First sermon.*)
John 8:46-59.
Which of you can accuse me of sin? But if I tell you the truth, why do you not believe me? He who is of God hears the word of God. Therefore you do not hear, for you are not of God. Then the Jews answered and said unto him, Say we not rightly that thou art a Samaritan, and hast the devil? Jesus answered: I have no devil, but I honor my Father, and ye dishonor me. I seek not mine honor: but there is one that seeketh and judgeth it. Verily, verily, I say unto you, If any man keep my word, he shall never see death. Then said the Jews unto him, Now know we that thou holdest the devil. Abraham died, and the prophets, and thou sayest, If a man keep my word, he shall not taste death for ever. Are you more than our father Abraham, who died? and the prophets died. What do you make of yourself? Jesus answered, "If I honor myself, my honor is nothing. But it is my Father that honoureth me, whom ye say is your God: and ye know him not, but I know him. And if I should say that I know him not, I should be a liar, as ye are. But I know him, and keep his word. Abraham, your father, was glad to see my day, and he saw it and rejoiced. Then said the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast seen Abraham? Jesus said to them: Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am. Then they picked up stones to throw at him. But Jesus hid himself, and went out into the temple, passing through the midst of them.
(1) This is a beautiful, rich gospel, of which there is much to preach, but it is too much in one mouthful. Therefore, we will take only the main part of it, namely, that Christ says that one should gladly hear God's word.
*) Held in the house, 1533.
He who hears it is from God; he who does not hear it is not from God.
Now these words are spoken so simple that no one thinks that they have such great things in them. But whoever looks at them rightly, chews his cud, ponders and thinks about them diligently, which is: "from God" and "not from God".
who will have to confess that it is a great and excellent thing that Christ is talking about here. For it is true and certain that one cannot judge a man more harshly, nor attack him more violently, than if one says he is not of God. That someone calls me a mischievous and wicked man, or even stabs me in the neck, is nothing compared to the plague and this terrible lament that the Lord here speaks to the Jews with short, simple words: "You are not of God. Therefore, it is all in this piece that we should gladly hear God's word and diligently keep it.
In the history of the Gospel it is found everywhere that those who do not want to hear God's word follow the devil until he finally possesses them and they become more and more angry. Just as we can see in today's Gospel. First, the Jews are angry when Christ begins to preach; then they rebuke him, calling him a Samaritan and saying that he has the devil. By then they have jumped four or five miles deeper into hell than before. After that they become still more senseless, and say, "What dost thou make of thyself?" In sum, the longer they go on, the angrier they get, until at last they resort to action and become murderers, picking up stones and wanting to throw him to death. They fall into such horrible sin out of contempt for the Word that they blaspheme God and His Word, and finally become mad and foolish.
(4) There you can see what it means to be not of God but of the devil, namely, not to hear God's word, but to blaspheme and desecrate it, to curse against God, and finally to do so with their fists and become murderers. The reason why children are so disobedient and wilful against their parents nowadays is that they do not hear God's word, or, even if they do hear it, they do not learn or remember it. Once they begin to despise their father and mother against God's command, they do not stop at this sin, but continue to curse their parents and finally put them to death. Even if they do not beat them with their hands or strangle them, they still wish that they were dead, or lead such a shameful life that the parents have to worry about it to death.
5 So it is quite possible. Whoever does not hear God's word or does not want to keep it, becomes a liar, blasphemer and persecutor; just as we see in the papists that they become more and more foolish the longer they go on, and do not stop their blaspheming and persecuting until they add to it with their fist, take up the sword and become murderers.
Now this is the most serious thing. In other sins, when one does wrong, he can be made to recognize his sin and desist from it. But with sin, when one does not hear God's word, blasphemes it, and wants the preachers dead, it is impossible that one can mean people. For they cover themselves with a beautiful cloak and make themselves believe that they are doing right and that God is served by it; whereas in other sins a man must be ashamed and confess that he has done wrong.
Therefore, it is the wretched devil himself who despises God's word. For it will not fail that they will finally throw stones at Christ, yes, even hang him on the cross, and still consider this to be right, defend it and want to go unpunished in this greatest injustice. Be careful not to fall into this trap.
