(1) Because it is God's good pleasure that our dear sovereign and head has died and now lies there (over which death all who are his members and subjects should bear grief and be sad), I have taken it upon myself, because the abuse with the burial of the dead has been abolished, to interpret the beautiful comforting text of St. Paul, which is written in 1 Thessalonians 4:13 ff. Pauli, which is written in 1 Thess. 4, 13. ff., in which he teaches the Thessalonians and all Christians what thoughts they should have and what words they should use to comfort one another.
*) We follow with Walch here the Jena edition; the Erlangen edition follows the Wittenberg. D. Red.
about the death of their dear friends, about it they feel great sorrow and become sad etc.
(2) Those who do not recognize themselves as members of this headship from the heart will not lament and mourn much over his death; therefore they do not need any consolation. But for us, who see and understand what we have had in him, namely, not only a kind and peaceful sovereign, but also a father, it is good and useful to hear such consolation from St. Paul, so that we may mourn as Christians, not as pagans who have no hope, and also strengthen our faith. Now, let us listen to St. Paul himself, who writes 1 Thess. 4, 13-18. thus:
1 Thess. 4, 13-18.
But we do not want to keep you, brethren, from those who are asleep, so that you will not be sad like the others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, God will also bring with Him those who have fallen asleep through Jesus. For this we say unto you, as the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the future of the Lord shall not appear unto them which sleep. For the Lord Himself will come down from heaven with a shout and the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so shall always be with the Lord. So comfort yourselves with these words among yourselves.
The holy scripture does not leave it alone to be good, but also admonishes to mourn the dead and to bear sorrow over them. For Jesus Sirach speaks Cap. 38, 16. 18. thus: "My child, if one dies, weep for him and mourn for him, as if great sorrow had happened to you etc.; but console yourself again" etc. Therefore we read of your holy arch-father Abraham Gen. 23, 1. 2. 3. that he mourned and wept for Saram, his wife, when she died. So also when Jacob the holy archfather died in Egypt, his son Joseph mourned greatly over him, and endured the days of sorrow; and afterward, when he buried him in the land of Canaan, he and those that went up with him out of Egypt mourned a very great and bitter lamentation, and mourned over his father seven days, Gen. 50:1 ff. Now Abraham and Joseph were holy men, full of the Holy Spirit, and yet they grieved greatly over their dead. Also the whole community of Israel mourned over Aaron when they heard that he was dead, and they mourned over him for thirty days, Deut. 20:29. Afterwards also Moses, Deut. 34:8. Likewise we read much in the Scriptures about the dear arch-fathers, prophets and kings, that they mourned and bitterly wept over their dead, and honestly confirmed (buried) them to the earth. For it was a special praise among this people when the dead were buried honestly, and a great shame and dishonor when the antitype happened; therefore both are often referred to in the Scriptures.
4. is it worthy of praise when one grieves and mourns over deceased persons of low rank, as when a neighbor, friend etc. mourns for another: it is much more praiseworthy that one does so when great lords or princes pass away with death.
By which God gives and keeps peace, and shows all kinds of good to the subjects.
5. Because our head and dear sovereign in God now lies deceased here, we shall rightly grieve and bear sorrow from the bottom of our hearts: not only because of his departure from this pitiful valley, but rather that God should take him away so suddenly at this dangerous and terrible time, when almost all of Germany is agitated by the peasants' revolt, since it is to be feared that God would also take away from us, together with him, the beautiful peace that he graciously gave to the entire country through him, as long as he was in the regiment; of this we have to complain the most. For as far as his person is concerned, the pious gentleman let himself be heard before his last end in such a way that one could certainly notice from his words that he had a fine firm faith in Jesus Christ, our Lord, and in a right knowledge of the Gospel, for the sake of which he had suffered much during his life some years ago, he had departed; so that we have no doubt at all that he is certainly with Christ.
(6) We, however, who are members of this main body that has now been cut off from the body, suffer greatly in that God takes him away at this very evil time, when he should best preside over us and when we would have needed him most in such a terrible uprising. For it is to be feared that, since his death and the terrible upheaval are coming so soon together, a great misery and calamity will befall Germany if God does not graciously prevent and avert it; for this we must earnestly pray.
