Luc. 15, 1-10.
And all the publicans and sinners came near to hear him. And the Pharisees and scribes murmured, saying: This man accepts sinners and eats with them. And he said unto them this like thing, saying, What man is there among you, that hath an hundred sheep, and if he lose one, and leave not the nine and ninety in the wilderness, and go after him that is lost, until he find him? And when he hath found, he layeth it upon his shoulder with joy. And when he cometh home, he calleth unto his friends and neighbors, and saith unto them: Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost. I say to you: So also shall there be joy in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, before nine and ninety righteous, which need not repentance. Or what woman, having ten pennies, if she lose one, doth not kindle a light, and turn the house, and search diligently, until she find him? And when she has found it, she calls to her friends and neighbors, saying, "Rejoice with me, for I have found my penny which I had lost. So also, I say to you, there will be joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.
This is one of the most comforting gospels preached throughout the year, in which the Lord Jesus teaches us that his ministry is a shepherding ministry, that he should go after sinners, seek them out, and bring them to judgment, so that they will not be given to the devil and eternally condemned. Such a sermon, however, stands out above the rest, because all kinds of tax collectors and sinners ran after the Lord Christ to listen to his sermon. The Pharisees and scribes saw this, grumbled about it, and reproached him very badly, as if it were a sign of a special recklessness. For it is right for a godly man to associate with godly people. But the Lord answers very well and says, "He does just what people usually do in matters where so much is not involved. So he wants to be unpunished by the Pharisees and be right in his cause.
For this is the question and the business at hand: how to deal with sinners and what to do with them. Just as two unequal parts, who have both studied God's word, come together, so the answer to such a question is also unequal. The Pharisees and scribes know nothing more of God's word than what Moses and the Law teach. Because the law preaches everywhere: God will be merciful to those who find pious and
Therefore, the Pharisees and scribes conclude that it is not fitting for people to deal with sinners in any other way than the way God deals with them. Because God is angry with them and does not take care of them, they should not accept them either, but let them go.
3 Our reason also judges in the same way. As soon as a man becomes aware of his sins, he thinks that God is angry, that there is no mercy, that he must wait for all misfortune. As we can see from Adam and Eve: as soon as they ate from the forbidden tree, and had to bear the conscience that they had done against God, they hid themselves away and were not allowed to be seen anywhere. We also see it in the young children: when they know that they have done wrong, they hide themselves. For this is the way of sin, that it makes a fearful heart, fearful of disgrace and punishment. Again, when the conscience knows itself to be innocent, man takes courage and does not ask whether someone is ungracious, because there is always confidence in the heart: You know yourself to be innocent; someone else will be found who is guilty, so that you will go out unpunished.
4 Like a heart that knows itself guilty, naturally cannot but fear, and for this reason gives itself all grace.
and awaits disgrace: so do the Pharisees here judge of sinners also. They see that tax collectors and sinners have lived in a sinful state until now; therefore they quickly conclude that no one should deal with bad boys, nor show them any mercy; for God Himself is ungracious to them, does not want them, wants only pious, God-fearing hearts that do not burden themselves with such gross sins.
5 But think about it, if such a judgment is true, that God will have no patience with sinners and will always strike with a club, how will we all fare? Where will he have people and a church? For even if we do not all lie in outward gross vices: there is, praise God, many a husband who has not broken his marriage; many a man who has not murdered with his hand, not stolen, nor done other things that are dishonest and ungodly: nevertheless, we must all confess ourselves sinners before God. For we see and experience that there is nothing good in our hearts, although the hands, the mouth and other members are more blameless and pure in one than in the other. But now God will judge according to the heart. If then God should be ungracious to all sinners, throwing them away and not taking care of them; as the Pharisees here pass judgment according to the law, it would follow that no man could be saved. But the Pharisees themselves must confess that such an opinion is wrong and unjust.
Therefore, our dear Lord Jesus Christ makes a different judgment and does not want to accept such an answer of the Pharisees at all, and concludes the contradiction, namely, that God is not hostile to sinners, and does not desire their death; therefore, he, the Lord Christ, cannot be hostile to them, and came into this world to seek them out as erroneous sheep and to bring them back to rights. And all men, especially the preachers, should follow this example, that they, as one does in a house where something is lost, should make every effort to find it again.
(7) This is a different doctrine and preaching from the doctrine of Moses and the preaching of the law that
did not grow in our hearts, but was brought to us from heaven by the Son of God. As John the Baptist says: "No one has ever seen God; the only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he has declared Him to us. For no man knows that God wills not to be angry with sinners, not to condemn them for their sins, but rather to accept them with grace and make them blessed. We know and feel the contradiction. Therefore, where there is sin, it follows, as previously reported, that one is afraid of God. But our dear Lord Christ teaches us through His Gospel that He has a different opinion of sinners before God's judgment, that He will not be angry with them, but will accept them in mercy, and that the angels in heaven above take great delight and pleasure in it, where sinners come to repentance and are converted.
