The story of what happened in the house of Caiphas the high priest, Matth. 26; Marc. 14; Luc. 22; Joh. 18.
(1) Next your love heard the one part of the passion and history of the passion of Christ, which took place in the garden, when he came for our sakes into great and grievous anguish and distress of death, that he shed bloody sweat upon it, so mildly that the blood flowed down from his body to the earth. And Judas the betrayer brought with him the band of Pilate the governor and the chief priests, who seized him, took him captive and led him to Caiphas the high priest. This, as your love has heard, was done for our sake, and our dear Lord Jesus Christ took upon himself such unspeakable distress and anguish of heart, not for his own sake, but for ours; for no one forced him to do it, neither angels nor devils, since he himself says that he could have twelve legions of angels. But he served us with it, and wanted to overcome such fear and torture for our good; just as he also overcame death and hell for our good, and did everything.
2. and this is the highest piece of suffering
Christ, which is a spiritual suffering and far surpasses the bodily suffering. Scourging, cutting off the head, crucifixion is all a bodily suffering and a temporal and bodily death, that is, a death of the five senses. But spiritual suffering, when the soul and heart suffer, is far more severe than bodily death. That is why Christ, through fear in the devil's garden, took upon himself poison and bitterness, and our Lord God's severe wrath and judgment, and drank them up pure, so that we might not suffer such things, or, if we must suffer them, that we might endure and overcome them in him and through him. We should take comfort in this and know that when we are seized with terror, trembling and spiritual suffering, we have been baptized into the man who has overcome all these things for our good. We are to believe this firmly and have no doubt about it. Now follows the other part of the Passion, how the Lord fared in the house of the high priest Caiphä. Thus the holy evangelists write:
Matth. 26, 57-75. Marc. 14, 53-72. Luc. 22, 54-62.
And they that had laid hold on Jesus brought him unto Caiphas the high priest, where the scribes and elders were gathered together.
And Peter followed him afar off unto the palace of the high priest, and went in, and sat with the servants, that he might see whither it went out.
And the chief priests, and the elders, and all the council, sought false testimonies against Jesus, that they might kill him; and found none. And though many false witnesses came, they found none. At last there came two false witnesses, saying: He said, I can destroy the temple of God and build it in three days.
But the high priest asked JEsum about his disciples and about his teaching. Jesus answered him: I have spoken freely in public before the world. I have always taught in the synagogue and in the temple, where all the Jews come together, and have spoken nothing in the corner. Why do you ask me this? Ask those who have heard what I have said to them. And as he spake these things, the servant gave JEsu a blow on the cheek to one of them that sat by, saying, Thus shalt thou give unto the high priest?
*) Held March 25, 1534 in the parish church.
answer? Jesus answered, If I have spoken evil, prove that it is wrong; but if I have spoken right, why smitest thou me?
And the high priest arose, and said unto him, Answerest thou nothing to the things which these witness against thee? But Jesus held his peace. And the high priest answered and said unto him, I adjure thee by the living God, that thou tell us whether thou be the Christ, the Son of God? Jesus said: You say. But I say unto you, that from henceforth ye shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.
Then the high priest rent his clothes, and said, He hath blasphemed God: what need we any further testimony? Behold, now ye have heard his blasphemy, what think ye? They answered and said: He is guilty of death.
Then they spat in his face, and smote him with their fists: and some smote him in the face, saying: Tell us, O Christ, who is it that smote thee?
And Peter sat without in the palace, and a maid came unto him, saying, And thou also art with JEsu of Galilee. But he denied before them all, saying: I know not what thou sayest. And as he went out at the door, another saw him, and said unto them that were there: This also was with JEsu of Nazareth. And he denied again, and sware unto them: I know not man. And after a little while they that stood by came and said unto Petro, Verily thou also art one of them, for thy speech betrayeth thee. Then he began to curse himself and swear: I know not man. And straightway the cock crowed. Then Peter remembered the words of Jesus, saying unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. And he went out, weeping bitterly.
