The first sermon.
John 16:16-23.
Over a little one ye shall not see me; but over a little one ye shall see me: for I go unto the Father. Then said some of his disciples one to another, What is this that he saith unto us, Over a little thing ye shall not see me; and over a little thing ye shall see me, and that I go unto the Father? Then they said: What is this that he saith concerning a little one? we know not what he saith. Then Jesus perceived that they were about to ask him, and said unto them: Of this ye ask one another, that I said of a little one ye shall not see me; and of a little one ye shall see me. Verily, verily, I say unto you, ye shall weep and wail; but the world shall rejoice. But ye shall be sorrowful: but your sorrow shall be turned into joy. When a woman gives birth, she is sad, because her hour has come. But when she has given birth to the child, she no longer thinks of sorrow for the joy that the man is born into the world. And ye also now have sorrow; but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man shall take from you. And in that day ye shall ask me nothing.
This gospel is a part of the comforting sermon, which the Lord preaches to his disciples at night over the table, because soon after he was betrayed in the garden of Judah and captured by the Jews. And especially this consolation goes like this: although the disciples should be angry and sorrowful over the shameful death of the Lord, yet such sorrow shall not last long; for he, the Lord, shall be but a little one of them; after that they shall see him again when he rises from the dead, and shall rejoice in him, and enjoy such joy forever.
Now John tells us in many words how the disciples did not understand such a sermon, and how they were not able to understand what the Lord was talking about. Therefore the Lord must explain it to them, and they still do not understand. Just as the disciples were sore, so we also learn that we can never get out of the small things, and that the very things that prevented the disciples from understanding them lie in our way.
003 For when the temptation came upon them, and they saw the Lord Jesus die so shamefully and miserably, they could not think that it was but a small thing; but so
Their hearts were troubled: the Lord Christ was finished, and it would now be in them that they would be treated and dealt with like their Master.
4 But that they should have thought that it would only be two days, when the Lord would rise from the dead into eternal life, and help them here on earth against the world, the devil, sin and death, until he finally made them blessed: nothing came of it. Therefore John reports afterwards how on Easter Day, for fear of the Jews, they locked the house and refused to believe that Christ had risen from the dead, although the women and Peter and the other two disciples told them so. In sum, they could not believe that it was only a small thing. They thought that Christ would remain eternally in death, like other people; otherwise they would not have mourned so much, but would have waited for his resurrection with joy and consoled themselves with it.
(5) It is the same with us; when God lets a disaster come upon us, the first thought that comes to our mind is: we must stay at the hilt, there is neither help nor advice. We neither want to say nor sing that it is only a small thing that needs to be done, and
God will soon and unexpectedly let himself be seen with his grace and help. Therefore we become fainthearted and can do nothing but cry and complain. Yet, as St. Paul says, we should rejoice and glory in our trials, not only because of the help that is to come, which cannot be withheld if we only believe and keep the word, but also because through the cross, as the most certain test, we may know that we are God's children, as we will report below.
(6) So this gospel is a beautiful sermon of comfort, not only for the disciples, but for all Christians, that they should learn the word modicum (about a small thing), and practice it in all their trials and comfort themselves with it: It is only a small thing to do, then the suffering will disappear, and all comfort and joy will be found.
In order that such consolation may be grasped all the more firmly, let us now speak in general of the cross and suffering. Reason thinks that if God had an eye on us and loved us, he would prevent all misfortune and not let us suffer at all. But because now there, now there, all adversity grows upon us, it concludes: God has either forgotten us or is hostile to us, and does not want us; otherwise he would help us and not let us lie and wriggle so miserably.
But against such thoughts, which we have by nature, we must equip ourselves with God's word, and judge not according to what we think, but as the word tells us. For if we judge apart from and without the word, our judgment is wrong and deceives us. What then does the word say? First, that not a hair of our head can perish unless it is the will of God. Whoever then will judge according to such a word of our dear Lord Christ will have to conclude: No matter how powerful and strong the devil and the world may be, they are not able to do anything against a Christian, unless it is the will of God. As the Lord Christ gives the simile of the sparrow, which is a useless bird that does more harm than good; and yet, says Christ, none of them fall to the earth and perish, unless it be the will of the Father in heaven.
A Christian must certainly conclude that God is more interested in one person than in many sparrows, if he does not want to prove Christ wrong, as Christ Himself says in the same place. For this reason, he will keep them in good watch and guard, and will not allow either the devil or the world so much power that they can do whatever they want against a Christian. But if they do something to him, God will know about it and will have given his will beforehand, otherwise they would have to leave it alone. This is one thing, mark it well, lest you think, when things go badly for you, that God has forgotten you; if he remembered you, things would go differently for you; for he remembers you, and yet lets things go badly for you.
