Joh. 15, 26. to 16, 4.
But when the Comforter comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will testify about me. And ye also shall testify, because ye have been with me from the beginning. These things have I spoken unto you, that ye should not be offended. They will put you under ban. But the time will come when whoever kills you will think he is doing God a service. And they will do this to you, so that they will not recognize my Father or me. But these things have I spoken unto you, that, when the time shall come, ye may remember that I have told you. But I did not tell you this at the beginning, because I was with you.
In today's gospel there are two pieces: the first about the Holy Spirit; the other about the future persecution that will befall those who confess and preach the gospel before the world.
You know that in the Christian faith we believe and confess that the Holy Spirit is the eternal, almighty God. The Lord Christ gives him a special name here and calls him a comforter. He sets this against the future persecution that the apostles and Christians will face in the world for preaching and confessing the Gospel. If you want to be my disciples and Christians, he says, you will have to suffer. For what need is there of comfort, if there be not suffering and sorrow upon your neck? Therefore you will have to suffer, so that you will not only be killed (that would still be small and pitiful), but that you will be killed in such a way that those who kill you will be right, yes, they will want to have done God a service, and you who are killed must be wrong. This does not mean killing badly, but killing shamefully and ignominiously, since everyone will say: Egg,
*) Held after dinner in the house, 1532.
It serves the heretic right; one should not want it to be otherwise for him etc. So the Lord indicates that there will be no comfort in the death of the apostles and Christians.
(3) The world, saith he, shall strangle you as heretics. Then your conscience will also be weak, so that you will often think, "Who knows whether I have done right? Ah, I have done too much for him. You must therefore be wrong before the world and in your conscience. Because I know how you will be, that you will find little comfort in yourselves and no comfort at all in the world, I will not leave you in such distress, I will not lead you into the mud and drown you in it, but when there is no more comfort in the world and you are terrified and stupid, I will send you the Holy Spirit, who is called and is a Comforter. He shall speak to you in your heart against all despair, saying, Be of good cheer and undaunted; turn not to the judgment of the world, neither to your thoughts, but keep the things that I say unto you.
Now there are two kinds of comfort. One is a worldly consolation; this is a false and lying consolation, because it stands on the fact that a man relies on good, honor, power,
on the friendship and support of great princes and lords. You, my disciples," says Christ here, "will have none of these, but all things will be against you and not with you: that the world will use its power, honor, goods and wealth against you and will want to dampen you with them. Do not be dismayed that you have no such comfort. It is a miserable, bad, uncertain comfort; it does not help and comforts any longer, until a fever, a pestilence, a headache or a stomachache comes, then it is already comforted. But I will provide another Comforter for you, the Holy Spirit, who shall comfort you when you are afflicted, afflicted, wretched, miserable, and forsaken, both before men and in your heart before yourselves. For this is the name of the Holy Spirit, that he is called a Comforter, and not a Comforter. For where there is sadness and distress, the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, is not at home. The devil is a spirit of terror and a comforter, but the Holy Spirit is a comforter. After that he gives the Holy Spirit another name and calls him the Spirit of Truth. This means: The Holy Spirit, whom I will send from the Father, shall be called and be a comforter, but a comforter in truth. He shall not be a comforter, as there is comfort in the world, where there is no truth nor continuance; but his comfort shall be a true, eternal, constant comfort, without falsehood and lie, which no man can deceive.
(5) But here it is contradicted. For the conscience says, "You tell me of a comfort, but I do not feel the comfort of which you tell me; yes, I feel and see the contradiction, that the world has joy and comfort, while the Christians must suffer. John the Baptist has to give up his head, Herod and his whore are meanwhile banqueting with each other and have good courage. It is a bad joy and a great consolation that the whore Herodias dances off the head of the dear holy man. It is the same with us alfo. The world does not grant us a morsel of bread, and everyone makes himself believe that what he does evil to a Christian is well done. Popes, cardinals, bishops, kings, princes and everything that is hostile to the Gospel.
that has good, calm days, sits in the rose garden without any challenge.