This history happened in the house of the high priest Caiphä. St. John writes: The servants of the Jews received Jesus, bound him, and led him first to Annas. This happened in such an order: As soon as the Lord was seized and caught in the garden, he was led straight out of the garden to the house of the high priest Caiphas. But because John Annas, who was Caiphas' brother-in-law, lived on the way, so that they had to pass in front of John's house before they came to Caiphas' house, they led Jesus on the way to John's house and thus courted the old high priest and brought him there first, so that he would see him bound and captured first. Nothing happened to the Lord in Hannah's house, but in Caiphas' house false witnesses were brought against him, and he was accused and interrogated.
004 And nothing more was done in Annas' house, except that the servants would have courted the old priest with the prisoner JESUS, saying, Behold, we bring him bound and bound, whom ye have pursued so long. And Annas did no more than say: Right then, right then, bring him always to the house of Caipheh, the right high priest, who is high priest this year. For all the chief priests, and elders, and councillors, which are
who governed not only the city of Jerusalem but also all the land, were gathered together in the house of Caiaphas, who was the lord and, in this sense, the god of all the people. Therefore they had decreed and commanded it: As soon as Jesus was taken, the servants were to lead him into Caiaphas' house. According to this order he was brought straight to Caiaphas' house, but the servants did this honor to the old high priest Annas and courted him, as it is said. I say this so that the history may be understood and it may be known how the suffering of the Lord took place.
005 Now the things that were done in the house of Caiaphas are clearly and diligently described by the holy evangelists; namely, that the chief priests presented Jesus bound before all the council, and questioned and examined him; and secondly, that Peter denied the Lord there three times; and thirdly, when they had questioned and heard him, and the Lord had answered, they reviled him, reviled him, blasphemed him, mocked him, and spit upon him all night until the morning. All these things happened in the house of the right Lord at Jerusalem, and of all the people of the land.
First of all, St. Matthew and St. Mark write that the chief priests and the scribes and the elders and all the council were together in Caiaphas' house. The high priests and the scribes were such
People who hold the whole spiritual regiment under themselves; like in the papacy are the cardinals and bishops, and their doctores and scholars. The elders and the council had the worldly regiment under them. Therefore Jesus was bound and presented as a prisoner before the chief priests and the council of Jerusalem, that is, before the ecclesiastical and secular regiment; as if now the pope with his cardinals and bishops, and the emperor and king with the princes of the empire condemned someone; for on these two authorities the whole regiment of Jerusalem was placed. And soon in the beginning of Judaism the regiment was thus ordered. Aaron was high priest, and the tribe of Levi was the priestly tribe. The tribe of Judah was the royal tribe. Therefore there are both kinds of authorities with the best, highest, most learned people in the whole country, and they pronounce judgment, counsel and decide against Christ.
(7) This is a terrible thing to hear, and yet it must be remembered that these two orders and classes, the priestly tribe and the royal tribe, are here together against Christ. The fathers and ancestors of the high priests were Moses, Aaron, Levi, and these were their children and descendants. And the children of such high patriarchs shall come to pass, and betray Christ, and condemn him to death? The fathers of the councilors were Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Judah, and these were their children and descendants; and shall such high men fall to betray and sell their God, who was promised to them? Would it not be a miracle if God were so angry with both kinds of authorities that He would no longer give either priests or secular authorities; for if these two estates persecute Christ, who will protect Him on earth?
This is how it goes. Christ is betrayed, sold and condemned to death, not by bad, lowly people, but by spiritual and worldly power, in addition, of his own people, which he himself ordered and so strictly set, so that also the whole country had to bow to it. And everything that they decided, ordered and set, that was decided, ordered and set; as with us
has been the Concilium and the Empire. What the pope decided with the concilium and the emperor with the empire, that was decided. These two authorities, who are the highest on earth next to God, do this; for in Judaism, next to God, there was no one except the high priest and the council at Jerusalem. What the high priest of Jerusalem taught, one had either to keep or die. What the king or the council commanded, one could not refrain from doing. Who then was to be always in charge of such authority as Moses had put in charge and had earnestly commanded the people to be obedient to them?
