Explanation of several pieces from the history of the Passion.
(1) In this part of the history of the Lord Christ there are many fine comforting points of Christian doctrine; but because it is too much for one sermon, and the history itself is long enough, we will take three parts in particular: the first, that in the history the innocence of our dear Lord Christ is so often testified to by Pilato and others.
The other is the confession that Christ makes before Pilate, which is praised by St. Paul, 1 Tim. 6, 13; the third is about Pilate and the Jews, how they both hold the blood of our dear Lord Christ in such low esteem, which then becomes an unbearable and eternal burden that brings them to all temporal and eternal misfortune.
2 From the first, your love hears through and through how Pilate always insists that he finds no cause of death in Christ. His wife also sends to him and tells him that he should have nothing to do with the righteous, innocent man. And Pilate found from all the actions and after diligent investigation that it was only hatred and envy that the chief priests and elders had against Christ.
3) Such testimonies are found even more and more powerful after the death of Christ, when the great, glorious miracles take place, earthquake, eclipse and others. Therefore the chief captain freely confesses publicly, saying: "Truly, this man was a devout man. And the people who were standing there beat their chests as a sign that they were sorry that the innocent man had been treated so quickly.
4 But what is the purpose of all these testimonies? Why did the evangelists describe and depict them so diligently? Undoubtedly for the sole purpose of pointing us to God's counsel and will, and to remind us to consider what such suffering of the innocent, righteous Lord is primarily for. So that, since we have so much testimony that he was innocent and did not deserve such death, we may become all the more certain in our faith and conclude: All that our dear Lord Christ suffered, he suffered for our sake, and God imposed such suffering on him and did not want to take it from him, even though he was innocent, so that we would be freed from sin and reconciled to God.
(5) Therefore, throughout the whole history of the Passion, when we hear how unjustly the Jews and the Gentiles treat the Lord Christ, how they beat him before the high priest, mock him before Herod, scourge him in the judgment hall, and mock him: when, I say, we hear these things in the whole history, we should always have the thought in our minds: Behold, he is innocent, for his sake he does not suffer, he does not deserve it. But I, you and all of us have deserved it; we have deserved death and all the misfortunes of sin.
But here comes the innocent, holy Son of God, who puts himself in my debt and wants to pay for it, so that I may be redeemed and set free.
(6) From such thoughts must come the consolation that hearts do not despair because of their sin, do not flee from God as from the executioner or a tyrant, but turn to Him with heartfelt confidence, praising and extolling His mercy, which He extols especially toward us, as Paul says in Romans 5:8, in that He gives His only begotten Son, our Lord and Savior, to die for us sinners. Who can or will doubt that God does not mean well and most graciously with us? We were in God's wrath because of our sins, under death and in Satan's kingdom; eternal life was lost, and instead of it we inherited all temporal and eternal misfortune. But the gracious, merciful Father takes care of us, does not want to leave us in such misery, sends rather his only begotten Son, lets him be born of a virgin; he throws him under the law, so that, because flesh and blood could not do God's will, nevertheless the law would not be given in vain, and would be fulfilled by this man for all other men. He finally let him die on the cross and pay for our sin with his innocent death; so that we, through him, would have eternal life and become children of God.
(7) Accept it, be comforted by it, believe it is for your sake and too good for you. For here you hear not once, nor twice, but often; what he suffers, he suffers innocently. Why does God tolerate such things? Yes, why does God decree and create it? So that you may be comforted by it. He does not suffer for himself, but for you and for the whole world, as John says: He is the propitiation, not only for our sin, but also for the whole world. For this reason the Baptist gives him a name and calls him the Lamb of God, who bears the sin of the world, that is, a sacrifice of God, set apart to take upon himself the sin of the whole world, and to rid the world of it and set it free.
make. That is why it must be so absurd. He is God's Son, absolutely holy and without all sin, therefore he should be justly excused from curse and death. We are sinners, under the curse and wrath of God, because of which we should bear death and damnation. But God turns it around; he who has no sin, since there is nothing but grace and, as John says, in whom dwells the fullness of God's grace, must become a curse and bear the torment of sin; but through him we are in grace and children of God.
