Matth. 24, 15-28.
When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, which was spoken of by Daniel the prophet, that it shall stand in the holy place, then let him that is in the land of Judah flee unto the mountains. And he that is on the housetop, let him not go down to fetch anything out of his house; and he that is in the field, let him not turn back to fetch his garments. But woe to the pregnant women and the sucklings at that time. But pray that your flight be not in winter, or on the sabbath day. For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the world began, neither ever shall be. And if these days were not shortened, no man would be saved; but for the elect's sake the days are shortened. If then any man shall say unto you, Behold, here is Christ, or there, believe it not. For false Christs and false prophets shall arise, and shall shew great signs and wonders, to deceive (where it is possible) even the elect. Behold, I have told you before. Therefore, when they shall say unto you: Behold, he is in the wilderness, go not out; behold, he is in the chamber, believe it not. For as the lightning goeth forth from the going forth, and shineth even unto the going down; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. But where there is carrion, there the eagles gather.
*This sermon is found in all editions of the Kirchenpostille and in two single printings from 1525, furthermore together with the sermon on the Gospel on the 10th Sunday after Trinity printed in the Sermon on the Destruction of Jerusalem, which was published three times in 1525. Cf. Erl. A. 14, 368 and 13, 313. D. Red.
In this chapter is described the end and the end of both kingdoms, of Judaism and also of the whole world. But the two evangelists, Matthew and Marcus, throwing the two into one another, do not keep the order which Lucas kept; for they see no further than to give and tell the words of Christ, and are not concerned with what was said before or after: but Lucas takes care to write it more clearly and orderly, and tells this speech twice: one recently in the nineteenth chapter, when he tells of the destruction of the Jews at Jerusalem; then in the one and twentieth of these two after each other.
2 Know then that Matthew here intertwines and at the same time grasps the end of both the Jewish people and the world, thus boiling it into a porridge. But if you want to understand it, you must separate it out and draw each to its own end, which is actually spoken of the Jews or the whole world; we will see that.
3. First of all, in this chapter Christ begins to prophesy of the final destruction of the Jewish kingdom, which the Jews did not even believe, nor did they think of; for the people had been established by great signs and words or promises of God, which he had shown and done to the dear fathers, the like of which had never happened to any people on earth; For this reason they stood quite stiffly and relied on it, thinking that they would remain forever; just as they still think today that their kingdom has not been destroyed, but has fallen a little and is yet to be set up again, they cannot get out of their minds that it is over with them.
For this reason, besides the miracles, God also proclaimed beforehand through clear and bright sayings of the prophets that this kingdom should have an end, and that God would abolish the outward regiment in the law, food, sacrifices and the like, and establish another that would last forever; as the angel said to the virgins of Christ, "He will be king over the house of Jacob, and there will be no end to his kingdom," Luc. 1:33.
5 Among the same sayings about the end of Judaism, there is one in particular that Chri
stus introduces here, the prophet Daniel, Cap. 9, 25. ff., about the desolate abomination, which stands where it should not stand; because it is just spoken of the Jewish people. And there he says: "Mark and understand, that from the time when the saying goes forth, that Jerusalem shall be built again, there shall be seven weeks, and two weeks, and threescore weeks," which are seventy weeks at home, and make four hundred and ninety years, "and two weeks and threescore weeks shall Messiah be cut off, and they shall not be his. But the city and the holy place shall destroy the people of the prince that shall come, and they shall make an end of it with fierceness. And when the strife is ended, there shall remain a certain desolation. But he shall confirm the covenant among many in a week; and in the half of the weeks there shall cease sacrifice and meat offering, and there shall be a fierce abomination in the temple, and desolation shall endure unto the end."
The prophet Daniel would have liked to know a certain time when this would happen, but he could not obtain it. For even though the angel indicated a certain time, it was too dark for the prophet to understand. Therefore he also said before, At the last, or at the last time, thou shalt see all these things; that is, thy prophecy, which is revealed unto thee, shall come to pass at the end of the world. For when Christ began the gospel by himself and the apostles, it lasted three or four and a half years, so that it almost comes to the reckoning of Daniel, that is, four hundred and ninety years, wherefore he also says: Christ is to take half a week, in which the daily sacrifice is to cease, that is, the priesthood and rule of the Jews is to come to an end; all of which happened in the four and a half years since Christ preached, and almost in four years after Christ died, in which the gospel went forth most strongly, especially in the Jewish country, through the apostles, so that when they opened their mouths, the Holy Spirit soon fell from heaven, as is seen in the Acts of the Apostles; That therefore a whole week, that is, seven years, the covenant, as Daniel saith, was confirmed, that is, the gospel preached unto the Jews; whereof it is written elsewhere. Since then
1872 - L. it. S71-S7S. On the twenty-fifth Sunday after Trinity. W. xi, 2493-2501. 1873
When the time came and a new sermon began, a new kingdom also had to begin, that is, in which Christ reigns spiritually in our hearts through the Word and faith. If this should now go away, then that had to go on vacation, no longer apply and cease. This is a part of the prophets' prophecy, to which Christ points.
The other is of the desolate abomination. Christ says, "When you see it standing in the temple, look at it, for it is a sure sign from the prophecy of Daniel that this kingdom has come to an end; and do not be deceived that the Jews or even weak Christians think it should not be desolate.
The abomination of which Daniel writes is that Caius the emperor, as the histories show, set his image in the temple at Jerusalem for an idol, that they should worship it after all that was there was destroyed. For the Scriptures actually call idols an abomination, because God is disgusted and afraid of them; for he is not so much hostile to any sin as to this one. He punishes the others, but does not cast them away, as he says in the 89th Psalm v. 31-34: "If his children forsake my statutes, if they profane my customs, and keep not my commandments, I will punish their transgression with a rod, and with plagues their iniquity; but I will not put my kindness from them, neither will I suffer my faith to fail. But this sin, which is called idolatry, and is actually unbelief and denial of God, which he cannot stand, condemns man. For where this remains in the heart, that it teaches and believes rightly, knows that our works are nothing, and we become pleasing to God through faith alone and serve Him rightly, then there is a rightly godly being, there remains light and truth. Although sin, weakness of the flesh, runs along with faith, it is not an abomination before God, but only a daily sin that God punishes temporally; yet the people keep it, spare it and forgive it, so that the people learn to recognize His goodness. On the other hand, where there is no faith and right doctrine, all is lost; for it is not
It is possible that a man does not set up a false service for himself, and worship his own conceit and work, which he has chosen; so that he actually denies God and His word, from which God is completely turned away, so that there can be no grace. Such abominations are common to the most beautiful and greatest saints in the life of the world, who outwardly appear in beautiful works and gestures, but inwardly are full of filth; as we see to this day in our orders and services, where they are at their best; yet again there are some Christians who do not appear to be like them in their works and nature, yet are holy before God.