(9) Well, they had the power; what they did was done, and no one was allowed to speak against it. When the people saw that someone was condemned to death by the spiritual and temporal authorities, they had to remain silent. In their hearts they might secretly think, "This person is being wronged," but no one was allowed to contradict them publicly. Because they now sat in such majesty, they abused their power honestly. For by this power they slew all the prophets, even Christ himself, the Lord of all prophets. For Moses had said, What the high priest and king of Jerusalem saith and commandeth, that keep: so they thought that they were there to choke and kill all that offended them.
(10) Therefore Christ was killed, not by rebellion, nor by seditionists, nor by those who have no authority; but by those who have authority. Just as it is still the case today, everything that happens to harm Christianity happens to it by proper authority. As we must confess and say of our persecutors, that they are princes, bishops, rulers, who have authority, also from God, both as far as the worldly rule is concerned, and also as far as the authority is concerned, which they could have in the church according to God's word, if they wanted to use it rightly. Those who are in proper authority are now persecuting the gospel.
II There is something special about Christ. He is killed by those who not only sit in proper power, but also have the power to kill His
The Roman emperor and the princes of the empire, even though they are already ordained by God, are not named in the Holy Scriptures as Moses, Aaron, Levi, Judah. The Roman emperor and the princes of the empire, although they are already ordained by God, are not named in the Holy Scriptures as Moses, Aaron, Levi, Judah; nor are they brought out of Egypt through the Red Sea with such miraculous signs and confirmed. These have no more than the authority that is from God, God grant, the rule be what it will. But those were specially named in the Scriptures and confirmed with miraculous signs.
(12) Now we see what we should think of the spiritual and temporal state, and also of ourselves, who are preachers, princes and authorities, namely, that we are the ones who persecute God and crucify Christ, who has given us such authority. It would not be surprising, I say, if God had long since become hostile to all kings, princes and those in authority, as well as to all bishops and church rulers, and had said: "I will no longer suffer authority and rulers, but will destroy them to the ground. For if emperors and princes had no power, they would have to refrain from persecuting the gospel so much.
(13) But he set the Jews as an example to all the world, that he might be justly angry with his enemies and persecutors of his gospel; and that he might know by the example of the Jews that he would finally pay all those who sit in authority and abuse such authority, who set themselves against him and persecute his gospel. He has taken both spiritual and temporal power from the Jews. The priesthood of Aaron is so purely gone with them that not even a stone of the temple would be left. In the same way, the Judahite government is so purely gone that not one stone of it is left. There they lie, and now have neither kingdom nor priesthood, and go scattered and astray throughout the world. For God had therefore made them kings and priests, and given them full power, that they should serve him with such power. But because they abused their power and slew the prophets and his Son, he had to humiliate them.
and put down their power, so that they could no longer kill the prophets and crucify God's Son. This is the reason that they are sitting on the hill and have to wait every hour to be cast out. They stormed against God and would not let him stay; God would have let them stay. But because they would not let God stay, they had to go over it to the ground.
God will do the same to the pope, cardinals, bishops, emperors, kings and princes who now persecute his gospel. They have power (I am not speaking of the power that the pope assumes without and against God's word; but of the power that emperors, kings and princes have in the temporal government, and of the power that the pope as a bishop together with other bishops could have in the church, according to God's word, if they wanted to use it rightly): but with it they should serve God; but they take the power and serve the devil with it, and have now learned that they are to be taken for those who have power over everything, and call us rebels. They are the right Annas and Caiphas. But when the hour comes that he will put them down, so that they can no longer touch Christians, as he put down the Jews, so that they must henceforth leave Christ uncrucified, then they will know what they have done. The saying must and shall remain true, as it is written in Psalm 110:1: "The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool"; and 1 Cor. 15:25O: "He must reign, until he put all his enemies under his feet." He saith not, I will set thine enemies at thy head: but: I will set them for thy footstool. The Jews are made a footstool; emperors, kings, princes, who persecute the gospel, will not escape it. They have their authority from God, but he who has put them in such authority can also put them out; he who has thus exalted them can also humble and degrade them again.
