V.1-22. And when he was come down from the mount, much people followed him. And, behold, a leper came and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst cleanse me. And JEsus put forth his hand, and touched him, and said: I will do, be cleansed. And immediately he was clean from his sins. And JEsus said unto him, See thou tell no man: but go thy way, shew thyself to the priest, and offer the gift which Moses commanded.
for a testimony concerning them. And when JEsus was come into Capernaum, a certain centurion came unto him, and besought him, saying, Lord, my servant lieth at home, sick of the palsy, and in great affliction. Jesus said to him, "I will come and heal him. And the centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word, and my servant shall be healed. For I am a man, and subject to the authorities,
And I have warriors under me: neither shall I say to one, Go, and he shall go; and to another, Come, and he shall come: Come hither, and he cometh. And to my servant, Do this, and he will do it. When Jesus heard this, he marveled, and said to them that followed him, Verily I say unto you, I have not found such faith in Israel. But I say unto you, That many shall come from the east, and from the west, and shall sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness, there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way, and it shall be done unto thee according to thy faith. And his servant was healed at that very hour. And JEsus came into Peter's house, and saw that his wife lay sick of a fever. Then he took hold of her hand, and the fever left her. And she arose, and ministered unto them. And in the evening they brought unto him many that were possessed with devils: and he cast out the spirits with words, and healed all that were diseased: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying, He hath taken upon him our infirmities, and our sickness hath he borne. And when JEsus saw many people about him, he commanded to pass over beyond the sea. And there came unto him a scribe, and said unto him, Master, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest. And Jesus said unto him, Foxes have holes, and the fowls of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head. And another of his disciples said unto him, Lord, suffer me that I go and bury my father first. But JEsus said unto him, Follow me, and let the dead bury their dead.
After Christ had presented His teaching on the mountain, He again did works and miracles that confirmed His teaching, as testimonies that He was not a teacher in words alone, without works, because the kingdom of God does not stand in words, but in power [1 Cor. 4:20].
2. and this is the first lesson we are to draw from this chapter, namely, the example [of Christ] that it is necessary for all Christians, but especially for the teachers, that they should
are not Christians in word, but in deed, and adorn the word with proper works. This is seldom found nowadays and at any time, since many speak of the gospel in such a way as if they were angels; but if you look at the works, they are nothing but devils.
3 Although the evangelist says in general that Christ did many miracles, that is, he "cast out spirits and healed all kinds of sick people" [v. 16], he does not list everything that he did at that time and in that place. He lists only five in particular, namely of the leper, of the centurion's servant, of the fever of Peter's sister-in-law, of the danger of the shipwreck and of the possessed. And between them two answers of Christ are written, how he answered a stingy scribe and a superstitious disciple to their carnal questions, which will be talked about below.
The first miracle of the leper is not only a testimony of doctrine, but also an example of faith and love, by which Christ offers his willing goodness, which is open to all, to inspire faith. The leper shows an exceedingly beautiful faith, because he does not doubt the power and goodness of Christ, but is certain in faith. He only accepts the will of Christ: "Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst cleanse me"; that is, where otherwise what we ask is for the advancement of his glory and kingdom, and for our blessedness, because we often ask for such things which would not be useful to us if they were given to us ; as Paul Rom. 8, 26. says: "We know not how to pray." But He Himself alone knows what is for His glory and for our blessedness. Therefore, everything must be submitted to God's will, and we should not doubt that He will do everything we ask when He sees that it is useful and wants to do it. He wants everything that is useful.
