Held 1516.
Matth. 11, 2-10.
And when John heard the works of Christ in prison, he sent two of his disciples, saying unto him, Art thou he that should come, or shall we wait for another? Jesus answered and said unto them: Go and tell John again what you see and hear: the blind see, and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them. And blessed is he who does not take offense at me. As they went, Jesus began to speak to the people of John, "What did you go out into the wilderness to see? Did you want to see a reed that the wind weaves to and fro? Or what went ye out to see? would ye see a man clothed in soft raiment? Behold, they that wear soft garments are in the houses of kings. Or what went ye out to see? would ye see a prophet? Yea, I say unto you, he also is more than a prophet. For this is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my angel before thee, which shall prepare thy way before thee.
From the Gospel.
1 This Greek expression should have been translated into Latin. For the Lord here passively expresses what Isaiah Cap. 61, 1. activ says: "He sent me to preach to the poor." So here it says: The poor are preached, that is, the gospel is preached to the poor, that is, it is preached to them.
proclaims good, peace, grace, mercy. But the wrong or at least the dark mind and sense of this saying has arisen on this occasion, because one does not pay attention to what the gospel is. For many call the gospel the commandments to live in the new law. It is impossible for them to understand the apostle Paul, who, like Christ, takes the gospel in its true sense.
2. therefore, the Gospel has a
Double office: the first is to interpret the old law, as the Lord interprets the commandments in Matt. 5:21 ff: Thou shalt not swear falsely; thou shalt not kill; thou shalt not commit adultery; thus pointing from the literal sense to the spiritual. For this is the letter, Thou shalt not kill, namely, that it is to be understood only from the outward work. But the spiritual understanding is: Thou shalt not kill with the heart or spirit, that is, thou shalt not be angry, thou shalt not hate, because he who hates his brother is a murderer. (1 John 3:15.) And the Lord says (Matt. 5:22.), "He that is angry with his brother is guilty of judgment." But this spiritual mind of the law rather kills; for it makes it impossible to fulfill the law: and by this very fact it causes man to despair of his strength and to be cast down, because no man is without wrath, none is without lust. And such we are from our birth. But what shall man do? Where shall he go when he is burdened with such an impossible law?
Here comes the other, own and true ministry of the gospel, which proclaims help and salvation to the desperate conscience. The words of this ministry are Matth. 11, 28: "Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest"; and again Matth. 9, 2: "Be of good cheer, my son, thy sins be forgiven thee. Therefore this is a gospel, that is, a pleasant and sweet message to the soul, which has already perished and been struck down by the declared law, namely, when it hears that the law has been fulfilled, that is, by Christ, and that it is not necessary to fulfill it, but only to adhere to that which has already been fulfilled, and to be formed like it, because Christ is our righteousness, sanctification and redemption. Therefore, as much as the gospel grieves by interpreting the law, so much, nay, even more, does it delight by proclaiming grace. So it humbles and humiliates by expounding, that it may exalt by preaching grace: it smites, that it may heal; it kills, that it may quicken; it leads into hell, that it may lead out again. Thus it is said
Isa. 52, 7.: "How lovely on the mountains are the feet of the messengers" etc.
(4) If we were not careful here, they would make the gospel a greater burden than the law was, for it is greater and more difficult not to be angry than not to kill; it is more difficult not to covet than not to commit adultery; indeed, it is impossible. Thus man is humbled by the law, that he may be exalted by grace. This is what he says in John 1:7, that he was sent by God to testify of Christ, the light. Thus the gospel is a proclamation of peace, forgiveness of sins, grace and salvation in Christ.
(5) But no one resists this grace more vehemently than those who are righteous according to the letter of the law. For they do not accept the interpretation of the law, and are far from recognizing themselves as sinners, because they think they are fulfilling the law, which is impossible to fulfill because of the flesh. Rom 8:3 Therefore Christ says, among other miracles, that grace and peace are preached to the poor, because these things cannot be preached to the rich, to the proud, and to those who are already righteous, because they do not accept the interpretation of the law, that is, the preaching of the repentance and baptism of John. And therefore wrath rather than peace is preached to them. They do not want to be called fools, sinners, weak, because they do not understand the law according to its spiritual meaning.
6 It is also to be noted that the spiritual mind is taken by many, I know not how, namely, for the allegorical, tropological, and anagogical. This is true, but notice better: the spiritual law, or the spiritual mind, is that which signifies the Spirit or grace, namely, that he who has the Spirit and grace has what the law commands. For example: Not to be angry is the spiritual law, whose letter is: You shall not kill. But thou canst not be without wrath, unless thou be also meek in adversity; of this meekness, however, no letter hath anything, but grace alone.
gives such. Therefore it is called a spiritual law, because it gives the spirit, but the letter demands it. And this is also a tropology, if you do not look at the external works, which always belong to the letter, but if you look at the heart and the spirit. It is also an allegory when you look at the church as it is in the spirit, that is, in the voluntary law of God.
7 After this John sends his disciples to Christ; that is, the gospel, when it interprets the law, compels them to go on to grace. But Christ answers Jo
hanni not by words, but by works, because when the spirit and grace have come, then the knowledge of the law has already been put into practice. For then the anointing teaches that man learns more from his life what he should do, because the law has already come to the thing indicated and signified, and because what the law commands is already done. Therefore the words cease when the works have come, that is, now there is no more law where the fulfillment of the law is. Therefore John must decrease, but Christ must increase, because the law always binds the hands through its fulfillment.