(9) Soon another thought is found, which is even more dangerous. For if I am to believe that the misfortune I am suffering has been inflicted on me by God, then reason continues and concludes: God must not mean well with me, otherwise he would not let me suffer so much, he would hand me over to suffering and be merciful to me. When the conscience strikes here and the sins come to our attention, it is especially difficult to despair of God, to become an enemy of Him, to turn away from Him, and to seek help elsewhere, since God has forbidden it. For it seems to us that it would be much more tolerable and far less,' where the misfortune was inflicted on us by the evil enemy or evil people, than that God should thus impose it on us.
(10) There is need again for us to be in harmony with God's word and not to follow reason and its judgment. For then we would certainly either fall into despair, or become enemies of God and pay no attention to Him at all. Now, what does the Word say about this? Paul says in 1 Cor. 11, 31. 32: "If we judge ourselves, we will not be judged. But if we are judged, we shall be chastened of the Lord, lest we be damned with the world." This is a clear saying that God chastises and punishes those whom He wants to preserve and keep for eternal life, and cannot be an enemy to them, and that they must nevertheless suffer all kinds of misfortune, crosses and trials.
(11) Therefore, in the time of temptation, we should keep this saying. One has this, the other another concern, which he would like to be overridden; but if he rightly considers, "Behold, if it were not for this temptation, you would fall into this or that evil; God does it for your good, that he may keep you in his fear, drive you to word and prayer: then it will be found good that God does not punish us for being hostile to him, but that he shows his love toward us and keeps us from eternal misery. In this way the epistle to the Hebrews, Cap. 12, 5. ff., brings up the saying of Solomon, Prov. 3, 11. 12.: "My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, and do not despair when you are punished by Him. For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and chasteneth every son whom he receiveth. If therefore ye endure chastening, God beareth you as children. For where is there a son whom the father does not discipline? But if ye are without chastening, which they all have received, then are ye bastards, and not children"; item: "If we have had our fathers in the flesh for chasteners, and have chastened them; ought we not much more to be subject to the spiritual father, that we may live? And they chastened us a few days according to their pleasure, but he for our profit, that we might obtain his sanctification. But all chastening, when it is there, seems to us to be not joy, but sorrow. But afterward it will give a peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who are exercised by it." This saying testifies not only that the punishment God inflicts on us is a love punishment and not a wrath punishment, but that it is a fatherly love punishment. Therefore, when we feel the punishment, we should not think that God is angry with us or does not want ours. For for this very reason He punishes us, that we are children, and remain with the inheritance, and are not to be cast off from it.
12. But just as the word of the cross and suffering preaches to us, so we also see it in examples. Who can, may, or will say that the almighty, heavenly Father did not love His only begotten Son, Christ Jesus? And yet
see his life and death, is not the love so hidden, that whoever would judge according to the outward appearance, would have to say that God was hostile to him from the heart, and ' respected him far, far less, than the godless Jews, who exercised all their will to anger against him? As Isaiah says, "We respected him as the one who was smitten by God." And the Jews at the cross mocked his: "If he is the Son of God, let him come down from the cross" etc.
Just as God kept His Son here on earth, so He will keep all Christians. As Christ himself says: "The servant is no more than his master. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you." And the epistle to the Hebrews, as now heard, says exceedingly well: "If ye be without chastening, which all the children of God are made partakers of, ye shall not be children, but bastards." So you can see how Scripture and example harmonize finely, that we should recognize God's gracious will, and not think, when things go badly for us, as if God had forgotten us and did not want us; but should accept the challenge as a certain indication of God's love, and not doubt, because God thus calls us home, we are His dear children.
14 Now one should also learn the reason why God deals with His children so mercilessly (as it seems) and keeps them constantly under the rod. Paul indicates such a cause when he says, "We are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world." Item David, Ps. 119, 71: "It is good for me, O Lord, that thou hast chastened me, that I might learn thy judgments." And Isaiah, chapter 28, v. 19: Vexatio dat intellectum: "The accident alone teaches to heed the word." For it is certain that if God gave us everything we would like to have and protected us from all misfortune, we would certainly not pay attention to our sin and would not think of the word or prayer. But if now here, now there the hail strikes, and now this, soon another adversity is found, then one has cause not only to hurry to prayer, but also to remember how we
We have deserved such punishment by our sins, and for this reason we should henceforth be more diligent in our efforts to improve our lives, so that the punishment may be taken away or alleviated. As the epistle says to the Hebrews, "Our Father who is in heaven chastens us to use us, that we may obtain his sanctification.
(15) Therefore, when a Christian feels the cross, he should not allow himself to be softened that he would not weep and mourn. He should remember: I have a merciful God in heaven, who holds me like all his children, and through such temptation, harm and adversity will remind me of my sins, and admonish me to repentance, so that I may become more pious and keep myself from sinning, and remain his child. Whoever does this needs the cross rightly and does not become impatient in suffering; therefore, he is not moved by impatience to seek forbidden means and help, but waits for God's help and asks for it.
