Matth. 9, 9-13.
And as Jesus departed from thence, he saw a man sitting at the receipt of custom, whose name was Matthew, and said unto him, Follow me. And he arose and followed him. And it came to pass, as he sat at meat in the house, behold, there came many publicans and sinners, and sat at meat with JEsu and his disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, "Why does your Master eat with tax collectors and sinners? When JE heard this, he said to them: The strong have no need of a physician, but the sick. But go and learn what this is: I am pleased with mercy, and not with sacrifice. I have come to call sinners to repentance, not the pious.
This is a short but very good gospel, both because of the history, that we hear how the Lord calls the publican Matthaeum to the apostleship; and then because of the sermon which the Lord preaches when the Pharisees are angry that he eats with sinners and tax collectors. For both history and preaching serve that we may actually learn Christ and what his ministry is. He who can do this may well boast that he knows the best and highest art. For it is the art that came down from heaven, and serves us to come up from and out of the earth also to heaven, and to live forever; as Christ Himself says, John 17:3: "This is life eternal, that they may know thee, that thou only art true God, and whom thou hast sent, Jesus Christ." According to this doctrine, which is the highest and best, the Lord teaches us how we should behave and keep ourselves, if we want to enjoy His ministry and be true Christians.
2. but at the first we want the history
*From the Commentary on Matthew.
look at him. Matthew himself says what his actions and nature were: that he sat at the customs and dealt with his food and trade, and thought neither of Christ nor of heaven. Now we know what the customs officers' trade was, that they, as the most powerful merchants and partners, accepted and passed the annual income of a city or country for a named amount from the Romans, and then brought it up as high as they could best enjoy it. It can be assumed that everything they did was based on money, and that they let avarice ride and drive them.
(3) Therefore it was a common saying among the Jews, when they would say of a man who was openly a sinner, and asked neither after God nor his neighbor, that they called him a publican. As can be seen in the Pharisee, Luc. 18, who boasts so highly of his piety and scolds other people for being robbers, unjust, and adulterers, the tax collector must also serve as such a person, since he thinks he cannot fail or do him wrong,
when he accuses him of being a sinner. And we ourselves, if we were to judge this tax collector Matthew, what else could we think of him?
4 And therefore it is an excellent work that our dear Lord Jesus does not let this man sit as a public sinner, but calls him to Himself, not only to forgive his sins, but also to place him in the most glorious and greatest office, and to make him an apostle, who afterwards shall also help other people to come to forgiveness of sins and eternal life.
(5) But what thoughts will you draw from such work? Will you also take it for what the Pharisees thought, that God does not want such people? Is it not true, just as we cannot deny that Matthew and his like are poor sinners, so we cannot deny that God wants to be merciful to sinners, to accept them, and to help them from sins through His Son Christ Jesus? For here it says both: Matthew is a tax collector, a poor sinner, who takes where he can take; and yet Christ accepts him graciously and makes an apostle out of him. This is the one consolation that all sorrowful sinners should take, that Christ will not cast them away, but will gladly accept them in grace, provided (as we will hear at the end) they follow Matthew's example, forsake sins, and follow the Lord Christ.
(6) But this consolation is the greater, because Christ did not show bad grace to Matthew, but appointed him an apostle, who was such a great sinner, that he should not be hoped for on account of his great ministry, nor should other sinners despair, but should also accept the Lord Christ. For see here with diligence. Who are they, our dear Lord Christ's nearest servants, and his chiefest counsellors, whom he hath in his kingdom? They are all poor sinners who, because of their righteousness or good works, should be in the pit of hell. Therefore, even though I and you are poor sinners, neither Peter nor Paul can boast against us or despise us. Cause them
We must also remember that they have not always been pious, and have sometimes held themselves against our Lord God, it would have been better.
(7) This is also the reason why the Pharisees are so very angry. For they judge according to the law, and are hostile to sins and sinners, and make believe that the Lord accepts such sinners, eats and drinks with them, which is against the law of God and wrong. And it is true that where something is done contrary to God's law, there is good reason (as reason judges) to be angry about it, for it is done contrary to God. Such anger continues to this day. For as soon as we praise and extol God's grace, everyone cries out that such preaching makes people safe and lazy, that they do no good. So that the Jews, that is, the works saints who deal with the law, consider the gospel to be an annoying sermon. But the Gentiles, that is, the rough and sure people, consider it a foolish sermon. Therefore they rage against it, as against the highest heresy; these mock and laugh at it, as if it were a useless, futile delusion. The former consider it a blasphemy, the latter a fable. But the Christian church and its head, our dear Lord Christ, go through the midst of it, and neither allow blasphemy to enter their right ear, nor contempt to enter their left ear, but live in true faith, and thus honor their Father in heaven.
