Matth. 3, 20-26.
For I say unto you, Except your righteousness be better than that of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Ye have heard that it was said unto the ancients, Thou shalt not kill: but whosoever killeth shall be liable to judgment. But I say unto you: He that is angry with his brother is guilty of judgment; but he that saith unto his brother, Racha, is guilty of counsel; but he that saith, Thou fool, is guilty of hell fire. Therefore, when thou offerest thy gift upon the altar, if thou thinkest there that thy brother hath aught against thee, leave thy gift there before the altar, and go first, and be reconciled to thy brother; and then come and offer thy gift. Be ready to meet thine adversary soon, while thou art yet with him in the way, lest the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the servant, and thou be cast into prison. I say unto thee, Verily thou shalt not come forth thence, till thou hast paid the last farthing.
001 In this gospel we see that our dear Lord Christ will teach his Christians, if they believe and are baptized, and have the name and glory of being called Christians, and have received all spiritual goods and gifts, that they may think to live righteous lives among themselves, which are neither false nor hypocritical. For he hath not bestowed upon us a false grace, which is only in appearance; but as our sins are real, great, damnable, and not painted sins: so also is his grace in earnest, and a righteous truthfulness. Therefore we should think that we do not act falsely against our neighbor, but faithfully and truly; as God has acted with us because of our sins.
2 For this cause the Lord takes the fifth commandment before him in today's gospel, and sets before us an example to beware of, saying, "I say unto you, Except your righteousness be better than that of the Pharisee, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven." This is a short sentence: whoever wants to go to heaven must have better piety than the Pharisees. Now what is the piety of the Pharisees? That it was not unjust, that they hieled themselves in a fine, chaste, unruly life and walk.
*) From a sermon preached in the house in 1534.
ten. For this is what God wants from us in all our ways, as His word says: Thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not commit adultery, thou shalt not steal, thou shalt not lie etc. He who keeps himself in such obedience does right. But this was wrong of the Pharisees, that they boasted about such outward works, discipline and respectability, wanting to be pious and righteous before God through them, and went along safely, as if the law had no further accusation against them, they had now fulfilled it completely; when God wants not only the works, but a new, pure heart.
The Lord wants to warn us against such certainty. Even though we offend no one with our works and are blameless before everyone, we should not let ourselves think that we have fully obeyed God. For Christ says here: Even if someone does not kill with his hand, he can still be a murderer and transgressor of this commandment before God. Cause, God has not only forbidden the killing with the hand, but also the anger in the heart, an angry word, an angry sight in this commandment.
4 Now this is the Pharisaic righteousness, to be outwardly pious, not to kill, not to commit adultery, not to steal, and to think that because of such works one is pious and holy and needs nothing more; the law has no more claim on us, we have completely fulfilled it, God is well pleased and not angry;
although the heart inside is full of sin and evil lusts. This righteousness, says Christ, does not belong to heaven but to hell. For God's commandments cannot be fulfilled by mere works; the heart must be pure from all anger, hatred and envy, fornication and all kinds of evil lusts. Whoever can bring it to that point may say that he is pious. But because sin and evil desires are not yet all dead in the heart, but are still stirring, even though they do not always come into the work; so beware that you think you are pious, or that you intend to go to heaven. A higher and better righteousness is needed, says Christ; with the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees you will not enter heaven.
What then is the better righteousness? This, that works and heart at the same time are pious and directed according to the word of God: that not only the hand be not deadly, but also the heart be wholly without all wrath; that not only thou be not an adulterer by works, but that thy heart be wholly pure, without all evil desire and lust. So henceforth in other commandments all; for such the law requires. It does not want the work alone, but a pure heart, which compares perfectly with the word of God and the law.
Yes, you say, where can such a heart be found? I do not find it in me, neither do you find it in yourself. For it is exceedingly soon that the gall runs over you, that you are moved to anger. So the evil desire in the heart can also be aroused very soon, even against our thoughts and will, because we would like to do it and become hostile to it. How then shall we do to him? We do not have such high righteousness (that is, a pure heart), and yet here we hear the judgment: If our righteousness is not better than that of the scribes and Pharisees, then we will not enter the kingdom of heaven. So let us do to him: let us not be like the scribes and Pharisees in thinking ourselves righteous because of our works; but, besides all the good we do and can do, let us humble ourselves before God and say: Dear Lord, I am a poor sinner; have mercy on me, and do not judge me according to my own works.
works, but according to thy grace and mercy, which thou hast promised and rendered unto us in Christ.