(8) Therefore it is a hard and sincere word that the Lord says here to the Jews, "You do not hear the word of God, therefore you are not of God. For whoever is not of God is of the devil; if he is of the devil, he has his French, pestilence and all hellish plagues in heaps; more misfortune cannot be wished for him. Therefore, nothing more terrible can be said of one than when one says to him: You do not hear God's word, therefore you are not of God.
009 If thou exhort such a man long, he will only be more and more furious, saying, Why do I ask for the sermon? But if you want to stop and say, "It is no good; you must take a different stand if you want to be saved," he will lead you out with clumsy words: Let me be satisfied in a thousand devils' names, and will strike with fists.
10 Therefore, whoever does not hear the word of God is not of God, but is already the child of the devil.
The Jews do here and say: "Do we not say right that you are a Samaritan and have the devil? This is the worst devil, who still wants to be a god and holy. Such are the despisers of the word, that they will not be wrong, nor be told.
(11) This is one thing, that whoever does not hear the word of God is not of God, but of the devil. But this is not to be understood as if the devil created those who do not hear God's word, and gave them mouth, eyes, ears, reason and other things. No, all these things are God's creatures and gifts. Therefore, one must distinguish the essence and the custom. The essence of the tongue, eyes, ears, reason etc. is from God; but the use of such tongue, eyes, ears, reason is from the devil, if one uses them for the devil's service. A man who lies and deceives has a good tongue from God, but the use of the tongue is from the devil. So, if the eyes like to see lewd things, the eyes are from God, but the abuse is from the devil. So when the heart thinks of fornication, deceit, lies and the like, the heart is good in its nature and from God, but the custom is evil and from the devil.
(12) To be of God, on the other hand, is to use the ears to hear preaching, to be punished when they are wrong, and to pray, preach, instruct, comfort, rebuke and punish with the tongue. Such ears and tongues are of God and good, not only in nature but also in custom, for they walk in a divine custom. Thus, when the heart thinks about discipline and how to benefit one's neighbor and not be angry, such a heart is from God. So the creatures, eyes, ears, mouth, heart, are called "of God" because they are guided by God's word and do not like to do, see, hear, speak, think what is against God. If it sometimes happens that they do so, and the tongue curses when it should pray, and the heart is angry when it should be kind, such things are wrong; but if we repent and pray to God, we are wrong.
To know that we have done wrong and to ask for mercy is to stumble or even to fall, but it is not to have the devil or to be of the devil. For we go back again and have the resolution that we will do it no more.
013 But they are the devil's children, who put on their heads, and when they are punished and admonished for their good, they say: What do I ask for it? So does an unruly son, when he is punished by his mother, he opens his mouth and goes away, saying, "What do I care? That is to be of the devil: Not respecting God's word and wanting to be unpunished. Such people must become more and more angry, because the devil does not let them rest. First they despise the word, then they blaspheme it, reproach and curse, finally they do like the Jews here, pick up stones and want to murder. Thus the despisers of the word become blasphemers of God, seducers and murderers of men. The real color of the devil is not to hear God's work, but to blaspheme, revile, curse, harm one's neighbor and murder. He who despises and blasphemes God's word and murders his neighbor is the devil's child. By such color one knows the devil and his children; for he is a murderer and liar, despising God and his word.
14) Here the Lord warns his Christians against such sin, as he threatens the Jews, as if to say: "Those who want to be my disciples, fear and learn to beware of such sin, so that they do not also despise God's word, but gladly hear it, keep it, and live their lives according to it, so they can know for sure that they are of God and God's children.
The others are the children of the devil, because they do not want to hear the word, they have lost life and righteousness, and to speak with leave, they are in the devil's ass, and they do not help, whether they already want to cover such sin with that, that they are powerful, great and rich. The pope is in such sin up to his ears with all his followers. For he does not want to suffer God's word, persecutes and murders Christians over it. This is the real color of the devil.
16 Again, God's attribute is to make righteous and to make alive. For what is God? He is not a murderer, but a creator, since all life flows from Him. The devil has never created a man or made him alive, but creating and making alive are God's actual works. As God is a living God and has life in Himself, so also those who are of Him and hear His word shall have life. As Christ says here with an excellent, beautiful saying: "Verily, verily, I say unto you, If any man keep my word, he shall not see death for ever."
