Second sermon.*)
(1) The Jews had many beautiful and glorious promises of the future Messiah or Christ their King, how he would come and establish an everlasting kingdom and deliver his people from all evil and help them forever. As can be seen in all the sermons of the prophets, they speak gloriously of the future kingdom of Christ. The Jews had such glorious promises.
But there were false preachers and carnal teachers who led the people to this opinion, as if Christ should come with worldly splendor and ride in, as worldly kings usually do, since everything happens in the most splendid and delicious way. From such false preachers, the people grasped the fleshly
*) Held by Luther in the house, 1533.
They thought that they would all become princes. As they still think today, when their Messiah comes, they will be lords of all the world and the Gentiles will be their servants. They are still looking for such a Messiah or Christ, but they do not desire the Messiah, that is, the Lord Christ, anywhere, that he should redeem them from sins and eternal death.
3 So that the Jews might be warned and not deceived by such carnal teachers, God proclaimed long before through the prophet Zechariah: Christ would not come as a worldly king, with great splendor and worldly armor; but as a poor beggar to Jerusalem, as to the capital of the land of Judah, wherein was the temple and worship, on a
And the asses were torn down; as the history of the present gospel shows, that it was so done. Lest the Jews should excuse themselves, saying, If we had known that our Messiah should be so poor a king, we would have received him: for the prophet had made this clear to them long before. So the story also happened publicly in broad daylight, that Christ rode along as a beggar on a borrowed donkey, which had neither saddle nor other equipment, so that the disciples still had to put their coats and clothes on the donkey, so that the poor king could help himself. For this reason the Jews can hardly excuse themselves. For here is bright, clear prophecy: When Christ rides into Jerusalem, he will not come on high horses, with armor, spears, swords and guns, as worldly kings usually do, which all belong to murder and seriousness and indicate violence; but he will come, as the evangelist calls it, meekly, or as the prophet says, poor and miserable. As if the prophet wanted to warn everyone and say: Take good heed to the ass, and know that he who comes on it is the true Messiah. Therefore beware, and do not look on a golden crane, or on garments of great riches, or on a great horse. For Christ will come miserable, with a meek and afflicted heart, and will be seen on an ass. This will be all his splendor and glory, which he will bring before the world in his riding into Jerusalem.
4 This is also evident from the outward manner in which Christ, in his entry into Jerusalem, comes riding on an ass, not secretly but publicly, in broad daylight, and yet many people go with him, though he rides in like a beggar; as the evangelist says, that the people went forward and followed him, crying out to him as the true Son of David, and wishing him happiness and salvation in his kingdom. They marveled at his preaching and saw that the donkey would not save them, but they heard his preaching about the right way to be saved. All this was said to the Jews, that the prophet
prophesies long before what manner Christ will come, viz: Not with worldly splendor, but poor and on an ass; and that the Lord, according to the prophet's prophecy, rides into Jerusalem on an ass, all this, I say, happened as a warning to the Jews, so that they should not be offended at the poor appearance of their King, and drop the delusion that they thought Messiah, their King, would come with worldly splendor; but should instead think that their Messiah and King would come poor and miserable, and appear as the very least.
5 But, says the prophet Zechariah, this poor and mendicant king will have another power than all the emperors and kings who ever came on earth have had; they will be as great and powerful lords as they have always been able to be. The same power is that he is called Justus and Salvator. Not a rich, splendid, glorious king in the sight of the world; but "a righteous man and a savior," that is, who shall bring righteousness and blessedness with him, and shall attack sin and death; he shall be called an enemy of sin and a strangler of death, who shall save from sins and eternal death all those who believe in him and receive him as their king, and shall not let the poor, borrowed ass offend them. Those who do this will be forgiven of sin and will not be harmed by death; they will have eternal life and will not die. And though they die and be buried in the flesh, yet shall it not be death, but only sleep, and shall be called so. This is what the prophet wants to teach us about this king by giving him these two names and calling him "righteous and a savior. As if to say: This king shall be and be called a sin-eater and a death-devourer, who shall blot out sin, break the teeth of death, rend the belly of the devil, and deliver those who believe in him from sin and death, and bring them among the angels, where there is eternal life and blessedness.
6. the other kings he leaves their splendor, castles, houses, money and goods, lets them eat, drink, dress, build more deliciously than other people; but this art they do not know,
which the poor mendicant Christ can. For neither emperor, nor king, nor pope, with all their power, can help from the slightest sin, nor with their money and goods heal the slightest disease; I am silent that they should save from eternal death, eternal damnation and hell. But this King Christ, who is righteous and a Savior, though he rides along poor and miserable on an ass, helps not only against one sin, but against all my sin; and not only against my sin, but also against the sin of the whole world. He comes to take away not only my sickness, but also my death; and not only my death, but also the death of the whole world.
007 These things, saith the prophet, tell the daughter of Zion; open your mouth, and cry out, that the daughter of Zion and Jerusalem be not offended at his miserable future, but shut your eyes, and open your ears, and hear that which is said unto her, Thou daughter of Zion, rejoice greatly; and thou daughter of Jerusalem, exult; for thy King cometh unto thee." But do not look at him with your eyes, but put your eyes in your ears. Your king has no great stallion, no spurs, no saddle, but is poor and rides on an ass. Yet he is such a king, who takes away sin from you, who saves you from death and hell, who gives you eternal holiness and righteousness, eternal blessedness and eternal life. Therefore do not be offended that he rides in so miserably and then dies shamefully on the cross. For he does all these things, that he may save thee as a Saviour, that he may sanctify thee from sins, and save thee from death.