(7) So this teaching is primarily to warn us against spiritual hope and to bring us to the knowledge of our unclean, evil heart and sinful nature, and thus to lead us to the hope of his grace. This then is the true righteousness that belongs in heaven. It is not found in our works, whether they be holy and unrighteous or not, but in the forgiveness of sins and in the grace of God. For even though we have gone so far as not to offend anyone outwardly, and diligently practice God's word and will, the greatest defect is that the heart is still full of evil desire and sins.
(8) Whosoever therefore hath the record of the word of Christ, and believeth that such sins are forgiven him, is justified; not because of himself, for he hath sin; but because of grace, that such sins are forgiven through faith in Christ. Therefore Peter says in the Acts of the Apostles Cap. 15, 9: God purifies the hearts through faith. But this cleansing does not take place in such a way that we no longer feel evil thoughts or desire in our hearts; this will not happen until we are buried and resurrected to another and eternal life; then the heart will indeed be truly cleansed. But here it is in word and faith that God will not impute or punish sin for Christ's sake, but forgive and remit it. Nevertheless, the fruit of faith follows, that by the help of the Holy Spirit we begin to be pious and to render obedience to God; but, as reported, it is still an imperfect obedience, therefore forgiveness of sin must be included.
(9) Now the words of the Lord, "Unless your righteousness is better than that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven," are not to be interpreted as if the Pharisee's works are evil in themselves. For the Pharisee boasts that he is not unrighteous, not a robber, not an adulterer, that he fasts twice a week, and that he gives tithes of
He said that he had not lived unjustly, and that it would be desirable if all people behaved in this way in their outward conduct, so that worldly authorities, the executioner, father and mother, master and wife in the house would not have much to do with bad boys and naughty people. But the same Pharisee thought himself righteous for the sake of such a life, and thought that he did not need God to be merciful to him and forgive his sins and evil desires in his heart. The Lord warns us that we should not stay with such righteousness, but strive for a better one, if we want to enter the kingdom of heaven otherwise. He therefore sets before us an example of the fifth commandment, that we may learn by it what Pharisaic righteousness is, and beware of it.
(10) The fifth commandment, as you know, is, Thou shalt not kill. The Pharisees thought that if they could only break off so much that they would not kill with their hands, they would have done enough with this commandment, there would be no need for it, no one could push them higher. But Christ stretches it higher for them and says: No, journeyman, it has another opinion. If the fifth commandment were therefore, Thine hand shall not kill, then he that killeth not with his hand hath done enough for the commandment. But it reads thus: Thou shalt not kill, that is: Your heart, your mouth, your five senses and everything that you have and is in you, that shall not be harmful to your neighbor. You shall not only not kill the corpse, but also leave everything that serves for death.
(11) From this it is clear that the Lord does not take the word "to kill" so narrowly that it means only to take life and make a carrion; but it understands all the doing, because of which death must follow. As if you were an enemy to someone and did not give him a morsel of bread, as the rich man did to poor Lazaro, such a man would have to die and perish because of you. You do not strangle him with your fist, and yet you are a murderer, according to the saying of Ambrosii: Si non pavisti, occidisti: If you do not give food to your brother, you have strangled him. And 1 John 3:15: "He who hates his brother is a murderer,
And ye know that a man that is slain hath not eternal life abiding with him." Cause, where there is hatred, there is but lack of season, and it may easily come to pass that the death blow shall follow. Therefore, whoever wants to keep this commandment must not only keep his hand on himself, but his heart must also be without all anger: so that one does not see a sour look, does not let a harsh word pass, even against those, when all the world must say, they have deserved all misfortune for us.
Accordingly the Lord clearly indicates that this commandment is transgressed in four ways: first, with the heart, when it is moved to anger and dislike against the neighbor; second, when the heart breaks out, and the man sets himself up with gestures to be angry. As when you pass by your neighbor, not wanting to look at him, not wanting to talk to him, not wanting to thank him when he greets you etc. For the little word "rachah," which the Lord uses here, refers primarily to a sour, unkind gesture, when anger is seen in one's eyes or face, or heard in one's speech. The third is when anger comes from the heart into the mouth, that one curses, evil-does people, or otherwise says nothing good. The fourth is the grossest and most fearful, when it all comes together, an angry heart, an unkind attitude, an angry tongue and an angry hand, so that one strikes and strangles, or desires to strangle. Although one degree is always more severe than the other (for the Lord himself divides them and makes a distinction between the punishments), they are all, the least as well as the highest, sins against this commandment: So that whoever bears in his heart an aversion, anger or disfavor against another is called and is before God also a mortal slayer.