8 Therefore it is a beautiful and comforting picture that our dear Lord Christ sits there among the tax collectors and sinners, like a good companion, who has all pleasure and joy in them and is heartily fond of them. On the other hand, the Pharisees stand around and look sour, grumble and reproach themselves about it, and judge and condemn both Christ our Lord and the poor sinners: they want to judge Christ according to the law, when he neither can nor wants to be under the law; for he is a master of the law, and deals with it, yes, that is why he came on earth, that he also wants to make us free and free from the law. This is the first part of this history, and the strange profession that the publican Mat-
thäo becomes an apostle and evangelist; as a sign that Christ wants to accept sinners and help them.
(9) The other is the preaching. For when the Pharisees would not keep such vexations among themselves, but poured them also into his disciples, saying unto them, "Why doth your Master eat with publicans and sinners?" the Lord must answer for his disciples also, that such vexations be not kept among them; and he divides the responsibility into two parts. The first is taken from reason, and by it the Lord wants to indicate that it is his office to deal with sinners: therefore they should leave him satisfied and not speak anything to him in his office. "The strong," saith he, "have no need of the physician, but the sick." As if to say, If ye were sick in a bed, and a physician were with you, how should it please you so well, that the physician should be put away from you, and not left with you? For it is true that the physician and the sick person belong together. Therefore, just as the sick person cannot be without the doctor, so the doctor should be happy to be with the sick person. But whoever would wish it ill of the physician that he would gladly let himself be used by the sick person, must be either a fool, or an envious, evil, poisonous person, who does not begrudge the sick person his health. This is a reasonable trade, and if the Pharisees cannot oppose it, they must let it be good.
10 Now notice how the Lord interprets this likeness. For he means this much: He who is a sinner has a more dangerous and harmful disease in his soul than any pestilence, French disease, leprosy, or any other such disease can be to the body. Now, if it is true about sinners, that they are so dangerously sick in their souls, what should be done against them? Shall they be made to lie thus, and to die and perish in sins? Not at all; but the greater and more annual the damage to the soul than to the body, the more diligence, effort and labor should be put into helping the poor sinners, and restoring them to health by the right medicine of repentance.
that is, to be brought to grace. This is one thing that the Lord indicates here: that sin is not a bad harm, but a dangerous disease, by which body and soul are damaged for eternity.
(11) Therefore, we should not be safe in the face of such great harm. When pestilence reigns, we see how to protect ourselves with medicines. So there may easily be some clumsiness of the body, so we run to the physicians, seek advice and help, so that we may escape the misfortune in time and it will not become worse. But why don't we do the same here, since there is a thousand times more driving to be done? For bodily sickness only harms the body and must finally cease. But the sickness of the soul, sin, brings eternal death, where one does not come forward and needs the right physician. But there you see how everyone despises such driving. He who lies in avarice, fornication, gluttony, envy, wrath, pride, disobedience and other such sins, all of which are mortal sins, for which the wrath of God comes upon the disobedient children, surely goes about as if he lacks nothing; and it is often the greatest concern and highest complaint of blind, miserable people that they do not have cause enough for such sins. Well, whoever believes Christ here and confesses to be a sinner, will see that he does not give too much room to such a soul sickness and let it sit too heavily, but looks around in time for the remedy and the right physician.
Who is now the same physician? Here you hear it: No one, except our dear Lord Christ Jesus. For since the devil is the beginner of sins and has led man into sin, it is in vain to seek help from men against such harm, who all, none excepted, have such harm in themselves. Therefore such a man belongs to it, who is mighty over the devil and is his lord. This is our dear Lord Christ, true man and eternal God, who is the right physician, and has the certain art, yes, also the command and the office, that he should help us sick, poisoned people. As he says at the end: "I have not come for the sake of the righteous.
For the sake of those who think they are pious for themselves and do not need anyone to help them, but for the sake of sinners. Notice this.
