John 11:1-46.
Now there lay sick one named Lazarus, of Bethany, in the town of Mary and her sister Martha. (Now Mary was the one who had anointed the Lord with ointments and dried his feet with her hair; the same brother Lazarus was sick). Then his sisters sent unto him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick. When Jesus heard this, he said, "The sickness is not for death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be honored thereby. And Jesus loved Martham, and her sister, and Lazarum. When he heard that he was sick, he stayed two days in the place where he was. Afterward he saith unto his disciples, Let us return into Judea. And his disciples said unto him, Master, that time the Jews wished to stone thee, and thou wilt go thither again? Jesus answered, "Are there not twelve hours in the day? He that walketh by day stumbleth not: for he seeth the light of this world. But he that walketh by night stumbleth: for there is no light in him. These things said he, and after that he saith unto them: Lazarus our friend sleepeth: but I go to awake him. Then said his disciples, Lord, if he sleep, it shall be better with him. But Jesus said of his death; but they thought that he spake of bodily sleep. Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead; and I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, that ye might believe: but let us go unto him. Then said Thomas, which is called a twin, unto the disciples, Let us go with him, that we may die with him. Then came Jesus, and found him that he had been four days in the grave. (Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, by fifteen highways.) And many Jews were come to Martha and Mary, to comfort them concerning their brother. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home. Then said Martha unto JEsu, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died: but I also know that whatsoever thou askest of God, God will give thee. Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again. Martha saith unto him, I know well that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day. Jesus saith unto her: I am the resurrection and the life. He that believeth on me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Do you believe this? She said to him, "Lord, yes, I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who has come into the world. And when she had said this, she went and called unto her sister Mary secretly, saying, The Master is here, and calleth unto thee. When she heard this, she arose in haste and came to him. For Jesus had not yet come into the village, but was still in the place where Martha had met him. The Jews that were with her in the house comforted her, and when they saw Mary arise in haste, and go out, they followed her, saying, She goeth unto the sepulchre, that she may weep there. And when Mary was come where Jesus was, and saw him, she fell at his feet, and said unto him, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died. And when Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews weeping also which came with her, he was moved in spirit, and grieved himself, saying, Where have ye laid him? And they said unto him, Lord, come and see. And JEsu's eyes went out. Then said the Jews, Behold, how he loved him! But some of them said: Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man provide that he also should not die? And Jesus again was moved within himself, and came to the sepulchre. And there was a cleft, and a stone laid thereon. And Jesus said, Take away the stone. Martha, the sister of the deceased, said to him: Lord, he stinketh already: for he hath lain four days. Jesus saith unto her, Did I not tell thee, if thou shouldest believe, that thou shouldest behold the glory of God? Then they took down the stone where the dead man lay. And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me: but I know that thou hearest me always: but for the people which stand round about, I thank thee that thou hearest me.
*Held on the Friday after Lätare 1518.
I will tell them so that they will believe that you sent me. When he had said this, he cried with a loud voice, "Lazare, come out! And he that was dead came forth bound with graveclothes, both hand and foot, and his face covered with a facecloth. Jesus said to them: Unbind him, and let him go. Many of the Jews who came to Mary, seeing what Jesus had done, believed in him. And some of them went unto the Pharisees, and told them what Jesus had done.
Dear friends of Christ! I have told you the history of this Gospel, that you may form and well keep in your hearts how Christ our God, in all the Gospels through and through, even in all the Scriptures of the apostles and prophets, desires nothing else of us, but that we may have a sure and defiant heart and confidence in Him.
2 Augustine writes: One finds in Scripture three deaths that Christ restored to life: First, a virgin of twelve years, alone in the house, locked gate, and alone in the presence of the parents of the same virgins deceased and his secret disciples; secondly, the only son of the widow, who was carried out to the gate, in the presence of all the people; thirdly, Lazarus, of whom this Gospel tells us, was not raised by Christ in the house secretly or in the gate, but who had lain four days in the tomb, and in assembly of many Jews and near Jerusalem etc.