(5) And here we have the opportunity to talk about prayer, how faith in it can be sure of being answered, and yet still
The conscience must also surrender completely to God for the execution, when, where, how, and through whom God wills it to be done. The conscience should be certain of divine grace, but also submit to God as to the counsel and the hour, which must be determined by God alone, for His glory and for our good, just as here the leper, in that he does not prescribe an hour, a place, a manner, or a way for his cleansing, but submits to the will of the Lord. Immediately, at the very hour, in the very way, at the very place where he did not think of it, the longed-for cleansing was granted to him. By this he shows how pleasant such a faith is to him, which is sure of his grace, but which is also humble against his counsel and will, through patience. That faith likes to be patient can be seen in all patriarchs, prophets and saints, who did not doubt that God would be merciful to them, and yet waited with patience for His counsel and will, as this can be further explained with the examples of Adam, Abraham, and many others, and then also confirmed with their sayings, as when it says Ps. 27, 14: "Wait for the Lord, be confident and undaunted, and wait for the Lord"; Habak. 2:3: "If the prophecy be consumed, wait for it; it will surely come and not be forgiven," of which the Psalter and the Prophets are full. For this is God's way of delaying the effect of our prayer, so that He can do more abundantly than we ask or understand (as Paul testifies, Eph. 3, 20.).
(6) After this, the example of love may be treated, and it may be said, first of all, that Christ does good by grace and in vain, and seeks neither riches nor honor, but is only obedient to his Father, and benefits men. And because it seemed as if he would offend others with his beneficence (as against the priests and against Moses), he also practices love in this and does not rob anyone of his right (as he could have done rightly), but out of exuberant love he commands to honor the priests by offering the gift according to the law, as Moses commanded [3 Mos. 14, 2.], so that the enthusiasts would not undertake to say: one should do good when it is not necessary to do so.
even to the detriment, harm and annoyance of others, although Christ teaches here that works of love must be done without harm and annoyance to others, as much as is possible. This teaching also extends far and includes much, but cannot be interpreted now, because it is greater than the matter and the place now permit.
7 Here we can punish the impudent lie of the papists, who have invented from this passage that all sins should be told in auricular confession (which is impossible), although confession in and of itself, if it is used correctly, is to be approved.
The other miracle, of the centurion's sick servant, is also a testimony of doctrine like the first and all the others.
9 It is also an example of a very excellent faith, as Christ Himself exalts this faith above all faith in Israel. First, because the centurion does not doubt that Christ can and will do it. Second, because out of humility he considers himself unworthy to make his request himself, but sends others, namely his friends, to Christ. Third, after Christ has promised him that he will do it, he considers himself unworthy that Christ should come to him and do it presently, but he only desires that Christ absent "only speak a word," and believes that through his word that which he asks will be done. And this he believes so certainly that he also teaches this belief by his own example, saying: "I am only a man, subject to the authorities, and with one word in my hanse to do what I want: I say: Do this, go, come, and so it happens, even if I am absent, how much more will you be able to do everything with one word, even in your absence.
(10) So he not only believes, but he also preaches and teaches the way of faith. Oh that we could believe in the absent Christ in this way, even though we have his present word in abundance. Therefore, this faith of the centurion is rightly praised, because it is confident and perfect in all qualities of faith. He thinks all good things of Christ, without wavering.
Then he wishes to hear only his word, for which he waits with joy and confidence, as for the highest treasure of life and bliss for his servant, without any doubt.
11 And this faith is all the more pleasing because it is demonstrated by a Gentile who has had no promises and who considers himself unworthy of the glory of God's people.
(12) In this way, true faith actually causes one to despise oneself and to consider oneself unworthy before others. Therefore, it serves us as an example of the highest consolation that the more we consider ourselves unworthy and think that the promises of God do not concern us, the more we should desire them, 1) and be certain that this desire is most pleasing to God, who wants and desires that one should have a fervent desire for His grace. And this is exactly what faith does, which considers grace to be delicious, and therefore hungers and longs for it fiercely, and thus obtains it.
(13) For those who are weary, as well as those who are secure, do not care about it, therefore they do not believe, but despise it. And this is the cause that Christ here passes judgment on the sated children of the kingdom, proclaiming beforehand that they shall be cast down because of their surfeit and unbelief, not considering that they are Abraham's seed, and that the Gentiles shall be received because of their faith and sighing, not considering that they are not Abraham's seed and are strangers to the promises of God. Because God has the air of filling the hungry and leaving the full empty [Luc. 1, 53], without distinction of persons.
