Luc. 24, 50-53.**)
And he led them out unto Bethany, and lifted up his hands, and blessed them. And it came to pass, as he blessed them, he departed from them, and ascended into heaven. And they worshipped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple praising and glorifying God.
(1) Today we celebrate the day of the ascension of our dear Lord Christ, for the sake of the article in our faith, when we say thus: I believe in Christ, who ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty, from whence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead. This article is one reason why this day is celebrated, so that we may learn not only how such an ascension took place, but also what Christ accomplished and meant to accomplish by it.
(2) Lucas describes the history in detail, so that one can know the day, place and time, and afterwards also the persons who were present, and how it happened. Namely, that the Lord, after he had been forty days after his resurrection around his disciples, and especially in Galilee, had eaten with them and preached to them about the kingdom of God, he had gathered them to the Mount of Olives, near Jerusalem, and had given the command, as Marcus says, that they should go to Jerusalem and wait for the Holy Spirit, and then preach the gospel in all the world. After such a command, Lucas says, he was visibly lifted up and went up into the air, flesh and bones, as he stood before them, even to the clouds, so that they could no longer see him. But when the disciples were standing there and were astonished (for such a thing was never seen of any man's body before, that it should rise above him into the air like a bird), two angels came to them.
*From Luther's shorter sermons.
**Walch gives Apost. 1, 1-11. as text. D. Red.
They tell them to go home again, there is nothing more to see; the Lord will no longer come on earth in such a form until he judges the dead and the living. Then he will come down in a cloud, as he has now passed over him in a cloud. This is not dangerous the Historia, so much of it is reported in the Evangelists.
First of all, there is the miracle that the Lord miraculously takes off from his disciples into the air like a bird and disappears into the air, that is, he goes so high that his disciples can no longer see him. For to fly in the air is an unusual, even impossible thing for men. A man's body is by nature like a stone or other heavy thing that it desires under itself. Now Christ, after his resurrection, has a real body, which has flesh and bones, as he himself says, Luke 24, chapter 39, and can be grasped; and yet it is such a body, which, because of its nature, can as well rise up and go over itself as under itself.
(4) This is an indication that we may learn what kind of bodies we shall have after this death. Now our bodies are heavy, clumsy, and slow: but when we rise from the dead, and new bodies come to us, they will be true bodies, of flesh and bone and all the limbs; but they will no longer be so heavy and clumsy, but just as we are now nimble in thought here and there, so will we be able to do with the body thereafter. As can be seen in Christ after his resurrection: the
The stone on the grave does not hinder him, nor does the closed door; he wipes through in an instant, so that we cannot know how he comes through. So, when he wants, he lets himself be seen; when he wants, he cannot be seen. In a moment he is in one place, in a moment in another place, and can walk in the air as well as on earth. We shall also wait for glory in our bodies after this life; besides that they shall henceforth be immortal bodies, which need neither food nor drink, and shall never lack health.
Now we must also see what our dear Lord Christ intended to accomplish with such an ascension, and in what we can also enjoy such an ascension here on earth. First of all, because we see that Christ is ferrying himself to heaven, we must conclude that Christ does not want to have anything to do with the world and its kingdom; otherwise he would remain on earth and use what other worldly kings and princes use. But he leaves all this on earth and goes up to heaven, where we do not see him. So he wants to teach us that we should look at his kingdom in the right way and recognize that it is not a worldly kingdom, as the disciples thought, since he would distribute money and goods and great dominions; but a spiritual and eternal kingdom, since he wants to distribute spiritual gifts to those who are with him in this kingdom.
(6) For this reason no one may or should become a Christian, so that he may obtain money and goods or great honors. For this reason baptism, the ministry of preaching, and the sacrament were not instituted; nor did Christ come from heaven to earth for the sake of such worldly, transitory, temporal things, nor did he ascend to heaven for this reason. There are other and higher things to be done, namely, that we may be counseled and helped with eternal goods, such as the forgiveness of sin, righteousness, and eternal life. We should expect such gifts from our Lord Christ, who did not remain on earth, but went to heaven and established a spiritual, invisible, eternal kingdom there.
