preached at Wittenberg from Nov. 5, 1530, to March 9, 1532.
The first sermon of the sixth chapter of John.
[Held Saturday after All Saints' Day, Nov. 5, 1530.] 1)
V. 26. Jesus answered them and said, "Truly, truly, I say to you: You do not seek me because you have seen signs, but because you have eaten of the bread and have been filled.
1 We hear in this text that Christ says to the Jews why they are following him, namely, not because of his miraculous works and teaching, but because of the dear and sorrowful belly; for they thought: This is a right teacher for us, who will give us
1) In the short historical note, which Aurifaber prefixed to this interpretation (Eisleben edition, vol. II, p. 145), he notes that Luther began with it on the Saturday after All Saints' Day (that is November 5) 1530. Only the ninth sermon again has a date "January 21, 1531" and after that all the following sermons. Thus, only seven sermons remain, from the second to the ninth, without a closer time determination. With great probability, the time when these sermons will be held can be assumed. There are only three Saturdays in the period from November 5, 1530 to January 21, 1531, on which Luther did not preach. It seems reasonable to assume that these three Saturdays were December 24, the day before Christmas, December 31, 1530, the day before New Year's Day, and January 7, 1531, the day after Epiphany. One finds also otherwise the interruptions in the continuous sermons particularly around the festival times. Accordingly, we have now provided each individual sermon with the date resulting from this.
bring a bodily freedom, so that each one may have enough and be satisfied and do what he wants. And herewith the Lord wants to show what kind of disciples the teaching of the gospel has. For even today the gospel finds such people who think that it is such a doctrine, which gives nothing else but that it only fills the belly, brings all kinds of pleasure, and serves only for this temporal life.
This delusion is so strong and powerful even today that I am almost tired of preaching and teaching. For people come to the preaching of the Gospel as if they were true writers of it. But under this pretense they seek nothing but a belly full, and their own selfishness, taking the gospel for a belly-teaching, from which one learns to eat and drink. These are the thoughts of all men, to reckon from the bottom to the top. For among princes, counts, nobles and officials, citizens and peasants, it is quite true that the gospel is regarded as a sermon to the belly.
(3) But this doctrine is not sent from heaven, that every man should seek his own therein, and suck therefrom what he pleaseth, or that it should fill our bellies, and allow all wantonness. Christ did not shed his blood for this reason, but the gospel is a sermon of praise and glory.
*Luther preached these sermons on the Gospel of St. John, Cap. 6, 26. to Cap. 8, 38. for Bugenhagen, during his absence in Lübeck, in the years 1530 to 1532. (Compare the first note on the interpretation of the 5th, 6th and 7th chapters of St. Matthew, Col. 346 in this volume). He continued where Bugenhagen had left off in his interpretation. The first sermon, after Bugenhagen had left for Lübeck on October 20, was preached on the Saturday after All Saints' Day, November 5, 1530. They were transcribed by Rörer, Dietrich, Lauterbach and Fabricius and first published in the second volume of the Eisleben edition, p. 145. They are also found in the Altenburger, vol. V, p. 615; in the Leipziger, vol. IX, p. 544, and in the Erlanger, vol. 47, p. 227. We give the text according to Walch's old edition, comparing the Erlanger. The time determinations are according to Aurifaber's data in the Eisleben edition. Because Walch, in the preface to the 7th volume, p. 20, note d, expresses his surprise that Luther had already preached these sermons on the 6th, 7th and 8th chapters in the years 1530 to 1532, thus earlier on these subsequent chapters than on the first four chapters, which he interpreted in 1537.To the extent that the first four chapters were interpreted between 1537 and 1540, we want to note here again that according to the order of the Wittenberg service, the Gospel of Matthew was preached on Wednesday, and the Gospel of John on Saturday. When the Gospel was finished, one started again from the beginning. These sermons were held during the day, not in the evening, as can be seen from § 203 of the 7th chapter of St. John's (Old Edition, Vol. 7, 2337).
Praise and glory to God, directed to how God would be praised by us. For God wants to be praised and glorified by us, and that we do what is pleasing to Him. Let us seek first the glory of God and His kingdom, and then He will give you not only temporal life and all that you need, but also eternal life.
(4) For God hath before given unto the world that which it needeth for the belly, that it should not be needful now to preach the gospel for the belly's sake. For Genesis 1:28 ff. He gave to man all the beasts of the field, the fish of the sea, and the birds of the air, and made him ruler over them, and subjected the earth to him, that it should bring forth corn, and wine, and sheep, and oxen, and raiment. Item, that they should build the land, that they might eat and be nourished, feed their cellar and kitchen abundantly, in which they might delight and be well pleased. Finally, he gave them the sun to shine on them by day and the moon to shine on them by night, so that men and animals, when they were tired and full from their work, might sleep and rest, and gave them everything else they should have.
5 For this reason Christ should not have come to teach about these things. For temporal goods are also given to them that ask nothing of Christ, but are ungodly; yea, they have most riches in the world, as we see that the Turk hath many kingdoms under him. Now how would we come to think that the gospel is such a doctrine, giving instruction how to scrape, scratch, and usury everything to oneself, and under the appearance and cover of the gospel, to be usurers, miserly men, and robbers of chairs 1); but it has not this opinion. Nevertheless, people are stuck in the thoughts of the Gospel, that one pretends: Christ proclaims to us in the Gospel a freedom! Is that true? o then we do not want to work, but to eat and drink. And then everyone digs into his sack, so that only the belly is filled.
6. and this art our adversaries also know finely, that they may become the spiritual
1) Chair robber = asset robber. Chair = stock, capital. (Kaltschmidt.)
Every peasant who knows how to count five snatches fields, meadows and woods from the monasteries, and drives all his wills as he wants, under the pretense of the Gospel, since all want to be good Christians. Which really makes me very angry, and I would like to say: Go in the name of the devil, with your eating and drinking, if you do not want to signify your salvation and God's glory in God's name.
(7) But what is the use? Since this has happened to our Head, the Lord Christ Himself, we must also take it for granted that we will have such disciples who pretend that Christ came for the sake of the belly alone. Such disciples Christ will punish afterwards, saying: This is not the opinion; I preach of spiritual food and meat, and seek God's glory. So, not wanting to confirm their devotion, but God's glory, he preached to them. This is how it is with us even today.
8 But let this be our consolation: If it happen to us this day, that where the gospel is preached, and our adversaries, the tyrants, persecute such doctrine, and will not let it be preached, and we fall into this sorrow: O we must die of hunger, that such things be not without cause. For this persecution shall profit us, and cause us to have the greater desire for the gospel. For if we had a prince who did not confess the gospel, but opposed it and persecuted it, how we would hear this sermon with such great love, fear and desire. We would give two cows 2) to have a pious preacher. For in the Oberland, one would give 10 guilders to hear God's word throughout the year. But our farmers say: I would not give a penny for it. For if the persecution did not take place, we would be as bad and evil as our adversaries, for we would gladly let the pastors in the villages die of hunger.
2) So set by us? In the Eisleben and Erlanger: "kitchen". Walch: "Kitchens".
and scrape. See what the citizens and peasants, princes, officials and bailiffs are doing to me now. But only gather confidently; companions will come who have hungry bellies and empty pouches, and will count the florins well, and divide them with you, and plunder and rob you. As I have often said, it will happen that you will look for a good preacher and the gospel a hundred miles away, but it will be lost and you will not find it; and since you would not give a preacher three pennies now, you would gladly give him three guilders afterwards. But one does not believe it, but one wants to know it. For now the Jews would give an emperor's treasure, that they might hear only one apostle or prophet preach; but they must hear none more.
Now a preacher must comfort himself with this example, that where the gospel is preached, swine and dogs will be your hearers and disciples; nothing else will come of it; they seek nothing else in the gospel but their own enjoyment. And if it is so with you, say: What will you worry about it, you are no better than the Lord Christ; if it was so with him, it will not be otherwise with you. It will be paid honestly.
10 What does the Lord Christ do about this? He would gladly turn them away from such false delusion and selfish seeking, bring them from the belly to the spirit, and draw them. For the gospel would not be preached to them, that they might have temporal food and bodily goods; but that it might give something better than food, drink, house and home, wife and children. It should not first of all teach them to be stingy, to be secure and to become lazy; for this would also be contrary to the first creation of man, when God commanded Adam to build the garden, but after the fall laid sour labor upon him, that he should eat bread by the sweat of his face.
(11) Therefore, when you hear the gospel, set your heart on this, that there is much more than the whole world can do, or that all emperors, kings, princes and rulers have; therefore the Lord says, v. 27: "Work out food, not that perishes, but that lasts.
into eternal life, which the Son of man shall give unto you." As if he were to say, "I will give you another food; why will you be such poor beggars, seeking and desiring these small portions and beggars from me? I will give you another food that will not perish, a bread that will last forever, which will not cause you to die but will sustain you to eternal life.
012 But when they hear this word, that he will direct them from the baker, and from money to the gospel, and from the field, and from the earth up to heaven, they like it not at all, and fall away from him. For flesh and blood seek nowhere else but the food of the flesh. The breath of the common people stinks only of avarice. The whole world seeks nothing but money and goods, food and drink. But Christ speaks these things only for the sake of some pious hearts that accept these words and think further than bread and beer, money and goods. Beer, money and goods; the others may go, who asks for them?
013 But here he setteth two kinds of meat one against another: the one is perishable, and the other is eternal. And if these two things were in a man's heart, he would defy them, and not cling to temporal goods, but say, I hear that Christ saith it is temporal, and after that eternal meat. For here Christ says, "If I give you as much as you already have, as bread baked by a baker, and give you as much as the whole world would have, what good would it do? If I had as much wheat, barley, oats, money and goods as the Turkish emperor or the Roman emperor has, what more would he have? He lets it be food, but only perishable food that does not last forever. This addition "perishable" makes such food contemptible. For this food is to perish, it wears out 1) and is consumed, and does not help, it even condemns life and limb if it is abused; what good is your scraping? 2) The perishable bread only stops the temporal life. And if such is given
1) "wears out" put by us instead of: "wears out."
2) "Scrape" put by us instead of "heavy." Cf. 8 20 of this sermon at the end.
It has been said often enough that even if one has all the goods of the world, they are all perishable. What does it profit thee then, that for the sake of this perishable bread and life thou shouldest set aside and despise the imperishable food and eternal life? Are you not mad and foolish?
14 No farmer is so great as to give a hundred bushels of grain for a torn piece of paper, or a citizen a hundred brews of beer for a drink of water; but the citizens would rather give a drink of beer for a hundred guilders, and the farmer a bushel of grain also for a hundred guilders. But Christ says here: It is perishable, and whoever would have this eternal food should give all he has for it. But this is how it is in the world; badly accepted for the perishable, and not looking at the eternal; one would take a handful of grain, and let the gospel always go. With this we foolish fools want to defy God. But what the pity should be, that will be found in the end.
(15) Therefore he would gladly turn us away from our harm and destruction, warning us not to act foolishly, and exhorting us to the eternal food. For this food is not perishable; and if it be taken away, thou shalt die for ever. How much more should you seek this food, and not despise it, but let it be the chiefest, as it is an eternal food, and gives eternal life. After the food you shall ask. For when the perishable food ceases, thou shalt be preserved for ever, and shalt have eternal life.
Now the gospel has such disciples, who seek only this eternal food and good. And St. Peter and the dear apostles, as well as other pious Christians, have well understood and kept this sermon. As St. Peter says afterwards, "You have words of eternal life," that is, such words as give eternal life; and they have remained with such preaching, not wanting to depart from Christ. But the others have despised it; as still crude and godless people say: What heavens, heavens! who here flour enough hut. Item: What talkest thou of eternal life? who here in the world?
would have enough. And they still want to be good evangelical people.
(17) But the Lord will instruct them not to cling to temporal goods, to this life and food, considering that God has given them these things abundantly beforehand, and is well pleased that they use them for their need, and serve God with them; but they should think further, saying, Work out food, so that it does not spoil. This is a Hebraism, as if to say, "You alone provide for the belly, that it may have bread; but remember to bake bread properly, and to provide for yourselves such bread and grain or corn as does not perish. Sow such grain, cut such ears, gather such a store into the barns, so thresh, take care of and handle it, do such a work that you create for yourselves imperishable bread, a food that will not let you die, get a stock that will not perish.
(18) But the question is asked here, 'Shall we not plow, till, and work? He does not forbid this. For in the first book of Moses [Cap. 3, 19] God commanded it; but here he denies that one should not seek it in such a way that one remains alone and despises the teaching and signs of Christ. As he laments and says here, v. 26: "You do not seek me because you have seen signs, but because you have eaten of the bread. You should not seek me because of perishable things, for I am another teacher who does not preach about perishable food, how to sow, how to bake and how to plow, for you know all these things beforehand, and Moses taught you beforehand how to work. My teaching is not directed to this, neither shall ye come to me for it; but that I may give an everlasting food.
19 So he leads them to another supply of food. But when such things are preached to the flesh and blood of man, the teaching is soon finished. For each one wants to stay with the bread he sees and grasps. Just as the farmer sticks to his grain and says, "I hear that you want to feed me and give me bread, but I do not hear the sound of guilders or see sacks of grain; where do you have it? Are you
a beggar yourself; where is your grain? Where then is the same food? Then he speaks:
V. 27. Which the Son of Man will give you.
(20) With these words he snatches the hearts and eyes of us all from all the bakers' houses and granaries, and from all the cellars, floors, fields and bags, even from all the labor, and he sends it out of himself that he is a delicious baker; he wants to give what no other field or bag can give. You will not find this food anywhere else from any baker, nor will you obtain it through your work. Work your fields, which are full of Adam, but I will give you this food; for your grain and your storehouse will not do it. What is the matter with you? Are you a beggar, as well as St. Peter and St. Paul, and have not one foot of property, and yet you promise to give everything? But this is to lead a man from temporal bread and victuals unto other meat, which is not seen, neither baker's, brewer's, kitchen-master's, nor tiller's, but which meat Christ giveth: who is the true Master of meat and of grain, which giveth us other grain than that which we have in the world. And to him alone we must look, and not to the creature, to Christ we must have an eye; we must not pursue scratching and scraping, but shun avarice.
21 The Lord begins to preach this. But his preaching is soon over. For so long is one good evangelical, if one has hope that one may be pocketed and become rich from such preaching of the gospel. This is what people look for in the gospel alone. But when they hear that through such preaching one is to be saved from sin, death and the power of the devil, then they go and throw it all to the winds and despise the gospel.
22 Now is a really unnecessary time of trouble, when people fall into a terrible miserliness, and everything wants to fall apart, and people even want to despair. Not that there is a lack of grain; for God has given enough this year, there would still be enough by God's grace; but the people make
such a wanton theurge itself. What does God do about it? If the gospel and the eternal food are thus despised, then he must also make a theuration, and take away the bodily food from us, and so pestilence, war and all kinds of misfortune come and teach us moros. What is the use of our avarice, and that we have thus despised this eternal food before the food of the belly?
(23) The punishment cannot remain outside for long because of our ingratitude and evil will. For whether it is delayed a year or two, it comes at last. For not only is his word despised, but it is done so rudely that he is almost unwilling to let him be our God any longer. So they gather as if our Lord God had died. I hope that you will make a collection, so that you will keep as little as we, who want to scrape and strip us all. Well, we want to have theurung; so we must also accept all sickness, pestilence, death and war for good, because we are always stingy in the name of all the executioners; that will certainly also happen to us. But let each one of us watch and prepare himself with the word of God, exercise his faith, and bring him an eternal food that is not perishable. For God cannot suffer us to misuse His gospel in this way, and to seek our own selfishness and avarice under the appearance of the gospel. For he does not let us preach for the sake of our belly, but for the sake of our soul's salvation and blessedness.
The other sermon.
[Held Saturday, November 12, 1530.] 1)
(24) Thus Christ the Lord hath led away the Jews from the meat of the belly, and from the meat of corruption, and hath directed them unto another, to give them life eternal, and to entice them unto spiritual meat; lest they should think that the prophets and the scriptures would not give them any thing more than that which pertaineth unto this life temporal, and otherwise emperors, kings, princes, and rulers of the earth.
1) Our Conjecture. Compare the note to the heading of the first sermon.
But they want to give and offer something more and greater than this, which is imperishable and should be an eternal food, which alone is given full of the Son of Man. And thereupon he makes a strange speech, who gives the same food, as the Son of man, and who he is, and says:
V. 27: For God the Father has sealed him.
(25) These are foolish, mad and incomprehensible, strange speeches before the wise and worldly-wise people, and the Jews will have considered Christ to be nonsensical, mad and foolish. For what is the reputation, and how is it to be slurred and to work, that this poor, simple man appears, and may pretend before such clever people, and especially before the Jews, and speak: He wants to give food that will keep people in eternal life? 1) Eternal food. It is the same as if a theriac merchant 2) said to a farmer in the marketplace that he wanted to sell a theriac and medicine, and that whoever needed it would never be sick or shot or wounded, and that his theriac would be a remedy for death. So here also a poor person, even a beggar, speaks of an eternal food; for Christ did not have a foot wide of his own. If some great king said it, it would have a little prestige. Now he says: It is nothing with what all men and even the whole world can do; I, I will give you another food, which shall remain forever. Therefore I myself would have said, "Where did this fool come from? Did you ever hear a greater fool? A beggar, who has not a penny's worth, wants to do better than all the emperors, kings and princes on earth; he wants to give eternal goods, but he has no physical goods.
(26) But faith is needed for such a word, for it is a sermon for Christians alone; the world does not understand it, nor does it know what it means.
1) gereden - to promise, to pledge.
2) Theriakkrämer - drug dealer. Tlisriseus, a, um - what serves against the poison of animals, especially against snakebite.
nothing of this food. But a Christian who knows the word of God, and to whom the Lord Christ puts it into his heart, knows Christ by faith alone; and he also remains with Christ, and considers him to be the one who was sealed by the Father to give the food. This Christian is attached to such foolish preaching, and believes the foolish God, who sent his Son to give the food; whoever does not want to believe him, may always go away. .
27) And when he says: "The Son of Man", he clearly and publicly indicates that God the Father has a Son, whom they see, touch, hear and feel before their eyes; as St. John also says about it and says [1. Epist. 1, 11.]: "Whom we have heard and touched with our hands" etc., this same bodily man, born of the Virgin Mary, will give you eternal food. He himself will be the giver, baker, waiter, brewer, yes, the cook; item, the bowl and the plates, so gives us the eternal food. My flesh and my blood, he wants to say, which you see there, that is the right food, which preserves you forever, so that you can be sure of life even in death. But one would like to think: How is that possible? Where is the food? Where is the meat-bank and the granary; item, the kitchen and the cellar? For this is what reason looks for, and thoughts flit about. But Christ says here: Eat, I will give you meat; that is I, my flesh and my blood. He does not want me to think about my cellar, ground, grain, bread and wine, but to put all these things out of my mind, and to think about his flesh, and to put out the ground or the cellar. But this is a great thing to reason, since Christ says, "I will be the giver, the baker, the brewer, and the tiller, even the food itself, and will give myself for bread; only see that you eat. It is because of the word "eat" and "food" that the enthusiasts still quarrel. But it had sounded shameful and foolish, as if you said, "If you want to live forever, you must eat my body and drink my blood. Would you not say here: Bind him with chains, who knows what has happened to him.
(28) Now notice here that this food we have not earned, but it is given to us, it is a gift, and it is something different from bodily food, and it is a pure gift; although bodily food is also a gift from God. For there is no man, no king or prince, who can bring forth a grain from the earth. I can plow, till and sow, but where God is not there to bless, I will not get a grain of it again. If I am to have bread baked from it, it is also his gift and blessing, and he must give it; otherwise the labor of the husbandman would all be in vain, if God's prosperity and blessing did not come with it. This is much more the case here, that we have baptism, the Lord's Supper, the gospel and absolution, and we do not remember that God has also given us such food.
For the same God the Father has sealed.
(29) It is also strange and strangely said, that God has made the Son, who is man, or who is this food, and the master of the grain, and the baker, and the waiter, and the storekeeper, Jesus Christ, to be the seal; him I mean, him I will, because God hath set his seal, and hath given his letters over, that he is he. But it is a hebraica phrasis that our Lord God also has a finger ring, petschier and seal on his thumb, so that he seals when he writes and sends out letters. Such a seal shall be Christ, and no other, rejecting and condemning all other seals. This is a strong word, which is widely spread, that whoever wants to live eternally must have this food, which the Son gives, and be found in the Son, who is sealed; otherwise, if he does not have it, he will lack eternal life; because here the seal and testimony is pressed on it.
(30) With this word "sealed", he will subject to this teaching and to this one Master Christ all that is proud, holy and wise in this world. For nowadays it is still a matter of debate whether one is justified by our preparation and good works, by our love, deeds and merits, and whether one attains eternal life. But hold the two against each other, and see if the work you have done is justified.
Do you, item, your merit, fasting, praying, pilgrimage, be the flesh and blood of Jesus Christ? whether it be the food which the Son of man giveth? Put it together: My body, my toil and labor, and Christ's body. If I have fasted much, and called upon the saints, and walked a pilgrimage, and slept not, and done this work and that work, gather them together in one heap, and cast them into one sack, and see if such works are the body and blood of Christ. This will be missed by a long way. How then does one get this glory, that one wants to be saved by these works? We cannot give ourselves this food, but must receive it from the Son of Man. Therefore, let Christ press his seal upon it, and I will know that my dear God is gracious to me. For he saith not, Thou shalt give me and set before me the meat that shall sustain thee for ever: but he saith, I will give it unto you. The Son of man, whom thou seest before thee, he shall divide it; and of him shalt thou receive the meat, his flesh and his blood. Therefore see to it that you reach for the food which he, Christ, is himself, that is, in his body and blood. For this is not your work; I did not work it or make it; it is God's work alone, and comes about without any work on our part. Just as Christ was conceived by the Holy Spirit, and born of Mary the Virgin, neither did she, the Mother, work him, but the Holy Spirit, by whom he was conceived. She only gave her body and limb that he might be born of her into the world. How am I so foolish that I would accomplish such things with my works? etc.
The same has God the Father etc.
(31) This word also has an emphasis and a force behind it, as if to say, Not a bad man or a bad fellow is his father, but I will tell you who he is: He is God; he is the Father, who is called God; and the Father has set his eyes on the Son, and subjected all things to him, that they should eat his body and drink his blood, and be preserved; or else all must be damned. He has pictured the Son, Christ, alone, and he has
Sealed, and all his will, and all his grace, upon Christ, and upon no other.
Because God has set His seal on Him, and He has only One seal; He has given Him the Holy Spirit alone, so that all men should look only to Him, and all the Scriptures go to Him, that He alone has the seals and letters, for He is the Covenant, and He alone was made, given and bestowed to help us; as God Himself said from heaven [Matth. 3, 17. 17, 5. Luc. 9, 35.]: "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased, him you shall hear"; to him God the Father has expressed his seal: so we also shall hear and accept him alone. If someone comes and brings a doctor other than Christ (as the sophists do, who point out your works, and in addition use the sayings of the holy Scriptures, as if good works should deserve forgiveness of sins, as in Daniel [Cap. 4, 24]: Peccata redime eleemosynis), then you say: Go on, bring this letter and seal; for here is the contradiction, God the Father has sealed the Son, Christ, alone; where then will you go with these good works and with this seal of yours? This is written in the holy scriptures; in whom shall one believe more cheaply? If then thou tearest away this seal, thou needest Christ nowhere. Therefore go and see whether God the Father has sealed what is preached to you and you should believe; if not, tear off the seal.
(33) So nowhere in this text is it written that Christ is to be joined with works, that both may obtain for us the forgiveness of sins; but base it on the text, that Christ alone is our salvation. He alone is sealed by the Father, who alone will interpret it, and leave out the addition of works. For if it be works, thou hast lost thy salvation. Shall I give way to thee? Why do you not 1) give way to me? You must leave one thing, depart, and come to the point of leaving Christ in short.
1) "clear" probably as much as: to give space.
be the man whom God has sealed. The main part must be held fast, one may help the sayings of the good works as one likes; as learned people may well do this, and make a noise before the eyes of poor unintelligent people with it: so one cannot deny this text here. And I suppose that I could not answer for the sayings of Daniel, nor solve them, because I am too little and unlearned for that; nevertheless I would rather leave off that I should be saved by good works, than this clear, bright text, that Christ is my food, and that he alone is sealed by the Father etc. For all the holy Scripture commendeth and commandeth us also the Lord Christ, the Son of man, born of the Virgin Mary: as we confess in the Symbol, that we should cleave unto him only. And he speaks here: I will give an eternal food, as my flesh and blood. This text needs no gloss; but there, with the sayings of good works, it needs gloss, as when it is said [Luc. 16, 9.]: "Make friends of the unrighteous Mammon." Item [Luc. 6, 38. 37.]: "Pray, and it shall be restored unto you." "Forgive, and it shall be forgiven you again." Then I can say: Whoever wants to be a Christian must prove this with good works, the fruits must give it; for a good tree is not produced or made from the fruits, but it is recognized from the fruits [Matth. 7, 20.]. There I can gloss it this way, but here I can give no glosses, since Christ says, "The Son of Man will give you this food.
34 See now what you have in this text, it is clearly written there: The Father has attached his seal and bull to the Son. With which words he takes away the honor and merit of all the other teachers who want to feed me forever, and exhorts them to stay with Christ alone. As if he should say: See to it that you hold fast to this; if another teaching comes that wants to feed you forever, and does not have the seal and these letters, if it is Christ, beware of it.
35 I must confess that good works, as alms, item, giving a poor man a skirt, are my works; but Christ's
Body and blood they are not, for the same is God's work. And here the Lord saith, that his meat shall give me life: and concerning this also the Father hath sealed it. Thus in this principal thing we are abundantly and sufficiently provided, that we shall not be saved by our good works, but by Christ alone, when we eat his body and drink his blood. No one will overthrow this, and it will remain in heaven and in hell, for God has sealed it. Let this food of the Lord Jesus Christ and of the Holy Spirit remain, and know that no one lives on his works and alms, but only on this food, on the body and blood of Christ, which alone does it; after which good works will follow from themselves, that I may do good to my neighbor, feed him and counsel him; the same has its confirmation. 2) It is also earnestly commanded to those who have this eternal food, and stand in the hope of eternal life. For if the wicked also give alms, and have not eternal life, our Lord God asketh nothing of their alms, neither do they help them to eternal life. For where eternal life exists first, it is easy to reckon that works do not save.
(36) Therefore, if good works are done after eternal life is obtained, they do not give eternal life; and rhyme together, that no man give godly alms, and be justly merciful, except he first become a Christian, and believe on Christ, and be filled with eternal food. And that Dau. 4:24, it is written, "Take away your sin with charity," it follows irrefutably that the Christian who does good works first has eternal life, which is given to him; why then should he seek it first by good works, if he has been made blessed by this food, before he does good works?
1) Here, like Walch, we have omitted "at" because it is too much.
2) In the Eisleben: "a decision. We have taken "his decision" from the old edition of Walch, because we consider it correct, "to have his decision" is as much as "to have his correctness", e.g. De Wette, Vol. II, p. 620; Vol. Ill, p. 76. Here it seems to mean: to have his certain, instructed position. Dietz in his Wörterbuche über Luthers Schriften (Dictionary of Luther's Writings) only mentions this idiom, but gives no explanation.
does? The sayings about good works must take on a gloss, so that they rhyme with this text, for it must remain standing. But that we now do good works and give alms, this serves so that people prove their faith with it. Good works are a sign and testimony that we have received the eternal food by which we will live; they indicate the faith we have toward God.
(37) In sum, with this text the Lord Christ wants to instruct the Jews that it is not enough to have bodily food, but they should also think of a more arid food than the spiritual food, which is the doctrine of the holy gospel of Christ and his body and blood, given to us, which is taken by us through faith. If I have this food, I will not only reject the bodily food, but also all the other spiritual food of the fanatics and the red spirits, all the hypocrisy and glittering, which they raise up, and pretend to be beautiful doctrine, thereby wanting to lead people to heaven, and to usurp God's honor and name for them. But look, Christ alone is sealed to give God's grace, forgiveness of sins, eternal life and the Holy Spirit. Thus God has joined and sealed it, and with the food and the sealed Son alone it shall remain. Where he remains, God also remains; thus God controls and rejects all other doctrine and faith. And if God Himself does this, then no one will be against it; it will remain with this Master of the Food, so we will also remain with Him; and where the article remains, there it remains; where it falls, there it also falls.
The third sermon.
[Held Saturday, November 19, 1530.] 3)
(38) Thus far we have heard that the Lord pretends to the Jews to bite this little nut, that they should not seek bodily food from it, but work the eternal food which the Son would give. And will teach them that they should not look to this life only, but that after this life also they should look to eternal life.
3) Compare the note to the first sermon.
He would then help them and give them the same food. Now they would have been satisfied if he had only given them food, but that he wanted to master them and teach them something better, and give them something better still, and know more than they, that is not to be suffered. Therefore they ask him about it.
V. 28. Then they said to him, "What shall we do to do God's work?
39 It is a proud question. They thought that they knew everything beforehand, were pious enough and had fulfilled everything, that they did not need him as their master and teacher, nor did they need to ask him what they should do, but they should consider their holiness. They say that their question means that he considers them fools and children who do not know what they should do; they immediately tell him that he would have enough to give if he were to give them bread every day and also pay for their good works and merits. As the monks and our hypocrites also say, they blaspheme our gospel, and say: Why do you preach so much faith to us? For they think that God must give them eternal life for the sake of their merit and holy life. It is a vexatious thing when one wants to make the teachers disciples and disciples; they think they know everything beforehand, they must not be taught. Therefore they are annoyed when he comes and wants to teach them much more; they defiantly attack him and say, "What shall we do? What shall we do? As if they were saying: You are right; we already know better than you can tell us or think up. With us we have the scribes, the worship, the people of God, the temple and the priesthood; our fathers and forefathers were not fools; will you alone be wise? Do you come with your new doctrine, and want to teach the whole world? What can you tell us that the world did not know before? To this the Lord answers.
V. 29. Jesus answered and said to them: This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.
40 Then he spoils it. "To work God's work" is not well spoken in German; but we
must therefore leave it there, for the sake of the word operemini, which means to work, and therefore we must direct our language after the Hebrew. It is not only God's work what he does as God, but also what we do. Therefore, worship is also called what He has commanded and commanded, and we do through Him in His honor. Thus a church is also called God's house, which men build, and not God; but because it is sanctified to God, it must be called a house of God. Thus, in the Psalm and the Prophets, "God's works" are also called those works that we do by God's command and commandment, so that He may be served. In the first book of Kings, the people say to David [4 Sam. 25, 28], "You are the man who wages the Lord's wars," that is, such wars as God has decreed, commanded and ordered, and which are done in honor and service of God; not that God has warred, but David's war is done in honor of God. In the Book of Ezra [Cap. 3, 9], several masters are appointed to carry on God's work, that is, to finish the construction of the Temple, to promote it, and to continue the construction that God had commanded, for it was also done in honor of God. And yet it is not impossible that he should not do it. For if he does not do it, we will leave it undone. For our flesh and blood, even our reason and nature, are not made to serve our Lord God by them a hair's breadth and to do God's work, but flesh and blood serve him themselves. Therefore, if a single work of God is to be done, it must be given by God, and then it is the work of His Spirit. For this reason, he speaks here not only of external works that he does badly for himself, without us, but of the works that we do by his Spirit and grace, and of the works that he has commanded us to do, which God requires of us, and which concern his honor, service and obedience.
Now this is a peculiar way of speaking: "God's work". In the prophet Daniel [Cap. 8, 27] it is said: "I was grieved, and did the work of my king"; which is a Hebraism, and thus reads as: I do the business that the king has commanded me to do, and that belongs to him and belongs to the king.
go. But we Germans do not speak in this way, this way of speaking does not work with us, that the servant speaks: I will go and do my master's work, or the maid's work, the woman's work; because it does not read; but we say: I will do what the master or the woman has told me to do, what concerns him and what I owe, and that for his piety. But the Hebrew language speaks thus. I say this so that no one will be offended by the dark words.
42. But they will ask and say, Who are you that will teach us how to serve God? You want to be a master. Do you not think that we also recognize God's work? Do we not have the temple, the priests and the service of God and His knowledge; nor do you speak of an imperishable food. Tell us of the work of God, and of the service which we ought to do for God's sake; we would gladly hear it and do it. To this the Lord Christ answers and says: "You are to avoid the food, you are to believe in the Son, whom the Father has sealed, as He said above [v. 27], because this is the one the Father means. With this single word he leads us to faith, and throws over a heap all their outward worship of the law and works. For they thought that they were walking in the obedience of God when they practiced outward works, ceremonies and church pageantry, with special food, drink and clothing; item, when they sacrificed calves, goats and sheep.
(43) But Christ calls a perishable food, which does not endure, neither does it help the dying to eternal life; for all things are perishable, even as one day passes after another, and one garment becomes old after another: For this reason do not handle that which is perishable, but remember another food which is eternal, and practice the worship which is eternal, for this food does not keep the sting. If therefore the perishable and vain service, which they have hitherto led, wherein they have sought nothing else, but only the meat of the flesh, and the true, eternal, imperishable service, of which they have hitherto known nothing, meet together; but that the father, the mother, the son, the son, the son, the son, the son, the son, the son.
Christ has sealed. And whoever wants to serve God must be directed to this service. For this is called serving God, and this is the right worship, that one believes in the one whom the Father has sent, Jesus Christ. Just as the Holy Spirit in the other Psalm, v. 12, also admonishes that one should kiss the Son; this is what the Psalm says, and no more, to all heroes, kings and nations at all times: Pay homage to the Son, kiss him alone, let him be your Lord and King, accept him. St. Paul also says [Eph. 1, 22. 4, 15. 5, 23.] that Christ is our head. In this, God has even conceived and concluded that whoever does not believe in Him shall not stand before God with any righteousness, salvation and wisdom, but all shall be condemned.
44. All the holy Scriptures agree with this true worship. For it is also founded in the holy Scriptures; that if thou wilt serve God, remember that thou believest in Him whom the Father hath sent. Now if you want to know how to obtain God's grace and come to God, and how your sin may be paid for, and you may receive forgiveness of sins, and escape from death: 1) This is true, this is what God wants, this is what His work and true service is called, that you believe in Christ. So speak fully of the work that we are to do, namely, to believe. For faith is a work that must be done by a man, and is also called God's work. For this is to be the right nature, work, life and merit, so that God may be honored and served. Outside of faith, God does not accept anything for service. This is the answer to the question, "What is the right service of God?
But whence faith cometh (for no man hath faith of himself), Christ will teach hereafter, when he saith, v. 44, "No man cometh unto me, but the Father draweth him." Item v. 65: "No one believes in me, except it be given him by my Father." For faith is a
1) Erlanger: iss.
divine work, so God requires of us; but He must also give it to us Himself, for we cannot believe of ourselves either.
(46) And here behold, what an excellent and glorious saying this is, which as a thunderbolt destroyeth all wisdom, and righteousness, and commandment, and statute, and the law of Moses itself, and all other works of holiness, and setteth before us another work, which is far, far above and beside us. For Christ, whom the Father sends, is not my fasting, praying, watching, working; but my fasting is a work that comes from me; watching also is a work of my head and eyes. So, almsgiving, works, and what a man can do with his body, life, and soul, all this is our work, which comes from us, and is not done outside us; but where is Christ here? For Christ is not your mouth, head, belly, eyes, hands, body, or soul, nor any other place of the body, but is another being altogether; just as the sun is not my eye, tongue, or belly, but is also another being altogether. The eyes can watch, but I do not feel or see Christ because of them. Item, I see with my eyes, but therefore I do not see Christ, for he will not be comprehended with our thoughts and reason. And so faith is not our work, for I am drawn to Christ whom I neither feel nor see.
For this reason he sets before us such an example that we cannot grasp or take hold of, and pulls us far away from ourselves and from our hearts, and leads me to Christ, if I do not see, feel, or hear, and want to cling to the Son of God and believe in him. What I otherwise do in my body, I feel and see, and can say: There it lies, there it is; but Christ alone is not in me, I do not see him bodily as I can see my fist and my mouth; for he sits at the right hand of God, his heavenly Father. Now here in this text it is said: He who believes in him serves me. We must set our heart on him, and let fasting, praying and almsgiving I feel with me,
1) except our heart - from our heart.
and must serve Christ alone apart from my work, that I may be justified.
(48) Christian righteousness and the true service of God are outside our power, activity and merit, but in Christ alone, God being our Father and God, if we believe in Him who is not in us but sits at the right hand of God. Therefore, the text should be considered carefully. If thou wilt do a work that is God's work, he saith not, Slaughter me an ox, a couple of turtledoves, fast three times a week, keep this or that holiday. Item: if you want to do a service for me, run to St. Jacob, eat and drink. Jacob, eat and drink like this, dress like this, mumble like this, vow chastity, poverty and obedience, wear a cap; there are none of these things, food, clothes, shoes, houses, pilgrimages, rules:For all men's rules are nothing here, nor are they thought of with a word, but apart from and far above all these works God will give another rule, and have other servants, without our merit and work; it shall be a gift of God, without caps and plates, to be given also to men or women, even to them that believe. Faith is the right service of God; one must believe that apart from Christ there is neither salvation nor blessedness. These alone do God's work, who believe in Christ.
49 But when one preaches: I do not want to be in the world, and I want to become a Carthusian. Why? Because I want to serve God. I want to become a hermit; as the world has sought righteousness and worship in vows, caps and plates. But with this work you will serve the devil, and not God. For where is it written that this work is done by God? When did he command you to serve him in this way? But our adversaries themselves see that they have taught wrongly, and are ashamed of it now. For serving God does not happen with clothes, food and drink, or running to a corner church, to a monastery; it is not in outward works. And believing in Christ and doing this or that work are as far apart as heaven and earth. In the same way, the rules of St. Francis, St. Benedict, and St. John are far apart from each other.
and St. Augustine, and faith in Christ. Item, you want to become a priest, o that is not believing in Christ. But God says: If you want to do a service for me, do it this way; item, you cannot serve me in any other way (this is therefore decided), but believe in him whom I have sent.
50] In addition, he does not want to reject the good works of the godly, such as being subject to the authorities, honoring one's parents, and doing good to one's neighbor; which is truly also a work and service of God, for it is commanded by God. But such work is not directly against God, but against man. It is an outward service of God, which only concerns man. Here, however, he is talking about worship that belongs to God alone and is done without serving man. The papists keep it and call it a service, going to the choir, running to the monastery, praying the horas canonicas, saying mass, so that they serve God and not men, and have destroyed the other works of the world and men altogether, and have circumvented such works alone, so that God would be served by them, that God would have to be gracious to them for the cap, plate, fasting and prayer, and have also defied and insisted on such works; and if one asked them: Why do you wear a cap? they said, "To serve God.
(51) Against these this text goes, and speaks only of the service of God, which belongs to God alone and properly, and not of the offices, works, and fruits of gladness, or of the outward works commanded in the other table of the Ten Commandments, but of the works of the first table. I do not call it a service or work of God, when you Jews slaughter in the temple; it is over, God will have it no more; for in Christ there is neither circumcision nor foreskin, Jew nor Greek, woman nor man [Gal. 3, 28. 5, 6.]. And much less do the works of the papists, monks, nuns and priests count, who are creatures of the devil and Antichrist, and serve God nothing at all, and seek the kingdom of heaven and the service of God in the statutes of men. Therefore, come out of the monastery, in God's name, and serve the world in a proper way.
Otherwise, your state is not God's work, so always get rid of it. But if you want to serve God, I know of no other work or service except to believe in Christ and accept the Son whom God has sent you; hear him. But if you do not accept the messenger, you will not do any work of God, but will be eternally condemned. So then, do not worship our Lord God; he will not have it, he may not have your works, but hang on to Christ by faith.
52Thus this saying is even a glorious text, that one may storm against the damned, counterfeit services of God; for God has established and ordained how one should live toward Him and toward man, and He has no need of temple and sacrifice, food and prayer, but remember that you are concerned with the Lord Christ; whom hear, behold in the mouth, let not this messenger be sent to you in vain.
(53) If I were a master in a house and a servant wanted to teach me what to do, or the maid wanted to run over the wife's mouth, that would be very annoying and would not please me. I would say: To hell and out the door with this servant and maid. But this is how it must be: The master speaks to the servant, and the wife to the maid, what one should do. So it is a wicked thing to put God's word, commandment and decree out of one's sight, and then want to teach our Lord God how to serve him; yes, you deserve hellish fire on your head.
(54) Thus the unrighteous monks also did; they stopped God's commandment, and let Christ, also His offered grace and mercy, go, and came trolling with their rules and works; and thus they wanted to confirm their fair and indulgence of works, and let stand what God commanded. But here He says: Where did I command you? I sent my Son to you, and made him man, that you might believe in him, and give thanks to God for it, and know how to serve God, namely, to believe in the Son and accept him. But the world does not thank God for the fact that God shows it,
How to serve him. Therefore, work sanctity is an outward service, because we want to teach our Lord God how to serve Him. And Christ wants to say here: The Pharisee service wants to have my honor, which is due to me; they will not succeed, they shall get hellish fire on their heads from this service. But I have prescribed for thee how thou shalt serve me, saying, Believe on me, Christ, know me; so serve me. Accept the Son; then I will come to you and you to me, and then we will be one in these things, and God will be well pleased with us. After that the outward good works for the neighbor belong, and God also wants the same service. Furthermore, [the service] 1) is now done to men, and will well follow when we have first done God's service; so we would come together.
(55) It is a proud and hopeful question that they say: What shall we do that we may work God's food? They think it is a mockery. As if they should say, "O beggar, do you want to teach us what to do? Thou hast not a farthing in thy purse, saying, There is nothing in your worship; but honor the Son, believe on him whom God hath sent; this is the right worship. So even today our adversaries ridicule us, they blaspheme the doctrine of faith: "Shall you alone be wise from Wittenberg? Shall we learn from you? We have on our side the patres, the ancient teachers of the church, the concilia and high schools; do you think that our fathers were wrong? do you take us for Turks? what do you preach of the faith? Fie you mouth, with your new doctrine.
(56) But this text and all the Scriptures testify that God does not respect our works, they are not to be the service of God by which He is served; therefore you must not, it does not help you, run away to a monastery, become a monk, a priest and a nun. But he wants from you: Honor your parents and authorities, honor and help your neighbor, give to poor people, forgive your neighbor if he has offended you. And says then
1) "the service" turned on by us and put the period before "furthermore".
Further: This is a work, so that you do not help me, nor court me; but if you want to do a pleasing work for me, then you must have a higher work, which is called my service, namely, believe in the Son, let him be commanded to you, listen to him; for he is my messenger, he will tell you everything what you should do, and what he does not say, let it stand, because it shall not count for anything.
