Luc. 1, 57-80.
And Elizabeth's time came for her to give birth, and she gave birth to a son. And her neighbors and friends heard that the Lord had shown her great mercy, and they rejoiced with her. And it came to pass, that on the eighth day they came to circumcise the young child, and called his name Zacharias, after his father. But his mother answered and said, Not at all; but he shall be called John. And they said unto her: Surely there is no man of thy friendship so called. And they beckoned unto his father what he would have him called. And he called for a piece of paper, and wrote, and said, His name is John. And they were all amazed. Immediately his mouth and tongue were opened, and he spoke and praised God. And fear came upon all the neighbors, and this story became known throughout all the mountains of Judah. And all who heard it took it to heart and said: What do you think will become of the child? For the hand of the Lord was
*) Held in the house, 1532.
with him. And Zacharias his father was filled with the Holy Ghost, and prophesied, saying, Blessed be the Lord God of Israel: for he hath visited and redeemed his people. And hath raised up for us a horn of salvation in the house of his servant David. When he spake in time past by the mouth of his holy prophets, that he would deliver us from our enemies, and from the hand of all them that hate us, and shew mercy to our fathers, and remember his holy covenant, and the oath which he sware unto Abraham our father to give us, that, being delivered out of the hand of our enemies, we should serve him without fear all the days of our life, in holiness and righteousness that is pleasing in his sight. And thou child shalt be called a prophet of the Most High; thou shalt go before the Lord, to prepare his way, and to give knowledge of salvation unto his people, who are in remission of their sins; through the tender mercies of our God, whereby the going forth from on high hath visited us, that he may appear unto them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, and direct our feet into the way of peace. And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, and was in the wilderness, until he should stand forth before the people of Israel.
Every Christian should know the right reason for celebrating this day, so that we do not have such a foolish joy, as the world tends to do, as if our Lord God had let St. John be born only for the sake of eating, drinking, dancing, and other such things. It is true that the angel proclaims to old Zacharias that many will rejoice at this birth; but this is not a joy, as we Germans, according to our bad habits, have, that we fill our belly and take care of our well-being; but a spiritual joy, that John should be the first preacher, who should point with his finger to the seed given, and show us salvation and forgiveness of sins, that God will be gracious to us for Christ's sake and grant us all mercy.
(2) This is a joy that does not last for one day alone, and after that the head is sore from it; but that remains for eternity and brings blessedness with it. For the sake of such joy, this day has been celebrated among Christians, so that they may also receive a taste of it and thank God for His good deeds. Therefore, let us now take the history before us.
This is the very first thing that God does with this birth, a particularly great miraculous sign. For there we hear that father and mother had been married for so long, and yet had not conceived a child, and are now at the age that they no longer have any hope of having a child. For Elizabeth was not only out of age, but also, as the angel reports in regard to the virgin Mary, she was in a state of crying, that she was not at all able to bear a child.
would be fruitful. Then God did a great miracle and gave her such a great son that Christ himself said: "Among the sons of women, no greater arose than John. This is what every Christian should know and learn today about this child, how he was miraculously conceived and born, and how other miracles took place: that the angel from heaven brings the first message about such a son; the father Zacharias is mute from that day on until the child is eight days old; but the mother gives him the name and says: "He shall be called John", which name she had not heard from any man. After that, the father began to speak again and preached a beautiful sermon about this child out of the Holy Spirit.
From all this, one must conclude that God has something special in mind for this child, as the whole friendship and neighborhood is amazed at such a wonderful being, and concludes that God will do something special through this child. But it makes us think twice to hear how the angel of God preached about such a child before it was conceived in its mother's womb. For God is not frivolous; neither does He send His angels for the sake of small things: it must always mean something especially great when He speaks and sends His angels. But the angel, as soon as he tells Zacharias that he will have a son, also says what kind of man he will become and what special things he will do in the world, and says: "You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth.
rejoice." This is said so much that this birth will bring a special benefit to the people; for he reports two kinds of joy.
One is the parents. It was a natural joy for them to have a son in their old age. But especially the barren Elizabeth will have rejoiced, who for so long had to bear the curse and disgrace of being barren, and because of that had to flee other women like the owl flees the birds. This is a joy that father and mother had over this child.
6 But the other joy is greater still, that others also, and not his father and mother only, should take the wife of this child; not because of his birth only, but because of his ministry, that he should thus have a joyful and comforting ministry. For thus the angel prophesieth, He shall be great in the sight of the Lord." And Zacharias, his father, interpreted this in a fine way, saying, "You will be called a prophet of the Most High; you will go before the Lord to prepare His way and to give the knowledge of salvation to His people, who are in the remission of their sins. As if he wanted to say: "We have had Moses and the prophets until now, but they have left us all in sins and with an evil conscience; we have not been able to escape death, there has been no help, no counsel. Just as it happened to us under the papacy, when he ran to St. James, the other to Rome; when he flagellated himself there, and another fasted himself there. When one had tried and done everything, the conscience was still not helped. The poor, miserable, sorrowful people knew not where to turn, could have no comfort nor rest against sin and death. But now, says Zacharias, it will be different. For God has given us a child who will show the way to forgiveness of sins.