15 So then our dear Lord Jesus Christ suffered, not secretly, nor from
those who have no authority, but publicly and by those who sit in public authority, as with us the emperor and pope may be: so that we may not be offended when we see that both authorities, spiritual and temporal, pope and emperor, are against God. Christ's suffering means, as we confess and say in the Christian faith: "I believe in Jesus Christ, suffered under Pontius Pilate. Thus it has happened at all times and still happens today that Christians and true martyrs are killed by ordinary authorities, both spiritual and secular. The authorities should protect and shield Christ and those who belong to Christ, as David and other pious kings have done; but the contradiction always happens that they persecute God's word the most and plague the Christians from whom they should have comfort.
(16) Therefore, when we see that this is happening today, and that Popes, emperors, and rulers are doing the same, we should remember that this is not something new this year, but has always happened in this way. No prophet has been assassinated, but all have been assassinated by those who sat in right and proper authority. And this continues to this day; all the blood that is shed for Christ's sake is shed by those who are kings, princes, judges, councilors etc. in the temporal government, and bishops, preachers etc. in the spiritual government. They shall do it and be murderers and betrayers of our Lord Christ, as the history of the Passion teaches us and the examples of the holy martyrs testify. The other murderers on the road and in the woods are assassins, and such murder is an assassination, not a prophetic death. A prophetic death is one that is done by proper authority, since people must keep quiet about it and say: "This was done by the pope, our bishop, prince, king and emperor.
(17) It should be well known that Christ is condemned and killed by the chief rulers, who are appointed by God and sit in public authority and have full power. God had ordered the chief priests, elders and council of Jerusalem to keep His law. But they did not obey it, but disobeyed it.
needed their power against God. Thus, God gave authority to the pope, emperor, kings, and princes to serve Him with such authority: to the pope, to bind and loose sins, as a bishop; to the emperor, kings, and princes, to govern land and people, to punish evildoers, and to keep peace on earth, as secular authorities. Such power, given to them by God, they should judge according to God's word. But what happens? God speaks to them: You emperor have the sword, go to and hang the thieves on the gallows, cut off the heads of the murderers etc.; you pope, as a bishop, have the keys of the kingdom of heaven, throw into hell the stiff-necked sinners, lift into heaven the penitent, according to my word and command: but they ask nothing according to God's word. What we make and set, they say, that shall stand; that and no other.
(18) But what will happen when the game is turned around? Then God will also do what will displease them and leave what they desire; just as now they do what will displease God and leave what he wants. A person should be terrified that he should be a preacher, bishop, prince, and ruler in the world, and in return wish to be a servant and handmaid. For there one is in such office, in which God is often blasphemed and persecuted. It is the wicked devil that the two offices, which are so great and so highly praised, should be so perverted as to deceive men with false doctrine, and to shed innocent blood with the sword, yea, to crucify Christ himself; without it being yet a peculiar thing with Christ, that he should be condemned to death and crucified, not only by them that have power, but also by them that are his own blood friends.
19 Secondly, the evangelists write how the chief priests, elders, and all the council questioned Christ when they had him before them. The tyrants were glad to have him before them and thought, "Here we have him; now what shall we do to him if we kill him? Before that, they did not think whether they had a cause worthy of death, but only worked to catch him.
They have not. But now that they have caught him and bound him, they know of no good cause against him. They search and ponder, and seek here and there all kinds of false testimonies against him, but they do not know how to attack him, so that they find a cause against him that is sufficient.