7 These things were prophesied long before by the Holy Spirit, in the 68th Psalm, v. 19, which St. Paul refers to the Ephesians in the 4th chapter, v. 8 ff. and points to the ascension of Christ and His spiritual rule, where it says: "You ascended on high and caught the prison; you received gifts for men, even for the apostates, so that God the Lord would still dwell there. This is a short saying, but it covers a great deal. Therefore, we must diligently consider and look at all the words. Paul himself deals with the first word in a masterly and subtle way, saying: "That he has ascended, what is this but that he first descended into the lowest parts of the earth? He that descended is he that ascended above all heavens, that he might fill all things." What might Paul mean by such words? Nothing else, because we are to enjoy the ascension of our dear Lord Christ so greatly, as we shall soon hear, that we also learn the cause by which we have come to such grace and blessedness. For it was not our good works, holy living, or obedience that earned this; but he himself, the Lord, who gives such gifts, earned it by descending from heaven, expressing his divinity, as Paul says in another place, and becoming man for our sake, and dying for us on the cross.
8 Paul wants to indicate such a benefit with these words, that he remembers the descent. And this rhymes very well, for he who is previously on high must not go up. Now that the Holy Spirit says of Christ, "You have ascended on high," it must follow that he had previously descended and humbled himself. This has happened for our sake. Therefore such an interpretation of Paul rhymes finely with the words of Christ, which your love heard the other day: "It is good for you that I go; for if I do not go, the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him unto you," John 16:7; and John 14:3: "If I go, I will prepare a place for you."
(9) The other little word rhymes very well with this, that he says, "You have ascended on high," because by this he wants to make a distinction between Christ and others who also ascend to heaven. Enoch is taken up to God. Elijah went to heaven in a fiery chariot. But Christ did not go to heaven in this way; but He Himself, by His own power, went over Himself, just as He Himself raised Himself from the dead, by His own power and might, without anyone else's help. This is a very great difference. For we will not raise ourselves from the dead on the last day, but Christ will raise us, John 6:54. But Christ himself rises from the dead by his own power, as he says, John 10:17, 18: "My Father loves me, that I should lay down my life, that I might take it again. No one takes it from me, but I take it from myself. I have power to let it go, and have power to take it again; and Peter in his first sermon, Apost. 2, 24: "It was impossible that he should be kept from death." So the difference here is the same with his ascension and ours. We go to heaven, because Christ draws us to Himself. But it is he who goes to heaven by his own power and ability, as he says in John 3:13: "No one goes to heaven except he who has come down from heaven. The Holy Spirit has shown this difference long before, and with it he wants to teach us that we should accept Christ as a true, almighty, eternal God.
(10) But that the psalm says further, "Thou art ascended up on high," this, as we have also said above, is nothing else than that Christ says before Pilate, "My kingdom is not of this world. Therefore, although here on earth we have to deal with food, with wives, children and servants, with worldly government and other things, and have to deal with them: but because we are also Christians and Christ does not lead his kingdom down here on earth, we should lift our hearts and minds above it, and strive for such a spiritual kingdom first and foremost, and deal with it with our hearts and minds.
But what happens? Most of us are stuck body and soul, hands and heart alone in this transitory life, and strive to have enough here, and take little or no notice of the fact that Christ has ascended on high. The Holy Spirit would gladly defend us, preaching that Christ did not remain on earth, but ascended upward, so that, while our bodies are still here, our hearts and minds may be lifted above them, and our hearts may not be weighed down with the cares of this life. For this is how it should be with Christians: the body and the old Adam should deal with this temporal life and be burdened with it; but the heart should take care of the eternal, as Paul says Col. 3:1, 2: "Seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Seek the things that are above, and not the things that are on earth."
(12) What is Christ doing up there, or why did he go up and not stay here? Is he idle, or is he doing something? Of such the psalm speaks very finely, saying, "Thou hast gone up on high, and hast caught the prison." This is spoken in an exceedingly comforting and blessed manner, and it can be seen as if Christ had just thought of this psalm at that time, when in the 11th chapter, v. 21 f., he gives Luke the likeness of the strong-armed man who keeps his house in peace until a stronger man comes upon him and overcomes him, who then takes from him the armor on which he relied and divides the plunder.
(13) For we poor men are therefore under the tyranny of the devil and of death; they hold us captive, and it is impossible for us to deliver ourselves from such imprisonment. The devil drives and rules us, and death strangles us; there is no salvation that we can have from ourselves. But Christ, as the stronger, comes, first of all in all humility he gives himself up and lets himself be strangled on the cross. So he pays with his own death for the sin of the whole world, as a poor, innocent little lamb. There is neither strength nor power, for that is why he hangs there, because he wants to suffer death.