16. for this is the fourth part: that after it is known that nothing can happen to us apart from God's will, and that it is God's gracious will where He allows something to happen to us: that then one should further know and believe that God will also bring about the end and salvation with the temptation; as St. Paul very finely speaks, 1 Cor. 10:13: "God is faithful, who will not let you be tempted above your ability, but will make an end of temptation so that you may be able to endure it." And it rhymes especially with this passage that the Lord says here of the modico (the little one): "It shall not last long; your sorrow shall become joy, and everlasting gladness.
(17) But there are two excellent reasons why we cannot consider it a small thing, and therefore do not want to follow it with faith. The first is that the temptation is so great and severe that it seems to us that we must remain above it, that there is no strength or power left to hold out any longer. As is seen in Hezekiah the king, Isa. 37, when the king of Assyria's archenemy summoned the city of Jerusalem, Hezekiah sent to the prophet Isaiah and told him these words
saying, "This is a day of affliction, reproach and blasphemy. For the children have come to birth, and there is no strength to give birth," v. 3. And the Lord also uses the same simile here of a woman giving birth. There it can be seen as if child and mother must remain with each other. For the temptations of Christians are not bad, small temptations; as can be seen in the 69th Psalm, where Christ himself laments and cries out, v. 2, 3: "God, help me; for the waters are come up to my soul. I am sinking in the deep mud, for there is no bottom. I am in deep waters, and the flood wants to drown me."
(18) The other is that we see no way, means, or manner by which we can be helped. So we conclude that we are finished, and cannot believe that it is only for the sake of a little thing. The likeness the Lord gives of a woman in childbirth serves this purpose especially well. For there it can also be seen as if there will be no end and the mother must remain. But in a moment, instead of death, a twofold life comes forth, the mother has recovered, and a beautiful, healthy child is born. Therefore, all sorrow disappears immediately and there is joy. This can be seen every day before one's eyes. For even though things may sometimes go badly, such things seldom happen. The common course, as Christ says here, is that a constant, long-lasting, heartfelt joy soon and unexpectedly follows the sorrow and pain. This is what the Lord wants us to learn, and when we are in sorrow, temptation and distress, to remember it: Let it be for a little thing, and after that it shall be better. As the epistle to the Hebrews also says: "All chastening, when it comes, seems to us to be not joy but sorrow. But afterward it will give a peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who are exercised by it."
(19) So, first of all, it is called a "little one" for the sake of the sudden, rapid change that is to come sooner than one thinks, if we only persevere with prayer and do not drop our trust in God's gracious help.
let. After this, the trial is also called a small thing, so that it may be confused with eternal joy. For what is it that poor Lazarus is poor and miserable for ten or twenty years, compared to the fact that he will live for eternity? So Paul says to the Romans in chapter 8, v. 18: "I consider that this time of suffering is not worthy of the glory that is to be revealed in us"; and 2 Cor. 4, 17. 18: "Our affliction, which is temporal and light, creates for us an eternal and exceeding glory, which we see not in things visible but in things invisible." And Peter, 1 Pet. 1, 6. 7.: "Ye shall rejoice in blessedness, which now for a little season are sorrowful in divers temptations; that your faith may be found righteous, and much more precious than corruptible gold"; and afterward on the 5th chapter, v. 10. Chapter 10: "God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ Jesus, will prepare, strengthen, fortify and establish you who are suffering a little while.
(20) Therefore, if anyone believes and believes it to be true that it is a matter of a little, he has a certain comfort to which he can turn in the face of adversity and suffering. Therefore it all depends on this, that we trust our dear Lord Christ and believe his word to be true, that although misfortune and temptation are upon us, it is only a matter of a little; so that we may comfort ourselves in suffering, as one comforts a woman who is in childish distress, that she should have confidence that God will soon relieve her of the burden, and restore her with a joyful sight.
idols. For it is not possible to come to joy, one must first have pain and suffer something. As I said before, our reason may always plague us and want to interpret such suffering and pain as if God wanted to let us perish in it, but this is not the opinion. For the very pains and travail that a woman in childbirth has, come because a new fruit is to be brought into the world. So God allows the temptation to come so that we may find salvation and rejoice because of it.
21 Now it is especially good that the Lord tells the disciples what joy is to come to them. "I," he says, "will see you again." This happened on the holy Easter day, when they saw him in a new, eternal life. So Christ also sees us, and our heart rejoices when we see his resurrection before us, and see how he has overcome us to good sin, death, and the devil, that through him also we should live forever. This is the true lasting, eternal joy, which turns away all sorrow and shall never be taken away from us.
22 Therefore we should not be impatient or fainthearted under the cross, but hold fast this comfort, that though we suffer, it may be for a little. For Christ is risen from the dead and sits at the right hand of his Father, to ward off the devil and all misery, and to make us eternally blessed. May our faithful God and Father grant us this through His Son and our Redeemer, Christ Jesus, amen.