6 But the Christians are oppressed and afflicted. Now does this mean comforted? Yes, says Christ, it is called comforted. But you must distinguish it rightly. The Holy Spirit is called a comforter in the truth. The world also has its consolation; for otherwise it could not be so secure, cheerful, and of good cheer. But it is not a comfort that comes from the Spirit of truth, but it is a lying comfort. For very soon it can happen that everything the world comforts itself with can no longer comfort or help. On the other hand, this comforter that the Christians have is a spirit of truth that gives a constant comfort to our hearts. The world cannot comfort John the Baptist, but leaves him in sadness, Herod and his whore throw him into the tower and finally take away his cops. But the Comforter, the Spirit of Truth, comforts John and says to his heart: "Dear John, do not turn away from the horror that you are lying there so miserable and that the wicked world is exercising its displeasure on you; you are nevertheless God's friend and the dear child. The whole world despairs of you; but I comfort you, and my comfort is a certain, eternal comfort. The world has a false, uncertain consolation, its consolation is called a short joy and long, yes, infinite suffering. But your suffering, on the other hand, shall be short and followed by eternal joy, since a moment is more and better than a thousand years here on earth, even though there would be joy for all the world and no suffering. This consolation fills John's heart to such an extent that he is not only not afraid of death, but also thanks God that he will be taken from this poor, sinful body and life and thus be promoted to eternal life.
But where does the Holy Spirit get such comfort? From the Father, Christ says here. "For he, the Holy Ghost, proceedeth from the Father." This is an excellent saying, so that we can prove the article of our faith, the Holy Trinity, against the Arians and heretics. For if the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father, it must follow that such a Spirit is eternal. For from the Father
nothing can come forth that is not like and according to his nature and essence. Therefore, just as God the Son is eternal, because He is born of the eternal Father (for nothing can be born of God that is not like Him), so it must also follow that the Holy Spirit, who proceeds from God, is also eternal. But we will leave such an article for now and speak of it again in due time.
But with what does the Holy Spirit comfort? "Of me," says the Lord, "he will testify." As if to say: My dear child, the devil will frighten you and make you afraid, he will take you captive and kill you; you must wait for that, nothing else will come of it. But the Holy Spirit shall be a witness of me, shall awaken thee, and give thee remembrance of me; he shall not give thee one or more thousand crowns, as the world doth; but he shall bear witness of me, that thou mayest say: Though all is gone, wife and child, house and home, goods and honor, even now that life and limb shall perish, yet he liveth, who is called Jesus Christ, who for my sake was made man, died for me, and rose again, and ascended into heaven, as I pray daily in my faith. Is this true,- what shall I be afraid of? Truly, the Son of God, my dear Lord, who suffers death for me, he will not be my enemy, he will mean it faithfully and well with me. He who loves you is not to be feared. If the Son of God loves me, I have no reason to be afraid of him or to think anything evil of him.
9 But Christ clearly says: "The Holy Spirit will testify about me. Of me, and not of another. Apart from this testimony of the Holy Spirit to Christ, there is no certain, constant comfort. Therefore, this word "of me" should be written with large, thick letters and diligently remembered. For in this we may be sure that the Holy Spirit shall come with no other doctrine, neither preaching Moses, nor any other law, to comfort the consciences. If the consciences are to be comforted, the preaching of Christ's death and resurrection alone must do it; that alone comforts. But on the other hand
All other preaching of law, good works, holy life, commanded by God or man, are not able to comfort man in distress and death, but make him stupid and despondent, frightened and troubled. For God Himself, if one wants to deal with Him apart from Christ, is a terrible God, in whom one finds no comfort, but only wrath and disgrace. But he who preaches about Christ proclaims and brings true comfort, since it is impossible that hearts should not rejoice in it and be of good cheer.
(10) Therefore it all depends on this comfort to be grasped and held fast, saying, "I believe in Jesus Christ, who died for me, and I know that the Holy Spirit, who is called and is a witness and comforter, preaches or testifies of no one else in Christendom to comfort and strengthen all who are afflicted, but of Christ. I want to stay with this and do not hold on to any other consolation. For if there should be a better or more certain comfort than this, the Holy Spirit would also bring it. But it should do no more than testify of Christ. The consolation shall not be lacking, if we only hold fast to it and believe that it is true and the testimony of the Holy Spirit.