(9) Christ says, as I said, that when the abomination, that is, the idol, stands in the temple, the kingdom will finally be laid waste and destroyed, so that there will be no more building afterwards; Lucas Cap. 21, 20. ff. with these words: "But when you see Jerusalem occupied with an army, then realize that her desolation has come. And immediately after this he says, "Then let him that is in the land of Judaea flee to the mountains," etc.; item: "But woe to them that are with child, and to them that are with suckling in those days"; and, "But pray that your flight be not in the winter, or on the sabbath day: for then shall be great tribulation, such as never was, nor ever shall be."
10 All this still belongs to the Jewish people. For if this should come upon us at the end of the world, we would have to be in the Jewish land, according to the text, because it actually points to this. So it is also true that he says that no greater plague has come on earth, nor will come, than was in the destruction; as one can see in the histories, how miserably they were killed and also killed themselves among themselves, even jumped into the fire and let one strangle the other; yes, even the hunger was so great that they ate the sinews of crossbows, and also their own children. It happened so shamefully and horribly that such misery and misery is never heard of again.
11. they also wanted it for themselves that God had them so blinded and ruined: he would have had mercy on them and would have gladly saved them.
1874 D-14, 873-376. twenty-fifth Sunday after Trinity. W. XI, 2501-2504. 1875
They brought themselves to such misery with their hard heads that they had to strangle and consume themselves, so that when they attacked, everything had to strengthen such murder and bloodshed. Thus the death of Christ and all the prophets smelled on them horribly enough, so that they raged against God's word without ceasing, and in addition persecuted and chased away the apostles, as St. Paul says 1 Thess. 2, 16: "The wrath has already finally come upon them. *)
(12) Therefore, when there is such terrible wrath and such horrible plague, Christ says, flee wherever you can. For these words, "Let him that is in the land of Judaea, and he that is on the housetop, flee unto the mountains," etc.; item, "He that is in the field," etc., are all spoken in the manner of Proverbs, that it may be said, Make haste, the sooner the better, and be not found. This is what happened. When the Jews had been warned enough by many signs that they should give themselves up to the Romans, and they would not, the disciples and apostles ran away and obeyed this saying of Christ, leaving everything that was in the Jewish country, and did not return again to get anything.
013 "But see," saith he, "that your flight be not in the winter, or on the sabbath day: that is, See that ye flee in due season, lest ye be taken. For he would not do a miracle to preserve them alone in the midst of the enemies, though he might have done it: for he determined to bake all that were there into one heap: therefore it must have been like a lost heap. There was a great world at Jerusalem, as it is written, eleven times a hundred thousand men, and as many as were there were melted together. Therefore Christ warns his disciples not to save their flight for a Sabbath, when it is not lawful to walk, nor in winter, when it is too cold; but to depart the sooner the better, lest there come an inopportune time to flee.
14. so far now has Christ from the
*) that the wrath of God had finally come upon them. (d)
D. Red.
Jews. Now I have said before that Matthew and Marcus mix the two ends together: therefore it is difficult to distinguish here, and yet they must. Therefore notice that what has been said so far all goes there to the Jews; but here he interweaves both, but breaks off briefly, does not ask much about the order in which the sayings Christ said go up and down, but leaves it to the evangelist Lucas to command, but wants to say that it will also go this way before the last day, and says:
And if these days were not shortened, no man would be saved; but for the elect's sake the days are shortened.
(15) This applies to both parts, and is the opinion that the affliction should not last long for the sake of the pious, because it did not last two whole years before peace was restored. But because all this also goes to the end of the world, we want to draw the previous sayings of the Jews to ourselves from the beginning, so that we do enough for the evangelist. '
(16) I do not understand that there will be more such a battle as has come upon the Jews, because the text says, "There will be such a tribulation as will not be more than has come and is seen; but another punishment will befall us: as that was bodily, so a spiritual one will come at the end upon the unbelievers, who are like the Jews. So it will be compared to each other: as that plague came to Jerusalem by God's order and turned everything to powder; so horrible, yes, even more horrible will it be before the last day, when he will come and put an end to the whole world.
17 For when Christ ascended into heaven, he spread his kingdom not only in the Jewish land, but into the whole world by the gospel, which is preached and heard everywhere. But we do just as the Jews did, denying and persecuting God's word and killing Christians who confess and preach it, as first the Romans did, and then to this day the pope, bishops, princes, monks, and priests; which now
For more than five hundred years, no one has been allowed to preach God's word without pretending to recite the text of the gospel in the pulpit, and then to suck the teachings of men out of it or put them into it. If anyone opposed them, they opposed them with sword and fire and deceived them. It does not help how they are warned and frightened with words and signs, they put up their heads, scream and rage against it as the nonsensical ones; that God ever has cause enough to finally and eternally destroy them with the last day.
18 Therefore the saying of Daniel also belongs to us concerning the abomination. For we also have a right desolate abomination sitting in a holy place, namely, in Christendom and in the consciences of men, where God alone should sit and reign; of which Daniel writes much in clear words in the eighth, item, eleventh chapter. For this is the right pure doctrine, which we preach, that through Christ we are redeemed from sins, death, the devil, and all misfortune, and are placed in God's kingdom through the Word and faith, so that we are made free from all laws, and that no man by the works of the law, whatever they may be called, comes into the kingdom, nor is freed from sins. Wherever these things are preached and believed, Christ dwells and reigns in the heart spiritually without means; there is the Holy Spirit with all goods and fullness of the riches of God.