If you do not want to grasp these things with your ears, but see them with your eyes and touch them with your hands, you will miss this king and be lost. For with this king it is far different than with other kings. What they do, they do with outward splendor, and everything has a great, brave appearance and glorious appearance. All this is not found in Christ. His office and work is to save from sins and death, to make righteous and alive. He has put such help into baptism and sacrament, and has put it into the Word and into
the sermon. Now baptism seems to us to be nothing but bad water, like other water; and the sacrament of the body and blood of Christ seems to be bad bread and wine, like other bread and wine; and the sermon is the breath of a man. But we must not follow the eyes, but hear what this King teaches us in his word and sacraments. He says thus: "For this reason I have shed my blood, that I might save you from sins, and deliver you from death, and bring you into heaven; and for this purpose I give you baptism, wherein I grant you remission of sins; and I preach to you without ceasing of this treasure by the word of God, and assure you of this treasure by the sacrament of my body and blood, that you may not doubt it. But now it is true, it seems small and insignificant, that through the water bath, word and sacrament such shall be accomplished. But do not let your eyes be deceived. There it was also small and insignificant that he who rode in on a borrowed donkey and was crucified afterwards should take away sin, death and hell; no one could see it: but the prophet says it and the work afterwards testifies to it. Therefore it must be badly grasped with the ears and believed with the heart; with the eyes one will not be able to see it.
009 Therefore saith the evangelist, as reported, Tell the daughter of Zion. And the prophet saith, Zion, rejoice, be glad, dance, and leap, for thy King cometh unto thee. What kind of king? A holy, righteous King, and a Savior and Helper, who will be your Sanctifier and your Savior. He brings you his holiness and righteousness, which he wants to give you, so that you will be free from sin, righteous and blessed before God. He also comes to you as a savior or helper, so that he gives you his life and delivers you from eternal death through his death. Therefore do not be offended by his poor form, but thank him for it and be comforted. For all things are done for thy sake, and for thy good: he will therefore save thee from thy sins and death, and will make thee righteous and blessed.
(10) Now this is our King, the dear Lord Jesus Christ, and this is His kingdom.
and office. He does not deal with thalers and crowns and castles and great kingdoms; but if we must go away and die, and can no longer keep this life here; this is his office and work, that we, being redeemed by his suffering and death, may know where we are to abide, and may say, I am sanctified by the righteousness of my King, the Lord Jesus Christ; who therefore came wretched and poor, and for this cause was crucified, that he might sanctify me, and drown in me my sin and death. Whoever believes this, as he hears it and as it is preached in the Gospel, has it. For this holy baptism was instituted by Christ, that by it he might put on thee his righteousness; as if he should say, My holiness shall be thy holiness, and my innocency shall be thine innocency. You have great sins, but in baptism I give you my righteousness; I put off your death and put on you my life. This is actually Christ's regiment. For all his office and work is this, that he daily put off our sin and death, and put on his holiness and life.
(11) This sermon should be heard with great joy and accepted with heartfelt thanksgiving, and one should improve and become pious from it. Unfortunately, this is not the case, and the world only becomes worse, more nefarious, and more wicked the longer this teaching lasts; and yet it is not the fault of the teaching, but of the people. This is the vexatious devil and death. Now the people are possessed with seven devils, as they were possessed with one devil before. The devil is now driving heaps into the people, so that now under the bright light of the gospel they are more stingy, more cunning, more mischievous, more ruthless, more lewd, more insolent and more angry than before under the papacy. What makes it? It is not the doctrine that makes it so, but that people do not accept this preaching with joy and thanksgiving, but rather everyone throws it to the wind, cares more about money and goods than about the blessed treasure that our Lord Christ brings to us. Because of this, our Lord God punishes them again and says: "May you not give me thanks that through the suffering and death of my only begotten Son, I have put an end to sin?
and take death away from you? Well then, I will create sin and death enough for you, because you want it so that you will become seven times worse. And where before only one devil possessed you and rode you, now seven worse devils shall ride you. Such things are seen in peasants, citizens, nobility and all classes, from the highest to the lowest, how shamefully and disorderly they lead a life of avarice, drinking, eating, fornication and all kinds of shame and vice.
(12) For this reason I urge you to listen to such preaching with joy and love, and to accept it with all gratitude, and to ask our Lord God from the bottom of your hearts to give you strong faith so that you may keep this teaching; then the fruit will surely follow, that you will become more humble, obedient, kind, chaste and pious from day to day. For this doctrine is of a kind and nature to make godly, chaste, obedient, pious people. But those who do not accept it with love and desire become seven times worse than they were before they came to this teaching, as the examples everywhere testify. Therefore beware, for when the hour comes, as it surely will not, and the unthankful are visited and punished, then they will receive what they now deserve. God will find them well.
(13) Therefore learn this gospel well, for it is truly told us. Because this king came to the Jews in poverty, they were displeased with him and would not accept him. Zechariah the prophet had told them beforehand and warned them not to look at a worldly king who would set up a kingdom of the flesh, but to learn that in their Messiah and king they would have a Savior who would deliver them from sin and death. But it did not help, they would not listen. Therefore see to it that you do not become like the Jews and that the same punishment comes upon you. Give thanks to God and accept this king with willingness and joy, otherwise you will have to accept the wretched devil with weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth. May God mercifully protect us from this, amen.