14. When sin has been reconciled and removed by such death, and the poor Christ lies in the grave, and no one has any hope or consolation for him, he rises again from death in all power and glory, as your love belongs to this Easter, and, as the Holy Spirit says here, he captures the prison, that is, he breaks the power of the devil and death, and takes away their rule, so that the devil no longer harms Christians, and death no longer chokes them, nor sin accuses them.
Therefore, here is even an inverted essence. Sin has held us captive and accused us before, the devil has chased us into sin according to his will, death has strangled us. This shall never happen. For to this end Christ ascended into heaven, that he might hold captive sin and death and the devil, that they should no more hurt us, as they did before; but though they hurt us, yet it shall be for our good.
(16) Sin does not let us; it tempts and entices us, if it could move us against God's will and make us have an evil conscience. But we are so weak that we often allow ourselves to be moved and deceived. So it happened to the excellent, great man David, who fell into two horrible, grave sins. But that he does not remain in such sin, but that it is forgiven him and he does not die, this is the cause that sin should lose its power through Christ and be caught. For this reason, David must not only not be harmed, but must cause him to pray all the more fervently and earnestly. For if he had not fallen into such sin and misery, he would never have made the beautiful psalm, the Miserere.
(17) It is the same with death: it cannot refrain from it; it must bare its teeth at us, and stand as if it would devour us. Again, when we see such things, we cannot help being frightened and afraid. How is it then that death does not do what it would like, and does not strangle the Christians? So that death is a captive death, and cannot do such harm and strangle as
if Christ did not hold him captive. Therefore, even though he rages and rages the most and is the most cruel, he does nothing more for the Christians than to drive them to God's word, so that they practice it more diligently, form it in themselves and comfort themselves with it; otherwise, if there were no such terrors of death, they would not accept the word so diligently.
18 The same is true of the devil: he is an evil, persecuting enemy, creeping after Christians day and night to see if he could fell them and take away the treasure of eternal life. But he is a captive spirit, and should not only not bring about such a thing, but the more he pursues the Christians, the more cautiously he should make them pray, practice the Word of God and entrust themselves to God's protection. Otherwise, where the devil would not be so furious and persistent, they would sometimes be safe and careless. But because the enemy does not give peace nor can he rest, they must be brave, lively and careful.
19 Therefore, such temptations, terrors and journeys do not serve Christians as if there is nothing harmful about them. By their very nature and character they are very harmful, as can be seen in the world. But the ascension of our Lord Christ is in its right use and practice, so that such enemies are caught, and should not do to Christians what they otherwise could not do. Sin would condemn, death would strangle, and the devil would cast into all misery and distress; but they are captive enemies. Therefore, though they mean evil, it shall not hurt them. Now this is a glorious and great fruit of the ascension of Christ, that the great enemies of sin, death and the devil, who held us captive, have been captured by the Lord Christ, and we have been delivered from them; for this is why he ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God, that he might protect his Christians from such enemies.
20 But he will not leave it at that, for the psalm goes on to say, "You have received gifts for men. That is, such gifts that you are to share with people and help them through them. But what kind of gifts are these? Christ
says finely Joh. 16, 7. 8. where he says: "When I go, I will send the Comforter to you. And when he is come, he will punish the world for sin, and for righteousness, and for judgment." And Peter, Apost. 2:33: "Having been raised up by the right hand of God, and having received the promise of the Holy Spirit from the Father, He has poured out these things which you now see and hear."
(21) Now the Holy Spirit accomplishes two things: first, through the gospel, he brings us to the knowledge of Christ, that we may believe in his name for the forgiveness of sins; and second, that we may amend our lives, resist sin and put it to death, and commit ourselves to heartfelt obedience to God. This means to make soul and body, heart and everything in us pious. For although we can never here on earth, for the sake of our sinful flesh, bring ourselves to become completely pure and without all sin, yet such clinging sin, through faith in Christ, is not imputed to us, nor can it condemn us. This is the first thing that the Holy Spirit works in us.
22 Secondly, the Holy Spirit also needs us to bring others to such grace and knowledge through the word and the ministry. That is why Paul interprets this psalm to the Ephesians in chapter 4, vv. 11-13, to the effect that this gift is given to us through the ascension of Christ, that he has made some apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some shepherds and teachers, "that the saints may be sent to the work of the ministry, by which the body of Christ may be built up, until we all come to one faith and confession of the Son of God. For we see and experience how hostile the devil is to the Word, and especially in our times he incites Turks and Popes to dampen the Word and make Christendom desolate, or at least thin. And yet, the more Turks and Popes rage, the more God's Word increases; and it is impossible for them to even eradicate baptism, sacrament and word. This is also a part in which we feel the ascension of our Lord Christ;
For this reason he ascended into heaven, that he might send down the Holy Spirit, and promote and administer his ministry on earth.