(19) But how does the pope do it? He does not sit in the physical temple or in God's house, but in the spiritual, new and living one, of which Paul says: "If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will defile him; for the temple of God is holy, which is you," 1 Cor. 3:16, 17; in which many devils and heretics have always taken it upon themselves to sit, and all those who preach against the right doctrine: If you want to be saved, accept this or that state and order, do this or that work. If people thus draw out from faith to works, they also say that Christ is the Lord, but in essence they deny him, for they do not say a word that he alone forgives sin by grace, and delivers from death and hell; but thus: "Through this order, through these works," they say, "I am the Lord.
Works must atone for sin, do enough for it, and obtain mercy. Which is just as much as saying: Christ did not do it, is not the Savior, his suffering and death cannot help. For if your work is to be done, it cannot be done by his blood and death: one of the two must be in vain. If thou continuest in works, thou castest out Christ, denying and profaning his precious blood, and him even together; then he cannot sit and reign in the heart by his word, work, and spirit; but my work is my idol, whom I let sit and reign.
(20) Now therefore, behold, if the priest be not the chief abomination of all abominations, whom Christ and Daniel mean, and the true end-Christ, of whom it is written, that he sitteth in the temple of God, in the people where Christ is called, where his kingdom, Spirit, baptism, word, and faith, shall be: because he hath taken hold of Christ's office and kingdom, by his scribblings of spiritual law, and will rule the consciences, and reign with his essays and works. And is called a "fierce abomination," that is, one who only destroys and devastates everything. For as it is said, Christ and my work cannot remain together: if one stands, the other must perish and be destroyed. That is why the pope has devastated Christ's kingdom as far as his domain reaches, and those who are under him have all denied Christ.
21 St. Paul prophesied all this about him when he called him 2 Thess. 2, 3. 4. a "man of sin, and the child of corruption, who is an abominable man, and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or the service of God, so that he sitteth himself in the temple of God, as a god, and pretendeth that he is God. But that the papists want to turn this saying away from themselves and say: Christ and Paul speak of the temple at Jerusalem, that the end-Christ will sit and reign there, is not valid. For Christ here says that Jerusalem and the temple will come to an end and will never be built after its destruction. Therefore, because Paul points to the time after the destruction of the Jewish kingdom and the physical temple, it cannot be understood as the new spiritual temple, which, as he himself says, is us. Since
the pope shall sit and be honored, not over God, but over everything that is called God, he speaks. For God's name naturally remains the highest honor; therefore he cannot set himself above the right natural God, but above that which is called God and worship, that is, above his preaching and honor he is exalted, higher than the righteous God; as it is evident that all princes and the world are attached to him and keep his law higher and more than God's commandment. If anyone eats meat contrary to God's commandment, or enters into a married life from the unclean state of priests, monks and nuns, as God has commanded, or takes the Sacrament in both forms according to Christ's order, this is the greatest sin; so much less are stealing, adultery and all public vices contrary to God's commandment, and no one may punish them for it. Yes, that they themselves blaspheme God's word, persecute and kill Christians, they consider to be the highest service of God, as it is also the highest service they could do to their God, the Pope. Does this not mean that the end-Christ is rightly set above God and honored? So that whoever speaks or does against it, when he comes into their hands, must die as soon as possible. I think it is enough that the abomination is painted and crossed out.
(22) Now it is high time for everyone who is able to flee to run and escape, leaving what he has and going away, the sooner the better, not with his feet but with his heart, so that he may be rid of the abomination and enter Christ's kingdom through faith. But it needs a mind and a sharp face to recognize the abomination rightly. But it is not hard to see, for if one holds it against Christ, he teaches, as said above, that we are reconciled to God through his blood and become blessed; but the pope gives such power to our works. So you see that it is contrary to each other to be saved by works and not by works, [and to believe in Christ as our righteousness before God *]. If you want to remain with Christ, then you must flee and let go of the pope.
(23) Now this is the desolate abomination that reigned in our time, but is now out of God.
*) (d)
Grace is revealed, will not be destroyed by emperor or worldly power. Everything must be higher than that physical destruction, since there has been such a great tribulation that no greater can be physical. Therefore, God alone has reserved this abomination for destruction; as Paul says in 2 Thess. 2:8: "Whom the Lord shall choke with the spirit of his mouth, and shall make an end of him at the appearing of his coming. Though they fear evil because of worldly violence and sedition; yet it shall not be so good for them. For they are not worthy of such mild punishment, and God does not want them to be destroyed by men, but wants to do it himself without means, through his word. Now that it has begun, and the kingdom has been destroyed so far that it is no longer valid, nor does it catch the consciences of those who know the gospel: how hostilely the pope strives against the gospel, he must nevertheless fall at the feet of the princes and seek help. Thus his power is weakened and broken by the gospel; but its final destruction will be kept until the last day. Therefore it must still remain in part, until Christ with his future destroys everything in one heap and turns it into powder from heaven.
(24) But as the days of the Jews were shortened when Christ said, so now they must also be shortened for the sake of the elect; as we see that the reign of the pope has always resisted and declined for a hundred years, without the fact that in the council at Costnitz, when John Huss was burned, he frightened everyone into thinking that he was God, but the truth soon came out until now, since it is now despised and cannot stand much longer. So this, as I said, applies not only to the Jews, but also to our abomination, the kingdom of Pabst. Christ now continues:
When someone says to you, "Behold, here is Christ," or "There," you should not believe it.
(25) These following sayings should be well known and grasped, so as to strike the pope and his mob before the head, who lead out the kingdom of Christ and live a Christian life.
They bind us to external, visible things, as they publicly say: Where the pope is, there is the Christian church. So that they want to lead us to find, feel and grasp it in person, place and manner, which is all external. So do all monasteries and convents. If you, they say, accept this state, eat like this, dress like this, pray like this, fast like this, you will atone for your sin and be saved. Christ has described these things to us beforehand, and has pointed them out to all monasteries, churches and works, so that they may help souls, and warns us to beware of them, and not to be torn from the foundation on which we stand, so that we will not become Christians through him, but will be redeemed from all evil through his blood alone, and be placed in his kingdom, if we believe. With this, he takes away all temporal, external things from our eyes, and with one word, he strikes down all doctrine that does not preach the faith purely, and all life that is not directed according to the righteous doctrine of faith. So recently he said: "If anyone says, 'Here or there is Christ,' do not believe it: Beware of everything that leads you to works, for it surely deceives and tears you away from me.
