Matth. 2, 1-12.
When Jesus was born in Bethlehem, in the land of Judaea, in the days of Herod the king, behold, the wise men came from the east to Jerusalem, saying: Where is the newborn King of the Jews? We have seen his star in the east and have come to worship him. When Herod the king heard this, he was afraid, and all Jerusalem with him; and he gathered together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, and inquired of them where Christ should be born. And they said unto him, In Bethlehem, in the land of Judaea. For thus it is written by the prophet: And Bethlehem in the land of Judah is by no means the least of the princes of Judah: for out of thee shall come to me the duke that shall be ruler over my people Israel. Then Herod called the wise men secretly, and learned diligently of them when the star appeared, and directed them to Bethlehem, saying, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye find him, tell me again, that I also may come and worship him. When they had heard the king, they went. And, behold, the star, which they had seen in the east, went before them, until it came and stood over where the young child was. When they saw the star, they were greatly rejoiced, and went into the house, and found the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him, and opened their treasures, and gave him gold, and frankincense, and myrrh. And God commanded them in a dream that they should not turn again to Herod. And they went again by another way into their own land.
The first part, from the history.
1 Today's feast is called the feast of the revelation of Christ. For these three revelations are said to have taken place in one day, though not in one year: that the Lord Christ revealed himself to the wise men in the east by the star; at the Jordan, when he was baptized by John; and at the wedding of Cana in Galilee, when he performed the first miraculous sign. Be it as it may, that such revelations happened in one day or not, they are nevertheless very marvelous stories, and especially the one of today with the wise men. For the Lord made himself known, not only among the Jews, but also among the Gentiles, so that the Jews might not say that he had kept himself secret, that no one had known about him.
002 For it was determined that he should come from the Jews, not as a great king, but so miserable that he could hardly find room to be born: this makes his future very troublesome, and
*) Two sermons, publicly delivered in 1532, merged into one.
still reproaches the Jews today. For this reason, it was of great need that God should reveal and make him known among the Gentiles, so that, even though he was poor and miserable, he might be preached and proclaimed gloriously everywhere. For it was no small thing that the wise men from the east came such a long way, and made a cry of this child in Jerusalem: as Simeon and Hannah in the temple, the angels in the air, the shepherds in Bethlehem. They all had to do with this child, singing and saying of him; so that this child was most gloriously proclaimed, that the Jews should become aware of him and accept him.
3 As far as today's history is concerned, the evangelist reports with special diligence how the wise men first came to Jerusalem and searched for Christ there. For since Jerusalem was the capital and this child of the Jews was to be king, they could not think otherwise than that they would find him at Jerusalem. But in that they think so, they miss, find the Kjnd not in the glorious city Jerusalem, but in the poor little town Bethlehem.
Let us remember this. If we want to come to this child and find him, we must not follow our thoughts or reason, but stay with the word alone and not turn away from it. For if we let the word go, the trouble is already there. The child has a glorious, great name, but besides that he is poor and miserable, and because of that he does not want to be found in Jerusalem with those who are glorious and great. Therefore, as the wise men do here, we must keep the word and not be deceived by the splendor of the world. But he that forsaketh the word, and will not hear what the scripture saith of this little child, but judgeth according to the outward appearance, shall not come unto Christ, neither shall he find him.
(5) As we see in the papists, who leave the word and fall into the thought of painting Christ as they please. They do not like that about him, that he alone should be the Savior. That is why they add their own works and devotion, which they think of enjoying beside the Savior Christ. They call upon the Virgin Mary to reconcile their son to them; they think that such invocation and intercession should also be a savior for them. But it is nothing but lies. For where one drops the word and gropes for Christ apart from the word, one seizes the devil, who then imagines such thoughts in people's minds, that Christ is a judge and cane-master, whoever now wants to stand before him must enjoy the intercession of the saints. That is why in the papacy everyone put more trust in the Virgin Mary and the intercession of the saints than in the Lord Christ Himself. This is what happens when one does not stick to the Word. That is why the devil is particularly interested in tearing us away from the Word and leading us to his own thoughts apart from the Word. For then he knows that he has won and we have lost.