The third miracle is the healing of the fever. Here nothing is said about the faith of Peter's sister-in-law, but Lucas [4, 38.] reports that others prayed for her. And so she was healed by faith and by the prayer of others, just as the centurion's servant was healed above by faith and by the prayer of his master. So that we see how much the
1) In the Wittenberg and in the Jena: 6n, instead read dsbsarnus.
Prayer and the faith of others can do for others, and how pleasing to God is the service of love when one asks and pleads for others, so that even if the persons and for themselves should be unworthy or have too little faith, God nevertheless accepts the faith and prayer of others for them. And this is also a comprehensive lesson, namely, how much the prayer of the godly is able to do for our brothers, then, but also against our enemies. For each of these two pieces has promises, 2) examples and commandments, namely, that we should pray for one another, likewise, accuse our enemies before God; as this also very many Psalms full of both pieces testify.
(15) Before the two following miracles, Matthew adds, first of all, a general preface, that on the same evening Jesus had healed many others, namely, those who were possessed and afflicted with all kinds of diseases, so that he could cite the saying of Isaiah [53:4], who prophesied about the future of Christ, in order to show the Jews that this was the promised Christ, and that they should not wait for any other; for he himself had proved and fulfilled by his work what Isaiah had prophesied. For Matthew likes to introduce the prophets (wherever he can), and is everywhere careful to show that this Jesus was prophesied by the prophets, so that he admonished the Jews to believe in him.
(16) Now it seems that Matthew does not refer to the saying of Isaiah in its true sense, speaking of the suffering of Christ, and not of the healing or recovery of the sick. But to this we must reply that Matthew refers to Isaiah as speaking of the whole of Christ and all his parts, that is, not only of the three-day suffering of Christ, but of the whole life of Christ. The whole life of Christ consisted in taking upon Himself our misery and bearing it, because for our sake He was born, circumcised, walked around, ate, drank, and slept; and as Paul says in Phil. 2:7, "He was made like another man.
2) Instead of pi-oiQi88ioni8 in the Wittenberg is to be read with the Jena prouai88ion68.
Man, and invented as a man in gifts"; and this for our sake.
17 Therefore, if anyone were to cite the saying of Isaiah in reference to any part of the life of Christ, he would properly put it on, because he suffered thirst for our sake, that we might not suffer thirst; and so he bore our thirst; for our sorrow he was sorrowful; so he bore our sorrow, that we might be glad. So also here he bears compassion for the possessed and the sick, and bears their misery in his heart, in order to redeem them, because he has done, lived, spoken, borne everything for our sake.
(18) And as he hath borne the bodily diseases of men out of compassion, that he might put them away bodily: so hath he bodily borne our sins in his passion, that he might put them away spiritually: so that this is the summa, Christ is ours: all our diseases, whether they be bodily or spiritual, he hath borne and put away, in what manner soever it be done. Therefore Matthew rightly took the passage in Isaiah as a general one about the whole of Christ, and interpreted it to mean that he carried the sick and made them well, because Christ is a general and complete Savior of body and soul. And this general understanding in Isaiah is very good, and well to be observed in other similar doctrines.
(19) Matthew adds two answers of Christ, but Lucas [Cap. 9, 57. ff.] gives three, against the false disciples of the gospel, who seek their honor and benefit from the gospel under the appearance of faith. The first, a scribe, asks very devoutly, as if Christ did not understand what he was seeking. For he says, "I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest." These are words of a perfect man, and yet they are used by the hypocrite in the greatest falsehood, because his heart is not so constituted. For this reason Christ reproves him, as an example to us all, that we may learn not to believe the words of hypocrites, which sound like the sanctity of angels, as is seen here. For such shameful
The church is greatly harmed by those who pretend to be eager to follow your gospel, boasting of miracles and pretending to be like the papists, the various sects, and the Anabaptists of our time 2c. These all say with their mouths, "Master, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest"; I am sincere, and not like those who hate thee, or hold thee in contempt; "I will follow." O, I will do it; it shall not be words, no, thou shalt see it. For I will have thee, as a faithful disciple, for a master. Further [they say], I will follow thee not only to One Work, but everywhere, I will except nothing. These are the right wicked with their high words, and want to do more than God may desire 2c. Just as today many laymen and noblemen are full of such hypocritical words; according to the saying: Good words, and nothing behind them. And as Solomon says in Proverbs [Cap. 14, 23]: "Where words are used, there is lack" 2c.