(8) Such teaching should be remembered all the more diligently, because our reason includes the contradiction that we learn to comfort and endure ourselves with it against the evil conscience and sin. For whoever wants to follow his own heart, reason and understanding in such a challenge of the conscience, he goes and can neither be advised nor helped; he must despair. Therefore, all power is up to us, against our own heart and conscience, to join with Christ and say: I am a poor sinner, I cannot, indeed, will not deny it; but I will by no means despair because of it, as if God did not want me. My Lord Jesus Christ says that a sinner is like a little sheep that has lost its shepherd and gone astray. He will not leave such a sheep astray, but will seek it out and carry it to the other sheep. This is an indication that he will not cast us away because of our sins, but will use all his diligence to bring us out of sin and back into grace.
Now the Gospel elsewhere shows sufficient reason why God does not want to cast away sinners. Namely, as John says in chapter 3, that he is such a God who is not hostile to the world, but loves it, and so loves it,
that he gave his only Son to her and made atonement for her, so that the world might be comforted by this sacrifice and not despair on account of its sins. For although God could have helped us humans in other ways, this help is so well done by Him, because His only begotten Son Himself takes our sin upon Himself and pays for it, that we have no reason to doubt such payment. For it must follow that God is more pleased with his Son's death and dying than he can be displeased with us and our sins.
(10) Besides such causes, in today's Gospel the Lord Jesus shows a special thought which he had in this matter, that he could not refrain from being about sinners, seeking them out, and doing everything that is conducive to their salvation, saying, "It is just as it is with us men. A rich man who has ten thousand guilders, if a thousand are stolen or lost, he is no different than if he had lost everything. For he is not so much pleased and comforted by what he has left as he is by what he has lost. This is our way, and where it concerns only the temporal, it is called a bad way. For there one sees that God always leaves more than the devil takes. Therefore, we should not let the temporal accident grieve us so much, but take comfort in the fact that we still have something and most of it, and that God can give us more every day and increase ours.
(11) This way then, says our dear Lord Christ, I also have. The sinners are my purchased, dear purchased goods and property; for I have purchased them for myself through my suffering and death. That it should not hurt me now, and that I should not worry about it and assume that they will go out of the way and out of my hands again, is impossible; because they cost me too much, and have become too sour for me, and it takes me that they should still be of the devil. For this reason, I cannot leave it alone; as soon as one of my sheep leaves me, I must act as if the others had nothing to do with me, and go after the lost one and look for it,
so that the wolves do not get it. Just like a mother who has many children, they are all dear to her, and she would not like to have one among them. But when one of them falls ill, the illness makes a difference between the other children, so that the sickest is the dearest, and the mother no longer takes care of any of them, nor does she wait diligently for any of them. Whoever would then judge love by the waiting would have to say: The mother loves only the sick child, not the healthy ones. Thus, says the Lord here, I am also with the sinners.
(12) This is the heart of our Lord Christ most kindly and sweetly portrayed, that it is impossible to make it more sweet and kindly, because he has such care, concern, trouble, and labor about how to restore poor sinners; and he himself leads us into our own heart to think how we should feel when we lose something that is dear to us. Thus, he says, my heart stands, thus it waltzes and is troubled, when I see that the devil has brought a poor man into sin and error.
(13) For this purpose also he takes the likeness of the little sheep and the shepherd before him. It is not a miserable thing for a sheep to go astray from its pasture and from its shepherd, for it has no way of advising itself and is in danger at all times of being caught and eaten by the wolf that is stalking it. In such a journey, it has no help at all, and can neither protect itself nor endure with the least. For there is no animal among all that nature has created so completely bare and defenseless. It is the same with a sinner whom the devil has led away from God and his word and brought into sin. For there he is not safe for a moment, since our enemy, the devil, as Peter says, prowls around like a lion, seeing if he may devour us. In such a time, this is the only consolation, that we have a shepherd, our dear Lord Christ, who takes care of us and seeks us out: not because he wants to punish us for our sins and cast us into hell; no, this is the devil's
But when he finds us, that he will gladly lay us on his shoulders and carry us home, where we may be safe from the wolf and have our shelter and pasture in the best way.
14 But you know how such a search is made, namely, that he lets his word go and sound publicly everywhere. In the same, we hear how sin is a terrible misery and burden that throws us into eternal damnation. But since God was moved out of fatherly love toward us disobedient children, and has provided counsel and help for us from such misery through His Son, He desires nothing in return, except that we should accept it with thanksgiving, believe in the Lord Christ, and keep to God's word, and be willing and obedient to Him.
(15) When the sheep, the poor sinners, hear this and have confidence in God from such a sermon, they strike themselves and think: "What have you done to yourself, you wretched man, because you have such a gracious God, that you have not kept to His will and let the devil lead you into disobedience? What does the shameful money help you, since you are so stingy? Wouldn't it be better to make a fair profit with God and honor that is pleasing to everyone, than to be accused of being an unreasonable usurer before God and the people, and therefore have neither happiness nor salvation with such shameful profit? What good is the dishonest, lewd life? Would it not be better to be married and have a good conscience, than to lie in sins and shame outside of marriage, and wait every moment for the terrible judgment of God? What is the use of indulging, eating and drinking, since at last bodily sickness and sudden death and destruction may follow? Soon, soon the other way around, and you will be gone before God's wrath befalls you, who would gladly be merciful to you, if only you wanted it yourself and did not put yourself deeper into disgrace through such wanton sin. Where such things happen, namely, that the hearts beat within themselves and through
*) Ei, was hast du denn gewollt, du etc. D. Red.
