Matth. 13, 24-30.
He set before them another similitude, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that sowed good seed in his field. But while the people slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went away. Now when the herb grew and bore fruit, the tares were also found. Then the servants came to the father of the house and said: Lord, did you not sow good seed in your field? where did the weeds come from? He said to them: The enemy has done this. Then said the servants: Do you want us to go and weed it out? And he said, Nay; lest, when ye sow the tares, ye pluck up the wheat at the same time. Let both grow together until the harvest; and at harvest time I will say to the reapers, Gather first the tares, and bind them in bundles to be burned; but gather me the wheat into my sheaves.
1 This gospel seems to be easy and to be understood well, because the Lord himself interprets it, what the field, the good seed and the tares are. But there are so many different interpretations in the teachers that it is necessary to be careful how to arrive at the right opinion.
(2) For some interpret the weeds as heresies, and conclude from this gospel that it is not fitting for secular authorities to strangle heretics, because it says here that they should not be weeded out. And Augustine himself confesses that he was also of such an opinion, but afterwards was forced by example and irrefutable cause to drop such an opinion.
3. some make no distinction between secular authorities and the servants of this householder, and point the weed to the public aversions, and conclude that Christian authorities should not possess an embarrassing court.
4 Some, as the pope and his crowd, regardless of the fact that the Lord forbids to root out the tares, because they judge and condemn the teaching of the holy gospel as tares, they do not leave it at that, but cannot rage against it enough and rage with murders and all kinds of horrible tyranny. Since there are so many opinions, let us first see the correct interpretation, and then we will give our opinion on the question of how to deal with heretics.
5 So this is the opinion that Christ does not speak here of the heretics in particular, but sets before us a likeness of the kingdom of heaven, that is, of the whole Christian church as it is here on earth and will remain until the end of the world, namely, that the Christian church will be like a field sown with good seed. But there the devil finds himself, and sows tares in the night, before men are aware of it. So that good seed and tares grow together in the church, that is, good and evil are among each other; this will never be prevented here in this life. But in that life there, the pious and the wicked shall be distinguished and separated, as the Lord says he will command his servants in the time of harvest.
(6) That this gospel goes especially against the Donatists, Novatians, Anabaptists, and such like groups, who have dealt with it, and still how they could establish a church, where there would be no trouble at all, but only pure saints. Therefore, if a case of weakness or otherwise happened to a Christian, they immediately threw him out of the church and no longer wanted to consider him a brother. Yet the command of Christ is clear and plain, that men should be converted and repent, and that the ministers of the church should especially labor that men continue not in sins, but by right repentance depart therefrom.
007 That it is so, the examples also prove. David's fall was very grievous and terrible, but because he was sorry and desired mercy again, he was granted mercy. Peter also fell hard, but he was granted mercy again because he confessed his sin, wept bitterly over it, and desired mercy. Also, just before his fall, the Lord says: "I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail" etc. And Matt. 18, when he asks if he should forgive seven times his brother who sins against him, Christ answers him v. 22: "I tell you, not seven times, but seventy times seven."
These are clear and certain indications that the Christians here on earth will not be so pure, they will sometimes stumble and fall. Whoever now deals with how he can make a church, where there is no sin nor fall within, will condemn all such weak Christians, even the strong ones (for none of them is so strong, he sometimes stumbles), as unchristians and will have to exclude them from the church.
(9) Therefore the Christian church is of such an opinion that not only are there many hypocrites and false Christians in it, and yet they have the name as if they were Christians, but even the true Christians themselves will never be so pure and holy, the old Adam will be tempted and sometimes stumble. What need would Christians have of the petition in the Lord's Prayer, since they pray it every day? Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us? item: Do not lead us into temptation? Such a request is a certain indication that honest Christians can fall and fall into temptation at any hour. Whoever would exclude such people and not allow them to be Christians would lose the Christian church altogether and would not find any Christians anywhere.
10 But it does not have this opinion. Right Christians, as I said, are weak and often fall; but they rise again from sins through repentance and faith in Christ. Nevertheless, among the same Christians who are the right good seed, but still weak, are found the shameful weeds, the false Christians, who nevertheless bear the Christian name and make a fuss about the good field.
men. One must be accustomed to this and suffer it, and know that one cannot root out such weeds, nor make the church of all things pure of them.