Therefore the highest and best art is to hold fast to the word, and not to think of divine things otherwise than as the word tells us. But it takes a lot of effort to bring people to this point. Many people cannot yet be raised to think in the
If they stay with the word about the sacrament, they want to judge badly, like a cow, after they see that there is nothing but wine and bread, and that the body and blood of Christ are not there. Fasting, then, the work without the word in the eyes. But this means to take only the husks, and to leave the core, the words of our Lord Christ, behind.
(7) So at first these wise men also had thoughts of Christ. Since they have this from divine revelation, that the king of the Jews is born, they go straight to Jerusalem, and think they will find him there in a glorious castle and a golden chamber. For how could reason think otherwise of a king? But such thoughts, because they are without word, they must perish. For they are missing and do not find the child in Jerusalem, since the holy city was where God himself dwelt. But if they are to find it, they must follow the word. This is the true star and the beautiful sun that points to Christ.
(8) Therefore, the wise men are a good example of a beautiful and mighty faith, in that they put out of their eyes and hearts all other thoughts that they and the whole world had, and badly follow the word that is held out to them from the prophet Micah. They are not angry at all that from Jerusalem, where the true worship was and God Himself dwelt, they are turned away from our Lord God and His temple to a cowshed in Bethlehem, when they were not looking for a beggar but for the king of the Jews. Badly as they hear, so they follow, and let nothing trouble their thoughts; looking only to that which Micah saith, there they abide. This faith can be praised as a special example. For I myself, if I had been there, would have kept to the temple, and thought: Here dwells God; therefore, if the Child is to be found in any place in the whole world, he will be found here, where the whole priesthood and service is.
(9) But God has another purpose in mind and does not want His Son to be found among the great spiritual prelates and in Jerusalem, just as he is found today with the pope.
But he thought that he wanted to abolish the priesthood and rule of the Jews all together, because they built so much on it and assumed so highly that they were priests, Levites and God's people, and that they had the temple. God could not and would not tolerate such pride; and the temple, the worship and the priesthood, since they were so high, had to be taken away one by one. But the poor little Bethlehem had to come forth and be the first hostel of the Son of God.
(10) This is the first part of this history, a special, necessary and useful lesson, that the wise men, when they seek Christ the newborn King, do not find him at Jerusalem, as they thought. But if they should find him, they must have and hear the prophet Micham. Now that they have the word, and have let go of their thoughts, they go willingly from the holy capital Jerusalem to Bethlehem, to the little town, and do not mind. Then God gives them the comfort that the star will come again as soon as they leave Jerusalem and shine before them to Bethlehem, to the door where the child was. They need such comfort, for there they find nothing but poverty and beggary: Joseph and Mary are not at home in that place; the child lies there in a manger; there is scarcely a drink of water.
How does this rhyme with the king? If one wanted to mock the people, one would cite them thus. But the pious people are not mistaken, they hold fast to what they have heard from the prophet Micah and have seen in the star. Therefore, regardless of the poor, miserable being, they fall down before the child, worship him and open their treasures, and worship him. This is the Historia.
(12) Here we should especially not forget the great, excellent comfort that God also calls the Gentiles to the kingdom of Christ and accepts them as a people, even though they were not circumcised, nor were they subject to the law like the Jews. For here we Gentiles have a certain testimony that we should not despair, as if we did not belong to Christ; but that we should accept ourselves, as well as the
Jews, even though we are not his people, like the Jews.
For these wise men were pagans, who had their priests and worship according to the pagan way, but without God's command and word, and were uncircumcised. Nevertheless, regardless of all this, they come as strangers and undeserving people to the light, the Lord Christ, and accept him. He also accepts them and is pleased with their worship and gift. This is written for our comfort, that we should thank God for having established such a kingdom on earth through Christ, in which we, who are not His people, are dealt with not according to merit, but according to grace.
14 Secondly, we are to learn from history how we are to conduct ourselves righteously toward our dear Lord Christ, that is, that we are to reject all adversity and, with these wise men, confess before the world the Lord Christ, seeking and worshipping him from the heart as our Savior.
15 Also, because he leads his reign on earth in such a miserable and poor form, we should gladly help with our money, goods and all our wealth to promote and increase his kingdom, which is hindered and suppressed in so many ways by the devil and the world. For we can open our treasures to Christ this day and give them to him, just as the wise men did. Cause, there is his word, Matth. 25, 40: "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto the least of these that are mine, ye have done it unto me.