7 And indeed we would have well deserved a good sharp distemper. For Germany has the light of truth or the teaching of the
The Holy Gospel has never been so bright and pure from the time of the apostles as it is now. But how do we relate to it? Certainly ungrateful; most of them, even among those who have it, will soon tire of it and despise the noble pearl. I will not say of the adversaries, who cannot blaspheme and condemn it enough, and shed much innocent blood over it; and still glory in it, as if they were doing well in that they persecute God's dear Christians so horribly and execute them so miserably. Because we oppose them so shamefully, God, in order to punish our great ingratitude, decrees that the fanatics and the red spirits rise up and cause such terrible noise and misery in Germany, and at the same time takes away (which looks terrible to me) our dear Elector. Therefore, I am concerned that God will give room to and let go of His wrath, which we on our part have earned with our ingratitude and contempt for the dear Word, but which they on the other part have earned with blasphemy and persecution, and which He has so far stopped through our sovereign, of which I have no doubt. For God often gives peace and salvation to a whole country for the sake of a few pious people; as He did to Syria for Naaman's sake, 2 Kings 5:1. We also read in 2 Chron. 24, 2, that as long as the high priest Jehoiada lived, things were right and prosperous in the kingdom of Judah; soon after his death the game turned. So it is also plausible that God has given peace and all good things to this land through the pious Lord; and now, because this fall is happening, to fear that he will take away such welfare at the same time as him and let a strong sharp rod pass over us.
8 But we earnestly pray that God will graciously avert His wrath and punishment, which we well deserve, and for the sake of His holy name, which is otherwise blasphemed more than too much, spare us, or even delay the punishment for a time; also grant us grace to humble ourselves and amend our hearts, and to share the dear gospel with greater joy.
Accept it seriously, lovingly and gratefully. Do not doubt that God will graciously hear us through Christ, and will protect and preserve the authority that He has ordained and established against the abominable raging and blustering of the blasphemous rebels who, against God and justice, take the sword, which they are not commanded to do; therefore God will certainly punish them. "For he that taketh the sword," says Christ Matt. 26:52, "shall perish by the sword"; and St. Paul Rom. 13:2: "They that resist the authorities shall receive judgment upon themselves." Hope also that God will henceforth grace this land with Christian and peaceful princes. For God's promise is certain: "Pray, and you will receive" etc. That is enough for the entrance; now let us run over the text recently.
But we do not want you to be restrained, brethren, from those who are asleep, so that you may not be sad like the others who have no hope.
(9) Here we see that St. Paul does not forbid mourning and sorrow over the dead. For he exhorts the Thessalonians that in such a case they should comfort one another with these words, which he prescribes for them here. Because he does this, it is a sure sign that they have been grieving and mourning their deceased friends; which he does not punish as wrong, but lets it remain good and right. But he adds that they should not be sad, like the Gentiles, who have no hope: thus he makes a distinction between the sadness of the Gentiles and of the Christians. As if to say: The Gentiles do not know God, because they do not have His word; therefore it is impossible that they should know and believe that Christ, the Son of God, the Savior of the world, died and rose again for this reason, that He would raise all who believe in Him to the resurrection of life on the last day. Therefore they cannot think otherwise, because he who died once is and remains dead forever. Therefore, when death separates a man and a woman who have loved each other well, or who are otherwise good and dear friends, it is not a matter of death.
There is no end to the mourning and lamenting among them, especially when great and pious lords and princes or otherwise excellent people, who were adorned with high gifts and beautiful virtues, die, whom everyone loved and valued, and put their trust in them because of their virtue, piety, wisdom, power etc. This means that they do not hope that a better and eternal life will follow this temporal one, which is full of misery and suffering.
(10) Therefore you, who have other thoughts, hearts and minds than the Gentiles, and expect another and eternal life in that world, should not grieve; but be sure that your departed friends (if they have believed otherwise in Christ) are not dead, but sleep in sweet and sweet rest, and will certainly rise again at the last day, and have a body that will be brighter and lighter than the sun. It is a heartfelt sorrow when our best and dearest friends, wife, child, pious, peaceful lords and princes pass away with death. For it is only then that we see and recognize what we had in them (even if they are only small people), and with what kind of virtues and gifts they were gifted: which cannot be seen in their lives, because there are always infirmities that disguise and obscure them. Nevertheless, there should be a measure of mourning and lamenting, and the comfort that St. Paul holds out to us here should have the victory, that Christian mourning and lamenting is not like the pagans use to mourn, who see no further than how their friends have died and been buried, knowing no other way, because all hope is now gone with them etc.
For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, God will also lead those who have fallen asleep with Him through Jesus.
Here the apostle mixes the death and resurrection of Christ with our death (which he calls a sleep) and resurrection, and joins them together to make one thing. So does 1 Cor. 15:13, when he says, "If the resurrection of the dead be nothing, neither is Christ risen." As if
For the Scriptures do not deceive us, for they testify that Christ our Lord, who died and rose again the third day, now sits for ever at the right hand of God the heavenly Father, not playing with the angels and being blessed for His own person alone, but dying for our sins and being raised for our righteousness, Romans 4:25. 4:25, and has sat down at the right hand of the Majesty to be our High Priest, representing us, giving us gifts, and finally raising us from the grave at the last day.
