John 16:5-15.
But now I go besides him that sent me; and none of you asketh me, Whither goest thou? but because I have spoken these things unto you, your heart is filled with sorrow. But I tell you the truth, it is good for you that I go. For if I do not go, the Comforter will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. And when he cometh, he shall punish the world for sin, and for righteousness, and for judgment. For sin, that they believe not on me. And for righteousness, that I should go unto the Father, and ye should not see me henceforth. For the judgment, that the prince of this world is judged. I still have much to say to you, but you cannot bear it now. But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. For he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak; and what is to come, that shall he declare unto you. The same shall transfigure me: for of mine he shall take, and shall declare unto you. All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said, He will take it from mine and proclaim it to you.
1. this is a gospel fine, beautiful and rich in measure, but very high and sharp, of the high and necessary article, of which we have the name and call Christians Christians.
*) Held in the house, 1533.
e. Our dear Lord Jesus Christ, when he was about to go into the garden and depart, being sorrowful even unto death, spoke these things to his sorrowful and distressed disciples. For it is the most lovely, kindest and sweetest companionship of all.
The disciples are very sad to hear that their dearest master and lord is leaving them and bidding them good night. Therefore, the disciples are greatly grieved when they hear that their dearest master and lord wants to depart from them and bid farewell to good night. It grieves them that they should fall into such sweet fellowship, and they are so grieved and sad that they cannot ask him because of their great sadness.
(2) Seeing then that the disciples are so sorrowful and sad, the Lord comforts and strengthens them against the present sorrow of his departure, and against the future sorrow of his shameful death, and against the future suffering that would overtake them from the devil and the world. Dear children," he says, "you are greatly grieved at my departure, and it grieves you that I should be taken from you and that you should be left alone. But let go of your sadness; it will be much better after my departure than it is now. For if I did not depart from you, and go out of this bodily being and life, ye would remain as ye are now, and all things would remain in the old nature, the Jews under the law of Mosiah, the Gentiles in their blindness, and all the world under sin and death. But if I go from you to the Father, and die, and accomplish that for which God has sent me, then I will send you the Holy Spirit, who shall begin another being in you and in all the world. Therefore it is good that you break your hearts and forgive yourselves of my bodily fellowship, so that you may come to the future treasure, the Holy Spirit.
The German word for "heartbreak" is "Herzbrechen" (heartbreak), and it is called heartbreak when one has to forgive himself for a delicious thing. But such heartbreak is of two kinds. The first heartbreak is false and hypocritical; as, some forgive themselves something, and yet afterwards have just the same thing more than before. As the monks and nuns break their hearts and forgive themselves the world, and yet are in the midst of the world, and keep the best and sweetest of the world, about which I will now keep silent, that it is an own and self-chosen heartbreak, on which heartbreak
The common result is that they become impatient and curse. This heartbreak is like the heartbreak of the fox under the pear tree; since he could not enjoy the pears, he broke the heart and also had to break it. But he broke with impatience, impatience and scolding.
The other heartbreak is in a right, good cause, and is not a self-chosen heartbreak, but when one must forgive himself for something that he cannot avoid or avoid; and does not break the heart with impatience and reproach, but patiently submits, suffers and restores, and commissions the cause to God's will. So here: the disciples warmly loved Christ as their Master and Lord, as was right and just; for he showed them all love and friendship: nevertheless they had to forgive him, after the bodily company, and break their hearts. Even as Abraham, though he loved his son Isaac dearly, when he was born to him in his old age, and was an only son, born of Sarah, on whom was the promise; yet he had to break his heart, and slay and sacrifice that dearest son, and was already in the work of doing it, and would have accomplished it, if the angel of God had not called him to pause.
(5) Therefore, the first thing we should learn from this gospel, when we encounter something sour and bitter, is to receive it in obedience to God, to suffer patiently, to comfort ourselves, and to think that it will be much better afterward. For this is God's way of dealing with us, that after the trial and sorrow, when we are heartbroken, He comforts us abundantly and abundantly. And the greater the affliction and sadness, the greater the comfort and joy afterwards, if only we take it for good and bear the misfortune and sadness with patience, and do not curse. Again, the more impatient we are and do not want to be weighed down with crosses and trials, but want to cast the burden from us, the more and heavier we will be weighed down.