23) After these things also are called gifts, that God by all means governs and guides his church, comforts in temptation, saves in persecution, leads and sustains in truth against error, and especially awakens it to prayer; as the Lord says in the next Gospel: "On the same day you will pray in my name"; for such things cannot be done without the help of the Holy Spirit. In sum, what we have and receive are all gifts of Christ and the true fruit of His joyful ascension, for He ascended to promote His kingdom and to beget and maintain a Christian church through the Word and the Holy Spirit.
(24) Lucas shows this very well in the text which your beloved heard at the beginning. For he says: When Christ ascended into heaven, he lifted up his hands and blessed his disciples. He did not bless them in this way, as we commonly do, that one gives another a good night's rest or takes a vacation. But he wished them happiness and salvation in their ministry, which he then commanded them to preach the gospel to every creature, that is, to all classes throughout the world. For the gospel is not commanded to be preached for the sake of trees, stones, birds, or fishes, but for the sake of men; as soon follows: "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved." Stone and wood will never be able to believe; so there is no command to baptize them, as the foolish papists do. Therefore, as baptism and faith belong to men alone, so also the preaching of the gospel belongs to them alone. But the Lord needs to speak in this way, saying, "Preach to all creatures," so that he will include all classes, so that no emperor or king on earth will be so powerful as to hear, accept and believe this teaching of the gospel, or he will be condemned. For these are called the creatures of men, that is, such offices and estates as have been ordained by men. To such a command the Lord lifts up his hands and blesses them, that is, he does not wish alone.
that they do much good, but he also helps such ministry, promotes it and gives it prosperity.
(25) Wherever the holy gospel is preached, such lifting up of hands and blessing of the Lord Christ is still necessary, so that it may bear fruit and not be preached in vain. And in truth it is comforting that the Lord, now that he is about to ascend, lifts up his hands in this way and blesses his disciples. For in this way he wants to indicate that we should take comfort in his ascension, and that he wants to use such an ascension for our blessing and for our good. For what need would there be of such a friendly gesture if he were angry with us and did not want to take care of us in his kingdom? That he now lifts up his hands and wishes them happiness and salvation in their new office is a certain sign that the Lord means us faithfully and kindly, and that we should always enjoy such lifting up of hands and blessings, because the gospel is preached.
(26) Thus your beloved see how comforting and joyful a feast we have at the ascension of our dear Lord Christ, and how in many ways we enjoy it:
That henceforth, because our flesh and blood, the Son of God, sits at the right hand of His Father, sin, death and the devil shall be deprived of all power, and that they shall be strengthened, that they shall not hurt us. For though they be our mortal enemies, and subject to all manner of things against us, yet are they bound and captive enemies. For this purpose Christ gives us his Spirit to guide us in all truth, to preserve us against all error, to comfort us in temptation, to pray with us and exhort us to pray, and then to adorn us with all kinds of gifts and graces. For this reason Christ ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God, so that, as Paul says, he may fulfill all things, that is, give and bestow upon us everything we need for salvation and eternal life. For this reason we should follow the examples of the dear apostles, and, as Lucas says here, worship the Lord Jesus Christ with them, be joyful and of good cheer; and in addition give thanks to God, our gracious Father in heaven, praise and extol Him, and ask that He may continue to preserve us in such grace, and finally make us blessed for the sake of Christ Jesus His Son. May God grant this to us all, Amen.
On the Sunday after the Ascension of Christ, Exaudi. *)
Joh. 15, 26. to 16, 4.
But when the Comforter comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will testify about me. And ye also shall testify, because ye have been with me from the beginning. These things have I spoken unto you, that ye should not be offended. They will put you under ban. But the time will come when whoever kills you will think he is doing God a service. And they will do this to you, so that they will not recognize my Father or me. But these things have I spoken unto you, that, when the time shall come, ye may remember that I have told you. But I did not tell you this at the beginning, because I was with you.
In today's gospel there are two pieces: the first about the Holy Spirit; the other about the future persecution that will befall those who confess and preach the gospel before the world.