(12) Christ therefore hath obtained for us by his death and resurrection, not only that we should be free from our sins, justified, and holy, but also that we should have assurance of the resurrection unto eternal life and salvation, if we believe on him otherwise. It is true that because we live here, sins afflict us, the devil terrifies us, and death strangles us in time (as happened to all the saints, even to Christ himself). But because we believe in the blessed Seed who crushed the devil's head, Genesis 3:15, and through faith his righteousness and victory have become ours, the devil may choke us and death devour us, but they can no more hold us in their power and authority than they could hold Christ. For they have neither cause nor right to accuse us as sinners and guilty of death, much less to strangle us. For Christ, the eternal righteousness, stands for us, dies and sacrifices Himself for our sin, cleanses and sanctifies us with His precious blood, and reconciles us to God the Father, so that the devil can find no fault or sin in us. But where there is no sin, there is no punishment; "for death," says St. Paul Rom. 6:23, "is the wages of sins."
13 Therefore, though we suffer much anguish and affliction in the world, yet in Christ we have peace; and though we die, yet our life (says St. Paul Col. 3, 3. 4.) is hid with Christ in God. But if Christ, our life,
shall be revealed; then shall we also be revealed with him in glory."
(14) Therefore, since the guilt (sin) has been removed, for Christ has paid for it sufficiently, the penalty of death has also been removed. Therefore, though we perish, though we die in the flesh, thou shalt not abide in death, if thou shalt believe on the man who is called Christ, and shalt lay hold on this his word Joh. 8:51: "Verily, verily, I say unto you, if any man keep my word, he shall never see death"; and Joh. 5:24.Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation, but is passed from death unto life"; and John 11:25, 26: "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 on me shall never die." Therefore, when your hour comes to pass, always fall asleep happily to these comforting words of Christ, and commit your soul to him: he will surely not deceive you. A little while, and he shall call thee forth with his voice: then shalt thou see with thine eyes what thou now believest.
This is also what St. Paul means when he combines 1 Cor. 15:13 ff. Christ's resurrection and ours into one another, and concludes: If Christ is risen, we also will be risen. As if to say that he did not need for his own person to die and rise again on the third day; but because we were captives of sin and subject to death, and there was no help or counsel for us against it, he ministered this to us, so that through him we might be saved from the sin and death into which we fell because of the disobedience of our first father Adam, and that we might be restored to righteousness and life. Again he says v. 16, 17, 18: "But if the dead rise not, neither is Christ risen. But if Christ is not risen, our preaching is in vain; so also your faith is vain, and you are still in your sins; and they also which are asleep in Christ are lost" etc.
16 Everything must therefore be done so that
we grasp the article: I believe in the resurrection of the flesh, and practice it well: then we can not only be strong and courageous for ourselves in deathly distress; but also comfort others, and say with St. Paul that Jesus died and rose again for this reason, that such death and victory should be preached in all the world. And whoever believes that this has been done for his good, and falls asleep through Jesus in such faith, may be sure that God the Father will lead him to where Christ is, that he may be with him always.
This is a glorious comfort for the faithful, that they should not only be sure when they die, or, as St. Paul says, fall asleep, that they will rise again in Christ; but also that they will be led with Christ and be with him forever in his kingdom, sharing in all the goods he has, as his brothers and fellow heirs. It would be a great comfort and joy to us if God would raise our head again, so that we would see him alive now, and his virtue and gifts, of which we were not aware in his life, would be presented to us now that he is gone. But on that day he will do it much better and more gloriously, since we will not only see what we have now lost in him (for his fatherly care for us, shield and protection is now over), but we will also see that God will lead him with Christ: since no sin, sickness and death will be seen in him, but only righteousness, strength, life and blessedness.
18 But this requires faith, without which such glorious consolation comes to us coldly, indeed, it is of no use to us at all. For we neither see nor comprehend in any sense what St. Paul is talking about here; it is badly conceived in the Word, to which faith clings and must adhere. Therefore, whoever does not see it here by faith will not see it there in essence either.
19. "God," he says, "will bring with him those who have fallen asleep through Jesus. But those who have fallen asleep through JEsum, who have known him through his word, and have believed that he died for them for the remission of their sins, and overcame death, so that
they shall live with him forever, and shall abide in such knowledge and confession unto the end of their days, and die, and thereupon pass away. Again, those who do not have this faith, even though they live a virtuous and righteous life, suffer it, do many great and grievous deeds, do not fall asleep through Jesus, but against him, and are condemned. For he that believeth not is condemned already. So
But the saints of works, who outwardly lead an honorable life, will not sleep in Christ; much more will the wild, rough people, in whom neither honor nor discipline, but only vain will and malice reign, likewise also the tyrants and mobs, who persecute and blaspheme Christ's word, these with the sword, those with the tongue, not sleep through Jesus.