6. this is that Christ here comforts his disciples with the good that is to come, with the
Holy Spirit, as if to say: "Dear brothers, be of good cheer and hope that I will go away and leave you alone, and that you will be deprived of my bodily company and friendship. I would rather remain here with you, that I should not drink the cup which the Father has given me. But truly it will and shall be better for you that I go from you to the Father than that I remain with you. For if I go not to the Father, the Comforter cometh not to you. But if I go to the Father, I will send the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, to you. My going away is much better for you than my staying. For if I remain, you have no more in me than a natural comfort, bodily protection and outward friendship. What good is that to you? But if I go away from you to the Father, then you will and shall have spiritual comfort, eternal protection and joy in me through the Holy Spirit.
(7) Behold, what an exceedingly gentle and kind man was our dear Lord Jesus Christ: how gently he comforted and strengthened his disciples with such fine, sweet, kind and gentle words, the like of which no man on earth can ever do or speak to his dearest and best friends. All these things are commanded for our sakes, that we should learn to be patient and of good cheer in trials, crosses, and afflictions, remembering that if the beloved disciples and apostles had to break their hearts, have patience, and forgive themselves of the Lord Christ, and wait for the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, we also must do these things, take up our crosses, have patience, and trust and believe in Christ, who says that things shall be much better hereafter than they are now. And this is the first part of this gospel.
The other part of this gospel is that he says, "When the Holy Spirit comes, he will punish the world for sin, and for righteousness, and for judgment." And this is the chief, the noblest article of our Christian faith, and our fairest, best, and highest consolation. When the Holy Spirit shall come, saith he, he shall be in all the world from me through you.
And you also shall be my witnesses, and shall testify and preach of me in all the world. I will send you the Holy Spirit, and he shall work in you, and ye shall become bold and defiant, and shall attack and punish the whole world. You shall, by your word and preaching ministry and by the power of the Holy Spirit, bring all the world into subjection and obedience to you.
What does "all the world" mean? And what does "punish" mean? Because if one discusses here rightly, then one will find well what is said there. "All the world" means not only Annas, Caiphas, high priests, Pharisees, scholars, elders, princes and kings in Jerusalem; but all that is in the world, in Jerusalem and in all the places of the world, all wise men, prudent men, scholars, saints, mighty men, emperors, kings, princes, noble and base, peasants and citizens, high and low, young and old. "To punish" means to leave nothing good to anyone, but to attack all their doings and beings with the Word, and to tell them that all of them, especially whoever they are, are guilty and wrong before God, and must obey this preaching of Christ, or be eternally damned and lost. Hereby all men on earth are subject to the preaching ministry that the apostles and their descendants lead because of God, so that they must be subject to it and follow it if they want to have God's grace and be saved otherwise.
(10) Now he divides the ministry of the Holy Spirit and the word of the apostles into three parts or articles, and says: they shall by the Holy Spirit, or the Holy Spirit by them, punish the world for sin, for righteousness, and for judgment; and himself interprets what he wants to be understood by each part. These are three high pieces and excellent articles, in which everything is summarized that concerns the spiritual government and Christ's kingdom, and of which the world neither knows nor understands anything. We will deal with them briefly and simply one after the other. The first piece shall be this:
For the sin of not believing in me.
(11) By the word and by the power of the Holy Spirit, he says, you are to do all that is in
punish the wise, pious, holy and mighty of the world, because they are sinners before God, yes, sold under sin. And you shall punish them for such sin that they do not believe in me. You shall not punish the world only for theft, adultery, fornication, murder, death, and other transgressions of the law; for these sins the emperor and Moses denounced and punished: but for sin you shall punish the world, that they believe not on me. Therefore this preaching of yours shall be altogether new and unknown to the world, namely, that apart from faith in me all things are sin, however good and holy a work they may be in the sight of the world; and again, that to them that believe in me all sins, however great and grievous they may be, are covered and forgiven; yea, that whatsoever they do that believe in me, whether they eat or drink, whether they wake or sleep etc., are all good works, pleasing and acceptable to God; again, that to the ungodly and unbelieving all works, however good and holy they may seem, are sin, so that they eat even a morsel of bread in disgrace and sin, and must give an account of every useless word they have spoken at the Last Judgment. The other part of your sermon is this:
For the righteousness that I go to the Father, and ye see me not away.