7 The angel says that you, Zechariah, will not only rejoice, but also other people who were not present at such a miraculous birth and did not see it; they will rejoice with all their hearts, thanking and praising God that he has made such a comforting preacher appear, with his
Finger pointing to the Son of God, and forgiveness of sins through him promised to all who accept him and believe in him. O how blessed ears, he will say, will these be who will hear the voice, "Behold the Lamb of God who bears the sin of the world." How blessed shall be the eyes that shall see the blessed finger, that it may point to the sacrifice that is to be offered for the sin of the world. Thus his father Zacharias wants to make all people's hearts sugar-coated and joyful with the word that he remembers the forgiveness of sins, that now the time is present when we will be able to know how we may be freed from sins and become eternally blessed.
8 For it is in truth a great and excellent thing that John is the first to come into the world with this preaching, saying, "Behold, this is the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world." For there each heart must confess for itself: I also belong to the world. If then this little lamb bears the sin of all the world, it will also bear my sin. For there is no one excluded. This is the true joy and glad tidings, that sin shall no more lie in the world, it shall no more terrify us, condemn us, strangle us; but shall be taken away from us and laid upon this little lamb of God. John first brings this message into the world by pointing to Christ with his fingers, exhorting and urging everyone to cling to Christ and wait for such grace from him.
(9) Other prophets also prophesied of Christ, how he would come and make the world free from sins; but there is neither Isaias nor Jeremiah, who could have said, This is he whom ye shall receive, who shall do and execute it. John is the only one who let the first voice go and showed the person with fingers, where forgiveness of sins is actually to be found.
(10) This then is the proper cause of this feast, that St. John's day should be celebrated: not for his stern life, nor for his miraculous birth; but for his dear finger and for his word.
and ministry. For such ministry and preaching was never heard before in the world. No man has ever had such fingers, nor seen such fingers as John's, to show the lamb of God. Therefore, whoever is oppressed by sin, whoever is frightened by the devil and death, let him look at this preacher's mouth and fingers, and he will teach and instruct him rightly, so that he may receive forgiveness of sins and be satisfied with God. This is the joy that all the world, and not only Zacharias and Elisabeth, shall have in Johanne.
Interpretation of the Canticle of Zachariah.
(11) But that we may have cause to speak of it a little longer, let us take before us the praises of Zacharias the father, to whom the evangelist bears witness, that he was full of the Holy Ghost, and prophesied of his Son, and of the special ministry which he should have in the world. For thus says the evangelist:
And Zacharias his father was filled with the Holy Ghost, and prophesied, saying, Blessed be the Lord God of Israel: for he hath visited and redeemed his people, and hath raised up for us a horn of salvation in the house of his servant David, as he spake of old by the mouth of his holy prophets. That he might deliver us from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us.
(12) Then you hear how happy the pious old Zacharias is about his son: not only because of his person, but that this is now happening, which God promised so long ago through his prophets: how he would give David a son who would save us from all enemies, that is, from the devil, sin, death and hell, who want to devour and condemn us. This, he says, is now coming, since all the prophets have written and cried out about it, that it will happen one day. Now it is here, praise be to God forever and ever. It has been promised, and all the prophets have promised it; but they have not been able to bring it to pass, nor to preach it, as my Son will preach it, who will point with his fingers to such salvation and point men to it.
(13) But here we must be accustomed to the Scripture that Zacharias does not say badly, "God has raised up for us a salvation or help against our enemies," but he says, "a horn of salvation. This is said in German as a kingdom of grace, to which all those who are in sin, fear and distress should find their way; they should find help in such a kingdom, so that sin will not harm them and death will not choke them; For David's true Son, who shall begin an everlasting kingdom of grace, is now conceived in his mother's womb and shall soon be born; he shall rise up against our enemies, sin, the devil and death, and shall prevail against them, and deliver us from them, that they shall not hurt us for ever. Such a kingdom of grace is now at the door, and this little child, the dear little goose, will bring the first message of it to his people. But the pious Zacharias cannot speak enough of such grace and mercy for joy, and continues to speak:
And that he might shew mercy unto our fathers, and remember the ancient holy covenant, and the oath which he sware unto Abraham our father to give us; that we, being delivered out of the hand of our enemies, might serve him without fear all the days of our life, in holiness and righteousness that is pleasing in his sight.
(14) This is a very beautiful text, which well and truly informs us of the kingdom of our Lord Christ. Your loved ones have often heard how there was a terrible misunderstanding of Christ's kingdom among the Jews: that they thought he would begin a temporal reign and lead a splendor like other kings, and help his people to honor and great things. But Zacharias tells us differently: that this kingdom will be a kingdom where mercy will prevail. With this he wants to throw back Moses and the whole law. For there they preach that God will be merciful to those who keep his commandments and are righteous. But where mercy is to go, there even those who have not kept the law and are sinners will have hope and should not despair.
(15) Now Zechariah interprets this mercy here in such a way that it also applies to the deceased.