16 Therefore, whoever helps poor, impossible, abandoned people with money and goods, whoever gives his tax and handouts to keep young people in school, to educate them in God's Word and other arts, so that in time they can also help others in the church ministry and lead them, he sacrifices and gives to the poor little child Jesus, who, as soon as he was born, was not only poor and destitute, but also had to leave the country and flee to Egypt because of the tyrant Herodis.
17. on such a flight and long journey God creates through these wise men for the infant, his nurse Joseph and the virgin Mary a
Provision. And it will not have been a small gift, for so the evangelist says: "They have opened their treasures. But because we cannot doubt in their hearts about the infant Jesus, because they have recognized him as the Son of God and the eternal King and Savior, we must believe that they have given him abundantly.
18 Therefore, this also serves so that the poor Christians who suffer persecution and are in misery should not despair. God, before he would let a poor Christian suffer misery and die of hunger, would rather create a person for him over a hundred miles away, who would be comforting and helpful to him. As the example of His only begotten Son sufficiently comforts us.
The other part, from the saying of Micah.
(19) In addition to the history, the prophecy of the prophet Micah is especially noteworthy, in which he portrays the Lord Christ in an exceedingly fine way. The words are thus:
And you, Bethlehem Judah, are by no means the least of the princes of Judah; for out of you shall come to me the duke who shall be lord over my people Israel.
(20) In this saying, as the Jews themselves testify, God revealed that the Lord Christ was to be waited for in Bethlehem to be born there. This is a special honor that makes the poor little Bethlehem a thousand times more glorious than Jerusalem was. Therefore, although the prophet says that Bethlehem is small and of little account in the eyes of the world, the evangelist changes the prophet's words and says that it is not small or little. God honors this poor Bethlehem so highly that His Son is born there. Let this be an honor above all the honor that any city in the whole world has ever had.
21 Therefore the words of the evangelist, praising Bethlehem, are excellent, saying, "Out of thee shall come to me the Duke, who is Lord over my people. This is the joyful text that teaches us what we should look upon and hold the Lord Christ for, that although he is a beggar before the world, a wretched and despised man, who is in a
He is born in a small, poor spot, yet he is a lord and duke over Israel, that is, over the people of God.
(22) But what kind of rule this is, we reported in the angel's sermon on the day of Christ, who also calls Christ a Lord, not because he wants to be a tyrant and plague and force the people. For for this cause the prophet called him by name, saying, "Bethlehem, thou that art little." As if to say: If this Lord wanted to be great and splendid in the sight of the world, and to be seen in such a way that he should be feared, he would probably find another place where he would be born. But there is no splendor, no power, no goods, no money, neither sword nor gun. Therefore he leaves great, mighty cities, Jerusalem, the holiest, Rome, the mightiest, and others, and is content with poor, little Bethlehem. So that the city in which he is born will soon show what kind of Lord he is, poor and miserable in the sight of the world, but rich in spirit and in all spiritual goods.
023 For this is his title, that he should be a lord and a prince. But by his birth, by the city in which he is born, by all that he has on earth, he is poor and miserable, and has neither royal nor princely splendor. Therefore, if he be a lord and prince, and yet not glorious in the sight of the world, but wretched and poor, what can his glory be but that, as he is poor and wretched in the sight of the world, so he be rich and mighty in the sight of the world, which is poor and meager? This is that he is righteous, since the world is full of sin; that he is eternal, since the world is mortal. He is the master of the devil, since the world must let the devil rule and drive it. He is pious, since the world is evil. He has a gracious God, since the world is under God's wrath. He is a Lord of eternal life, since the world belongs down to hell.
(24) This is the dominion of this child, and in such a case his people shall enjoy it. He will not help you physically without as much need as your salvation and his honor require, for he himself is miserable.
and poor. For this reason, no one should think that he will receive money and goods. This may be expected from the pope and his like, who makes his creatures lords over great goods and divides the lands to them, as Daniel prophesied. But you should feel and enjoy the dominion of this child only in the fact that he wants to forgive your sin, make you righteous and holy, give you the Holy Spirit, and bring you out of the devil's kingdom and death into eternal life.
(25) This is where faith comes in, and that you diligently keep God's word, as reported in the beginning. For he who forsakes the word and follows his own thoughts will lose Christ altogether, and will have to think of him not as a Savior but as a judge, and flee from him as from the devil, whom we fear even when we have been wicked and done wrong, lest he come and lead us away.