57 There are many sayings now and then in St. Paul, as in Romans, Galatians and Colossians, which say that God has drawn into one summa all the services in Judaism, that Christ shall be finis legis [Rom. 10:4]. Item, that he be plenitudo legis, temporis, et plenitudo omnium rerum; that the Christ be all and have all, so that whosoever takes hold of the man in faith, sin shall be forgiven him, the law fulfilled, death slain, the devil also overcome, and eternal life given. For in this man all things are concluded, he hath fulfilled all things: he that taketh hold of him hath all things. As it is also said to the Colossians [2:10]: In illo consummati estis. If I feel the fear of hell and sin, and I have Christ, then I am finished; neither death, sin, nor the devil can harm me. For if I believe in Christ, I have fulfilled the law, it cannot accuse me, I have overcome hell, it cannot keep me, and all is yours that Christ has; for through him we also obtain all his goods and eternal life. And though I be weak in faith, yet have I the treasure, and the very Christ which others have; there is no difference, we are all made perfect through faith in him; but not of works.
58. as if two of them had a hundred florins; one might carry them in a paper, and the other carry and keep them in an iron box, and yet both have the treasure altogether. So also Christ is one whom we have; though I, or thou, believe in Christ stronger or weaker, yet Christ is one; we have all things in him, we have taken it with a strong or weak faith. The whole service is in this: Believe in Christ, whom the Father has sent to you; what he has sent to you is in him.
Accept this; God cannot do anything better about it, neither in heaven nor on earth.
009 But now the Jews are angry because he will teach them a new worship, and will first smite him on the mouth.
The fourth sermon. 1)
[Held Saturday, November 26, 1530.]
(60) This is what the Lord Christ answered the Jews when they said to Him, "What must we do to do the work of God? Namely, this is the work of God, that they should believe in Him whom God has sent to them; that is, they should accept the teaching of the Gospel that Christ preaches; this is the most important teaching and main thing that Christ indicates, that whoever wants to serve God should be found in this work, namely, that he believes in Him whom God has sent. The Jews would not have provided themselves with the answer that they should learn something else and better than they were already able to learn; otherwise, they want to be the teachers of all the world. That is why they are annoyed when he answers that he wants to teach them something special, and that they should believe in the one whom God has sent, that is, in him, the Lord Christ. Therefore they murmur against him, and become quite mischievous, saying:
V. 30, 31: What sign doest thou, that we may see and believe thee? What do you do? Our fathers ate manna in the wilderness, as it is written, "He gave them bread from heaven to eat.
(61) It sounds like they are saying, "What devil sent you here to be a preacher and teach us? Tell us why we should believe you. What signs do you do? Do you think you are the only master? Don't you know that we are preachers too, and we have another one. Preacher and master, greater than you, than Moses and the prophets? Defy, preach and do thus, as Moses did; wilt thou be like Most? If we were to believe you, we would-
1) In the Eisleben one in the margin. The determination of time is our Conjecture.
we do not know what we should do. Now sayest thou that we should believe in thee, or be damned. And set Moses against him in defiance, even their fathers, the Jewish people and laws, and say: Moses taught differently, and was the right doctor, and we are his disciples; was indeed a different teacher, your sermon is fool's work compared to it; let Moses also be a teacher to me, even if you are proud. He gave us manna in the desert, he preached and performed great miracles, such as are described. Be thou defiant, that thou mayest imitate him.
(62) So they want to muffle the Lord Christ and put down his preaching, that one should not believe in him, and that faith in Christ is not the right worship. Yes, they would say, if we did not know better than you can teach us. We do not look at you. Our Moshe taught us thus, and gave us bread of heaven in the wilderness; do thou likewise. So the teaching of the gospel and the faith in Christ do not please the wise and the clever.
The divine word has this good fortune in the world, that the teachers and saints of works know everything better. That is why they say, "What signs do you do? They have forgotten the miracle he performed before their eyes the other day, when he fed five thousand men with five barley loaves and two fishes [John 6:9]. As if they should say: We let it happen that you give us food and drink, but that you want to teach us and be our master, we cannot stand that. So it is in the world, and so it will remain forever, that people let themselves be fed and made rich, and that the gospel helps them to worldly goods, brings them food, money, honor and a good room; but that it wants to master and teach people in the service of God, that cannot be tolerated. They love God no differently than lice love a beggar, so that they eat him and suck his blood, and do not seek his best. So we also love the gospel, that in it we only devour, and seek our best and self-interest; amore concupiscentiae,
non justitiae, amatur evangelium; they do not therefore suppose that one should be obedient to him; this will not work out; but if he had humbled and sucked them all the days, he would have been the dear Christ. But when they asked, What must we do, that we may do the service and work of God? and he said, Believe on me, they answered: Must we then believe thee? thy doctrine is nothing to the preaching of Moses.
64 But Christ answereth ill, and speaketh not much of the signs, but saith:
V. 32. Truly, truly, I say to you, Moses did not give you bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the right bread.
This story of the bread of heaven is well known from the 16th chapter of the 2nd book of Moses, v. 4 ff. when the people had nothing to eat and grumbled that they had not stayed in Egypt with the pots of meat, onions and garlic; regardless of the fact that they had endured heavy servitude in it and their mouths stank back to Egypt, they soon forgot about the miracles of God. Then God gave manna for the sake of Moshe's prayer, so that everyone could gather manna daily, as much as he needed for more than a day; which was a great, even expensive miracle. And manna was a white plant, like our coriander, millet or rice, that they could make from it whatever they desired. They gathered it in the field as much as they needed for a day, carried it home and used it for their food as each one pleased. And such a miracle lasted forty years in succession, that he gave such food daily to the wicked, ungrateful Israelites. But they grew weary of the bread of heaven, and would gladly have been back in Egypt for garlic and onions. Even as we do this day, when we were under the tabernacle, we cried out, and would gladly have been delivered out; now we would gladly be in again, and that may yet come to pass.
66. but the Lord Christ is standing here to do a sign as they asked, and responding to the manna, says that this teaching of Moses and the miracle are not
the righteous food, saying, "Your fathers ate manna, but they all died from it. Therefore it is more to go to heaven, and to obtain eternal life, than to eat manna. For they had new bread of heaven every day for forty years, and God threw the manna into the cistern among the believers and unbelievers, so that believers and unbelievers ate of it six times an hundred thousand men, and yet they all died. Therefore I preach (he will say) of a different food than you understand or think. I speak not of the meat and bread whereof your fathers did eat: for if the same bread of heaven had had power to preserve one to everlasting life, they would not have died: but it did them no good: therefore there is another heavenly meat and bread, which I give, whereof I speak here: though it be true, that the fathers, which believed in Christ to come in the wilderness, died not of everlasting death by the bread of heaven.
67 So now he will say to them this much: You almost boast that you ate the bread of heaven in the wilderness; but what glory is that? What did your fathers get out of it? Did they live forever because of it, and were they saved by it? No, sadly. Therefore he saith, Verily, verily, Moses doth not; nothing shall come of it. What bread did Moses give you? The Scriptures call the bread that Moses gave bread from heaven; but it is not the right bread, for after they had eaten, they all died. Now if it had been the right bread, they would have remained alive and not died. Therefore Christ says that the teaching they heard and the signs they saw were outward signs and miracles, which they received and used without faith and spirit. They have eaten their bread of heaven, 'otherwise not, as when a sow eateth brans and grains of the same length, it profiteth her not much, she is soon slain, when she is fattened; so they have eaten the bread of heaven also. But I did not come to fatten you up (like a sow), and only fed you in the flesh and fattened you up.
I seek something other than this life alone, that is, bread and food, which remains when this life and bodily food cease. This is much different bread than Moses gave you. Therefore depart from the meat which your fathers did eat: for they are all dead, six times an hundred thousand valiant men, beside women and children, all of whom died in the wilderness forty years: for what did the manna profit them? Therefore go away from the bread, it is not right bread, it is not right doctrine, Moses did not give you the bread of heaven, but my Father did. Lift up Christ here mightily upon Moses with his doctrine, miracles and wonders; as if he should [ggen: You shall not look at Moses, but hear me; for Moses has ordered and directed all his teaching to me, me you shall hear [Deut. 18:15], and shall not ask for the bread which Moses gave, you shall cease from it, and seek the right bread which my Father gives, which is an eternal food, that is, believe in him whom God has sent, that is, look hither to me Christ.
68 But these sayings of Christ were loose theidings to them, which they did not understand; their thoughts went only there: Moses gave us bread, which we ate in our bellies. Now he speaks here: There is another bread, which he describes and illustrates, so that whoever eats it lives forever, that it must be another bread than Moses', or else his food; as it is, because it not only feeds the belly, but rather feeds the soul. But they have not understood, it is a strange language to them, that he says: "My Father now gives you another bread from heaven, a food of God, such a bread as comes from heaven, and a true bread from heaven, which gives eternal life to the world; but he does not mean the bread that is baked in the oven; not the bread of Moses, not the bread of angels, nor the bread of men, but the bread of God, which bread you have not sought, nor wrought, nor baked. Nor is it obtained by your toil and diligence and labor, but it comes to you from heaven; God gives it to you and sends it to you for this reason, so that one may not
I will live by it not only in time, but also forever; this bread gives life to the world.
69 He says all this so that they will not look for perishable food, but will look to him whom the Father has sealed, believing in him whom the Father has sent etc. For he alone is, and abideth alone, this bread giveth eternal life unto the world, and abolisheth death also. For if it gives eternal life to the world, it follows that it must also drive out death. For the world is born in sins and death, and is the devil's own. This food must therefore take away sin and save from death and the power of the devil. If not, there is no life. For if death is put away and is to come away, sin and the devil must also be gone; for death is the wages of sins [Rom. 6:23], and if sin is gone, the devil must also be gone.
70 Therefore this is the sum of it, that it is such a bread, which gives life to the whole world: the work sealed by the Father alone gives eternal life. As if he were to say, "All other services and human statutes, whatever they may be called, are all vain dead things, there is no life in them, they leave sin, death, devils, hell, and evil consciences; but this bread, and no other that Christ gives; item, this work of God, sealed by the Father, that alone gives God's grace and eternal life. "For this the Father hath sealed," that one should work this meat, as, believing on him. But the devil is in the world, which wants to go to heaven with the works, the world cannot grasp this teaching, does not want this bread either. And even if the papists themselves preach (as they have announced at the imperial congresses) that one is justified by faith alone, the devil still crosses over and wants to put away sin through good works, pretending that it is not enough to believe, one must also do good works.
But do you not see the bright text here, which shows us a special bread, which gives eternal life? This text must be held under the noses of such clamantes and they must be told: If it is our work,
Wisdom and the law should have done it, truly so would Moses' works; yet the same is rejected here, and it is said that Moses does not do it with his teaching. This bread alone does it, as my father gives; the whole of Moses does not do it, he is even annulled. If he will not do it with his bread and his teaching, so that no one will receive it, who will do it? You will do it much less, and no one will bring together such a delicious doctrine and commandment as Moses did in his law and ten commandments, and gave us such glorious laws how to believe in God, fear him and love him; yet it is said here that he shall not do it, only Christ shall do it.
This text should be written with golden letters on all walls. For Christ sets it high enough for the Jews that he would make them foolish, and here rejects all human statutes, that they do not make righteous. For this text also serves us against the pope, who also says: "Whoever keeps and believes what I command, but remains in the monastery, and hears what St. Benedict, Franciscus, Dominic and Augustine say, or who becomes a Carthusian, o he ascends from his mouth to heaven. Yes, to heaven, where it sizzles. For what are all these works against Mosi? Dirt is it, yes, pure dirt against Mosi's laws. For since Mosi's divine law can give nothing, what will the pope do who says only of such food and drink that they command caps, ropes, hair shirts, since Moses speaks of worship? Nor saith Christ, Make Moses as great unto me as thou wilt, and though thou hast kept all the commandments of Moses, yet it is nothing, he giveth thee not this bread; neither do his miracles help thee to have life thereby, nor deliver thee from sins; neither doth he help unto righteousness, nor deliver thee from the wrath of God, the devil, and hell. He takes all power from him, so that he does not help to life.
But what else is the Law and Moses for? Ask St. Paul about this, and he answers: Not that it gives eternal life. For if thou art the disciple of Moses, thou hast not eternal life from it, but art led thither, where thou shalt be led.
Moses, namely to Christ, who is the right food and bread. So a barefoot monk and the priest should also say: I will teach you external discipline, so that you may not kill anyone or steal; but if you want to have eternal life and justification before God, look here to Christ; here is the true bread, which the Father has sealed, in whom I believe. Moses, or any other man, never thought that he would have eternal life; but they said, as Moses said in the 5th book, Cap. 18, 15: "He who is to come after me shall give eternal life, and you shall hear him. And Christ also speaks otherwise in the evangelist John [Cap. 5, 46.], "If ye believed Mosi, ye would believe me also, for he hath written of me." He pointed those who sought eternal life away from him to me, you must not look to Moses and leave me; as you are doing now, that you despise me, and turn people away from me, and lead them to Moses, who is the most high man and prophet before Christ's birth, even from the beginning of the world, to whom God gave his ten commandments and promise from Christ, and what is in the holy scriptures comes from Moses; he is the right source.
If a man's law, doctrine, or counsel should help, it would truly be Moses before all other men on earth; for there has not been such a noble high man who has preached God's word as Moses. The other prophets are all his disciples: Moses is the master of all masters, he is the source and fountain from which the other prophets flowed; nor does Christ here take for himself the head and fountain of all teaching, Moses, and says: You only look Moses in the mouth, and do not know what his intention and opinion is. Do not think that Moses helps you to eternal life, but he tells you to wait for me, while he keeps you under the schoolmaster, tells you to keep discipline. So Moses was a disciplinarian, who brought about an honorable, disciplined life. If you now live a disciplined life, and know that God wants to give you the Lord Christ for your salvation, then put Christ in your place.
Do not call Moses your father and savior, for he is to be my servant and disciplinarian. Just as I send a child to school under a schoolmaster, not thinking that he will always look to the master and that the schoolmaster will make him rich, but that he will teach him and bring him up well, and when the boy is well brought up, then I, as the father, will give him a wife, item, my property, house and farm.
(75) Moses also teaches me, and teaches me to live in discipline, and that I may be sure that God will send me the Savior Christ, who shall save me. For even if I am a pious citizen, a pious ruler, I will not go to heaven with it; and with it I am not yet blessed that I am a mayor in a village, or a ruler in the city; these are outward works, which belong to the outward service of God and discipline; there Moses teaches how one should live in the world, and lead a finely disciplined life. Therefore we should not look to Moses, but to Christ. Moses remains the schoolmaster, but Christ gives eternal life. And if Moses does not do it, much less the pope, emperor or Turk, or anyone else who would be great on earth; but God the Father gives the one to whom Moses pointed.
(76) Thus it is concluded of all doctrines, that by no works shall we be justified, but by faith in Christ shall we be saved. This text is a real thunderbolt, when you should say: What can my life and good works help me? Moses does not give it to me, Moses is only a schoolmaster here, and teaches of outward services, that one should lead his life most strictly; but the works of Moses do not make alive nor save. But apart from Moses, another and better bread is spoken of here, which is called the bread of God, which comes from heaven, and is not baked on earth, but the Holy Spirit gives it, and the same brings eternal life; it is not a life earned and acquired, but a life given from heaven.
(77) So you see here two kinds of bread; one that is not earned, acquired by one's imagined or self-chosen life, but one that is earned by one's own choice.
One is called bread, food, or life, and the other is called life, which is obtained through the laws of Moses and good works. But he that will not have life by grace and without merit shall not have it. The Father gives it; therefore it is not merit, but by pure mercy and grace I obtain it. And so my merit is beaten to the ground. Moses gave manna; but they died. My father also gives bread, but from it one does not die, but remains alive; for it is given out of pure grace and mercy, and works and merit have no place here, God does not want to suffer the flea market. When something is given, it does not rhyme with wanting to add some merit to it, saying, "So I have ruled, so I have preached. Moses leads the people, that each one should do according to his office, but otherwise he, with his bread, doctrine and life, should not make the people blessed, but he should serve and discipline; but the Lord Christ gives eternal life. Do you hear this text? Moses shall not be, Moses giveth you nothing, but it is given you from heaven.
78. and if you do not have it from Moses, who is the best teacher, even the first and foremost; item, the reason and source of all teachers, and yet, held against Christ, he is nothing at all; o then you may well despair of all other teachers of men, laws and statutes, traditions and statutes, as far as righteousness before God is concerned, as, especially, of the monks and all the worldly laws that would be on earth, and yet could not wipe Mosi's shoes. And if he takes away Mosi's honor by not helping him to heaven, then it is also taken away from all others. Therefore abide in short by this bread, which the Father hath sealed; ye must believe, and work this meat; that ye may believe on him whom the Father hath sent; in this ye must abide alone, and let Moses also pass over it.
This quarrel of Christ against the Jews, when he beat Moses to the ground, was a much more horrible sermon than I am now preaching against the pope, although the world does not want to suffer it now either. But what is all the monasticism and the papacy against. Moses?
They asked about the same law, which was given by God; nor does Christ even abolish it, and reaches here into Moses so that it cracks; then they had to say, "You are mad and foolish," and considered him to be the worst heretic. But Christ speaks further, saying:
V. 37. All that the Father gives me comes to me.
This is a great sermon, and a very mighty speech, in which ye ought to take heed diligently unto all the words: for he would gladly draw them unto himself, that there is neither counsel nor help, except Christ, which is the true bread. Moses did not give his law so that the people and your fathers might boast of the Holy Spirit; although Moses had it, as his signs prove, their fathers did not have it and died. And I say, that they had the Holy Ghost, as they had him not: what is it then? Let Moses, who had the Holy Spirit, depart from me, for it is written and decreed here that the bread, Christ, alone is to do it, not Moses, that one must believe in Christ alone if one wants to have eternal life. What can one pretend against this? If Moses does not help to eternal life, then St. Augustine, Franciscus, Benedictus, Bernardus, and all the fathers must be truant and give way for a thousand devils; for Moses is much more than all the fathers, indeed, the fathers shine against him as dirt in a lantern.
Now this is spoken of Christ, that they understood not Moses aright; he came not to save them, but gave them his law, that they should live outwardly in discipline and honor, and that he should bear witness of Christ, and point them to the Messiah to come, who would give eternal life; this is the end of Moses, and should be looked to.
The monks and papists also teach that Christ came and died for us, but nevertheless we must keep Moses, and works are also necessary for salvation, and we want to give the fathers the honor that the Jews gave to Mosiah.
But Moses himself will ultimately say: "I cannot give eternal life; the Blessed Seed, Christ, must do it alone.
(83) In spite of all holiness, wisdom, and pride, he abolishes everything; and if one should cling to this bread alone, the cap and the rope will not make it. Therefore in this chapter they will be all the more angry, and first of all there will be sorrow and distress, because he wants to tear them away from Moses. But if God should not hurl and strike this ingratitude with thunder and lightning, how could he let it be?
(84) So John does nothing else, except that he forcibly imagines the one person of Christ to be the world's Savior and Helper; but the Jews will first become angry at this, and from it will arise misery and distress.
The fifth sermon? 1)
[Held Saturday, December 3, 1530.]
So the Lord Christ rejects Moses altogether, and says to the Jews that if they trust in Moses and insist on him for a long time, he will not give them the bread of heaven, and will take the teaching that Moses preached and show them that they must have something greater and better than Moses, as he reserves the bread of heaven for him. Because Moses did not do it, much less should one trust and insist on other teachings, which are much less than Moses' teaching; for, he says:
V. 32. 33. Moses did not give you bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the right bread from heaven; for this is the bread of God, which comes from heaven and gives life to the wager.
These are words that they cannot suffer. The world cannot suffer him to say that he is the bread, the life and the blessedness of men, who gives eternal life to the whole world. This bread, if a baker has not baked it, alone nourishes; all other food, bread and nourishment must be abandoned, however they may have a name,
1) In the original in the margin. The time determination is our Conjecture.
Spiritual or bodily. Man has no other food, nourishment and sustenance than through this bread, for the Father has sealed Christ so that his food and bread should have power and authority to give life. It will and must remain so, for the law, all commandments and works are nothing compared to the gospel and Christ; this word of the gospel and this bread of God exist, and what is not this bread does not give life, nor does it nourish.
(87) What is it, then, that men thus contend and fight against other doctrines and works? For where the bread is not, there is a mighty determination that there is no life, but eternal death. For this reason Christ urges and urges that men should hold to the bread, according to the laws, works and rules of Moses.
(88) Now what the bread is, that shall follow. But this bread is set apart and set against all other righteousness, statutes, doctrines, and foods, which are called meat, and which fill the belly; for Christ alone is spiritual food; the law of Moses, and the law of men, works, and commandments, are not spiritual food. Then it must be said: Christ is not my work, Christ is not your law, Christ is also not a baked bread in the oven, Christ is not Moses. Neither is he the doctrine which Moses preached, nor the emperor's, nor the physicians', nor the lawyers', nor the pope's doctrine; they are all not the bread which is Christ all here; they all count for nothing, nor do they give life or nourishment; they are alike worldly rights, spiritual rights, or monasticism. What is it? If they are not bread, let the devil also remain, if they do not give eternal life. This, then, is the bread of God, yes, our Lord God's own bread, given to the whole world for life; not which you eat, but which he gives to use, and from which we have life. But this was so easy for them and such a ridiculous thing that they said, "This would be a good merchant and baker for us, we want to have him, he wants to give out thalers; can you give the bread? As follows in the text.
V. 34. Then they said to him, "Lord, give us such bread for all our days.
This sermon pleases them well, that the gospel fills the belly, that one has enough of it here, and gets good days from it. As if they wanted to say: This is a man, who would not like it? And we would also like to suffer this preacher. They do not look at his words, where he wants to lead them, but look forward to their belly, as if he only wants to give money and goods. But it will not do so, for the gospel has other things to do than to fill our bellies. So people still do today; when the gospel is preached, everyone seeks to have enough, and that would be enough. But Christ says:
V. 35. I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst.
90. This sounds nothing everywhere. At first they will have opened their mouths and eyes, and looked at all the floors full of grain and barley, the cellars full of wine and beer, the bags full of money; but now they think (when he thus begins: "I am the bread of life"): O1 ) woe! what a fool is this, he will certainly be possessed! that he points them out to himself, and that he speaks so foolishly that he wants to give food, fare and bread enough that a man will never die. Who has ever heard such things? And when they ask, Whom? where, my dear brother? we shall have to think as if thou hadst commandment and dominion over the whole world, that thou mightest feed all men. Well, it is certainly a shameful lie, they think. For the Lord would have walked about in a gray robe, and would not have had a morsel of bread to eat himself; for he was a poor man, as he himself says [Matt. 8:20], "The birds of the air have nests, and the foxes have holes; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head." Yet he may answer them, "I am bread"; saying here that he would teach, satisfy, feed, and sustain the whole world, that they should not
1) Erlanger: "A".
2234 Erl. 47, 276-278. interpretations on John the Evangelist. W. VII, 1950-1952.' 2235
should die of hunger and give them life. He wants to be other people's doctor and helper, and has nothing to bite and crumble himself. They could not be answered more shamefully to their thoughts. It is as if I, a poor preacher or beggar, said to the emperor: I will help you to beat the Turk and Talers, and will give you as much money as will go into this church; and he should rely on it: Where would I take it, if I had no more than this skirt, and not a penny in my purse? How would I arrive if the emperor did not laugh at me and say, "Save the good man, he is a fool and has become foolish and nonsensical.
So the worldly people who listened to this sermon of Christ also understood these words when he said: "I am the bread of life. Well, where? According to the carnal mind they were looking for the cellar and the ground, for grain and bread. But he speaks of the spiritual food. And it is a strange thing that one should eat of a man who stands before one and preaches, saying, "I am the bread of life," presented to the whole world for food and nourishment, so that in Christ one may have eternal life and salvation. It is a vexatious sermon. For the Jews knew well that he had nothing and was poor, and had less than ours. There is no one in this city who does not have more than he had, nor does he say that he is such bread, food and nourishment as does not badly sustain life and nourish the body, but whoever eats the bread (of which he will say below, v. 58) will not see death. This bread shall be a preservative against death. As otherwise a physician or apothecary would say to the sick, "I will give you an aqua vitae, a potion or purgation, so that death will not strangle you, and you will not be afraid of death, but will be safe from it. But it was impossible for them to understand these words, that he would give them such food and drink that whoever ate it would be safe from death and remain before it. Whoever ate this bread should live, and one could say: If
even if all the dead were sitting on top of each other; item: death comes when it wants, so I will remain satisfied before it, you death shall not harm me, because I have drunk this drink and eaten this bread. Therefore, if all the dead were sitting on top of each other, and were still so bold, they should neither eat nor devour any of these men; for Christ will raise him up on the last day; and even if he were buried a thousand cubits deep under the earth, or were torn by wolves and eaten by fishes, and burned to powder by fire, he shall live again. They can't stand that, and they resent it.
92) John the Evangelist has described this sermon with great diligence and air, since Christ says: "I am the bread of life"; but now you will hear how they were offended by this answer. He says:
V. 35. He who comes to me will not hunger.
93. here begins to speak of life, saying, "I will certainly give life, so that no one will ever be allowed to hunger, that is, to die; he will have enough to eat and drink forever, that is, he will live forever. These are exceedingly strong and hard words, and there is not in all the Scriptures a more severe sermon, that Christ is bread and meat given by God, that whosoever eateth such bread may live for ever, and be filled, and not hunger nor be satisfied; such bread they have before their eyes, which is sent unto them from heaven.
94. and says, "Whoever comes to me". He goes up gently, and the longer he goes on, the sharper and coarser he becomes. Here it would have been fine if he had said: He who eats me, since otherwise he says, "He who comes to me," but it would have been too soon. Therefore he gives it to them alone to understand, and says: "He who comes to me", and interprets it, says: He who believes in me. This is a powerful gloss, that to come to Christ is to believe in Christ. That is, to have bread and to eat it. But he does not speak of eating in church, or sitting at a wedding and eating beef or veal, as the Jews might think; but of bread, when one comes to Christ, that is, believes in Christ. For
"eat," and "come to Christo"; item, "believe in him," all the same.
95. He comes to us, the Father gives manna from heaven, and only lacks that you come to him again. Would they be angry or offended at this, and pretend, "If we were ready beforehand, we would be with you. No, it means: eat me, come to me, and believe in me. Otherwise you cannot come to Christ, even if you were his closest blood friend, unless you believe in him, and Christ is closer to you through his word than when you carry your son by the neck. You must not look far for it, if you want to come to Christ; you must not go to St. James, nor to Rome, nor sharpen your knife, nor wash your teeth; but this is coming to Christ, if you believe in him, then he is with us and near to us, he is before us, before your eyes and ears, that you may see him and hear him; only believe in him, then you have eaten him, and have come to him.
Throughout the whole chapter, he used the crude word "eat" in such a way that it sounded harsh and clumsy; but if he had not used it, I would still ask him to use it. There is a necessary reason that he spoke thus. For he saw these wild and desolate people before him, who thought only of bodily eating and drinking; to them he holds up such words about eating and drinking, so that, even if they could not understand it now, they might nevertheless think about what he meant by it, and then ask what it was. They should inquire what he wants with this strange speech. What does he mean, should one man eat another? This will certainly not be his opinion, if only they had pondered over it, beaten within themselves and asked what he meant by it?
97 For this reason Christ adds a gloss, because they are so rude, and reproaches them for it with unrighteous words. Otherwise one cannot bring the coarse swine and bellies out of eating and drinking, if one does not reproach them with such coarse and unruly things. So he paints this to the coarse Jews, so that they say: The Lord wants to say this, that "coming to him" and "eating the bread of life" is believing in him,
and whoever believes, let him come to him and eat.
98 Thus it is concluded that here in this chapter the Lord speaks of spiritual food. For thus he himself interprets the thirst and hunger that afflicts the soul. For the soul would gladly live forever, so that it would not be condemned, and would have a gracious God, and could stand before the wrath and judgment of God, would not be accused of sin and laws, or would not go to hell; this is the soul's desire, that is, a spiritual thirst and hunger. Whereas we also need spiritual food and drink, because the Holy Spirit comes and says, "If you do not want to die or be condemned, come to Christ, believe in him, hold on to him, eat this spiritual food. Let this be the first thing.
99) Secondly, let this text be remembered as a great comfort and strengthening of faith, that the Lord says, "He who comes to me will not hunger nor thirst," that is, he will not die. These words should be written in the heart with golden letters, yes, with living letters (that would be better), so that everyone would know where he should 1) leave his soul, where he should go when he leaves this world; or when he goes to bed, gets up early in the morning, or does something else, so that he would know this golden art: Here, with Christ, my soul abides, that one may not hunger or thirst. This man will not lie to me. These are precious and valuable words, which we must not only know, but also make use of and say: "On these words I will go to sleep in the evening and rise again in the morning: on these words I will rely, sleep, watch, work, and cross the bridge. For if all things fall to pieces, and father and mother, emperor and pope, monk and priest, princes and lords, forsake thee, though Moses be not able to help me, and I run to Christ, he will help. For these words are sure, and he saith, Adhere thou to me; if thou comest to me, thou shalt live. Yes, but I am dying? Let me hear what he will say again, that if any man die, he shall live.
1) Erlanger: solle.
In sum, it is a delicious chapter, since the words should not only reach our ears, but we must rely on them and accept them. For it does not do to speak ill of it (it is something to understand it, as I and my like understand it), but you must also accept it in your conscience, and believe it to be true, let it be as it may: he who speaks this, be sure, and will not lie to me. And we also shall say unto Christ, Give us this bread always. To which he will answer: Yes, gladly with all my heart, I will give it, for this is why I came from heaven; accept me alone, let me be your food, do not rely on other food; beware of it. For "I am the bread"; not the pope, nor any man on earth; no one else will help you but me. And if ye cleave unto me, neither pope, nor emperor, nor devil, shall hurt you: for here is bread, which shall not let us hunger.
The sixth sermon. 1)
[Held Saturday, December 10, 1530.]
101 This is the answer of the Lord, when the Jews asked him, saying, "Give us such bread for all our sakes," that he says, "I am the bread. etc. "He that believeth on me shall not hunger." And is the opinion of such words, that whosoever can believe in the one man, whose name is Jesus Christ, is full, and shall not thirst nor hunger.
102This is a strange and precious sermon, which does not enter into the heart of any man, nor is it understood, that he says he is the bread of life. And therefore the Lord himself is well pleased that these words will not enter into them; neither is it possible that they should enter into any man. For if a man came to thee, and said, I am the bread, and the bread of life; thou wouldest say, This is an idle speech, and of no use. Who would not say, Who speaks this? For he is a man, and not bread. And since Christ here says that he is the bread of life, which, if anyone eats it, he
1) In the original in the margin. The time determination is our Conjecture.
will not die: He that eateth me shall live for ever: there can no man understand, and think him a fool. Therefore he says:
V. 36. I have told you that you have seen me, and yet you do not believe.
103 As if to say, What shall I preach much unto you? I say that you shall eat and drink me, and live. But what shall I say? You see me, and yet you do not believe. My words do not want you to eat me with your teeth, but you do not believe. This is the gloss, "Ye believe not." First, I preached to you in the beginning of this chapter that you should eat and drink me; if not, you will be guilty of eternal death. But how to eat him he interprets himself by a clear gloss, saying, "I have told you that you have seen me, and yet you do not believe."
(104) This is the gloss, when I preach that I am to be eaten and drunk, that ye may become one thing with me, and one flesh and blood, that ye may believe on me. This is the summa summarum and glossa of it, when I speak of eating, that I mean the spiritual food which is in it, that ye may believe on me; for ye must have other food, than your fathers had in the wilderness; not wine and bread, which groweth upon the earth; but spiritual food, which I will give. And whosoever therefore will eat this meat, and drink this drink, let him believe. There you have it recently all with each other.
This is a new saying, never heard before, that eating and drinking are as much as believing. No man understands this, whether he be pope, emperor, doctor, priest, or monk; they do not understand the words, though they may speak them. So our enthusiasts know much to say about the spiritual Estonian, thinking of Christ as sitting in heaven at the right hand of his heavenly Father, when they understand nothing at all about it. It is quite another thing to eat spiritually than to believe in the Lord Christ. To eat and drink of his flesh and blood is to firmly believe in him. And do not speak here of the sacrament, but of those who are eternal.
shall live. For many run to the Lord's supper, and yet die eternally hungry and thirsty. But here it is another thing, that he that eateth the body shall not hunger nor thirst: for Christ here speaketh of that part which is called believing. For he saith, Ye see and hear me, and yet ye believe not. As if to say, I preach strange things unto you, that ye should eat my body, and drink my blood; ye hear me, and see me; yet ye believe not. If I have been preaching and telling you for a long time, it is all in vain, and think me a fool, think that I speak such things as a drunkard, do not believe me, do not think that I can feed you with my body and blood. But still I do not preach in vain, my word is not lost.
V. 37. All that my Father gives me comes to me, and whoever comes to me I will not cast out.
(106) If we preach that no one will believe, and you yourselves will not believe, always go away; yet I know what I preach. This is strange to you, too wild and desolate, namely, that I am the Son of God, and that one must believe in me; yet there will be some who will still believe.
(107) So we also say against the pope: You will not believe us, what is it to us? we will not ask anything about it. You hear and see us, and confess that our doctrine is the truth, and cannot refute it; yet you do not believe. But there is nothing to it; even if the emperor, pope, bishops and princes do not believe, God will not abandon his word; he still knows help, means and counsel, that he will have disciples who will say: It is God's word, and believe it in a pure heart, and say: If you do not want to believe or hear it, go away; we will separate here like summer and winter. So Christ also will say here, If ye will not believe, depart; yet have I disciples, and preach not in vain. "What the Father gives me comes to me" etc. I still get disciples, and some are found who accept this sermon from the heart and marvel at it, because the Father has made me a preacher.
If he has sent me preachers, he will also give me disciples who will listen to my teaching. If it is not the pope, emperor, princes and lords who want to accept the word, let them go.
This is a proud, defiant man who speaks it so boldly. If I were pope and emperor, I would not like the man and his book, that he speaks so into my dominion. They are vexatious speeches: If you will not have me, neither will I have you. If the emperor were to say, "What if I don't want it? What is emperor and pope? Do not think that the bishops and rulers will be Christians. But if I were emperor, I would erase these vexatious words from the book. But in spite of emperors, princes, yes, the devil, and all that is angry; if the Father gives them to me, I will gladly see who shall snatch them out of my hands. Well then, I cannot preach in such a way as to please the world, that is in short; nor will anyone hinder my preaching, neither authority nor wisdom.
(109) The consolation we should have from this text is that when God gives grace for someone to come to Christ, he has a great advantage, so that he can boast: The Father has given me to Christ, that I may know Christ, and may say: This man, who is Christ, has given me his flesh and blood for food, so that I may be saved and eat of it and be of good cheer.
110. These are the finest words: "Whoever comes to me, I will not cast out"; that whoever believes in me, God the Father must give him to me, and I will not cast him out. Whether ye work as long as ye do, and be saints, fast, pray, and be offended at me, take me for a fool; but he that believeth on me hath it of the Father, it is given him of the Father to come unto me; and he that cometh to me only, let him eat safely, and drink securely, 1) he shall not be cast out for my sake.
111 "He that believeth on me." He thinks more deeply than of eating and drinking, namely, whoever accepts his word and follows him, and believes in him, he shall be sealed and bound, so that he will not cast him out.
1) "sure" put by us instead of "seher" i.e. "very" in the original.
As if to say: You shall not ask me for anything, I will be with you before you come to me, and be more willing and ready to give than you are to ask. If you can come to me, do not be afraid of me; I will not be your judge or your executioner.
(112) And when he spake these words, he thought thus, There shall come false prophets and preachers in my name, which shall cast out men and consciences that come unto me: but whosoever believeth in me, that I may give life, the same shall not be cast out. They have made the kingdom of Christ in such a way that they have cast out those who also believed in Christ. But Christ hath put a stake before it, saying, When thou comest, then believest, there is no lack; thy infirmities and thy failings shall not hurt thee: as it is said unto the Romans in the 14th chapter, v. 22, and in the 15th chapter, v. 1 and following. He has forgiveness of sin, and Christ does not soon cast him away. Whoever comes to me once, if he believes, I will deal with him in such a way that, even though he stumbles (as sin remains in the flesh in Christians, as an evil affection, as is said to Romans in chapters 6, 7 and 8), he will not soon be cast away. That is, sin in the flesh shall not have dominion over you; for there is nothing corrupt in them that are incorporated in Christ Jesus, though they be not yet clean, neither is the flesh dead in them.
(113) But the Jews do not understand that whoever believes and comes to me will certainly have the advantage that I will not cast him out, will not throw him away.
These are words that have much in them. If there were a servant who had been obedient and had done well for his master, it would not be a great virtue if the master said, "I will not push him away. It is a blessing to the [servant and not to the] 1) master. But if the pious servant were to be cast out of the house, it would not be a vice and a scorn to the servant, but to the lord. But if he were wicked, and the master nevertheless kept him in the house, that would be a blessing to the master. So even if you fall,
1) The sense seems to us to require such an intercalation.
and sin, yet Christ will not cast you out. A mother does not throw away a dirty, mangy and sick child; a son and daughter often do wrong in the house, but are not disinherited and cast out because of it; but the father says: If you want to be my son and daughter, and I am to remain a father, then do not do this or that; this time I will give it to you.
115, This is where the Lord Christ is also going. He wants to say: You do not believe, therefore I think, if someone should have it, my Father must give it to him, and if he gives it to someone, he will certainly have it; but you want to be my masters, and I should become your disciple; that will not happen for a long time. Dear sirs, if you want to accept the teaching, yes; if not, let it be. What is it then that the belly is your god? [It is evident that you are not called. Yet others will come who will accept it, and whom he will not cast out. We will still have disciples; if you Papists do not want, others will, and if the same should be weak and unskilled Christians, nevertheless they shall not be cast out, if they only believe. But you, because you are unbelievers, shall be cast out for a thousand devils; but if the devils come to me, I will hold myself against them, that I will not cast them out, but will tolerate them, for they will not depart from me, therefore none of them shall depart from me.
The seventh sermon. 2)
[Held Saturday, December 17, 1530.]
Thus the Lord himself interprets his words that he wants to give "bread of life". For this is the gloss: "I am the bread of life, he who believes in me" etc. And see clearly that he speaks here of spiritual bread, food, drink, thirst and hunger, and that he rebukes them, saying, "I have told you, you have heard me and seen me, and yet you do not believe me. Then he will say: What is the use? if I preach much to you, it will come to one ear, and the other will not believe me.
2) In the original in the margin. The time determination is our Conjecture.
to the other again. I must say so much that I am the spiritual food, and you hear the bread and see the spiritual food, but you do not believe. Now this food and drink cannot be eaten or drunk by anyone with the body or mouth, nor does it go into the stomach; but it is for this reason that you believe. But if ye believe not, though ye hear me, and see me, yet preach I unto you of this bread and meat in vain. These are bright and clear words, which can easily be understood, namely, that this food or drink cannot be grasped or obtained by works, our strength and free will. You will not be satisfied by doing this or that work; your thirst will not be quenched by fasting and almsgiving; but to quench your thirst and hunger, this bread and this food belong to you, so that you may believe. The word "eat" is used strongly here, and means to believe. For believing alone he calls spiritual food; he who believes in Christ eats this bread. Otherwise he would also say it, if one needed another work to drive away this hunger and quench thirst. But he says, he who believes in the man has this spiritual food and drink. This is spoken of one part, who hear and see Christ, and yet do not believe in him, and yet it shall not be preached in vain. Now he says of the other part.
V. 37. What the Father gives me I will not cast out.
We must be accustomed to the language. Just now [v. 35] he said, "He that cometh to me shall not hunger." But what is coming to Christ? It is to believe in Christ; as he will also say in the 7th chapter, v. 37. Now he says, "What the Father gives me comes to me."
118) There is much to be said about this text, who could do it, and it reads as if the Lord first said: "You are the ones who see me and hear me, and yet do not believe me, therefore you are not the multitude that the Father gives me. This indicates that they are not alone before him [not] 1) absolved and
1) We seem to be missing a "not" here.
but also before his Father; cast them out and rejected them from the gospel. And lest they should cast it to the winds, as if it were a small thing, if they believed not in him, or heard him, he saith here: It is true that whoever does not hear me does not hear the Father. With these words he wants to express to the despisers of the gospel and the ungodly their punishment, that since they hear and see Christ and his word, and yet do not believe in it, they are rejected and excluded by God from Christ and his word. They are against God, because they do not believe this man; this is their ban and judgment, this sentence is spoken over them, this thunderclap has passed over them, they may fast and do what they want, but they still do not belong to the Father, because they do not believe Christ. The Father does not give them to him either, for whoever does not believe in Christ, even if he is the most holy, he does not please God.
119] Secondly, the text is very comforting to those who are devout and believing, as it is also frightening to the wicked, for it first says to the Jews, "Nevertheless, for your sake, this preaching shall not remain ineffectual and without fruit; if you will not, another will; if you do not believe, another will. Ye wise and prudent come not unto me, for ye know a better way than I can show you: but there is yet a company of them, as poor, afflicted, and afraid consciences, which company, if they come unto me, and receive my word, which believe on me, which eat my flesh, and drink my blood, and live for ever: and they are called "as the Father giveth me."
120 We must therefore take comfort in the fact that we believe and preach in Christ. The world does not ask for it, does not dance, even if we court it and sing and whistle to it; it does not weep, even if we complain to it; and even if we promise it much, or think that someone might get tired of it, it still does not help; it does not want to believe. And it is just like a game: he who plays cannot do it, but he who wins can do it better. So are
2) "allgebot," if the reading is correct, perhaps: in all respects; otherwise, probably "allezeit" would like to be read.
There are many of them who want to and can do better than I can. The more one does to help them, the more stubborn and gnarled they become than before. But what should I do? I must say: Come here to my place, and make it as good as you can, and then let him always go. Here Christ himself says that the same word will be obeyed, that there will be those who will accept it every day, as he says: "The Father gives me. This must be fulfilled.
It means: "to come to me"; with human reason my word is not understood, as we see in the pagans and philosophical books and teachings, that they have calculated God according to reason, and have spoken of God as of men, as Cicero and Homer have done; they paint God as a man. Thus, if a spirit of the mob also speaks of God as he would like it to be, as it pleases reason, then God's word must also be thus; but God does not think as we men think, or as it pleases our reason. And it is not said here by Christ: Everything that only reason, and the clever, wise people bring to the world, comes to me: Oh no! but it remains outside. Reason does not do it; riches and human wisdom, and everything that is not God, hinder and are no encouragement to the art, to this bread and spiritual meal, as we eat the food and the bread of life. God alone must do it. What people do, how easy it seems, is all a great hindrance. And if a highly learned, experienced, intelligent person comes along, he falls in with his reason, wants to master it, and is annoyed and offended by the Gospel. For there are not such people whom God can teach; but Christ wants to have disciples who are simple-minded, who humble themselves, and cling and fall to the word of God, and let themselves be taught. When they hear it, they do not judge and master the teaching, but let themselves be reformed, mastered and taught by the divine word, and fall into it.