The fathers of the deceased should benefit from it. Therefore, it cannot be a mercy that affects the temporal, since the deceased can no longer have a part in it. What would it help Abraham, Jacob and other fathers, if Christ should set up a worldly regime, give great money and goods to his people? But they enjoy the mercy that God, through Christ, forgives sin and gives eternal life. They also need such mercy if they are to be saved from eternal death. What else could Abraham and the other fathers gain from the promise of Christ, which they did not experience and only believed?
16 Therefore Zacharias said, "God has made a holy covenant, the covenant of forgiveness of sins through Christ, and swore an oath to Abraham that he would keep it. Now what is this covenant and oath? Nothing else, but that through Christ, the blessed Seed, we should be delivered out of the hand of our enemies. These are not temporal enemies, although God also wants to help against them and keep them over his Christians. But the covenant is not based on such temporal help. It is set against sin, eternal death and the whole kingdom of the devil. Such a covenant, says Zechariah, is made by God; and my son shall bring the first message of such an achievement into the world.
(17) Now it should be especially noted here that he calls it a holy covenant or testament. For with this he looks again to Moses, through whom God had also made a covenant with His people before at Mount Sina, when He gave the Law; but it was a covenant that they could not keep. For flesh and blood is so corrupted by sin that it cannot obey the will of God, but always desires, does and wants something other than God through His word. Therefore, although the same covenant and the law were holy and good, they became unholy because of the people who could not keep them; therefore, they had to have an evil conscience and remain under sin and death. Therefore, God, out of His Fatherly mercy, was moved to make another covenant through the blood of Christ,
of his Son with us. This is a holy covenant, by which we are freed from sins and become holy. For in this holy covenant we are promised forgiveness of sins, not through the blood of oxen or calves, but through the blood of the Son of God. By this this covenant is made, established and confirmed; therefore we can certainly take comfort in it.
(18) Then, says Zechariah, a new and holy life will follow. Namely, those who accept such a covenant will serve God all their lives, not the devil, as the world is wont to do, but God, without fear, in a good and happy conscience. For whoever may not be afraid of sin, death and the devil, what else would such a person be concerned about, what would he be afraid of? This is the first and highest service of God, that one has a right trust in God through Christ without fear, that he is our Father, that he means well with us, that he does not want to condemn us, but through Christ, for the sake of his death and resurrection, makes us eternally blessed and protects us from sin, hell and the devil for eternity.
19. after such worship follows the other; which is not that one (as the papists teach) dresses himself specially, keeps himself specially with eating and drinking, sleeping, watching etc.; there God will grant the people to do it with according to their need and opportunity, with measure and thanksgiving, as they will: but in holiness and righteousness.
20 The word "holiness" means nothing else, except that one should be pious and holy for the sake of the outward life, and keep himself in a good conscience, that one should not be attached to sin and the flesh, but should subdue them, and should set his heart on the right obedience, which God demands in His Word and the Holy Spirit brings about in the believers. For the Christians will not fail, both their own flesh and afterwards the devil, the evil spirit, will not celebrate, and will provoke, drive and persuade them to fall into sin. Then it shall be, as Zacharias says here, that the Christians cheer up and think of their profession and service, and serve God in holiness.
That is, to beware of such sins and to be pious. And it will be found that the Holy Spirit will then come upon them and help them overcome flesh and blood, even the devil himself. So that Christians should serve God their Father in heaven in holiness all their lives.
21 But here we find that we stumble very often in such service. For it is exceedingly soon that a man falls into this or that sin. The flesh is too strong, the evil spirit too clinging; and the Holy Spirit is still very weak in us, so that we cannot fully perform such holiness. For here on earth we receive only the firstfruits, as Paul calls it, to the Romans, in 8 Cap. V. 23, and not the tithe nor the fullness of the Holy Spirit. Now how should a Christian do this, if he is either fallen, or does not feel perfect, nor without sin? St. Zacharias teaches us further, saying that God still has a ministry called "righteousness"; so that, if we still feel sin in us, we may recognize such sin, refrain from it, and consider God righteous, who, for the sake of Christ His Son, will remit and give us all our unrighteousness. This is called "serving God in righteousness," not despairing in sins, but refraining from them and certainly believing and hoping for forgiveness of sins through Christ. Such service in righteousness helps the service in holiness to become perfect, since what is still lacking in holiness is made up for through faith and the forgiveness of sins.
This is Christ's kingdom, and such treasure shall his people, the faithful, have of it, that they may be justified by the forgiveness of sins, and sanctified by the Holy Ghost, and fear neither death nor the devil. This is what Christ will tell, says Zechariah; and my Son shall be the first messenger to make it loud and clear in the world, as follows:
And you child will be called a prophet of the Most High.
23. He is silent, the dear Father, of the holy, austere life that his Son leads.
shall. For of this he had heard the angel himself speak, that he should drink neither wine nor strong drink; and boasts only of the ministry of preaching. "Thou shalt," saith he, "be called a prophet"; not badly a prophet, as other prophets, but he that goeth hard before the Lord. For he himself, the Lord, will come and preach himself. But before he does, you will appear and say, "This is the man through whom all the world will be saved. He who has this man, who has a gracious God, shall be fearless and without fear. No other prophet has done this.