The one false testimony against him, as St. Matthew writes, is that two false witnesses come forward and say: He preached publicly that he could tear down the temple of God and build it in three days. This is a thing that sounds particularly evil. For how the Lord spoke such things, and how he meant them, is found in the Gospel of John, Cap. 2, 19. ff. He did not speak of the temple of God in Jerusalem, but of the temple of his body, as John the Evangelist would have it understood in the same place. Nor did he say that he would break down the temple, but that they, the Jews, would break down this temple (pointing to his body), but that he would raise it up on the third day. St. Marcus writes that they testified against him, saying: We have heard that he said, "I will break down the temple made with hands, and in three days will build another not made with hands," but their testimony did not agree.
(21) Before the same testimony of the breaking of the temple, they also brought forth other false testimonies against him, as St. Matthew writes, which are not written by the evangelist, nor expressed by name. For the same testimonies also did not want to sound. Afterwards, when they accuse him before the governor Pilato, they again bring other complaints, and say, as St. Lucas writes: "This one we find turning away the people, and forbidding to give the bosom to Caesar" etc. This was a shameful, impudent lie; for what he answered the Pharisees to this question: whether one should give interest to Caesar or not, writes St. Matthew Cap. 22, 21. We will hear of the same accusation later when we come to Pilate.
022 Now we hear how the chief priests, and the elders, and the council themselves, are divided among themselves in the house of Caiaphas, and cannot agree what cause they will plead before the governors of Geticht. For the Romans had deprived the Jews of the court of the neck. It was very bad for them that they could not kill anyone unless Pilate allowed it. If they had still had the blood judgment, they would soon have become one with Jesus and killed him as they themselves would have wanted. But since they no longer have the judgment of the neck, they go to the council and say one to the other: If this Jesus has sinned against us as he wills, Pilate asks neither our accusation nor our verdict, but we say that this Jesus has committed murder or blasphemy or some other act against Caesar. Therefore we must be careful that the guilt we want to bring against him is crimen laesae majestatis, a guilt against imperial majesty and crown, that is, such guilt and deed that the emperor also punishes with death in the city of Rome. They look for such guilt in him, but they do not find it.
23) If they had immediately accused him, "He said, 'I will destroy the temple of God,'" Pilate would have answered: O, who is this? Did he say he wanted to break the temple? What is this? For though it was a great sin among the Jews to break up the temple, and a greater sin than it might be with the pope to break up churches and monasteries; but a greater and more grievous sin to rebuild the temple without orders, since even King David could not be permitted to build the temple: yet it was considered no vice by the governor, and the governor would no doubt have said to them: Where do you come with this accusation? The temple is still standing and unbroken. If they had then also accused him at once: He said that he was God, or: He dares to be God, it would not have sounded. For Pilate might have answered, as a wise Gentile: "Why do you turn away from his sayings? Another fool may say what he wants, but it does not happen so soon;
you are greater fools to bring up such a thing. Or he might have answered thus: If he is God, let him take care of him; what is it to you? Therefore the chief priests and the council here confess themselves, and feel it very well in their hearts, that they have not sufficient cause for Jesus.
(24) This shows that Christ suffers innocently. Just as he is weak in the garden voluntarily and gladly for our sake, when he could have been strong; as he himself says, "I could ask my Father to send me more than twelve legions of angels"; and proves his strength sufficiently, since, as St. John writes, he throws the Jews back with one word, so that they fall to the ground: so here he is voluntarily a sinner for our sake, even though he is righteous and without all sin. He allows himself to be accused as a blasphemer and rebel, yet he is innocent; he is condemned to death as a blasphemer, rebel and murderer, yet his accusers feel in their hearts that he is not such. He is judged and dies as a blasphemer, rebel and murderer, yet his accusers and everyone know the contradiction of him, that he has done good, made all kinds of sick people well. He raised the dead, etc. but he was the Lamb of God who bore the sin of the world.
