First sermon.*)
John 4:47-54.
There was a king whose son was sick in Capernaum. And when he heard that Jesus was come out of Judea of Galilee, he went unto him, and besought him that he would come down and heal his son, because he was sick unto death. And JESUS said unto him, Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe. And the king said unto him, Lord, come down before my child dieth. Jesus saith unto him, Go thy way, thy son liveth. And the man believed the word that Jesus spake unto him, and went his way. And as he went down, his servants met him, and told him, saying: Thy child liveth. Then he inquired of them the hour when he was better. And they said unto him, Yesterday about the seventh hour the fever left him. Then the father realized that it was about the hour when Jesus had said to him, "Your son is alive. And he believed with all his house. Now this is the other sign that Jesus did when he came out of Judea into Galilee.
1 St. John says that this was the other sign that Jesus did when he came from Judea in Galilee. The first sign that he did was that
*) Held in the house, 1533.
Soon after his baptism at the wedding of Cana in Galilee, he turned water into wine. The other sign is that he healed the king's son in Capernaum. All this happened in the first year of his preaching ministry. For as soon as the
The Lord was baptized in the Jordan by John the Baptist, and from that time he began to preach and to perform miracles. Among these miraculous signs, these two were the very first.
(2) Now the evangelist has described this miracle in order to show what kind of man this preacher is, and to teach how this preacher should be heard, namely, so that one knows that everything he preaches is Yes and Amen. One does not know for sure whether this royal man was a Jew or a Gentile; there is also no great power in it, if one does not know. He was a bailiff or magistrate under King Herod. But the most important thing is to pay attention to the reason why the evangelist described this miracle, namely, as it is said, that one sees how great a thing it is for God's word and for faith when one has God's word and believes it.
The king has a son who is sick in Capernaum and has a fever. That was with them such illness, as with us is the pestilence, which takes the man soon there. He has heard that a new prophet has arisen who teaches powerfully and is mighty in deeds. deeds. No doubt he heard him preach himself, for the Lord began his preaching in Capernaum, as St. Matthew reports Cap. 4, 13. 4, 13. He also heard that he made wine of water at the wedding in Cana. He was soon moved by this, fell down and became a Christian; and when he was in trouble with his son, he went to Christ and called on him for help.
4 This was a fine heart, which as soon as from a sermon and from a miracle drew such faith in Christ that he came to him and sought help from him in his distress. This is what the king learned as soon as. What do we learn? We have God's word in abundance, we have the Holy Scriptures; all that is prescribed is prescribed for our comfort and strength, and God's word is preached to us daily: yet we do not believe. But the king believes after one sermon and after one miraculous sign; for this reason he comes to Jesus and asks him to help his son. There
The Lord will have thought to himself: Who told this man that I could help? I have hardly preached four or five sermons everywhere, and have hardly called eleven or twelve disciples; I have not yet healed a sick person, and have only performed a few signs at Cana in Galilee, at the wedding: How then does this man come to me seeking help and asking that I heal his sick son? How is it that he comes to me seeking help and asking me to heal his sick son?
5 Therefore this is a fine faith in the royal. For although the evangelist writes that the royal man had weak faith, asking the Lord to go down with him and help his son, and that the Lord also rebuked him for this, saying, "If you do not see signs and wonders, you do not believe," it is nevertheless a great thing that he learned to believe a greater one from a few and smaller miracles. For to make wine of water, though it be a miracle, yet is it a lesser miracle than to heal a sick man that lieth dead, or to raise a dead man. Because the royal has learned from the sign at Cana that Christ can do a greater thing, namely, help his son out of a fatal illness, there is not a little faith in him. And this royal one precedes us by far. For we have heard so many sermons and seen so many miraculous signs for so long, and yet we do not have such faith in Christ; indeed, we are so wicked and wanton that we despise his word and persecute the preachers of his gospel.
(6) For this reason, the evangelist presents this royal man as an example to us, so that he may make us ashamed and provoke us to believe. On the last day this royal man will come forth and judge those who have not believed, saying, "Fie on you, you wicked people! I have heard only a few sermons and had only one sign, and yet I have learned so much from this one sign, that the Lord made wine of water, that I believed he had such power that he could do everything. But you have heard the gospel for so many years and have seen countless miracles, and yet you are nothing more
become better, have believed nothing the more.
