subdue and overcome him; but Stephanum, who was a leader of the temple, was not a leader of the temple.
*) (b) **) (d)
nus, full of the Holy Spirit, shows them from the Scriptures one by one how God does not dwell in houses made with hands. Da-' vid wanted to build him a house, but he would not have it. What was the cause? God had lived among His people for a long time before David; it would have to be a poor God who needed a house. And so by many histories he proves that God does not dwell in houses made by men. What should the Jews do? They have their own text clearly standing there, which they led against Stephanum, [that he was against themselves *].
(10) Therefore, all who oppose this divine wisdom and the word of God must be put to shame and perish. Therefore no one should be afraid if all the wisdom and power of the world rebel against the gospel, even if map wants to dampen it with bloodshed, because the more bloodshed, the more Christians will be. Christian blood, says Tertullian, is the seed from which Christians grow. The devil must be drowned in the blood of Christians. Therefore, it is not necessary to forcefully suppress the gospel. The gospel is like the palm tree: it has the nature of lying on its top, you can weigh it down as much as you want; especially when a beam is made of it, it does not give way to any load, but rises up against the load. The gospel is also of this kind: the more it is resisted, the more it breaks down; and the more it is dampened, the more and more it grows.
(11) Therefore we should not fear violence, but happiness and good days we should fear, which would harm us more than fear and persecution; neither should we fear the wisdom and prudence of the world, for it cannot harm us. Yes, the more the wisdom of the world rebels against the truth, the more the truth becomes clearer and clearer. Therefore, nothing better can happen to the gospel than when the world opposes it with force and wisdom. The more my conscience makes me,
*) (b)
sin and the devil, the stronger my righteousness becomes. For the sins that beset me cause me pain; so I persevere harder and harder in praying and crying out to God; so faith and righteousness grow stronger and stronger. This is what St. Paul means when he says: "Strength is made stronger through weakness", 2 Cor. 12, 9. Because we have such a treasure, which is made stronger by temptation and adversity, we should not be afraid, but be of good cheer and rejoice in tribulation; as St. Paul says to the Romans Cap. Paul says to the Romans Cap. 5, 3. and as the apostles did, who went from the council houses with great joy, thanking God that they had been worthy to suffer shame for Christ's name's sake, Apost. 5, 41. 5, 41. If the devil would be so wise as to keep quiet and let the gospel be preached, he would have less damage; for if the gospel is not challenged, it rusts away and has no cause to display its power and strength.
(12) So we are still safe here, no one challenges us; therefore we remain forever as we were before, even becoming worse. That some adversaries assail us with writings is of little consequence to them. They have done no more by writing against us than by blowing on the fire; but if we had been thrown into the fire and beaten over the head, there would be more of us Christians.
013 Therefore we have here a consolation, when we are opposed, that Christ is in us, and retains the victory through us: so near is Christ to us, that we always overcome through him, because we are in Christ. Because we do not have adversity on our necks, he does nothing; but when we are challenged and oppressed, here he is, putting to shame all our enemies.
(14) Here we also learn that those who are a little more than others, wiser, more powerful, and gifted with special gifts, both of intellect, nature, and fortune, are more skilful, learned, and understanding than others, are able to speak well, and are skilled in presiding over other people, and direct everything best.
They are most against God and against faith, and rely more on their powers and reason than on God. For their poisoned nature leads them to the point that they cannot and will not use these gifts for the best, for the benefit and good of their neighbor; for they rely on the gifts, and think that they want to obtain this now, that now, and do not think that they also need God's help and strength for this. As the Pharisees and scribes do here: they are certain, as they make themselves believe, that if they attacked the Lord in this way, they would have caught him; for it is not possible, they say, that he can escape us here, since we have him in a trap, he says yes or no.
(15) Behold now, how cunning and perverse is human nature, I think it is finely painted here. There is nothing in man but evil, lies and deceit, cunning and all naughtiness; indeed, according to nature man is nothing but a liar, as the 116th Psalm v. 11. says. You must not trust anything in any human being. Just do not think that someone will speak a true word to you; man lies about everything he says. How so? The spring is evil, that is, the heart is not good; therefore the springs cannot be good either. And this is why the Lord calls men vipers and snakes, Matth. 12, 34. Is this not a fine title of man! Now let someone go and boast of his piety, his powers or his free will! A man may be beautiful, pious, holy and shining in the eyes of the world, but there is nothing else there but a breed of vipers and snakes, and this most of all in the most delicious, excellent, intelligent and clever people. If you read through all the histories of the Greeks, Jews and Romans, you will find that the very best and cleverest princes, who ruled according to human praise, thought nothing of God, but trusted in themselves alone and attributed nothing to God's power.