(13) Now consider whether you have kept this commandment so purely all your life, or whether you can still keep it as Christ commands. But you will have to confess, if you are not a hypocrite, that you have not only not kept it, but that it is completely impossible for you. How then shall you do it? For how God will punish the transgression of His word, Moses indicates with clear, plain words when he says,
Deut. 27:26: "Cursed be he that fulfilleth not all the words of the law, to do them." So you shall do as Christ teaches you here: that you take heed, and do not become a Christian scholar or a Pharisee, so that you think yourself righteous, even though you have not struck death with your fist; but take heed to your heart, to your mouth, and to your words; and where you find that wrath has seized you, turn quickly to God, and say: Lord, I, a poor sinner, have broken the fifth commandment, I have been enraged, I have been unkind to my neighbor in word and deed; forgive me this great sin of mine, and grant me thy mercy, that I may amend myself, and henceforth do no more. This is a thing that thou shalt do, which the Pharisees do not do, who walk in all security, regarding such anger as a small sin, and ask not forgiveness for such sin.
14. After this, you should also attack yourself with seriousness, not letting the bridle of anger be too long: But even if you cannot leave it out of your heart, first confess and complain of such sin to God with all your heart and ask for forgiveness; and then defend yourself so far that such anger, which has not yet been forgotten in your heart, does not grow again and in time break out again, showing itself with unkind gestures, angry words and a belligerent hand, but at least get rid of the anger and speak kindly to your neighbor. Then a good word will find a good place; and you will certainly experience that where you keep yourself in this way, anger will leave your heart from day to day and will vanish like smoke.
15 The Pharisees did not do this. They did not consider anger in the heart, unkindness, or even evil words to be sins, so they let them go freely and without fear. For this vice, anger, has a special bad habit of adorning itself. For we think, "He has done this to me and that to me; if I should not be angry or angry about it, I would be doing wrong, for otherwise I would be wronging him in his evil ways.
strengthen. I have to let the boy become a little bit mellow, otherwise he would become too wild and insolent etc. If the heart is inclined to anger beforehand, and the delusion arises that one is doing right and well to be angry with one's neighbor for his own sin, then the fire really starts and the devil has won his game, so that the resentment grows from day to day, and the hearts become more and more embittered against one another. The Lord warns us not to let ourselves be seduced by such pharisaical thoughts, but to be righteous Christians who either do right or confess the wrong and ask God for mercy so that he will forgive and give us pure hearts.
(16) Therefore, if anyone practices the Ten Commandments, do you not think that he would have reason to confess his sin every hour, to pray, and to practice faith and the Word? For confession must be, when anger or other lusts overtake us, that we neither deny nor excuse it, but confess to God and confess to Him with all our heart that we have done wrong. This must be followed by prayer that God will not reproach us for such things, but will forgive us and, for Christ's sake, make us more godly through His Holy Spirit. Such prayer should be followed by faith, so that we do not doubt that through Christ we are forgiven for this and other sins.
(17) That is, to practice the law or the Ten Commandments rightly, and there is no need to look around for other good works or worship; as the pope and his crowd do, they are up to their ears in Pharisaic righteousness. As then the saying, so that they, just like the Pharisees, interpreted the fifth commandment to mean only outward works, testifies: Rancorem ponere necesse est, sed signa rancoris non: The grudge, they say, thou shalt let fall; but the sign of the grudge is unnecessary to let fall. That is, if a man grieves thee, beware that thou shouldest be at enmity with him, or that thou shouldest smite him: but not to speak to him, not to have fellowship with him, is not sin. Therefore they considered the Ten Commandments to be a bad thing.
The people of the world are supposed to deal with them. But they have invented their own and higher services and works. But whoever wants to deal with the Ten Commandments, as I have now said about the fifth alone, I think he should have enough to do that he should not look for other practices or services.
(18) But now the Lord is exceedingly severe, and, if we would be Christians otherwise, he would have us always enter into this practice of the Ten Commandments. For it is a hard saying when he first says, "Unless your righteousness be better than that of the Pharisees and scribes, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven." So he concludes at the end, making two parties. For where there is anger and dissension, there are always two parties: the one that does wrong and offends the other part; the other that is offended. Now to the one who has given cause for anger and has offended others, the Lord says here that he should remember briefly and remain unconjured to God and to the service of God until he has first been reconciled to his opposite, saying thus:
If thou wilt offer thy gift, and there remember before the altar that thy brother hath a matter against thee, leave thy gift, and first be reconciled to thy brother.
19. If this is not done, your sacrifice and worship is in vain, and God has no pleasure in it.
(20) With these words, the Lord of the Pharisees is very subtle in their thoughts, who thought that they wanted to make a smoke before God's eyes, so that He would not see their envy and hatred in their hearts against their neighbor, and other people would also consider them pious. No, you are not; you are deceiving yourself. God looks first of all at your heart, how it stands against your neighbor. If he finds it in hatred and envy, do not think that he has any pleasure in your sacrifice or worship. For since he commanded, "Love thy neighbor as thyself," he wants the same obedience from thee above all things, or does not want thine at all. For what would this be, that thou shouldest offer unto our Lord God an ox, which hath ten
How can you give your brother a gift worth a hundred thousand guilders and then kill him? That would be giving a penny there and stealing a hundred thousand guilders somewhere else. That should not and cannot be. If you want to serve God, serve him with a heart that is not hostile to your neighbor, or know that your service is an abomination before God.