For false Christs and prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so that even the elect will be deceived into error (if it were possible).
These are excellent, serious and terrible words, that these preachers of works should drive such things into the people with such pretense and emphasis, that even the saints who stand in the faith cannot beware of them, but must also err, as has also happened. For the dear fathers, Augustine, Jerome, I hope also, item, St. Bernard, Gregory, Franciscus, Dominic and many more, even though they were saints, they all erred here, as I have often proved elsewhere. For the error began in time, and they also got into it with others, that they bound Christian nature to external things, and led so far into it that they themselves stepped into it with external conduct. As you can see in St. Bernhardt's books, how badly he writes.
When he is to answer someone [to such questions from their monasticism*], but when he writes freely from his spirit, he preaches so finely that it is pleasing; as also happened to Augustine, Jerome, Cyprian, the great fine martyr, and many more. Whenever a question was put to them about the law or the external order, whether one should keep it this way or that, they plumped down and stepped into it, so that they were not far from being seduced. Nor do the papists most strongly lead this against us: Should so many holy people and teachers have erred, they say, and God have so forsaken the world? do not see that this saying will knock them on the head, that they might stagger.
(27) What then shall we answer them? The sentence lies dry and clear, we must believe it and let it stand, we cannot overcome it, even if the holy angels in heaven were against it; shall not Christ be more holy and his word not be as valid as their word? For he does not say of many, or of the great multitude, Lord Omnes, but of the smallest company of the elect, that they should stumble, so far as they might be deceived. And warns us that we should not cling even to that, when we see that they fall out on outward things. If then they have not erred, Christ must not be true as he preached. If then all the saints would come forward and say that I believe in the pope, I will not do it, but say this: Even though you have already been chosen, Christ has said that there will be such terrible and dangerous times that you too must err. Therefore we must cling to the Scriptures and God's word alone, which says that he is not here or there; where he is, there I shall be; he will not be where my work or state is. He who teaches me otherwise deceives me. Therefore I still say that it is not valid which they raise: The holy fathers and teachers kept it this way, lived it this way, therefore we also must keep it this way and live it this way; but this is true: Christ taught and kept it this way, therefore we also must keep it; for he is more valid than all the saints.
*) (d)
Behold, I have told you before; therefore, if they shall say unto you: Behold, he is in the wilderness, go not forth; stand, he is in the chamber, believe it not.
28 In the time of the holy fathers, Antony and others, after the apostles, the error went out, of which Christ says here (although Antony increased much), that everything ran into the desert, with many thousands of saints, and gained such a semblance that afterwards Jerome and Augustine almost worshipped it, not knowing how to praise it highly enough; and if one looks at it in the light, this text is enormously contrary, there were also many heretics among them and much condemned. But although there were holy people among them who escaped the seduction, the example is still dangerous and not to be presented. Just as St. Francis was a holy man, but the example and order he set up is not to be followed. But no one, not even the saints, has recognized this, because it is so deeply and with great pretense torn. The Christian life is not stretched out in the wilderness, but should go freely, as Christ and the apostles lived, to come out into the world, preach publicly, and exhort people to come to Christ; so those people run into the wilderness, do not want to stay in the world, because they would have to suffer much, and choose a strict life of their own, wanting to be higher Christians than others. Just as the monasteries do, which Christ means by chambers. Christ now concludes and speaks:
For as the lightning goeth forth from the going forth, and shineth unto the going down; so shall also the future of the Son of man be.
29. will say this much: only do not believe when Christ is bound you here or there and leads you from faith to works; I warn you that you do not fall from pure faith, for you do not know what hour I will come: if no one understands, I will strike as swiftly as lightning shines in the sky. Whoever does not then cling to faith will be lost. Therefore see to it that the day does not overtake you; stand firm in the faith, so that where you are slothful and sleep, the devil may not snatch you away. But these words are put here disorderly one after the other. For, as I said, Matthew only tells the proverbs in a heap, but does not put them in order. Therefore, the following does not actually rhyme with these words:
But where there is a carrion, there the eagles gather.
(30) That is, you must not ask where the place will be when Christ comes. Let me be where I will, and we shall be found together, as it is said, "Where there is a carrion, there do the eagles gather." For as the eagles do not imagine a place where they will fly, but where there is a carrion, there they gather together: so mine will surely come to me. Where I am, my chosen ones will also be. This is the text of the end of the Jews and of the world; Matthew now adds to it the sayings about the signs of the last day, which Lucas writes clearly; this belongs to another time and has been dealt with elsewhere enough.
[In some places the Gospel of John 6, how Christ fed the people with five loaves of bread and two fishes, was read on the last Sunday. - Praise be to God forever].
*) This interpretation is found ifi this part Col. 560 ff.
On the twenty-sixth Sunday after Trinity.*)
Matth. 25, 31-42.
But when the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory, and all nations will be gathered before him. And he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth the sheep from the goats, and shall set the sheep on his right hand, and the goats on his left. Then the king will say to those on his right: Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I have been hungry, and you have fed me. I have been thirsty, and you have given me drink. I have been a sojourner, and ye have lodged me. I have been naked, and you have clothed me. I have been sick, and you have visited me. I have been a prisoner, and you have come to me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee hungry, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? when saw we thee a guest, and lodged thee? or naked, and clothed thee? when saw we thee sick, or captive, and came unto thee? And the king shall answer and say unto them: Verily I say unto you, inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels. I have been hungry, and you have not fed me. I have been thirsty, and you have not given me drink. I have been a guest, and ye have not lodged me. I have been naked, and you have not clothed me. I have been sick and a prisoner, and you have not visited me. Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have not done it unto one of the least of these, ye have not done it unto me. And they shall go into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.
(1) This gospel is clear and light in its own words. But it is said both for the comfort and admonition of believers and Christians, and for the warning and terror of others, where it would help them. And as most of the gospels teach and urge faith almost alone, so this gospel is of the vain works which Christ will put on at the last day; that it may be seen that he will not forget them, but will have them urged and done by them who desire to be Christians, and to be found in his kingdom.