25 St. John writes here a special piece, which also happened in Caiaphas' house, in the interrogation and questioning, namely, that the high priest asked Jesus about his disciples and about his teaching, and Jesus answered him: "I have always taught in the synagogue and in the temple, where it is customary to read, teach and preach; therefore ask those who have heard what I have said to them. The high priest asks JEsum, that he may catch him in his words; but Jesus directs him to his disciples and hearers. Such an answer displeases the high priest's servant, who, wanting to court his master, gives JEsu a blow on the cheek, saying, "Shall you answer the high priest thus?" Why do you not say: O dear Lord High Priest, I have unfortunately acted badly and done wrong, I ask for mercy. But with such questioning and beating neither the high priests nor the
The servant of the high priest proves something to Jesus; as he himself says to the servant of the high priest, "If I have spoken evil, prove it to be wrong; but if I have spoken right, why dost thou smite me?"
26 All these things are therefore prescribed, that we may see that our dear Lord Jesus Christ died innocent, not only concerning his person, which is without all sin, but also concerning his adversaries, who can find nothing in him to stand before the Gentile Pilate. It is not, as that servant says, what they pretend.
27 Finally, since there is no matter or blasphemy against Caesar in him, they continue to search to see if they can find fault, and the high priest stands up, as Matthew and Marcus write, and says to him, "Do you answer nothing to what these testify against you, saying: Thou hast said that thou wouldest pull down the temple of God, and build it again? And when Jesus is silent, the high priest is more angry, and says, "I adjure thee by the living God, that thou tell us whether thou be the Christ, the Son of God." Behold, how is it that the devil can so well call the Lord God, speak of Him, and use His name so well? "I adjure thee," saith he, "by Him who alone is the true God, that thou tell us whether thou be Christ." They knowingly sin, and are not excused.
28 Jesus says to them: "You say", or, as St. Lucas writes: "You say, because I am". Because the high priest summons him by the name of God his Father, he now answers, since he was silent before. With this he gives us a lesson that when we are asked on an oath or by the name of God, we should come out and confess the truth, whatever it may be. And he goes on to say: "I tell you, from now on you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of power and coming in the clouds of heaven. As if to say, "You will see and know that I am the Son of God, and the Lord who will judge you and the whole world in all glory. That is,
I mean, he apologized honestly and said freely: I am not only innocent, and not a murderer, traitor and blasphemer of imperial majesty, but also so powerful that I will sit at the right hand of power and judge the circle of the earth.
029 When the chief priests and the council hear this, they are angry and furious, and say: This is too defiant and too hopeful an answer; now we have won; away with him and beaten to death! Just as if we were speaking to our adversaries: Now ye will not hear the truth; but in that day ye shall hear it, when we shall judge you. Then they would also cry out with great wrath and fury, Shall the pope, bishops, emperors, kings etc. be answered thus? The high priest rends his garments before great and excellent holiness. How great honor and love the holy man has for our Lord God! He cannot bear to be deprived of his honor. "What do we need," he says, "further testimony?" As if to say, "Are we not fools, that we should long bear witness against him of others?" you hear that he freely confesses that he is a blasphemer and guilty of death, for there is no greater witness than his own confession. Since he himself confesses that he is the Son of God, and thus that he wants to sit at the right hand of power, that is, that he wants to be like God and sit on the throne where God sits, he testifies of himself that he is guilty of death. Therefore we need no further testimony, because we have heard his blasphemy ourselves. What do you think? Now he must die.
30 Nevertheless, they do not remain thorough on this accusation. For before the governor Pilato they accuse him not as a blasphemer, but as a rebel and blasphemer of the emperor, who turns away the people, and forbids to give the womb to the emperor, and wants to be king and emperor himself. Whether they then repeat this accusation (as St. John writes) and say, "We have a law, and according to the law he shall die, for he has made himself the son of God"; but because this is not sufficient cause, and the governor of the
When the people of the city, who were in the midst of the war, were anxious to see Jesus released, they dropped this accusation, and sought out the first accusation again, and sharpened it more than before, saying to the governor, "If you release this man, you are not the emperor's friend; for he who makes himself a king is against Caesar."