(13) For first of all, it is so that you may learn to know God rightly. For, as has often been said, our hearts are naturally under the delusion that God does not want to show mercy to sinners. As the law also teaches, God wants to be merciful to the pious and those who do His will; the others He wants to punish in disgrace. But if this were God's will, Christ would not have come to earth thinking that he wanted to be the sinner's physician and bring them to righteousness. He would have left them stuck in sins, without grace and help, and would not have come on earth and become man at all. But because he becomes man, and here freely confesses: As a physician belongs to the sick, so he belongs to the sinners; even the Pharisees will not let themselves be rejected by such a thing: there one sees how God's counsel and will is not other than to help the sinners and to prove mercy to them.
14 Secondly, this serves to teach us to beware of false and erroneous teaching. For all the world is concerned with how one can get rid of sins and become free of them. For this the Turks need their Alkoran, the Jews their law, the pope his orders, masses, fasting, confession, pilgrimages, indulgences and other things. But a Christian who understands this gospel sees that such things are lies and deceit. Cause, here he hears that the only physician who can and should help from sins is our dear Lord Christ, and no one else.
Therefore, the verdict is soon reached. Of the dogs, the Turks, it is not necessary that we speak. But Moses and the law have a good appearance. The divine service in the papacy also. But because the Jews do not want to say that their Moses and law is Christ; the papists must not say that their works, orders and worship is Christ: so a Christian concludes roundly and badly that all this does nothing for the forgiveness of sin. Cause, the only physician is Christ, and no one else. Whoever
If anyone seeks help against sin other than from Christ, he will not find it; it is in Christ alone, and in him alone will it be found.
16 How does this physician help? what kind of medicine does he need? The Lord shows this finely at the end, when he says that he has come to call sinners to repentance. For before Christ comes with his medicine, that is, with his word, the holy gospel, one sees that the world lives and floats in all security, in sins, and there is neither hearing nor keeping. Not only is there no repentance because of sins, but there is still pleasure and joy in it, and one cannot be full of evil. But when Christ comes and communicates to us his medicine, that is, his word, by which the Holy Spirit punishes the world for sin, righteousness and judgment, the wrath of God is first revealed to us, that man recognizes his sin and is displeased with it, and wishes he had not done it. But this does not yet help the disease, and yet it must be. For without such recognition, grace and comfort are of no account. When the hearts are so frightened and distressed that they hold on to themselves, are sorry for their sins, and strive to amend them, then it is the right time to come with the medicine and to restore and comfort the troubled consciences. But this is done only by seeing how Christ suffered for us, and paid for our sin by his death, and gave us eternal life and righteousness by his resurrection.
This is the only remedy that the Lord calls "repentance" in one word, by which we are delivered from the harmful disease of the soul, sin. If we accept this with a right heart, and trust that it is certainly true that God will be merciful to us for Christ's sake, that He will not remember our sins, and that He will accept us in grace and make us blessed, then a right, serious obedience will follow, so that we will beware of sins and no longer desire to anger God, who has done such grace for us and given us His Son.
(18) So then sinners are rightly helped, that instead of sin there is a double gift.
There is justice. As the holy evangelist praises our physician Christ and says: He is full of grace and truth; not only for his person, but that he wants to communicate and give us grace and truth. "Grace" is that sin is forgiven us. "Truth" is that we do not, like the hypocrites, become pious in appearance, but from the heart, and gladly and willingly do what we know, since God is pleased with what happens. On the other hand, the hypocrites, who pretend to be righteous, keep their sin, and all their holiness is only lies and hypocrisy. .
(19) Let us diligently remember this, and thank God for His grace, that we have found the right physician, praise be to God always, and have received the right medicine, by which we are helped from sins and are made holy, not only because of the works we do in the faith of Christ, and God is pleased with them, even though they are not yet perfect; but because of the grace that through faith in Christ all our sins are forgiven us, and we have become children of God.
(20) This is the first part of Christ's responsibility, so that he teaches us what his office is, namely, that he is a physician for sins, and therefore will not be driven away from sinners, but will remain with them, care for them through his word, and help them from sins. This is a very comforting and useful sermon.
The other piece of responsibility is based on the saying of the prophet Hosea, and is also exceedingly comforting and beautiful. For this saying goes completely against the law and the highest service of God in the law; therefore it needs its own sermon.
