Luc. 15, 1-10.
And all the publicans and sinners came near to hear him. And the Pharisees and scribes murmured, saying: This man accepts sinners and eats with them. And he said unto them this like thing, saying, What man is there among you, that hath an hundred sheep, and if he lose one, and leave not the nine and ninety in the wilderness, and go after him that is lost, until he find him? And when he hath found, he layeth it upon his shoulder with joy. And when he cometh home, he calleth unto his friends and neighbors, and saith unto them: Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost. I say to you: So also shall there be joy in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, before nine and ninety righteous, which need not repentance. Or what woman, having ten pence, if she lose one, doth not kindle a light, and turn the house, and search diligently, until she find him? And when she hath found it, she calleth unto her friends and neighbors, saying, Rejoice with me; for I have found my penny, which I had lost. So also, I tell you, there will be joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.
This is one of the most comforting gospels than there is in the whole year. For it is a beautiful, lovely image that Christ compares himself to a shepherd, who wants to go after the poor sinners, search for them and bring them back to justice, so that they are not given to the wolf, the devil, and are eternally condemned. So it is also exceedingly sweet and comforting words that he says: "The angels of God in heaven, the high creatures, rejoice over a sinner who repents.
2 With this the Lord Christ describes his office and kingdom, namely, that he is such a shepherd or king, who does not have to do with the physical and external kingdom, who also does not outline the external, worldly rule, nor does he abolish it; but who deals with poor sinners and has to do with them. Therefore his kingdom is a spiritual kingdom, a kingdom of grace and mercy, a kingdom of forgiveness of sins and eternal bliss.
. 3 The evangelist says that all kinds of tax collectors and sinners came to Jesus to hear him. With this he shows the reason why the tax collectors and sinners came to Christ, and why their future was so dear and pleasing to the Lord Christ, and why they were so dear to him.
*) Held in the house, 1533.
and pleasant, that is, the hearing of his word and gospel, that they heartily desired to hear his preaching, and heard and learned the same with all diligence and earnestness. This is what the tax collectors and sinners did.
4 But the Pharisees and scribes sacrificed in the temple at Jerusalem, had themselves and their children circumcised, did the works of the law, took care to live blamelessly in outward piety, led a good walk and fine outwardly honorable life before the people, and thought that Messiah would also be as holy as they and would deal with holy people, would come for the sake of such outward holiness and piety, and would keep to such holy people as the Pharisees and scribes were. And this would be Christ's kingdom and ministry. When they saw that the Lord Christ had joined the tax collectors and sinners, had accepted them with grace, and was most kindly disposed toward them, they grumbled and said, "This man accepts sinners and eats with them." The Pharisees and scribes could not conclude otherwise, for they knew nothing of Christ's kingdom and ministry, that he had come on earth to save sinners, however great sinners they might be, and however great and many sins they might have committed, if they would only hear his word and gospel, repent, and be saved.
and believe in him. They understood nothing of this, knew nothing more of God's word than what Moses and the law teaches.
5 The law teaches everywhere in this way (just as all reason judges in this way and cannot judge otherwise): God will do good to those who are pious and keep His commandments; and punish the wicked who do not keep His commandments, Exodus 20:5. 20, 5. 6.: "I, the Lord thy God, am a zealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation, and doing mercy unto many thousands that love me and keep my commandments." Therefore, they could not conclude otherwise than that because Messiah was sent by God, nothing else was due to Him but to deal with sinners as the Law teaches. Since the law says that God is angry with sinners and does not take care of them, but punishes them, Christ must and should also do the same, rejecting tax collectors and sinners unkindly and letting them go.
The Lord Christ answers them with these two parables of the shepherd with the lost sheep and of the woman with the lost penny. He could have answered them from the Gospel that God is not hostile to sinners, nor does He delight in their death and destruction, but sent His beloved Son to save them; as He preached to Nicodemo, who was also a Pharisee, John 3, and says v. 16, 17: "God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world through Him might be saved." This is a different teaching and preaching than the Law. It does not speak of God's wrath and disgrace on sinners, but of grace and love. Therefore Christ could have answered and said: "You Pharisees and scribes should not only know the law and judge from it how to deal with sinners, but you should also know the gospel and the sermon of grace, which teaches that sinners should be accepted because God accepts them. For Moses himself also points to
another prophet, teaching and word, which will be far different from the law given through him. Elsewhere, but in the same matter, he draws his profession. When he was rebuked and reproached by the Pharisees for eating with tax collectors and sinners, he said in v. 13: "I have come to call sinners to repentance, and not the pious. So he could have put on his profession and said: "I came on earth to save the lost. But he did not answer these Pharisees and scribes in this way, but convinced them with crude parables taken from nature and from common human nature and life, and shut their mouths, just as they had to draw in their pipes and give themselves up as prisoners.