(122) Now much could be said about this, for it is a comforting speech to those who feel and know that they should come to Christ, that they may say and conclude: Now
I know that I have been given to the Lord Christ by the Father. He who can believe that he is a piece that is to come to Christ has comfort from this, because he feels that his word is pleasing to him from the heart, and he also wants to leave everything he has and can say: I am one of those who have been given to come to Christ.
This coming is not bodily, so that one would climb into heaven and above the clouds. Neither does the coming happen with hands and feet, but the heart comes to God through faith. When you hear His word and it pleases you to cling to it, then your heart goes to Him, then you eat this food, then faith is a gift and grace of God, it is not a human power nor our work. Therefore St. Paul says [2 Thess. 3, 2.]: Non omnium est fides. And to the Ephesians, Cap. 2, 8. 9.: Dei donum est, non ex operibus etc., ne quis glorietur. So he also wants to say here, what the Father does not show, that does not come to me, no one can hear me, the Father gives it to him; to the arrogant, clever, highly learned, wise people and sharp heads, who talk a lot and know how to judge and master, it is cut off from them. Do not take it into your head to be so rude that you should come here with your reason; you will not master Christ, your hope, and arrogance is rejected here.
124] So the Jews also thought, There stands Christ preaching, that we can do better than he; thinking that without his preaching they would come to the meat and bread of life? But Christ says, "I will put a bar against the door, so that you will not come there; not that I do not want you, but that you must go another way if you want to come to Christ and get this food and drink, because your reason and wisdom cannot. But if ye will come unto me, the Father must give you unto me. And you will give me nothing, there is nothing in you or your powers, therefore the Father should give you to me. You shall not come to me with your great understanding and wisdom; for then you bring yourselves, and have no need of the Father at all. It
this same wisdom is the sorrowful devil in the world, and belongs to the abyss of hell, that I would gladly teach God how he should rule the world. For if you bring yourself, the Father must not bring you. But there are visceral 1) and peevish people who stay on their head and want to master God; if they have only heard one sermon, and only looked at the New Testament once, they think they can do it all at once, and want to lead themselves to it, they do not need a preacher. But when the last moves and stretching legs come, then you will learn what the word is: "All that the Father gives me" etc., and then know great thanks to me, and actually see whether your scrounging head or art has brought you there, and whether you come to me from yourself or not.
125 In sum, he is saying, "The Jews do not ask for it, nor do they regard me; and I do not ask for them. I would gladly give you food and drink, but you will not; so let it be, neither will I have yours. You are not hungry or thirsty, poor and unholy; therefore remain rich, learned, holy, secure, wise and prudent, who want to master everything, you will find it well in the sweepings. My multitude, which the Father giveth me, who know not how to help themselves, and are taught and carried, and hear the word, and learn it, and cannot be satisfied with meat, nor quench their thirst, and are in earnest; they abide hungry and thirsty, knowing nothing of their righteousness and godliness; and suffer the Holy Ghost to work in them, and by his power to make them whole, that they may be drawn unto me; and the Father giveth them the Holy Ghost also, that the word may be strong in them; For they stand not on their holiness, neither build upon their wisdom.
(126) This must be preached for the sake of the proud asses, who think they know all things, and yet know nothing, that it may be told them that they know not; and if they despise it, let them go. It will remain that the Father must draw those who are to come to Christ, as he says here: "All things that are mine are mine.
1) "visirlich" here probably as much as foolish.
my Father gives, that comes to me, and whoever comes to me, I will not cast out"; that is, this little group remains. It is an excellent consolation for afflicted consciences. He speaks to them kindly, that [it] is beyond all measure, lest any man think, If I come to Christ, how shall I come to the Father? To which he replies, "Do not worry about that; if you only come to me, do not turn to these thoughts, you have already been with the Father for a long time. Then he draws us to himself, that we may not ask, How shall we be saved and blessed? For with our thoughts we shall not find the Father. Do not say, as the apostle Philip said, John 14:8, "Lord, show us the Father," who also wanted to put Christ out of sight and take another road to the Father, which was a wooden road, and seek the Father without Christ. But to him it is said: "If you can believe, and close your eyes, and eat and drink of me, if you can come to me, you have been all ready with the Father, you have already met the Father in me, you have had enough of it; for the Father has led you to me. And he that cometh to Christ cometh also to the Father. As it is clearly stated in the fourteenth chapter of John, that he who comes to the Father comes also to Christ; and again, he who comes to Christ comes also to the Father; for the Father and the Son are One God, so that whichever God you seek, the same has first brought you to Christ. He who comes to Christ has attained it.
All things must be done that we may come unto the man; but no man cometh unto him, but by the Father. And again, our food and drink unto eternal life and blessedness shall' be upon the man who saith here, "I am the bread of life." Item, you must come to me, and to no one else, it is not to be placed on any other person, but it must be a sign, a goal, purpose or indication that whoever meets the person does not lack the Father, he has also met the Father. As Christ also says to Philip: Philip, look upon me, where are you fluttering your thoughts? He that would come to the Father must come to him through me, and he giveth it; and he that would come to me must do it through the Father.
The Lord Christ speaks of this here as if he did not want to lead us to the Father, but he, the Father, would bring us to him; that is, preached in one another. This is the highest consolation for the weak consciences, who do not know how they are with God and are always afraid that they have an ungracious God, who can satisfy their hearts through this text, and place and base their faith on the person of Christ.
This high article, of the one divine essence, and of the three persons therein, is little known; item, that Christ is truly God and man, and that there are two natures in the person of Christ, as humanity and divinity, is too high for reason, and no doctor nor worldly-wise man has been able to bring it together, but all have stumbled at it; and those who have opposed it, and have wanted to separate the divinity from Christ, have become fools about it. But John the Evangelist speaks of it in other words, so that he does not set Christ alone on earth and leave the Father alone in heaven, but he bakes the two persons, the Father and the Son, so hard into one another that he cannot make it harder. For Christ says here: Where you meet me, you meet the Father, and if you have Christ, you have the Father also, and you are not to flutter any further in heaven; as he says to Philip, "If you see me, Philip, you see the Father also; if you hear me, you hear the Father also.
129 The warm-hearted spirits cannot understand this, therefore they should let their thoughts go. But these words must preserve us, that he who receives Christ and believes in him comes to him, and he who comes to Christ also comes to the Father; for the Father has given him to the Lord Christ, and he was before with the Father, so that you may not seek God the Father apart from or beside Christ, but remain with this person, and you will surely have the Father. Otherwise, do not speculate too high with your thoughts toward heaven, for it is not good to preach about it according to the sharpness (unflown, unfluttered, and unclimbed is the word), but hang and cling to Christ, it must be
To have remained in the person of Christ alone. If you have this, you have received everything; but if you lose this, you have lost everything. In Christ thou comest to the Father, and from the Father thou art consecrated to Christ: therefore abide in Christ Jesus, who saith, He is the living bread; and flutter no further, though thou canst not see with thine eyes, nor understand with thy reason. Well, my dear, it cannot be grasped by reason, for what else could I believe? If you measure this with cubits and calculate it with your fingers, that Christ lies as a child in the manger and is from earth, you will say: How can he be in heaven? But it is incomprehensible to reason that God should be in heaven, and also that a child should lie and be carried in the womb of the Virgin Mary. She understands that my dog also knows when legs have fallen under the table that he should eat them; for, if they have been thrown under the table, they do not belong on the table again.
But listen to what Christ says here: "I am the Bread of Life", which brings us back to the fact that God is the Fountain and Source of Life, and no one can give life but God. For you may think: How can you, Christ, be the fountain of life on earth, and give the bread of life, unless you are God? Yes, he is, and you will not find God in heaven, nor in hell, nor in the sea, except Christ. And even if you were to go to heaven right now, you would not come to God so soon if you did not first come to the person of Christ, who is both God and man. If then the Father is in Christ, why do you seek Him elsewhere? In Christ you have the bread of life, he can give you eternal life, and save you from death, and catch the devil alone. Then you must consider that Christ is the fountain of life, and God has poured out his gifts, his will, and eternal life in Christ, and pointed to him; there we shall find it all. If you grasp this, you have grasped everything and the whole Godhead. If you do not want to believe or understand this, then you are just such a fellow as the Jews are here. Here belongs a humble
thy soul, full of life, hungry and thirsty, which hangs on words, and seeks God nowhere but in Christ, who lies in the manger, or where else he is, on the cross, in baptism, the Lord's Supper, or in the preaching of the divine word, or with my neighbor and brother; there I will find him. All other sects, such as papists, mahometists, and enthusiasts, do not find him otherwise, for they seek him without this path, ladder, master, and lantern, which is Christ. Therefore the Turks also do not find him, but are shamefully deceived. So you also say: I remain with the divine word, and with this person, the Lord Christ, and not with my thoughts.
The eighth sermon. 1)
[Held Saturday, January 14, 1531.]
V. 37. All that the Father gives me comes to me.
From this text one hears and hears that St. John is most concerned with the high and main article of our Christian faith, namely, believing in Christ, which is why we are also called Christians. Otherwise one does not find much preaching of the Ten Commandments in his Gospel, but this is his greatest work, that he may plant the high article of the righteousness of the faith and impress it upon the people; for where it remains pure and unadulterated, and stands firm, there is no need, but when it lies, then it is done for us all, and then we are no better than the Jews, the Gentiles, the Tatars and the Turks, yes, we are as bad as the Papists. For this reason, John the Evangelist is to be highly praised for his diligence in writing this main article.
132 For the Lord to say, "Him that cometh to me I will not cast out," is to present Himself to us in a friendly image, so that we may know what He is to be taken for; namely, if you have the grace to hear and believe God's word, and accept this man Christ, that is, brought to Him and given by the Father to the Son. And know that he will
1) In the original in the margin. The time determination is our Conjecture.
He will also be pleased to have you; he will accept you. And thou shalt not fear or think that he is an angry judge standing behind the door with a club, judging thee and damning thee, for he is the right bishop of souls, a true teacher and faithful pastor. If you come to him, he will not push you away or harm you, but he will keep you, saying, "Do not be afraid; I will not be lacking if you stay with me.
But in the papacy they preached much else about him, and wanted to bring us, who were baptized, to the man with laws and all kinds of good works, and painted Christ before us as if he were a fierce tyrant, an angry and strict judge, who demanded much of us, and laid out good works for us as payment for our sin. As then this shameful and blasphemous picture or painting shows of the last day, where one has painted how the Son falls down before the Father and kneels, and shows him his wounds, and St. John and Mary ask Christ for us at the last judgment, and the mother shows the Son her breasts, which he sucked. Which is taken from St. Bernard's books. And it was not well spoken, painted or made by St. Bernard, and such paintings should still be removed; for one has frightened the stupid consciences with it, and imagined to the people that they should be afraid of the dear Savior and flee from him, as if he wanted to drive us away from him, and should punish our sin. This is why people do not like to go to him. For if my conscience fears, it is driven away enough; I have no need of a hunter, a hound, a hound dog, a painter, or a hunter, to be chased by him; but my heart and weak conscience flee from him, because I am afraid; fear and terror repel and drive me away, so that I do not stay with him.
For this reason one should not suffer such paintings, for the Lord Christ says here: I will not cast you away; if you come to me, that is, if you believe and are baptized, and know that I, Christ, was born and died for you, then it is finished.
Be afraid, you must not be frightened then. Christ does not want to be a tyrant or a bully; he does not want to chase you away or push you away. This is our doctrine of Christ; but in the papacy this doctrine has been put under the bank and despised; for the pope only wanted to drive people to Christ with good works, so that they would be satisfied for their sin, and on the last day before the judgment of God would say, "Behold, Lord Christ, I have done this, I have fasted so much, I have done these and those works. And if afterwards this also does not help, that one says: You dear Mary, come forth; help me, you dear St. John, St. Peter and Paul. This is called teaching the devil, and not preaching Christ, but being driven and pushed away from Christ. Thus the Lord Christ was taken out of the eyes of the poor sinners, even out of their hearts.
But the Lord Christ says here: See thou come unto me only, and that thou hast grace to hold it in thine heart, to be sure and believe that I am sent into the world for thy sake, to do my Father's will, and am given thee for reconciliation, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption, and have laid all punishment upon me for thy sake. If you believe this, do not be afraid; I will not be your judge or executioner and cane-master, but I will be your redeemer, mediator, yes, kind, dear brother and good friend; forsake only your workmanship, and abide with me in steadfast faith.
(136) But a distinction must be made here between the righteousness of faith and good works, so that the article of the righteousness of faith may remain pure among Christians. For it is not forbidden here that one should not do good works. If I live according to the law and do good works, keep the commandments of the other table of the Ten Commandments, honor my authority, do not steal, do not kill anyone, do not commit adultery, I am doing right and will not be punished here. But this is works, that the papists do good works before they recognize the Lord Christ and believe in him; they looked to works for their salvation, and forsake faith in Christ. But the
Having believed, and knowing that Christ is not a master of the rod, and then beginning to do good, they do righteous good works, and these works, done before or after faith, are not called holiness or righteousness, as the papists call them. For faith alone in Christ is our righteousness, and by Christ we are called Christians, and also made saints; for the Father brings you to the Son without all your works and merit. This is the article of the righteousness of faith, that one believes in Christ; this article you have acquired by no works, fasting, praying, or otherwise, but it is given to you from heaven.
137 In this place, then, he does not speak of the righteousness of works done before faith, but of the primary righteousness of knowing Christ and believing in him, as the words in the Symbol are. And whoever accepts the article, the Father has brought him to the Son Christ. When this happens, do not be afraid of him; for the heart is otherwise so stupid by nature that it always works as if Christ were an executioner or judge, and would deal with us according to the law with sharpness; we always want to make a Moses or lawgiver out of him. This vice I cannot overcome, and as little drive from me as from thee. Thus also the devil and the rotten spirits or false teachers come, and afflict a frightened conscience still more. Those who know nothing of this article carry straw and wood to the fire, so that it burns quickly, and strengthen that which I naturally desire and am inclined to do. For I lie in the thoughts of how God is angry; so they come and teach us to atone for God's anger with works. Just as the papists also say that we must do enough for our sin. It is therefore necessary to make Christ the judge, whom we must appease and atone for with good works. This doctrine finds a good tinder in me, that we think thus by nature, that we must nevertheless also do something good. If then the brimstone and the infernal fire of false teachers come in and strike, it is as oil, so the
It lights a fire and makes it burn so brightly that the hearts must despair.
The Lord Christ, the comforting teacher and faithful shepherd, knows that our hearts naturally shrink from him and fear him because of our sins; item, that the devil raises up his false teachers, who blow out this delusion and make it stronger, and cause heartache, so that people despair of Christ, and think of him as an angry judge and stickmaster, who only sees sourly. And even if I tortured myself to death and broke off a lot, the heart would still not be satisfied. Therefore, I went to St. Mary and St. Nicholas and other saints and sought their intercession. For that is where my heart compels me, if I consider Christ to be a judge and cane-master. And if this has not helped, as it could not help and comfort, it has been said that there is no more help nor counsel but despair. For where Christ is forsaken, despair must follow; there your work is lost, and the intercession of the saints is uncertain. This fire cannot be quenched; good works cannot, neither can the intercession of the saints. So Christ remains a judge in your heart, and you must despair in the time of death.
139 And would anyone here say, "Should I despair? This is not what Christ means. For here he says, "Do not make me out to be such, nor think of me as such a judge; if you want to call on the saints, call on me, for you have the right mediator and saint; come to me, for you have all good works, and believe the article, and you will not be afraid of me, but will come to me. And do not ask your heart for counsel here, nor listen to the false teachers and doctors who provoke you to fear; do not believe your thoughts and evil conscience, but believe me and my word; for I am more certain to you than is your own heart and conscience; I will not cast you out; your conscience lies to you when it pretends that you should fear me as a judge. Where do such thoughts come to you? I say no to them; I will not cast thee out; I say unto thee, Fear not.
140 Therefore one can say to the pope and to all saints of works: You say that Christ is a judge who severely punishes sinners, therefore I should atone for my sin and do enough for it, otherwise Christ will kill me with his sword; therefore teach me the works righteousness and intercession of the saints. But I know that I am baptized, and hear the word of God, and believe this article, namely, in Jesus Christ. God has given me this grace, that I hear and believe, and thus I have come to Him by the will of the heavenly Father, and I have had enough. Why and before whom should I be afraid? For he saith all these things: "What comes to me I will not cast out"; but I will accept it, love it and value it, so I will abide with him. For it is clearly stated here that he not only wants me to be uncast out and not cast out, that I should remain uncast out, but in another place [John 10:28] it is also said that no one should snatch them out of his hands. Christ will protect and defend me, so that even if all the devils and the gates of hell are against me, they will not take me from him.
141 These are very comforting words, spoken only to those who want to be Christians, so that they may learn this article well and distinguish it, separating faith from good works. For faith is the head, and works are to follow after; but the virtue and power which are otherwise due to faith need not be appropriated to them; works do not deserve righteousness. Faith is to give us this, that Christ is not a judge; as he says elsewhere [John 3:17.], "I am not come to judge the world, but that the world through me might be saved." The Father did not send him to scare, frighten, or harm those who come to him, but to keep them with him. But against them that believe not, of them he will be a judge, as they also think him a judge; and so will not condemn the whole world; but to the pious and godly he will say, Thou hast come unto me, and hast believed on me, the Father hath given thee unto me; therefore come hither, I will not cast thee out. To the
But to others he will say on the last day that he will be their judge, because they will not come to him. Then there will be two heaps, and there he will separate the wicked from the Christians, and separate the goats from the sheep, and say to the wicked: You have not wanted me and have not believed in me, but you have persecuted me, killed my Christians, blasphemed my word, and cast me and mine out; so also go into the hellish fire. For they consider not Christ to be gracious; neither shall they have him as gracious and kind, but shall go into hell. For this reason we want Christ to be a gracious Lord to those who come to him. The rainbow, when he sits on it, does not frighten me, but helps me to salvation; we do not see him as a judge; he will take you and not push you away, and also protect you against the devil. And speaks further in the text, why he will not cast them out.
V 38. 39. For I am come down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but that of him that sent me; that I should lose nothing of all that he hath given me, but that I should raise it up at the last day.
How finely it rhymes together! He saith, I will not cast thee out: this is his will. And here he says that he will also do the will of the Father, which is also that he will not reject us. For St. John interweaves them and ties them together so that the Father's and the Son's being is one being, one will, one spirit, one wisdom, one work, even one Godhead and one thing. So kindly he presents himself to us, that we may cling to him, that when I hear the will of the Son, I hear also the will of the Father. If thou also seest the Son, thou seest the Father himself; and if thou hast my will (he means to say), thou hast the Father's will and goodness also; and fear not the Father. For let not thy heart say thus, Yea, Lord Christ, I believe thy words, that thou wilt not cast me out: but how if the Father were ungracious to me, and would cast me out? No, he answers, there is no more wrath in heaven, if thou be of one mind with me, for the
The Father has brought you to me, and he is of my will, and has taught you to know me and believe in me, and the Father has the same will that I have. For if he had wanted to destroy you and push you away, he would not have brought you to me and let you stay; nor would he have given you his word, the blessing, baptism, and the knowledge of this high article, so that you would have accepted it and believed. Therefore you shall not put two wills between me and my Father. For my will is that I will not cast thee away; so is my Father's will. I will not condemn thee, neither will he.
This is now a new sermon, from which we want to learn what the Father's will is and how to do God's will. The papists have thus said that God's will is to keep His commandments, and mix them together, drawing this will of God from good works. But I say that it is also one of God's wills, the outward discipline, that one should be obedient to one's parents and submissive to the authorities, not murder anyone, not commit fornication, not rob or steal, or do other good deeds, and lead a fine outward, chaste life in the other table. This is indeed also the divine will and a righteousness; but this is not therefore the righteousness of faith. For when I teach of good works, I do not teach of faith; and again, when I speak of faith, I do not mean works, for each has its place and its preaching. Now you hear here that Christ says he has come. Why, because of the works and the law of Moses, that thou shouldest obey parents and authorities? Do you not know this beforehand? For even the Gentiles know this. No, that is not why he came into the world, but for the sake of something higher than these works. For the good works and laws were beforehand superfluously described and commanded by Moses, and should not Christ have become man for this reason, that he preached them to us. And the Gentiles also have written their books and doctrines of good works.
(144) Therefore he speaks here of another will of God the Father, which is much about other things, and another will of God the Father.
Will is to keep the Ten Commandments, or to preach from the Law. For the blind leaders, the papists, have invented such things out of their heads and pretended that God's will is to keep the commandments of God, and have put faith into the law, and even mixed them together, and thrust their thoughts and dreams into this text; there they stand up, and draw the divine will to the commandments of God; therefore they should always be let go. But say thou on this, that God wills not one thing; neither doth he speak of one thing in all places; he hath more than one will and service. In one place he commands and wills that one be obedient to one's parents, and that the authorities faithfully govern the lands and people, and that the subjects honor the overlords [Rom. 13:1 ff], item, that the servants serve their masters well; also that one not kill, commit adultery and steal, all this is his will. And how much is the will? He does not speak of this here at all, but speaks of the right will of God the heavenly Father, which does not concern the commandments and laws at all, namely [John 3:16]: "Whoever believes in the Son shall not perish, but have eternal life." Therefore you do not have to mix these wills together; but speak of them as Christ himself speaks, and as the text reads here. Now this is another thing, yea, another thing, than when one saith, Honor thy parents. He says here of another will; you must not brew and boil it into one another.
The fatherly will of all that Christ speaks of extends to this, and teaches that he, the Lord Christ, should lose nothing of all that comes to him, or that is given to him, that is, who believes in him, but that all should be preserved and live forever. As in another place Christ also says [John 6:40], "This is the will of him that sent me, that whosoever seeth the Son, and believeth on him, should have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day." This means not to cast him away, but to keep him. This is a different will than the law otherwise requires of us; and one must separate such wills of God from one another; for the will of God is not the will of God.
God's will in this place is that the Lord Christ should not lose anyone who believes in Him. God is very kind to us, because all lightning, thunder, tempests, hail, and even wrath and displeasure of God shall depart and disappear, and that His gracious will is that whoever sees the Son and believes in Him shall be blessed and saved, and shall prosper. For God does not act against him with justice, righteous judgment and punishment; but God has a gracious will toward him. For God does not come to punish, but in Christ there is a vain gracious will of the Father, who kindly draws us to Himself.
That is, the article believing in Christ, splendidly driven, that St. John puts together and binds, also boils into each other, the Father's will and the Son's will. Therefore he says in another place [John 14:24]: "The words that I speak are not my words, but the Father's words, who sent me"; that if I hear Christ, I can conclude that the word that I hear is also the Father's word, and comes from the Father's heart, and is all one thing, so that I do not think it is another man's word or will, but can say: What comes out of the Son's mouth comes out of the Father's mouth, and the Father also speaks it, yes, the whole Godhead and the Father's heart speaks to me when I hear the man. John does this because he would like us to hold on to this article. For John wants to bring it together, and indicate that when one hears this man, Christ's, word, one hears the divine majesty itself. There are not two things; that if you hear me, you do not hear me as you look at me, but you hear God Himself; for Christ's will and Christ's word and work are the Father's will, yes, also the Father's word and work.
So he also says here: My will is not my will alone, or anything else but the Father's will; for what I will, that will he also; and when you hear me, do not flutter now and then, as if God were holding out something else to you than I am teaching you. For this is his will, that I say, When you come to Christ, the Father will not cast you away. With this he lifts up all
The displeasure, wrath, enmity, and disfavor of God, that we may be sure that Christ will not cast us away, neither will the Father cast us out. And so, when an evil conscience comes, a man may not say, "I have lived a holy life, for that is not enough; you cannot stand by it: I believe in Christ, who was born of the Virgin Mary, suffered and died, and rely on the fact that he himself says that whoever comes to him he will not cast out. I rely on these words and come to you, dear Lord Christ, because this is your will and heart, also your mouth, the words are enough for me and certain, I know well that you will not deny me, the words will not fail me, you will not push away those who come to you. Even though I am already a boy, and not sufficiently holy or pious to be able to stand, you are still true, and you want me to be raised up on the last day. Though I cannot stand, yet, O Lord Christ, thou wilt stand well, and not reject me.
These are beautiful, excellent words, God would have us learn them well and grasp the high article well. For I am very much afraid of the enthusiasts and the spirits of the mob, who will come and tear up this article as they have done before. And if it falls, we are finished. And they already begin to tear it up with their good works; they come to this, that in all their books one finds nothing else, but, so much alms he has given; item, so good done, this and that earned; remain only in works, and do nothing of this doctrine and of this comforting article, that Christ has helped us, but they have only learned that one may do good works. But if you come no higher than this, but only to works holiness, you are not a Christian. Therefore you must come to the point where you say, "I am sure that the Father has called me and brought me to the man Christ; I have been baptized and believe this article, and I rely on this word that he has said he will not cast me away. Now this is a sure sign that I have been brought to him. Because I have come to him.
If I hear his word and believe in him, I will stay. It says that he will not look at what a man can do, or how much human righteousness and holiness he has, but that I will only come to him.
This article must sit above good works, it hovers over all works: that you first believe that you have a gracious God, who will not cast you away, because you believe in Christ, and because you have been given to Christ, that you will not be lost, for this is the will of God. Then also be pious, honor your parents, and be obedient to the authorities, and be a pious child of God who loves his neighbor; do good works, and suffer for God's sake what you should suffer. Item, do this or that work, only that this main righteousness may precede, namely, that you believe that you have a gracious God because you believe in Christ and have seen him; for he does not want to do your will and according to the will of your conscience, he does not want to deal with you as your conscience tells you or reproaches you. For here he says, "This is the will of God, that I lose nothing," that he not only does not want to cast anyone out or drive them away, but he also wants to keep them with him, and no one should take them away from him.
(150) Now if this article remain, we are undestroyed and unconvinced. For the Holy Spirit and these words stand here and preserve one so that he remains with Christ, and one is not deceived. So then one remains an enlightened man, who can judge and condemn all the works and doctrines, the falsehoods, and the falsehoods, which teach love and good works, and not faith in Christ (which is the main article); these then I can judge and say: You are not right, you teach falsely.
(151) It is indeed good doctrine and speech, to be obedient to parents, and to be subject to the authorities, and to do other works of the law and of love; but with this you shall not yet make me a Christian. For it does not sustain me, it is far too small a doctrine; though I speak of perfect love, yet it is not sufficient. For the text here says that it is the Father's will that one should come to the Son and hear him,
and believe in him. Believing, then, and obeying your parents, or doing this and that work, are not the same thing; neither is faith your own work. Honoring parents is a great work and God's will, and works of love are good preaching, but they do not make Christians.
Since he who believes in Christ shall never die, no one who has accepted this doctrine can be deceived by any spirit of the mob. And one may preach much about good works, which is also rightly preached, but one does not make Christians with it, but Turks, Jews and Papists, who preach only about their own righteousness. Therefore you can soon judge this from this article, and you must look at the article alone and pay attention to it. For if you leave it aside, some fool in a gray coat may come, as an Anabaptist or other, and soon seduce you. For thus say they, the Anabaptists: Verily, one must do thus, mortify oneself thus, and not love creatures, nor have pleasure in money and goods, nor have pleasure in wife and child, but look sour, leave house and farm, and kill the flesh; so it comes to pass that one says: Verily, these are pious, holy people, they leave house and farm, wife and child; [it] glitters and shines their thing. Thus the Anabaptists have deceived the people, and thus we have also been deceived with this clamor, that if a man has worn a gray skirt and looked sour, he has been more pious than others; item, if he has run away from wife and child, therefore he is holier and better than he who has remained in wedlock. So it is when one does not have this light of the divine word and faith, and that one falls into such hypocrisy that one wants to make Christians by good works; then one has been well deceived. For if there were a Christian who said, "You are a desperate wretch, that the devil who brought you here should lead you away, for you teach that Christians are made by good works. Something higher must be added, it should not be good works, God granting that it is called God's love or neighbor's love, it is called suffering or good works, but they do not make a Christian; but they do make a Christian.
You should teach how to become a Christian by faith, and then preach how to carry the cross and do good works.
153 Therefore learn to distinguish the article from the works. For if the article lies, they can soon deceive you, for they do not know what faith means; but they insist that he who suffers much and does much good, that he loves God and his neighbor, item, is pious and obedient: this is a good thing. Then you say: All this is good and fine, but it does not make one a Christian, nor does it get one to heaven, for works are too weak for that. But say thus: I will first become a Christian, and afterward he shall love God and man. For works shall not make a Christian, but a Christian shall then do and do good works; for by works no one becomes a Christian. But a man becomes a Christian when God gives him the grace to come to His Son, Christ, to be baptized into Him, to hear His word, and to accept Christ through faith. For Christ and this grace of his he did not carve, you did nothing to it, you did not make, carve or bake Christ. It is your faith, and not your good works. And he then says: I believe in Christ, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of Mary the Virgin, died, was crucified and buried, and on the third day rose again from the dead for my sake. There you have the consolation that you did nothing to this, that Christ was born and also suffered, it is not our works; therefore it cannot be grasped by works. It is the devil, and grieves me exceedingly, that the articles of faith should thus be abandoned, and that we should lie straight upon works.
Let us learn, then, that it is very important to make a distinction between the faith and the good works of a Christian; we must distinguish between a Christian being and the life of a saint, so that you may immediately ask whether it is a work or faith that should help you to heaven and make you blessed. If it is a work, then say: This certainly does not make one a Christian; for what
The fact that a monk should be saved and helped to heaven, and should make a Christian, must be greater and higher than the work of all men; indeed, if it were greater than raising the dead. What devil could do it with the fictitious works that a monk wears a cap and plates, if these great works should count for nothing here? Nor have they held themselves much better and holier for the sake of their dress, plates, food and drink than other Christians would. But I would rather advise you to water Malvasians and believe only in Christ, and let the monk drink water or his own urine, if he does not believe in Christ: it does not help him, because he must be damned with his strict life. Therefore, he would rather wear a silk skirt for his hard shirt, because this devotion of his does not help him.
(155) But here we speak of the Father's will, which is directed to the person of Christ, and not to good works; and the Father wills that if thou comest to the Son, thou shalt have in him a gracious priest and mediator; and he himself saith, I will not cast thee out, nor lose thee. Therefore, if you remain with him, neither the devil, the world, death, the spirit of the mob, nor the devil's temptation, nor his good works, nor his austere life, nor your own foolish conscience, much less your human wisdom, will tear you away from him. So this article teaches you to abide with Christ, and he with you; for this is the Father's will, which is also the will of the Lord Christ, that whoever believes in the Son shall not perish.
The ninth sermon.
[Saturday] the 21st day of Januarii [1531]. 1)
In this place, therefore, good attention must be paid to what the Father's will says about what is the right, true, Father's will. For there are many things which the Father wills. For he also wants the ten commandments to be kept, such as to honor one's parents, not to steal, not to
1) In the original margin, except for what is in parentheses.
God also wants to leave that alone. But here is another will of God, that Christ should be the living bread, or the heavenly bread, which gives eternal life to all, and helps people to the kingdom of heaven. But it is interwoven that his will is also the will of the Father, and summa summarum, everything stands on the main article that we Christians preach; namely, that otherwise there is no life, salvation or blessedness in all the other commandments that God has given, but only in this man, Christ, and that we come to him. Therefore, if we believe in him, we do God's will; otherwise it would be impossible for us to do God's commandments, for all the other commandments are too difficult for us to do. But he who accepts Christ and clings to Him has it, and does the will of God the Father. For what he has not done, nor can do, all this shall be forgiven and given him for Christ's sake, in whom he believes.
157 And now he explains himself and defines or describes what the will of the Father is. For he has said: he does not want to do his will. For someone might say, What is the will of the Father? Have we not heard other teachers before, the prophets and preachers, who have revealed to us the will of the Father in heaven? so have we also the ten commandments; why do you come here and say that you will not do your will, but the will of the Father in heaven? What is this will? Thou wilt teach us of a new will, what is it then? There is another will of the Father above the will in [the] Ten Commandments, which we do not keep or do, which I declare to you, namely, that I should lose none of those who are given to me. And by this he signifies that he is the man who shall keep every man alive and blessed; for he saith, I shall neither leave nor lose any, it is my Father's commandment and commandment; I shall do it, and receive thee, and keep thee, it is God's will, and will gladly do it. If then thou knowest me, and holdest me, so am I, and will gladly and heartily do it. But if you are apart from me, and lack me as the messenger, and do not cling to me
me, I cannot receive you, nor do I want to receive you, and then you must be eternally lost.
(158) It is a high article of faith, and both hard, to believe that he can do it, and that he is commanded; that all salvation and blessedness shall be purely cut off from our works, from the ten commandments, and from our blessedness. And therefore the Jews, Carthusians, monks, and nuns, with all their holiness, must be nothing; however great works they may do, all is lost. For Christ says, "I am to be, for there is no other help. For the Father has turned away from all other things, and has set aside and turned aside his will from all holy works; he will not look upon any work, for they can do nothing; and will have his will directed only to the one man, Christ, for he alone shall be the man that can do it.
Such an article is very sour and difficult to believe. For it is hard for the Jews and the whole world, they do not want to hear it, because they think of Christ in this way: "Should you be the man who should save us? should we become your disciples? So the whole world and our reason will gladly deal with God in this way, that it may bring good works and its own righteousness to the market, and atone for sin before God. After that, even if we begin to believe that it is true and know that this is God's will, we still lack the faith to believe in Christ alone. For we are still in doubt, thinking, "Who knows if it is true? Christ says he does not want to lose me, but who knows if God the Father does not have another thought, if he is also of this mind? So we flutter up to heaven with our thoughts, and lose sight of this sermon and of Christ, and dream that we must also do something.
160 But Christ admonishes us here, saying, "Do not look back, nor think of any other will of the Father in his heart; for this is his will, when you hear of it, that Christ should not lose you. Now if you hear this word from Christ's mouth, it is not Christ's word, but the Father's word.
Opinion, word and will; thou shalt not find it otherwise with God, but with me, when thou hearest me speak. Therefore fear not, neither hear anything else, but me, that I may speak with thee: and if thou hast me, thou art not lost. But it is very hard for a man to give himself up with all his mind and heart to the person of Christ; [it is a foolish preaching to reason that one should believe in Christ,] 1) for then he shall not be lost. But they looked at something else or a special work of their own, and go astray, get far away from it, and are lost. For here it is decreed that it is the Father's will and good pleasure that none of the faithful should perish. And this will of the Father you cannot lack, if you hold to the man Christ, but you meet it in the man; otherwise there is no other will, neither in heaven, nor on earth, nor in hell.
161 Secondly, it is also difficult that we do not want to hold on to Christ, and this is our reason's and the Pope's fault that we do not believe in Christ. For our nature shrinks from Christ, and does not consider Christ to be the man who can and will do it, but shrinks from him, saying, If thou wilt be saved, do this and that. Thus it is that the papists make Christ a judge who will judge and judge according to works. Although good works should also be; but I am not talking now about laws and works, so that they should be of some help before God's judgment. Then our nature and the doctrine of men cause us to lose Christ; it takes us away from Christ. For he that hath not this will hath not the Father; and then both the Father's will and Christ's will are lost, for it shall not be by works. Hence it comes to pass that one became a Carthusian, and another a monk, and devised all manner of works. Not that they wanted to do good works, for otherwise they could have remained, each in his own state, serving their parents, loving their neighbor, and preaching to wife and child.
1) The context requires an insertion of the kind we have made here.
and raised nothing new or special; but it was for this reason that we wanted to merit God, and to win God with such works and obtain forgiveness of sins.
But it shall not be so. If you want to become God's son and come to eternal life, and if you want to be rid of sins, this is the handle, namely, that you accept my will and the Father's will, that is, believe in me that I am the bread of life. A Christian must seek righteousness in Christ alone, that he may take hold of the will of the Lord Christ and of the Father. Then go and be a judge, an authority, a father and a mother, a master and a wife, a servant and a maid, and do what is pleasing to God.
There are few of us who know and understand this article, and I therefore treat it for and for, that I very much fear, when we have laid the head, it will soon be forgotten, and fall away again, for no Anabaptist or Sacramentarian teaches such things. Nor can Christ, the eternal righteousness, be grasped or substantiated by a sermon or thought, for it is an eternal art that can be learned neither here nor in that life.
164 So he has interpreted the will of the Father, which is that he should not lose any of those who come to him. Then thou art safe, and canst set thine heart at rest, and say, I will do that which I ought to do, and that which is commanded me: but thereby am I not free from death, but I should be lost all the same, if I had not Christ. I must have the headship, which is called Christ, on which I stand; for this is the Father's will, that Christ lose nothing when he comes to him. And we also want to work with all our earnestness and strength so that we may take hold of Christ. How then do I come to him? Then he says further:
V. 40. This is the will of him who sent me, that whoever sees the Son and believes in him may have eternal life.
(165) Then you must separate it (you do it gladly or not), that the Ten Commandments are not the Son of God; item, all the holiness and righteousness of the Jews, so they have led,
Nor is the Son; but the Son is something other than all the holiness and austerities of St. Jerome, Ambrose, and Augustine, or the good works and austerities of all the saints; there is something higher than all the saints' holiness. And so the Lord casts our hearts apart from and above all that is called good works and the ten commandments, for they are not the Son. And even if it were the commandment that one should love God with all one's heart, soul and strength, which is commanded by God Himself, yet it is not the Son. And even though I see and begin to love God and my neighbor and to do the law, you still do not see and have the Son, but this is the will and good pleasure of the Father, which He wants, that whoever sees the Son and believes in Him may have eternal life. Would to God that it would go into the heart! It is said clearly and plainly enough, if one would only think about it, that whoever has the Son should also have eternal life and forgiveness of sins, and be free from death. But from what? Only that you hear and see the Son and believe in him.
These things are spoken proudly and strongly enough against all good works; but we are asked here whether we should not do good works? Yes, they should follow faith, for faith must have good works; but life is not obtained by works, for it is impossible for one to keep the law; and no saint was ever found on earth who loved God and his neighbor with all his heart and as himself, but the law was an unmistakable, impossible burden and encumbrance; as also St. Peter in the Acts of the Apostles. Peter says in Acts 15:10 that the law is a yoke or burden that neither you nor your fathers were able to bear. That is, all the saints were thrown down, that they could not do enough for the law.
But what must we do that we may be saved? We must look to the Son and cling to Him, and hold to Him, love Him, and believe in the Son, that He may be the One through whom we shall be saved and preserved, who shall not lose us. This is what God has decreed, and through
I have righteousness and eternal life if I cling to him. But if you do not cling to him and live a more holy life than St. Jerome, you are lost. But if I say, Lord Christ, I will abide with thee, and cleave unto thee, or believe in thee, for thou alone art [it is right]. 1) And then I will go and take the Ten Commandments before me, and practice good works; but my chief thing shall be to cleave unto Christ, and that by him life may be given me. After the main thing, then, I will begin to love God and my neighbor as much as I can, and to do everything good, and I am sure that my good works will not help me. My life and work are too little and insignificant to curb death, to close hell, to take away sin, and to open heaven. God did not say to me that I should be the person who could give life or preserve myself, because we cannot keep the law. The Papists did indeed instruct us on the commandments of God to preserve us; but since it was impossible for us to keep them, God gives a man who is called He shall not lose us, He shall preserve us, lest we perish; under Him we shall not perish nor die.
This makes this doctrine contemptible, because everyone thinks it is a small, bad thing, because they hear that nothing else is done except seeing and believing. It is written in the two pieces, seeing and believing. This is easily said, but no one knows what faith is. It is a high art and doctrine, which no saint has learned or been able to establish, unless he has been in despair, in mortal peril or in extreme danger. For there one sees the power and effect of faith first of all in the temptations, as that faith overcomes sin, death, the devil and hell. These are not bad enemies; they make you sweat and break your bones, and make heaven and earth too narrow for you.
1) This insertion is made by us.
Only this person who says, "It is I who shall not lose you. This is the will of the Father. Then one learns what faith is.
Therefore it is necessary to preach that when they come and teach: If thou keep the commandments of God, thou shalt have eternal life, and say that Christ himself said [Luc. 10:28], "Do this, and thou shalt live"; then say thou: Yea, go thy way, and do so. But the Pharisee in the Gospel left it pending. It is soon said, "Do it"; but it comes to nothing, I cannot do it, my keeping is not enough. But if I am to keep it, the goal is set for me, that I must have Christ as my helper, who forgives my sin and gives me the Holy Spirit, so that I may keep the ten commandments. Yes, but will I get heaven by doing this? The ten commandments will not help us by themselves; the Lord Christ must do it beforehand, and give eternal life. Christ must do it first, then do good works that please God.
And I will raise him up on the last day.
This is a necessary addition and a glorious promise, which is said and repeated twice, so that it is always used: Well, how does that rhyme? This little piece makes faith difficult. For no one can know or see that there is such a great thing about faith, for he has said that whoever believes in him shall have eternal life. Now, St. Jerome, Ambrose and Cyprian believe in him; but there comes the executioner, and cuts off their cops; how does that rhyme with eternal life? the stairs fall in over their heads and backs! These words seem to be all lies, and you see how it is with those who now believe in Christ; they are driven out, they are cursed and maligned, they are beheaded and burned, and they are given no peace or rest. If this means eternal life, that one is thus persecuted and killed, then the devil lives in the life.
171 There is now much to be done in preaching the things that serve faith. For faith should close the eyes, and
Do not judge or make judgments according to what you feel or see. For the life which he that believeth in Christ hath, he shall not feel it, nor know it, until I raise him from the dead; but it shall be hid and stopped up in death. He shall cover it up and put it under the ground, and shall know there, as long as I live, or when I die, that I have forgiveness of sins, and when I feel the greatest sins, I may say, Nevertheless I have forgiveness of sins; and when I also feel the most sins, that they bite me most, and chase me, and terrify me, I look upon Christ, and weakly believe in him, and hold fast to him, and say, I am sure thou hast spoken: He that believeth on me shall have eternal life. Even though my conscience is troubled, and sin terrifies me and makes my heart tremble, yet it says, "My son, be of good cheer, your sins are forgiven you" [Matth. 9:2], and: You shall have eternal life, and I will raise you up at the last day.