(22) First of all, we should pay special attention to the word volo, I am pleased. For here think, who is speaking? Is it not true, the high majesty, God himself? If he is pleased with something, then the whole creature and everything that exists must also be pleased with it. Therefore, this single saying would be sufficient to teach us God's will, and we would not need any other books. For here
It is so round and fine that God says, "This is what I want, this is how I am minded, this is what pleases me, I delight and delight in you being merciful to one another.
(23) Is it not a wonder above all wonders that men have put so much diligence, effort and labor into how they might serve God and live to please Him? One has done one thing, another another; one has become a priest, another a monk; one has said mass, another has fasted: and yet no one has looked at this bright, clear text, that our Lord God says here: "This is what I want, this is what I am pleased with, that you may be merciful. For this single word, if we were to consider it rightly, would bring down to the ground all monasteries, religious orders and services that have been in the papacy up to now. For, tell me, is it not true that all these things began because we thought: O that I might know how to serve God? One thought, "It will please Him if I put on a cap. Another thought, "It will please Him if I fast a lot, pray a lot, go on pilgrimages. In sum, the whole world has followed the one word that is written here: "I am well pleased"; everyone has sought it and would have liked to know it. Now the Lord wants it unconcealed, but free and open, and tells us here what he is pleased with, namely, mercy. But everyone passes by as if he did not mean it, or as if he had mocked us.
(24) This is now the great lamentation and the annual, horrible blindness, that we seek to serve God through our own thoughts; and since He Himself tells us how we can and should serve Him, no one wants to believe Him, no one wants to follow Him. That is why, as Isaiah says Cap. 65, 1.: "I am sought by those who do not ask for me", that is, they do not want my word, and yet they want to be with me and be considered holy. "But I," he says, "am found by those who do not seek me," that is, who accept my word and do not follow their own thoughts. For it grieves God greatly, and justly, because he has revealed himself, and desires to be found.
We do not want to follow such revelation, but we want to follow our own thoughts and follow them.
(25) This is the first word in this saying, which is very much needed, as you hear. For by this one can know God's heart and will. Now the prophet continues, and names the child, and says what it is that God is pleased with, and says: "I am pleased with mercy. Let this word also be commanded thee, and mark it diligently and well against all works that have a great appearance, but are not mercy. For we see here that the prophet diligently remembers mercy in this way, but that God will not put up with the highest service of God in the law, which He Himself has ordained; how then should He put up with other works that we do without God's word, not to serve people with them, but so that we may be pious and holy and praised by everyone?
26 Everyone knows well what mercy is, namely, when your neighbor is in trouble, you take care of it as if it were your own affliction and help as much as you can. Therefore, only look at your neighbor's lack and need, and you will soon know what mercy is. The greatest and highest need is the lack of the soul or the sickness of the soul, of which we have heard above, sin.
(27) If you want to show mercy, that is, to serve God and to do him a kind and pleasant work, you must not run away from sinners, flee and avoid them, as the Pharisees do here, but stand by them, instruct them, admonish them, punish them, comfort them, and even be patient with them and carry them. Behold, there are many ways in which mercy can be shown in this particular case, since the monks, fleeing such toil and labor, have shut themselves up in the monasteries and have engaged in other works that have improved no one, regardless of the fact that God says here in clear, unambiguous words: He is pleased with mercy.
After such illness are also diseases of the body, melancholy and others. Since
you can also help and serve your neighbor in many ways: if not with money and goods, then with a good word and a kind heart, so that you would like to help wherever you can. And it is certain, where you do it, that God in heaven laughs at it, is happy and in good spirits, and says: "Right, my son, continue in this way, this pleases me, I have pleasure and love in it. But don't you think, if such honor could be bought with money, that one could know for sure that God would be pleased with us: we would not let anything take our time and would gladly put everything into it? Now it is written loud and clear: "I am well pleased with mercy." But we hear it and do not believe it; otherwise we would go in leaps and bounds, and with joy and love we would urge ourselves to help and advise poor, miserable, afflicted people, and thus come to the glory that God said to us: I am pleased with your life. That is why the Pharisees and all the works saints are poor wretched people, that they still flee from such honor, and do not want to wear this holy shield or umbrella on their heads. For the fact that the saints are painted with a shield or splendor around their heads is nothing more than an indication that they have walked in God's word and that all their lives, deeds and actions have been included in God's word.