When the shepherd finds comfort in Christ, he finds his erring sheep who turn to the shepherd's voice and run to him in all confidence, and he takes them on his shoulder, that is, he forgives their sin and takes them into his protection and protection, so that they may be safe from the wolf and other wild animals.
(16) Now here we see what difference there is between sinners. In this all sinners are equal, that they give themselves to the devil for service against God's obedience. But after that they become unequal. For some and most of them, if you preach and tell them what you want, they still remain in sin, and do nothing better, comfort themselves, and think: "Well, there is no need, God is merciful, he will be happy with you always, you come and desire mercy when you want; I will first better myself in the world, I will first be a little bit pissed off; then I will also go to church, hear the sermon and become godly. These sheep hear the voice of the shepherd, but they do not want to be found. What happens then? Nothing else happens, except that day by day, the longer they go astray, the more they fall into the devil's trap, so that they can no longer work their way out. As you can see, things are going on in the world, and people are drowning in avarice, fornication, indulgence and other sins, so that it becomes a nature that they think they cannot live, so they do. We should beware of this, and when we hear the voice of the Shepherd, we should soon find our way to Him, that is, we should repent, not persist or continue in sins, but repent, amend, and believe that our Shepherd Jesus Christ will not leave us astray, but will accept us again in all graces and reconcile us to His Father.
17 For repentance does not mean becoming more devout for the sake of an outward life alone, but trusting in God's goodness through Christ and believing in the forgiveness of sins. Christ wants to accept such sinners. The others he would gladly accept, but they do not want to be, so he must let them go. For because they do not want to be found, they may remain astray as long as they do not believe in God.
they want, and see how they will finally succeed.
(18) Not only does this gospel comfort poor sinners that their shepherd, Christ, will seek and accept them as erring sheep, but it also teaches us how to approach this shepherd, namely, to hear his voice and to follow him. As the history of the Gospel also tells us, that these people were tax collectors and sinners, but nevertheless ran after the Lord Christ, because they heard him. But what do we hear from Christ? Nothing else, except that God wants to be merciful to sinners through Christ and make them blessed; only that they let themselves be enticed and do not continue to run astray, but when they hear the Shepherd's voice, turn back and let themselves be carried by the Lord Christ, who has already paid for their sin and done enough, and reconciled them to God. For we do not want to suffer, because God has done so much for us and has shown His grace so abundantly to us, that we despise His command and do not want to keep His word and do anything to please Him.
19 Therefore, let us be mindful of such teaching, so that we may resist the devil and our own hearts, and endure against despair, as if God were such a God who would have no patience with sinners and would condemn them. For such a thought is in the hearts of all people. Against this, one must be prepared with God's word and press this image, which the Lord Christ himself presents to us, into the heart, that he is a shepherd, and therefore let his word resound in the world, so that the erring sheep may hear it and find their way to him.
020 Therefore, if thou knowest thyself to be also an erring sheep, which the devil hath driven far from the way, and led away, receive this preaching of Christ. For for your sake it is preached that you may come to repentance, that is, that you may take comfort in the Lord Christ and his grace, and come out of the devil's snares and become more godly. And beware of this, as of the devil himself, that you do not let such a voice pass, but soon turn back and go after the shepherd.
You have recovered and have brought great joy to the angels in heaven, who will gladly be around you and protect you from all the devil's journey with their presence and protection. On the other hand, unrepentant sinners cause the dear angels all sorrow, worry and displeasure, and therefore fall from their protection, and must stand and walk in eternal peril every moment.
21) But that the Lord is not satisfied with the one likeness of the shepherd and the little sheep, but adds another, of a woman who has lost a penny; this is because he wants others to follow his example, and not to reject sinners, but to seek them out and bring them to repentance. For the first likeness is of our dear Lord and Savior Christ Jesus alone; he is the only and right shepherd, who is not hostile to the sheep, but lays down his life for them, so that they may be protected and pacified from the devil. The other similitude of the woman applies to the Christian church, which therefore has the office of preaching, so that poor sinners may be lured to repentance, saved from eternal death and damnation, and saved to salvation. She also rejoices, like the shepherd, when she finds the penny, lights a light, the word of God, and turns the house around, that is, she teaches how to be pious and to take comfort in the grace of God through Christ before God and His judgment. With this sermon she finds the lost penny.
(22) This is to praise and glorify God's word as the only treasure that takes away sin and all the misery that follows from sin, such as death, damnation, the devil and hell, so that we are no longer sinners and enemies of God, but a special joy to the angels in heaven and all the saints on earth. For this reason we should hold it in all honor and dignity, hear it gladly and with heart, love and value those who preach it; so that we may also come to such blessed fruit, out of error and free and free from all the ride of the sorrowful devil, and become eternally blessed. May the dear and faithful shepherd of our souls, our dear Lord Christ, grant this to us all through the Holy Spirit, amen.