In the meantime, do not judge by your feelings. For outwardly you will feel death and sin, and the heart will give you an evil conscience, the evil life will punish you, the law will frighten you, the world will persecute you, and the devil will give you evil thoughts and temptation; but do not be frightened, have patience, they are only vain outward larvae, which exercise and drive faith to learn that it has eternal life, and where it has such life. Even if I should die, and a bear should eat my head, or a fish my belly, or a wolf my hand, or be torn in a thousand pieces, yet I know that I shall have eternal life.
Here you see what faith is. It may seem to you that believing is a bad art, but it is a high and great thing. Therefore, when you feel sin and an evil conscience bites you, or when you are persecuted, see if you believe. But then you run to the saints and emergency helpers in monasteries and in the deserts, there you seek help, and you say: O dear one, pray for me! O dear saint, help me! O let me live! I want to become pious and do many good works; so they say
a frightened conscience. Where is now the faith? But so thou shalt say to Christ (if thou believest the words of Christ, as he saith [John 17:12], "Whom thou hast given me, I have lost none"): I know not a saint here, I am a poor sinner, and have deserved death; but above sin and death I cleave unto thee, and will not depart from thee. I have taken hold of you, dear Lord Christ, you are my life, and this is the Father's will, that all who cling to you shall have eternal life and be raised from the dead; so be it with me, whether I am beheaded or burned. No other life will do that, it is called monastery, St. Augustine's or St. John the Baptist's life, so that it should hold the sting as faith in Christ soust helps out. . You have read the example of St. Marion, who served eighty-three years, ate no bread, and lived a strict, holy life in the desert; yet when he was about to die, his heart was grieved, saying, "Oh, my soul, what are you afraid of, since you served our Lord God for eighty-three years? But such things did not stick and comforted him. For since it is not the Son, it does no good, nor does it stand, nor do I rest on it; but bad gone away to the Son, seeking forgiveness of sin, grace and mercy of God in Christ, and coming only to Christ, and not looking to your satisfaction, for no work can do it.
This then is the art of faith, that one may take hold of that which one does not see. For all that we have of Christ is hidden, and the contradiction of it is immediately seen; for faith sees that which it does not feel or grasp. This is the art of faith; faith has such a sharp vision that when I see the executioner cutting off my head or burning me, and I am killed, I feel it, and I have death before my eyes, I shall still see life, and say, Though I be killed, yet will I live again. This body and temporal life pass away, but I take hold of eternal life, which is not seen. So when sin terrifies me, I feel it well, and I will mourn.
But I also see comfort, God's grace and mercy, righteousness, salvation and life, which I have in Christ, who says, "I will not lose you. Item, in tribulations and trials we hear comfort in Christ JEsu. Now let him who tries this tell me again what a bad art it is for faith. For all other living is hypocrisy. Even if one walks and lives in the commandments of God, it is not enough, and is only a loud hypocrisy; much more will not apply what we choose of good works, because no life nor law and work does it.
Now the Jews began to grumble, and no wonder. But St. John has always used the high article very powerfully, that Christ is truly God and man in one person, and that this person is also our Savior, through whom we are saved, and who is our life and righteousness; as we say in the Symbola: I believe in Jesus Christ our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit etc. And therefore we are also called Christians. For this is our title. So then he is truly man, against which many heretics have argued; in addition, he is also truly God, which many heretics have also denied and disputed, and [I] fear there will be more of these same heretics who will rage and rage against such an article.
177 Learn therefore from this and other sayings, that Jesus Christ is a true man. For you hear and see him before your eyes, that he speaks here as a man. Item, that he is also a true Son of God and such a person that whoever believes in him and clings to him has eternal life and is safe from hell, the devil and death, and he shall have life and salvation, for he will receive it, and he will also be able to do the commandments of God. And this is a glorious argument of His divinity, to prove that He is a true God, that He says twice: "I will not lose Him"; item: "I will raise Him up at the last day." These are not works of some creature. For to make a creature, or to restore a creature, or to give it life
No one can do this but the Creator, as the other article in the Symbola testifies. Item, the life we have, we confess that we have it from God, the Creator, and no one can take it from us, or bend a hair on our head, unless he allows it; just as the devil could not do anything to Job, God allowed it to him.
This and the like saying we are to keep, that we may strengthen our faith that Christ is truly man and God; for he ascribes to him the work of raising from the dead, which he twice repeated, and that he would lose no man; item, that he is the bread of life. These are not the works of an angel or of some creature, but the works of the divine majesty alone.
Thus John the evangelist is a master above all other evangelists, for he always puts forth this article, that Jesus Christ is truly man and truly God. He unites these two natures together. And when he becomes man, he speaks with us, and does miraculous works, and dies according to his humanity. And thereafter he also establishes his divinity with simple words, namely, that whoever clings to him, or whoever believes in him, he redeems, preserves and helps from hell and all misfortune, and he wants to preserve and raise him up, he wants to preserve him so that no creature shall harm him. He says: "For I know the art, that no creature shall take it out of my hands, for I am God Himself. And it will be necessary for us to well imagine and know this article, that Christ is God and man, because by nature we cannot grasp nor understand it. So the devil and the world also fight against it; and though they preach it, yet they darken and obscure such an article with their quaestionibus.
The tenth sermon.
[Saturday, January 28, 1531. 1)
180: Now this was a part of the sermon of the Lord Christ, which He preached from the
1) In the original in the margin; but there erroneously "am 27. Januarii"; because January 27 was a Friday.
The sermon that was preached at Capernaum was done by the will of his heavenly Father. Now follows how the sermon was received by the people.
V. 41, 42: Then the Jews murmured because he said, I am the bread that came down from heaven, and they said: Is not this Jesus the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How then saith he: I am come down from heaven?
181 St. John also wanted to write in this piece how the Jews had reacted to the sermon and speech, namely, that they grumbled about it. For it seems to them to be a ridiculous, annoying and foolish sermon, that he may say that he has come from heaven and gives such bread as brings eternal life, since they want to know his father, Joseph, and his mother, Mary. Therefore, with their murmuring, they say that it must be a great lie about him, or he must be a great fool to persuade us that he has come from heaven, when his father and mother live here in Capernaum.
But John shows us here first of all that he warns all who hear this teaching of Christ that we should not inquire much in God's word and things, nor inquire how they rhyme. For whoever wants to be a Christian and grasp the articles of the Christian faith should not ask his reason or head how it sounds, rhymes or rings, but should speak straightforwardly: I do not ask how it rhymes, but I must know that alone, whether God's word is there or not; so I ask whether God has said it. For you have often heard that I have admonished you not to argue or reason in high spiritual matters concerning the articles of the Christian faith. For as soon as a man begins to rhyme, to reason, and to reason together, it is already finished, and we fall away.
183 Origen and the other holy fathers have done so, they have all been very wrong, because they wanted to compare reason and secular justice with
The articles of the Christian faith, although these articles and teachings are too high for our reason; they cannot be measured or judged, it does not do. There is such a doctrine about the articles of faith that wants to capture people with all their reason, intelligence and understanding; it alone wants to rule. Whoever does not want to be taken captive, let him go, for otherwise the devil will lead him into a hundred heresies and sects. This is what happened to the Jews and the Turks, to Ario and the other old heretics, and also to our red spirits, and also to the papists, who wonder whether it will rhyme with our reason. They lack nothing, except that they take the number pennies and consider whether it could be so, and measure it with reason. And do the Anabaptists say, A handful of water in baptism is water; it is an outward thing; how then can it wash and cleanse the soul, and forgive sin? Water remains water. This does nothing else than to measure the word of God "Go and baptize all nations in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit" [Matth. 28, 19.] according to their school register and cubits, as they think it should be right. And this is how they want to do it, and this is how our Lord God must go afterward, to be the pupil of all men here; but what they gain by their mastery, that we well know. Christ allows himself to be mastered and judged, but he still remains the supreme master and teacher; as it is written in the 51st Psalm, v. 6: "You will be right in your words, and you will be right when you are judged for a long time. Then the prophet David confesses that our Lord God must stand in judgment, and every man must suffer his word; but in fine videbitur, cujus toni, that is, in the end it will be seen what the bell has struck.
184 And so it is with the Jews here, when they hear Christ preached, and say that he is the bread of heaven; and they enter quickly into Mary's house, and into Joseph's house, and say: Mary is his mother, and Joseph his father etc., we know his family, his house, his street, the stones and wood. How does that rhyme together, how can
he be come from heaven? His house is not in heaven; for his house and parents dwell on earth, at Capernaum; therefore it is false, and such foolishness that it cannot be greater; consider it a lie. So do our sacramentarians, the drops, pretending: Christ sits at the right hand of God, and is in heaven at the right hand of God, therefore he cannot be in the Lord's Supper. Well, we know that bread and wine are on the altar, for we know and see bread and wine; but we still say that Christ, who sits at the right hand of the Father, is also in the Lord's Supper. But how does this rhyme? Yes, if our Lord God gave us reasonable articles that our reason could understand, then none of us would be saved, but all would be lost. For reason is not good for this; what we do with our reason 1) will not help us or make us blessed. There must be something above our reason and wisdom that will lead us to heaven. For if all the wise men on earth were to work together, they could not make a ladder to heaven on which to climb.
This, however, is prescribed for our warning, that whoever wants to act in the articles of the Christian faith should leave his researching and figuring, and not ask how it rhymes, but only investigate whether Christ has said it or not. If he has said it, he should stick to it, and it should work, sound or ring as it pleases. For I will let him be wiser than my reason, or I am; give glory to him that speaketh, and let him be wiser than thou art.
186 And this we see also, that it is so in worldly matters. In housekeeping, the master often tells the servant to do something that the servant does not understand, whether it is good, what it is for, or how it rhymes; and yet your servant or maid must go and do such work, and give their reason away, even though they do not understand what the master means by it. This is how it is on earth, otherwise the house rule could not last long.
1) "vornehmen" is taken from Walch's old edition. Erlanger: "vernehmen".
If a prince were to let all his counsels and suggestions come out among the people, or tell the subjects of his will, or a military commander let his practices and suggestions be revealed or testified in a camp, this would become a noble regiment and being. If a ruler were to make all his counsels and suggestions known to the people, or to tell his subjects of his will, or if a military commander were to make his practices and suggestions known in a camp, that would be a noble regiment and character. And yet we fools here do not want to believe our Lord God in the name of the devil, if he would have shown us the account and cause of the same articles and things half before; as one now also ponders and asks, why the Lord Christ has given and instituted the Sacrament in this way?
But in paradise the devil also dealt with it, that he said to Adam and Eve [Gen. 3, 1.]: Why has God done this? On the gallows with the mouth that asks God, why have you done this? But if you ask, ask in all the devil's name, and put your trunk, I know well where. That's why you should always let these smart alecks go. Is it not a great boldness to ask God your Lord, when you cannot ask your brother, neighbor, master or wife why they do this or that? Item, on earth many a man must suffer many things, must also see many things, and from another's command do many things which he does not understand, and then, when it is done, that one first recognizes it, and then the master says to the servant, Behold, this is what I meant by it and what I did; and the servant then said, I truly did not understand that you had this in mind. Yes, if I had told you," answers the Lord, "you would not have done it. If this is what happens to us as human beings, we should not do this in the affairs of our Lord God, asking him all the time why he decrees this or that; but only say to him: Lord, you are my God, I will believe you, hear your word, follow you, and die because you, my dear Lord, have said this, and I will not see, ponder, or search with my mind where it leads.
It is also clearly written in the articles of the Christian faith: I believe in Jesus Christ, who is the Son of God, and I believe in the Son of God.
born of the Virgin Mary etc. How can I grasp the same with reason or believe that the one who can span heaven and earth with one fist, and sits at the right hand of God, should nevertheless lie in a narrow manger, and suckle the breasts of Mary's mother? How does it rhyme that Christ is God in heaven, and a little child lies in Mary's womb? Yes, if I want to rhyme it and search for it, I will slowly put it together by reason; for he lies there, and yet never departs from the Father. But close your eyes, and keep to the divine word, for it is soon rhymed together by the divine word that he has said that he is God and man, and I will leave it at that; for it is rhymed and baked together that the one person, Christ, is God and man.
The Jews, the Turks and the pope will never come to this, for they are offended and angry by it. And if God should have written a book against the Jews, Turks and other persecutors, because of this article, he should have written this Gospel of John, because it is directed against their wisdom. The Turk considers us to be fools; so the Jews and the pope also consider us to be the most foolish people, because we believe that this person, Christ, is God and man. For they do not want Christ to be our Savior and the bread of life, they blaspheme and disgrace us who believe in Christ, the Son of God, and the pope tramples him underfoot, even takes him away with his divinity, and leads people to do good works, to do this and that, so they would be blessed. The Turk thinks something of Christ, that he is a great prophet, but that he should be the Son of God, they do not admit. But our salvation is to be found in the fact that we look to the man, and in him we have the bread of life; this no one believes; and with them it is not only kept silent, but it is also trampled underfoot.
191 This is the faith of the Jews and Turks, who are nevertheless better than the Pope, who alone confesses by the name of Christ that Christ is God; but his power is not the same as that of the Jews and Turks.
He denies. He is worse than the Turk and the Jews, and after that he instituted the feast of Corpus Christi in the devil's name, so that he might destroy Christ with this feast, and did nothing else than that one should worship and honor the sacrament and earn indulgences with it. Thus the article of the divinity of Christ lies in the mire of Pabstism, Judaism and Turkism, which all evangelists, and especially St. John and St. Paul, wanted to leave behind so that it would not perish, and confirmed and preserved the article in their books with the holy Scriptures and wonderful sayings. For they were well concerned that it would happen after their death that the devil would not leave this article unchallenged; as until now such books have also lain under the bank with us.
This is written as a warning to us, so that we may understand this article from St. John's Gospel, for it presents Christ to us as a true God and natural man, and that the same Jesus Christ is our only Savior. Then you are safe from all error. For the Holy Spirit is with you, who will not let you stumble or remain in error forever. If you stumble, he will help you up; but if you remain in error, it is a sure sign that you do not believe this article. For if we fall from this article, there is no end nor cessation of error.
193 Therefore we see here first of all that one should not grumble about the article, for it is such an article that cannot be believed or received without the Holy Spirit. For it is not reasonable to believe that Christ came from heaven and is the Son of God, and that He is the true bread of heaven, and yet He also has a mother and a father on earth. But it is said: Believe it, and put away your arrogance, do not lie, nor inquire, nor shut your eyes, put away your candelabra, and let your murmuring stand; but believe the word which thus represents Christ to you, that he is come from heaven, that is, he is the Son of God,
1) Kandel - jug; here probably: that with which you intoxicate yourself.
and revealed to the world, and born of Mary, not, as we other people, in sinful conception, but from a pure birth, conceived by the Holy Spirit. There was all grace, life and heavenly work in the birth, since there was no earthly or sinful power to come; as all other men are born in sins, and have an old and earthly birth, out of sinful power, conceived and born in sins. He was born above birth, for he was conceived pure by the Holy Spirit, and therefore did not come from the earth, that is, not from the common way other men are born, but from a virgin, whose flesh and blood were purified, so that from her flesh came and was made pure holy flesh and seed; that is, coming from heaven. This they knew not; neither do I know it: but I hear it, and the scripture saith it, and I believe the scripture. But if thou wilt not believe it, let it be: for the harm shall be thine. It is sufficiently said and preached, that he is so come from heaven. If you believe it, you will understand it. For this reason the Lord Christ soon answers and says:
V. 43, 44. Do not murmur among yourselves; no one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him.
194 The Lord will say this much: "You will not judge me by murmuring; you will measure me and rhyme me, and judge my word by reason, and ask your head beforehand whether I speak rightly or not; but I tell you, this is not the right way and road to come to me; nothing will come of it; though you ask yourselves to death, yet you will not calculate it.
But he punisheth the prudent man, that willeth to know his word, because it becometh nothing. For his words are not acceptable to our reason; therefore let it be said to us and to the whole world. For he speaketh it not to the Jews only here, but that every man that would be a Christian think, and hold his peace, and murmur not, and be content; but if he would be saved otherwise, think not after him, and murmur not, and receive it.
Nor does he intend to think it out, measure it, or calculate it with reason, and think, "Truly, this is how it is, it seems good to me.
In external and worldly matters, let reason be the judge. For you can calculate and think that the cow is bigger than the calf, that three cubits are longer than a cubit, that a florin is more than a penny, that a hundred florins are more than ten florins, and that the roof is better above the house than under it. You can do this and measure how to bridle a horse, for this is taught to you by reason, and there be master, for God has also given reason to milk cows and to bridle horses, and to know that a hundred guilders are more than ten guilders. Now, in this, prove your wisdom, be a master and a fine journeyman, and use your art. But here, when it comes to how one should be blessed in the heavenly being and in matters of faith, then shut up reason, stop still, do not measure according to reason, but listen and say: Here I can never, it does not rhyme here, as with the other pieces that are told above. Then tame your reason and say, "I don't know; I don't want to count it or measure it, but keep still and listen, for it is excessive and incomprehensible to reason.
197 This is what he means here, that he says, "Do not murmur. Why? "No one can come to me, let the Father draw him." How do you like that? It's recently canceled. Write these words in your heart with red ink, or with letters of gold; for, do what you will, no one comes to me but he whom my Father draws. This saying is a thunderclap against all works saints. The pope speaks here: I will say mass, read vigils, pray rosaries, do good works, and become a Carthusian, and give alms, and thereby I will go to heaven and be saved. Yes, like a cow going into a mouse hole. For it is written here that it is impossible; you cannot do it.
198 What should one do? should one do
despair? No, it is spoken against your presumption, human ability, prudence, art and reason, which he wants to keep in check, and it also speaks against the shameful people who want to master God's word, in which and through which they shall be saved, and thus lead themselves. As was the wisdom of Arii, who denied the divinity of Christ. With the same doctrine you will come to Christ slowly, if you do not believe that he is true God, for which a Christian certainly believes. But Narrius 1) cannot believe it, otherwise he would let him be the highest creature. The Anabaptists also pretend to such wisdom, that the water in baptism cannot make you blessed. Item, you must love nothing, but outwardly rid yourself of all creatures, and then you must do this and that; for in this way you will enter heaven and eternal life.
But here saith the Lord Christ, Thou canst not so come in: for it is written, No man can come unto me, except the Father draw him. What does "no one" mean? Do you think it means only a cow or donkey and other cattle? But "no one" is called the whole human race here, the whole world, no human being excepted, the most powerful, the holiest, the cleverest and the most learned. That is briefly said, but it is a mighty saying, which strikes down and knocks to the ground everything that is called human wisdom, understanding, judgment, justice and holiness, also religion and worship. For to come to this article and blessedness in Christ, no wisdom, prudence, bloodshed or almsgiving helps, nor what else the whole human race is able to do with prudence, godliness or holiness. For it is said, "No one can come to me, let the Father draw him." This should be taught.
200 It is a comforting and joyful sermon to the Christian heart, but it is also vexatious, and a frightening and unpleasant sermon to the evil spirits and to those who murmur, that no one else should come to Christ. Item that
1) "Narrius" mocking for Arius.
Otherwise there must be something that makes us blessed, that is, the bread that comes from heaven, which does not grow in your heart. This the wicked cannot hear, that their thing should be nothing, and say, What then doth my monastic life, my almsgiving, my holy austerities, and good works do? - You do nothing else with it, except that you bring hellish fire on your own head. Well, should it all be lost? Yes, it is all purely lost. For Christ says here that one cannot come to God with this; so you want to do it, and want to climb to heaven through these pieces.
For this reason this is such a sermon that they must grumble about it, they cannot let it go. For it is offensive to them when I say to the Turk, the Jew and the pope, "All your works and laws are lost, and you are condemned with all your righteousness. What have I done with this? A grumbling, displeasure and anger. For the Jews will not let their precious wisdom and laws in Moses be nothing, or the Turks reject their religion; neither can the monks and papists let their doings, hypocrisy and life be condemned. And will the Lord say this much: From where then am I all here? Am I not the way? You do not; neither shall your strength and works help you or save you. For no man can send himself unto me, or into me, or believe on me, except the Father draw him.
This word "Father" is antithetical to all men's works, holy life, reason and righteousness, which do not draw you to God, but chase you back and make you a murmurer and a quarreler, or even make you despair. For Christ clearly says: He alone comes to me, and no one else feels the faith without which the Father draws to me.
The drawing is not as the executioner draws a thief on the ladder and to the gallows; but it is a friendly attracting and drawing to himself, as otherwise a charming man draws people to himself, so that he is friendly and affable, and everyone goes to him gladly. So God also neatly attracts and brings people to Himself, so that they are willing and
are glad to be around and with him. And this is to indicate that you should not think of coming to him to be wise, for then you will become very unwilling; but that when the Father shows you his great mercy, he will make himself known to you that he sent Christ into the world out of fatherly love, as John 3:16 is written, "That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life," and you will hear that God is not hostile to you, but is your enemy. It is written, "That whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life," and hear that God is not hostile to you, but is your gracious and merciful Father, and gives His Son for you, and causes Him to die for you, and raises Him from the dead, and gives you the Son, and causes Him to be preached to you. If therefore this be rightly taught, then cometh one to him; that is, drawn.
Otherwise one runs from our Lord God, as from the devil and from a tyrant, when one preaches that God is angry, and one must propitiate Him with good works, and have the intercession of the saints, if one does not want to be condemned otherwise. This is not drawn, but deterred. For the consciences cannot be satisfied, but remain in fear, anxiety and worry, secretly become hostile to God, do not recognize Christ, and do not come to Him. They do not believe in Christ, but they have such a God as the Turks, Jews and Papists have a God, namely, who sits in heaven as a judge and demands good works from us for sin. So the Turk comes here, bathes a lot, prays a lot, and thinks that God is pleased with his works. But this is nothing, one does not recognize God in this way. For he who has God in mind, and believes that he is an angry God, will also find him so. For as one thinks of God, believes, and models him, so is he, and so is he found, namely, an angry God.
205. But if I believe that he sent his Son into the world, and that the Son came into the world, that I might have a gracious God, and believe in him, accept his words, and do not master him; accept these words which the Holy Spirit has put into your heart. So then the
Father. For it pleases him that you should hear and receive this word, that the Father has sent the Son into the world. Therefore it is not reason that draws you, but the divine word.
But reason cometh, and would gladly deceive thee, saying, When the Father draweth, then will I go and preach Christ meanwhile; and I will gaze toward heaven upon the Father, and wait until he draw me. Then Christ does not come; but Christ strikes it back again here, and says:
V. 46 Not that anyone has seen the Father, but he who is of the Father has seen the Father.
At first, he gives the words to understand as if he should reject you from himself to the Father; but this is not the opinion. As he then soon interprets and explains himself, and the mind also gives it. For he means to say, "I must not be thus set apart and gape at the Father until he gives it to your heart, and then let me go and depart, or at least preach. How then the fanatics and the fools despise the outward word or ministry and throw it away, saying, "There is nothing in the ministry and the outward word, for people would not become more pious and better from it. Now many of them hear it, and afterwards they remain as bad as before; so that they do not all come to Christ soon, who hear the word of God. But do not say, as they do, "If the oral word does not help, I will go into the closet, speculate and gape, until the Father draws me and stirs my heart. Out, out with your thoughts! Not at all; for there is the wretched devil. And even if all your thoughts here were as sweet as sugar, they are still the sorrowful devil. For the Lord Christ says, "Not that any man hath seen the Father, but he that is of the Father hath seen the Father. Therefore think not that I mean that thou shouldest see the Father without me; for without Christ thou shalt not come to the Father, neither canst thou be brought to the Son without the Father; neither shall any man see the Father.
2290 Erl. 47, 343-34". Interpretations on John the Evangelist. W. vn, 202S-2032. . 2291
without seeing Christ. If you want to go up to the Father, do not leave Christ behind, otherwise you will not come to him.
For he so firmly binds them together that he could resist and prevent the vice of looking for the Father outside of Christ, which he then seriously reproves. For apart from the Person, Christ, one should not think of coming to the Father. For no one hears nor knows anything of the Father except he who has come from the Father. For this reason he will not tolerate nor suffer that anyone should seek God apart from Christ, so that he may overthrow the devotees. For he wants to say: Through me and in me you will see the Father, otherwise there is no other way to recognize the Father.
209. Do not run away with the piece that one may come to the Father without the person of Christ. Therefore bind our ears and heart to the word of this man, for I must have it through the one man who has seen the Father, if I also am to know, see and hear the Father; for the Father draws you. With what does he bring you to me? By sending me into the world, and by my mouth he speaks to you, and so draws your heart, if you accept the word as Christ speaks to you, as the Father's word, and let the word drive you no further than to the person [Christ, and through that person) 1) the Father.
For this reason, when the Lord Christ speaks of the Father in this way, do not get a fluttering spirit, nor go out; do not look for him in heaven, and leave this man, Christ, lying there, for nevertheless, apart from the man, Christ, and his word, I shall neither seek nor find a God. But if I find one, I will not find the true and right God, but an angry God. Thus the Father leads and draws us to the Son, through his mouth, teaching and word. For the doctrine goes from the Father through the Son; and yet he draws us with it to the Son; and when you have him, you seize the true Son of God, and see, or you have and then also seize God the Father Himself; the whole holy Trinity is seen in the person of Christ.
1) This insertion is made by us.
2) Erlanger: i shall.
recognized. For when we come to the Son, we are also with the Father. Whoever sees the person born of the Virgin Mary also sees the Son of God; for the Father presents to you the Son's Word and Person. This is how it is all conceived, that it should all remain in the person, and that one should not think of God in any other way, nor have him in mind. For when this person speaks, and you hear the Son's word and voice, it is God the Father's voice, preaching and speaking of the Son, that he was sent into the world for you, suffered and died etc. And with this he gladdens your heart, and leads you to Christ alone; further he does not take you, nor does the voice of the Father direct you elsewhere, when he speaks through the Son.
211. so he does not do with other saints, from whom I also hear God's word, or through whom God speaks to me; but with the prophet Isaiah, Moses, Jeremiah, Saint John the Baptist, or Saint Paul. He does not lead me to them to say, "When you hear Jeremiah or Isaiah, you have it all right, because their words are not all right. This the Father does not do, that he speaks thus of the prophets, but of Christ he says it; for it is said, The Father draws thee unto me. And stay with the person of Christ, for the word of the Lord Christ alone is the Father's word; and learn not to flutter, nor to think to and fro; be not deceived; for if the Son be in mankind and in the flesh, and preach, then thou hearest truly the Father himself preach.
And to Philip also the Lord Christ says, when he would have fluttered, and walked with his eyes and thoughts in heaven, seeing the Son of God sitting over tables: "Philip," as thou flutterest, "he that seeth me seeth the Father also; believest thou not that the Father is in me, and I in the Father?" [John 14:9, 10.] It is all said that Christ would gladly fasten and bind us to himself and all his word alone, that we might look to him and hear him. For if he be lacking, there is no end of recklessness, and of wandering, and of erring. But if I believe in him, and receive him, and hear his word, the Father thereby draws me to the Son, and not to the Son.
among the angels; again, the Son also leads me to the Father. Otherwise, by your reason and human wisdom, he will say, you will not come to me, but the Father draws you through me; and then you hear the Father himself speaking kindly, and softening the heart, that you then come to me, and draw no further than to me. There you have the bread of life which came from heaven; abide in it, and come no further. This he will now continue to strike out, saying:
The eleventh sermon.
[Saturday, February 4, 1531. 1)
V. 45, 46: He therefore that heareth of the Father, and learneth it, cometh unto me. Not that any man hath seen the Father, but he that is of the Father hath seen the Father.
The words that the Lord said above [v. 43], "Do not murmur among yourselves," serve to make us realize that He would like to have resisted and controlled the vice called conceit, human cleverness or reason, so that when the articles of the Christian faith are preached, one may leave the mastery and beat down the wings of human cleverness. For God's word is not such a doctrine as can be grasped by reason, it does not enter the human heart, and the more learned and higher reason is, the more unskilled people are at it, and the less they understand it, for this doctrine does not ring and ring with reason. Therefore reason must also grumble about it. For it is not at all fitting that I should give away my salvation out of my hands, and cast away from me all my works and strength, that they should all be lost to obtain eternal life; and therefore I should let go my hands and feet, and put my trust in another, who is beside me, and who is foolish and foolish, and who allows himself to be crucified; in him I should believe that he is my Savior. This is not comprehended or taught by reason, therefore no one with his intelligence and five senses will comprehend it, but reason must be taken captive here under the obedience of the Lord Christ.
1) In the original margin.
214. so he says: "Do not murmur among yourselves" that I am the bread from heaven; think that you want to grasp it from yourselves, and be wiser than I am, and say [v. 42]: Do we not know his father and mother? But it is said, I preach and bring you such a doctrine, which is the drawing of the Father, not that it may be brought into our reason or into our head. Therefore, when you hear of the Father's drawing, draw it against the drawing of reason; for he who wants to understand this sermon must close his eyes and shut his reason, and be led like a blind man. God wants such guidance. For whoever does not want to be guided, and wants to grasp it with reason, it will happen to him in such a way that he will be annoyed by it, will be offended by it, and will grumble forever.
(215) Against this are the enthusiasts, when they hear that it is said here: If the Father does not draw you, you cannot come to me; for they despise the outward word, want to take it away and let it go, and make one not pay attention to the word, which Christ himself has spoken with his mouth; but one should crawl into a corner, grasp the head in the hands, speculate, and inquire of God, so that they might be drawn before the word and without the word, and attain salvation before the Father hears them. This is not to be; it is all about reason, which is very slippery, and does not want to add to it, because it can bridge and add to it itself, or that it attains it with its mastery, namely, that it hears a spirit from heaven without the divine word.
The coiner also pretended that he wanted to hear our Lord God himself speak to him, so that he placed him among the number of the prophets and did so. They all want to go up without the divine word, despise it, and all make do with this text, as if the Father were something far different than the Lord Christ, who speaks here. One must act wisely and carefully in this. For Solomon says: Scrutator Majestatis divinae opprimetur a gloria, that is, whoever wants to investigate the divine majesty shall be overthrown by the glory of God; nothing else will come of it, he will break the neck. Therefore
Beware of inquiring; do not wait for God to give you such a word from heaven as you would grasp with your own reason, and climb up into heaven, seeking what is the will of God or the right mind, and master this with your reason; item, sit without God's word and wait until you know God's will; then you will break your neck, for God has spoken through the Son alone.
217 Look at our enthusiasts. They have heard the word of God concerning the sacraments, baptism and the Lord's Supper, that whoever believes and is baptized shall be saved; item: "This is my body, which is given for you"; item: "This is the cup, a new testament in my blood, which is poured out for you for the forgiveness of sins. But there they go, and climb up, and take the word of the sacraments, and leave the words of baptism, and hear only reason, and say, Water is water. They further speculate that God is a spirit, and the soul is also a spirit; how then can water baptize, purify and cleanse the soul? Therefore they go and climb into God's lap, since God's will and mind is not that he baptizes us with water, but that we also have the spirit. But they have fallen and broken their necks, thinking that baptism is only water, or only an outward sign, just as a cow or sheep is painted with a red stone. Therefore one should flee and avoid those who deal with inquiring, and who let go of God's word.
218 But they have fallen down the neck. The reason is that they do not want to be disciples and students of this teaching and let themselves be guided, but they want to investigate the majesty of God themselves, and calculate and measure everything themselves; yes, they want to see for themselves what God speaks and does. A householder cannot suffer it in the house if he commands the servant through his son to load and carry out dung, and the servant wants to go into the chamber where he would be secretly with his wife and children, and the servant wants to see what the master is doing with his wife and children, and not load dung before he has heard the command from the master himself,
and otherwise know all the secrets in the house: would the head of the house be satisfied with this servant who did not want to carry out his command, indicated to him by the son, daughter or wife, before he would have especially listened to the opinion of the Lord himself? How much less can God suffer that I should want to inquire into the divine majesty and know what he means. Item, that he should start a special speech with me, and I do not want to believe the son.
219 Therefore learn first of all that here, in the affairs of God, when God speaks to you, you are silent in spiritual matters, and do not soon understand and grasp it with your reason. Do not go out and ask your reason about it, but let it be told you, and stay with the outward word and listen to it. For it saith that he is thy gracious Father; thereby doth the Father draw thee. Wilt thou climb up to the Father in the devil's name, and see him, when Christ saith here, "Not that any man hath seen the Father?" Do you hear that no one can see him? "For he dwelleth in a light that cannot be approached" [1 Tim. 6:16]. Therefore thou shalt not see him with thy climbing, but must go down to him that hath seen him; and he that came from the Father, and dwelt with him, the same shall tell thee. Otherwise you have no other way but in Christ to come to the Father. Therefore hear him also, for he is come from the Father, and he also hath been with him from everlasting, and knoweth how to speak of him. And the Father also, with his drawing and teaching, directs thee unto Christ whom he hath sent, that thou mayest hear him: for therefore also is he sent into the world. But if thou hear him not, thou shalt be lost, in short. For if a man has not seen a thing, what shall he speak or understand of it? But Christ can speak of God, because he hath seen him: and we ought to believe him: as he saith also in John 3, v. 11, "We speak that we have heard, and know and testify that we have seen." If then I cannot see the Father, how shall I speak of Him? And the Son of God says here that it is impossible that anyone has ever seen the Father.
220 That's why it will probably stay that way,
that reason must stop its gazing, and I leave my climbing, but look at Christ alone, and be his disciple. For he is sent into the world by the Father for this purpose, and brings such a word that he should speak to me on behalf of his heavenly Father; and by the Father's word he draws you to himself.
221 Christ therefore casts out with these words, "Not that any man hath seen the Father, except he that is of him," etc., all who would climb up to heaven apart from him, and condemns also those who turn away their heart from his mouth, and seek a special thing, or understand it with dread, and wait for the Father; for thou shalt not understand, hear, or see, except thou look into my mouth, and hear my word only.
But what does "the Father must draw thee" mean? They have interpreted and stretched this word strangely, and Augustine said: Si non traheris, volo, ut traharis; that is, if thou art not drawn, thou shalt be drawn; if thou art not provided, thou shalt well be provided; pray also the Father that thou mayest be drawn to Christ, for the Father must do both, and does; outwardly he draws by Christ's word, and inwardly by the Holy Spirit. These works he attributes to the Father, because he wants to lead us away from reason and human wisdom, and to imagine that we regard Christ's word, not as any man's word alone, but as the Father's word; for he soon says from it, v. 45: "He that heareth it of the Father, and learneth it, cometh unto me." And let us make it more plain, that if I hear the mouth of the Lord Christ speak, I hear the Father.
Now here are two kinds of disciples, and the hearers of the divine word are divided; for a multitude hears the outward word of Christ, and knows that they certainly hear it, as the Jews also do: but they cannot believe it, nor take it for it, and say that it is the word of God the Father: it does not enter in, the word only sounds and resounds outwardly in their ears, and does not come into the heart. And because one cannot consider it, nor add the certainty that it is the Father's word, he cannot believe it.
he does not come to Christ. For he still persists in his cunning and searching, wants to be a master, and does not become a disciple, because he sees whether it rhymes; he cannot break himself of saying, "This is the word of Christ and of God the heavenly Father;" but he cunningly cunningly cunningly cunningly cunningly cunningly cunningly cunningly cunningly cunningly cunningly, as an apothecary or a baker cunningly cunningly cunningly cunningly cunningly cunningly cunningly makes of sugar or dough little sheep, little dogs, and all kinds of little skirts, 1) of male and female images. So the wicked also have the true word of God, and hear it, just as the dough is good and right; but it is lacking, that they do not believe it to be God's word and dough.
The other trait is not only to hear the word of God, but also not to doubt that it is the word of God. Then it is to be believed and learned that when you hear the word from the mouth of Christ, you may add that it is not the word of man, but certainly the word of God; and then you are a disciple of God and of the Lord Christ. Then you are a disciple of God and of the Lord Christ, and you believe rightly, and God the Father teaches you inwardly; then you are drawn by the Father. But no one can do this unless he has learned it from the Father, and the Father has drawn him.
(225) But as long as one does not believe in one's heart, or can conclude and believe that it is the word of God, one hears it; but one remains in doubt, and does not hear the word correctly, for one does not believe it. Otherwise, if one knew that it was God's word, one would let it prevail, and think: O be only a disciple, and believe, and let yourself be mastered; even if it does not rhyme, then strike lucky, for it is not the word of man, which could lie and be lacking, but the word of God, who is the eternal truth. My verminst is too small for it, I am in the things even a fool. And if one were to believe it to be the Word of God, which tenfel would want to dispute whether it is true or not, and whether one should believe it, or whether one should gloss over it. But if you want to gloss over it, you must draw a line through the words, so that the Father draws one; for the Father has spoken through the Son. Such a word resounds in your ears, and when you hear such a word of the Father, you will know it.
1) d. i. doll.
When you hear the voice of the Son, you also hear the Father speaking, who created heaven and earth, for he spoke the word from the mouth of the Lord Christ. There you hear something more than the mere outward word. If you believe that it is the word of God, then you are his disciple, and the Father has surely drawn you.
226 Now this is what the Lord Christ means, that we are to remain with the external and oral word and hold fast to it, and has thereby put down reason, so that we should look badly at his mouth and get used to hearing and learning the word diligently. If you are not yet able to take it for the word of God, add this to it, and hear it still more, and the hour will come when our Lord God will once press it into your heart, and you will say, "What word have you heard? Well, it was a good sermon, you have heard God the Heavenly Father. If you add that the Father has spoken it, then all questions fall away, you do not ask much more. For if God has spoken it, you say, "I will truly believe it. And then it is not lacking, you are a believer and a disciple of Christ, and who has come to him, because the Father has drawn you and brought you to Christ. This does not require much high art, nor do you need to ask high schools and philosophers for advice, it is very easy, you must not run into any corners. Just accept the gospel and look at Christ's mouth, listen to him alone, for it is through the mouth of Christ that everything must be brought to Christ, taught and drawn by the Father, then you are a disciple of Christ and have been drawn by the Father.
227 There are now two kinds of listeners; one hears the word only from the mouth of Christ, hears the clatter, but does not believe that it was certainly spoken by the Father; they are lacking in that they do not believe that it is the Father's word. Therefore, God must draw one further, so that when one hears the word, He puts it into his heart that it is certainly the Father's word; if he then hears this man, Christ's, word, that he then also hears God the Father's word. And if the heart can conclude such things in him, that God
the Father Himself speaks to us, then the Holy Spirit and the light enter, and man becomes enlightened and a joyful master, and can then judge and judge all doctrines, because he has the light and faith in the divine Word, and certainly thinks in his heart that his doctrine is the Word of God.
Now these are the righteous, who do not hear the word alone, as the common people do, but take it for the word of God. Therefore saith the Lord Christ, Why do ye quarrel or dispute? Do not murmur; it will not do; it will not do; you will not do it with your remembrance. This is not the right way, that you quarrel about it; but this is the right and proper way: Hear my word and listen to me, let yourselves think and believe that my words are my Father's word. For the Father thus causes his word to be heard by my mouth in the world, and puts it into your heart, that you may conclude that it is his word. So the Father draws, says Christ, whom he will bring to me. Let the Son speak the word, and let us listen to him; so he gives faith.
Therefore reason does not do it. So he has also put down your own conceit and reason; he also condemns the gazers and inquirers, and those who take away the oral word, and want to wait, and have a special thing, that our Lord God may give them the Spirit, and himself speak to them from heaven. For they want to hear a voice from heaven; this shall not do. Therefore do not go out of this way, and I beg you to learn what it means that the Father draws, namely, to hear the mouth of Christ, and to learn from him, and not to depart from his mouth. And only away with questioning; for by the mouth, when thou hearest, thou shalt receive, thou shalt also be enlightened, taught, drawn, and brought unto Christ. For first you hear the Father speaking in the Son. You hear the voice or the word; with this you are not yet drawn, for reason says that Christ is only a man, and his speech only a man's word. But after that, if you like to handle the word, read it, hear it preached and love it, you will sooner or later say that God Himself has spoken it, and say:
Truly, this is God's word. So faith comes with it. If you can add this, and you feel it in your heart, then count yourself among the disciples of the Lord Christ, and you will then let him be your master, and give yourself up captive. Thus shalt thou be saved; for it is said, Only from his mouth and his word depart not.
This is also what he means when he soon says: "They will all be taught by God", as it is written in the prophet Isaiah [Cap. 54, 13]. As if he should say: Whoever wants to be in Christianity and be called a member or disciple of the Lord Christ, he should in short hear God himself. How then do I hear him? How shall I be taught by him? A spirit of the mob runs into a corner, shuts its mouth, does not have to read or hear, but waits until our Lord God speaks to it, and waits for the spirit, and says: O this is to be taught by God. Yes, it is putting the devil on your head; but to be taught by God Himself is to hear the word of the Lord Christ and to learn it from Him, and then to be sure that it is the word of God. That is, to hear God Himself, even if it were an ass that spoke it, as happened to Balaam: Balaam [Num. 22, 28I, but it would be God's word. So, when you hear the sermon from St. Paul or from me, you hear God the Father Himself, and then you do not become my pupil, but the Father's pupil, because I do not speak it, but He; I am also not your master, but we both, as you and I, have one schoolmaster and teacher, the Father, who teaches us; we are both, as pastor and listener, only pupils; only that God speaks to you through me. This is the glorious power of the divine Word, through which God Himself acts and speaks with us, and we hear God Himself.
Moses and the prophets preached, but we do not hear God Himself. For Moses received the law from the angels, and he also had a lesser command. For with the preaching of the law one drives people only to good works. Just as when I hear the emperor, so I do not hear God, although it is God's will that I should be obedient to the emperor, and do what he commands, and honor the parents.
When I hear Moses, who drives to good works, then I hear him in the same way, as one who gives the command and speech of an emperor or prince. But this is not hearing God Himself. For when God Himself speaks to men, they can hear nothing but goodness, mercy and all that is good; they are fatherly, friendly speeches, as He is by nature gracious, kind and friendly [Joel 2:13]. But if you hear God speaking through a mayor, he is only a preacher of works. But God cannot speak otherwise than He is by nature; there He is all goodness, grace and mercy. You hear these things spoken by God the Father, and not by a servant, or by any other means, as in former times by the angels, or by Moses, or by an authority, all of which is a preaching of command, but since then He Himself speaks to us through the Son and the Holy Spirit; and then you hear a fatherly voice, since it is all groundless, inexpressible love and grace, and He speaks all goodness, goodness, sweetness and love; for this is also called a God.