2) Of the Holy Spirit you know that we believe that he is the eternal, almighty God. The Lord Christ gives him a special name here and calls him a comforter. This is to indicate that if we want to be Christians, we must dare something and suffer over it. For what need is there of consolation,
where suffering and sorrow would not be on our necks? But the suffering, the Lord indicates, will not only be that Christians will be killed, which would still be small, but they will be killed, and those who do it will still want to be right, and the Christians who suffer must be wrong. That is to kill shamefully and ignominiously, since everyone will say: Well, it is right for the heretic, one should not want it to be otherwise for him etc. So that there is no comfort in the death of Christians, for the world strangles them as heretics. Their conscience is also weak, so that they often think, "Who knows whether you have done right and not done too much to him? They must therefore be wrong before the world, and sometimes also before their own conscience.
3 This is the purpose of this name, that the Lord calls the Holy Spirit a Comforter, as if to say, "I know how you will fare, that you will find little comfort in yourselves and no comfort at all in the world. I will not leave you in such distress, nor will I lead you into the mire to drown you in it; but when there is no more comfort in the world, and you are utterly terrified and stupid, then I will send you the Holy Spirit, who is a Comforter, and shall promise you in your heart that you shall not despair, and that you shall keep the things which he preaches to you.
(4) Now here the two consolations are divided. One is a worldly comfort, which is false and lying, because it is based on the fact that a man relies on goods, honor, power, on the friendship and support of great princes and lords, all of which is uncertain and deceptive, since nothing certain can be built on it. For this reason, says Christ here, you, my disciples, will have none of these, but everything will still be against you and not with you, so that the world will use its power, honor, goods and wealth against you and will want to dampen you with them. Do not be dismayed that you have no such comfort, for it is a miserable, poor comfort that lasts no longer until a fever, a pestilence, a headache or a stomachache comes, and then it is already comforted. But I will give you another comforter
the Spirit of truth, which shall comfort you when you are afraid, when you are wretched, when you are miserable, when you are miserable, both before men and in your heart before yourselves. For this is why the Holy Spirit is called a Comforter, and not a Comforter. For where there is sadness and affliction, the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, is not at home. This Comforter is also called the Spirit of truth, because he does not comfort like the world, where there is no continuance, but his comfort endures forever and no one can deceive him.
005 But there is another conflict: for the conscience saith, Thou tellest me of a consolation, but I feel it not: I see the contradiction, that the world hath joy and consolation, whereas the Christians suffer themselves. John the Baptist must give up his head; meanwhile Herod and his whore bank with each other and have good courage. It is the same with us: the world does not grant us dry bread, and everyone makes himself believe that what he does evil to a Christian is well done. On the other hand, the pope, cardinals, bishops, and everything that is hostile to the Gospel have good, peaceful days and sit in the rose garden without any challenge. Now does this mean comforted? Yes, says Christ, it is called comforted; but you must make a distinction between comforting. The world also has its consolation, it is true; for otherwise it could not be so secure, cheerful, and of good cheer. But it is not a comfort that comes from the Spirit of truth, but it is a lying comfort; for very soon it may come to pass that such things as the world comforts itself with can no longer comfort or help.
(6) But this Comforter, whom Christians have, is a Spirit of truth, who puts a continual comfort into our hearts. Therefore, although the dear John does not have the comfort that Herod and his whore have, but because of them he must lie miserably in the tower and remain unconsoled, and finally lose his head, yet the Holy Spirit cries out to him and speaks into his heart, saying: "Hans, dear Hans, do not turn away from the terror that you lie there so miserable and that the wicked world exercises its will of courage on you.
become long with her. It is called a short joy and infinite suffering. On the other hand, your suffering shall be short, and eternal joy shall follow, since a moment is more and better than a thousand years here on earth, even if there were joy in all the world and no suffering. This consolation fills John's heart to such an extent that he is not only not afraid of death, but also thanks God that he will be taken from this poor sinful body and life and thus be promoted to eternal life.
But from where does the Holy Spirit take such comfort? "From the Father," says Christ here; for he, the Holy Spirit, proceeds from the Father. This is an excellent saying, so that we can prove the article of our faith, the holy Trinity. For if the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father, it must follow that such a Spirit is eternal; for nothing can proceed from the Father that is not like and according to His nature and essence. Therefore, just as God the Son is eternal, so it follows that he is born of the eternal Father; for God cannot give birth to anything that is not like him: therefore it must also follow that the Holy Spirit, proceeding from God, is also eternal. But we want to leave such an article for now and talk about it further in its time.