16. it follows from this that the less a ge-
*) Gerick or Gereck, that is, young brood. D. Red.
The less he does against God, the better he is in the sight of the world; and those who are respectable and somewhat respected in the sight of the world, who deceive and lie more than others, think that if they act so deceitfully and deceitfully, their deceit and naughtiness will not be noticed. It is true, they can do it masterfully and well; but still the Holy Spirit sees sharply and knows them well by measure. Therefore the Scriptures often call such fellows lions, wolves, bears, swine, and wild beasts, that is, they that rage, and devour and consume all with their deceitfulness. Therefore, in the Old Testament, some animals were forbidden to be eaten by the Jews as unclean, such as those now mentioned and others, for no other reason than to have a figure and indication that some people, who are strong, powerful, rich, skillful, learned, understanding and wise, should be shunned and shunned as something unclean, namely, as people who deceive and deceive others with their appearance, power and wisdom. For they will not be thought to be such, nor will they be thought to have evil in mind or to do evil. Therefore, no trust or faith is to be placed in any man. Believe no one, he will deceive you wherever he can; indeed, if you trust him, you are against God, because you do not trust God. For thus it is written, Jer. 17:5, 7: "Forsaken is he that trusteth in man; and forsaken is he that trusteth in the Lord."
Now someone would like to speak: How will it be then? One must deal and trade with the other, otherwise how could human life exist? We must buy, sell and distribute our goods with the people. If no one were to believe or trust the other, all human commerce would perish. Answer: It is true that one must trade with another, and one needs the help of another; but this is what I want: What you trade with man, whether in buying or selling, that you consider it an uncertain thing, on which there is no faith to be placed and nothing to be built. For this is certain: If you trust a man, you are already deceived;
Because human nature, as much as there is in it, can do nothing but lie and deceive; everything is also uncertain about man, his works and words are vain, believe it boldly.
. Therefore we shall put all our trust in God alone, saying: O Lord, you are my life, my soul and body, my goods and possessions, and all that is mine, judge and order it all according to your divine will; for I believe in you, I trust in you, you will not abandon me in such dangerous actions with this or that man; for I do not trust man. If thou knowest that it is good for me, let him believe me; if thou knowest not that it is good for me, let him not believe me: I am well pleased, thy will be done.
19 But immediately, if you think the buyer is a pious man and holds faith, I am sure he will not deceive me: then you have already fallen from God, and have worshipped a larva and put your trust in a liar. Therefore, when you deal with a man, only think freshly: If he keeps faith, it is good; if he does not keep faith in the name of God, let him always go away; he can do nothing but lie and deceive; I will put it all in God's will, he will do it well.
(20) Out of such false and ungodly trust placed in men, this damage has also crept into our Christianity, the service and honor of the saints, from which the Christian church, that is, the true assembly of believers, has suffered a noticeable great damage and fall. What else has the service and honor of the saints been, but a purely devilish thing? Because this is how they went along: This man was holy, this is what he said, this is what he did: therefore let us follow him, and teach and do likewise. Jerome, Augustine, Gregory have said this: therefore it is right, I will believe it. . Franciscus, Benedictus, Dominicus, Bernhardus have lived like this, have done this and this: therefore I also want to live like this and do what they have done. Item, Augustine is blessed by this rule.
181-2 L. 14, gos-so7. On the twenty-third Sunday after Trinity. W. n, 2417-2420. 1813
have been. O how poor, inconstant, miserable thing it is, vain lies and human dreams it is; not a word of Christ nor of his word is thought of here, but it is only human theories. I would put St. Augustine in his rule . . if he had erected it for the purpose of being saved by it. Reason is so blind and foolish that it accepts even a shell and a fictitious thing; yet only God's word is to be accepted in the matters of salvation. As when Herod, Pilate, Caiphas and Annas preached the gospel, so shall I accept it. And again, if those who are considered holy stand up and preach lies, of rules, caps, plates, ceremonies, and of other little human fetishes, I am not to accept them. For one should not look at the person, but at what they preach.
(21) Would anyone say, Behold, wilt thou be wiser than all the fathers and saints, than all the bishops and princes of the whole world? Far be it from me, I do not want to be wiser than they; but this is true: it is impossible that what is wise, prudent, great, handsome, powerful and mighty in the sight of the world should agree with the word of God. For thus it is decreed by God that these must always pursue the gospel; if it were not for such people, the gospel would have neither such appearance nor such triumph. The Roman emperors Hadrianus, Trajanus, Diocletianus were the most clever emperors, ruled almost well, so that the whole world praised their rule: yet they persecuted the gospel and could not stand the truth. Likewise we read of the Jewish kings, as of Ahaz and others, who ruled well, how they despised the word of God and acted against God. In our times we have never had such emperors and princes and other people who could be compared to them. But then it had to become true that God wanted to disgrace the wisdom of this world with foolish, foolish preaching, as St. Paul says to the Corinthians in 1 Ep. 1, 21.