But Christ very shrewdly reproves his hypocrisy, saying [v. 20.], "The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head." As if to say, O thou dear brother, how sweet words thou speakest, and how great things thou promiseest, seeing thou art a mischievous man inwardly and in skin; thou wilt deceive me with words, but thou art greatly mistaken. You call me your master; you promise to be my disciple; you want to follow me in the most perfect way, but in such a way that you may find honor, dominion, goods, and what is yours with me. But I tell you, you will not only find no dominion with me, but also not even a house, not a foxhole, nor a bird's nest; and what is more, not even a place where I can lay the head of this your master. The cross shall be thy kingdom, and the utter contempt of the world thy palace. But these things you will not ask, I know it. For he who is willing to confess the gospel cannot be anxious for such things, or seek after that which thou seekest, but must be willing that, if he
even if he has neither 1) a pit nor a nest, yet he willingly endures such things. 2) For the kingdom of the gospel is not a kingdom of the world.
21 In sum, Christ declares by this answer that his kingdom is not a kingdom of the world, and that a Christian, when the cause requires it, must also become poorer than a fox or a bird is, that he has neither a certain nest for his dwelling, nor a pit for his refuge, but for the sake of the gospel gladly endures all hours of danger. And so do all true Christians: they use their goods, they have nests and pits; but when necessity requires them to leave them for the sake of Christ, they do so, and also gladly leave the place where they could lay their head as on their own property. And they like to be guests in the world, and say with your prophets: "I am a guest on earth" [Ps. 119, 19], and again: "I am your pilgrim, like all my fathers" [Ps. 39, 13].
22 In this answer, Christ paints the picture of a Christian man who should not seek what belongs to this world, as if his kingdom consisted in it, but should only make use of the present as a guest who will soon leave again, and should be willing to leave all this for his sake. But this is not what this hypocrite wanted with his splendid words, nor do those nowadays who want to seem more evangelical than Christ himself, the hateful people who say: Lord, Lord, Master, Master, I will follow you, I will follow you wherever you want, although they are exceedingly stingy, full of all lusts, very ambitious, and seek with all their heart the world and what belongs to the world.
(23) Therefore these words of Christ must be well considered: "The foxes have pits, and the birds of the air have nests. If the foxes and birds have pits and nests, they have but one place, yet a certain one; but they have not yet food, drink, and other things. But a Christian should not rely on a certain place either,
1) Instead of "6 in the Wittenberger is to be read with the Jena nee.
much less on other goods, but he should put his hope in the future kingdom, and need this world as if he did not need it.
Now follows the other answer, to a true disciple who is not a hypocrite, but asks sincerely. This one is a very good man, an image for all people in the world, as a perfect pattern, because he honors his parents and cares for them. For what greater piety can there be in the world than to honor one's parents and show one's gratitude to them? since natural reason also extols this virtue, next to the service of God, as the highest, as Aristotle testifies: "To the gods, to the parents, to the teachers, one cannot give due recompense.
(25) And yet Christ here rejects this filial piety or the natural love of children towards their parents in a matter concerning the Gospel, and wants it to give way to the Gospel. Not as if he did not want the parents to be honored, which is commanded in the fourth commandment, but he does not want the parents to be preferred to God and his word, so that the hypocrites would not invent an opportunity to do something against the word under the pretext of the fourth commandment. Just as they cry out today: the church, the church! the fathers, the fathers! Likewise: One must obey the prince, one must serve one's neighbor. These works are all very good and right, and one protects the command of God from 2c. but they do not see that the fourth commandment should only resound in the other table, but not dispute against the first table, as Peter says [Apost. 5, 29.] "One must obey God more than men." He does not say, One must not obey men. Nor is the question about this; but since one is to obey both, the question is: whether one must obey God more than men? Here the answer is: that one must obey God more than men, because men are under God, but God is not under men. And God created man, but man did not create God. So also the father, the prince, the brother is under GOtt, but GOtt is not under them; and he created them, but they have
not made him. Therefore, they must obey him, but God does not have to obey them.