You will go before the Lord to prepare His way.
(24) A prince does not go first, but lets his courtiers go before him, and his most trusted servant goes first before him; when he is seen, all give way, and everyone gives way. So shall my son be also: he shall go before, crying out to be given place; he, the prince of life, follow hard after him. For John preached of Christ, how he was present, and how soon after him he would enter the preaching ministry, that every man should remember and receive him.
(25) This is the joy that we are to experience today: that whoever is afraid of his sins, whoever is afraid of death, may look here at this blessed finger and listen to the voice that says, "Behold, this is the Lamb of God who bears the sin of the world. This finger we should praise today, and give thanks to God for the sake of dear John's ministry and his comforting word. For he is the paragon above all prophets and preachers.
(26) Here consider, and tell me if we have not been great fools in the papacy? For all the praise in the pulpit and all the joy have been interpreted to mean that John led such an austere life, drank neither wine nor strong drink, ate locusts and wild honey, and clothed himself with camel skin. But what good is this to you and me? What is the use and service of it for us? Is it not true that whoever wants to consider John only for his own person will not be able to draw comfort from it? For although God therefore gives such a hard life to the
The reason for this is that he was not a bad man, but led a special way of life above all others, in honor of and for the advancement of the Gospel: yet this does not help us today, it does not give us any special joy. But this comforts and rejoices all believing hearts, that John comes with such a finger and sermon and points to the one who is all joy and comfort, namely, to the Lamb of God who bears the sin of the world. He shows such a little lamb with his finger, not to geese, cows, stones or wood, but to us men, who are poor afflicted sinners, that we should accept it and take comfort in it, as follows:
And that thou mayest give knowledge of salvation unto his people, which are in remission of their sins, through the tender mercies of our God, whereby he hath visited us from on high.
(27) This is an excellent, beautiful, rich and comforting saying, which was very proper, concerning the new preaching that John was to bring into the world. The Jews had the law before, and such teaching and preaching that they knew what they should do if they wanted to do God's will. This is also a wonderful, great knowledge and excellent teaching, but it is very bad for us because we cannot follow it. For since we know that God lays out His Ten Commandments for us and wants us to keep them, but must confess that we do not keep them, it follows that such knowledge of the law has no more effect on man than that he must fear God and await His wrath and deserved punishment. That is why Paul says that the law causes wrath, the law kills and accuses us, and is like a handwriting on our own neck.
028 Now therefore John shall come and give a different knowledge unto his people, which is not a knowledge of death, and of sin, and of wrath; but a knowledge of salvation; that is, such a preaching as teacheth how to be saved, and to be delivered from evil.
Death and sin may be saved. This is an art of which the world knows not a word. In the papacy, people came so far that they felt they needed help against sin and death, but no one knew where to find such help. Therefore, the one called on the Virgin Mary, the other on St. Anne; the one did this, the other another: but it was not only in vain, but also a criminal, abominable idolatry. Now John is to be a master of this art, and give people the knowledge of salvation, that is, he is to bring such a sermon into the world, so that people may learn how to be saved, and be delivered from sin and death.
But how will this happen? What kind of teaching will it be? Such a doctrine, saith Zacharias, when men hear that sin is forgiven them, that whosoever would know how he shall be saved, must know that it is by grace alone, and by nothing else. The Jews preached, as can be seen in the prophets: Whoever wants to have forgiveness of sins and a merciful God must sacrifice much, or (if they did it best) keep the Ten Commandments. The pope preaches the same way. One must do good works, give alms, fast, pray, hear mass, etc., that is the way to salvation. No, says John, this is not the way. I have also fasted and lived strictly; if then works should help, mine should also help.
(30) For John, in outward appearance, lived a holier life than Christ Himself, who lay on beds, stayed with the people, drank wine, and ate flesh; for John made his most meager living with water, honey, and locusts in the wilderness. And yet, saith John, such a hard life doth not, that I should not enter into heaven: but forgiveness of sins doth; as he saith John 1:16, "We have all received of his fulness, grace for grace"; item, "This is the Lamb of God, which bareth the sin of the world." This is St. John's preaching, that he always points to Christ, that we should hope and have forgiveness of sins through him alone. We are to be pious and live holy lives.
It is true, but salvation comes to us only through the forgiveness of sins, so that each one may know God in such a way that he will be merciful and forgive sin, and say, "Lord, do not reckon with me, for I do not know how to stand by my works. I would gladly guard against sins and be pious, but that does not help me. This alone helps me, which you preached through St. John, that we should be saved through the forgiveness of sins.
31 But mark this with diligence: If the world is to be saved through the forgiveness of sins, then it must follow that the world is full of sin. For where there is no sin, there is no need of the forgiveness of sin. Again, where there is need of forgiveness of sins (as Zacharias says here: Whoever wants to come to the knowledge of salvation must have it), there must be sin. So it follows that all men are sinners, and as much as there is in them, they are damned. But if they are to be saved, this is the only way, that sin must be forgiven them. But this happens, as John teaches, only through the Son of God, who is the little lamb, where all our sins lie, which must help us. For if sins should lie upon us, that we should bear them, we should be lost for eternity.