(17) But what does it mean to keep Christ's word? Nothing else, but to believe what he promises us about the forgiveness of sins and eternal life in the Gospel, that it is true, and to hold fast to this faith and hope and not fall away from it. Whoever does this, says Christ, has eternal life, must not fear sin, death, hell and the last judgment, for there is all grace and mercy. Death may fall upon him and choke him, but the heart shall not feel it. If a man dies in the word of God, he does not die as horribly and terribly as those who die in the name of the devil and without the word of God. These die in all displeasure, struggling, thrashing about, roaring like lions; for they do not want to die and yet they must die, for they cannot escape death. Therefore, if it were possible, they would run through an iron wall.
(18) Thus, says Christ, shall it not be with my Christians who hear and keep my word. When they lie on the bed and die, they will not have such fear and distress; they will be satisfied in their heart toward God and hope for a better life, and in such hope they will fall asleep and pass away without all trembling. For although death will choke them bodily, the same death shall be so covered and weakened that they shall not really feel it, but shall fall asleep gently as in a little resting bed on a cushion. As is often seen in the poor people whom the executioner strangles, that they go to death with joy; a thief,
He who goes to the gallows with joy has no miserable nature. But he who feels death, he pretends to be nonsensical, like Clemens, who was madly possessed. *)
(19) Therefore, dear children, think what advantage you have if you listen to God's word gladly and diligently. The first is that you know you are of God and have overcome the devil and hell, and neither sin nor God's judgment shall harm you. Whatever evil you encounter besides these things, you shall be able to escape from it all. Since, on the other hand, the world becomes fainthearted and impatient even in the slightest matter and must finally despair.
(20) Christians must indeed suffer much, as the devil and the world are bitter enemies to them; for this reason they must risk life and limb, goods and honor, and go to ruin. But how can they endure all this and be patient? By nothing else than by clinging to the word and saying: "Let it go as it may; I am not of the world, but of God, otherwise the world would deal with me differently. But I would much rather it hated me and put me to all harm than that it loved me and I was not of God. Where the heart is so minded, all kinds of temptation and adversity pass over, like the clouds in the sky above us or the birds in the air, which tease us a little and then leave us unsworn.
(21) Let this be our comfort, that we may feel the power of the word here in life, and especially when the last hour comes, that then death may be as a sleep. If someone rides along in a thick fog and sees no murderer, he is shot or murdered before he becomes aware of it. So it shall be here also. The devil is a murderer, has sworn death to us, we know that well. But because we have the word and hold fast to it, we shall not be quite aware of such strangulation. For the word makes fine, gentle people and quiet, cheerful hearts, which neither despair nor become impatient in anguish, but let it all pass, comforting themselves alone,
*) Marginal gloss: "Clemens, hanged at Wittenberg."
that they have a gracious Father through Christ in heaven. They learn this in the Word, otherwise they would not know it.
22. But tell me, should we not run to the end of the world for the sake of daily hardship and adversity alone, according to this consolation which the word gives us, that we may have a peaceful heart? But this is nothing against the last and greatest calamity, death, since no physician, counsel or help can help and save us from it, but only our dear Lord Jesus Christ, who gives us such a remedy that we should leave everything rather than take it.
But how is it? When he offers such medicine to us, carries it to us at home and at court, we despise it. Then we receive our deserved reward for not being of God, and fall from one sin to another, becoming worse every day, as we have sufficiently shown above. When the last hour of need comes, we know neither consolation nor counsel; as it is said of the bishop of Trier that when he was about to die, he raged like an ox in the slaughter. For he had despised God's word, blasphemed and persecuted. Who can comfort such? There is no help nor counsel.
24 So this is the main lesson from the
today's gospel, that we should diligently attend to the word, gladly hearing it and accepting it with faith. If we do this, we shall be lords over sin, death, the devil, and hell; though death devours us, we shall not feel its sharp teeth; for the word of Christ is our armor, by which we shall have a sure life, and a smooth and quiet death, and eternal life.
(25) Again, you cannot wish or curse crude, godless people who despise God's word, because they already have it on their hands, namely, that they are not of God, nor are they God's children. They have more of this than one can curse them. Just like a wicked child who despises God's commandment and is not obedient to his father and mother: what more trouble can one wish for him than that he already has on his neck, namely, that he is a child of the devil and not a child of God? In truth, this is not a joke. For I would rather be the executioner's or the Turk's own than be the devil's child. For then I am the child of the murderer and liar, who deceives me and leads me to eternal death. Beware of him, little children, and learn, yes learn. It is a rich gospel.