The Verminst will not give this teaching, for they judge this teaching to be wrong; therefore it is called a doctrine of God, that one is taught by God Himself, and we hear His Word alone, and believe it to be God's Word. I cannot think up the word, but I hear it through the mouth of Christ, and I cannot understand it, hear it, learn it, or believe it, unless he puts it into the heart, and unless we are drawn by the Father to believe that it is the Father's word. Then it is called taught by God, and come to Christ, if you can conclude that it is God's word. But the wicked as well as the good hear it through the mouth of Christ, but they do not learn it. But if you believe it to be the word of God and accept it, then you have learned it from God. The others who are clever, or if they do it better, they make of the tariffs, faith, the Lord's Supper and the Gospel a mere law and commandment, as the Anabaptists and Sacramentarians do. This is not listening to God's word, and is not called listening to God, but to angels, prophets, parents or the emperor. But one must
To hear God himself, namely, through his Son, through the mouth of Christ, and believe his word. Then it is in your ears, and he admits it to you that it is his word, and if you believe his word, that he has spoken it, then you have learned it from him, and are a true disciple of Christ and drawn by God; and there is then sweet doctrine.
The twelfth sermon.
[Saturday, February 11, 1531. 1)
If any man therefore would be a Christian, let him take care that he listens to reason, and considers and adheres only to the word which the mouth of Christ speaks; for such articles of our faith are so ridiculous and foolish in the sight of reason, and seem so full of lies, that when reason is here to judge and to judge, it cannot believe them, but falls straight away from them, goes astray, and thinks it vain. So the Jews cannot accept this sermon and word of Christ, but are annoyed by it, grumble and quarrel about it, that he should feed the whole world with his corpse, which two dogs could have eaten up.
Therefore, the pagan Averrois 2) wrote that no people on earth is so foolish, godless and senseless as we Christians. For all other nations taught and said that one should honor God and carry Him on one's hands; but we taught that one should eat our God. Even today it is ridiculous and annoying to the Turks, Jews and our reason, even to those who live with us, if they think and speak about it without God's word. But we don't have to ask how it rhymes with our reason, because reason can't fit in here, it has to stay outside. And what does our Lord God ask about it, even if the Turks and the Pope do not believe?
1) In the original margin.
2) Cf. Walch, St. Louis edition, vol. XX, 735. vol. I, 35, § 71. Averrhoös, an Arab commentator on Aristotle, died in 1198. In § 284 of this interpretation, Luther calls him: "one of the Mahometan scribes". His real name was Abulwalid Muhammed benAhmed Jbn-Roshd.
and promise, and other people will believe these articles of Christ, even if they do not want to believe; just as here, in this sixth chapter, some of Christ's disciples do not want to believe his teaching and fall away from Christ.
So learn from this that in matters of God and faith, one should neither do nor act with our speech, writing or remembrance; one must take the divine word for it. Without the word one should do nothing, one must be taught by God, as the prophet says, and hear God's word alone. But if one does not want to do this, nor believe, but grasps everything with reason, then one will grumble about it out of human wisdom. It belongs to the Word, and not to our cleverness; as the Lord Christ also teaches here and says: "Be as clever as you always want to be, but it will come to nothing, you will not understand it nor grasp it, you must hear God alone, and God must teach you; for where God is not the sole schoolmaster, and gives the oral word, it does not come to pass. But if you want to help yourselves, what may I preach? You don't need anything from me.
This sermon is taught by no master but God alone, he will not let any other master be [Is. 63, 1. Matth. 23, 10. Joh. 13, 13.], so judge by it and believe his word. One may become mad or nonsensical about it, but he understands nothing of it, and no one knows God, unless he first hears His word, which is preached from the mouth of Christ. So God wants to have and find humble disciples and foolish ones, like children, who believe it. If the others do not want to hear it and look at his mouth, or keep his word, then they can let it be; but the Christians should let go of their reason in this.
237 Because he has now taught that one should, in short, look and listen to his mouth and his words, and leave all other teachers, even reason, disputation and speculation, he goes even further, even goes out, and now makes them even more foolish and foolish, and says:
V. 47. Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that believeth on me etc.
238 There is a gloss, that the Lord swears three times, saying: "It is a matter of truth, I am the preacher and doctor, I am commanded to speak, and you alone shall listen to me (and no one else), but he who is sent from heaven. Therefore I say unto you upon my soul, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life; that is it. This is the propositio. John the Baptist I hasten to preach unto you, that ye should eat my bread: for I am the bread of life which is come down from heaven, the true manna, or bread of heaven: of which eating and drinking I have spoken unto you. Which is said, that whosoever believeth in me is saved.
Now this is not to be suffered; it is heresy. In the sight of reason it seems as if it were not true. If you preach it even to a man who travels with reason, that he should believe in him who stands and preaches, it does not agree with his reason. A Turk or a Papist does not believe that the one who stands there and preaches should be the eternal life.
(240) So also our enthusiasts, Zwinglius and others, preach that humanity must be excluded in Christ, that the Godhead gives eternal life and humanity does not, and that they separate the Lord Christ. But who teaches them to separate, to make of Christ, the Son of Mary the Virgin, another person, who should also be the Son of God? but [i.e. separate] thus from each other the Son of Mary and the Son of God, saying: Christ himself says here that the flesh is of no use; so also the Scripture goes and says that one should not trust in men, but trust in God alone, therefore it must have this interpretation, that whoever believes in me has eternal life, that is, the Godhead, and leaves humanity behind.
So we are not wise, but we must believe that our Lord God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, who was born of the Virgin Mary, as we confess in our symbol: I believe in Jesus Christ, his only begotten Son, our Lord, etc., in whom I believe, and so believe in the Son of God, that I do not tear him away from the Son born of Mary. My faith does not stick alone
I do not want to know about any Son of God, because he is also called born of the Virgin Mary, who suffered: that the Son of God is wrapped in humanity and is One Person, so that I should not separate them from each other and say: Humanity is not useful, but only the Godhead.
Many teachers have taught in this way, and I too was such a doctor in the past, that I excluded humanity and thought I would be doing well if I separated Christ's divinity and humanity from each other. This is what the highest theologians did in the past, that they flew from the humanity of Christ to the divinity and attached themselves to the latter alone, thinking that one need not know the humanity of Christ. But one must so ascend to the divinity of Christ, and keep to it, that one does not leave the humanity of Christ and come to the divinity of Christ alone. Otherwise we will fall down from the ladder in the name of all the devils. Therefore, thou shalt not know of any God, nor of the Son of God, except he who is called, born of the Virgin Mary, and who became man, as the Christian faith speaks of it.
And if any man will separate him from the Son of God, and make a wall between the Son of God, and the Son born of Mary the Virgin, receive not such a preacher, nor hear him, but say, I know not of any God, or of the Son of God; for as the Christian faith saith of him, I believe in Jesus Christ. etc. Now if it is not the man born of Mary, I will not have him.
If you can humble yourself and hang your heart on the word and remain with the humanity of Christ, the divinity will be found, and the Father and the Holy Spirit and the whole divinity will take hold of you. This article does not let you err. So if you believe in Christ, the Son of God and the Son of Mary, you will not remain in error. And St. Paul diligently drives the article that God wants to draw all things to Christ. And if God wanted, I D. M. Luther could also
so preach as I would like to preach. It is well composed in the articles of the Christian faith, since the words are not put thus in vain: I believe in his only begotten Son; as the children confess, for one cannot believe better than it is set forth in the Symbola. But those who want to play with these words of the Tocken 2) and lack the article, they run badly.
The Sophists taught: You must reconcile Christ through Mary. But see thou, and say, I believe in the Son of God, which came down from heaven, and took mankind unto Himself, and was born of the Virgin Mary; whom we will have born of the Virgin Mary. This is the teaching of the Holy Spirit, of which flesh and blood and reason know nothing or can do nothing. But listen to God, God must teach you here, He must both preach and teach; otherwise it is impossible for a Turk, a pope, or anyone else to believe and know this teaching, God alone must teach it through His Word.
The Turk says: "You will not persuade me that he who is born of a woman, and descends from heaven, and lies for a month in the womb of the Virgin Mary, shits and pees in the cradle, and then dies miserably on the cross as a thief and a rogue, should this be a God? The Turks stand firm on this, the Jews too, and reject God's word; for their faith is vain reason, according to which they want to judge the Christian faith. If they are to believe that the Christ who was crucified is the Son of God, and no other than the one who was born and then crucified, then it is necessary that God the heavenly Father teaches and draws them; otherwise, if he does not give understanding, nothing will come of it; you must hang on his word. But they want to judge the Scriptures, and say: This is right, that is wrong. Summa, it is necessary that you become a disciple of God, otherwise you will not believe it, if he does not give word and faith; otherwise nothing will come of it.
So do not let your thoughts flutter,
1) In Walch's old edition: bas.
2) Tocke - doll.
Do not climb to God by any other way than through Jesus Christ. For Christ is the bridge and the way, and says: "I will teach no Christian higher or further than the Lord Christ, born of Mary; for I shall not make my own way to God with my thoughts, to do this or that; but there shall it remain where God has put it, and so be as Christ said: He that believeth on me etc. If thou look upon the man, and hear, and turn not away thy face from the person born of Mary, thou art the disciple of our Lord God, and lackest not. But if thou turn away thine eyes from the person whom the Virgin Mary bare unto the world, thou shalt not have the Holy Ghost at all, neither shalt thou meet with me, but hast failed: for the bridge is cast down, and the way is broken. But the race respecteth it not; so again God asketh nothing of it. And let them see if they will find him? But those who seek him, as God has provided the means for them, will not lack him. Hear the word, I am your preacher, he will say, I also speak to you.
248. what sayest thou, "Verily, verily, he that believeth on me" etc. This is a hard text; saith, Let it be told thee, He that believeth on me hath" etc. Who then is the I? Who are you? For the red spirits say, To eternal life there is more than a man; he that will give eternal life must be God. It is true that if I wanted to have humanity alone, and wanted to divide human nature from divine nature, and put humanity alone in the preaching chair at Capernaum, where Christ was bishop and priest at that time, and wanted to put divinity elsewhere than in heaven, it would be wrong, and would not make me blessed as a man. Nor should I believe in Mary or St. Peter etc. that he is a savior; but in God I should believe. But they do not know that this man, Christ, is also the true God. And when I believe in Christ, I believe not only in a man, but also in God, for God and man have become one person; in the person of Christ one finds the divinity and manhood of God.
heity; he who gets his humanity also has his divinity.
St. Paul, John the Baptist, Mary, are also God's children and friends, but therefore they are not God. But he is God himself, and when I attack him, see him or crucify him bodily, as the Jews crucified him, then I attack God, I see God with my bodily eyes, and then I crucify the Son of God with my bodily hands, because God is not missing there, he is there personally, even if he is secret and hidden there.
I must give a rough example: If I pick someone's pocket and then say: I did not take the money, but the bag; would not the other say: You did not steal the bag, but a hundred guilders from me? So the spirits of the Jews also want to separate them. But since the Jews crucified Christ and spat in his eyes, we say that they crucified the Son of God personally and spat in his eyes and struck him on the cross, as St. Peter also says, "They crucified the Lord of glory. 3, 15. [1 Cor. 2, 8.]
251 Thus he himself speaks: "He who believes in me" etc. This honor is due to no other person, nor is it permitted to any man, that he should speak as Christ speaks here: "He who believes in me" etc. He is not only a bad man, but also true God; for believing belongs to no one but God alone, the honor wants to grant God to no one else.
252 Christ therefore will say, Verily, verily, I am to be believed. If you believe in me, the Son of Mary, the Virgin, born in Bethlehem, you also believe in God and in the true Savior. And this faith shall sustain you, that ye die not. Faith in itself is due to God alone; giving eternal life is also due to God alone, it is God's work. So we see before our eyes that the Lord Christ, who gives eternal life, is true God, and God is there in person, for He was born of the Virgin Mary [John 14:6, Acts 10:42, Colossians 1:15 ff]. So God is hidden there, but in the same way.
probably present. So we have to grasp the article of Christo.
This article makes Christians, and no one else, and if this one is lost, all the others do not help. And by this article we are also separated from all false Christians and saints, who otherwise can do after us all that we do; as, hearing the word according to the letter, and being baptized, and receiving the sacrament, and doing outward good works; without [,this they cannot do, that they] 1) set their hearts on him, and say, We believe it thoroughly, neither will we know of any other, but he that is born of Mary. Now, if I obtain this, I have the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; but apart from these I have nothing.
He has eternal life.
254 Now these words ought to be preached a hundred thousand years, and they ought to be put out for ever; yea, they cannot be spoken enough of, for Christ saith straightway unto him that believeth eternal life, saying not, He that believeth on me shall have eternal life; but as soon as thou believest on me, thou hast it already. Speaks not of future gifts, but of present gifts, namely, If thou canst believe in me, thou art blessed, and eternal life is already given thee.
From this text we can judge everything that we now dispute and fight over, because it is the foundation of our justification. For we say that our good works do not lead us to heaven, nor do they help anything before God, but only faith. The works shall be done well, and obedience to God shall be rendered therein, and piety shall be practiced; but they shall not do so as to attain salvation. I have eternal life before: if I do not get it here on earth, I will never get it there, but here in this body it must be attained and obtained. But how do you get it? God seeth, and becomes thy Master, preacheth unto thee; he seeth eternal life, that he preacheth unto thee the oral and outward word, and afterwards giveth the heart to receive the word.
1) We have taken this insertion from Walch's old edition.
and believe him; so it is lifted up. And the same words that you hear and believe lead you nowhere but to the person of Christ, born of the Virgin Mary; that is as far as you go. If you believe him and cling to him, you are delivered from physical and spiritual death and have eternal life.
This is a clear, bright text: Because thou hast Christ, whom I have set before thee to believe, thou hast eternal life, and shalt be loosed from everlasting death. If then we are free from eternal death, we are also free from temporal death, and all merit and guilt, which temporal death brings with it, is gone; as there is sin; and when sin is gone, the law is also gone. If then the law is gone and fulfilled, God's judgment and wrath are also gone, and the devil, death and hell are extinguished, and everything is settled and forgiven; otherwise it would not be called eternal life. If you now believe in Christ, you have all this gone; hell is already subdued, sin is gone, death is conquered, and you have eternal righteousness, blessedness and life. Who will measure out the treasure? Then thou shalt know in truth, that I have not deceived thee with faith.
257 But there are impudent, crude, and unholy spirits, which know not what faith is, and say, O! Faith is a small thing, who does not believe? you see it. But they are unruly spirits, impudent people, who have never known what faith is. And to believe is to start, and to consider, that with all their heart and earnestness they may rely on these words in all their temptations. If they would do this and sincerely believe, then they should speak differently, and not so shamefully. Yes, they say, if I believe in Christ, I nevertheless feel death, that I and others must die. I am also afraid of death and sin; as all the saints, such as St. Peter and St. Paul, and others, complain about it, and have prayed the Lord's Prayer by all means; they also say: Remitte nobis debita nostra, forgive us our trespasses.
258. no one among the saints or in Christendom must say that he is without death, without fear, and without sin and worship.
is a disgusting thing [Rom. 3:23]. How then does it rhyme, "He that believeth on me hath eternal life"? I must not pray against sin, for they are two disgusting things, to have eternal life, and yet pray against sin, death, the devil, and hell. Now this is certainly true, that he who believes in Christ has eternal life; but this is lacking because I still feel sin, and death and hell oppress me, that I have eternal life and Christ in faith and not yet in fact. If faith is to exist, there must still remain an outward feeling of death, hell, the devil, sins and the law. Whether you feel it or not, it is only a struggle that wants to prevent you from having eternal life, and wants to take Christ away. But these sins shall not retain thee, and then shall it be said, I believe on Jesus Christ, who is mine; and so far as I have him, and believe on him, so far am I pious, and have eternal life, for he is Lord over all.
259 Therefore, if I have him, I have all things assuredly; for he himself is nothing else, but righteousness, life, and eternal blessedness, and a Lord above death. Christ is without all lack and defect, eternal life, joy, righteousness and blessedness; the treasure is even there, I have it in Christ, for he is all, there is no infirmity, nothing is lacking in him; but it is still lacking in me, that I cannot yet fully grasp and believe it. Now as much as I grasp and believe, so much I have; and if I persevere in this, I always increase, and the longer the more I learn to believe, until it comes to that life, when I shall fully grasp and know, and the lack of us shall cease, and we shall no longer feel sins, nor be afraid of death, nor fear the devil. Flesh and blood is otherwise the wall between me and Christ; this will then also be torn away, and Christ will be there with all righteousness and blessedness.
While we are living here on earth and the old Adam is still alive, the flesh cannot grasp this treasure [1 Cor. 13:12]. The eyes see
The hand does not feel it, the mouth does not taste it, and all other limbs cannot touch or grasp it, but there everything will be certain. For the eyes will see it in that life, the mouth will taste it, and the nose will smell it, the treasure will shine in soul and life, for there will be vain certainty and sensitive knowledge that it is eternal life. Whether in the meantime I do not taste, touch, feel or see it, or understand it with my reason, I have it in faith and hear its word; I have enough of it in this life until death comes, and the rotten body turns to ashes; then faith will cease, and I will see it before my eyes. It will give itself, that we feel it in body and soul and all our strength.
261 Therefore it is said, "He that believeth." We must remember this, for we see here that our works are not able, and Christ our Lord is not your work or mine, but he was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of Mary the Virgin, and I did nothing to him; I did not carve him out of wood or bake him out of dough; he is the Son of God and the Son of Mary, and I did nothing to him. Nevertheless he says, "He who believes in me has eternal life," and he shall have it. Thus we do not reconcile God with our good works, nor are we justified, but by believing in him.
Therefore God must do it. He must lift up and preach by his Spirit from the Son, and it will strike your ears, and then it will sink into our hearts, so that we will hear it and believe. This happens without my doing or being involved; I will not do it with my works so that God speaks to me and enlightens me, but the Father sends the Son and speaks of the Son, enlightening me with this light so that I may recognize Christ. So then our salvation is to be ascribed to the Son alone, and the Father, who speaks of the Son through the Son, is to be given the glory; my good works are not to give me eternal life; indeed, before I do anything good, I am first to have the Holy Spirit and eternal life, and to be God's child.
According to this article one must interpret the Scriptures. He who has the article will not err, but he who lacks the article will come to nothing. Therefore, when Matthew and the other evangelists speak of good works, let John go first, who teaches how we come to eternal life and righteousness, that righteousness must precede all works, and that faith must precede it, that the Son of Mary may be grasped by faith, and after that good works may be done. And when Matthew and Lucas speak of good works, they are to be understood and judged according to this rule.
The Jews are annoyed by these speeches. But if one takes hold of this son of Mary, who is also the true God, then I cannot preach anything strange about him, it is not strange to me, because I believe in him. He is my God, I stick to his word and do not let myself be mistaken. But if I begin to question reason, and want to see in the baker's fist that he has baked this bread, then it goes there; item, I listen to my thoughts that Christ was born of the Virgin Mary, then I soon say: Mary was before this God, but the God is older than Mary, because he is eternal, but Mary is not eternal. So one goes to be lost if one does not remain with Christ. Therefore, if you hear God's word about the Son, stay with him and you will have it; if not, you will be lost.
The thirteenth sermon.
Saturday after Valentini [February 18, 1531]. 1)
V. 48. I go the bread of life, come from heaven etc.
The Lord Christ wants to keep us on this main article, our justification before God, that we should believe in Him. For we always preach that these two things belong to a Christian life: First, that one righteously believes in Christ, whom God has sent. Second, that one does good works and is pious. Matthew the Evangelist, however, does not emphasize the high, right article of faith in Christ.
1) In the original margin.
John the Evangelist, on the other hand, is higher and stronger in promoting the Christian faith than the other evangelists, who have most described the miracles of the Lord Christ.
266 Thus the Lord said above [v. 47], "He that believeth on me hath everlasting life"; item [v. 48], "I am the bread of life." In which words the Jews were very angry that this man should have the glory that he was the person who made blessed and gave eternal life, and should also redeem us from death, sin and all misfortune. He did not have the reputation before the world; he was a poor man, a poor carpenter's son, a poor mother's child, without any strength. Therefore it does not rhyme with reason that he says, "He who believes in me shall have eternal life. But I have said, He that would remain a Christian, and be preserved, must not see where his eyes lead, or what is before his face, nor ask counsel of reason, nor use the other senses in this, but hear only what is said to him, and incline to the mouth of this man. If anyone does not do this and forsakes the word of God, he is lost.
For this reason Christ swears and says [v. 47]: "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in me has eternal life"; this is the only way to eternal life and to be freed from sins, death and the devil, namely, that you believe in me; for I am the life and the way [Jn. 11:25, Cap. 14:6]. If thou canst eat this bread, and be fed of me, that is, if thou believest in me, thou art whole, and sin, death, and hell do not hurt thee, but thou art free from all these enemies.
268 These words must be left as they are written, and not glossed over, as the sophists of old did in the schools, saying, "He who believes in me and does good works has eternal life; as if good works could also accomplish something, and give more to works than to works.
faith, and draw it with the gloss on good works, and destroy faith altogether. But neither do we say that we should think evil: if I believe, it is already done, and that I should do nothing good. No, we are not to separate it. Thou must do good works, and always do good works toward thy neighbor, that faith may shine outwardly in life, as it otherwise shines inwardly in the heart. But you should still say that this living well does not help you, but faith has already helped you; faith finds it, and gives the bread of life and eternal life; otherwise I would have to do good works for a long time to get this food; I must have faith first, which gives eternal life, as he says, "Whoever eats this bread will live forever. Otherwise St. John would have to say: Your life and your good works are the bread of life, or the eternal bread. Indeed, what else do they say when they say: "Faith does not do it, but good works do it; so they bend their tongues and strike St. John on the mouth that his bread is my good works. But Christ speaks here of the bread of life, which he himself is, as he says, "I am he. If it is he himself, it cannot be your life or good works. I think it is far enough apart, Christ and my fasting, or love of neighbor and almsgiving; Christ is much another thing than all my good works.
269 Thus we distinguish between faith and works, and do not say that my good works are the bread of life, as the Sophists have made it, pretending: If thou shalt live aright, and do good works, thou shalt have eternal life; so shall my life be the bread of life, or give life, when Christ is not my work. I did not make him or create him, but he was born of the Virgin Mary in his time, and begotten of the Father by the Son of God for eternity. Therefore, my almsgiving and fasting cannot be called the bread of life. But if I am to have life, I must have it from Christ, who is the bread of life. If I believe in him, then
If he is the bread of life to me, I will enjoy him, for he says, "Whoever eats of me shall live and not die.
(270) This is well to be remembered and grasped, that every Christian may be ready, equipped, and skilled to answer how far good works do or do not serve? Love your neighbor and do him every good thing, but do not let these good works be your defiance, comfort, and living bread or spiritual food, by which you would have eternal life and justification before God. For here it is said of the Lord Christ: I am your life. This same eternal life is not enjoyed by works, but by faith alone; faith is the right tasting and eating of eternal life. If faith is there, you already have eternal life, for faith takes hold of the Lord Christ, not as an empty shell or husk, but who is eternal life Himself. Are we not fools, then, to try to earn by our good works that which we have first obtained through Christ?
But one saws: Yes, I do not see it? My dear man, it is called faith; though it does not appear, yet it is in him. Whoever hangs on him will find it. When I begin to believe, I believe. After that I shall do good works. Just as the son is an heir as soon as he is born, he has done nothing everywhere for it; birth brings him to inherit without all merit and good works, and becomes a lord over house, farm, fields and meadows. He has done nothing for it; only that he is born of the Father, through this he immediately comes into the community of all goods, birth makes him an heir. So, if I believe in Christ, faith brings me eternal life, and I am born again; what then shall I do? The son may not serve in the house, that he may stand as a servant; the inheritance is his beforehand, he may not earn it; nevertheless he helps the father to work the field, for he is responsible for it, and father and son work the field, that it may bear fruit, and says: Dear father, I will help you plow and till, for the inheritance is ours together, that our inheritances may be the more useful to us.
272 Therefore, if I have obtained eternal life by faith, I should do good works afterward, and practice the inheritance of eternal life by doing good, teaching, counseling, and helping, which are the fruits of eternal life. The inheritance is eternal life; I already have this through Christ, and must not earn it, but I practice it so that others may also come to it, and the fruits of eternal life may be seen.
I always write the article of justification, so that it may be understood thoroughly and differently, and so that faith and good works may be well divided among themselves. And John the Evangelist also treats it primarily before the other evangelists. Faith gives me eternal life, because it gives him who is eternal life and the bread of life. The Sophists, however, do not think otherwise, that Christ is only a teacher who preaches good works and is like a lawgiver. Which he does not do; but he dispenses grace, and draws us to himself, saying, I am eternal life; he that eateth of me, the same shall live; that is, I offer thee eternal life, which I myself am.
That is, he draws people to himself and gives them grace. When he says: I am the life, he speaks de donanda vita, speaks of giving, I give you and offer you the eternal life, which I have in my power. So they interpret it from taking, as if we must give to him and he must receive from us. Giving and receiving are not the same. So we must not interpret his ministry that we should give to him, or that he must take from us, as if he were not the giver of eternal life alone.
275 Therefore learn to regard Christ as the bread of life. No pope, sophist, high school, or pontiff regards him for this; they strike him on the mouth for saying, I am the life. For they say, If I do good works, I shall lose life. Item: Faith in Christ is nothing if you do not also have good works. Yes, they pretend: If I do good works, I will have eternal life. But Christ wants to say: I have preached to you, "If anyone believes in me, he has eternal life.
Bread of life. Thou hast succeeded in this, if thou hast believed in Christ, and hast therefore eaten the bread of life; after which good works must be done, for they do not remain outside; where there is right faith, they follow afterward.
Now this is an annoying sermon, that he says: "I am the bread of life", and shows to the people nothing more than a poor, despised and frail man, who has passed on earth as another man. It seems ever, dear Lord Christ, not. They will truly have asked and said: Whom do you make of yourself? For what do you throw yourself? Do you not know what it is, to give eternal life, or to preserve temporal life, and to cast out death? Who can do these things but the one, eternal God? And thou sayest, Thou art he that canst give such meat, that whosoever eateth thereof shall have eternal life. You speak of it as if you were God Himself, and a Lord over sin, death and life. No saint can speak the word; he must be something more than a creature who says such things of himself.
277. it is a grievous and shameful thing; therefore let us shut our eyes, and blind our reason, and believe the divine word which the Lord Christ saith, I am the bread of life; and said: I will believe it, as he saith. Thus you have a proper distinction from which to judge the doctrine of good works, and thus conclude, If Christ is the bread of life, my works will not save me, nor give me eternal life, that I truly know; for they are not Christ. Something else is my life than my works, therefore they will not constitute it. Therefore, do not follow the doctrine of good works, which our opponents, the papists, lead, for they do not know how far it goes.
V. 49. Your fathers ate the bread of heaven in the wilderness and died.
278. Now he answered them to their glory, which they brought in above [v. 31.], saying: What, "Our fathers did eat manna in the wilderness." 1) As if they should say, Who are you?
1) Here we have deleted the words: "and died" because they are too much.
Our fathers were different people from you; they ever ate the bread of heaven; how do you like that? What signs do you do? We see nothing yet that thou doest; and yet thou art such an insolent preacher, that thou art boasting of faith in thee, and wilt take away our fathers, and be more than all the prophets, as if they were nothing, and counted for nothing at all. Hereby they want to give so much to understand: We have it better than you can do and teach; therefore go away with your speech, you will not do as well as our fathers who ate manna.
279. but he gives them again a push and a sweat, 2) saying, Why do ye boast much, saying, Your fathers did eat manna, and died? As if to say, How do you like it? The bread of heaven was eaten by the wicked as well as by the pious. If this bread of heaven was so delicious, how is it that your fathers all died, and only two, Joshua and Caleb, remained alive, who entered the Promised Land? Therefore, the bread of heaven did not give them eternal life, it did not chase away death, it did not even last this temporal life. If they have nothing more than this bread of heaven, they will not rise again from the dead because of the bread.
(280) By this he will first make them angry, that he will count his food higher and better than their heavenly food, and that what he gives will be better than that, that whoever believes in him shall not die, and whoever eats his food shall live forever. Bread of heaven was a perishable food, as other food, as apples and pears are with us; although it was a miraculous bread, yet it was a natural food and bread; just as when our Lord God made bread out of stones, it is still bread; or when he gives water out of the rock, it is quite natural water, or makes wine out of water, as he did at the wedding in Cana [Joh. 2, 7], which is a miracle; yet it is a natural wine, and retains its natural powers. Thus the manna was also a flour from the
2) Sweating -- wiper, reprimand.
Heaven, which bread only received and nourished the body, only etched and fed, there was nothing more, because otherwise other natural bread; but here is "bread of life, which came from heaven; he that eateth thereof shall not die".
They could not grasp this, it was impossible and too high for them. Therefore the Lord not only rejects all their miracles and wonders, but also all their teaching must fail, and says: "If you do not accept the teaching that I present and bring to you, and do not look at the main article that I preach, so that you believe in me, Moses and all your miracles, manna, law and ceremonies will not help you. For it is not given to Moses and others who have done great miracles, that they should make alive and do something against death, but to the Person alone who is called Christ. Otherwise no herb grows against death, nor does any medicine help, but Christ alone; he alone is the true bread from heaven, and he who eats of it shall live.
He puts it affirmatively [and negatively],1 ) he shall live, and not die; holds both against each other "live" and "not die", speaks obviously, clearly and distinctly about it, that one should not think that he says it darkly and hiddenly, or covers up the words, but says: I am the bread, a food, which came from heaven, who eats of me, he shall live. No one can say anything else, but he speaks of himself. Because he speaks of himself, that is, of his own person, we should grasp and take hold of the person of Christ, and not walk in other ways, thinking to escape death and salvation, but cling to him who says strongly and powerfully on both sides, "Whoever eats of him shall not die forever, but shall have eternal life.
But the most annoying thing is that he says "I". He who overcomes such annoyance has won. For this is the right art and highest wisdom of faith, who could only consider himself, and hold this person Christ for God, for his food and
1) Added by us.
Bread of eternal life, yes, for his comfort, Savior and Beatificator; for what he is, that you get with him. This article makes you a Christian, so that you are also called a Christian by Christ, and you also receive Christian rights through him.
But the Jews are very angry because no one believes it, except those who hear the word of God and whom the Father teaches. The Turk laughs at it. Averrois, 2) one of the Mahometans, has written mockingly of the Christians, saying that there is no more poisonous, shameful and blasphemous people than the Christians; for they should honor their God, then they eat him, and preach it in all schools and in the pulpit. So it is ridiculous in the eyes of reason if one does not keep God's word; the Jews and the pope do not ask anything about it. But it is better that we eat our Lord God than that the devil eat us. They carry their God, but our God carries us. Reason sees him that he is a poor beggar, and has died himself; therefore, what can he do to help? Summa, it is the highest main article that you believe that he is, and you do not resent his person.
After that, reason is also disturbed by how he can be the food, or who can eat him? But this must be done first, that we may be sure in our hearts that he is God and the life, even the food and bread of life, and that I may know not to seek God elsewhere, apart from this person. For if you believe in Him, born of Mary the Virgin, and that He is also the true Son of God, then you also have God the Father and God the Holy Spirit. For otherwise you shall not take hold of God, find Him, seek Him and know Him, except in this Person, when you believe in Christ, that you then also believe in the heavenly Father and Holy Spirit.
Therefore a murmur arises, that they ask, How can thy flesh be eaten? The matter is thus arranged, namely, that he speaks of spiritual flesh and spiritual food. It is faith that
2) Compare note Col. 2302.
He eats him, as he interprets himself when he says, "He who believes in me has eternal life," the same eats rightly, for I am the bread of life; faith is the eater who eats and believes in Christ. But the soul and faith have not one mouth, teeth, throat, and belly, as the body hath, but have another mouth, belly, and ears; they also eat differently from the body; they have also their mind, will, courage, understanding, desire, or reason, that one may understand a thing, and have a disposition to it. So when one hears these words that Christ is food and heavenly bread, that one hangs on with faith and falls on it with understanding and desire.
287 These are twisted and distorted speeches, and here "to eat" means a spiritual nourishment and meal. This speech and disputation of the Lord Christ through this whole chapter has unraveled and risen above the miracle that he had fed such a multitude of people with five barley loaves. Then he said, "It is not only for the sake of the barley or this food that one fills the belly like swine; rather, think of other food and sustenance, so that you do not die. Ye think only of the meat of the flesh: so did your fathers eat in the wilderness. But come to the meat, whereof ye die not, think ye on another meat.
But the coarse Jews are offended and annoyed by the fact that they cannot understand the word "eat," which is a minor annoyance, and is a common figure, metaphor, and way of speaking: as when we Germans say: This is a prick that does not bleed; item: Is a word not an arrow or sword; item: The arrow does not come out of your quiver; there one understands a man's word and speech for an arrow. It is the same here with the word "eat," which has a different meaning. They quarrel about it, and it is not acceptable to them, because he says, "Learn to eat and drink, so that you may escape eternal death, hunger and thirst. One can ever speak anything else of eating, except that one eats with the mouth alone. What then is this same eating? To this he answers: It is I, I am the food. This is truly even more annoying; they push each other away, and can't
They do not like it, nor do they want him to be the bread (as follows). But it is decided that God shall not be found anywhere except in this person alone.
Then says the Turk, the Jew and the priest: "I believe in God, the Creator of heaven and earth, and all seek God in heaven in other ways, but do not find Him, because He will not be found, but only in Christ. You neither get nor meet him anywhere, because thus. This is eternal life, truth and righteousness; but where he is omitted, you have no food of eternal life or blessedness, and then remain vain thoughts; indeed, one devises one's own ways how to serve God and reconcile him with our good works. Hence it comes that one becomes a Carthusian, the other a barefooter. But it is lacking everywhere that one should seize God with these own thoughts. Therefore, if you do not want to lack him, to find God and have eternal food, listen to this one who says that he is the bread of life; if you want to attain eternal life, seek it from Christ, and nowhere else.
With this, John deals with this article, which is faith in Jesus Christ, so that it is preached purely, without the addition of good works. Works are not mentioned here at all, so that a heart may have a certain comfort and know what it should rely on in its last needs, that it knows of no other God, doctrine, or bread, except that which is called Christ. After this he will say even more: "My flesh is the right food"; so that he may assure us that he is the flesh we are to eat, and will attack his adversaries even more.
The fourteenth sermon.
On the first Saturday in Lent [25 Feb. 1531]. 1)
V. 51. And the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.
291 Until now, the Lord Christ has preached that whoever eats of the bread shall live in
1) In the original margin.
Eternity. At first he stayed with it. But now he will go even further, and even better strike out this bread, and thereby greatly anger the Jews, and say: the bread is from heaven, and is his flesh. He pours it out very roughly and knocks the bottom out of the barrel, saying, "I said I came from heaven; whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life. He makes it so coarse that it could not be coarser, so that they should not think that he is talking about something other than what they have before their eyes, but that he is talking about himself; and for the reason that they do not leave their spiritual fluttering, that he is not as he is before their eyes, or in some other way the bread and eternal life, not the flesh and blood that they feel and see. He wants to come before these fluttering spirits and wants our faith to cling to the flesh and blood that they saw, and that they should be crucified and die. Then all Christians must cling to it, and not flutter any further, nor let some other glories or drinks make them "before" another flesh and blood, because there one sees before one's eyes in it.
This is the first thing that really confronts them, that he leads them astray, and all evasion runs away, so that they should not think of anything else but his flesh and blood, which was present there. So, when this sharp and coarse sermon comes, it is to be known, as you also heard above [§98.], that this chapter does not speak of Sacramentis, but of the spiritual use and eating. For above [v. 35 ff.] he said, He that heareth Christ, and believeth on him, the same shall have eternal life, and the Father shall love him, and shall not die, but have eternal life; neither shall they thirst nor hunger that eat bread. Therefore it cannot be drawn to the sacrament. For many take it for condemnation and judgment, and have not eternal life; for they are not taught nor drawn of the Father.
293 But he speaks here of the main thing, as of the right Christian faith, which is called and done, that you should believe in his flesh and blood. For if you do not hang your faith on this, you will be forsaken.
You must be a Turk or a Jew. He put it in the article: If you want to be a Christian, you must believe in the flesh and blood of Christ; he does not want anyone to believe otherwise; if you want to meet with God, you must follow this. If you will not eat, he says, it is decided that the whole world shall not have God otherwise than with food. This text is a thunderclap against the enthusiasts.
This is a shameful and annoying thing to the ears of the flesh; it could not be worse, for whoever eats this flesh has eternal life. Reason says: Flesh is flesh, blood is blood, make of it what you will, nothing else will come of it. So say the sacramentans also. But open thou thine eyes, stop thou thine heart and thine ears, and make a distinction between "flesh" and the word "my flesh. There is a great advantage in this, that if you can conclude beforehand that he who speaks is Christ, and you believe in him, then in this Christ there is the whole complete Godhead. He then says: "My flesh is the right food, and my blood is the right drink." There is a different understanding.
But the sacramentirans and the red spirits fall on the word "meat", and understand it, as it is bought in the Scherrn 1), or as the wolves or dogs eat it, there they harden in the word meat, say: meat, meat. This is not a great art, I know and understand it well; a wolf can eat an old man, or a sow eat a child; I can also think as if I eat roast pork. But when Christ says, "My flesh," take heed who he is that says it. To whom does the little word "my" belong? So it will be something more, and will not be such a flesh that has the power of flesh and blood alone; it will have something more power than bad flesh and blood, through the word "my". It is "my flesh"; you must see who says that, because it will not be flesh, because red sausages are made of it.
296 And, that I give it a rough simile, it can help, so it helps. If a doctor takes a pure, loud water, and makes
1) "Scherrn" - Schrannen, butcher's stand.
If you make sugar water or clarify it, it is no longer called bad water, but sugar water; you do not say you drink water; although it is true that you drink water, it does not taste like water, because it has a different taste and strength, and tastes like sugar. It is water, but not water like water, but sugar water; and the water does not do as it should, for it is sugar water. I must not count it by the word "water," for it was indeed water, but the sugar, the cinnamon bark, and the other specimens have now taken it over so completely that it has turned into a different being, and has a different strength and taste than water would otherwise have.
This is a crude similitude, but it is for the simple, so that Christ may not be regarded as evil, like any other man. Flesh and blood, marrow and bone, skin and hair, are truly there, for he was born of the Virgin Mary, has hair, head, legs, arm, and all the limbs truly as I and you have them. But I am all flesh and blood, so are you; we are all water, bone and flesh; but to his flesh has come a sugar, so that whoever looks at the flesh, tastes and drinks the blood, sees God, also worships God. Again, whoever tampers with it crucifies and defiles God. Thus, one eats and drinks the Godhead in human nature; just as if I attack sugar water, I also attack the sugar, and taste, drink or lick it with it.
For this reason he will say, "The word is evil, that the whole world should be led into thinking that all its wisdom should be torn down from heaven, as the thoughts of the Godhead; item, how he created heaven and earth, how he governs the world, and does other works of God; and then he will say: This is the God who created and still sustains all things, and he will not be found, nor will he be found, except in this flesh and blood of the Son of Christ. If you believe in the Son, receive Him, and taste the flesh, you have surely met Me, says God the Father; otherwise, in no other way shall you have Me or find Me.
. With this, all other worship services shall be divorced. The pope, the Jews and the Turks, and all sects and races, believe and worship the God who is the Creator of heaven and earth, but they lack His flesh. For they believe not, neither have they the flesh. Now the text says that it is decreed that if you do not believe that Christ, the true God and Son of God, came into the flesh, became man, and took on flesh and blood, then all is lost, and God cannot be grasped unless one eats this bread; for this article also makes us Christians. And Saint John wants to draw, turn and lead all the world to come to Christ, for there alone shall one find God.
Just as it happened in the Old Testament, when God wanted to be found in Jerusalem in the temple alone, all the pagans around were much holier, and their false worship, when they worshipped the idols, had a greater appearance of holiness than the worship of the Jews. Nevertheless, this was his order, that God would not be found except in the temple at Jerusalem; otherwise he has not set up a mercy seat in the whole world except there alone. And if they ran away from the Temple and sought God in other places, they would be damned and lack God.
But the Jews pretended: If he is a creator of heaven and earth, he is also on this mountain, hill and in this valley; and they went and built temples, churches and altars on mountains, in forests and other places, and worshipped there, saying: The temple, the dark corner of Jerusalem, will not be the prison of our Lord God; though our Lord God is there, yet the grove is his, as well as Jerusalem; so wise were they. So they could conclude: God is a Creator of heaven and earth, therefore He is in all places, even on this mountain, or in the valley and forest, and where I serve and worship Him, it is right. But not yet so; for in the fifth book of Moses [Cap. 12, 13.] God says: Beware, do not sacrifice to me in all the places you see, I will not be found, and will not be heard nor worshipped.
in the places you choose. For the cities, the woods and the fields, the mountains and the valleys are all mine, but I will not be worshipped there, I will not be honored, I will not be recognized, but I want you to worship me in the place and in the way that I will command you.
302. What should then other devotion do, as far as it all shall count for nothing and be nothing? As a Carthusian says: I will serve God in my cap, I will not sleep much; fast, pray, do not eat this and that. But God says to this: I will not have it [Matt. 15:3]. If then thou wouldest have God, hear where he sitteth down, and where he shall be found; therefore saith he, Behold, this is my beloved Son, whom I have sent unto you, in whom I am well pleased; him shall ye hear [Matt. 3:17, 17:5]. Where the Son is not, there is no pleasure, and your worship is nothing. Item, he himself says in this place: "I am the eternal life", "the living bread"; if you also want to live, and not die of hunger and thirst, then eat and drink me. Here we must cleave unto his flesh and blood, lest any man ask: Where shall we run that we may have eternal life? Therefore it is well pleasing unto the Father all that the Son saith, that we should eat his flesh: and it is not written, That we should run to Saint James, or go to Jerusalem, or to Saint Catharines, or eat the flesh of Saint Barbarians, or drink the blood of Saint Christ.
In short, here you have two words; first, "flesh," that he speaks, "my flesh"; does not speak like the spirits that flutter now and then, but adds the little word "my," that it is his true flesh and blood, which he shows them and holds up before their noses, that they may delight themselves. Do not say Adam's flesh, nor John the Baptist's flesh, nor any angel's flesh, nor Mary the Virgin's flesh, nor any animal's flesh; but "my flesh. The word "my" tears through and makes a difference. He wants to say so much: Flesh and blood I set before you, eat and drink it, that is, believe it. For "eat" here means believe: believe in the flesh and blood. For if you take hold of my flesh, you do not take hold of my blood.
bad flesh and blood, but eat and drink flesh and blood, which is divine, that is, it gives the nature and power of the Godhead; it does not flesh or bleed, but it has the nature and power that God has. Just as I said above [296] that the sugar water no longer waters, but it sugars, it gives and works the power that sugar has.