This is called St. John's sermon, by which one learns how to be saved, namely, by the forgiveness of sins alone. The pope and his crowd do not want to suffer this: they sing the Benedictus every day at Mass, but do not understand it; instead, they oppose and persecute it as the highest heresy when we teach that one can be saved only through the forgiveness of sins and not through good works.
But where does forgiveness of sins actually come from? Who does it? Zacharias answers very finely: "The heartfelt mercy of God does it. That means, I think, that all merit and good works are exactly cut off from the forgiveness of sins, so that one cannot say: one deserves it; the sins of the virgins Mary, St. Peter, St. Paul are forgiven, because they have been so holy and pious.
are. No, says Zacharias, forgiveness of sins comes only from the fact that God is merciful, and out of such mercy sent and gave His Son to us, that He paid for us, and through Him we should be saved. This does not mean merit, nor our good works; but his heartfelt mercy, that he loved us, who, because of our sins, deserved nothing but hellish fire. But there is the causeless mercy, which hath brought such things to naught; wherewith the exit on high hath afflicted us.
34 This is a great sermon about our dear Lord Christ, to whom Zechariah gives a special name, calling Him the Exit on high, that is, above all creatures in heaven, who rises from the Father like the brightness of the sun. So Christ speaks of Himself Joh. 3, 13: "No one leads to heaven except the one who has descended. For his being does not first arise here on earth, when he is conceived and born: he comes down to earth from on high from heaven. He, he says, has visited us, he has come to us on earth, and has given forgiveness of sins to us poor lost sinners, who otherwise would have been eternally condemned. This is true grace and mercy.
35 Therefore we cannot boast that we have done words or works, for no one has known of such things. But John is the first to point to him with his finger, and to lead us to him; otherwise, like the Jews, we would have seen Christ and thought him to be a man like others. For he did not keep himself like the monks in a but life, and in addition was poor and miserable. Who would have considered him to be the coming forth from on high and the Lamb of God, if John had not shown him and made him known to us? Therefore, no one can boast of anything here; it is pure grace and heartfelt mercy.
That he might appear to them that sit in darkness, and in the shadow of death, and direct our feet into the way of peace.
Here Zacharias concludes his thanksgiving and joyful song, and includes not only his people, the Jews, but also the Gentiles, and says that all the world is in death and darkness. For even if we live as long as we do, the last hour will not be absent; our eyes will finally be closed. So that everything is under death and must die, no man is exempt or exempted. Now those who are to go under the earth and sit in darkness, to them, says Zechariah, God has kindled a light to illuminate the dead under the earth and in death. If they have believed in this little lamb of God and have been baptized, they shall have a light, and a light of life, which shall shine unto them in death, and keep them so that the devil cannot hurt them.
(37) Now this is the joy: not a foolish joy of the world, with dancing and jumping, with eating and drinking, or which is made up of great money and good things; it is to do with something greater and higher, namely: how we remain alive when we are dead and rotten in the earth; how we become godly when we are in sins; how we come out of hell into heaven, out of damnation into blessedness. For we must finally go down and see and hear the devil; this usually happens at the last hour, when one wrestles with death: then every Christian must come to feel sin and death rightly. There is then no other help nor counsel, but to follow the finger of John, and to look upon the little lamb that bareth the sin of the world, and comforteth us, saying, He that believeth on me shall never see death; and though he die, yet shall he live again." From such great things, from sin and eternal death, from righteousness and eternal life, comes this joy, as we are to walk around on St. John's Day, thanking God for having given us such a prophet, seeing his fingers and hearing his preaching.
38. the devil and pope have other fingers pointing to plates and caps and commandments of men; but it is the infernal
Fire with it. For if such a thing should help, it would also have helped John, and he would have comforted himself. But then he is silent about all his good works and hard life, and says to Christ, "I need to be baptized by you," and seeks and desires nothing else, except that God may be gracious to him through Christ. Thus the Virgin Mary and all the saints were also saved by grace and not by merit.
39 This is St. John's sermon on the knowledge of salvation in the forgiveness of sins; such an art and wisdom that every Christian should know that the forgiveness of sins is the only way to salvation. John was the first to preach this message to the world, pointing out the Lord Jesus Christ with his finger; therefore it is worthy to love him and rejoice in him, as his name implies. For "John" is the name of one who is in favor, a charming, kind, friendly man to whom everyone is favorable. John should have such a name because of his office, and not because of his life or his person; otherwise he should be called Sauermann or Hartmann. But his life is of little use to us; therefore it gives us no joy: but his teaching brings comfort and joy, that through him we may see and know Christ our Savior, and so be saved.