(7) But with these parables he not only describes his kingdom and ministry sweetly and comfortingly, but also indicates a special thought which he has in this matter, namely, that he cannot refrain from being about sinners, seeking them, and doing everything that is conducive to their salvation. "A man," he says, "who has a hundred sheep, and loses one of them, leaves the nine and ninety in the wilderness, and goes to seek the one that is lost," and has neither peace nor rest until he finds it. And when he hath found, he layeth it upon his shoulder with joy, and bringeth it home, and calleth unto his friends and neighbors, saying, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep that was lost." This is what a man does with an unreasonable animal and poor sheep. The lost sheep lasts him much more, cares also much more for the lost one, than for the others all; has also much more joy over the lost sheep, if he has found again, than over the nine and ninety sheep, so were not lost. And "a woman who has ten pennies and loses one of them, lights a light, returns to the house, and searches diligently until she finds it. And when she has found it, she makes a joyful feast with her friends and neighbors." And so it happens in all other things: what is lost always causes greater pain, sadness and sorrow.
and what has been recovered is loved, pleased and comforted much more than what is still left and undiscovered.
8 A mother who has many children is fond of them all, and would not like to have one among them. But when one of them falls ill, the illness makes a difference between all the other children, so that the sickest is now the dearest, and the mother takes care of none more nor waits more diligently than for the sick one. Whoever would then judge the mother's love according to maintenance, would have to say: The mother loves only the sick child, she does not love the healthy ones. This way, says our dear Lord Christ, I also have; the sinners are my purchased, expensive (acquired) good and property; for I have purchased them for myself by my suffering and dying, cost me therefore much more, and cost me more to acquire and acquire, than a sheep costs a man, or a woman a penny, or even a mother her children. That it should not hurt me, and that I should not worry about it and assume that they will go out of my way and out of my hands again, is impossible. For they cost me too much and have become too sour for me, and it takes me that they should still be of the devil. Therefore, I cannot leave it alone: as soon as one of my sheep escapes from me, I must act as if the others had nothing to do with me, and go after the one that is lost, seeking it so that the wolves do not get it.
(9) This is the heart of our Lord Christ most kindly and sweetly painted, that it is impossible to make it more sweet and kindly, because he has such care, concern, trouble, and labor, how he may restore poor sinners; and he himself leads us into our own heart, that we should think how we should feel, if we lose something dear to us. Thus, he says, my heart stands, thus it waltzes and is troubled, when I see that the devil has brought a poor man into sin and error.
010 And add unto this, that like as he is minded and affectionate toward poor sinners,
So also there is joy in heaven over one sinner who repents, over nine and ninety righteous who do not need repentance. And repeats the same saying another time, saying that there is joy in heaven before the angels of God over one sinner who repents. The dear angels and heavenly spirits have a feast of joy and sing a special Te Deum laudamus (Lord God, we praise you) when a poor sinner comes to justice and converts. If a man rejoices over a lost sheep when he finds it again, and a woman rejoices over a lost penny when she finds it again, and the angels in heaven rejoice over a sinner who returns and repents, why do you Pharisees and scribes punish and judge me, Christ wants to say, that I accept tax collectors and sinners who come near to me and listen to my preaching with all diligence and heart?
(11) Such lovely parables and images, and such sweet and comforting words, we should diligently remember, so that we may learn to comfort and endure against evil conscience and sin. For we human beings are all sinners, and there is not one of us whom the devil has not driven into the wilderness, that is, who has lived in such a way that he does not go astray after baptism, like a lost sheep who does not go astray and sin against his God. But where there is sin, it follows that one fears God. For the nature of sin is that it makes a fearful and despondent heart that worries about disgrace and punishment. Thus, human reason cannot conclude otherwise, nor does the Law teach otherwise, than that God is hostile to sinners. Therefore, a heart that knows itself to be guilty cannot naturally do otherwise than fear, and therefore denies itself all grace and awaits punishment. So all power lies with us to conclude with Christ against our own heart and conscience, and to say: I am a poor sinner, I cannot, indeed, will not deny it; but I will by no means despair of it, as if God did not want me. Reason: my Lord Jesus Christ says that a poor sinner is like a little sheep that has lost its shepherd and gone astray. Such erroneous
He will not let sheep go astray, but will seek them out and carry them to the other sheep. This is an indication that he will not throw us away because of our sins, but will put all his effort into bringing us out of sin and back into grace. He also says that both he and the angels in heaven above take pleasure in it, where sinners come to repentance and are converted.