This is the interrogation and the accusation that took place in the house of Caiphas the high priest. And all these things are prescribed for our learning, that we may know that for our sakes Christ humbled himself so low as to be accused, condemned, and put to death as the greatest of evildoers, though he be altogether innocent; so also that his adversaries themselves must confess secretly, as they well feel in their hearts that there is no guilt of death in him. The causes which they afterwards put forward before Pilate are not written here; nor was he asked about them in Caiaphas' house; but we shall hear about them afterwards, when we come to the third part of the Passion. But because the same two causes have the emphasis, they went into a chapter together, consulted, and said: We want to speak before the governor, that he is a rebel and a blasphemer of the imperial majesty. They did not discuss this with Jesus himself in Caiphas' house, but among themselves they consulted, decided and said: We want to accuse him before the governor, that he has stirred up sedition in the country and made himself king. For to stir up sedition and to make himself king were things of death, which Pilate could not suffer, nor should he.
But if it should have been, these two things would not have helped before the governor. For Pilate knew very well that Jesus was neither a rebel nor contrary to Caesar. For when he asked him, John 18, whether he was king of the Jews, Jesus answered and confessed: He is a king, but not against Caesar, for his kingdom is not of this world. He was a king, and born to be a witness of the truth. Nevertheless, it had to be that he died for these two reasons, as the title implies, even though the same title is false, and was invented for the Lord.
For he is not a king against Caesar, nor is he a rebel who turns away the people. Therefore it is a rebellious title to count against the Jews alone. For Jesus was crucified by them as a rebel and murderer, and as a blasphemer of imperial majesty, who had refrained from causing sedition in the land and making himself king. Pilate knows well that Jesus is not such; nevertheless he falls and has the innocent crucified. The chief priests and elders invented these two deadly charges against him, and these causes prevailed. For sedition is more than murder, and blasphemy against the imperial majesty, since one does not want the emperor to be emperor, is guilty of death.
Thirdly, the evangelists Matthew, Marcus and Lucas write how they spat and blasphemed the Lord in the high priest's house. Who can explain all these blasphemies? Such spitting and blaspheming will have lasted all night until morning. The evangelists touch on it a little, and write that they covered his face and struck him in the face with their fists, asking him, "Tell us, Christ, who is it that struck you?"
34. as I have testified above, so I testify again: just as Christ for our sake willingly and gladly became weak, allowed himself to be caught and bound, so also for our sake he willingly and gladly becomes a sinner, allows himself to be accused, mocked, spit upon, condemned, condemned and killed as an evildoer, even though he is not guilty of death.
is. We are to take note of this, so that we do not interpret the suffering of the Lord Christ as reason and the Jews interpret it, who say: If he had been mighty, why did he not multiply? If he had been righteous and without sin, why did he allow himself to be condemned to death? But we say: He has proved enough that he voluntarily and gladly became weak and a sinner for our sake; otherwise he could well have been strong, and have resisted all prisons, judgments and condemnations and death.
Reason and the Jews reproach us Christians for worshipping a God who was a rebel and blasphemer. On the other hand, we Christians boast that Christ, true God and man, suffered willingly and gladly. He did not need his power, and his adversaries could not convince him. He did this for our sake, so that he might stop the power that sin, death and the devil have over us. We would have to go to death, fear and hell because of our sin. But Christ takes our place and leads us innocently into death, fear and hell, so that we may be led out through him and in him. By his wrongful and innocent death he helps us out of the right, guilty death, that is, out of sin, so that we have earned death and hell. Now if we hold on to him with firm faith, we will come out. The Jews, who scoff at us because of the great wisdom of their reason, will also find out where they are going. We will speak of the fall of Peter at another time.