(40) Therefore, let the young people know that this day is celebrated, not for the sake of dancing, eating, and drinking, but so that John may teach how to be saved; so that everyone may give thanks and praise to God for having given us the dear John, and through him the joyful word and the blessed finger, so that we may know where to find salvation and eternal life. So the feast is to praise God and His mercy, and not St. John's person: so that God may receive thanks from us that He has given us His Son and such a comforting sermon that we may fear neither sin nor death, but that God's goodness and grace may comfort us for eternity. May God grant this to us all, amen.
On the feast of the beheading of John the Baptist. *)
Marc. 6, 17-29.
And Herod sent and took John, and put him in prison for Herodias' sake, his brother Philippi's wife: for he had espoused her. And John said unto Herod, It is not lawful for thee to have thy brother's wife. And Herodias pursued after him, and would have killed him, but could not. But Herod feared John, for he knew that he was a pious and holy man: and he kept him, and obeyed him in many things, and heard him gladly. And it came to pass on a convenient day, that Herod gave a supper in his yearly feast unto the rulers and captains and nobles of Galilee. And the daughter of Herodias came in, and danced, and pleased Herod and them that sat at meat. Then said the king unto the damsel, Ask of me what thou wilt, and I will give it thee. And he swore an oath to her: What thou shalt ask of me, I will give thee, even to the half of my kingdom. And she went out, and said unto her mother, What shall I ask? And she said, The head of John the Baptist. And she went in quickly with haste unto the king, and besought, saying: I want you to give me the head of John the Baptist on a dish as soon as possible. The king was grieved, but for the sake of the oath and those who were at the table, he would not let her make a false request. Soon the king sent for the executioner and ordered his head to be brought here. He went and beheaded him in prison. And he carried his head on a dish, and gave it to the maid, and the maid gave it to her mother. When his disciples heard this, they came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.
Your beloved ones have heard about his birth and ministry on the day of John, how it was such a glorious and great thing. Therefore, it is necessary to know the end of what he deserved, and how the world rewarded him for having begun the blessed preaching of the forgiveness of sins, and for having pointed with his finger to the Lord Christ. The first thing to be surprised about is that in the 3rd chapter Lucas indicates how John began to preach and baptize at the Jordan in the fifteenth year of the emperor Tiberii. Now it is also certain that Christ was crucified in the eighteenth year of Tiberius; that there is therefore the account, because John was killed a good time before Christ, that he did not lead his preaching ministry for one and a half or two years.
(2) This is a short time, and it rhymes very badly with the great prophecy that the angel makes of his ministry before his birth, how many will rejoice at his birth and he will go before the Lord and prepare the way for him. For such a great cry is followed by the small work, that the dear
*) From sermons of 1331 and 1534.
John preaches barely two years, and still does no miraculous signs; only he baptizes and preaches repentance, until he comes over such preaching for life and limb. How your love will hear in history that he has to lose his head so viciously for the sake of the whore that he is not beheaded in public but in prison, and the young hurdle with his head is paraded in front of the guests. It is a miserable bargain that the good man should lose his life so shamefully.
(3) And that it is still more to be wondered at, the evangelist says that Christ was not particularly angry about it; only, as he hears, he says to his disciples, "Let us go especially into a wilderness"; that he does no more to it than that he departs and will no longer trust. Who then will serve such a lord, who so shamefully executes his dearest friend? Does this mean that the holy great man, the like of which has never come on earth after Christ, is honored that he should preach for such a short time, do no miraculous work, and finally perish so miserably?
(4) Therefore, whoever wants to be a Christian, and especially a preacher, may learn here how God deals with His children and the
The saints are the most beloved saints. For Christ, the Son of God, did not fare any better, he did not preach much longer than three years and was then crucified. This did not harm St. John, because he was promoted to blessedness and freed from all misery. But it was also a sign of a terrible wrath against the Jews; God wanted to show them, because he took this excellent preacher from them so soon, that he had nothing good in mind for them, but wanted to punish and punish them for their sins. And this is what happened. For after forty years Judaism has come to an end, and the priesthood, the temple, the worship, the government, the land and the people, everything has fallen to the ground. They deserved this because they strangled the prophets, persecuted God's word and persisted in all their sins without amendment.
(5) So John, the highest preacher after Christ, conducted his ministry very briefly, so that no such thing is read of any prophet or martyr. But, as reported, it was a sign of a great wrath against the Jews. As Isaiah very finely reports, Cap. 57, 1: "The righteous," he says, "perishes; and there is none that takes it to heart. Holy people are taken up, and no one pays attention. For the righteous are snatched away from calamity, and come to peace, and rest in their chambers; for they have walked rightly before them. "etc. There it says both: when God takes away pious people, that it means no good to the rest of the multitude which they leave behind them; for it is a calamity from it: but it does them no harm; for they come out of trouble into rest, that when the world is all calamity with murders and bloodshed, they lie in peace and have rest. As the Lord also says to the pious king Josiah, 2 Kings 22:20, "I will gather thee unto thy fathers, and thou shalt be gathered into thy grave in peace; and thine eyes shall not see all the evil that I will bring upon this city." Therefore, the pious have no harm when they worship God.
by death from this evil world. But the world should be terrified of it, because it is an indication that it is going to be evil.