12 The parable of the sheep and the shepherd serves this purpose especially. It is not a miserable thing, for where a little sheep goes astray from its shepherd in the pasture; it cannot advise itself, is in danger at any moment, that the wolf, if it sneaks after it, catches it and eats it. In such a journey it has no help at all, can neither protect itself nor endure with the least. For there is no animal among all that is created by nature so completely bare and defenseless as a sheep. The same is true for a sinner whom the devil has led away from God and his word and brought into sin. For there he is not safe for a moment, since our enemy, the devil, as Peter says, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeing if he may devour us.
13. In such a journey this is the only consolation, that we have a shepherd, our dear Lord Jesus Christ, who takes care of us and seeks us, not because he wants to punish us for our sins and cast us into hell, but if he finds us, that he will gladly put us on his shoulders and carry us home, where we will be safe from the wolf and have our shelter and pasture in the best way. But you know how such a search takes place, namely that he lets his word go and sound publicly everywhere; in the same we hear how a terrible misery and burden sin is, which throws us down into eternal damnation. But God was moved out of fatherly love toward us disobedient children, and through His Son has provided counsel and help for us from such misery; ask nothing else in return, except that we accept it with thanksgiving, believe in Christ, repent, and turn to God.
14 But this gospel is not comforting
that Christ is such a shepherd and king, and has such a kingdom and office, that he seeks out, accepts and carries the erring sheep; But also teaches how we should send ourselves against this shepherd, and what we should do, so that we may be brought again into Christ's kingdom, and be made partakers of his grace and love, and from lost, stray sheep become dear, pleasant sheep, from God's enemies God's friends, namely, that we, as these publicans and sinners do, draw near to Christ, hear and learn his gospel diligently and earnestly, and improve ourselves from it. For the hearing of the holy gospel, or as St. Paul calls it, the obedience of faith, takes away and wipes out sin and everything that follows sin, namely, God's wrath, eternal death and damnation, so that a sinner is no longer a sinner, an enemy of God is no longer an enemy of God, but is righteous, a friend of God, and a delight to the dear angels in heaven.
15. Thus this gospel makes a distinction between sinners, and meets our squires, peasants, burghers, nobles, princes, and all who boast of being evangelicals, who abuse this grace and lovely, comforting parables and examples, and say: Christ loves sinners, the angels in heaven rejoice over a sinner who repents; and yet forgetting repentance, they continue in all kinds of sins, defiance, and willfulness against God and their neighbor, without all fear and timidity, in great shameful certainty, sinning not only freely at God's grace and mercy, but also hate and persecute God's word and the ministers who preach such word, do not hear the sermon seriously, have no heartfelt remorse nor sorrow for their ungodly life and great sin and vice, have learned nothing more from the Gospel than that they can say with their mouths: Our Lord God will not reject sinners, Christ came for the sake of sinners etc.
16 This gospel does not speak of such sinners, nor should they accept this comfort, for they would deceive themselves and pretend to themselves to their own harm and destruction, so that the longer
But it speaks of sinners who draw near to Christ to hear him, that is, who learn the word, confess their sin, begin to believe and amend themselves. Such sinners are the right sheep, who want to leave error and let themselves be found by their shepherd Christ; they also hear God's word for the reason that they think about it in order to improve. Christ makes a cross over such sinners and gives them the comforting, joyful absolution: "All your sins are forgiven; you should know that God is merciful to you, only that you do not doubt it, but believe firmly and assuredly, just as I preach to you. Because you hear my word and believe in me, I will take you on my shoulders and carry you into the church, yes, into the kingdom of heaven. I will, yes, I have already done enough for you: therefore you shall have a gracious God and Father in heaven.
17) All poor sinners who love to hear God's word and believe in Christ should do this.
recognize their shepherd, savior and king, and draw comfort and joy from them, and do not despair because of their sins. For our dear Lord Jesus Christ calls himself a good faithful shepherd, and he is. For he laid down his life for the sake of such sinners, that he might bear and lead them with all joy into the kingdom of heaven and eternal life.
(18) This is what is called sweetly and lovingly preached, and God's word greatly praised and glorified as the one treasure that takes away sin and all the misery that follows from sin, such as death, damnation, the devil and hell, so that we are no longer sinners and enemies of God, but a special joy to the dear angels in heaven and all the saints on earth. For this reason we should hold it in all honor and dignity, hear it gladly and with all our hearts, love and esteem those who preach it, so that we too may come to such blessed fruit, be freed from error and from all the ride of the wicked devil, and become eternally blessed. May the dear and faithful shepherd and bishop of our souls, our dear Lord Christ, grant this to us all through the Holy Spirit, amen.