By these three deaths are understood, according to the teaching of St. Augustine, three kinds of sinners. The first are those who have died of the soul. When the temptation comes, the heart overcomes and takes over, and the consent to sin is closed in it. If a good will follows, the evil poison takes hold and kills the soul, submitting it to the devil. This is the maiden of twelve years, and they rise little from the trap. God also deals with them quite sweetly, calls them secretly, sends them an inward instruction of their heart, which they alone know and cannot get rid of, ties a broom and a rod for them to be punished, and they have to bear it with great sorrow.
4 The other dead means those who have fallen in works, that they must be carried, cannot walk by themselves. And these must have attention, otherwise they will be by heaviness of sins (for one draws to himself
the other, as St. Gregory says) completely pressed under. This is the coffin in which the dead man is carried.
5 Lazarus means those who are thus imprisoned in sin, and go freely over the entrenchment, get into a habit, which is changed into a nature, know no other way but to sin, stink and are buried in sin. This requires a lot of work. This is shown by the maiden that Christ took by the hand and immediately came to life, Matth. 9, 25. The young man also sat, but not as easily as the maiden. For Lucas writes Cap. 7, 14, that Christ first touched the coffin, and after that: "I say or command you, O young man, stand up"; this had to be done with a command. But in this story Christ looked up to heaven, and said John 11:41: "Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me," and cried with a loud voice, v. 43: "Lazare, Lazare, come forth"; and he came forth, bound hands and feet, and also his face, and the apostles had to dissolve him. This is the grave and dungeon, the hardening of sin.
(6) One question: Since sin is understood through Lazarum and the other dead, how will the gospel stand, since the evangelist says from the speech of Martha, v. 3: "Lord, whom you love, is sick"? and v. 36.He loved him very much"; because Christ does not love the sinner, but the truth, as the Scripture says Ps. 45, 8: "You loved righteousness, and hated wickedness"; item Ps. 5, 5: "In my sight the sinner is disdained" etc.
7. answer, dear man, to the saying Matth. 9, 13: I did not come for the sake of the righteous, but to make righteous what is unrighteous and sinful, and to lead the wicked to repentance. All human race was worthy of hatred. Nor has Chri-
stus loved. For if he had not loved us, he would not have come down from heaven. For the prophet says in the 14th Psalm, v. 3: "There is none found that hath done good, but one; they are all become useless and sinners," without Christ alone. So Christ loves sinners out of the commandment of the Father, whom he sent to comfort them. So the Father wants us to look at Christ's humanity and love him again; but so that we remember that he has done all this by command, according to the most noble good pleasure. Otherwise it is terrible to think of Christ. For power is given to the Father, wisdom to the Son, and goodness to the Holy Spirit, which we can never attain, but must despair of.
If we know that Christ came down from heaven and loved sinners out of obedience to the Father, then we will have a sincere approach to Christ and a firm hope in him; we will know that Christ is the true letter, the golden book in which we read; we will learn to see the will of the Father before our eyes. So Christ is the process to the Father, as St. Paul says Eph. 2, 14. John also testifies that Christ says Joh. 14, 6: "I am the way and the truth and the life." I am also the gate etc. Item: "No one comes to the Father except through me." Now we see that there is no nearer way to the Father than to love Christ, to hope and trust in Him, to do all good to Him, to know Him and praise Him. For so it is impossible that we should have a miserable, stupid, despondent conscience; in Christ it is refreshed and restored. So the Scripture says of sinners, "Sinners shall perish, and be destroyed as the dust." Thus sinners flee and know nowhere to stay; where the conscience does not hope and trust in God, it is terrified and trembles at the purity and righteousness of God, can have no confidence, flees, and yet can get nowhere until it catches Christ, the right gate and anchor. Yes, all wise men should learn Christ: but we go on and on in our name, with our understanding and reason, and do not see, nor do we ever take to heart how kind,
Sweetly and sweetly Christ dealt with the people; for the Father commended him thus. This is heartily pleasing to the devout soul, and gives the Father through the Son, Christ Jesus, all glory, praise and adulation. So God has nothing but the best, and this he shares with us, feeds us, carries us, waits for us etc. through his Son. So our heart is turned to follow Christ.