29 Thirdly, we learn that people not only suffer in their souls and bodies, but also in their goods and food. One can also show mercy in many ways, with food, drink, clothing and other things, as the Lord Himself finely tells us, Matth. 25, 35. f.: "I was hungry, and you fed me; I was thirsty, and you gave me water; I was a guest, and you gave me shelter; I was naked, and you clothed me". etc. None of these good works are found in the works saints. For they not only give nothing, but devour other people's goods, as Christ says of the Pharisees, and have good days in their holiness. Therefore, these false saints should have a devil's muck painted on their heads instead of the sheen or shine; that would be their proper emblem and visor.
(30) Thus, your beloved ones have what to do when they want to serve God and do His will with outward works: nothing else, but to show mercy to their neighbor. For it is the neighbor who needs our works; God in heaven does not need them. For what will we or can we give him, who have nothing; for we receive everything only from him? But this is what we need above all that God gives us here on earth, that He also give us His word, so that we may learn to know Him and His will. With the same, God is also served, for it belongs to His glory. Therefore, it is written in the prophet Hosea that we should show mercy to our neighbor, and thus please God; and after that we should be commanded to know God, that is, we should accept the gospel and believe it. For it is through this alone that one knows God. Thus one has God's will. But the Lord does not mention such a thing, for he speaks here only of some of the things we owe to the people. Nothing is to be a good work, nor is it to be called a good work, for mercy alone is within, that the neighbor may be helped in his need.
Now God does not leave it at that, that he alone said: "I am pleased with mercy"; but adds: "I am pleased with mercy, and not with sacrifice"; and with the knowledge of God more than with many burnt offerings. This is a very strange and probably half-heretical appendix, if the Pharisees were allowed to say so. Cause, sacrifice and burnt offering have been in the Law the most distinguished services of God, which God Himself has chosen and commanded to perform. Therefore, it would be coarse enough if the prophet said: God is more pleased with mercy than with sacrifice. But to say that God has no pleasure in sacrifice is too much and very heretical. Whether the Pharisees like it or not, whether they are angry or not, Christ does not mince words, and says freely: "I am pleased with mercy, and not with sacrifice."
32) Now the question arises: Why did God so discredit the sacrifices in this place?
damme, which he nevertheless at much fathers very well put up with? To this, then, learn to answer: In the eighteenth Psalm there is a verse which reads thus: "With the saints thou art holy, and with the pious thou art pious, and with the pure thou art pure, and with the perverse thou art perverse." Item, Paul says, "That which is not of faith is sin."
(33) Therefore, one must look at the persons here and make a distinction between those who are holy and the others who are unholy. For since the saints keep themselves righteous toward God through faith and toward their neighbor through mercy, God is pleased not only with their sacrifices, but with other lesser works, all their work, eating, sleeping, and other things; and so much so, even though they are not yet pure in all things, and often fall and sin out of weakness, that such things do not harm them, but are given and forgiven. For God is holy with the saints, even when they sin; but that they do not persist in it, but by faith keep themselves again in God's grace.
34. On the other hand, because the wicked do not keep themselves righteous, but wicked (for they have neither faith nor confidence in God), they do not respect love toward their neighbor, and go about with their sacrifices, with their own chosen worship and piety, seeking thereby their glory and honor: so it comes to pass that God is also perverse with such perverse people, and says: Because ye will not obey my commandment of faith and love, in which I am well pleased; neither will I suffer your best works and highest worship, your sacrifice; and not only shall your sins hurt you, but also your best works shall become the greatest sins. Cause, I do unto you even as ye do unto me; and as the world saith, If thou boast here, I boast here. You do not like what I command; I do not like what you do: so we are parted. Since you have the greatest desire for sacrifice, I have the greatest dislike for it. For you are not such people as I can have any pleasure in.
35 Therefore, hear your love, how comforting this sermon is to poor sinners, that Christ is with them, helping them, leading them to repentance and making them blessed. On the other hand, you also see the perilous condition of those who think they are not sinners. Therefore, let us get right down to business, recognize our sin, ask God's forgiveness, and be ready to forgive.
and hope for forgiveness through Christ, and so prepare our lives to be called mercy, serving our neighbor as best we can. In this way, God will have pleasure and love for us, and for the sake of Christ, His Son, He will make us fully pious and blessed through His Holy Spirit. May God grant this to us all, amen.