8 For this reason we should hold on to this comfort, and let such testimonies of Christ's innocence be especially dear to us. For what Christ suffered innocently caused our guilt and sin. Therefore we can comfort ourselves with his innocence against sin and all misfortune. For such innocence is an indisputable testimony that we enjoy his suffering, and that the pious Lord and gracious Savior has suffered and paid for us. But of such we shall have cause to speak further, when we bring him to the cross and between the two murderers; let us now proceed to the other point.
(9) St. Paul exhorts Timothy in the first epistle of the 6th chapter. V. 13. 14. with these words: "I command thee before God, who quickeneth all things, and before Christ JEsu, who testified a good confession under Pontio Pilato, that thou keep the commandment," that is, the doctrine, "without spot, blameless, until the appearing of our Lord JEsu Christ."'
(10) This saying, because it clearly indicates the confession of Christ before Pilate, and Paul thereby so nobly and seriously admonishes Timothy, gives us cause to consider such a confession, what it is and what it serves. Now it is clear from history what Christ confessed. For when the Jews accused him of having made himself king, and Pilate confronted him, he did not deny it, but confessed freely, saying to Pilate, "My kingdom is not of this world," "My kingdom is not from hence. When Pilate asked again, "Are you still a king?" Jesus answered, "You say that I am a king.
King, I was born for this purpose, and to come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth; and he who is of the truth hears my voice."
(11) Here you may think, What does this add to the exhortation which Paul gives to Timothy, that he should keep the commandment, that is, the doctrine, pure, and not counterfeit it? Answer: A great deal, yes, all things together, depends on this one thing, that you, if you want to be a true preacher or Christian, believe both things that Christ has confessed, namely, that he is a king, and yet his kingdom is not of this world, that he does nothing more in this world than bear witness to the truth. For from this it follows that as this king is, so must his subjects be here on earth. He has the name that he is called a king; but whoever wants to esteem him against worldly kings, against Herodem, or Pilatum, who was even lower than Herod, must consider him a poor beggar, a hard-suffering, miserable man. Herod is a great lord, who is resplendent, seeks all kinds of pleasures, has what his heart desires, and is held glorious by all the world; likewise Pilate and others are glorious before the world. But the pious, poor Christ is a beggar in comparison; they mock and jeer at him according to their pleasure; they condemn him to death, crucify him, and strangle him; therefore he well says, "My kingdom is not of this world."
But why does he have the name of a king? Answer: He is a king, but in another world. His kingdom is not giving money or goods, satisfying the body and doing other things that worldly kings do, but giving the Holy Spirit, forgiveness of sins and eternal life. He starts such a kingdom here on earth, but only in word and faith. Apart from this, it must have suffered and died here on earth, as our King himself suffered and died.
013 He that knoweth this manner of this King and of his kingdom giveth himself willingly under the cross. For he not only knows that his Lord Christ, the eternal King, also suffered in this way, but is therefore willing and ready to suffer, because the servant
He is not better off than his Lord, but he also takes comfort in the fact that even though he has suffered here, there will be joy and glory there for eternity. This makes Christians courageous, even in the midst of temptation and sorrow. Others, on the other hand, who do not know this, have no choice when things go badly for them, but to mourn, complain, grumble, be impatient, and ultimately even despair.
14 For their thoughts are thus: If God meant well with you, he would not let so much misfortune come to you, or would soon help and save again. Such thoughts are basically nothing else, as if Christ should be a king of this world. They should, according to their office, protect life and limb and property, and keep them from misfortune. Thus Christ, the king, lets body and property, life and everything come in motion.