26 Christ wants this in this place, when he says [v. 22]: "Let the dead bury their dead", that is, in my kingdom it is about something else than the fourth commandment, because it is a kingdom of life. But it is especially to be noted that he summarizes and devours the whole kingdom of the world, and even the fourth commandment, or the other tablet, with one word, saying: it is a kingdom of the dead, because all die, yes, are dead before God; only Christ's kingdom is a kingdom of life before him. Therefore (he says) you are not to be inferior to the kingdom of the dead, but on the contrary, you are to take much more care that you are a servant in the kingdom of the living than in the kingdom of the dead. Although I do not condemn the kingdom of the dead at this time, but only do not want it to be preferred to the kingdom of the living.
The danger from the sea.
V. 23-27. And he entered into the ship, and his disciples followed him. And behold, there arose a great tempest in the sea, so that even the little ship was covered with waves, and he slept. And the disciples came to him and woke him up, saying: Lord, help us, we are perishing. Then said he unto them: Ye of little faith, why are ye so fearful? and stood up, and troubled the wind and the sea, and there was silence. But the people were astonished and said: What manner of man is this, that the wind and the sea obey him?
27 Another miracle follows, about the danger on the sea. This also belongs to the affirmation of the doctrine, like everything else. But this is something special, that Christ reigns also on the water, and that we are saved by the word and by faith also in all dangers of the sea and the rivers, so that we know that Christ cannot only cleanse the leprosy on the land, heal the gout, drive out the fever, but can also save in the air, in winds, in waters, in rivers, so that he may be able to save us.
a perfect and universal Savior be in heaven, on earth and on the sea. And as it is said in the Psalm [Ps. 135, 6.], "All that He wills, He does, in heaven, on earth, in the sea, and in all deeps."
28 Therefore this is our comfort, that in Christ, through faith, we are lords and conquerors over all the power of Satan, with which he rages on the waters. For the wind and the sea give way to those who believe, as he says here, "O you of little faith, why are you so fearful?" As if to say, If ye were strong in faith, these winds and the sea with all devils would not hurt you; that is, if ye believed, ye would live even in death, and even death would be profitable unto you for life; as he saith John 11:25, "He that believeth on me, though he were dead, yet shall he live;" he shall be safe even in peril; he shall have a ground or land even in the waters; he shall have a support and ground even in winds. If you do not have this in such a way, it is a sign that you do not believe, but are fearful, and have lost the word of God's power.
29 The other consolation is that though he punishes the fearful and of little faith, and reproves their fear, yet he bears them patiently and forgives them; he does not therefore drive them from himself, yea, he does what they will and ask, however weak they are in the faith.
30 Also this is to be diligently noted, that here the inexpressible groaning is described, of which Rom. 8, 26. is thought, since they already cry out despondingly: "Lord, help us, we perish." This is the groaning (as it is here pronounced), "We perish." For thus they felt that they were already perishing. And this groaning of a soul that is already perishing, and that is already desponding, is precisely the weakness of faith. But as weak as this groaning is in us, so strong is it in the ears of God, namely like a strong cry. Moses uttered such a groan, Ex. 14, 15, when the Lord said to him: "Why are you crying out to me? As if he wanted to say: "Why do you despair? Why do you think you will perish because you see the sea, the mountains, Pharaoh and total death 2c. before your eyes? It will not happen like this, as you
but in your weakness my power will be mighty, and you will be saved. Only strike the sea with the rod, and you will see salvation?c. Therefore Paul calls this groaning a calling, saying, Gal. 4:6, "By which we cry: Abba, dear Father!" It does not seem to us as if we were crying out, but only as if we were sighing, even barely making a sound, but God judges it not to be sighing but crying out, as it truly is.