Now Christ not only teaches us these things, but also shows us the cause where such evil comes from, that in the church, where the right seed is sown, that is, the word of God is preached purely and loudly, there are nevertheless so many shameful weeds, so many hypocrites and false Christians. But he shows such a cause to warn us against the trouble that otherwise all the world is in, saying, Nothing good comes from the preaching of the gospel etc., lest we also fall into the wrong thought, since otherwise all the world is in.
(12) We can boast today, praise God, that we have the true gospel, and we can truthfully convict our adversaries that they have false and unfounded doctrine. But because the tares are also found among us in heaps, that many an offence is caused by the unbelievers among us; for avarice, usury, fornication, boasting, cursing, lying and deceiving are going on with all their might, yes, more than in former times under the papacy: such desolate nature brings the gospel and the preachers almost everyone into disrepute, so that one says: If this doctrine were right, people would be more pious. But Christ here excuses both the doctrine and the teachers, and says that among the multitude that has the right doctrine and is the good field, there are nevertheless many tares and bad boys. This is not the fault of the doctrine, which is pure and wholesome; nor is it the fault of the preachers, who like to see it well, and use all diligence to see that the people become more pious: but it is the fault of the enemy, the devil, who acts like a wicked farmer or neighbor: if one sleeps and does no harm, he does not sleep, but comes and sows tares in the good field. This is how it stands in the likeness before this: He captures the hearts so that they do not heed the word, and so from day to day the longer the further they get away from it, and let the devil lead and drive them as he wants, into all kinds of sin and shame.
Thirteen: But see thou whether it be not a poor trade and an abominable blasphemy, that men should blame and lay to the charge of Christ and his gospel that which the devil himself alone doeth; and yet almost the whole world walketh in such blasphemy this day. For whatever misfortune arises, soon one is there and cries out about the gospel, as if it were the fault of the doctrine and the good seed; when the good seed by its nature can bring forth nothing but good fruit; but where it does not bring forth good fruit, there must be a wicked land and a hopeless cursed ground.
14 For this reason, it is this opinion that every Christian, and especially every preacher, should despair and despair of the fact that he will never be able to have saints in his church. For the devil does not leave it, he throws his seed in with it; which is only realized when it shoots forth and grows up. This is what happened to the dear apostles, Paul, John and others; hoping to have pious Christians and faithful workers in the gospel, they were the worst husks and bitterest enemies. It is the same with us: those who think they are pious and righteous do us the greatest harm and cause the most trouble, because we are asleep and do not worry about any misfortune.
(15) This is the only consolation, that Christ himself says it will be so. For this reason St. John comforts himself in his epistle against such trouble, saying, 1 Epistle, chap. 2, 19: "They went out from us, but they were not of us. For it happens that what should be the best becomes the worst and turns out the worst. The angels have become devils. One of the apostles betrayed Christ. Christians have become heretics. God's people have become such boys, who bring Christ to the cross. This is the way it is and no other way. Therefore we should be undaunted and not abandon our ministry when we see weeds growing up among the wheat, but only then stop confidently to admonish the people so that they do not get angry. For the tares will not and cannot alone
grow in a bad soil, but also under the wheat and in a good field.
16 For the devil, as it says in the Gospel, cannot dwell in desolate, dry places; he wants to sit in heaven. He also likes to eat good, sweet morsels; and he likes to eat pure fruit, because he considers his filth to be musk and balm. The pure little fruit wants to live among the roses, that is, he wants to be, sit and rule in the church. We have to live and suffer this until that day, when it will be different.
17 Although it is very painful to remain among such evil men and have to tolerate and suffer everything, we can take comfort in the fact that the guilt is not ours. That is why God does not want to repay us. If only we keep the word faithfully and diligently, it shall bring forth eternal fruit. On the other hand, the wicked, who cause all kinds of trouble and do not want to act like Christians, shall find their punishment, not only here on earth, but also in the life to come, as the Lord says here: "Those who do wrong will be thrown into the furnace of fire, with weeping and gnashing of teeth. But the righteous will shine like the sun in their Father's kingdom." The godly should look forward to this hour and not let the trouble they cannot avoid bother them. If most of them do not want to do right, let them. We may thank God that some nevertheless accept the word, follow it and become more pious.
18 So this is the sum of today's gospel, that even among the right Christians, since the right, good seed, the word of God, lies in a good field or field, there will always be evil, bad boys and unbelievers. And no one shall presume to change this. For the wicked will remain mixed with the pious, says Christ, until the last day. Then they shall be separated from them by angels; but from us men it shall not be. But whosoever shall be subject thereto shall make evil worse, and shall either pluck up the tares, or tread down the good wheat with the tares.