But with what does the Holy Spirit comfort? "Of me," says the Lord, "he will testify." As if to say, "My dear child, you are being frightened, worried, caught, killed; you must wait for it, it will not be otherwise. But the Holy Spirit shall be a witness, who shall awaken thee, and make thee remember me; he shall not give thee baptismal cups of Jochim, as the world doth; but he shall testify of me, that thou mayest say: Though all is gone, wife and child, house and home, goods and honor, and now it is that life and limb must go; yet he liveth above, who is called Jesus Christ, who was made man for my sake, died for me, and rose again, and ascended into heaven, as I pray daily in my faith. Is this true? What do I want to be afraid of? Truly, the Son of God, who suffers death for me, will not be my enemy, he will not be my enemy, he will not be my enemy, he will not be my enemy.
will mean it faithfully and well with me. But if he loves me, I will never have cause to be afraid of him or to think anything evil of him.
9 This is Christ saying, "He will testify of me." Apart from this testimony of the Holy Spirit concerning Christ, there is no certain, constant comfort. Therefore the words, "of me," should be written in large letters, and diligently remembered; for in this we may be sure that the Holy Spirit is not to come with any other doctrine, and neither Moses nor any other preach to comfort the consciences with it. But if the consciences are to be comforted, the preaching of Christ and of his death and resurrection alone must do it; it alone comforts. On the other hand, all other preaching of the law, good works, holy life, commanded by God or man, is not able to comfort a man in distress and death, but only to make him stupid, to frighten him; for God Himself, if one wants to deal with Him apart from Christ, is a terrible God, since one finds no comfort, but only wrath and disgrace. But he who preaches about Christ proclaims and brings true comfort, since it is impossible that hearts should not rejoice in it and be of good cheer.
(10) Therefore it all depends on this, that one grasps and holds this comfort firmly, and says: I believe in Jesus Christ, who died for me, and I know that the Holy Spirit, who is called and is a witness and comforter, preaches or testifies of no one else in Christendom, to comfort and strengthen all who are afflicted, but of Christ; I will remain in this and hold to no other comfort. For if there should be a better or more certain comfort than this, the Holy Spirit would bring it also. But he shall do no more than bear witness of Christ.
But why does the Lord need the word "testify" here? Could he have spoken differently? It is so that we may have all the more respect for the word.
12 For it is true that the Holy Spirit works inwardly in the heart. But he does not want such an effect in a proper, common way, except through the verbal communication.
Word. As St. Paul says in Romans 10, v. 14: "How shall they believe, of whom they have not heard?" Therefore Christ calls him a witness. But now he testifies through the mouth and word of the apostles and all preachers who preach the gospel of Christ purely and truthfully.
(13) Therefore no one who desires comfort should wait until the Holy Spirit presents Christ to him personally or speaks to him from heaven. He bears his testimony publicly in the sermon; there you must seek him and wait until he stirs your heart by such a word as you hear with your ears, and thus also bears witness to Christ inwardly in your heart by his effect. But such inward testimony does not come sooner, unless the other public and oral testimony of the word has gone first, when it is heard that Christ became man for our sake, was crucified, died, and rose again.
14 That therefore this is the summa summarum of this present gospel, that we should willingly enter into it, if we would be Christians, that we should not get great money and goods, joy and glory here on earth from it; but that we should have the world above as our enemies, and bear sin, death and an evil conscience. Now when a Christian suffers such things, that the heart is troubled and saddened, and thinks, Behold, how is it with thee? What have you done? You could have been a Christian, and yet you should not have gone to such a place. If you are in trouble, it is only your fault etc. Where then the terrible examples strike, in which one sees how easily even great people fall and are stuck in temptation: then, says Christ, it is time for the Comforter to come, and he will certainly not stay outside, but come and teach you that such thoughts are not from him, but from the evil spirit. Cause, such thoughts frighten and lead into despair. But the Holy Spirit is not to frighten, but to comfort and to give courage, and so he shall do, that he may testify of me. Therefore other thoughts, which bring sadness and gloom with them, are of the devil, apart from me and without me. But the Holy Spirit
brings and gives comforting, joyful thoughts, in that he testifies of me that I laid down my life for you, died for your sins and rose again for your righteousness. From which testimony you will then be able to conclude that I am not hostile to you, nor do I devour or condemn you, but want to make you blessed. Therefore it all depends on the little word, "He will testify (of me)."