22. all this is shown to us here in this gospel, which is bad and simple to look at, but it is made of
He is rich in measure and understands much in himself. But how does the Lord decide the Pharisees here, since they showed him the interest coin, and now answered that the image and superscription was the emperor's? The evangelist says that he answered thus:
Pray to Caesar what is Caesar's, and GOtte what is God's.
23 Although they did not deserve it for the sake of the Lord, yet he taught them the right way. And with these words he also confirms the secular sword. They hoped he would condemn it and speak against it, but he does not, but praises the worldly authorities and commands them to give it what it deserves. By this he means that the authorities, rulers and lords, whom we obey, should be who they are and how they want, and not ask whether they possess or hold the rule and authority rightly or wrongly: one must only look at the power and authority that is good, because it is ordered and appointed by God, Romans 13:1. 13, 1. You must not reproach the authorities when you are oppressed at times by princes and tyrants, and that they abuse their authority, which they have from God; they will have to give an account of it. Therefore, the abuse of a thing does not make the thing evil, which is good in itself. A golden chain is good, but it does not become worse because some whore wears it on her neck; or if someone spoiled my eye with it, would I blame it on the chain? Truly not.
(24) Thus the prince's power must be suffered. If he abuses his power, I should not envy the prince, nor avenge it on him, nor punish him by the deed. One must be obedient to him only for the sake of God; for he is there in God's stead. Now they estimate how badly they want, so one should obey them and suffer everything patiently for God's sake. Whether they do right or wrong will be determined in due time. Therefore, if your goods, your life and limb, and what you have is taken from you by the authorities, say, "I will gladly give it to you; I will give it to you.
1814 D-14, 307. 3os. On the twenty-third Sunday after Trinity. W. xi, 2420-2423. 1815
I recognize you as my Lord, I will gladly be obedient to you; if you use the authority given to you by God, for better or worse, you will see to it.
025 But how if they will take away the gospel from us, or forbid us to preach it? Then you shall say: The gospel and the word of God I will not give you, neither have you any authority over them; for your rule is a temporal rule over temporal goods, but the gospel is a spiritual, heavenly good: therefore your authority does not extend to the gospel and word of God. Therefore we recognize the emperor as a lord over temporal goods and not over God's word. We do not want to be deprived of this, because it is the power of God, Rom. 1, 16, 1 Cor. 1, 18, against which even the gates of hell cannot prevail, Matth. 16, 18.
(26) Therefore the Lord sums up these two things and divides them with one saying, saying, "Give to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's." God deserves his honor, that I consider him to be a true, almighty and wise God, and ascribe to him everything that can be said that is good. And even if I do not give him this honor, he still retains it, nothing goes to him nor comes from your honor; but in me he is true, almighty and wise, if I had him for it, and believe that he is as he lets himself be said. But the emperor and the authorities are due fear, duty, rent, interest and obedience. The heart wants to have God, the body and the property is the authority, over which it has to rule in God's stead. St. Paul says it beautifully
with round, bright words to the Romans Cap. 13, 1-7, where he says: "Let everyone be subject to the authorities and authority; for there is no authority without from God. But the authority that is everywhere is ordained by God, so that whoever opposes the authority opposes God's order; but those who oppose will receive judgment upon themselves. For the mighty are not to be feared for good works, but for evil. But if thou wilt not fear authority, do good, and thou shalt have praise of it: for it is God's servant too good for thee. But if you do evil, be afraid, for she does not bear the sword in vain. She is God's servant, an avenger of punishment for the one who does evil. So then, out of necessity be subjects: not only for the sake of punishment, but also for the sake of revenge. For this reason you must also give wombs; for they are God's servants who are to handle such protection. Give therefore to every man what ye owe: the bosom to whom the bosom is due; the fear to whom the fear is due; the honor to whom the honor is due."
For this reason, they have also been commanded by God to maintain public peace, which could not be paid for with the goods of the entire bet. We have now noticed a little by the peasants' uprising what damage, misery and heartbreak the country has suffered from rebellion and strife. God grant that it may remain so that we do not experience it any better. That is enough of this gospel. We have written a special booklet about the secular authorities; if you want to read it, you will find more about it there.