But why does the Lord need the word "testify" here? He could have spoken differently! Answer: He needs a special word for it, does not say: The Holy Spirit will say about me; but: The Holy Spirit will "testify" of me. He does this so that we may have more respect for the word and believe it. For witnessing is done by the word, and the witness must be believed. Therefore Christ says: "The Holy Spirit will not personally present me to you so that you will see, grasp and feel it, but you will hear the voice of the Holy Spirit in your hearts that I died for you and have overcome sin, death, the world, the devil and hell.
(12) He also gathers the testimony of the Holy Spirit and the apostles, saying, "The Holy Spirit will testify of me, and you also will testify, because you are of the Holy Spirit.
fang has been with me." For it is true that the Holy Spirit has his effect within the heart. However, he does not want to have such an effect in any other way than through the oral word. As St. Paul, Rom. 10, 14, says: "How shall they believe, of whom they have heard nothing?" item v. 17: "Faith comes from preaching, preaching by the word of God." Therefore Christ calls the Holy Spirit a witness, not only that he witnesses inwardly and secretly in the heart, but also that he witnesses outwardly and publicly by the mouth and word of the apostles and of all preachers who preach the gospel of Christ purely and openly. For the mouth and the word belong to the witness.
(13) Therefore let no one who desires comfort wait until the Holy Spirit speaks to him personally and in his majesty from heaven. For he bears his testimony publicly in the sermon: there you must seek him and wait until he stirs your heart by such a word as you hear with your ears, and so also bears witness of Christ inwardly in your heart by his effect. But such an inward testimony does not come sooner, unless the other public and oral testimony of the word has gone first, when it is heard that Christ became man for our sake, was crucified, died, and rose again.
14 This, then, is the summa summarum of this present gospel, that we should willingly yield ourselves to it, if we would be Christians, that we should not have great money and goods, joy and glory here on earth; but that we should have the world as our enemy, and bear sin and death and an evil conscience. Now when a Christian suffers such things, that the heart is troubled, saddened, and sorrowful, and thinks, Behold, how is it with thee? What have you done? You could well have been a Christian and yet not put yourself in such company; if you are in trouble now, it is your own fault etc. Where also terrible examples strike, as: the example with Elijah, who called fire to fall from heaven on the two captains of king Ahaziah, each of whom had fifty men with him, 2 Kings.
1, 10. ff; item, the example of the first world, which God destroyed by the flood, Gen. 7; item, the example of the cities Sodoma and Gomorrah, which God destroyed and condemned with brimstone and fire, Gen. 19, and other terrible examples, by which the heart becomes anxious and fearful of God's wrath and judgment. Then, says Christ, it is time for you to know that such terrible examples and sights are all apart from me. But when you hear from me that I died for you and redeemed you by my blood, you will soon be able to conclude that I will not devour you nor condemn you.
15 But let it be especially noted against the false spirits and false preachers, that it is here decreed that the Holy Spirit, if he is to comfort, should do nothing else but testify of Christ and form him in the hearts. On the other hand, the evil spirit frightens the consciences, holding death and sin against them. The Holy Spirit must ward this off by his testimony, and speak and speak into our hearts through the Word: Oh man, what are you doing? Can you think of nothing else but death, sin and damnation? Turn away thine eyes from this ghastly, horrible sight, and look hither! Do you not know a man called Christ Jesus? Of him it is thus written: He was "conceived of the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried, went into hell, and the third day rose again from the dead and ascended into heaven." Why do you think this happened? Did it not come to pass that thou mightest be comforted against death and sin? Therefore cease from fear and trembling, for thou hast no cause. If Christ were not with you and around you, and had not done this for you, you would have reason enough to fear. But he is with thee and about thee, as he saith, "I am with thee alway, even unto the end of the world." For this purpose he suffered death for you, and sits at the right hand of his heavenly Father for your comfort and protection etc.
16 Where this sermon resounds, there one hears the voice of the Holy Spirit, testimony and teaching. But if it does not sound like this, it may be the testimony of Moses, or of the wicked devil, or of the Holy Spirit, where it is best.
the heretics' testimony, since one has nothing to gain from it but fear and terror. May God protect us from this and keep us in this testimony of the Holy Spirit in our last hour, amen.