(2) And here, in the strongest way possible, urge such exhortation, as it can always be urged, both with the comforting promise of the glorious, eternal reward, and the most terrible chastisement of the eternal wrath and chastisement of those who have despised such exhortation. That, whom this does not move and
*) This sermon is found only in d. D. Red.
He says that he himself will come in his majesty on the last day with all the angels, and that he himself will place those who have believed in him and shown love for his Christians in the kingdom of the eternal glory of his Father; and again, those who do not want to live as Christians, separated from themselves and all the blessed, will be eternally cast into hell.
Now, if we had not been told this, we would have been exceedingly eager to hear how it would be on the last day and what the Lord Christ would say or do there. Now we hear it here, and have before our eyes first death, from which no one will escape, then the day of judgment. Which shall come to pass, that Christ shall gather together by the resurrection all men that ever lived on the earth, and at the same time shall descend with great, unspeakable majesty, upon His
1886 L. i4. 38"-L88. On the twenty-sixth Sunday after Trinity. W. n, 2217-2520. 1887
Sitting on the judgment seat, and with him all the heavenly host hovering around the judge; and so shall appear to all, both evil and good, that we all also shall stand before him manifestly, and none shall be able to hide himself.
4. this sight of such glory and majesty will be the greatest terror and torment for the damned, as the epistle said, that they will suffer torment of eternal destruction from the face of the Lord etc. For even if there were no more than a few angels, none of the fleeting evil consciences (where it would be possible to escape) would remain before him. A thief and a scoundrel cannot well suffer to stand before a human judge; if he could escape, he would much rather do so, even for the sole reason that he would not be publicly disgraced, let alone if he were to hear the sentence of death passed upon him. What a terrible sight this will be, when the wicked will see not only all the angels and creatures, but the judge in his divine majesty, and hear the sentence of eternal destruction and hellish fire pronounced over them forever? This alone should be a strong and powerful warning for us as Christians to stand with honor and fearlessness before this Lord of majesty at his right hand, where there will be neither fear nor terror, but eternal comfort and joy.
5. for then he himself says that as soon as the goats are separated from the sheep, he wants it to be seen publicly in front of all the angels, men and creatures which were his righteous Christians, and on the other hand also the false hypocrites together with the whole bunch of the godless world; which separation and separation cannot happen in the world until that day (also in the bunch, since the church of Christ is), but good and evil must remain here among themselves; as this parable of the wedding guests Matth. 22:10; just as Christ himself had to suffer Judah among his apostles; which now grieves Christians that they have to remain in the midst of the unrighteous, perverse, evil people of the world, which is the devil's kingdom, Phil. 2:15.
(6) But here they also have the consolation (as in all their suffering on earth) of that future day of judgment, when Christ will make such a separation between them and the rest of the multitude; so that after that no false wicked men, nor devils, nor death, will ever be able to touch or challenge them.
7 Then he will pronounce the verdict, which he has already drawn up and set forth, as it should be, and will certainly not be changed. And it is wonderful that he places it on this very point and makes it the reason and cause of it, that they have done or not done these works, which he describes here etc. And makes a long apology both of those who have done them and of those who have not done them etc., which will all be done in a moment; for then all men's hearts will be open before all creatures, and as it is preached here, so it will all be done there as soon as it is done.
(8) Now one might ask why Christ would call these same works alone the works of mercy or, on the other hand, of unmercy (of which six have been counted from this text, although many more may be called such), which, if one is to judge subtly, are no more than the works of the fifth commandment: Thou shalt not kill; in which it is generally commanded, as Christ himself interprets it, that one should not be angry with one's neighbor, but be kind, helpful, and do good to him where he needs it, in hunger, thirst, nakedness, misery, imprisonment, sickness, or other distresses, even to those who have given cause for anger or unmercifulness and do not seem worthy of love and charity. For this is a bad virtue, that one does good to those whom one otherwise loves, or in turn hopes for good deeds and gratitude from them. But, as I have said, such works of mercy should also include much more from the other commandments, as from the sixth, that one help another to keep his wife, child, and servants in discipline and honor; item, from the seventh, eighth, and last, to help save and preserve one's neighbor's goods and chattels, house, farm, and good report; item, to help the poor, to help the poor, to help the poor, to help the poor, to help the poor, to help the poor, to help the poor, to help the poor, to help the poor, to help the poor, to help the poor, to help the poor, to help the poor, and to help the poor.
men. To protect and assist the downtrodden, the downtrodden, and the downtrodden etc.
(9) Now Christ says in Matthew 12:36 that men will not only have to give an account of their transgression of these commandments, but also of every useless word they have spoken. Item, where are the works of the first table and highest commandments, as, teach rightly, believe, pray, hear God's word, promote, and the like? Why then does he pass such harsh and severe judgments only on those who do not do these works of the fifth commandment, which almost seem to be the works that the Gentiles do? How then the Turks boast of such works and do them more among themselves than among us who are called Christians; for each of them considers the other to be his brother, and shares with him what he has; that they also consider it to be the greatest unfaithfulness and the most disgraceful sin, where one does not share a piece of bread with another in famine. How then does he so highly exalt these very works, which shine even among the Turks and the Gentiles? Will he ever not say that unbelievers earn eternal life with such works?
010 For that he speaks of the works of believing Christians, he shows himself by saying, "I was hungry, and ye fed me," etc.; item, "Inasmuch as ye did it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye did it unto me." For there is no doubt that whoever should perform such works of mercy on Christians must himself be a Christian and a believer; but whoever does not believe in Christ will certainly not be so fond of any Christian, much less of Christ himself, that for his sake he should show mercy to his poor, needy etc. For this reason, he will also bring such things before the court and judge both parties accordingly, who did or did not do such works, as a public testimony of the fruits of their faith and their unbelief.
11) Nevertheless, it is as if he wants to show that many Christians, after receiving the preaching of the gospel of the forgiveness of sins and grace through Christ, will not become worse afterward, neither the Gentiles; for he also says Matth. 19, 30,
that "many who are first will be last, and those who are last will be first" etc. So it will also be found here in the end that those who should be true Christians, because they heard the gospel, have become much more angry and merciless than before; as one now sees such things fulfilled all too clearly before one's eyes. Before, when one was supposed to do good works under the Pabst's seductions and false worship, everyone was ready and willing, and a prince or a city could give greater and richer endowments and alms than all kings and emperors are able to do now. Now, on the other hand, all the world has learned nothing else but how to graft, plunder, and publicly rob and steal, by lying, deceiving, usury, overpaying, overtranslating, etc.; and everyone acts against his neighbor as if he did not consider him his friend, much less his brother in Christ, but his murderous enemy, and only wants to seize everything for himself, and does not grant anything to anyone else.