15 Thou shalt learn that it is because his kingdom is not of this world. Here on earth thou shalt not enjoy thy Christian faith, that thou mayest have all things, and lack nothing. For look at your King, the Lord Jesus, how is he? Wherewith doth he glory? What good life hath he? How glorious is he held? Is it not true that with him there is nothing but suffering, mockery, and scorn, and a shameful death?
(16) He has one small part where he rules with very few people, namely, with the testimony of truth, that is, with the holy gospel. Through it he gives the Holy Spirit into the hearts, he forgives sin and gives the hope of eternal life. But all this remains only in faith and word, it is not seen, it is not grasped, it is not before the hand, but in hope. But when the kingdom of the world ends and we are no longer here on earth, then his kingdom and glory shall be revealed in us, so that we may live with him forever and rule over all that is in heaven and on earth.
(17) In this way the one thief recognizes the Lord on the cross, saying, "Lord, remember me when you come into your Father's kingdom. He saw Christ hanging there on the cross, just in the sorrow, when he was in
was. The other thief on the left was annoyed by this, and began to mock the Jews, saying, "You are such a good king," thinking that because the dear Lord was so miserable and poor here on earth, there was no hope for him. But he who is at his right hand knows him well, what kind of king he is, namely, not a king of this world, and asks, when he comes to his kingdom, that he will remember him, that is, that he will help him, when he has died on the cross and has given up his spirit. So we should also believe in Christ, then we will find certain comfort in him.
18 All Christians need this comfort, so that in all kinds of misfortune and adversity they will always keep this confession of Christ before Pilate, and often repeat this word to themselves: What wilt thou weep for? What will you complain about this and that accident? Remember, what kind of a king do you have? How does he speak before Pilato? My kingdom is not of this world. Would you have your kingdom here? By no means; it would not endure; but here it must be thoroughly suffered. But glory and good life shall be found in another world. If it were found here, it would be a short and fleeting joy. For in this world here is nothing lasting nor eternal. But my King Christ Jesus is a King in that world, that is, an eternal King, there we want to save our joy and glory, and here on earth take it for good, as they do us. For we are not destined here by our King; he will have nothing to do with the world and this temporal life here apart from the testimony of the truth etc. This comfort, I say, is needed by all Christians, but especially by those who are in the ministry and preach the word.
19 Therefore St. Paul exhorts Timothy with these very words of Christ's confession before Pilate to hold fast to the right doctrine and not to allow it to be falsified. For since the world and the devil cannot tolerate the word and do all kinds of evil against it, every preacher should and must hold to this testimony and declare Christ to be such a king.
that he may be comforted and enjoy it, but not here on earth. For thus he saith, "My kingdom is not from hence." And again, "I am a king; I am come into the world for a testimony of the truth." Therefore, whoever desires to have the King Christ, let him hold fast to the truth or to his word, and know that he will have no more of his kingdom here on earth; indeed, he will still have to suffer all the misfortunes over the word, as the King Christ himself suffered. But when this life is ended, then the kingdom of the Lord Christ shall be enjoyed.
(20) The pope and the bishops have not held to this comfort; they do not want such a king, who has nothing more than to testify to the truth; they say with Pilate, "Oh, what is the truth? we would have to go begging for it; therefore we want to have another king, who will give us money, goods, honor, authority and everything enough, let this king and the truth stay where they want. But Paul warns against such evil, and every pious preacher should take such a warning seriously, and put it on his mind: Here on earth we are not to be glorious; all our glory is to bear witness to the truth. Then the world will reward us, as it did the Lord Christ, with the gallows and the executioner. Learn to endure and bear this, and set your heart and hope on it, that though you suffer here, yet in the world to come such suffering will be well repaid and recompensed by the eternal King, the Lord Christ. This is enough of the testimony before Pilate in a nutshell.
(21) Now we must also consider the third, how Pilate and the Jews hold the blood of our dear Lord Christ in such low esteem, but finally it becomes an unbearable and eternal burden to them.