304 So it is also with this; this flesh does not flesh. If you eat this flesh, it will not strengthen your flesh; it will not give you sin, an evil conscience, or death, as other flesh alone does, but it will divinize you, that is, give you divine power, virtue, and works, and take away sin, deliver you from the devil and death, and help you from all misery. But if water were separated from sugar, sugar would remain sugar, and water would taste and be water, and each would remain according to its essence and substance; but when it is boiled and simmered or mixed together, it no longer waters, but honeys and sugars. So it is in this also; whoever believes and speaks in this way, as the red spirits and the enthusiasts pretend, that flesh and blood alone are to be regarded, and separates it from God, to him it is also only bad flesh and blood, as he believes it, he no longer has either pure flesh and blood.
Many heretics think so, and not otherwise, namely, the Valentiuiani, Manichaei, and still the Turks; as they believe, so also the flesh tastes to them as mere water, and not as the flesh and blood of Christ; they have not the true flesh of Christ, but only their own thoughts. Yes, if Christ were a man, like me and you, it would be bad flesh, and the word "my" would have to be taken away; but because he does so, you find that it is idolatrous flesh, that I and you must say: I know of no other God to be found anywhere, either in heaven or on earth, except in the flesh of Christ; neither is there any other sugar or wine except in this water, know of no other sugar or wine.
He did not want to give us his divinity alone; that was impossible. For God
has said: "No one will see me and live"; that is how it remains. That is why God must hide Himself, hide and cover Himself, so that we can grasp and take hold of Him. He must hide himself in flesh and blood, in the Word and in the ministry of preaching, in baptism, in the sacrament and in the Lord's Supper, when he gives us his body in bread and his blood in wine to eat and drink, and otherwise conceal himself in other images, since he has added his word so that we can recognize him. Then the word is not a mere sound, the bread not bad bread, the wine not bad wine, baptism not only bad, but water. There remains water, bread and wine, but not alone, but now it is called his bread, his word, his water, his flesh and his blood. If the water is sugared, then there are two pieces, namely sugar and water. So here is flesh and "my flesh", blood and "my blood".
Therefore Christ says, "The bread that I give you is my flesh. What kind of meat do you mean? Not veal or beef, which is in cowsheds. This is also flesh; but it is not that which I will give for the life of the world. It is a living flesh, and also a dead flesh, which is dead, yet by it the whole world liveth. There belongs no John Baptist, nor Mary, nor some angels, but this one person, Christ. His flesh alone does it; to it God wants to bind us; apart from the person born of Mary, who truly has flesh and blood and was crucified, one should neither seek nor find God. For God is to be grasped and found in the flesh and blood of Christ by faith alone, and to know that the flesh and blood do not flesh nor bleed, and yet are flesh and blood, but both are divinized; as I have said of the sugar water [296, 303].
308 Take another similitude, of iron. If it is without fire, it is also iron, but if it is made red-hot, and fire or heat comes into it, then I can say: This iron is now no longer iron, but it fires. It is indeed iron, but it is so thoroughly fired that when you see it or attack it, you cannot say that it is iron.
Iron, but you feel fire, it burns you, so much fire is before your eyes. If you want to pierce a hole through a barrel with it, or burn or make a mark on something, the iron does not do it, but the fire does it. For if I were to take cold iron that was not red-hot, I would still not be able to make a mark on something with it, but I must take the iron in which the fire is; and again, the fire does not want to do its work anywhere except in the iron; there it burns and drills. So here the divine power in the humanity of Christ is also bodily, and does as a god should do, or does as the fire does in the iron. One sees only flesh and blood, but faith sees such a man, such a flesh and blood, which is like fiery iron, because it is divinized.
First, that he is truly flesh and blood, as water is in sugar, and iron in fire. Secondly, that the word "my" divinizes such flesh and blood, and no longer makes it flesh and blood, but makes it God's flesh and blood. It remains flesh and blood, but the word "my" deifies it. Therefore, do not separate it from one another, as the spirits of the wicked have perverted and twisted it, but let it remain in one person. For if you can thus take Christ or remember him, then you certainly take and remember the right, true God, because otherwise there is no God. We eat his flesh and believe in him, and then the Father says, "I am well pleased with this.
Otherwise, let no other god persuade you; let other enthusiasts climb up to heaven; let them always go or come trolling along with rosaries and hair shirts and other fictitious works; they will find their reward. For he shall say unto them, Who hath commanded you? he also may reward you, and give you thanks. But we believe in him who is truly God and man, and of whom the heavenly Father says [Matt. 3:17], "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; him shall ye hear." No Carthusian can boast of this.
2332 Erl. 47, 393 f. 48, 1-3. sermon on Jn. 6, 52-54. w. VII, 2085-2090. 2ZZZ
Therefore the preaching of Christ is a far different doctrine than the world, the Turk, the Jew, and man can grasp; indeed, it knows nothing of it. But therefore we are also called Christel, that we believe in Christ, and hold him to be a God and true man, and seek no further.' This faith is not taught, nor is it grasped without the Holy Spirit. But when it is grasped, the Holy Spirit comes with other gifts and presses God with grace and spirit in the heart, so that one truly sees and believes that it is a deified flesh, and that this preaching is right.
The fifteenth sermon.
[On the Saturday before Reminiscere, March 4 [1531.] 1)
The Lord Christ, as we have heard, has himself interpreted his words, saying that the bread which he gives is flesh, which is given for the life of the world. This is the main article of our Christian faith, that this flesh, which he calls his flesh, should be taken into the heart. For it is not bad flesh, which does nothing; but, as Christ says, it is "his flesh. There the human flesh is connected with the Godhead, it is deified. Just as a sugar water is sugared, or a red-hot iron is hot; so one eats 2) and feels more than flesh alone. Now follows further.
V. 52 Then the Jews quarreled among themselves and said: How can this man give us his flesh to eat?
313 St. John writes how the Jews were offended and angered by the teaching. And such vexation has been from the beginning of the world, is still in our time, and will probably remain until the end of the world, that one cannot stand the words. For reason is so crude when it hears these words: You shall eat my flesh, and my
1) In the original in the margin, but there it is erroneously written "after" instead of "before" Reminiscere. The Saturday after Reminiscere was March 11. Almost all of the following sermons on the 6th chapter of John have either wrong or insufficient time determinations in the original.
2) Erlanger: is.
Drinking blood, there it sticks and hangs, and remembers nothing more than flesh; says: Flesh is flesh, blood is blood. How shall he give us his blood? etc., go quickly into the meat banks, where oxen, calves, sheep and goats are slaughtered, and look into the kitchen, where the meat is hammered into the pots. Because they are in this mind, they cannot understand it, it is not possible.
But if they would think: Behold, substitute plainly for this, "my flesh," "my blood." Item, he has interpreted above [v. 47] and said what there is, eating and drinking, namely, believing in me, that whoever with faith attaches himself to my flesh and blood, eats it and drinks it, and this faith, this eating and drinking, or this food and drink, gives eternal life. For this flesh is not mere flesh, but flesh that is divinized; and he who meets the flesh meets God. Otherwise, if one wants to look at the word "flesh and blood" alone, it is and remains flesh and blood. Item, if one thinks only of eating, it is eating; drinking, it is drinking. But he says, "I do not preach this to you; you must not think of it, it is something else; just as he also said above [v. 51] that it is not cow's flesh, but such flesh as is given for the life of the world. Therefore it also gives life to the world; for "it is I", and it is "my flesh".
315. This should be formed into the heart of man with large, rough letters, so that he speaks: "Mine, my, my flesh". But the "my" one does not want to look at. The red spirits cannot grasp the word, "my". But with the word "my" he distinguishes and separates himself from all other flesh, as it may be called. For there "my flesh" means as much as, I am God and God's son, my flesh is divinized, and is a divine flesh. Nevertheless, reason goes along with the Jews, and thus thinks: flesh is flesh. Now I know this well. For if you eat calf's flesh for a long time, or if you eat meat and herring, you will not be saved. So let the word "my" go, which, when you hear it, everything changes. Item, they do not look at who the person is, so such a
but completely abandon the word "my" and do not want to go there; that is why they cannot send themselves in.
316 We have therefore taught and preached that eternal life is not given to us because of our good works, but through faith in Christ alone, in whom we must believe, and understand eating and drinking as it is here interpreted by Christ himself, that is, not otherwise than by believing in the man Christ. Now one does not want to believe, but the blasphemers say: Believe, believe; one must indeed do good works; you must first begin with good works. And is this then a vexatious and heretical preaching, which one cannot endure, that one is saved not by good works, but by this flesh of Christ. Then they cry out: The heretics; 2) o they forbid good works.
317 What else can I say, since the Lord speaks in his own person? It is said, qui non comederit carnem; as if he should say, Do, live as holy as ye will; he that eateth not my flesh hath not eternal life. He clearly and distinctly enough separates the eating and drinking of his body and blood from all other food. Who is bold, let him refute it. There is much wonder that eating and drinking alone can bring it about, but he says, "There shall be no life; ye shall abide in sins, and be deadly; ye are under the devil, and shall never come into eternal life, except ye drink the blood, and eat the body.
318 These words are bright, dry and clear, and St. John wrote them with great diligence, and did it by the command of the Holy Spirit, so that they might be spoken clearly and plainly: If ye shall not eat of man, and drink of his blood, ye are lost. If then what he says is true, why is it not believed? But if it is a lie, why do they preach it? If it is true, it follows that eternal life does not come through anything other than good works. Take then all that is in the world, the works of Carthage,
1) Erlanger: believe.
2) Thus set by us: "Then the heretics cry out" etc.
Masses, indulgences, and pilgrimages, and set it against the saying that goes, "If you will not eat my flesh," all is lost.
319 And these things were spoken in general. He said it not of rude men, of foolish sinners, and of loose lads, which eat not that they might have eternal life; but of all, and especially of hypocrites. If then we have not life thereby, neither have we forgiveness of sins. For the forgiveness of sins is before eternal life. If there is to be eternal life, there must first be forgiveness of sins. But where sin remains, there also remains the law, God's wrath, death and hell. For all these things belong together. If you want to escape from hell, sin, God's wrath, the law and all this, do not do your work, as the pope taught, that you should become a religious and be pious. Therefore thou must not; but it is said, as it is in the text, "Except ye eat my flesh," etc. If you can find a gloss on this, or something else that can or may help to forgive sins and to eternal life, try it, I would like to see it; but you will find nothing.
This is truly the main thing we teach and practice diligently. We also teach about good works, but we do not say that they are enough for salvation. For that alone is enough, which he says, "to eat his flesh" and "to drink his blood. Therefore this vexation of the Jews remains, that they say, Faith doth not do it. For they mean no other than that faith is only a cold thought in the heart, that I remember God and believe in God and in Jesus Christ in the wind. This is truly so. If you consider faith to be only a thought of God, then the thought can no more give me eternal life than a monk's cap. They do not speak further of faith, they even weaken it, they interpret faith as a mere thought.
321 We do not make such an empty, loose thought out of faith, as they do, but say that this is called faith,
when I see what faith has before it, which it seizes and grasps; for [it] says the holy Scripture, that if I thus believe, I do not have a single bag, or single thought of God, which otherwise the devil and the Turk can also have. For the Turk also says: I believe in God, that is, he thinks of God. But this is the right faith, that I attach my faith, thoughts and heart to the flesh and blood given for me, and eat the same, and boldly say: I believe that his flesh and blood are there, given for me, and that the flesh and blood are poured into my faith, as wine or beer is poured into a glass. This is my treasure: eating, drinking, remembering, and believing in the flesh, that I may cleave with faith to the man Christ and to his flesh, that I may fast Christ.
But those who think otherwise, as the papists speak of it, have empty shells without a core. But our faith also has a shell, but the core is inside, and the heart is fully poured out. For I believe that Jesus Christ and his flesh and blood are given for me, and so I accept them as surely as my mouth accepts food and drink. If the mouth is not full of food or of beer and wine, it is not called eating or drinking: so also, faith must not only be a bad thought of our Lord God, because thoughts do not do it; as then the pope's faith is that he thinks he must only think of God. My heart must grasp and take hold of the Christian, and I must cling to his flesh and blood, and say: I cling to it, I want to stay with it, I want to leave life and limb over it, and it will also go over me, as God wills.
This is so, that it is not a loose thought, when I think how Christ was crucified; but above thinking I have such a heart, which builds on Christ, whose flesh and blood I take into my heart and believe to be given for me. This is called and is true faith, and without such faith all things are nothing; all saints, all monks reckoned together, are nothing with all their works. For Christ says:
You do not have the flesh for food; you do not accept the flesh and blood, therefore nothing else helps you to eternal life but this eating and drinking.
That is a clear, excellent saying, since I do not know how to jump over. I also wanted to have my reason, as someone else, and find a loophole; but it is nothing, I can not pass. Therefore see to it that each one eats the body. For it is decided in a nutshell: All that is not this flesh and blood, be it ever beautiful, great, and holy, is neither profitable nor necessary unto eternal life; and all the rest, if it be not this flesh and blood, is not profitable unto eternal life.
This article of justification is the highest that St. John described as a master in particular. Keep the text well. One cannot therefore praise St. John enough for having handled it so diligently and clearly. For St. John is also a master in the article of justification; I cannot speak it more clearly nor more powerfully than he has spoken it here through the Holy Spirit. For he saith, Ye have not eternal life; ye eat his flesh, and drink his blood. And "eat" means to eat with the soul, that I may take hold of the flesh, and lay hold on it, and keep it.
It is not enough to think of bread and beer that the baker baked it and the brewer brewed it, for you do not yet have bread and beer in your house; but when you get bread and beer in your mouth, you no longer think of baker or brewer. So the Jews were the bakers and brewers here, they baked and brewed him when he was crucified. Now you must remember how you got him in your mouth, eat him, grasp him and take him in, hold on to him; that is faith. This is what he means.
V. 53. Unless you eat of the flesh of the Son and drink His blood, you do not have eternal life in you.
327 Now you have heard before that he calls himself the Son of Man, so that he may show that he truly has our flesh and blood in him, which he took from the Virgin Mary, in whom is eternal life.
be. This is the article of justification. The Holy Spirit wants us never to teach, know, remember, hear or accept another God, because this God, whose flesh and blood we form and grasp in our hearts, we want to be saved in another way. Otherwise, we should not let ourselves be taught by a God who sits up in heaven in his hall, and thus seek in the Godhead alone; for in this way you will be deceived. But if thou wilt not die, and be saved, let no god come unto thee, but the Son of man: in the flesh and in the blood shalt thou find him; there hath he entered in, and there shall he be found, the Son of man. Otherwise the Turk says that his Mahomet has God. The pope says: The Carthusian and other monastic orders also have our Lord God. But here it is written: It is the Son of Man; all other preaching, faith and life are excluded.
We also heard these two sermons shortly before. The first is that he who does not eat the flesh is nothing. The other, he who has the flesh and blood, eats and drinks, has it cooked; for where the flesh and blood is, there is God cooked, and there he wants to be, and nowhere else. Thus it necessarily follows that whoever thinks of God and seeks Him elsewhere than in this person has lost God and does not find Him, he errs and lacks Him; but whoever seeks Him in the manner indicated finds Him.
V. 54. And I will raise him up on the last day.
Just before [v. 51] he said that whoever eats of his flesh and drinks of his blood shall have eternal life. Now he says that he will raise him up at the last day. These seem to be duo contraria, and do not rhyme with each other. For he who has eternal life must not be raised or brought back to life. It reads as if it were a strong lie. You have heard before that this is the opinion: that because we believers are in this life, and are in the flesh and blood, it is true that we already have eternal life. For Christ says, "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved"; and the word, which is
we have is already eternal life. Christ is the food, his flesh and blood is already alive, it must not be made alive, nor can it remain in death, because he is the Lord of death. For this reason it is decided that I already have eternal life, not by my works, but by faith, through which I am sure that his flesh and blood is my life.
(330) What is lacking, that he saith he will raise him up? I hear that I must die first; how then does it rhyme, to have eternal life, to die, and to be raised? [This is the opinion that we certainly have eternal life by faith; even though we do not carry Christ in our hand or in our pocket, he is certainly there. He lives for his own person forever; but in faith I have taken hold of him, and I know that through him I have eternal life, for in [faith] he is my eternal life, my food. But this is hidden and secret; for though death comes that I die, or see others die of pestilence, of the sword; item, one comes into danger and prison, or sickness, we see the devil, sin, and all manner of trouble; but Christ we do not see.
331 But it is said, do not judge yourself according to outward sight, but according to the word, which promises and gives you eternal life, then you truly have eternal life. Whether it is otherwise according to appearance and feeling, it does no harm; you have not lost life because of it, for the sickness, death, danger and sin that afflict you will not strangle you or work you out, it must leave you satisfied; they do not make Christ sick, nor do they strangle him. When they are over, and you continue in the faith, you will see what you have believed.
Yes, but I must die all the same. Oh, nothing prevents that; only die in God's name, let yourself be burned or otherwise killed, you are assured of eternal life and shall certainly have it. If then thou die, and be buried, and pass over thee in the grave, and the worms devour thee, there lies
He will certainly raise you up again. For you have my promise here, and believe the word resuscitabo, therefore you will see evidently that you have relied on it with faith.
The word "raise up" is not used without reason, for it is very important. Otherwise it is annoying that he says: "He who believes in me shall have" etc., and death nevertheless comes with many dangers, which strike one under the eyes. This truly moves our reason, thoughts and senses, so that they fear that we will be deceived, because the opposite is seen before our eyes. Therefore he sets the word here for our consolation, that we should hold fast, be strong and confident. Though death walk upon thee with feet, and choke thee, yet will I preserve thee: for I am thy life, and am also thy meat to sustain thee. Therefore will I feed thee well, that thou mayest live for ever. Therefore have no fear; I will raise thee up again, that every man may see and bear witness that thou livest.
The sixteenth sermon.
On the Saturday before Palmarum [April 1, 1531]. 1)
334. This is a lukewarm and glorious sermon which the Lord Christ preached to the Jews after they had eaten the five barley loaves and the two fishes, as this miracle is described in the beginning of the sixth chapter of John, and the Lord rebuked them for not seeking the food of the belly so much as the eternal food, which would have the value of the food given by the Son of God, and gradually and carefully led them from the food of the flesh to the spiritual food. Therefore they looked and said, Give us the bread of heaven, that we may live for ever. To this he answers: I am the bread of life, and the meat that giveth life eternal: for there is no other bread. They grumble at this and cannot accept it.
1) In the original margin: "On the Sunday before Palmarum", which we have changed, because it is not likely that the Sunday Judica would have been so designated, nor that this sermon should have been preached on a Sunday.
not understanding how he should be the food and the bread that came from heaven. Then the Lord glosses over it and interprets it with this decision: "You must not think that you will eat it with your teeth; you must believe my words. The Father must also put this word into your heart. He must teach you inwardly who preaches through the mouth of Christ, otherwise you will not understand nor grasp it. Therefore he presses on and on, saying, Ye must eat the bread which I myself am: for your fathers did eat that bread of heaven, but they died.
335 Now he interprets his teaching, what this same bread is, so that they do not lack the bread of which he speaks figuratively. For they would say, One would have heard such speech before, as when one says, It is a strange bird; there it is called an even-tempered man; as the Hebrew language is rich with such manner of speaking. For this reason, lest they think that he, the Lord, is the bread, as a man is not a dog, and a sheep is not a wolf, so he says, The bread is his flesh. By this he even corrupts one with another, saying, I speak of such bread, that I mean my flesh. The bread that I give no baker shall bake, neither shall ye seek it apart from me, but it is my flesh and my body, which I give for the life of the world; hereby clearly signifieth the eternal bread, which bringeth eternal life, that it is his body; saith, it is in short a carnal, living body, as ye see my body, though the body hath another nature, which our sinful bodies have. For in saying, "It is my flesh," he makes a distinction between all other bodies and flesh.
336 There it is quite spoiled, he has thrust them before the head, and the soup however saltedü, nevertheless he goes out dryly and says: I will have it so. My flesh and my body, which ye see, hear ye speak; it shall be your meat, or ye shall not live. Above this they begin to quarrel and murmur, saying: How is this always fitting? How does the most insignificant thing come on a heap, so that, if it were possible to eat it, it could be cooked at once?
How far would it go and be enough for everyone? it would soon be eaten up. For in a city one often slaughters several oxen a week, and yet they are all eaten up. The same is also said by the gushing spirits: This does not rhyme in any way; for if all should eat of him, he will soon be eaten up. Now it is not fitting that we should eat our Savior. If we eat his body, he himself will not live, he must die; where is he then? and where is life? He says, my body shall be your food for eternal life. If therefore the body be eaten, it is dead; and yet he saith, it liveth, and it shall be eaten, and we shall live. What a clumsy pretence! Well, reason sticks to it: If he is a man, then the body is dead; it is offended by it, and cannot stand these words. But hear thou, the power is in the word 'mine' and 'eating'; but not eating as we eat bodily, and drinking with the mouth. Eating is as the soul eats and drinks, and feeds and is nourished by it. Therefore nothing else is to be presented to the soul to feed on, except the body, which is here called "my body. Then follow what he says, because they are angry at it, and cannot understand it, nor suffer these words.
V. 53. Verily, verily, I say unto you, except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you.
337 "Well, there it is, poured out clearly, spoken with clear and not hidden words, that he says: I speak of my flesh and blood; and divides the two words from each other, eating and drinking, as that one should eat the body and drink the blood. Earlier he said and promised, "Whoever eats of this bread shall live forever." Here he adds to this promise urging words, so that he will not let anyone go astray, saying, "If you eat the flesh and drink the blood, you will have eternal life; but if you eat and do not drink it, you will not have life. These are affirmativa, and negativa. He will not let thee float, nor walk with thy soul, but
keep this food, you shall not leave flesh and blood out of consideration, but have it before you, and you shall have life; if not, seek, practice, do, or create what you will, become a monk or a stallion, yet you have not this food nor eternal life.
338 Yes, he also swears: "Truly, truly. This is what the Lord means: Either you have eaten my flesh and drunk my blood, or you have lost your life and will never be saved. Just now [v. 35] he said, If ye eat the bread, ye have life; but now he says, If ye eat not, ye have not life. As if he wanted to say: It is decided, either the flesh and blood eaten and drunk, or in eternity of the life to be lost and remain. There it is written in a dry way, we cannot interpret it otherwise, than that there shall be no life, but only death, apart from the flesh and blood, if one shall forsake it or despise it. How one wants to make a nose of the text!
339 We have preached in the past about good works, caps, orders, chastity, poverty, and obedience to the abbot and prior, in which eternal life was sought. This definition or interpretation does not work, it is completely rejected. For chastity or not, it is not called a Carthusian or priestly state. Here ask: Is it also called Christ, or is it also called his flesh and blood? Do all good works, including the ten commandments, such as obeying the authorities, honoring parents, not stealing, committing adultery, or killing; does all this also mean Christ's flesh and blood? No; therefore they cannot give life; therefore he joins it all together, and wants to have the one piece that gives eternal life; otherwise it is called serving the devil. There have undoubtedly been many holy, pious people under the papacy who have lived in good works, but all their endeavors are nothing, one has no life through them, there is no respect for the person or holiness, but here the life is attached and kept, and there it will remain.
340 From this you can answer many pleas. For works shall be done, and godliness shall be lived, but life shall be obtained thereby, and death shall be escaped, and sin shall be put away.
good works will do nothing. You must therefore face the matter as Christ says: "If you do not eat my flesh and drink my blood, you do not have life." Otherwise you shall not have it. This is said in the same way: If anyone will believe, let him believe it; if anyone will not, let him not; let him consider whether he will be saved by something else, or whether he may have eternal life in some other way, for in these words the Lord Christ says.
341 Where therefore the Lord Christ is preached, that he gave his body to death for our sins, and shed his blood for us, and I take it to heart, and believe it, and hold fast to it, that is, to eat and drink his body and blood. To eat in this place means to believe; he who believes also eats and drinks Christ. These words cannot suffer any other addition beside them; the good works cannot stand here. For his blood, shed on the cross, is not my work, I do not do it. Item, that he is born of Mary, that the Jews crucify him, that is not my work. Therefore he says, the body or the flesh, given for the life of the world. For that he die for thee, the same is meat.
342 If any man can rhyme or bake it together, I will gladly see it; but I cannot do it; that his flesh, which is slain, and his blood, which is shed, may save from sins and death, and that I may do something beside it to make me blessed; but that I may wear a gray cap or plate, and set monastic or religious rules beside it; how is it fitting? If it is his flesh and blood, then the rope, the cap, nor the love of neighbor, obedience, chastity and other virtue will not do it; for my works and virtues are far from being his flesh and blood.
343 Mark these words and the text most diligently; it is a mighty text, it suffers no glosses, it cannot be interpreted nor driven out of the way, one cannot pass it by. I say this so that this article may be kept pure in Christendom. In the papacy it was buried under the bench, many hundred thousand cubits deep under the earth. Now, where it remains, there remains
Also the Holy Spirit, who does not let people get stuck in error or perish. If this article of Justification had remained on track, no monk, superstition or error of the works saints and sects would ever have come into the world. If I believe this and know that if I do not eat his body and drink his blood, I will not be saved, then I say, "What am I doing with my cap? should I attain eternal life with my clerical state? then all the works of the hypocrites will fall away. Nevertheless, they still taught that one should be saved through the mass. Therefore they bought the mass from them, that the priests should have asked me to become blessed. But it would have been impossible that this doctrine could have been torn down if there had been true Christians who had said: It will not do; it says: If one does not eat the flesh and drink the blood, there is no life; so all monks and priests would have a good year; this is what the text wants.
344 Therefore learn to distinguish Christ's righteousness, life, nature and work, from all men's works and nature, even from all other righteousness and life; for there is not one righteousness that stands in good works, but all works are purely excluded. If therefore I have not this life, I have death, sin, the devil, and hell: for the wages of sin is death [Rom. 6:23I]. But where there is life, there must be neither sin nor death, for life strangles them. But if thou hast not life, not one sin shall be forgiven. And let then come the pope, cardinals, and all the monks with their foundations and monasteries, yet they cannot obtain for themselves, much less others, forgiveness of some daily sins. They are not Christ's flesh and blood; therefore the text says that they do not have life either.
But here I eat and drink the body and blood of Christ, and do no work for it; only the soul receives the gift, that is, the body and blood; that is, not a work done, but received and accepted. After that, when faith is there, it does good works. If thou hast been quickened by the life, it is
It is time for you to love your neighbor and practice God's commandments, but not to think that you will gain eternal life through it (you have forgiveness of sins beforehand), or that you will escape from the devil and put away sin, because sin and the devil must first be gone and you must be rid of them. Therefore a Christian says, "I know no work by which I am justified, but my life and righteousness are in that one thing, that Christ has flesh and blood, which is the food and life of my soul.
346 Let him preach against it who will; the text is there. If he alone had said affirmatively, "He who eats my flesh has life," one could have mocked it and said, "Well, even those who do not eat it will be saved. Just as the evil-doers, the papists, also say, "That doctrine is right, but ours is also right;" they confess that faith in Christ helps, and say next to it: The Lord has not excluded other ways; and thus make many ways to eternal life, among which is the intercession of the saints, that I worship the Virgin Mary, or am a devout monk; item, hold other their essays. No, nothing helps to eternal life; Christ rejects all these ways, they are rejected altogether. It does not happen here as with other things. Just as if I said, Wittenberg beer quenches thirst, Annaberg beer also quenches it; I do not exclude any other beer. Just as if I said: If you don't drink Wittenberg beer, no other beer will quench your thirst. So he also says of this not affirmative alone; he also excludes everything else, and says, "If ye shall not eat my flesh, and drink my blood, ye have not life." So that apart from his flesh, if one despises it, nothing everywhere helps or is valid; I immediately call on Sanct Mariam or Sanct Peter, they cannot help after all, everything is purely excluded. In sum, all other ways and paths are rejected.
347. keep this throughout your life, that everything is to be done for the sake of the one article; which I often repeat, and it cannot be done enough, so that it may be obtained, and we may remain right in the belief that one has forgiveness from his flesh.
of sins, redemption from death and the devil. Where this doctrine remains in the pulpit, there is no need, one is safe from all heretics and errors; this article suffers no error in itself; the Holy Spirit is also with it, and those who believe this do not tolerate error. But if they are deceived, it is a sure sign that they have not understood the article. If they had understood it correctly, they would not have been deceived. All other doctrines (though they speak the very words we use) are nothing else but of good works; just as our fools, when seen in the light, teach only of good works, they do not understand that life, grace and salvation come without our works, only that we believe and have them from eating and drinking the body and blood of Christ.
348 In the papacy, these words were sung in the choir, read on the altars in all the masses for the souls, and yet they passed by, saying that the soul would be redeemed by the mass; if one went to the vigil and the mass for the souls, the soul would be redeemed. So nothing but vain works have been taught, preached, cried, sung and read. That is blindness beyond all blindness, to read and sing such a plain text daily, and yet not understand one syllable or some point of it. They sing: If you do not eat the body and drink the blood of Christ, you do not have life; nevertheless, they say: If you hear the mass and keep it, you will be delivered from purgatory and live forever. Shut up, you wretched man, that one should publicly sing and speak the bright, clear words, and yet contradict and teach that Christ's flesh and blood alone do not do it.
But this is how it is. If someone is blind and abandoned by God, so that he falls into error, it does not help that the Scriptures are thrust under his nose and held before his eyes, he still sees nothing. I have often been very surprised that such wonderful sayings of the Holy Scriptures have been read and sung in the papacy, and yet nothing of them has been understood, even though they have been read day and night.
they have taught. But it happened just as when a drunkard falls asleep, and he who speaks does not know what he spoke in his sleep; so they neither heard nor saw what they read or did. But if they had hearkened unto it, they would have understood what it is that Christ saith, "He that eateth my flesh hath everlasting life." After that they should also have remembered: What are we doing? What are we dealing with? But they have been vain drunkards, snoring and sleeping, yet leading these words of scripture in the mouth.
350 Therefore we may thank our Lord God that he has opened our senses, and that we have now become brave, see and understand what we do, read or sing, namely, that in short this is life, and nowhere else, and one must say that masses, pilgrimages, vigils, accompaniments, fasts, and other works do not do it; this flesh and blood alone can do it, I must stick to that. With this reason we can reject all their things, because this article shines for us. We see this sun. The day is as bright with them as it is with us, the sun shines and shines as well for them as it does for us; but they close their eyes, sleep and do not see the sun, they are and remain blind.
The Lord swears with great diligence, "Verily, verily," that we may keep this text faithfully; there is also power in it. The Turk, the Pope, the Jews, even many among us, are still far from it. It is a great thing, and very difficult, that one should set his heart, faith and confidence on these words, that in this flesh and blood is eternal life. God does not put the divine majesty before us, but the man Christ. This is the most vexing thing to reason, that if I want to be saved, it should be by hanging and binding myself with my soul to the flesh and blood that died for me; there I should be bound and tied, and say straightway, I know no other life, nor of sins.
1) Instead of "gelehret" one might read "gelöret," i.e., gelehrt, gehlärrt.
To be rid of them, because I put my soul on the flesh that died for me and the blood that was shed for me.
35, 2. I let this be my comfort, and hear of nothing else. Now the devil comes and says, "O fellow, what good thing have you done? If you had been pious, you would go to heaven, but because you have lived evil and been wicked, you must go to hell. But you answer, "The pope, the devil and the Turk teach this. No, I know much differently. If I had done as much good, I would not have given so much for it; if I had lived as chastely as the Virgin Mary, or as holy as the angels, or even as much as the works of all the saints, I would not have added anything to it, for all this does not give eternal life.
It is not said, as Hilarion the hermit said and comforted himself with, "Why are you afraid of death, my soul? you have served God in the desert for three and seventy years and done much good, etc. and yet at the end you had to despair of it. For the devil leads it away, and it belongs to hell, it does not keep the puff. But so it shall be, and so thou shalt say, It is not good that I have led such an evil life; but yet for the evil that I have done, undaunted and undespairing, neither for the good presumptuous. So I did not go too far to the right or to the left, but rather stayed in the middle road and spoke: There is one who says that his flesh is the food of our souls, and I will let him do it. Because our good works do not keep the sting, as they cannot, yet the flesh and blood of Christ keep all the sting. The Christ cannot depart; but my works can depart. If you stay with the flesh and blood, there is no need; but if you fall away, as the devil presses on you, you have lost, and it is over with you, you are already overcome.
There you have the text in which you have life. If you depart from it, you have failed. St. John directed his gospel to form the article of justification in the heart of the world and to set it before the eyes, but it did not help.
much, he was not kept in the papacy. And it will come again that when we will be dead, that then rash people will arise, who will fall again on the works, as it happened before under the papacy. For if St. John did not preserve it with his powerful gospel, our books will preserve it much less. Also, the text of this Gospel has been sung and read in all churches.
This was the sermon the Lord preached on the miracle of feeding five thousand men with five barley loaves and a few fishes, and he led them out, saying that whoever does not eat his flesh and drink his blood does not have eternal life. Now he lifts up, and concludes briefly:
V. 54. He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life.
This is an epiphonema and resolution, so that he repeats everything, as one is accustomed to say in the conclusion of a sermon: My dear friends, it stands on this, it remains on this, this is the summa. So also the Lord will say, "Judge yourselves according to this, and leave all other things which may be pretended, and keep only this, that he who eats my body and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up." This shall be the resolution. Therefore let reason and work be reason and work; let it be seen how it may be, it is said, "He that eateth," that is, he that believeth with all his heart that Christ gave his body for him, died for him, and redeemed him from sins and death, hath eternal life indeed.
357 If you take Christ as your head, and hold his flesh and blood dear and high, thus giving him glory and power (which it is right that he should have, that he should be such a flesh and blood, which gives life and takes away hell, chases away devils and sin, and drives them out mightily), then you have the right head of your Christian faith. You must do it with the word "MY", that this flesh and blood has the power to snatch away all sin and death, to give life and righteousness, and to break all gates in heaven and earth.
Therefore, when you begin to speak of these things, you must not see these words with the eyes of the flesh, but of overcoming death, the devil, and hell, of the forgiveness of sins, and of eternal life. Therefore, other thoughts belong. Go away from your reason, if it concerns the things, and one is to act from the high pieces. For this does not include Moses with his commandments, or the emperor with his laws, nor a monk with his order and rule, but this article, of the flesh and blood of the Lord Christ, is the power and authority to rise from the dead [Rom. 1, 4.]. Therefore his flesh and blood must not be regarded as evil, as flesh and blood are regarded in other ways, but as having power over all the troubles of heaven and earth, that is, over sin, death, the devil, the world, and all the other cruel and terrible things with which this flesh and blood has to do.
According to this understanding one comes to the clipper work, that one goes down to the people, to the works or righteousness of the law, to the parsley, which one sprinkles over the meat, which is the cuttings, which one puts next to the roast; these are lesser pieces compared to the former; as one should honor the parents, not kill nor steal, there we should ask the law. This is something in the sight of the world, but it is nothing in the sight of God. But our adversaries have reversed it, and the least has become the highest, that one has made the main piece and foundation of it. For, not stealing, and being obedient to parents, keeping chastity, that shines and glistens before their eyes, consider it the greatest pieces; but the flesh and blood of Christ and faith count for nothing at all with them. Then turn it around, and let faith be the roast, that is, the best part of the Christian life, and learn how to resist death, sin, the devil and hell by it. This piece I will take and keep in other things: if it is not a matter of driving out death and sin, but of living among the people, I will also do the works of the ten commandments, not stealing, not committing adultery etc., for this is the parsley or lactuca, which one puts with the roast.
360 Therefore give honor to this article, for he who eats, that is, believes, already has eternal life. And if you have eternal life, why will you be so foolish as to deserve it? Thou hast been baptized, thou hast received the Lord's Supper, and thou hast eternal life; are thou not mad and mad, that thou wouldest first obtain salvation in the devil's name by thy works? Christ says to you, "You already have eternal life through my flesh and blood, which I gave for you. So you say: No, I want to enter a religious order or do good in some other way, and thus gain eternal life. If I seek it there, it is a sure sign that I do not yet have eternal life. For if I had it, I would not seek it. But because someone still seeks it, he does not hold it in his heart for Christ's flesh and for his food, denies his baptism, blasphemes and defiles Christ and his gospel, is an apostate unchristian, a heathen and a Turk in his heart.
361 Such a one is baptized outwardly, is called a Christian by name; but if he thought anything of Christ, he would say: Why should I run into the monastery? If I were to seek eternal life in it, I would get hellish fire on my head. In this way, one completely despises Christ's flesh and blood, and beats Christ into the entrenchment, throws him back with his good deeds as if he counted for nothing. This was done in the papacy when one ran away to the monastery, and today there are many who still defend it. But if faith without good works does not help or justify, then the devil believes this text. Well, there it is. This and no other; that this eating of the flesh and drinking of the blood may give eternal life, this is no human work. The papists do not want to suffer it yet. This is a sure sign that they do not understand what faith is; only the mad fools run from Christ to works.
This text clearly proves that if you begin to believe, you will have eternal life in that very hour, it is already yours, you must not acquire it. Nor is there any other way to escape from death, sin and the devil, pious and alive.
to become. Now if eternal life is yours, you cannot obtain it. But wait until it is revealed; there is nothing lacking, except that it is still hidden, and that you must die first, and Christ raise you from the dead; on the last day it will be revealed, what treasure it is, then it will be seen and felt, what you now have and believe. There is no difference between the hour when you begin to believe and the last day; only that you do not yet see it nor possess it. And you have nothing at the last day but now. The very flesh and blood of Christ is mine this hour, which is here and liveth, even as it shall live at the last day; only that I see it not, neither feel it, for it is hid in faith, and yet secret. The old Adam must first become powder and come into the earth, otherwise he cannot understand or hear it. These are bright and clear words that show from where we have eternal life.
The seventeenth sermon.
On April 15 or the Saturday before Quasimodogeniti [1531]. 4)
Thus the Lord decides, saying, Summa Summarum, so it shall be, and so it shall remain, that he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. He makes it out as it is begun, and says:
V. 55. For my flesh is the right food.
In this way he wants to remove from sight all other doctrine and food that may be preached for the nourishment of souls, or that may be presented to serve faith. This food alone does it; therefore he says: Ye hear, it is because of the word "my"; there is not beef or cow's flesh, but it is a body and blood full of God, or that is divinized, as water that is
1) In the original in the margin, but there (as in the 15th sermon) is erroneous: "after" instead of "before". The next sermons, up to the 1st sermon on the 7th chapter of John (on May 20, 1531), Luther held without interruption every Saturday, so the time determinations we have given are undoubtedly correct.
is sugared through; there is not a drop of water in it, but a sweet, sweet taste of sugar and power. So also whoever takes hold of his body has not only a bad flesh and blood of Christ, but a thoroughly divine flesh and blood; except that he takes hold of it in such a bowl as sugar is tasted in water. Hereby he will set them apart from all other righteousnesses, saying earnestly, I know that after me shall come preachers to teach you, and to give you meat, that ye may satisfy your souls. But it will be vain deceit and error; they will give you the draught, vain poison, and death for life, hunger and death for food; for here alone is the true food. If you do this, what will happen to you?
V. 56. He that eateth of me abideth in me, and I in him.
Some have interpreted the little word "abide in Christ" and "that he abide in us" as meaning to have only a bad thought of Christ. As when they have considered his suffering and death, they have said that Christ is in them, and they are in Christ. And there are still many among us who think that when they think of Christ as he suffered, Christ is in them, and do not consider faith in Christ to be the true spiritual being of Christ in us, or our being in Christ; but dream to themselves that fides historica gives eternal life, when they run about, writing and thinking of Christ, and deal only with mirror fencing.
Such things were strongly practiced in the papacy, and still are today, that one should consider Christ's suffering, that is, to be Christ in my heart, so that they have even perverted Christ's suffering and brought it down to the ground. But the Lord does not say, Thy thoughts of me are in me, or my thoughts are in thee; but, thou, thou art in me, and I, I am in thee. He does not call a bad thought, but that I am in him with body, life, soul, godliness, righteousness, with sins, foolishness and wisdom; and he, Christ, in turn, is in me also with his holiness, righteousness, wisdom, and
Bliss. This does not go with a speculum or scheme, through your wrong thoughts, since it is a painted dwelling, and alone are mere thoughts. For this does not hold the sting. If one can do no more than speak and think of Christ alone, so can the devil and the papists, who also know how to speak of his suffering; but it is nothing, they still remain, full of malice, stuck in sins and their errors, do not show themselves that Christ dwells and is in them, and do no good.
366 Now there are also those who keep company with us, and pretend that Christ is in them, and they in Christ; but when it comes to a challenge, that they should suffer harm to body, honor, or goods, and especially when one is to die, or to have his neck stretched out, Christ is not native nor present, thoughts will not do it; they are nothing but your work, power, and natural reason, and a weak creature. But if the terror of the conscience is to be subdued, the devil driven out, death overcome, then a divine power will belong to it, and not a thought. There must be something else in you, so that these enemies find a power in you that is too strong for them, so that they shy away from it and flee, and you prevail over them.
Satan is otherwise an angry enemy, he does not ask much about thoughts; something must be found in you that is too strong for him. This can be seen in the dear martyrs, how bold they were, what courage and heart there was when they stood before the judges and realized that life and limb, honor and property were at stake for them. There must be comfort in this, and not just a thought; it must be in the heart, so that one can then rejoice against death and all temptation, and say: "Go away honor, goods, body and life, and all that is on earth, here, here I will stay. And it may be found whether a man is a Christian in thought, and abideth steadfastly or not.
Therefore it is said, "He that eateth my flesh abideth in me, and I in him. In Hebrew, "abide" means to persevere, or to have a dwelling place. To indicate that many of you have heard Christ, can speak of him, and hold fast to him when it is their desire to do so.
But to remain steadfast in confessing Christ with heart and mouth, when it comes to the meeting, is not something that can be done with child's play. But this is the righteous presence and generosity of faith, that a man, when the storms come, does not speak and do otherwise than as Christ speaks and does in him; this is a higher thing than human works and powers. St. Paul says to the Galatians in chapter 2, v. 20: "I do not now live, but Christ lives in me." He does not say: I, or the thoughts in me; all that he does, sees and is as if God Himself does it.
These words must be kept, and they should not be glossed over, for there are many among us who are content to hear, read, speak, or think of them, but it is not enough. When it comes to the meeting, they follow their head and defiance, suffer nothing, do no righteous good works, cannot stand even in tribulation, and then rebound again. Christ is not there; he neither speaks nor does anything, for he has never been there righteously. Where Christ is, you can hear it in the words and see it in the works, so that you go along and say, "I will stay there and leave it, no one will take it away from me; this confession is a sign and fruit of the tree that Christ is certainly there and dwells. For if he were not in it, words and thoughts would all be lost, since flesh and blood are far too weak and foolish for the devil; he can overpower and frighten, even overcome one with thoughts and thoughts, so that one must run away; yes, he can scatter one as the wind blows away a leaf.