(21) Hence many, when they are at odds with their neighbor, abstain from the Sacrament and do not want to pray the Lord's Prayer. For the word strikes them in the forehead when they pray: Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Because they do not forgive, they pronounce the judgment against themselves, that God should not forgive them either. This is true, and no one should think otherwise: if you do not forgive, God will not forgive you, and it will never be otherwise. Therefore, think carefully about what you are doing to yourself if you keep your anger and do not let it go. For you will not make your cause better by it, if you do not want to pray or go to the sacrament, but only worse. For as God finds you, so He judges you.
22. Therefore, follow the counsel of Christ: humble yourself before God and confess your sin; then also be reconciled to your neighbor and let go of anger. Then offer your gift etc. Otherwise, you hear here that you are to be on your word with God, as He will not put up with your sacrifice, prayers etc. This is what Christ means when he says, "Leave your offering before the altar." As if he should say: You are not doing anything with God with it. This is the one who gives cause for anger and offends his neighbor: he should not only humble himself before God and confess that he has done wrong, but also before his neighbor; and then also wait for forgiveness from God.
(23) Now the other part, which is offended, and thinketh that it hath good cause to be wroth, the Lord also warns that it should gladly forgive, and not be long celebrated. For there, says the Lord, is a great trial. For if thou shouldest plead long, and not be found gracious in atonement, thine antitype would bring the matter to the attention of the Lord.
Judge, God in heaven, and say: Lord, I have done what I should: I find grace with you, but not with the people; well, I will command you. If then God hastens you, what do you think the judgment will be? He will take you, who will not forgive nor forget, and hand you over to the servant and throw you into the dungeon. Thou shalt not come out, for thou hast paid to the last farthing. That is, there will be no mercy, as he says in Luc. 6, v. 38: "With the measure that you measure, they will measure you again.
24 Thus the Lord wills for both parts that one be merciful, let go of anger, and be kind to everyone. Otherwise, the fifth commandment is there, accusing us of being death-slayers before God; therefore, the punishment will not remain outside. Such teaching and life should remain among Christians and be diligently practiced. Otherwise God will be displeased, and we will harm ourselves, not only in body and goods, but also in soul, as the Lord threatens.
(25) But apart from the Christian state or the kingdom of Christ, in worldly offices and states, the fifth commandment no longer has its course or power. There God has given a special command to be followed and obeyed. For he who is in the secular government has orders to be angry, to punish and to choke, where something unjust is committed by the subjects. Item, father and mother in the house have a special command from God over children and servants, that they are not to laugh when children or servants have done wrong; but they are to rebuke and punish confidently. That is what they tell God; and if they do not, they are disobedient to God and do contrary to their office and command.
26 Therefore it is not for a thief to say to a judge: Do not kill me; for in the fifth commandment it is written: Thou shalt not kill. He may say this to his
of his equal, who is not in office. But the authorities have the command to use the sword to prevent the evil. So it would not rhyme that a maid in the house, if she had neglected, neglected and rotten something, would want to say to the woman: Dear woman, you are a Christian, remember the fifth commandment, that you be not angry with me; for it is forbidden. "He that is angry with his neighbor," says Christ, "is guilty of judgment." No, handmaid, God has made a different order here. You are a maidservant, and you shall diligently wait upon your office and what you are commanded. If you do not, you shall not be rewarded with good words, but you shall be punished for it.
(27) God has not only imposed this on masters and wives in the household, but also on the temporal government of the rulers; such anger does not make them unbelievers any more than the office and profession they have. But this would make them unchristians if they abandoned their profession, and wanted to drop house and town discipline through industrious attention, and act as they please with their children and servants, and do not ward off trouble at times. So that the difference remains: In the kingdom of Christ there shall be no wrath, but only kindness and love; that the heart be not bitter against any man, neither that the mouth nor the hand deceive any man. But in the kingdom of the world, and in the government of the house, let every man's mouth and hand, according to his station and office, do evil, and hurt all them that do evil, and do not the things which are commanded them. For there it is not a matter of sparing or being merciful, but of punishing. But whoever leaves the punishment pending causes the highest judge, God Himself, to come and punish the evil. There is little advantage in this. For when God comes, he comes and stops.
This is the teaching of today's Gospel. May our dear Lord God help us with His Holy Spirit, so that we as Christians may keep one another, and each be diligent in his office and profession, amen.