(15) This is to be especially noted against the false spirits and false preachers. For here it is decreed that the Holy Spirit, if he is to comfort, should do nothing else but testify of Christ and form him in the hearts. Since, on the other hand, the evil spirit frightens the consciences and holds up death and sin to them, the Holy Spirit must counter this with his testimony and speak and speak into our hearts through the Word: Ah, man, what are you doing? Can you think of nothing else but dying, sin and damnation? Turn away thine eyes from this dreadful and horrible sight, and behold hither: Knowest thou not a man whose name is Jesus Christ? Of whom it is thus written: He was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried, went to hell, and on the third day rose again from the dead and ascended into heaven. Why do you think this happened? Did it not come to pass, that thou mightest be comforted against death and sin? Therefore cease from fear and trembling, for thou hast no cause. If Christ were not with thee and about thee, and had not done these things for thee, thou wouldst have cause enough to fear. But he is with thee and about thee, as he saith, "I am with thee alway, even unto the end of the world." For this purpose he suffered death for you, and sits at the right hand of his heavenly Father for your comfort and protection etc.
16 Where this sermon resounds, there one hears the voice, testimony and teaching of the Holy Spirit. But what does not sound on this beat may, where it is best, be Moses' testimony, or it may be the wretched devil, who, through his works-saints, hypocrites, and heretics-is the cause of all this.
also testifies and preaches. But nothing else follows from this but fear, terror and despair. May God protect us from this and keep us with this testimony of the Holy Spirit in our last hour, amen.
17) This is the first part of today's Gospel, about the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, and how he will comfort Christians. Now we want to continue, and also say a little about the other part, namely, about the cross and persecution. There it is to be noted, first of all, that Christ says to his disciples, "They will put you under ban," or, as the words are, "cast you out of the synagogue and assembly, and shut you out." Which words testify that those who put Christians under ban and exclude them from the church will use the title and boast that they are the synagogue or the true church, for which they will also be gloriously praised, who serve God with special earnestness. Serve God with special earnestness. Otherwise Christ would not have said: "The time is coming when he who kills you will think that he is doing God a service.
18 Therefore it is necessary to make a distinction and learn that there are two churches in all places. One is the false church, which has the name, and is called the church and the people of God, but it is not. The other, the right church, does not have the name, but it is.
(19) These two churches are very difficult to distinguish. For here we are hindered by the fact that we must confess that the false church also has a true ministry, as can be seen. We freely confess that the pope and his congregation are not the true church; nevertheless, when they baptize, ordain ministers, unite spouses, the ministry and divine word is right and powerful; therefore they confess that their baptism is right, and do not baptize again the children who were baptized by them, as Cyprian did. He was under the delusion that if the heretics had baptized someone, it was not a true baptism, and therefore he baptized them again. And this was his reason: The heretics, he said, are not in the unity of the Christian church; therefore they cannot hold a Christian office. But
*) From a sermon preached publicly in 1531.
This reason is wrong. For one must divide office and person. One who is in deliberate sins that are against his conscience is not in the unity of the Christian church; nevertheless, the office he has in the church should not be despised. Cause, it is not his, but the Lord JEsu Christ's office. But if he would break the command of the Lord Jesus Christ, otherwise than Christ commanded, baptize, preach, and administer the sacrament, then one would have cause to abandon baptism, preaching, and other things. But if he does not change anything in the order of Christ, even if he is evil and a sinner because of his person, this does not take anything away from the ministry.
20 Therefore, whoever wants to distinguish and judge these two churches correctly, must not look at the ministry alone; for even the false church can have and lead the ministry correctly, and yet is not a church; as one can see that the false church leads and praises the name of God quite gloriously. One should not turn away from this. For there is the other commandment, which teaches us that the name of God should also be used uselessly. For this we ask in the first petition in the Lord's Prayer that God's name be hallowed, which is a certain indication that the same name is unhallowed by many. Therefore, where the false church approaches and wants to banish and condemn with the name of God and the church, it is important that you do not let yourself be frightened, but make a distinction and say: I hear God's name well, I hear well that you praise the church: but the unbelievers can also do this. Otherwise there would be no need for the prohibition that one should not use God's name in vain. Therefore, one must seek judgment in a different way, and first of all see whether one is also leading God's name rightly and not misusing the glorious name of the church.