(26) Our dear Lord Christ does not want to be such a lord, that he would deal cruelly with his own; but he wants to be lord and ruler over his people Israel, that he would help them from their sins and place them in God's grace. For "his people" means nothing else but poor miserable sinners who are frightened and despondent because of their sins, and would like to be well with God. So Micheas sums it up very well, first of all, that he is not to be a worldly lord, nor is he to be a lord who is spiritually evil, but is to help all who believe in him against sin, the devil, death and hell. For of such a Lord one can rejoice.
27 Thus far do the scribes carry the saying of Micah, and no further. Perhaps they fear that this is too much, for they see that Herod's heart was troubled as to how he might cut off this king of the Jews; therefore they omit the rest of what Micah says about this king. As if they should say, We know of no king of the Jews now, but of Herod; and yet it is thus written in Micah, There shall be born a prince of the Jews in Bethlehem. So they let it hang, and must not show themselves any further. But the prophet, though he is dead, yet he speaketh
Nevertheless, he goes on and says what kind of a duke or king this child will be because of his person, namely: "Which origin has been from the beginning and from eternity.
28 The scribes did not tell Herod the king, nor did they themselves understand. For it is somewhat more obscure than the foregoing, that he should be born in Bethlehem, and be a duke over the people of Israel. This is to be understood well, and is a strong indication that he must be a man.
29) But that the prophet adds: "His origin is from the beginning and before the days": this is so much said that he is also eternal God, who did not first begin to be something at Bethlehem. At Bethlehem he was born, that is one beginning; but besides this beginning he has another beginning, which is called: "from the beginning and from everlasting".
(30) For let the prophet keep his words. First he says: Ex te egredietur, out of you shall come forth. Here the chief priests and scribes themselves testify that "to go forth" means as much as, to be born. As we also say in German: Der ist da, dort her, das ist. da, dort geboren. Therefore the little word "go forth" must also mean so much afterwards, since he says: cujus egressus ab antiquis diebus, his going forth is from eternity, before time, day and hour have been.
If you want to know where this child came from, listen to the prophet Micah, who says that he came from Bethlehem. Where else did he come from? Only from Bethlehem? No, but he was born before the world, before heaven and earth, before sun and moon. This cannot be accepted in words, and is as much as, in eternity, before time or days were. Herod and the Jews should not have understood this, nor were they worthy of it.
32 This is the King and Lord who was born in Bethlehem, a true, real man, and who shall also be called: Egressus ab antiquis dierum, who came forth and was born before the world, that is, he is eternal, true God and true, right, natural man.
The world wants to become mad and foolish over this, because it cannot rhyme these two births together, that this child also had its beginning or birth before the sun and moon were created. For this reason the Jews did not like this, and after that many heresies arose which challenged this article. But think thou upon him, who hast God's word before his eyes. From whom then may he have been born, if he was born before the world? From no one but God. This is also what reason must conclude if it believes otherwise that God created heaven and earth. For what can one think that is before heaven and earth but God? If then this child came forth or was born before heaven and earth were created, it must have been born of God and be God itself; for apart from God and the creature there is nothing.
34 This is the text that does it all. For if Christ alone were a mere man, death would have choked him as well as all other men. Nor would it have helped him that he was born of a virgin. For it is far more wonderful that God should make Eve from a rib than that a virgin should give birth. For a virgin is a woman's image, created without that she should bear children. Therefore neither devil nor death would have asked to be born of the virgin Mary. But this is because the Virgin Mary does not bear a son alone, but such a son who was born before the world. Therefore the devil and death, and the whole kingdom of the devil, are overcome, because they have attached themselves to such a man, who, before the world was, had his beginning or birth.
(35) For if it were not so, and he had come forth from Bethlehem alone, death would have devoured him as well as me and you, as the Virgin Mary, John the Baptist, and other great saints. But his exit is called: from eternity. Therefore, death, which until now has strangled all men, must exist with shame in this child, the Lord Jesus, because he was God, he could not atone.
He could not be accused by the law, strangled by death, or condemned by the devil. But because he had his origin in the time of Bethlehem, and was born into the world like another child, he had to die. So the devil and death sang to each other, looking no further than the exit from Bethlehem. This infant is killed by the same exit. But now that he lies in the grave, he says: I was born before the world; and with power he tears through the grave, sin, death and devils, so that they cannot hold him.