(31) Therefore, all this miracle can be used to comfort the weak in faith and those who say, "We are perishing! For as he healed the diseases of the body in the foregoing, so here he heals the diseases of the mind, which are. Terror, pusillanimity, unbelief, restlessness, consciousness of guilt, so that he may show that he can and will be a savior and physician even in such diseases, if we call upon him, yes, if we only sigh and cry out in our hearts that the weakness of faith may be as great as it always wants to be, so that no one may be excluded from his help, even if he is afflicted by the devil or some other evil.
For this reason, such a story is described here, how the disciples fall into the highest timidity. They go out to sea, they sail, a great storm arises; he himself, the Lord, sleeps. At last the waves cover the little ship, and they are in danger of death at any moment. In this extreme distress there is still a spark of faith that does not feel itself because it says, "We perish"; for if it felt itself, it would not say, "We perish." But he feels nothing but corruption, and does not know that he himself still lives and burns; for if he did not live nor burn, he would not even have a sensation. But behold, Christ does not reject this spark, this smoldering wick he does not extinguish, and this crushed reed he does not break [Isa. 42, 3.], but makes the spark so great,
1) Instead of exMo in the Wittenberg is to be read with the Jena auxiUo.
that it becomes a conflagration by which the wind and the sea are quenched.
He does the same to all of us when we are in fear and anxiety. If we only sigh, long for his help (suspire mus), and at least say with some movement of the heart: Lord Jesus Christ, help, or it is done for my blessedness, then we will soon feel relief. For by such sighs Christ is moved to threaten the winds and the sea. And so there will be a great calm, that is, joy and peace, and then praise and thanksgiving.
This gospel could be applied to the church, to the world government, to the household, if one considers the dangers to be so great that salvation seems to be impossible, just as one thinks today that the church will perish because of so many enemies; the kingdom will perish because of so many wars and uprisings; the household will perish because of poverty and other evils. But a single and weak sigh will preserve and strengthen everything, because it cries out powerfully in the ears of God. Therefore, against all this, let us pray, cry out and groan. And Christ will provide a great silence, so that people will have to marvel at it. Amen.
Of the two possessed.
V. 28-34 And he came beyond the sea into the region of the Gergesenes. And there met him two possessed with devils, which came out of the sepulchers of the dead, and were very fierce, so that no man could go by the way. And behold, they cried out, saying: Ah, thou Son of God, what have we to do with thee? Are you coming to torment us before it is time? And there was a great herd of swine by the pasture far from them. Then the devils asked him and said: If thou wilt cast us out, let us go into the herd of swine." And he said, Go your way. So they went out and entered the herd of swine. And, behold, the whole herd of swine rushed with a tempest into the sea, and were drowned in the water. And the shepherds fled, and went into the city, and told all these things, and how it had befallen the possessed. And behold, the whole
City out to meet JEsu. And when they saw him, they besought him to depart from their border.
The last miracle of this chapter, apart from the fact that it, like the previous one, confirms the doctrine, shows us Christ, that he is Lord even over the power of the devils, and that in him, through faith, victory over the whole and supreme power of the devil is offered to us. But the evangelist portrays this in such a way that he introduces that there were two possessed people who were very fierce, in such a way that such things were never heard of possessed people: that all people fled from them and were afraid of them, and, as the other evangelists [Marcus, Cap. 5, 3. 4.], no one could bind them, not even with fetters and celts, that is, he depicts in them the greatest anger, rage, and cruelty of the devil against the human race. And behold, nevertheless, these are tormented by the mere sight of Christ, and are afraid, the very same ones who were so terrifying and terrible. And they are so tormented that they also cry out, whimper and plead, yet with despair they say, "If thou wilt cast us out, grant us" 2c.
This instructs us that we are safe in Christ against all the fury of Satan, because he himself must tremble before Christ as soon as he sees him; whose victory is ours through faith, as Matthew, Cap. 10, 1, says: "He gave them power over the unclean spirits, so that they cast them out, and healed all kinds of sickness. And Marc. 16, 17: "Nothing will harm them." And this comfort is confirmed by this very story, that the devils are so weak before Christ that they cannot harm a single sow unless they have first asked for permission and received it. For before they received this permission, the sows were safe from all the ravages of the devils, as if there were no devils at all.