22 Matthew specifically reports that Pilate washed his hands before the people and said, "I am innocent of the blood of this righteous man. He is satisfied with this and has Christ crucified. Just as if it were enough for him to say that he was innocent. But if he had wanted to take warning, his wife could have told him how innocent he would be,
as reported above in the history, had suffered much the whole night, that God had revealed to her what a severe judgment and sentence Pilate would cause upon himself and all his own by this death.
(23) But the blood of the Lord Christ and of his Christians is always like this. Old Herod strangled the innocent children around Bethlehem. His son strangled Saint John the Baptist. And both of them thought they would enjoy such murder. Pilate here also does not respect it very much that he sentences Christ to death. As he thinks of it, so, he lets himself think, God will also think of it and consider him innocent. But without a doubt, God's wrath will not have remained long, so that Pilate's house, tribe and name will be destroyed, and then body and soul will be cast into hell and eternal fire. There he learned how innocent he had been of this blood.
024 But the Jews are still more reckless about this murder. When Pilate saith, "Watch ye!" they go forth without all timidity, and say, "His blood be upon us and upon our children;" that is, if he be wronged, it shall be upon us and upon our children. Soon it is spoken, and afterwards it goes out to them as before, it seems as if it were spoken into the wind; but before forty years had passed, they saw that it would become another, and then such blood rose up so violently that shortly Jerusalem and the whole land were laid waste, the people slain, and all things turned back together. But this was not enough: even today, almost fifteen hundred years later, they are still in misery, have nowhere to live, and it is a small thing that they are so miserable according to the times.
(25) Hearts are embittered against the Son of God, with whom they should seek and wait for forgiveness of sins and eternal life; they have a desire for lies and error, they seek diligently, as they obscure the Scriptures for themselves, and cannot come to the right understanding. If they want to think they are calling upon God, they are serving God, they are serving the wretched devil, and God does not want to hear them.
And finally nothing is more certain, because they do not want to be freed from sins by the Son of God, that they must die in their sins and perish eternally. At that time they did not see such misery, they thought it would be their best if Christ would only be seasoned soon. Therefore, without any further thought, they said, "If he is wronged, it will be on us and on our children. But just as Judas had a short time of joy with his thirty pieces of silver, so it soon became different with the Jews, that from day to day all their character decreased, until at last they perished altogether.
(26) Therefore, the great kings and princes in particular should consider this example, that it is such an easy, small thing for Pilate and then the Jews to shed innocent blood, but it finally pushes them down into the abyss of hell.
27 Our bishops with their idol, the pope, where they can become powerful of a pious, faithful priest and pastor, they hurry to the fire and raven stone, then let themselves think that they have founded it very well; they have a wrestling courage for it with Pilato and the Jews. But it is not yet the end of all days; see how it will end. For it is impossible for God to remain silent for long. The blood cries out too loudly in his ears that he must make himself heard and punish himself.
Pilate went down, without doubt that not one man of his name and tribe remained behind him. The Jews still carry the blood of Christ today, which will finally push them down into hell. The great and mighty emperors, the mighty princes in the Roman Empire, and everywhere else that has ever been set against the Christians, everything is miserably corrupted and dead. So shall it be with the enemies of Christ this day, who act so tyrannically and strangle the poor Christians for the sake of the gospel. Only no one should worry that the punishment will not be inflicted. If they were as powerful as Emperor Augustus, they would have to go down with all their descendants if they tamper with innocent Christian blood. Now they may well consider us heretics and think they are doing the right thing by strangling us. But Pilate, and especially the Jews, thought so too, but it did not help them. Therefore, let everyone take care of himself and be satisfied with the blood of the Christians. In the beginning it seems to be a bad sin and a small trade; but in the end it turns out that everything that is defiled with Christian blood must go to the ground, as all histories testify. May the almighty God ward off all tyrants, but graciously pacify His Church, and graciously preserve us in His Word and make us eternally blessed. Amen.