(12) This goes on every day and is rampant without interruption, and is the most common custom and practice in all classes, among princes, nobles, burghers, peasants, in all courts, towns, villages, yes, almost in all houses. Tell me, what town is so strong or so pious that would now bring together so much to support a schoolmaster or a priest? Yes, if we did not have it before from our ancestors' charitable alms and endowments, the gospel would have been extinguished long ago by half the citizens in the cities, the nobility and peasants in the countryside, and not one poor preacher would be fed or watered. For we do not want to do this, but take and steal by force what others have given and donated for this purpose. Therefore we are not to be thanked at all for the fact that a preaching chair or school is still preserved. Yes, how many are among the great, the mighty, the rich (especially the papacy), who would like nothing better than to see all preachers, schools and arts eradicated.
(13) So shamefully wicked must men become at the last time, thanks to the dear Gospel, by which they have now been set free from the prison and plagues of the pope: that they are now no longer human, but
They must also think, as much as it is in them, to starve the gospel completely. Count and reckon on your fingers, here and elsewhere, what they give and do who enjoy the gospel; whether we, who are alive now, have not long since ceased to be preachers and disciples, so that our heirs and descendants cannot know what we have taught or believed.
14 What do you think Christ will say in a little while on his judgment seat to such unchristian mercilessness? Dear, listen, you also wanted to be called a Christian and boasted of the gospel; did you not also hear this sermon, which I myself preached, and warned you what my judgment and sentence should be: "Go, you cursed" etc. I have been hungry, thirsty, naked, sick, miserable and imprisoned, and you have not fed, watered, clothed, housed or visited me? Why have you despised this, and become more shameful and unmerciful against your own brethren, neither Turk nor Gentile? Do you think you will be excused if you then say, "Lord, when I saw you hungry or thirsty" etc.? For then he will say to you again through your own conscience: Dear, were there no people who preached to you, or poor disciples who should have learned and been educated in the Word of God, or persecuted, miserable, poor Christians who should have been fed, watered, clothed and visited?
(15) We should be ashamed of our parents and forefathers, lords and kings, princes and others, who gave so abundantly and so leniently, even to the abundance of churches, parishes, schools, foundations, spirals, etc., of which they and their descendants have not become any poorer. What would they have done, if they had had this light of the Gospel, which is given to us? How in the beginning the dear apostles and their own gathered their goods for their poor widows, and those who had nothing, or were driven out, persecuted, so that
that no one would have to suffer hardship among them? As poor Christians must always feed themselves together. Otherwise, as I have said, as much as the other crowd does, both the gospel, the preaching chair, the churches and the schools have already been wiped out to the ground. Without any grace, where God gives a pious prince or pious authorities, who receive what is left of the crumbs, so that it is not all snatched away to the ground by the other old men and vultures, robbers and thieves; for without that the poor pastors and preachers would not only have starved to death, but would also have been murdered. For now there are no more poor people, neither those who serve the church nor those who are brought up to serve it and otherwise have no food, and leave their poor wives and children behind them, who must finally die of hunger for the sake of the world; Otherwise, the whole world is full of useless, unfaithful, bad boys among day laborers, lazy craftsmen, servants, maids, and the idle, slothful beggar folk, who everywhere, according to all their courage and defiance, steal, defraud, rob, and steal with impunity from the other right poor their sweat and blood.
(16) This I say, that we may see how Christ will come up at the judgment of such false liars and hypocrites among the Christians, and condemn them before all creatures, because they have done none of the works which the Gentiles do against their own; who, in their false and erroneous worship, have done much more, and would have done much more willingly, if they had known better.
(17) If then such terrible condemnation shall pass, as is right, upon them that have left off these works, where shall they remain that have not only left them standing, and have neither given nor served Christ in his arms, but have also robbed them of that which they had, forced them to hunger, thirst, and nakedness, and for this purpose have persecuted, driven them out, imprisoned, and murdered them? They are so irrefutably wicked and so deeply condemned to the bottom of hell with the devil and his angels that he will not even remember them nor speak of them; but surely he will not let such robbers, tyrannies, and evil-doers go to hell.
He will not forget those who have suffered hunger, thirst, nakedness, persecution, etc., especially for the sake of Christ and his word. Although he does not forget them, although he speaks to those who have had mercy on them and helped them, but praises them highly and gloriously when he says: "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me" etc.
18. Here our great ecclesiastical prelates, as they call themselves, pabst, cardinals, bishops, canons, priests and all the devilish shit of the endchristian heap in Rome and everywhere on their founders and whorehouses (if they are not so obdurate and deliberately devoted to the devil with body and soul) may tremble before this terrible judgment, , and mock God and the people for it, as St. Peter 2 Ep. 2, 13 says of them, even publicly murdering innocent pious people for it.
(19) Yea, woe unto them, and woe unto them again, and woe unto them for ever, and to all that associate with them: for it were better for them, as Christ saith of Judah, that they were never born, and that they should wish and desire that their mother had drowned them in the first bath, or that they had remained in their mother's womb, neither that any of them should have been pope, cardinal, or papal priest. For they are nothing else, neither vain desperate, select, not street or alley robbers, but public land robbers, not of the great and mighty, who are well off, but of the poor and miserable, parish churches, schools, hospitals, whom they snatch their morsel from their teeth and their drink from their mouths, so that they cannot save themselves alive.
20 Therefore, everyone should beware of
The pope, the bishop and the clergy, as before those who are already condemned alive in the abyss of hells. It is not in vain that St. Paul prophesied in 2 Timothy 3:1 that there would be terrible and horrible times in the end. For all the world goes along so safely and does not pay attention to such a terrible judgment, if it already hears it decided about such merciless robbers, thieves and murderers of poor Christians; and mostly about those who are supposed to be Christians, but after the received grace soon fall back again, and like a dog eat again what they threw out before, and like a sow roll in her dung again, 2 Petr. 2, 20. 21. 22. and thus the first ones become the last ones before you look around.