(12) This is a strange and peculiar righteousness, and much different from the righteousness of the world. For with these words Christ takes the righteousness of which his gospel teaches, and which is valid before God, out of my heart and yours, even though it must already be within, and sets it at the right hand of the heavenly Father. Therefore it is not our righteousness, but Christ's righteousness; indeed, this righteousness is Christ Himself; and yet it becomes my righteousness when I believe that Christ has gone to the Father, that is, that He was born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontio Pilato, was crucified, died, rose again the third day, ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of the Father, as the articles of our Christian faith read. Therefore, the righteousness that is valid before God, and
which is called Christian righteousness, does not grow and come from our hearts, although it must be in our hearts; nor does it stand in our works, but in faith in Christ, that he was given up for our sins, and was raised for our righteousness, and is our Lord and Savior. Whoever believes this, God pronounces him righteous. The third piece shall be this:
To the judgment that the prince of this world is judged.
(13) It is a comforting sermon, which the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, has preached and should have preached in the world by the mouth of the apostles. For what is more comforting than that all sins, however many and great they may be, should be cancelled, forgiven, covered up, and not imputed, because of faith in Christ; and that he who has such faith should be justified by God, without all his works and merit, through faith in Christ alone? A more comforting sermon cannot be heard in the world.
14. But when this new and unheard-of teaching and preaching comes and is heard in the world, that we are justified by Christ's going to the Father, the Jews and saints of this world come and say: You Peter, Paul, etc. open your mouth wide, teach and preach about sin and righteousness; but what is this new teaching and preaching? If sin is not believing in Jesus of Nazareth, and righteousness is that Jesus of Nazareth has gone to the Father, then what are our works, sacrifices and worship for? Has not God Himself instituted all these things? Is this not the pleasant service of God that we have? Has not God commanded that we live honorably and holy? You are heretics and deceivers of the people, for you preach against that which God has ordained and established. So Christ says to his apostles: Be of good cheer and undaunted, and do not let such judgments and sentences of the world move you. If Jews and Gentiles condemn your teaching, let them go. For the devil cannot leave it alone; he must condemn and persecute the teaching of faith and Christian righteousness. But it lies
I have already judged and condemned their judgments and sentences, which they will pass on you and your teachings. The prince of this world, the devil, gives them the niece to judge you. But be not dismayed or afraid: the prince of this world is already judged. Therefore, dear little children, the world will attack you, it will hold over its doings and being and condemn your teaching. But be content; this shall be your comfort, that I have already judged the prince of this world; therefore his judgment shall not hurt you.
(15) Thus our dear Lord Christ comforts and strengthens his disciples and Christians, that they should not be afraid of the judgment of the world, nor think that they are also rejected and condemned by God, when they are judged and condemned by the devil and the world; as also the 37th Psalm says, v. 33: "The Lord does not leave the righteous in the hands of the wicked, nor condemn him when he is condemned. It is a comforting sermon that Christ says: "Before the devil and the world judge you, I have already judged them. I have judged and condemned the prince of this world. Thus the wisdom of kings and the holiness of the Pharisees have been struck to the ground. Christ will have the upper hand against the judging of the whole world, however wise and holy they may be who judge. For he alone is wise and just; but all men are fools and sinners. Therefore he will be right, as the 51st Psalm says, v. 6: "That thou mayest be right in thy words, and pure in thy righteousness.
The doctrine of preaching what is sin and what is
And on the same doctrine we await the judgment and condemnation of the world, and yet take comfort in the fact that Christ says here, "The ruler of this world has already been judged. And such doctrine we do with all our diligence, preaching sin and righteousness, and suffering the judgment of the world against us. Even though we punish the world for judgment and one judgment goes against the other, we still have to endure and suffer over it. But that our adversaries, the papists, accuse us as forbidding good works, in this they do us wrong, and falsely blaspheme us. For we punish and condemn the pope and his monks and priests, not because of good works, but because they do not believe in Christ, that he alone is our righteousness.
We preach, then, that the holiness of the pope and the wisdom of the world are nothing. Monasticism and monastic life is nothing. Worldly being without faith in Christ is and should be nothing, however holy and spiritual it may seem. But this is Christian righteousness, that Christ went to the Father, shed his blood on the cross for us, and sat down at the right hand of the heavenly Father; and this is the article of our faith concerning the justification of man, which article we must know well, that we may be able to defend ourselves and endure against the devil, heresy, and our own consciences, which all fight against this article.