(6) For this reason, St. John will not have been greatly distressed because of his death, but because he sees that God has so decreed it with him, he will have said: Well, dear world, you did not ask about it when I preached to you about repentance and the kingdom of God; you would not even have said: Oh God, be merciful and help us to mend our ways! You laughed and made a mockery of it. Well, I am going there; but now we will turn back: I have had trouble and work until now, now I will go to my grave and rest there; you have had happiness and all your will until now, and have not asked for God's word, now you will find misfortune and trouble enough etc.
For our Lord God seldom lets his prophets see the calamity of which they preach and warn the people. Jeremiah is almost the only one who had to see and experience his prophecy himself, with the prison and the destruction of Jerusalem. The others, like John, God took away beforehand so that they would not see the misfortune.
Therefore, we should not be offended by the fact that God deals with His saints as if He does not know them, as if He does not ask anything about them, and lets the world do its will as if it were right in all things. This does not harm the saints, for they are promoted to their peace. The world, however, promotes its own destruction and gathers the wrath of God; for this reason, it must finally fall to the ground. Now let us take the history before us and see how it happened.
9 Your dear ones know what kind of calling St. John had, that he should preach repentance and prepare the way for the Lord Christ. Now those who recognized themselves as sinners and believed in God's grace and forgiveness of sins through Christ, who was soon to be revealed, he baptized at the Jordan, as a sign that Christ was already at hand and that their sins were to be forgiven through him. Therefore the
The evangelists named the baptism of John as a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. But how he preached repentance is seen in Luc. 3, that he punished everyone for what was wrong and admonished the people to desist and send themselves to grace, otherwise God's wrath and judgment would overtake them.
010 Now it came to pass, that Herod the king lived in public, confessedly vexed. For he had his brother Philippi's wife, who was still alive, with him as his wife. This was an unpleasant thing for John to do, because he was supposed to punish all the trouble by his preaching and to turn people away from it, because he was called to do this. Therefore he did as a pious preacher should do, not allowing himself to be challenged that Herod was a great king, but just as he punished other people for their sin and admonished them to desist, so he also punished and admonished Herod, saying, "It would not be right for him to have his brother's wife. This displeased Herod; it displeased the harlot even more, who feared that such a sermon would go out over her. She therefore chased after John and would have liked to kill him, but she could not. Herod would also have liked to do it, but he was afraid, because he saw and knew what a testimony and praise John had with everyone. Therefore, because John would not cease his punishment and admonition, he had him seized and imprisoned, so that he would no longer be publicly proclaimed.
011 And when the devil had brought Herodem and his harlot so far that they were hostile to John, and laid hands on him for the word's sake, he drove them to depart, and made such an accusation, saying, Because they had no right to be a pious man, this was the nearest and best way: Herod should hold a great banquet on his birthday. Then, when the guests are at their happiest, Herodias' daughter should dance before the king and the guests and entertain them. There will be no lack of entertainment; everyone will take a liking to the maiden and praise her. Then the king shall promise the maiden with an oath that what she asks he will give her.
ben. If the maiden asks for John's head, then she has it already. For it behooves a king to keep what he promises (especially in front of many people). This is the cart that Herod, his whore and the whore child make and put together over the pious John. That their main concern is that they kill John, and then that they do it with a good appearance and that everyone gives them justice.
(12) For this is a peculiar thing that attaches to all Christians, but especially to the death of preachers, that they are still wronged, and blasphemed as heretics and children of devils, to whom be justice. Their enemies, however, are glorified and called pious people and the Christian church, who cannot err or do wrong. Herod's oath here also serves this purpose, so that everyone may say: "He did not like to do it to John, he would have liked to grant him his life longer; but because he had sworn, he had to leave; otherwise he would have lost many thousand guilders sooner. etc. O holy St. Herod, what a great service you are doing, that you are so stubborn about your oath.
No doubt the Pharisees will have faithfully advised and pushed the cart, so that he would not go behind the oath, saying, "It would be better to kill ten Johns than to swear a false oath. So it shall be: Christ himself, and after that all his saints, are slain in the name of God, and in honor of God; as Christ says, John 16:2: "He that killeth you shall think that he doeth God service thereby." We must learn this and become accustomed to it, since we see here that the greatest saints have done so.
14 Now the bell is cast, and such a cart is made over St. John that no man shall be able to wrong Herod by killing John. Now as they made the plot with each other, so it goes. When the king is at his happiest with his guests, the whore child comes in and makes a court order in front of the guests, and pleases everyone. Then the king wipes out, swears to the maiden-
The child takes an oath that if she asks him for half the kingdom, she will have it. The little whore runs to her mother out of sheer simplicity and asks what she should ask for. The mother tells her to ask for John's head. Soon she runs to the king again and says: "I want you to give me the head of John the Baptist on a bowl as soon as possible. The little whore is afraid that the king will regret it or that other people will talk him out of it; therefore she wants to have it on a bowl in her own hand as soon as possible. So dear John comes for his head, without all preceding judgment and sentence, butcherly in prison, for the sake of a wicked, evil, desperate whore.