21. The other reason why he especially includes these works of mercy and transgression of the fifth commandment is that he wants to remind us, as Christians are called and have received mercy through our Lord, redeemed from God's wrath and the guilt of the right fifth commandment and eternal death, and in return have a gracious God who does us all good, temporally and eternally: that we not only consider this done for our salvation, but also for an example, and that we are to be reminded that because he has shown us such mercy that we are not lost in body and soul, we should also do the same towards our neighbor, so that we do not act contrary to the fifth commandment, which actually demands love and mercy. And we should do this not only for the sake of the commandment and the threat of judgment, but also for the sake of the example of the great goodness he has shown us. For this example must not be without fruit, just as his work of redemption is not without power and fruit. Though most of the multitude are made worse according to the gospel, yet there must be some that have a right understanding of both, and abide in them: for he saith that he will make two multitudes, and separate them: therefore there must be also pious men that have kept this commandment.
22 Therefore see that you are with those who are kind and merciful here for Christ's sake, or suffer yourself, so that you can look forward with joy to the last day.
and do not be afraid of the judgment, for he has drawn you out ready and placed you among those who will stand at his right hand.
23 For we who are Christians should hope and desire with all our hearts that this judgment will come, just as we pray for it: Thy kingdom come, and: Thy will be done; Deliver us from evil etc., that we may hear the glad and dear saying: Come hither, ye that give, into my Father's kingdom. We wait for this judgment, for we are Christians for this very reason, and for the sake of this hope we are so well oppressed, first of all by the devil and our own flesh, who do not let us believe and rejoice in this, and then also by the tyranny and enmity of the world. And we must see and hear everywhere the will of the devil and the world against the gospel, and so much misery on earth, that we should grow weary of this life, and cry, "Come, dear Lord, come and deliver us! .
(24) Such hearts are sure to wait for the judgment seat of Christ cheerfully and with a good conscience, for they are in the state and fellowship of those who believe in Christ, and show the fruits of faith by love and kindness to the poor, or patience when they suffer with them. For as I have said, he who does not have faith will not do the works of mercy to Christians; but he who does them does them because he believes that he has a faithful Savior and Redeemer in Christ, who reconciles him to God; therefore he must also have a kind, friendly heart toward his neighbor, even his enemies, and serve them where he sees them in need. Yes, he also suffers himself (as now sawn) what is contrary to his faith from the devil and the world. Whoever then is of this mind, I say, let him be of good cheer and good courage; for he has already received the blessed, joyful sentence, Come hither, thou that givest, etc.; for thou also hast been one of the least of these my brethren, who themselves have suffered hunger and thirst, or have ever served the other hungry and thirsty, etc. and have shown mercy, as I have done unto thee.
(25) Behold, even in this life the distinction is made between the sheep and the goats, so that each one may know it for himself, and must also feel and remember it by heart. For those who do not have faith certainly do none of these things, neither comforting themselves with the grace of Christ nor thinking to show mercy; so they both go before God's word and their neighbor as if they see and hear nothing, not wanting to know that it is the Lord whom they should serve with this and that he will demand this of them. For if they thought that they would die and have to stand before this judgment seat, they would certainly not do anyone wrong at that time for a single penny; but it is good that they put death out of their sight and never let their hearts think of it.
(26) The world is so blind and obstinate: when it sees before its eyes what a great multitude of all men have died before it, and are daily dying beside it, it will not see nor regard it with seeing eyes, but confidently and freshly continues in its wickedness. Item, when she hears how terrible judgment and condemnation will pass over her, nor will she heed either the consolation or the example of Christ, and instead practices all unmercifulness; and thus strives badly for it and wants nothing else than that she may hear the horrible and irrevocable judgment pass over her before the judgment seat of Christ, and as soon as this happens she will be thrown from his presence into the eternal hellish fire.
(27) Now, whoever is to be converted and wants to be told, he has here enough to frighten and warn him, to provoke and entice him, so that he, because the time is there, will send himself into it according to Christ's word and example, so that he will not have to hear the terrible judgment with the world, but may also rejoice and be comforted in mercy with the pious Christians. For even Christ himself did not spare his apostles this serious admonition, when he says Luc. 21:34, 36: "Beware lest your hearts be troubled with eating and drinking, and cares of food" (which he shows will have the upper hand at the end of the world) "and that day come upon you quickly" etc.; "but always be courageous, and pray that
You may become worthy to escape from all these things that are about to happen and to stand before the Son of Man" etc.
28 Note, however, as I have begun to say, that he nevertheless also wants to distinguish the good works of his Christians from the Turkish and heathen works, because he speaks of such works that are done to him, of which they do not want to know anything in either part, and the ungodly also excuse themselves that they have not seen him etc. But here he has interpreted the fifth commandment very well, that it says whoever does it, it will be no one but a believing Christian, who has done it to Christ; just as he also praised the woman who anointed his head and feet, Matth. 26, 10, 11, 13, that she had fulfilled it, and says: "She has done a good work for me; for you always have other poor people with you, and if you want you can do good to them, but you do not always have me. Verily I say unto you, That wheresoever the gospel shall be preached in the whole world, there shall it be spoken of in remembrance of her, what she hath done." Item Matth. 10, 42: "Whoever gives a drink of cold water to one of the least of these who believe in me, it shall not go unrewarded."
(29) This we should write in our hearts, and consider what a great and excellent work it is to do good to a Christian, and again, what it is to do harm to a Christian; as I have said of the pope, bishops, tyrants, and junk lords, who take from Christ's feet what they have not given him, the food, drink, lodging, and nourishment of the poor, who must be poor for Christ's sake, because they are (as, preachers, ecclesiastics, schoolmasters etc.) are not in such a state as the world has to govern, nor can they deal with other trades, so that they might also acquire their food; otherwise they would also be taken into the regiment and given enough. But because they have nothing to do with it, the world gives them nothing for their service; and if they are not given for the sake of God and Christ, they must have nothing and leave poor miserable widows and orphans after them.