Now, for such a judgment serves the rule, which the Lord gives here, so that he paints the false church very actually and finely; because the right church does not take up the sword and worldly power. But the false church takes the sword in its hand and persecutes the right church, as Christ says here that "they will put you under ban, and whoever kills you" etc. Thereby you can certainly mer-
which is the false church. And even more surely you can see that Christ says: "They will do this to you, so that they will not know me or my Father. This means that the false church is correctly depicted. It can have the office and boast of God's name and adorn itself with it; but besides the office and the name of God, it has the misfortune that it knows neither Christ nor the Father.
What does it mean to know Christ and the Father? It does not mean saying mass, putting on a cap, fasting, giving alms, and the like. Rather, to know Christ means to believe that he is the Lamb of God who bears the sin of the world, who became man for our sake, suffered death for us on the cross, died and rose again, and ascended to heaven. That we may take comfort in this, and have such confidence in God that He will be gracious and merciful to us for the sake of His Son. For this means to know the Father: to know that he will be merciful and will not let our sin be repaid for the sake of his Son Christ JEsu. Where there is such knowledge, there is the true church. Where there is no such knowledge, there is no church, although the ministry and God's name are there. Therefore, one should and must pay special attention to this knowledge, so that one cannot err.
(23) The division that is in the church today is making many people confused, so that they do not know to which part they should adhere. But they lack that, that they do not want to look at this rule. So we preach that nothing can help us against sin and death in the sight of God, but only the death and resurrection of Christ. Whoever grasps this with true faith will be saved. Whoever does not grasp it, if he otherwise does what he wants, he cannot be saved (but how powerfully such a doctrine is founded in the Old and New Testaments, your love hears at another time); but what happens? It is precisely because of such teaching that the pope and his crowd persecute us, banish us, call us heretics and strangle us; for he teaches that whoever wants to go to heaven must do enough for his sin himself; Christ has only
But what we sin after baptism, each one must do for himself enough to put away such sin with good works and appease God's wrath. But how does such a sermon rhyme with the knowledge of Christ? For this must follow: If Christ has done enough for sin, we cannot do enough for it. We should do good works, but from a different point of view, because by doing so we would put away sin and go to heaven.
(24) So you see clearly from this rule which is the right church. We are condemned because we place all righteousness and grace in Christ Jesus alone, in his death and resurrection. On the other hand, the pope and his church place salvation on their own works, merit and satisfaction, which is a sure sign that they know neither Christ nor the Father. If we now have this, that we know Christ (praise be to God always!) correctly, but they do not know Christ, then let us be undaunted and ask nothing about it, although they, who do not know Christ and his Father, banish us, call us heretics and a devil's church. We are much more concerned about this, that we know the Son and the Father; therefore, let us not be deceived by the useless bluster that the pope flaunts the name of the church so high and gives us to the devil.
(25) But we can comfort ourselves and wait for another judgment, since not men with their false judgment, but God Himself with His right, true judgment will lift us out of the ban, and glorify us for His church on the last day before God and all His angels. For it must happen on earth, as Christ says here, that there will be two churches, and one will banish the other. But the ban will never go publicly against the false church, because it has the sword in its hand and can protect itself against it by force. As we see in the case of the pope, which is a certain indication that he cannot be the right church, for it says here of the right Christian church that it is to be banished. "You," he says, "they will put under ban." Who are these "you"? They are not ours.
Lord Christ's dear disciples and apostles? They will be banished and killed. Who? Those who have the name of synagogue and church.
26 This is still the case today. Therefore we should not be frightened by such banishment and strangulation, but accept it with joy, and learn that it is the right color and the most certain mark of the Christians and the right church. But so that the knowledge of Christ and his Father is above all things. For Anabaptists and other sects are also persecuted and suffer much, but they do not have the knowledge of Christ and His Father, for they deny the promise that God made to them in the first baptism, and establish a new monasticism, by which they think to enter heaven and have a gracious God.
to have. On the other hand, the true church knows Christ and his Father, that is, it takes comfort in God's goodness and mercy through Christ alone; and for the sake of such comfort and hope it must be persecuted. She suffers this gladly, for she knows that Christ has prophesied it here; therefore she willingly submits to it, letting the pope and his bunch cry out for heretics and the devil's church. But it is enough for her that she knows Christ and his Father, and knows that the pope and his mob, however highly they may be shorn, do not know Christ and his Father, but persecute them; for this reason she suffers gladly with Christ, and is hopeful that she will also sit with him in honor and live forever. May our dear Father in heaven, through his Son and the Holy Spirit, grant this to us all, amen.