(7) First of all, the king is weak in faith, because he asks the Lord to come down and help his son. For he would gladly have seen the Lord come to his son in person and help him, that he might have seen him before his eyes. Then the Lord rebuked him, saying, "Why do you not believe without signs and wonders? But I will do what you ask: "Go, your son lives". The king grasps this word so firmly that he puts all other thoughts out of his mind and goes in certain confidence and good hope that his son will live. He goes away in certain confidence and good hope that his son will live, as Christ has told him. Shortly before, he thought: "My son is deathly ill and will die if the Lord does not soon come down and help him. But now that he has heard the word of Christ, "Go, your son lives," he has other thoughts, namely, "I left my son sick at home when I left him, but now when I come home again, I will find him alive and well.
8 The evangelist praises such faith when he says: "The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him, and he went. As if to say: The king had such a fine, excellent faith that he believed the bad, bare word, and did not doubt that when he came home he would find his son fresh and healthy; thus he stands in certain hope, even though he neither sees nor feels. So, keeping to the word and believing it, the miraculous sign happens; his son gets well, and his servants come to meet him, proclaiming to him, "Your child is alive.
(9) Is it not a great miracle that the word of Christ has such power and accomplishes such great things that it gives life to this child who was lying deathly ill and restores him to health? Therefore, the Anabaptists are shameful people who doubt holy baptism, as if it could not give forgiveness of sins, life and blessedness. They look only at the water, and do not look at the word that is with and near the water; therefore they cannot esteem baptism highly. But one should look at the word
Christ says: "Baptize them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved." The word is to be believed, for this word is an almighty power: what it promises, it surely accomplishes, and neither the devil nor the world can hinder or hinder it.
(10) They do the same with absolution, not considering the word that God speaks to a poor sinner in absolution through the ministry of preaching: "Be of good cheer, my son, your sins are forgiven you. Therefore, they consider absolution to be nothing, and say: What should a man's hand do for the forgiveness of sins? But we should have respect for the word, and learn to believe, when God says to us in absolution, "Your sins are forgiven," that it is as certain and true as it is certain that the Son of the King has been healed by the word of Christ.
(11) Therefore, we should hold God's word in high esteem and not doubt it, but rather believe that what God says is certainly true and cannot fail; as St. Paul praises Abraham, Romans 4:20, for not doubting God's promise through unbelief, but for becoming strong in faith, giving glory to God, and knowing with the utmost certainty that what God promises, he can also do. The royal is also praised here because he falls so finely on the word and believes the word of Christ without all disputing and wavering. And the evangelist, as I have said, has presented such an example to us, so that we may learn to uphold the word and firmly believe it. What God says in His word must be done, since He cannot lie.
(12) So also, when God will say to us who are in the graves on the last day: As soon as we rise from the earth and come forth again, no grave, no worm, no stone will be able to hinder us. For there is the word of Christ, John 5:28, 29: "The hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear the voice of the Son of God, and they who have done good will come forth to the grave.
resurrection of life, but those who have done evil, to the resurrection of judgment." The word cannot be false, nor can it be a lie.
The gospel of Christ and the Christian doctrine is such a great and mighty thing that it can do all things and is able to do all things; for it is an almighty, divine power, which also saves all who believe in it, Rom. 1:16. The word of God is a different word than the word of man. When a man speaks or commands something, one must walk and run, ride and travel, have much toil and labor, spend much expense and wear on it, so that it may be accomplished and brought to work. But God's word quickly sets all things right, brings you forgiveness of sin, and gives you eternal life, and costs no more than that you hear the word, and when you have heard it, that you believe it. If thou believest it, thou shalt have it without all trouble, cost, delay, or burden.
(14) Thus the gospel of Christ and Christian doctrine explain all things in brief words, for it is the Word of God, therefore it has
He is an almighty power and nothing is impossible for him, as can be seen here in the case of the royal son. Christ says to the father: "Go, your son lives"; as soon as faith is there and the father says yes to it, the son lives and is healthy. There is no need for food or effort, nor for any kind of burden. It is only a matter of a word to Christ, and soon it is yes. And so God governs his Christian church, yes, so he governs the whole world, that it is no hard work for him, but that he accomplishes everything with one word.
(15) Therefore, we should learn to honor God's word and believe it. We have the same word in the preaching of the Gospel, in baptism, in the sacrament, in absolution. Therefore, we should not despise baptism, the sacrament and absolution, but hold them high and glorious. If we believe the word, it will happen to us as it happened to this king, namely, that we will receive what is promised to us in the word.