370 This then is a precious habitation and glory, that we poor sinners, through faith in Christ, and through eating, have him in us with his power, might, strength, righteousness, wisdom. For thus it is written: Whoever believes in me, in him I abide. He is ours, that sin, death, the devil, and the world, with all their wickedness, should not hurt us, nor make us so despondent and stupid. This is an excellent, wonderful dwelling or tabernacle, much different from the other.
The tabernacle of Moses was beautiful on the inside, beautifully decorated, hung and adorned with beautiful carpets and gold pieces; but on the outside it is calfskin or lambskin, as the tabernacle of Moses was also covered with it.
Outwardly, Christians sometimes stumble and fall, and to look at them from the outside seems to be a vain weakness and shame, that Christians are sinners and do what is not pleasing to the world. Then they are taken for fools, Cinderellas, the world's foot-draggers, for damned, worthless people, who are good for nothing. But it does not hurt. For in weakness, sin, foolishness and infirmity there dwells within and secretly such power and strength, which the world cannot know, but is hidden from it, and yet tears through it; for Christ dwells in them, and shows himself to them. I have seen many of them who were so weak by heart, but when they came to the meeting and to the judgment, Christ moved them so that they became so strong that the devil had to flee.
I speak this against the Arians, Sacramentarians, and other sects and enthusiasts who do not understand this text. They mean nothing else than to create it with thoughts; they also have only mere thoughts of Christ. Therefore it is impossible for them to stand before the devil. The devil has his own space among them, blows and whispers corrupt thoughts into them, which they soon pass off as God's word, and as if the Holy Spirit had spoken it. It is said that you should believe in Christ, eat and drink of his flesh and blood, and through faith cling to him, and then you will have a different courage, strength and heart.
No one will be deceived, fooled, or frightened as before, and you yourself will confess that you are now a different man than before. Before you were afraid and terrified of a fictitious sin, and trembled before a rustling leaf; but now that you have received forgiveness of sins, you ask nothing of it, though the devil and pope be foolish, though the emperor and persecutor be angry, and you can say, Though you have much sin and filthiness still in you, what is it to him?
Let them still be angry and defiant; I am in Christ, and will abide [Ps. 23:1]. This is then much another man, who fears not so soon. Christ is righteous in your heart with his power, and not only in your mouth.
The fools, the sophists, have also disputed that Christ sits at the right hand of his Father, and fills heaven and earth, and has also gone to hell, not as to his person, but as to the effect; so he also dwells in the hearts of his own; as if he could help and work if he were not. But if he does a sermon or miraculous work that is divine, he will not be far from it. And if he were as far from me as he is from heaven, I should not, nor would I know how, to speak thus continually before Caesar.
375 Therefore the Lord Christ is in earnest, saying, If thou shalt believe on him, thou shalt abide with him, and he will abide with thee: though thou be yet somewhat infirm, it is no hurt. For I, saith he, am in thee. Now if thou lackest anything, I have righteousness, holiness, and wisdom in abundance, I have no infirmities; but if thou hast infirmity, it is in me, and I will see that I counsel it, and drown thy infirmity in my power and strength, destroy thy sin in my righteousness, devour thy death in my life. This is the right opinion, understanding and summa of this text, that whoever believes in him, with him he is also. Now he sets a likeness, and saith:
V. 57. Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father; so whoever eats me will also live because of me.
This is a beautiful similitude, because he says: I was sent by the Father [Joh. 16, 28.], and came as a preacher to the Jewish people, and became a man; but so a man, that I live for the Father's sake. This is probably not good German; but we do not want to change the text. For this much is said, I live therefore and thereby, that the Father is in me, and I am in the Father. Therefore he that eateth me shall live because of me, that I am in him: that is, he that believeth on me.
and keep himself, he shall live therefore and by this, that he is in me, and I am in him.
This is a beautiful Johannine text, that he portrays and describes Christ in such a way that he is not only man, but also God. He does not say that he has life because he remembers the Father, but the Father is in me, who is my life. Thus his eternal life is that the Father begat the Son, and not the Son the Father. Such life as he has from the Father, and that he became man according to the Father's will, has redeemed us, and that now the Father is in him, this he has given us with these words: As I have life because the Father is in me and he has given it to me, so you also shall have life because you are in me and I am in you. So now it is quite true in that, except that we are not One natural being with God as He is. For mankind and Godhead are not naturally one being, yet they are in the one and inseparable person that they cannot be separated from each other. Like sugar water is water, but mixed with sugar in such a way that no one can separate sugar and water, even though they are two different natures. It is not a perfect likeness, but it shows to some extent that Christ, our true Savior, is such a person, who is God and man, that when one grasps the humanity of Christ, one has also grasped the divinity; just as in the sugar water you find the true sugar, so the divinity and humanity of the Lord Christ also become a cake.
378. As therefore one inseparable person is made in Christ, who is God and Meush, so Christ and us also become one body and flesh, which we cannot separate, because his flesh is in us, and our flesh in him, that he also essentially dwells in us etc. But this is a different union than a personal union; it is not so high and great as the union, since Christ, truly man, is with the Father and with the Holy Spirit eternal God; but directed to this end, that Christ the Lord by his flesh and blood should become one body with us, so that I
I therefore belong to him, just as all the members of my body belong to one another. For my hand, arm, foot and mouth belong to my body, and are one body with one another, even as all my drops of blood belong to the body. What one limb lacks, the other also lacks; if honor, evil or good happens to one limb, it happens to the whole body [Rom. 12, 4. 1 Cor. 12, 12.].
379. So we also come and are united with Christ in one body and being, so that what is good or bad for me is also good or bad for him. If I strike you, or do you harm, or honor you, I strike Christ, or do Christ himself harm or honor; for what happens to a Christian happens to Christ himself. He turns up his nose at it. The tooth does not bite the tongue, the whole body feels it; and if one injures a hand or foot, the woe 1) goes through the whole body; yes, if one plucks out a hair, the body feels it. Summa, whoever beats the Christians or throws them into the tower, throws the body of the Lord Christ itself into the tower. For the Christians are his limbs, he takes care of them, and is unhappy about it, as if it had happened to him. As it is said in the prophet Zachariah Cap. 2, 8. it is said, "He that toucheth you toucheth the apple of my eye." And in the Acts of the Apostles [Cap. 9, 4.), the Lord Christ says to Saul, who afflicted the Christians, "Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?" Item, Matth. 25, 40. clearly says: "Inasmuch as ye do it unto one of the least of these that are mine, ye have done it unto me."
But this union is hidden, and does not appear before the world; but we see the antitype, that the ungodly bishops deal with us thus, as if neither God nor man took care of us, and there were no union between Christ and us. But faith sees it, and learns to recognize Christ in an invisible life and being, not from reason; and yet the proof is found that there are many pious people who confess Christ and God's word with all humility and joy, contrary to the world.
1) d. i. Pain.
who preach lies, and over them let their bodies and everything go.
381 For this reason the Lord Christ made this likeness, because he saw that there were false teachers, such as the Arians and others, who would make of the faith vain thoughts, and only a mirror fencing; as some pretend that we are united with Christ voluntate, with the will; as two good friends are one with each other, so we also have one will and mind with Christ, that he is above in heaven, and we here on earth. But if I were caught and attacked outside a city, what would he help me who is inside the city, whether he is of the same mind as me or is my good friend? Therefore this is only an outward unity, or legalis unitas, as the jurists call it, since the wills, which were otherwise repugnant, are united with each other, and is quite another thing from this unity of Christ and the faithful; for such is a worldly convention.
With this unity, then, Christ is in me, and truly One Body is with us, that He mightily holds with us with His power and strength; so near does and is no friend to another. How this unity is to be called, I will let go, for it is not highly necessary. It is enough to keep to the text where he says, "As the Father is in me, and I live for the Father's sake; so he that eateth me, the same shall live also for my sake." This means as much: as he has life from eternity from the Father, so shall we also live in him; but with the difference that he is the Son of God from eternity, and receives us by grace as heirs of his goods, and makes us partakers of his Godhead [Eph. 1, 3. 4. 2, 5. 6.].
383 This likeness takes away the false delusion and mind from the false attendance or being, of which the false spirits dream and chatter in vain. The text is always directed to faith, against the world, that it should not be the work of dreams; therefore hear ye, that Christ always giveth to eat and drink eternal life.
384 Therefore, the sophists, and
All who have fallen from the true church do not know or reckon what faith is. They can come no higher than this: If the heart considers what Christ has given and wills to be done, that the body may accomplish these things by works, then I am in him, or he is in me, and I have the same will as he. O too slow, fellow! That will not do, Mores, too slowly! Do you want to regulate this with your will, deeds or works, and according to the law, your works and will, and thus lead and bring the Lord Christ into the heart? This means to start from the works. They come no further than this, because of their ignorance or unbelief. If Christ does not come to me before I do and draw him to me, he will never come to me. This means nothing else preached, but works against faith; they know and can do nothing, out of great blindness.
If I am to have a righteous will toward the law, and do what Christ is called, and enter into the works of the law, he himself must first be there, and have planted in the heart his knowledge, wisdom, and ability, that Christ may afterwards begin, and proceed out of the mouth, that thou mayest speak and confess the divine word, and be bold in heart, that thou mayest risk life and limb, and put all above such confession. He must be the cornerstone and lay the foundation, and not we. So they want, not in God's name, 1) to build ahead and lay the foundation, that is, to be pious and do good works; after that Christ is to come and build the roof. But nothing comes of it. It is said, "He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath everlasting life." Christ must come first, if you are to do the law; when Christ comes, then you will do what is written in the law, and what else you are to do.
But how does it come? Thus, "He who eats my flesh" etc. Thou shalt hear the gospel from him, be taught and instructed, and not resist the preaching, that the Holy Spirit may be strengthened by the word, and form and put Christ in thy heart, that thou mayest preach, believe, and speak otherwise,
1) i.e., in the name of the devil.
suffer, and do other good works, than before, and say afterward, Now will I suffer for the word of God, all that I ought; then is the tree become good, and the fruit also shall be pleasant and good Matth. 12:33].
I do not treat the article so diligently in vain, for I fear that people will not stick to it. And there are, unfortunately, already many among us who despise it and will not take the article seriously. So the pope and the bishops fight hard against it. If preachers come later, who preach and practice the article sleepily, lazily and lazily, it will soon be done, and an error will come over the people. For already in the territory of our sovereign there is such contempt for the Gospel, ingratitude and forgetfulness that my heart would break. I would not have thought that the misery and wretchedness in which we are plunged in the papacy should have been forgotten at once and no longer remembered. We live as securely as if we had been in this freedom forever. So no one wants to give anything more to churches, preachers' chairs and schools. If the preachers could die of hunger, they would do it most willingly; they would also persecute the preachers; and if they could chase them out to the country, they would do it much more willingly.
388 But it was so with the gospel before, and it shall be so with it again. The children of Israel were afflicted in Egypt, and their young children were drowned, and they were oppressed: but when they came out, and were delivered of the Egyptians, it was soon forgotten. They thought only of the onions and fleshpots. Such things are still done today; we only remember what serves peace and pleasure. Well, all kinds of plagues will follow, so that the poor will be oppressed by the times, and pestilence will choke the rich, yes, even bloodshed will come, many tyrants and evil spirits will arise, 2) the word of God will fall again. But I will learn and teach this article as long as I live; it shall be diligently practiced in my sermons;
2) eräugen - to let oneself be seen, to become apparent. - Walch and the Erlanger have changed it to "ereignen".
For I see what he does where he is, and what harm he does where he is not.
(389) The pagans do not understand all this, but this is what this similitude means: As the Father is in Christ, that is, that it is inherent in the Son from eternity, he did not earn it or acquire it by works; so we do not receive it from merit or from our good works, but from eating and drinking Christ, that is, believing in Christ. This food and drink is not our work, but is called a gift, or the benefit I receive through faith. But it must be a strange heretic to me, who wants to feed others with the food that he himself is, as follows:
V. 58. This is the bread that came down from heaven, not as your fathers ate manna and died. Whoever eats this bread will live forever.
These words belong to the conclusion of this sermon; and above [v. 49] he also said this, that their fathers ate manna. But now he sees that they should believe in him, that this is the summa: If you want to be saved, eat this bread. Now this is far different food from what your fathers ate in the wilderness, because of which you boast so much about your fathers; yet with them it is said, "They died." For they sinned against God, therefore he also smote them and afflicted them, that they died. Some of them may have repented and repented in their own way, but the rest died in their sins and were condemned, and manna did not help them.
In short, nothing shall help or save you, except to eat this bread. Manna is indeed a delicious food, and is truly bread and work that came from heaven and was created by God, but it only nourishes the belly and does not help to live; their fathers died over it. For it was not promised that whosoever ate manna should not die, as this bread hath, whereof it is said, I will give you bread that maketh alive; wherefore also they that eat above and beside the manna, believe in God, who hath made them from
Those who have believed in the faith that led them into Egypt have been filled and saved. They have exercised their faith in it; and though they have died, yet they live.
392. Reject therefore their glory, saying, "Your fathers ate manna, and died." As if to say, Verily I will give you something better than bread of heaven. Ah, what should you poor beggar give? I will give you this food, my body and blood, which body is given for you, and the blood is poured out for you. If therefore ye eat the body, yea, the very bread of heaven, and drink the same blood, ye shall live for ever.
393 Thus the Lord Christ concludes the sermon, namely, that he will teach them of other meat than they have heard, and that they should not partake of any other meat. For whosoever eateth the bread hath eternal life: for Christ abideth and dwelleth in him. If he is in us, we are already alive, because he is life itself.
394 For this reason we do not teach as the Sophists pretended, as if we are not blessed and holy here on earth, and have Christ only in our thoughts. That is why they invented purgatory, and because of the misunderstanding of this text, much horrible evil has been done. But if you are a Christian on earth, and believe in Christ, and thus eat his body and drink his blood, life is already in you. Therefore, since Christ is in us and remains with us, and we in him, his life, holiness and righteousness must also be in us. How it is proved by the fact that one is in his heart at the deathbed, that he is there. It is then not mere thoughts that one should pass over sin, death and condemnation.
395 If we could have preached this in the priesthood, we would not have been allowed to talk about so many endowments, funerals, and masses, and that good works should have been sent before purgatory and done afterwards, so that the delicious consolation and defiance that Christ is in us, and where he is, righteousness, forgiveness of sins, and satisfaction for it also follow; but what still remains in me of
He will sweep out the sins; therefore there is no need for a sweeping fire. The only thing that needs to be done is for the old sack of mud to cease, to be put to death, to rot and decay; if it is dead, then life is there, so that it may come forth again through Him who dwells in us. As John 14, v. 23, says about Christ: "If anyone believes in me, the Father and I will come and make our abode with him. So our bodies are temples of God and dwelling places of the Holy Spirit; they are made so only through the flesh, which is taught here.
If we believed this, we could be rid of all error, and even be a judge of all false doctrines, such as purgatory and pardons, for it is said: Christ dwells in me. If thou hast sin, he hath righteousness; if thou hast a boil or a sore in thy conscience, he is salvation, an almighty physician, able to heal thee. If thou art sick and in death, he will make thee well and alive. Even if (where possible) you are thrown into purgatory, it shall not harm you. For as in a natural body there is life, health, natural strength and vigor, though any limb be sore, or weak, or full of leprosy, yet in time counsel may be given it, that it may be healed; so also is Christ in us, healing daily all our infirmities. With this, this sermon is completed, and this is the Christian meaning of this sermon. God help us also to grasp it, amen.
The eighteenth sermon.
Saturday before Misericordias Domini [April 22, 1531]. 1_
Now let us hear how the students or listeners of this sermon are doing.
V. 59, 60: These things said he in the synagogue, when he taught in Capernaum. Many of his disciples, hearing this, said: This is a hard saying, who can hear it?
1) In the original in the margin: "am Sonnab. Jub.", which is wrong. The time determination given by us results with certainty from the regular succession in which Luther held these sermons. Cf. the note to the previous sermon Col. 2353.
397 This is a fine text, if only one could treat it as it would be worth. But you have heard the sermon the Lord preached on eating and drinking, that is, on faith in Him, as He Himself abundantly and comfortingly explained, that we should believe that He is the Son of God, who gave His body for us and shed His blood for us. This should be the main part of the Christian doctrine, namely, that eternal life, the forgiveness of sins, and all blessedness are to be found in the Lord Christ alone.
398] Then follows how this preaching and teaching was received, and what kind of disciples came out of it. It is also stated above [v. 41] that the Jews quarreled about his teaching, grumbling and saying: He is a fine preacher, but he taught strange and strange things, which their reason and five senses could not understand, so that they measured it all out. But now this happens, that not only the common, mad crowd and rabble of the Jews, but also those who adhered to him, dealt with him as with their master, and were his disciples, much greater and higher people than the common rabble, they grumble and quarrel about it, and thus show what they think of the preaching, who nevertheless have seen his daily walk and being, yes, his miraculous signs, and heard his preaching, and perhaps have done miracles themselves. For over the twelve apostles he took seventy-two of them, who had the name of disciples of Christ [Luc. 10:1]. As it is mentioned from time to time in the Gospel that Jesus and his disciples, yes, the multitude of disciples, preached. These were to be his own disciples, or the most distinguished pastors and preachers in the whole world, whom he had chosen in his own person.
Now hear what kind of fellows these are. I do not take the word "school" to mean the children's school or high school, but rather the synagogue, which we now call a preaching stand or church or other place where the holy Scriptures are preached and read publicly before the congregation, as in a church or chapel, where the townspeople come together to listen to God's
Word. In such schools Moses and the prophets were read; as we do and perform the ministry in the church, so did the Jews in their homes, schools or synagogues.
The evangelist wants to show that the Lord Christ did not only preach to his disciples secretly in a house or on a ship, but that he taught this as a public preacher, who led the preaching ministry in Capernaum. Therefore Capernaum is called his city [Matth. 9, 1], because he was a bishop or priest there, where he preached most of his life and did signs, where he had his chair and church, just as I am a preacher here and another teaches in a place. So the evangelist says, "He preached in Capernaum, in his church, where he was the chief superintendent, in his pulpit, where he was a doctor and preacher, and where his disciples heard many fine sermons from him.
401 But when he preaches, the text says: "Many of his young men who heard this said: This is a hard saying." This is a disgraceful thing, that the people of Capernaum called him a fool, who had preached a strange, mad and unrhymed sermon, which no one had ever heard from him before. Until now, he had preached beautiful, wonderful sermons, but now he was a strange, weird preacher who taught things that had never been heard before. So the whole city said, even his disciples themselves spoke: What a strange, weird, foolish preaching is this; who will remain his disciple, or keep it with him? He saith, It is nothing that the fathers did eat manna; he giveth the right bread of heaven: Our thing shall be nothing, that the fathers did eat bread of heaven in the wilderness forty years etc. He wants too high, and attacks it too hard. Oh, if he had stayed here and preached how to punish vice and practiced the Ten Commandments, he would have been a fine preacher. But now he is too rude, saying, Our fathers were nothing, and he alone is nothing; who will believe it? There they go. Judas is certainly their
There has been one who has thought: I have a handsome master, he is visirlich, 1) he preaches as a fool; this one is without doubt the most distinguished in this game, and will have said to the others: What do you think of our doctor? How finely did he preach today? Yes, like another fool; and will have made much disparagement of Christ to them. Yet he still eats and drinks with him, and keeps himself around him, and takes what he can get.
Otherwise the evangelist says: The others went from him from that time on. Then the Lord Christ undoubtedly chose others instead of the two and seventy disciples, as they had fallen away from him. It is a strange, strange sermon, that those who are well with Christ, and are called his disciples, and have preached in the name of Christ, and perhaps have done miracles, should be offended at it, and fall down; and cannot hear the article, that he saith, He that believeth on me, the same shall be saved; neither can they abide in it, nor understand that he saith, If your fathers did eat manna, they died.
403 But this is how it is: the sectarians and our enthusiasts were also disciples of the Lord Christ at first, and had Christ just as we do, until they became Sacramentarians, Anabaptists, and other red spirits. Then they pretend that Christ can be baked and melted so that he can be eaten and drunk. That is a hard speech. Yes, this is how it must be, that some disciples who hold with the Lord Christ fall back and fall away. It would be no wonder if the papists did it, and other rude asses; but that those who accept Christ nevertheless fall away again, that is annoying. But see to it that you stand firm.
The evangelist John gave us this comfort, that we might have an example of this, and know that if the gospel is right in the world, even those fall away from it, to whom it would not have been provided, and who should do the best. This has given me many a shock, that Christ is so weak with his own in his preaching ministry, that one here, the other there, is so weak.
1) i.e. foolish.
Again, the devil makes himself so strong, and opposes with all his might, that the best people in the world persecute the gospel, and among us even the best fall away. These thoughts must occur to one at times: Dear, is the doctrine right? Does God also approve of the fact that it is so strange?
405 There is then a great trouble; but it is called to shut the eyes straightway, and to say, He that will not stand shall fall, and he that will stand shall stand; he also that will persecute the gospel shall persecute it; yet it is the truth. This is no wonder, because the Lord Christ Himself is in such a way that this trouble still comes under our eyes today. But what can I do about the fact that the pope and the fanatics fall away from the gospel and do us this burnt misery? I will not have it better than my Lord Christ; since it happened to him that they fell away from him, they will not all stand with us either. It is said in the 10th chapter of Matthew, v. 25: "If they have called the father of the house Beelzebub, much more shall they call you so." Therefore, let them always fall and persecute, so that this doctrine will not perish or fall into ruin. The gospel must and will stand on another foundation than violence, or on learned, great and wise men. If the angry princes, even the senseless and furious bishops, persecute the gospel, or the learned people fall away from it, it must be despised, trampled underfoot and persecuted by the world, and even those who want to be good Christians generally deviate from it; it is another force that sustains this teaching.
V. 6i. But when Jesus saw that his disciples were grumbling about this, he said to them: Does this offend you?
406 When he saw that they were angry and grumbling, it moved the good man Christ and hurt him; though he did not see it from their outward gestures, how they hung their heads and gaped at it, yet he looked into their hearts and saw their
He knew their thoughts, for he was God. Therefore he soon noticed their thoughts, when he pointed them from the bodily bread to the spiritual food and drink, and had clearly enough interpreted the dark text, and said, that whoever believes in him, hungers and thirsts not for eternity. Then it was presented to them neatly and clearly enough; but it does not help, they are offended at the word that he says, "Who eats my flesh" etc. They do not see that he says, "Whoever comes to me and believes in me. Therefore he says, "Does this offend you?" As if to say, You have no cause for this; it is clear enough what I mean by eating and drinking; nor does it offend you. It is nothing else, but that you go, and cannot leave your natural thoughts, since I do not speak according to the flesh, but spiritually.
407 Truly it grieves the devout heart of Christ, and has grieved him greatly, that his word is despised, and men are offended at it, because he preached it to them that they might be saved. Just as it still grieves us. We do not preach for the purpose of harming or destroying anyone, but so that people may know the truth about how to get to heaven and learn the ways by which they will be saved. But that it should turn out otherwise is not our fault, but theirs, and comes from their wanting to think of it with carnal thoughts: He is sorry for this, as I am sorry for it and all preachers are sorry for it, and therefore says, "Are you angry about this? Does this seem so strange to you? Will ye be offended that I teach of eating and drinking, that is, believe that it shall do all things, or be ye damned?
408 And when we also preach that faith alone in Christ alone saves, as Christ here expressly says that this food, that is faith alone, helps and obtains forgiveness of sins and eternal life, and that good works should follow it, for faith need not be unfruitful, our papists also rage and rage against it. We then interpret and explain it as we will, as that good works should follow faith; however, we judge that
We don't know what to do with them, and no interpretation will help. Therefore we have to let them go, as the Lord Christ does [Matth. 15, 1. ff.]. Nor can we preach as they would have it, and then pretend to condemn the fathers, and forbid good works; as they also mean in the Gospel that he condemned the fathers who ate manna in the wilderness, and interpret it in the most poisonous way. But we must let it go, and say: Be angry all the same; we are excused. Simple-minded people and children can understand and grasp what it is, that faith in Christ alone makes us blessed and helps us before God; item, that good works should follow. They do not want to understand it, so we have to say, "Does this bother you? You have no cause to fall away from it. The trouble does not come from the word, but it is the fault of your flesh and of human wisdom; it shall be called as you will, as you master and interpret it; that will not concern you for a long time. Now he speaks thus:
V. 62. How then, when ye shall see the Son of man ascending to the place where he was before?
409 This text looks a little dark, and I have not yet spoken of it with our linguists; but I will indicate my opinion about the text,' if I hit it, then I hit it. But it seems to me that this saying, "When you see the Son of Man ascending," has two meanings, and is spoken in Johannine, and we do not lack the sentence or opinion, although we lack the grammars. The Latinus has not his question, but]: 1) Si videritis ascendentem filium hominis, ubi prius erat, that it be not asked.
The first opinion of this text is that he says: "Are you angry about this? Well, what will be the annoyance when I ascend to the place where I was before? As if he wanted to say: Can you not suffer this, nor believe that I say: He who believes in me, has eternal life etc. while I am still on earth, and fall away from us: Eh, what a
1) Without such an addition, this sentence seems meaningless to us. - It should be noted, however, that the newer editions of the Vulgate also have a question mark after this sentence.
Then shall there be rumbling, tumbling, and falling away, when I go where I belong? And did the Lord comfort himself with this, as if he should say: "Will this not sound when I say: Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood will live forever; how will it then work and sound when the Holy Spirit will preach that I, Christ, am the Son of God, and God Himself, whom you crucified and martyred [Acts 10:39]? Now you see me walking along as a true, natural man, preaching mightily and performing miracles; but there it will first of all fall apart. How will one reconcile the two, that a hanged, crucified, and most infamously condemned man, who died among two murderers [Is. 53:9], should nevertheless be preached and spread throughout the world, that he has risen from the dead, and sits at the right hand of God, yes, is God himself? This will only become a nuisance. This is the first opinion that I do not reject.
The other opinion is of the Latin text: Aergert you this? like, when you see etc. It breaks off shortly, and it reads bluntly. But the Lord wants to comfort himself with it, and say in a summa: You are now following your thoughts, that you are angry; but I will save it until the time comes that you will believe it, when I give the Holy Spirit, who will transfigure me (Joh. 16, 14.). Therefore, though some do not believe it now, yet the time will come when you will believe it. Now if the first thing offends you, the last will offend you much more and more. But if all do not believe it now, I leave it to pass that some will believe it yet; as John is also said in the 12th chapter, v. 32: "When I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw them all after me. Therefore he will say this much: I see it will not be otherwise, and it will not come to pass with my teaching everywhere; though I preach long and perform miraculous signs, yet all things offend you. Only dead with me; when I am dead, then it shall be different; as then in the above-mentioned 12th chapter of John, v. 24, is also illustrated with a very lovely similitude: When the grain of wheat dies in the ground and perishes, the
2374 Erl. 48, 5I-5S. Interpretations on John the Evangelist. W. VII, 2147-2149. ' 2375
fruit; so it shall also change after my death, when I send the Holy Spirit, who will teach you all things. Well, they did not understand any of these words, it seems as if he had spoken it to himself: This is the cause of the. 1) But when the Holy Spirit comes, you will understand perfectly.
412 It is a Johannine piece that he says: You will see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before. No one understood this. But he starts and says that he has been in a place where he wants to go again. It is a little darkly spoken, "Ye shall see the Son of man ascending, where he was before." Where has he been? From eternity with the Father in heaven. For the Father begat him from eternity, inexpressibly, which cannot be understood, but must be believed; there he was before, and from thence came down through mankind, choosing a mother, from whom he became man. Before (he wants to say) I was not man, as I walk now, but I will again leave the earth, and come and go there, where I was before, that is, into the previous life. I will die, and rise again from the dead, and be transfigured that I am the Son of God.
413 It is said with excellent words: "the Son of Man", indicating that he is truly God and man, and wants to have the human nature, which he took from Mary, as otherwise children are born from a mother, and wants to say: I am also a Son of Man, a natural child and living person, not a larva, a specimen or a ghost. And yet this Son of Man wants to return to where he was before. Intertwine them so that in one person is the Son of God and the Son of Mary, and the Son of Man wants to go back to where he was before, that is, to God. Before, before he became man, he was God's Son from eternity [Joh. 1, 1. ff.], but according to mankind he started temporally, has a temporal, new being,
1) Inserted by us for the sake of understanding.
and also had an eternal one at the same time with each other on earth; thus the two natures coincide in one person.
414 And says that he wants to perform. The ascension is nothing else, but that he would transfigure himself. Otherwise he would have needed nothing, that he might be seen among his disciples after the resurrection forty days. As we also see him ascending, because it has gone forth into all the world, that he has ascended into heaven, and sitteth at the right hand of his Father. Yes, he will say, when you see this, and the Holy Spirit will preach it, how I have gone up, not only as a man, as I am now regarded for it, but also as truly God with me, then it will be that either you will become better and believe it, or you will be more displeased by it. Truly, many of you will be offended by the fact that he who died in such a shameful way is the Son of God; but again, many of you will also be corrected. Through this ascension the Holy Spirit comes, as the Lord Christ says in John 16, v. 7: "Where I do not go, the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, does not come to you.
When you see that I am going there, well, well (it is an ellipsis), then you will understand better and will be strengthened; this is how it will be; then you will either hear it, or even go down over it, that I die as a true man, and yet sit at the right hand of my Father, transfigured and proven as a true and perfect God; this will either annoy you or improve you. Now choose which mind you want. So he puts it behind him until the Holy Spirit comes. As if he should say in the text: What shall I dispute much with you? it will not come, I have laid it out enough, I must save it until then.
416 I like this last opinion best, because he says, "The Spirit is he that quickeneth. I must go to heaven, and take the kingdom, and give the Holy Ghost; and there it shall rumble, and stagger, and fall. As has happened. Because one did not want to be satisfied with this sermon. The Jews also cannot yet hear this article, that Christ is true-
If we believe that God is hasty, then we Christians can do without nothing less than this article; whoever does not want to believe it, the door is open to him; he can always go where he wants. The Turk does not believe it either. The pope may say that he believes it, but it is not true. Therefore, if someone does not believe him to be God, he will remain without God. For this is the main article of the Christian Church, and we do not want to know or have any other God.
417 Thus he says, "Dear children, that you should eat my flesh and drink my blood, and know that I am God, and that you should go back to where I came from and be glorified as a god, is too high for you; you are like fools to fall into this article with reason, and want to justify it. If it comes to this, that one wants to think about things with reason, and measure them out, then Christ is soon gone, and I am also lost; for it is decided that the flesh is of no use, but the spirit makes alive. You must have the spirit for this, or get a spiritual mind, because it is too high and incomprehensible to the flesh.
418. But in this place he does not speak of his flesh, as the Sacramentans and the spirits of the Red Men have interpreted it; for how could he do so, since he said much else about it above [v. 51], namely: "my flesh is the life of the world"; item [v. 55]: "my flesh is the right food"; but here he holds the Spirit and the flesh against each other, and says: "The Spirit must do it, but the flesh is of no use. In the Holy Scriptures, "spirit" is called that which is of the Holy Spirit; and "flesh" is called that which is born of the flesh. Ask all men, especially women, who know how a child is born of a mother, body and soul. This is not flesh, as is usually sold in the flesh bank, but a living child, which brings reason with it from the mother's womb, and grows up with it. Therefore Christ calls "flesh" everything that is born of the flesh, namely, all wise and prudent men in the world, kings and princes on earth. Item, father and mother is also flesh, and what is possessed, created and born from them',
and grows, just as a large tree grows from a core. Summa Summarum. A man born of a man and a woman is called flesh, for he comes from the flesh, and is begotten of father and mother. Now what he can do of plants, building, arts and crafts, or what he carries in his head of work and skill, and can do by reason, all this is called "flesh"; for it is the female child's 1) business, and comes from the flesh, from father and mother, his reason brings it along; just as a tree carries its leaves and blossoms. Therefore, what springs from reason is called all flesh. So flesh is the most clever and powerful on earth, with all its power.
419 So now the Lord Christ will declare: He that will believe on me, and take hold of my preaching, let him remember to put away the flesh, and not judge my words, nor take hold of them with his reason. For my flesh has brought with it my limbs, my senses, and my reason, and all that I have learned of all kinds of arts, be it ever so wise, yet it is vain outward and sensible thing, made and built with the five senses; therefore it is still all flesh; for it is all of flesh origin. So that in the word "flesh" are understood all the most powerful, mightiest, richest and cleverest of the world, small and large, high and low, of whom one can say: This one is born of a woman, is the son of a woman, he is called prince or doctor; if he has the title that he has father and mother, then he is called "flesh", let him be as wise, learned and holy as he always can be; if he has not come to another birth through baptism, then call him only flesh.
420 Such flesh, says Christ, cannot enter into the kingdom of God, nor take hold of God; will speak so much: Ye all hear my preaching, that I have said, He that eateth my flesh," etc. Now in your flesh go the thoughts, so that ye conclude according to your senses: I have teeth in my mouth, if thou hast flesh, we will soon eat thee up; and
1) "of the female child" - the child born of the woman. Job 14, 1. Cf. Z419 at the end.
not many men will have enough of you; they will soon have digested you and cast you out; you will not long retain flesh; how then should you give us life? So the flesh speaks, and reason will measure the words of Christ according to its way. Just as when a cow eats hay, or a sow a calf, 1) she has eaten it away and eaten it up. And when a man eats his bread, he has devoured it, consumed it, and digested it. But the Lord saith, Ye have no cause to be angry: your wisdom, understanding, and reason, that ye should judge these words, are not of this place: if thou wilt understand my word, judge it not by thy head, nor by thy reason, thou shalt be a fool for it; thou canst not discern it with thy wisdom: but put out thine eyes, they vex thee [Matt. 18:9], thou must hear what I say.
V. 63. The words that I speak are spirit and life.
421 My words are spiritual; but the flesh with all wisdom, that thou shouldest understand my words, is a dead thing; my words are life. Then he glosses over it, saying [v. 64], "There are some among you who do not believe." These words will not be grasped with our head; therefore reason, flesh, blood, or wisdom to and fro, they are not life or spirit to you, but all dead things that you want to grasp with reason; but my words are the highest wisdom and life, and have life and spirit, and also make alive, but they must be believed. If you want to have life with you, you must become a new and spiritual man, who does not judge by reason, as a man born of his mother, but begins to believe these words, otherwise you will not come to it; so it will be your life. This is the way to become spiritual and a new man, as the words are also spirit and life, if you appropriate these words with faith; otherwise, apart from that, these words cannot make you alive or spiritual, because the flesh is in your way. Then learn,
1) i.e. jelly.
How you come to the spirit and life, and what the spirit and flesh mean. And if the words are rightly understood, it is clear that your interpretation does not apply here; you may use another master's word than your head.
The nineteenth sermon.
Saturday after Misericordias Domini [April 29, 1531]. 2)
V. 63: It is the Spirit who gives life.
422 This is a very fine saying, which now at six or seven years has suffered great torture and a hard thrust, but I hope it has endured. The blasphemers of the sacraments have taken it against the Lord's Supper, and stretched it to show that Christ's living, true body is not in the Lord's Supper, but badly in the bread and wine. They said that the body and blood of Christ in the Lord's Supper did not serve anywhere, it was flesh; and they wanted to confirm that Christ said: "The flesh is of no use, but it is the Spirit who gives life.
423 Therefore we must be prepared against these foolish, senseless spirits. Christ does not say, "My flesh is of no use. For above [v. 55] he said, "My flesh is meat," and boasted [v. 51] that his flesh gives life to the world. But now, when they are angry and do not want to believe that his flesh is the true food, he answers, "What are you doing? When I say, My flesh is meat; these are words, to which belongs the spirit, to understand these words, to drink my blood, and to eat my flesh; it is a vain spiritual thing. And this text irrefutably enforces that he should not speak of his flesh, which is also meat, and truly spiritual flesh, full of the Holy Spirit, and divine flesh, in which is found the true spirit, which is full of grace, because it gives life to the world.
424. but now he sets the spirit and the flesh against each other, and speaks differently of each; therefore this saying of the flesh of Christ cannot be understood, in which there is
2) In the original margin.
Spirit, and he makes alive with it. So we should not let these words, "The flesh is of no use," be interpreted or applied to the body of Christ, from whose flesh it cannot be understood; but this is the opinion: Just as in the first book of Moses in the sixth chapter, v. 3. (when the world was corrupted by the flood), God said, "My Spirit shall no longer abide with men, for they are flesh"; and above John in the third chapter, v. 6, Christ also says, "All that is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit."
425 So here also he contrasts the flesh and the Spirit, saying, "The flesh is of no use," and is dead; "but the Spirit quickeneth." There Christ is called "flesh" all that is born of the flesh, all the children of Adam that are born of the flesh; except the one body of Christ, which is born, not of the flesh, but of the Holy Ghost; as we confess in the Symbolo, "I believe on Christ which is conceived," not of the flesh, but "of the Holy Ghost." He indeed took on flesh, but the flesh did not beget Him; He had no Father, but the Holy Spirit begat Him in the virgin body of Mary. This is confirmed by our faith. The mother conceived with him, not by fleshly powers or manly works, but by the Holy Spirit and his cooperation. Therefore, when Christ speaks of His flesh, He speaks, "My flesh." With this word "my" he separates his flesh from all other flesh. This flesh of his is holy, blessed and graced with the Holy Spirit. And is indeed by nature Mary's. Child, yet he has a spiritual flesh, a true, divine and spiritual body, in which the Holy Spirit dwells, who begat him, and that the same flesh has completely fulfilled him.
426 Therefore this is the summa: To my words which I speak there is no flesh; all men on earth will not understand these words, will not grasp them through the flesh, for that which is born of flesh is flesh. All men are called flesh, except Christ and his Christians. Therefore, where there is not a higher birth, which is born of the flesh, there is no higher birth.
When the Holy Spirit comes, the fleshly birth is neither efficient nor useful, but is all condemnable. Thus the Lord Christ's flesh is not spoken of here, but he means all the people on earth, the most clever, the most powerful, the most beautiful, the strongest and the holiest. Item, all wisdom, which a man can invent from his head and reason, it may be so glistening, but it is flesh.
427 So are the arts and books of all lawyers, which are fine arts in themselves, as are the other arts and wisdom of the learned doctors; but they are all called the fruit of the flesh. Although these arts teach how to govern the temporal, they are external things, fine arts and gifts, which teach how to build a house, how to have a healthy body, beautiful, bright eyes, how to beget 1) beautiful children, how to buy, how to sell, how to plant; but it all comes from the flesh, Jews, Turks and Gentiles have all these things too. Some of them have been his people, have had special skill; but they are men, all their doings are of human nature, power and ability; therefore it is all flesh, there is no God's word to believe, or to come to heaven, or to know Christ. It is completely sunk and drowned in the physical and worldly.
But that which is not flesh, but above flesh, is called spirit. He wants to say: If all reason would come together, it may not understand the words nor suffer them; and the more holy or perceptive, practiced and clever reason is, the less it hears it. . But if the words are to be understood and go to the heart, then a higher must come than all men's wisdom is and can be. One must go to another school, and give leave to reason, not consult it, but be silent, and be called dead, gouge out its eyes and pluck its feathers, whoever wants to understand this otherwise. Then it is true and helpful to say, "Truly, if I am to eat his body and drink his blood, I will not first consult my reason, but will hear what the Lord Christ himself says about it. For reason makes
1) Original: may. Walch and the Erlanger: "have may, beautiful" u. s. w.
The Lord will not let you have one evil thought over the other, and will be angry with you for it. But he who is able to overcome it comes into the spiritual school and being; he does not measure the words, but says: I only want to hear what the Lord says, namely, I shall eat his flesh and drink his blood; I have nothing more, I stick to it, I have heard these words, I want to believe them; it is nothing to me that I do not see it, or cannot calculate it; it is in my head, as it may be, so I want to hear these words. To this belongs another teacher and schoolmaster than reason, namely, the Holy Spirit, who must teach and carry on in this spiritual school.
This is what Christ wants with the words: "The flesh is of no use"; namely: my dear people, if you want to understand my words, do not think of them carnally, put the flesh aside, pay no attention to it, that you want to understand it with the reason and get behind it; because in this way you will never attain the understanding of my words, but you will be annoyed by saying: What, eat flesh! This is what you buy in the shops and belongs in the kitchens. That is as far as you will go. This is the circle of reason, in which it remains; it knows no other way of eating flesh than how men or animals eat it. But when it comes to God's word, and hears of Christ, one should eat his flesh, then it thinks: I must bite him as beef, or as dogs eat and chew a piece of meat. But how can the one man be eaten by the whole world? For even if he were as big as the biggest mountains, like the Alps, it would still not be enough. Thus and the like she ponders and writhes about it; and because she cannot attain it, [it] must not be right. There arises an interpretation according to her liking, and makes little bells over it with such a mind that she likes to have.
430 This is what our idolaters and fanatics do. So did Averrois, who wrote of the Christians that there is no worse people in the world than they, who eat their God, which no other people do, who honor their gods and make them
hold high. How pointedly and mockingly can they make light of the fact that we eat our God? and attack our honor. That is where the scornful, nefarious and safe people come from; only reason does the harm, and so leads the safe people. As the Turk also thinks of us, and takes us Christians for fools; he is sure that we do wrong; for we believe in a God whom we nevertheless eat in ourselves; saying, Are not these mad dogs, ought not those who eat their God to be put to death? Therefore he thinks he is doing well to persecute us. So the Jews also want to become nonsensical when they hear that we eat this flesh; for they calculate it with carnal thoughts, and they calculate it, and it is very ridiculous to them that one body should feed the whole world. So we are mocked by the Turks and the Gentiles even to this day.
431 Among the ancient Christians, when they wanted to receive the Lord's Supper, the Christians locked themselves alone in the choir and ate the sacrament there, so that the pagans would not look at their mysteries and ridicule them. Therefore, a wicked man once said, when he was asked, "What would Christians do if they were shut up alone in the choir? What? he said, they eat you. From then on, they were considered to be people who ate each other. Over the eating, many of them had to die; this was caused by some wicked man, who had said such things so pointedly and poisonously, since he had heard that Christ was eaten in the sacrament. Just as it is still an annoying sermon.
432 But see that you also become such a disciple, and come where the Spirit is, that the Spirit teaches and guides you, and lifts you above and beyond reason; otherwise, you will not understand these words. 2) You must strip off reason altogether and throw it away by faith, that these words may give eternal life. For this reason it has been decided that whoever wants to hear Christ's word should leave the donkey at home and not act or reckon according to his reason.
1) Erlanger: solle.