30 For they that are in other estates and offices, and so otherwise have plenty,
do not want to and cannot take care of church offices and service, nor have they learned to do so; again, if pastors and preachers were to take on worldly affairs and regiments, they would resign from their appointed office. Therefore they must be fed (they should also have food) from the begging staff, of which Christ says here, but makes it so delicious that whoever feeds or waters one of them, as his feet and the least, most despised limbs on earth, he will not recognize it as having been done and given to him. Now if we want to be Christians and wait for the high honor of Christ, that we may be praised and rewarded before all creatures, then we must truly also be undaunted to give freely to those who otherwise, because they have no right to the world, must also do their work in vain; Lest a curse and wrath come upon us, because we have not had pity on our poor brethren, who are too good for us in the world, and have to suffer hunger, thirst, misery, imprisonment, that they might bring us to Christ.
031 But how is it that the righteous know not these things, and that they have done them unto Christ? As they say, "Lord, when did we see thee hungry or thirsty?" etc. Of course, this is because it is too small a thing to be so precious in the sight of God as what is given to a poor priest, chaplain, schoolmaster or sexton. Yes, the world considers it vainly lost money; and yet everyone must say: If there were no preaching chair, schools, hospitals, what would the world be richer or what is it now the poorer for? without being pure heathens, or having to give enough in the devil's name, as before, to those who cheated them out of body and soul, and to let them toil to the bone. Summa, it is the very least and least that churches and schools get from the world; nor does it make their eyes so pale and weigh them down so much that they alone cry out about what they have, when they themselves give nothing everywhere, that they consider it much better invested, where they otherwise give a hundred times as much to impudent, loose lottery boys, jugglers; yes, they can rather forget what they have to rob brother Veiten by force, and what they have to give to the poor.
and let the skin be covered with it. It does not even occur to the world that it should believe or think that it is given to Christ himself; indeed, we ourselves cannot consider it so.
But he can speak and judge of this rightly, and knows what is in it; for one cannot raise up the youth in particular to God's kingdom, except through the schools, nor receive God's word, except through the preaching booths. Wherever they are allowed to perish, Sodom and Gomorrah will be like them, and they will also suffer as they did when they threw away the Word of God and could no longer hear or tolerate the pious Lot. As also the prophet Ezekiel Cap. 16, 48. 49. 50. prophesies about Jerusalem: "As I live, says the Lord God, Sodom, your sister, together with her daughters, has not done as you and your daughters have done. Behold, this was thy sister Sodom's iniquity: They were proud, and did abominable things in my sight; therefore I also put them away, when I began to see them" etc.
33. It is the same everywhere now, when everyone, peasants, burghers, nobles, collects only a lot of thalers, scrounges and is stingy, eats and drinks, drives all defiance and will to courage, just as if God were nothing at all; and no one takes care of the poor Christ with his begging staff, but tramples under his feet until all obedience, discipline and honor perish with us, just as in Sodom and Gomorrah; because no exhortation and preaching will help, and so even superiority that it cannot stand thus.
I hate to prophesy from the bottom of my heart, for I have often experienced that it has become all too true: but unfortunately, it is true everywhere that I have to worry, and now almost have to surrender to it, and to be sorry that Germany will also go as Sodom and Jerusalem went, and Germany has been, it will happen through the Turks, or if the last day does not strike soon, it will fall into each other through itself; for it is so overpowering and over evil that it cannot get any worse;
and if there is still a God, he cannot let him go unpunished.
35 Whether the world therefore will not heed these things, nor know that they must die and stand in judgment, but rage against the truth that is known, let us nevertheless take these things to our ears and to our hearts, lest God's wrath carry us away with it. For what else should God do, he must leave room for both the Turk and the devil over us. For what the Turk has done and is still doing, he would have to leave alone, if we were not so hardened in impenitence and hardening and so overripe for punishment; but that is what it does, that we rage so blasphemously against God's word and offered help, and in addition defy the Turk.
36 And I think that if we Lutherans, as they call us, were only dead, then all the world would already cry out as if they had eaten up all the Turks except one; but it should also happen to them that a hundred of them are beaten by one Turk; and when the clamor begins, how miserably the Turk chops up the people, child, woman and man, then we also want to cry out and lament. But it must be that we do as the Jews did and only judge this Christ away; when he is crucified, then we will well advise the Turk, just as Caiaphas and his Jews advised the Romans; and the nobles of Jerusalem thought that if they only had the prophet Jeremiah dead, they would be safe from the king of Babylon. So it happened that when they threw Jeremiah into the dungeon, the king came and led them all away captive. So I also see that God has spun a yarn about Germany, which now also wants to go the same way with its deliberate obduracy, defiance, malice, contempt and ingratitude against the dear Gospel, and wants to be indebted to God for a foolishness, which it will also have to pay for honestly. God grant and keep us and our poor little group, so that we may escape the cruel wrath and be found among those who honor and serve the poor Christ and joyfully and blessedly await judgment at His right hand, amen.
To the reader.
If it should happen that over these twenty-six Sundays there is still one more (which is quite rare), then one may save the next preceding Gospel for the last, twenty-seventh Sunday, and in between take the following text for the Gospel of the next Sunday before:
Matth. 24, 37-61.
But as it was in the days of Noah, so shall also the future of the Son of Man be. For as they were in the days before the flood; they did eat, and they drank, and they went in liberty, and were given liberty, until the day that Noah entered into the ark; and they regarded it not, until the flood came, and took them all away: so shall also the future of the Son of man be. Then there will be two in the field; one will be accepted and the other will be abandoned. Two shall grind at the mill; one shall be accepted, and the other forsaken. Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord shall come. But this ye shall know: If a householder knew what hour the thief would come, he would watch, and not suffer his house to be broken into. Therefore be ye also ready: for the Son of man shall come at an hour when ye think not. Who then is a faithful and prudent servant, whom his lord hath set over his servants, to give them meat in due season? Blessed is the servant when his lord comes and finds him doing this. Verily I say unto you, He shall set him over all his goods. But if that wicked servant shall say in his heart, My lord cometh not yet, and begin to smite his fellowservants, and eat and drink with the drunken: then shall the lord of that servant come in the day that he shall not rejoice, and in the hour that he shall not rejoice, and shall destroy him, and shall give him his reward with the hypocrites. There will be his weeping and gnashing of teeth.