36. The prophet wants to bring us such a message about this prince, that he has two exits, or as we speak in German, two births; therefore he is such a person, who is at the same time true God and true man with each other, so that he is only one person and not two; that one must say: Christ is the Son of the virgin Mary, who sucked at her breasts and gained weight in her womb like another man; but besides this he was also born of his Father, the living, eternal God, before the world in eternity. That therefore these two natures, divine and human, in One Person, inseparably united, are One Christ, who is true God and true man etc.
37 The chief priests did not tell Herod this, nor was he worthy, as I said, the tyrant, to know or understand. They themselves did not understand it etc.
Now this is an exceedingly marvelous birth, which, if we would learn it rightly, we must begin first of all by grasping the beginning at Bethlehem. Just as the prophet also keeps this order, he writes first of the bodily birth; there he also makes more words of it than of the other birth, which is from eternity. For whoever wants to know how our Lord God is disposed toward us, let him begin below and first learn what he has done here on earth and how he has revealed himself to men. After that, he will learn from this child, as the text gives it in itself, that it is from eternity. Such
will then not be terrible, but most lovely and comforting.
39 But there is a special misfortune, that everyone, out of shameful and harmful presumption, wants to start first with the provision of this and that. Because God knew all things, why he did not ruin man's case? Why does he still watch the world and let it promote its own damnation, when he could well be in favor of it and convert it so that it would have to be pious? etc. Whoever wants to begin to recognize God with such questions will actually break his neck. For this is Lucifer's case, he also wanted to go above, and nowhere above. But it does not.
(40) If you want to travel with certainty and learn to know God in His essence, you must begin here, as the prophet does here, that you first come to Bethlehem, and then ascend to heaven and eternity. As Christ also teaches, saying, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. He who sees me, Philip, sees the Father," John 14:6, 9. He who does not lift himself up, but immediately wants to go up and speculate on how God rules, how he punishes and chokes, it serves him right when he is in trouble. As the wise man says, Prov. 25, 27: "He who investigates difficult things finds them too difficult.
Therefore, this is the right art for anyone who wants to learn about this child, to go to Bethlehem first, that is, to see what kind of office this child is to lead and carry out in the world, namely, that he is to be a duke, as Micah says, who is to redeem his people from sins and eternal death. When, then, these things have been well learned, and this infant in the manger has been found, seen, and well apprehended, it will be found that he is not only Mary's Son, but also God's Son, born of God before any creature was created; and not only will no harm follow, but all joy and security; for through this child we come to God and His grace, whom otherwise we would never be able to believe to be a gracious God. This is the text of the infant Jesus in Bethlehem.
42. but here also see how shameful He
rodes and the scribes deal with it. Herod persecuted the child, and the scribes despised him. Now this is the art of our Lord God, who can put such an excellent text before the people that they talk, sing and say about it, and yet they shall not understand a word of it. For is it no wonder that the scribes preach this text here, Herod sends the wise men to Bethlehem according to this text, and that is even more, the prankster says: "Search diligently for the little child, and if you find it, tell me again, that I also may come and worship it? yet they do not understand a word of it, they have the shells; but of the kernel they must guess.
God still deals with ungrateful, evil Christians today: not only with the papists, who have, read and know the Bible just as well as we do; but also with the people of our part, that they know how to speak of the Gospel, but do not understand a word of it. For otherwise they would prove otherwise with their lives. Just as the scribes and Herod have the prophet in their mouths; but if they understood him, do you not think they would also make themselves out, and seek and worship the little child? But the fact that they do not do so, but go away and throw themselves to the winds, is an indication that they do not know or understand what they are teaching other people.
44 But believers have an advantage over unbelievers in that they not only hear the words, but also understand them, and have great joy and comfort from them. Therefore, although the world, the pope, and our proud citizens and peasants are superior to us in money, goods, power, and honor, we know that in this respect they are far, far inferior to us, and so afflicted, even though they can hear the words, speak and teach them themselves, that they should not understand the least of them. As their lives sufficiently show, they have ears like the stubborn Jews, and yet they do not hear, and are blind with their seeing eyes.
May God, with the wise, through the star of His holy Word, graciously lead us to His Son Christ Jesus, and keep us from all offenses forever, amen.