Therefore, one can reasonably ask: why God grants the devils such a great power that they can possess and plague the most noble creature, man, in such a terrible and exceedingly cruel way, since they can neither possess a sow, nor a
How can you plague or disturb a fly? The answer is: God hates unbelief and loves faith very much. That is why he gives the devil such great power over man, so that unbelieving and godless and hardened people may be struck down and learn to fear and believe, and call upon God. For if he "did not do this, man would not think that he needed God, but he would imagine that he was blissful, and would say: Peace, peace, there is no danger! Therefore he shows them how insurmountable the devil is (when he withdraws his hand and grace), so that he may frighten and humble them, but deliver and save the humble. Just as a father shows his unruly son the executioner or some other terrible thing, so that after he has been frightened and humiliated, his son may be the more comfortable if he has good faith in his father and looks at him. Again, when the son is set at liberty and in grace with the father, he shows him how weak and impotent is the raging and raging of this so terrifying enemy. Behold," he says, "he who wanted to eat you is so nothing that he cannot take away a piglet or a pig's bristle. Therefore learn, my dear son, to fear me, to trust me, to love me; and no evil shall befall thee from this Satan. But if you despise me, if you do not believe me, if you hate me, look at these two possessed ones and see what he can do (when I am angry). When I am present, he can do nothing; but when I am absent, he can do everything. Therefore fear me, and call upon me, and thou shalt not be hurt. So much for the short epitome of the Gospel.
Now? there are still some questions left. First, why the devils say: "Jesus, the Son of God"? Whether they knew that he was God?
39 Secondly: Why they say, "What have we to do with you?"
40 Thirdly: Why they say, "Are you coming to torment us before it is time?"
41. fourth: Why ask them that he may allow them to go into the swine?
42 Fifthly: Why did they ask him not to let them go into the deep? as Lucas, Cap. 8, 31, reports.
43. sixth, why Christ allowed them foreign swine?
44 The seventh: Why did Jesus not allow the man from whom the devils had gone out to be with him, when he asked him to be with him? Luc. 8, 38.
45 Eighth: Why did the people of Gergesen ask Christ to leave their border?
46. To the first question, this is the answer: The devils are lying spirits, therefore they must not be believed. They call him Son of God, trying to see if they could make him proud through vain glory. As if they wanted to say: O JEsu, how great you are! because even we devils give way to you. For the devil very often tempts great people by self-love, in order to overthrow them by arrogance, when he otherwise cannot come to their aid.
Secondly: As he is a spirit that speaks ambiguously, so he can also call Jesus a son of God in such a way, as the Scripture calls every holy man a son of God, before whom he must fear because of his faith. Accordingly, Satan does not speak anything certain. He tries and fears at the same time, as people who are in doubt are wont to do 2c.
(48) To the second question, "What have we to do with thee? [Here, as a frenzied man, he even accuses Christ, as if Christ were attacking the devil's kingdom, as if he wanted to say: These people who serve sin are ours; you do not wrest this power from us by any right, however holy you may be. For the righteous belong to God, but the sinners belong to us. And in this legal transaction, the devil has undoubtedly used many words, and defended his kingdom over the wicked 2c.
49. With regard to the third [it is to be said]: "You have come before the time," that is, you do not leave enough room for divine justice. For though thou art the Holy One, and art sent to save souls, yet the sins of men are too great to be redeemed so quickly.
And so these three questions hold a threefold accusation. The first is: whether Christ is a person who has a calling to do this? The second: if he is a called person, whether this work is in his calling? The third: if this work is his, is it fitting that he should do it at this time? Each of these charges would have caused great controversy if Christ had wanted to listen to them. But he passes over all this and cuts the argument short. He does not enter into an exchange of words with Satan, but proceeds to the work. This is what we too must do after we have been called 2c. Here Satan is overcome, and since he realizes that neither his temptations, nor questions, nor disputations are of any avail, he loses heart and gives in, and asks that he may go into the swine.