9 Peter and Paul, the two heads of the church, taught this way with great diligence, as did all the other apostles. First of all, the Father pleases them when they speak at many ends, Eph. 1:3: "Praise be to the Father, who has given us all heavenly gifts through Jesus Christ. Therefore, let no one dare to come to God, for through this bridge is the footpath that does not lead you astray. Christ says Jn 14:31: "All things whatsoever My Father commandeth Me, that do I"; item Jn 11:41, 42: "I thank Thee, O Father, that Thou hearest Me always; not for My sake, but for the sake of them which are here, that they may believe that Thou hast sent Me" when He speaks. When they see my works and love, and that you work them and command me to do them, they are one with you and recognize you through me and my works, from which your love, O Father, grows.
(10) This is the reason why Christ loves sinners, for his Father has so commended him. For the Father pours himself out with Christ in his grace. And all this serves that we may freely hope in Christ, fearlessly trusting in him.
(11) Forsake works as great as they are, prayers, songs, clamors, clamors. For surely no one will come to God through all these. It is also impossible. The heart must be well pleased in Christ and through Christ to the Father. It is completely lost if the heart is not purified. Everything must be serene, and freely leap boldly with sure confidence in God; that is what He wants from us.
But if we bring forth our work, let the devil wipe his ass on it, as he does. Let us learn from the gospel how to know Christ, how he deals so kindly with us.
we will love him without a doubt and avoid sin. This is how we turn it around. Behold how kindly he draws our heart to himself, the pious God. He loves Lazarum, who was a sinner. Item, he bears the despondent faith of his disciples, when they said Joh. 11, 8: "O Lord, do not go to Jerusalem, they will kill you. He would have rejected all this if he had wanted to act with severity. Item: "His disciples said, v. 12, if Lazarus sleeps when you say, there is no need for you to go. Item: How were Mary Magdalene and Martha? Lord," they said in v. 21, "if you had been here, our brother would not have died. Item, they were all carnal, that they could not abstain from weeping, that the people went to them, consoling them because of the death of their brother; as the evangelist artificially describes it. From this we learn that they were all in unbelief and sin. Still we see how kindly the Lord deals with them, prays and weeps with them; and all this by the Father's command. This is the true book of art, from which we learn the will of the eternal Father.
013 Take heed therefore unto all them that have an evil conscience, that ye be not redeemed by these or those works. For you will be like one who works in the sand; the more he casts out, the more falls on him. Therefore also many have become nonsensical, as Johann Gerson says, that they have let themselves think that one is a worm, the other a mouse etc. Only command God and say: Oh my dear God, I have sinned; but I confess it to you, I lament it to you, ask you for help, help me out. This is what God wants from us.
(14) Therefore I would that the sermons of the saints should be tempered; but even so, that it should be said how they fell, out of the gospel, not out of the rhetoric. For it will not have been lacking, they will have smoked and scraped large tubers. They are of one flesh with us. Of one faith
bens. One baptism, one blood. Thus we have set them apart from us so highly that we must also despair of following them. So the gospel says of Peter, after Peter's confession of Christ, when he says to Christ Matth. 16, 16: "You are Christ, a son of the living God"; soon after he had to hear, v. 23: "Get behind me, Satan", you devil; but before v. 17: "Blessed are you, Simon Barjona" etc. Behold now, before he is blessed and holy; afterward he falls down into hell and is called a devil. So it is etc.
(15) Every man of himself is a devil, but of Christ he is holy. So when the saints are joined to Christ, they are Christ's true saints, lest we despair, we must follow Him behind.
16 This gospel expresses nothing but the sweetness of Christ, out of the obedience of the Father, and that he gives nothing out of merit. Therefore, if the devil deliver us up with temptation, say, Though I have done no good, yet will I not despair; for he hath always dealt in sweetness; and this is true. But the damned must remain until they pay the least quadrant; the Scriptures show this manifoldly. Sir. 2, 11. it is written: "Who has ever been forsaken by God?" Jerome: Forsaken is he who thinks that Christ's power is flesh; item: Forsaken is he who hopes in God. And to Anania God says: Listen, because you have hoped in me, I will deliver you by force, and even if the city perishes, I will keep you. From this we are to learn how Christ loves us, so that he may be angry with us from right to love our brothers in the same way. Behold, thy God doth so unto thee: what wilt thou do? Thou wilt also have a sweet heart toward him, and that follows immediately. This is what I say etc. Moleste tulit, quod positiones Tetzelianas in foro publico combusserunt Studentes, etc. (It was annoying to him that the students burned Tetzel's sentences in public etc.).