This is the history, as much as Marcus and Matthew report of it. The most important thing is that we should learn two things from our dear John. The first is for the preachers, that he who is in the office of preaching should not hold his life in high esteem, but should fulfill his office, and should freely and unhesitatingly punish everything that is offensive. God is pleased with this, and as it is written in the prophet Ezekiel, everyone saves his soul; otherwise he must give account for their sin, which he does not punish, as he should do in office.
Now everyone sees how the world does not like to be punished, and how it does not like to be justified in everything. And especially those who are special because of their office, money or fortune do not like it; they think that because they do what they like, other people, especially preachers, should also speak what they like. But where a preacher wants to look more to God's will and office than to the favor of men, then (as Aristotle has a fine fable) it is like the hares, who undertook to preach to the lions and to make them devout; but before they opened their mouths properly, they were torn apart by the lions. As we also see here with Johanne. Herod would have asked nothing of John for baptizing and preaching repentance to everyone, but when he attacked him and chastised him for adultery, saying, "It is wrong for you to have your brother's wife," Herod could not stand it, but
wanted to be unpunished because of his power and glory. So John could not let it go unpunished because of his command and office. Above him the poor little hare and the fierce lion come in multitudes, and the little hare must remain above them. This is the lesson, that one should be accustomed to such things and not be frightened.
The other lesson is not only for the preachers, but for all Christians, that we can learn especially from this example that God does not mean us harm, even if he persecutes us, puts us under the cross and makes us suffer all miseries. For John is a true friend of God and a dear child. That God is now justified in strangling him so shamefully, this is not done in bad faith, as reason would judge; it is done for his own good, so that Christ can grant the kingdom to his servants, as it was granted to him by the Father. Whoever wants to be in the kingdom of Christ must not shy away from the cross and death. For this is the testament of the Lord Christ, and he, Christ himself, has thus entered the kingdom.
18 Therefore it is a fine word that the church sings today in the sequence: Vicinus dignitate Christo fit et morte; nam morte turpissima damnatur sponsus, et sponsi amicum damnant recte morte turpissima: John is after Christ the greatest of those born of women: even so, as he is next to Christ according to the worthiness of his office, so he is also most like him in death. Because Christ, the bridegroom, dies an ignominious death, John, the bridegroom's friend, also dies an ignominious death.
Nineteen Therefore let no man be afraid of such things; but where they are so, let it be known that they are right, and that to do otherwise would be an evil sign. For there are the excellent examples of our Lord Christ Himself, then of Saint John the Baptist, and before them of the holy prophets, and after them of the holy apostles, all of whom were most faithfully waiting for their office, and were dear children of our Lord God; and yet at last they were so rewarded that the world made them shameful.
has directed to it. You should also learn to wait for this reward, if you are otherwise a true preacher; or be content with the preaching ministry. For the kingdom is not given to us apart from our Head Christ Jesus, who himself had to die on the cross. John had to lose his head so shamefully for the sake of a whore; meanwhile Herod sat at the table, banqueting and in good spirits, as if he had only been well prepared.
20. But God is long-suffering, and forgives the punishment, even if he does not remain outside. This Herod's father, who is called Ascalonitam Herodem, persecuted Christ while he was still in the cradle and strangled the innocent children. God watched until his time, when he punished him with a severe and horrible disease, so that worms grew in his body, and no man could remain around him for lack of breath. But such temporal punishment is nothing compared to the eternal punishment. His son Herod Antipas, as we hear about today, strangled John for the sake of the whore he had with him, thinking that when John was gone, no one would be able to deceive him. But what happened? Emperor Tiberius deposed him and sent him to the misery in France to Lyon, where he died miserably. This Herod had a brother's son, named Herod Agrippa, who followed his ancestor and cousin's example and strangled the apostle Jacob. But as such tyranny had befallen the ancestor and cousin, so it had befallen him. For the angel of the
The Lord smote him so that he, like his ancestor, was eaten by worms, Acts 12. 12 So shall it be with tyrants.
21 Therefore one should look at the end. At first sight, it seems as if St. John is doing very badly, but Herod is doing as he wishes. But just as the love of God is hidden in St. John, so the wrath of God is hidden in Herod. But both are revealed afterwards, that the love remains in eternity with John and the wrath in eternity with Herod. So the tyrant wanted it.
(22) Therefore let no one be astonished at the suffering and the cross. Let no one envy the persecutors of the gospel, that they sit in honor, great and mighty. For the cross and suffering is the only way by which you may come to the inheritance and kingdom of Christ; and all the saints, Christ himself, have gone this way. Who then would be dismayed by it or complain about it? So you see how soon it turns with the tyrants, that their suffering is found here in its time, and lasts afterwards for eternity. May God graciously protect us from this, and rather let us suffer all kinds of shame, disgrace and sorrow here on earth with the holy Baptist John, so that we may come to the kingdom of God; as our Lord Christ says that it is granted to us, as it was to him, through the cross and suffering. May our Father in heaven, through his Holy Spirit, grant us this for Christ's sake, amen.