50 And so it can be said about the fourth: that Satan, as a conquered one, being completely upset by the divine will, does not know what he should ask for, except for the sows, which he saw by chance, which were suitable guests for him. For by divine power the devil himself is forced to say what kind of place he deserves, namely not the body of a man, but of a sow; for this animal is the most earthly of all, and is good for nothing but fattening, so that even the heathen said: this animal lives only to be salted (pro sale). For it profits man neither by song, like the birds, nor by work, nor by any service, like a horse, a cow, chickens, etc.; it eats only what it finds among men (in the law of Moses it is especially forbidden), 1) as with us are the gnats and lice, which only eat, and are otherwise of no use. With this, Christ indicates that the devil dwells only in sour people, who are lazy bellies and are of no use to anyone. This can be further explained according to the different kinds of people, because in all classes everything is full of swine, for whom the belly is their god.
1) The Latin text is not quite in order here: prnsssrtirn in Älosi (udi prollidituru ost). This sentence will have to be entirely enclosed in the brackets, and udi is to be erased.
51. fifth. "The depths" [Luc. 8, 31], that is, the devils shun the waters and the deserts, because there is nothing there that they can handle as they wish. But their desire is to harm the human race. Yes, they want to be among the housemates and choose the sows because they are domestic animals. Therefore the forests and waters are full of devils, mermaids and other monsters. And this is to be noted in particular, that the devils have plagued man, but not killed him; but the swine kill him and drown him in the water. With this the Holy Spirit shows that the devil can afflict men who belong to Christ, but he cannot destroy them. But he kills the swine who surrender to him, and gives them such a reward as the executioner gives to his servant.
52) The sixth question is: Why did Christ let them go into other people's swine? To this is answered: Christ is a lord over everything, and has nothing that does not belong to him, yes, even the swine were his. If Christns was lord over the possessed man and over the devil who possessed him, both of which were not under him according to the law of the temporal and domestic regiment, how much more were the swine his, although they belonged to others according to the temporal law. But he that is lord over the secular law is also lord over all that is subject to the secular law; according to the saying, He that is lord over a superior is also lord over the inferior. If a king is lord over a prince, he is also lord over his 1) subjects. Perhaps Christ could also have been moved by the law of Moses, which forbade the Jews the sows, and he may have punished them therefore as despisers of the law, just as a prince is well pleased when a wanderer kills a highwayman who attacks him, 2c.
53. the seventh [is asked]: why Jesus did not want to allow the man, from whom the devils had gone out, to be with him 2c. [Luc. 8, 38.] For this he can have many causes
1) Although in Latin xrinc-ipis is written before, prineipniD follows here.
have had. Either because he perhaps belonged to someone as a servant; or because he was bundled to someone by another urgent cause. But it seems to me that the most important cause was that Christ did not want to appear to have sold his good deed, that is, as if this man, freed from the devil, should henceforth be his servant and subject to him; but he wanted to give his good deed for free, and accept neither recompense nor glory nor anything else as his own in return. "For God loves a cheerful giver [2 Cor. 9:7]. And this passage is against those who do good for their own sake, as it is said in Matt. 6:1, "who give alms before men, that they may be seen of them." O! this is a general evil among those who want to be considered good.
54. eighth, the people of Gergesen were fools like Peter, who also called Jesus to go out full of himself, Luc. 5:8. This is how we do it, and we have been taught to do it, considering Christ a tyrant, or a Moses, and not a Savior. These Gergesenians saw more in his delivering their sows to the devils than in his delivering a man from the tenfel. This is a common thought of the flesh, that we take more to heart the punishment inflicted on the wicked than the grace by which the pious are saved.
(55) Therefore, we must learn not to take God's vengeance against the wicked too much to heart, but rather His beneficence and mercy against the godly. As it is said [in the Book of Wisdom, Cap. 1, 11 [according to the Vulgate]: "Remember that the Lord is kind"; and [Ps. 118, 1.]: "Give thanks to the Lord, for he is kind, and his kindness endures forever." What is it to me that the swine, that is, the wicked, though they be many, perish, if only we men, that is, the godly, though ours be few, are saved! Therefore, it is enough for believers to look at the works of divine grace. On the other hand, it is the unbelievers who must look at the works of wrath, and not we believers.