19. Here they have two questions. The first:
Whether the church may need its power, and exclude from the church those who lie in public aggravation? The other: Whether secular authorities should defend heretics with the sword?
(20) This is the answer to the first question: The church is not forbidden in this gospel to banish or exclude sinners. For the Lord speaks of such a casting out, which is done with the sword, as taking the life of the wicked. Now the church or the ministry does not use the sword, but what it does, it does only with the word. Therefore, although sinners are banished and excluded from the church, the church accepts them again if they convert and desire mercy. That is why the old teachers say that if Matthew, when he was still a tax collector, and Paul, when he persecuted the Christians, and the thief on the cross, had been judged and strangled soon after the fact, as bad boys, as they were in truth, then the wheat that grew from them afterwards, when they converted, would have been uprooted with them. But it should not have such an opinion that the church should strangle the wicked. It should banish and exclude them, like pagans, so that they may come to the knowledge of their sin and amend themselves, and so that others may then take their example as an example and beware of sinning.
(21) Yea, sayest thou, why are not thieves, and murderers, and others, dealt with in this manner, that they may be condemned, and not be punished with the executioner? Then some could be preserved who die in their sins without faith? Answer: Here you must realize that the Lord speaks of the kingdom of God. There it should be so, that one does not need a sword; otherwise one would want to pull out the wheat with the weeds. But in the kingdom of the world, God has given another command, which is called: "Whoever takes the sword shall be judged with the sword. Christ does not speak of such a world kingdom here. Therefore one must not mix it, but let it go in the kingdom of heaven, what should go there. But the worldly authorities should be diligent and
that the condemned people may be taught rightly, so that, because the body must bear its punishment, the spirit may nevertheless be preserved, until in that life the body also rises in honor, which here is so shamefully executed.
22 From this it is good to hear whether the secular authorities may also defend the heretics with the sword, because Christ says here: One should not pull up the tares, but save such judgment until the last day. For this gospel can do no more than that this master's servants should not pull up the tares. But these are servants, as reported before, not in the kingdom of the world, but in the kingdom of heaven. They do not need the sword, for God has not given it to them. But if they take it, as the pope did, they do no good, and do only harm. But the secular authorities have the sword with the command that they are to prevent all trouble, so that it does not break in and do harm. But the most dangerous and terrible trouble is when false doctrine and unrighteous worship break in. Therefore, a Christian authority should be most concerned about such trouble, since it always brings disruption of the regiments and all kinds of punishment and misfortune, as can be seen in all histories.
Therefore it is very true what St. Augustine says to Vincentium: Serviant reges Christo leges ferendo pro Christo. The kings should serve the Lord Christ in such a way that they should help with laws so that his honor is promoted. Et ad Parmenionem: Non dormiat severitas disciplinae, quando crimen cujusque notum, et omnibus execrabile apparet. Serious punishment shall not sleep when sin is in the daytime, and everyone sees that it is an abominable thing. The sin, he says, should be in the daytime and obvious, that is, one should not hurry with the punishment, but inquire well about all things beforehand. For one may sometimes think something is heresy, but if one judges rightly according to God's word, then it is the right, honest truth. That is why the papists are disagreeable, disgraceful tyrants, whom no one can bring to any discussion and disputation, yet they always continue with murders and
all kinds of tyranny. Judgment shall precede punishment. But he who would judge heresy must seek such judgment nowhere but in the Scriptures.
(24) Where secular authorities find shameful error, thereby blaspheming the glory of the Lord Christ and hindering the salvation of men, and division arises among the people, where something bad tends to follow, as we have now experienced more than one etc.Where such false teachers will not be rebuked and will not desist from preaching, the secular authorities should confidently defend themselves and know that, for the sake of their office, it is not their place to do otherwise than to turn the sword and all authority to this end, so that the doctrine may be pure and the people may be saved.
The church service must be pure and unadulterated, and peace and unity must be maintained. So that one may give a hand to the other: those in the spiritual regime with the word and ban; but the authorities with the sword and force, so that the people remain united in doctrine and all trouble and evil is prevented. So things are going well, and God wants to give prosperity to both regiments. But whatever wicked boys remain, who ask nothing of the Word and are not punished by the worldly authorities, they will find their judgment on that day. May God graciously protect us from this, and keep us in the good word, without all vexation, until the end, and make us blessed, amen.