2) i.e. there, past.
but he will be angry. Therefore eyes and mouth shut, and ears open; hearkening only to the mouth and words of the Lord, who thus saith [v. 53], "Verily, verily, if ye eat not the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you." This alone must be believed and held stiffly above the words, "He that eateth my flesh." I hear that he says to eat of the flesh, and interprets it that such eating is believing. I cannot reconcile this with reason. I hear the words, but what they say I do not feel, feel, or see; yet I will not contradict them, but dare and die. So then the Holy Spirit makes you a disciple, and puts it into your heart (which reason cannot do), that you may believe and dare to do it. This then is not the work of your reason, but of the Holy Spirit, who gives it; it is the gift of the Holy Spirit, put into your heart, that you may believe it. Thus the Lord himself has interpreted that the Spirit gives life, that is to believe.
433 Now then, there are two kinds of people, or two groups, who cannot grasp, understand, or believe. The first are those who find it hard to believe that Christ's flesh and flower are food to give eternal life. This is very hard to believe, they still stumble at it, and fall Gentiles, Turks and Jews, especially over the high piece that Christ's flesh gives eternal life. The pope and the spirits of the Jews pretend to believe the first, that Christ's flesh and blood is truly spiritual food and drink; but the last he does not believe, that it is such food that gives life and heals from death and sins. They will not admit that it is living food, but remain on earth, practicing laws and teaching good works, and saying: One must be pious, do the works of the law and of love, and then one will be saved; this is what the best teachers in the papacy have been.
434 But to come to the point where you are devout and believe that Christ gives eternal life, the Spirit belongs first of all to teach you that not only the flesh of the Lord Christ is food, but also the food of life, which satisfies you forever and makes you alive,
He will save you from death, sins and the devil, which is hard to believe when these things are preached, that his flesh and blood do such great things. However, a Christian goes quickly (who eats of the flesh, that is, believes that he will be saved from the flesh or through this spiritual food) and says, "What do the Ten Commandments mean to me? What need have I of the law, or of good works, unto salvation? If this food of Christ is sufficient, I must not do good works to obtain eternal life.
435 Our adversaries, before they abandoned their laws and good works, taught before that good works would help and be necessary for justification, but that eating Christ's flesh gives life. For such things are especially evil in the ears of reason. Hence come so many orders, monasteries, temples, pilgrimages, and other things, where the wrong mind has been that one should believe that one would be justified by these works; they are under the delusion that by such our works and monastic life one would get eternal life, salvation from sins and death.
436 This, then, is the greatest and highest article, even among those who would be Christians (for among the Gentiles it is even offensive), that Christ's flesh should be meat; and it is even more offensive to believe that it is such food as makes alive, or brings with it eternal life. But with Christians it is not grievous that Christ's body should be a living meat to give eternal life. For this is the precious art of Christians, that they believe without doubt that forgiveness of sins and eternal life come not from the law, nor from good works, nor from caps, nor from plates, but from eating Christ's flesh and drinking His blood.
437 Nevertheless, flesh and blood are so unruly that they rage and strive against this teaching. And just as flesh and blood in a young man rages to fornication, so it also rages in the great, prudent and reasonable hearts, and spiritual, pious men against the article, and always wants the wrong way. The papists want to base their faith badly or let it be based on good works, their little human feet. I, too, have been of the same mind in the papacy, that one should do good works and thereby be saved.
438 St. Paul to the Romans Cap. 7, 23. says that the flesh, as a great giant and mighty man of war, contends against him, takes him badly captive; therefore he complains v. 15, "I cannot do what I want to do, because the flesh sows me. He does not mean the fornicator's evil, for he has had many other temptations and chastisements of the flesh. But he would have liked to believe the article purely, that the flesh of Christ alone makes him blessed; but his flesh murmurs against it. He takes the whole flesh before him, or the whole life, in which man should be pious, but everything is against this article, that one believes that there is no other redemption from death and sins, nor any other salvation, except eating the flesh of Christ and drinking his blood. And if St. Paul will say, "Believe this article therefore," that it is pure faith, that is harder than anyone can think. I can preach it, he says, but I cannot believe it so firmly; but I make every effort to grasp it.
439 But if thou art redeemed by the flesh of Christ, in that thou hast eaten the same, and drunk the same blood, do good works, and keep the law. But yet distinguish them well. For good works do not save thee from sins, but the body and blood of Christ. But I do good works for the honor and obedience of God, and for the good of my neighbor. There is no one among us who still has a large, large piece of the flesh, yes, a whole large baking trough full.
440] Now the Holy Ghost hath begun in us, exhorting us, saying, Ye hear Christ preached and taught, that his flesh and blood is the divine meat and drink for our life and salvation. And the Holy Spirit writes these words in the heart, that thou mayest believe them, and continue in them, that there is no other comfort, help, or counsel, to be delivered from sin and death, but to say with faith, His flesh is given for me on the cross, and His blood is shed for me. This is not of your own strength, but you have it by the grace and gift of the Holy Spirit. Otherwise, your heart cannot have the sense, the flesh does not let you hear it, or only hear it out of habit and say: It may be the flesh of Christ is spiritual food,
not to enjoy with the mouth, but only to remember it, and not to have life from it; but one must truly do good works, and keep God's commandments. This is what it comes to when it comes to the highest.
441 I am also still in such a way that the works always pull me behind Christ,' on myself, I still have to struggle with it day and night. So it does not remain after, one advances us soon: One must nevertheless do good works. That is true, it is God's will; but that is also doing God's will, eating the flesh of Christ, that is, believing, and then doing good works. I should do good works, but they do not help me from sins, nor can they give me life, nor do they feed me to eternal life. I will not give them this honor, but this their humble 1) part, that they may be done in honor of God, to praise and glorify him, and for the benefit and good of the neighbor.
442. Therefore, the fact that it is said that we must eat Christ's flesh is an indication of Christ: If we want to be children and disciples of God, and understand this word, we must come higher than in the flesh, we must come far, far above reason, and go to another school, where the Holy Spirit is the schoolmaster, who makes these words fiery flames and living thoughts, [does not need pen and ink to write them into your heart, so that you understand and believe them; such flames and breath is of the Holy Spirit, it brings life, and makes you use these words rightly. But if thou remainest in the flesh, and wilt deal with reason, thou hast no profit of it; thou remainest dead, as thou wast before.
443 Know therefore that these things are not spoken of the flesh of Christ, but of our flesh, since we are all called flesh, as if we do not receive the Holy Spirit to teach us and to press the words of Christ into our hearts, if the Holy Spirit is not there, we are and remain flesh. And if this text were to be well and rightly applied, one would understand from it that all monasteries and essays of the pope, which otherwise build and trust in good works, would fall to the ground.
1) d. i. assigned.
444 If the Lord had stopped at these words, "the Spirit gives life," the spirits of the mob would have cried out: Spirit, Spirit; baptism and the Lord's Supper do not make it, therefore you must crawl into a corner and expect the Spirit. This to degenerate, he puts these words to it:
The words I speak are spirit and life.
445 That is, the Holy Spirit has said it. He will not allow you to flutter now and then, to look for a spirit and to dream that one speaks: I have it from speaking of the Holy Spirit. Yes, you may have it out of the afflicted devil's inspiration. As they stipulated at Augsburg under the Imperial Diet in the edict: The church is pious, therefore it must speak holy by inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Christ does not want such an intercession, but binds only to the Word; he does not want the Holy Spirit to be separated from his Word. Therefore, if you hear someone boast that he has something from inspiration or inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and it is without God's word, whatever it may be, say that it is the wretched devil. Christ will nowhere bind thee but to his mouth and word, will not let thee flutter, but thou shalt hear his word, as he saith, The words that I speak are spiritual things. Therefore, if thou shalt receive the Holy Ghost, keep my words, for they are spirit and life.
446 These words are worth much gold, that one should see and listen to God's word; cause, therefore, all great and abominable errors, idolatries, and idolatries have arisen at every time in the world; as, St. Francisci and Dominici orders, the fathers' rules, masses and pilgrimages, and other things; all this must have been called inspired by the Holy Spirit, what some fool has thought of, dreamed of, and loved. Everybody took his thoughts for the Holy Spirit and his revelations. So the Grimmethal 1) must also be from the Holy Spirit. The pope has rejected such statements or errors.
1) i.e. the pilgrimage to the Virgin Mary in Grimmethal in Franconia.
but it is without God's word, and therefore it is the sorry devil.
God has ordained His Holy Spirit to come through the Word in an orderly manner. This is what Christ himself says in this place. Therefore, if something occurs to you that seems so beautiful and holy that you even think it is an angelic being, take it before you and hold it against God's word, see if it is based in the holy Scriptures, and whether or not God has commanded, commanded and commanded it. If it is only a mere thought, a special devotion and good opinion, without God's word, spit it out; unless God wanted to enlighten you specially like Moses, otherwise watch out; and because God has now confirmed the ministry of preaching, beware of such devotion and thoughts, which the devil can well cause, even if they were so sweet that they wept great tears.
You must know which devotion is evil or which is good, natural or spiritual, for they are all almost the same. The monks' books have been full of spiritual devotion, and many have been deceived by such devotion, for they have not been able to distinguish or conclude which devotion is right or which is wrong, since they have not had the word of God, saying that they must not resist the Holy Spirit. But I say: I will resist him, if they have not the word of God. For St. John in his first 2) epistle [4, 1] commands that all spirits should be tested and judged, and see who preaches and what he teaches.
If I am to test the spirit, I must have the word of God, which is to be the rule, the touchstone, the lydius lapis, the light by which I may know what is black or white, good or evil; just as the sun illuminates all things. And where this light does not shine, say, I will gladly let it be beautiful in the sight of the world, and also be a precious thing; but that it should help me to God, and deliver me from death, I will neither hear it nor see it, if it does not agree with the divine word, however much it may shine. Regarding
2) "first" is missing in the original.
Such devotion to my souls salvation and bliss, I will spit at them, trample them underfoot, not suffer, hear nor see them; for there is not God's word.
450 Christ's sermon is based on this, since he teaches that his words and speeches are life and spirit, that is, they are truly spiritual things, far, far above reason and much higher, even heavenly. Now if we want to find the spirit and life, we must also become spiritual, and hear the word of God; this outweighs reason, and reaches higher than reason knows. The words I hear, if I am to understand them, are through the Holy Spirit, who also makes me spiritual; the word is spiritual, and I also become spiritual; for he writes it in my heart, and is, in sum, all spirit.
Mark well the text, that Christ saith, "The Spirit quickeneth:" for he doth not leave us in error or doubt. And the Lord soon after says what the Spirit is, saying, "My words," that when the preachers of lies come, boasting of the Spirit, and saying that they are urged to preach by love and the Spirit, that we may then watch, and not be deceived [Matt. 24:24]. For truly they also say now, I mean well, and with all faithfulness, God knows from heaven, I would set my soul for your blessedness. But say thou, Preach to the geese, thou art a devil, let me be unsworn with thy spirit; Christ will not have me to hear, and saith, The Spirit quickeneth; where are I and thou?" "My words," saith he, "are spirit; if thou seest them, thou hast him.
452. you may want to ask: where does the spirit make alive? or by what? where shall I find him? Here is the answer: Hold fast my sayings and my words; if thou grasp them, thou hast the Spirit. So the words are spirit in him that teacheth and preacheth, and also in him that heareth and believeth; as much as he hangeth on the words, so much is he spirit; but as much as he hath flesh, and believeth not, so is he flesh.
These two wrestle with each other. I would like to believe with my heart and that I would always be full of the spirit, but I cannot. For the flesh and the old squire
Adam, who is in my skin, comes and frightens the spirit, pulls antics at me, sings in the heart day and night: "One must nevertheless also allow good works. These thoughts are of no use to me, they are cursed, damned and harmful; I must still have them, but always fight against them and say: I will not do it, nor trust in works.
454 I know that the ten commandments are commanded; what is more? I will first learn this article, and believe that my salvation and life are in the flesh and blood of Christ; then I will give the ten commandments, which I will not refuse. If the heart is founded on this article, then one also does good works, sed diversa ratione.
This is now this Christian article, and these words are spirit; not high, wise, reasonable words, but spirit. And to the school of the Holy Spirit you must come with your heart, for otherwise you can do nothing; life and spirit all pass away, and you remain in death.
The twentieth sermon.
Saturday before Cantate [May 6, 1531]. 1)
It is with the greatest diligence that we learn to understand the words, "It is the Spirit that quickeneth," that we may keep the right, thorough understanding that he says, "The words that I speak are spirit and life. There he does not speak of his bodily flesh, which he gives for the life of the world, and to the Christians for food, but he wants to set flesh and spirit against each other, and that one should not seek the spirit higher, or differently, than in his words, which go out of the mouth of man and are preached. These words are actually spirit, and lead man into another world and being, give him another heart and sense, so far above and beyond all reason, yes, so that reason can not even comprehend, although it would like to. My reason cannot understand that the salvation and happiness of my soul should rest on the fact that the flesh of Christ was crucified. And suffered for me. There
1) In the original in the margin, but there it is erroneously written "after" instead of "before". Cantate.
saith reason: How can the flesh, crucified in itself, help me, and save me from death? But you say: Virgin reason, shut thou up; thou hearest well that Christ saith, let it be taught thus, and let the words be honored and given place, and let it be believed to be true; then shall I also become spirit, and soar higher than my reason, my flesh, and nature are able.
This is one thing, that the Spirit is not to be sought anywhere but in and by his word which he speaks. For his words say that the flesh is given for us, and the blood is shed for us. He who hears the word of God hears the word of the Spirit. And if he believes it, he also becomes a spirit; and thus one comes by faith [Gal. 3:22].
V. 64. But there are some among you who do not believe.
You hear that his words cannot be judged or assessed with reason, they want to remain undiscussed by you, so that you do not say out of your skull: How is it possible? It cannot be otherwise than this: if you hear the words and keep them, they shall make you alive; for they are life itself in them, and cannot be interpreted, grasped, judged. You must believe, otherwise they cannot be forced, but only with faith; otherwise you must be and remain forfeited for eternity [Marc. 9, 23].
He adds the cause in this: Some of them did not believe. These were high people, scholars of Christ, wise people, who knew the Ten Commandments, excellent, learned people before the world; yet they do not believe, these words are vain foolishness to them, it seems foolish to them. Should the flesh do it? The wiser and wiser the people are, the more they are offended by this preaching that Christ's flesh gives eternal life. So the Verminst shakes his head, and will not go up, but says: Should the flesh that is killed make us alive?
460 The pope also considers these words to be a loud mockery; even though he confesses and speaks the divine word with his mouth, he does not believe it, because he teaches that one gets bliss by doing good deeds.
works. Well, here it is, the words are also too high for him, and blind his reason. In sum, if one is to attain it, he must take off his skin and step out of his mind and human wisdom, and go into faith, saying, "Dear Father, it is a wonderful sermon that a man should step out of his ability, good works, power and strength, and think that your Son has shed his blood; by this, and by nothing else, I shall have forgiveness of sins and be saved, without my works and ability. You see, it cannot be grasped or understood by reason, but it can be grasped by faith, for it is not seen or felt that another, who has not sinned, should suffer for me and help me to life, and I, who have sinned, should do nothing to inherit eternal life.
461 The world and all laws say against it: He who has sinned must also bear, atone for and pay for the sin. But this rule of the world is temporal and remains on earth, and when this life comes to an end, that one should die, then the same righteousness is also over. Here Christ says, "This righteousness shall not remain; thou must come upon that which thou hast done in the sight of God, and bring another righteousness, that thou mayest despair of thy works, and help thyself that Christ may say, Verily, verily, my flesh is meat given for thee, and my blood shed for thee, and believe it. Then hear thou that thy sins and mine are not to be atoned for, nor amends made, by thee or me, but only by him that shed his blood for me. Follow this song and this word, and do not doubt it. This is what it means to believe.
462 But he complains, "Some do not believe," as if to say: You hear the words; they are the right words, in which is spirit and life; but what happens? You do not want to grasp, grasp, reckon, and consider it "with reason and "not with the flesh. You say, "How is it fitting that I should go unpunished and unpunished, and have my sins forgiven, when I have sinned, and the innocent should suffer? There
all laws in the world would have to become false, and there would be no punishment nor laws in the world. But know that there are two kingdoms: One is a worldly kingdom. If you have sinned before men, pay and atone before the judge, but before God and in the kingdom of Christ you do not have to do so, for there all atonement is rejected; but you must have Christ, who has not sinned but has made amends for your sin.
463 We always deal with this main article so that it may be grasped with certainty. Let every man also be accustomed to cleave to the man with his heart, and to believe in him, and to build upon these words of Christ, when he cries out that his flesh and blood are given for me. Therefore only confess at once: I am and remain a sinner; where will I go? to St. James? No; but I will lay hold of these words, believe, and dare all things; he will not lie to me; I will firmly believe that his flesh was given for me, and his blood shed for me. Nevertheless, I will gladly do good works and be pious; but when it comes to the meeting, I will not stand on it and insist, but I will leave it here, and hope that one will represent me to God, who has given his body for me.
This then makes one spiritual, and a true Christian man; there also is the Holy Spirit with one, and sustains him that he may not err; otherwise there is no measure nor end of error. The words are there, says Christ, but they cannot be grasped without faith. Now you want to measure them with the figure; but what do you do differently, but that you stand in the light for yourselves? For this you serve, silent, and simple-mindedly believe in it, that is how you get to the point. It seems to be easy for the untried to receive forgiveness of sins, and to do nothing more than believe. If only I would do something for it. Faith seems to be a small thing. But try how easy it is, and you will see that faith is a divine power, not a human one.
Whether it is equally bad, as many make believe, but a Christian says:
What a difficult art it is to believe these words. For when death, sin, the devil and the world are before your eyes, and your conscience wriggles when it comes to battle, you should still break out in a cold sweat, so that you want to say: I would rather go to St. James in armor than suffer this hardship. But those who live without temptation, and are sure, rough people, think that faith is a small thing. But the Christian speaks in temptations: Silence, conscience, death, sin, world and devil, I will not hear you; I will shut my eyes and listen to these words alone [Ps. 42:6, Ps. 43:5]. Then you will realize whether it is a minor art fei, believe.
Otherwise one thinks: "It is a difficult thing about good works, but about faith it is soon done. Faith seems to be an easy thing, but it is a difficult art. This is what temptation and experience teach us, that one must say the opposite, namely, that adherence to God's word, that a heart not be afraid of sins and death, but trust in God and believe, is much more sour and difficult than all Carthusian and monastic orders. 1) Reason can easily wear a cap, let hair be shorn off, morrow, 2) pray and fast, as monastic sanctity does, that natural forces can do; but to turn the heart around, and to be bold at God's word in mortal need, so that one does not fear, but rejoices against death, no monk nor priest knows about the art.
V. 65. Therefore I have told you that no one can come to me unless it is given to him by my Father.
You must believe. Now, because you hear that it is necessary to believe, you will soon say: I will raise the faith from myself. But no, you shall let me have it yet. So do we also. When one preaches that one must do enough for sin, they quickly attack it with their own works to atone for sin. Christ rejects this, and wants you not to do it, not to attack it; he wants you to do it.
1) Here we have omitted "be" because it is too much.
2) "morren" probably as much as: muttering prayers.
and attack sin. Would you be the man to be mighty in your heart? Yes, first learn" that faith is a gift of God and a divine power; you shall not believe me about yourself. Do you want to rebel against the devil? Where do you want to go, fool? It is too high for you. Beware lest you fall into this presumption, thinking that when you hear the words you will soon believe them. As the red spirits and false Christians do much now; but when it comes to the meeting, that they should prove the faith, judge false doctrines, or comfort themselves in distresses, soon the cantate dies down, 1) and no one is at home.
468 Well then, you say: I thank my God that I have learned that I should not attack my sin with my own repentance, or approach faith with my works, and blot out my sin. Before men I might well do it, before the world and the judge it is valid, but before you, God, there is an eternal wrath, for which I cannot do enough, I would have to despair. Therefore I thank you that someone else has attacked my sin for me, has borne it, and has paid and atoned for it. I would gladly believe this, it seems to me to be fine, right and comforting; but I cannot surrender to it, I cannot find it in my strength to do it, I cannot understand it as I should. Lord, show me, help me and give me the strength and gift to believe. Thus the prophet sighs in the 51st Psalm, v. 12: "Create in me, O God, a clean heart, and give me a new and sure spirit." A new, pure heart I am not able to make, it is your creature and creature. Just as I cannot make the sun and moon to rise and shine brightly in the sky, so I cannot make the heart to be pure, and to have a certain spirit, a strong, firm mind, which is stiff, and does not falter, doubt or waver at your word.
A new, pure, tender heart is one that can say: I have a right spirit, a new mind, courage and heart, which is firmly
1) Cantate - sing; Luther used this expression because the next day was Cantate Sunday.
It does not doubt, but actually believes that it wants to leave life and limb over it, that Christ died for it.
For this reason, one should pay close attention to the words. For Christ wants to say in the words "no one comes to me" that faith is God's gift. He also gives it gladly, only that one asks it from God. "To come to Him is to believe in Christ; but he who does not believe is far from Him. You think that believing is your doing, your power and work, and you fall in too soon. It is God's gift, that glory may be given to Him alone, and that no man may boast of some power. It is the Father who begets us, and gives us the Word, the Holy Spirit, and faith through the Word; both are His gift, and not our work or power. This is what St. Paul says to the Ephesians Cap. 2, 8. 9. also: "By grace you have been saved, and that not of yourselves, nor of works, lest anyone should boast.
This is called a Christian being, against which the world has always been mad and foolish, and still rages against it. In it no work is praised, but only my Father's drawing. Item, my flesh, my blood, my spirit, everything that belongs to it, is his and not ours, if I am to have life; therefore all the other things we do are completely excluded.
472 But there they say: Who doesn't believe that? We are Christians. Go to the Jews and Turks and preach to them about faith. Right Christians say: Oh God from heaven, how well and rightly spoken is this: "He who eats my flesh" etc. Item: "He who believes in me has eternal life." Ah! how I would like to be free from sins! Oh God! could I grasp it with all my heart, how I would like to! how I would like to have the eternal life that these words promise me. Christians say that they believe, but they do not say that they fully believe, as they should.
This is a sermon that is not invented by us, just as what is preached is preached without our thoughts and actions; so faith comes into us without any work or power on our part, only through our own.
God's grace, therefore he is so highly exalted, and has this great honor, that if one sets him against good works, they are to be respected against him, as if one set the sun against a candle or wax light.
474 But the Pabstian does the opposite; faith is very little with him, but works are all the more comforting to him. Faith, according to his judgment, is like a waxen light; but works and the laws of men, commandments and statutes, he regards as the sun. When they hear that faith alone is preached, they laugh at such preaching. But learn ye to speak: My faith is against my holy life and good works which I have done, as the sun is against the night light. For faith takes hold of the body and blood of the Lord Christ, his suffering and death; but my works take hold of nothing but a hard shirt, fasting and prayer. Now one work of Christ is better than the work of all men, and I would rather have one work of Christ to be mine than the work and holiness of all saints. For what is man against God? So also is the work of man against the work of God. Now the works of the Lord Christ are divine works, but our works are human works.
Does a monk say: I have been in the monastery so long, I have lived chastely and kept obedience, shouldn't I have earned heaven with that? No, they are all human works, I do not want to deal with them. Should I deny my God, dishonor Him, and teach that what I do is all right, but what God does is nothing? as the pope has done and is doing with his own. Then turn it around and say: What God does, even if it were as small as a straw, it is called a greater and stronger work than heaven and earth, and no human work can be compared to it. Our works, on the other hand, are vile and foul-smelling dung and filth, and are as a little light against the great bright sun. But Christ gives us his works, gives us his body and blood, and says, "My flesh is your life, and all that I have done with it is yours. And if we believe it, we have it. Should I have the joyful
Not accepting bills of exchange, or despising this mild Christ, not much preferring his works to my works, my caps or plates?
476 And this is the reason why we praise faith so much, because it brings me divine works, even the works of the Lord Christ, namely, his suffering and death, etc., and makes them our own, whereas our works are nothing; the honor we owe him, that he is everything and we are nothing.
477 After this, if a Christian believes, good works follow, which are called good because they come from faith; otherwise, if they do not come from faith, they are not called good, nor are they good works [Romans 14:23], but for the sake of faith they are something, but they are not like faith, even though they come from it. Also, faith does not depend on works, but only on the word and works of God, which are life and the Spirit. Because faith does this, we give it such great honor.
478, The sophists do not know this, nor do they want to learn it, much less will they teach it to us; but we would like to have trouble with it, and learn it the longer the better. For there is no one who is so sure of the article that he should not spend all his hours in great diligence to learn it. Cause, it can happen that you know and believe the article strongly this hour, but soon, after an hour, you become weak and do not know where Christ is, that you even lose him. For the devil does not celebrate, and when he comes with his temptations, it can soon happen. Therefore, when it comes to the battle, you can see how weak or how strong one is in faith, because it is not a small thing. "Faith is our victory", says St. John in the first epistle of the 5th chapter, v. 4, that is, our gain.
What do we gain? We have to fight with sin, death and hell; then I shall become so strong that I am this conqueror, that I can trample all the enemies and temptations underfoot, I shall become such a giant and victor. Is this a small thing, that it is said of faith that it is our victory? that a Christian can stand against all
And if you fight against temptation and sin, and do not despair, but say: Down with sin, and be trampled under foot; hither death, I will also teach you mores? Item: Lift you devil; yes, if all the devils, and a hundred thousand guns press on me and go, that I still say, I am not afraid of you to death? So faith is our victory, that we may be preserved in all the persecutions and tribulations of the world. This faith is not given by the world, nor do you have to attribute it to works.
480 I say all this so that faith may not be despised, or thrown to the winds as if it were only a bad, small thought. Not so; it is a divine, mighty power over devils, death and sin, and not an angelic or human power. This is what the Lord means when he says [v. 44], "Let no man come unto me, but the Father draw him unto me." That every man may know that it is the gift of God, and that he will not withhold it from him; neither will he deny it to any man, nor hide it from him; but that he may present it for a gift, and that it may be known, that it may be asked of him. It is not a small power to despair of oneself, and to take comfort in the mere grace and power of God. Now let us hear further.
For Jesus knew from the beginning which would not believe and which would betray Him.
481 John the Evangelist includes such a speech to indicate that Christ is a true God, and therefore something more than flesh and blood, because he knew who would believe or not; he knows more than a man, is also a judge of hearts, recognizes, judges and judges the thoughts of men [Acts 1:24]. Therefore he says, "Jesus knew well." He does not say that it was revealed to him, as it was revealed to the prophets, what they should know and preach, but without revelation; Christ says it for his person, without visions, enlightenment or revelation. Thus John describes Christ as being a man, but he does not forget that he is God.
482. why does he not express that Christ is the true God, as it is
St. Paul, the like of which St. John also often does in some places, saying plainly and clearly that he is God? But this would not have obtained it, or converted them, that they believed in him. For the heretics have said that men are also called gods in the holy scriptures. But the evangelist introduces him in such a way that he is not only with the name God, but also in power or in deed. For this reason, he holds him up to us in such a way that he presents himself and shows himself as a god by deeds and works, so that one must say: No one else can do this but God, it is God's work, the fruits and works prove that he is God.
483 So now we have dealt with this sermon of the sixth chapter, on eating and drinking the flesh and blood of Christ, in which is the highest article of our Christian faith, which we should learn diligently, and make this chapter common to us out of measure and use it well; for it is ever clearly indicated in it that no works help us, but only faith in the flesh of Christ, who died for the sin of the world. . We have also heard how this doctrine has been resented, for this preaching is not pleasing to the world, to reason, or to men; therefore a simple heart belongs to it, which is humble in itself because of sins, and sighs to our Lord God for faith. So, when you have become a Christian, the Holy Spirit will lead you to good works; otherwise, before faith, do not presume, for what you do is nothing. "The flesh is of no use," the Spirit is not there. Before this faith thou canst not do a good work, or atone for a sin; for it is all said, "the flesh is of no use," it is condemned and shall count for nothing. There you have your decision.
The twenty-first sermon.
Saturday after Cantate [May 13, 1531]. 1)
484 There is a beautiful, clear sermon in this chapter, which every Christian should know well, and the main article is this
1) In the original margin.
or the main sermon, wherefore we are Christians, and are called, that every man may know the Lord Christ, and know what he ought to think of him, and what he ought to have in him; namely, that whosoever believeth on him, and cometh to him, should live, lacking nothing for ever: for his flesh and blood is the true and everlasting meat and drink.
485) Further, when this sermon was finished, the evangelist shows how his disciples were offended by it, saying [v. 60], "This is a hard saying; who can hear it?" thinking it was a strange, strange sermon, even an unheard-of food, that he should give his flesh for eternal food, and his blood for eternal drink. But he would gladly have set them right, saying that his words must be understood spiritually; for it is another meat and flesh than is usually seen before the eyes, also another drink, 1) than is usually put on a table; they must come up higher, and hear it spiritually. Now John the evangelist concludes this chapter, saying;
From that time many of his disciples went behind him, and walked no more with him. Then Jesus said to the twelve: Will ye also go away?
486 The evangelist distinguishes the disciples of the Lord Christ, calling the twelve apostles special, and the other disciples also special. For he had not only twelve apostles with him, but six times twelve, that is, seventy-two disciples, and so many apostles, that is, sometimes he had six disciples. All of them were here preaching and were called his disciples, but the twelve were especially his apostles. Among the seventy-two disciples, that is, among the twelve times six disciples, some became one among themselves, and went back, and did not keep the friendly interpretation and interpretation of Christ. Although he had said many times that his words should not be understood in a carnal way. He would have liked to convert them and take the anger out of their hearts, but it did not help, they could not be converted.
1) Erlanger: Trunk.
He might have said that the spirit must be there, but they went there.
487 You can imagine how much trouble it caused the Lord that his own disciples, who were with him every day, did not want to stay; they must have drawn a large crowd with them. They were his beloved disciples, whom he had drawn to himself, who had been with him daily, whom he had raised up, and whom he had undoubtedly performed miracles. As it is written in the Gospel of Luke [Cap. 10, 1. ff.] that he sent out the seventy-two disciples to heal the sick, to preach, to perform miracles, and to baptize in the name of Christ. Therefore they were excellent men, and indeed not few, who preached the word of Christ, baptized and performed miraculous signs. That those who were so well disposed to Christ 2) should fall back, and be offended and angry at his teaching, has, of course, not a little offended the rest of the people.
488 St. Paul was also in Asia. There he had many disciples, among whom Demas had been with him for a long time, and his best disciple, who preached and suffered much, and showed great, faithful diligence in the word of God: but in the end he also left St. Paul; as he complains about it in the other epistle to Timothy, Cap. 4, 10: "Demas has forsaken me, and will keep it with the world", would not stand it with me, the word was too hard for him from this Christ; and not long after that almost all of Asia became disparaging of St. Paul and his teaching.
489 So it has also happened to us. Now, when such an evil-doer returns, who lived with us and was raised among us, when he appears and stands against us, he does much more and greater harm, and also carries away more people than the public enemies and adversaries who daily attack us; as we have experienced and seen in those who have come among the mobs and sects; item, in the Anabaptists, they weaken us more than our adversaries. Yes, they strengthen our enemies even more, so that the same ones
2) Instead of "at home" we have put "in heaps," that is, together. Cf. § 493.
Saying, What should be their doctrine? they themselves are not one among themselves; this man and that man preached with them, and kept it also with them, but now he is departed from them.
Therefore, such apostasy will have greatly hurt the Lord Christ, and fewer listeners will have gathered for his sermon than if these disciples had otherwise remained with Christ and the apostles. The apostate mammals will have pretended: What is to be done and done much with the carpenter's son? For he is sowing a new thing, taking up seventy-two disciples, as if he would convert the whole world. It must have been a common saying: What shall we do? His own disciples do not want to stay and fall away from him. He must have heard the words, as it happened to St. Paul and the other apostles. It is the same for us, as it is written here.
491 So these disciples set up an apostasy, a mob and a sect, against their Lord and Master Christ, and exalt themselves above him, because they only want to understand his word carnally, or do not want to accept it at all, nor do they have it. This is prescribed for our consolation and example, so that we will not be frightened by the great calamities. For it is ever a great annoyance that those who have held fast with us, and have kept the word as well as we, and have stood firm with us, and so placed themselves, 1) that we ourselves might have built upon them, should fall. This greatly strengthens the papists, and all those who are against us; for this is their cry and their glory: What should I think much of them, since they themselves are not one with one another?
492 And I believe that our gospel should have gone through the whole world in these short years, if it had not been for the rats and sects, the Anabaptists and Sacramentarians, who threw the tree in the way; otherwise the pope and all the princes should not have made such an incursion upon us as they have just made; all the wrathful
1) In the original "gestalt", which Walch has already resolved correctly with "gestellt". To take it for "designed" becomes impossible by the "itself".
Papists should not have hurt us in this way. They have taken our name and company, they pretend that their doctrine is based on the holy scriptures, they go on and are against us, and when others should be brought to us, they also fall away and strengthen themselves against us; this makes our adversaries very courageous. That this should be done gently is impossible.
In the whole Psalter, Christ hardly complains so much as about these very husks and false brothers, and speaks in the 55th Psalm, v. 14.But you were my companion," we were crowded together, we ate and drank with one another, we held and decided together many a good council, we had conversations with one another, we were in the house of God at the divine services, we talked with one another in a friendly manner about the Scriptures: you, my friend, do this to me and trample me underfoot; you, who wanted to be the most distinguished in the Gospel, fall away from me and now sit down against me.
494 We now feel well how painful this is, and Christ also felt it; for this reason the example is highly necessary for us. It is a shameful, harmful annoyance when they impose this on us: If their doctrine were right, they themselves would not be so divided among themselves. And this will also have been said of the disciples of the Lord Christ: They themselves have known much preaching, have cast out devils, and have done the same miracles that Christ did. Who knows who is right? This is what they do with their apostasy, that they hinder and weaken both the teaching of Christ and the people who should follow the teaching, and they make the name and the gospel of Christ and his miracles suspect.
This must remain in Christendom, that where the word of God arises and is preached, apostasy follows. St. Paul complains of this in all his epistles, and calls them "false brethren," who sit in the church, listen to us in our schools and colleges, grasp our words and speeches exactly; when they then go out among the people, they interpret our words as they wish, and say: I can do it as well as they themselves.
They make themselves near, not in God's name, yea, in the devil's name; .have talked with us, eaten and drunk with us, have dealt kindly with us; but when they get room, they lay themselves against us.
496 Thus have the spirits of the mob always done, and they still do today. I have to suffer it, I can't help it. But this we know for certain, that if they had not learned it from us, and read it in our books, they would know nothing of it, and would do little heresy with their sophistry. They have eaten with us, says Christ; but for this reason they set themselves against us, because they do not like our word and preaching; just as the word of the Lord Christ here is too hard for these, they do not want to be disciples, but as wise and learned as he is; he does not have to be master, he cannot preach anything that they do not want to work out. But go on, he remains master, that you are not disciples.
Therefore let this be an example prescribed for our consolation, that some shall cleave unto us, and fall unto the gospel, pretending for a while to be our best friends, that they may deceive us, and ape us; and when we have proved all fidelity unto them, afterward they go and cause all heartache. We should not be afraid of this, nor should we turn to the cries of the papists, who say: The Lutheran new prophets are not one in the matter; if they would become one with each other first, we would follow them. But passed through and spoken: He that standeth, let him stand; and he that falleth, let him fall; for thy standing God's word is not right and true; so, for thy falling, the word is not wrong and false, but the word is right for and for. So you have to tear out against all the trouble that you say, I have not taught falsely, but rightly.
498 This is a horrible, terrifying example to the evil-doers who fall for the gospel and do not mean it faithfully, seeking something other than the salvation and blessedness of souls, namely their own benefit, great name, temporal honor and glory. They finally end up there, even though they have worked and preached much, even great miracles.
that they should step back and let their mischief be seen, and set themselves against the Lord and resist him, as the Lord Christ says: "He that is not with me is against me; he that gathereth not with me scattereth. If you want to be a Christian, you must wait for these things, and not be angry or offended by them, for the worm-eaten fruit, rotten apples and pears, even the withered, withered leaves must fall from the trees by a downpour and a gale, and false teachers and false spirits must also be recognized by their apostasy.
499 The evangelist further says, which is much worse, in the following words: "And they walked no more with him. Thereupon the Lord Christ says to the twelve apostles, "Will you also go away?" The Lord must have spoken these words with a sorrowful heart. For it was not a happy sight or a joke to him, as he looked around, that these disciples had gone away, and the number had dwindled. When he came home and asked, "Where are my seventy-two disciples, to whom I gave the ministry of preaching, the kingdom and life in their hands, and authority to teach, who also had authority over the devil? he heard, "They are gone. This is a sour wind and an evil report. For if the pillars, the foundation and the foundations will not stand, where will the upper building and the rafters remain? Therefore he will say, I have had seventy-two disciples, and they will not stand firm; what will ye twelve do, will ye also of these, which are the highest?
V. 68. Then Simon Peter answered, "Lord, where shall we go? You have words of eternal life. And we have believed and known that thou art Christ, the Son of the living God.
(500) Yes, dear Peter, you truly speak well; this is also written for your comfort and as an example, even if one of the twelve should fall (which is a great example), that nevertheless one of the twelve will remain, preserved by God. So much so that all things depend on God's grace, power and word, that even the apostles may not be
so that no one can say that he is so strong that he wants to remain fine; unless the means, the blessing, or this word [v. 70], "I have chosen you," is added to it. There is a reason for this, and the apostles alone have received it, that Christ says, "I have chosen you." Though one of them, Judas, should fall, yet this word takes hold of Peter, that he cannot fall down; though he stumble and fall, yet must he rise again.
501. Learn that it is in God that man despairs of him, and that the pride that is inborn in us is eradicated. Moses, Aaron, when he made the golden calf; item, David, and others, have fallen, but they have recovered. And yet the text says, Though they fall, yet my word shall stand firm, and not fall; and one by the same word shall rise again. The seventy-two disciples make a great disturbance and noise in the kingdom of Christ; but Judas first of all made the apostasy right, he even brought down the neck of the Lord; there was first of all a piece overthrown that was great, because he was the chiefest of the apostles, who ruled the house, and the chief overseer. Indeed, if it should happen that I should fall (since God protects me from it), or anyone greater than I, it would cause great distress. But one should stand and rest firmly on the foundation of the word, which thus reads [v. 70]: "I have chosen your twelve, nor is one of you a devil."
There you see an example that one should not rely on men; but learn to hold to the word of God, regardless of whether it is spoken by a disciple, an apostle, a saint or not, this one or that one. For the Lord Christ commands even the apostles to pay attention to the word, and not to follow the devil's suggestions, nor to listen to the teaching of the fathers. As still the pope and his unholy people do, who tell us their cursed and damned word, yes, doctrines of the devil, to lead away from God's word. But if we see here that those (who have Christ's word and preach, teach and do what he is called, and go about in his office) fall, what should not be trusted to these?" The
seventy-two disciples are admittedly greater than all the popes and bishops. Could they not boast: We have the ministry of Christ, we are chosen by him and sent out by him; he will never set fools over eggs to break them! Nevertheless, all this did not help or please them, so that they did not fall away.
What then shall I trust the pope and his preachers? Then I must say: Boast as you will, then I will hear whether your sermon rhymes with the word of God, as, with the ten commandments, the articles of faith, the Pater noster, and the teaching of the Gospel. If it rhymes, I will gladly hear you say that you are Peter or Judas, that you stand firm and stiff, or that you have fallen. But if it does not rhyme, then I will not hear you, even if you are St. Peter three times; it is not because of the person, in whom one has a reasonable disgust; but, one asks whether the person is faithful, as St. Paul says [1 Cor. 4, 2.] that he is found faithful in teaching. There is nothing to do with [how someone boasts], 1) and even not with what he is called, Peter and Paul; if he only teaches faithfully, he is righteous.
504 Therefore let the word of God be the guide, whether he preaches it rightly; then he will be considered unsuspicious. But if he does not preach according to this rule, let him be accursed, even if it were I myself or an angel from heaven. As St. Paul says to the Galatians in chapter 1, v. 8: "If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that which I have preached unto you, let him be accursed, even if he were an angel from heaven. This is a necessary piece, so that we know that St. Paul, I and all preachers who preach to you, including the angels, must have God's word pure before them when they want to preach. But now the evildoers and peelers boast that Christianity has accepted it; so they are also the superiors, popes, bishops, pastors, and in the church office, therefore they should be heard. Not yet; for ye may have the ministry, as Judas was an apostle, and the seventy-two disciples also were Christ's disciples; but if there be
1) This insertion is made by us to give meaning.
If the seventy-two disciples want to reject the words of Christ and do not accept what Christ preached, we do not hear them.
505 But that thou sayest, I am the pope, what doth that matter? Even if you were a pope nine times over, or even an angel from heaven, I would not hear you, nor trust you, even if you were an apostle; just as Judas was also an apostle, even more highly ordained to this office than a pope; for he was a stone of 1) Christianity, like Peter and the other apostles; yet he falls away, and all this did not help him to remain steadfast.
506 It is a strong argument that they now pretend: I speak against the pope, against bishops, against the scholars and authorities of the world; and in sum, they say, I write, read, preach, speak and fence against the whole Christian church, I alone want to be wise. To this I answer thus: I do not speak against the pope and bishops, or against their persons, but against their doctrine; I would like them to teach rightly, and that pope, bishops and doctors would do what they should do and diligently obey their office; then I would not open my mouth any longer, for I do not begrudge them their office. But that they want to be popes, bishops and doctors, and not lead the word of the Lord Christ, that is not to be suffered. I gladly grant St. Peter that he is an apostle, and Judas likewise that he has the apostleship; but if he does not preach the gospel of Christ, but betrays it, Caiphé becomes a companion, that cannot be overlooked.
507 So that our popes, cardinals and bishops want to abuse their office, then one must say: It is true, you are a church servant, but nevertheless a devil; if you praise your Lord Christ and preach as a righteous servant, then I would like to hear you. So I may also say: You may be bishop of Mainz or Trier, or you may be doctor theologiae, or apostle, if you preach against the word of God and against Christ, then you are of the devil, and you are a devil.
1) Körestem - a chosen stone.
the pope, cardinals and bishops, priests, monks, yes, the whole worm and the devil is one thing, because the papacy is of the devil. I am also a preacher and doctor, the ministry of preaching and the mysteries of God are commanded to me; if I now want to preach differently than Christ commanded me, then it is said: You are the devil, or the man Judas with the red beard; because he preaches against Christ, he is the devil. But St. Peter speaks rightly:
V. 68. 69. Where shall We go? You have words of eternal life. And we have believed and known that you are Christ, the Son of the living God.
508 These are the right preachers; thereby one should know a right preacher. St. Peter, as a right pope and true apostle, comes forth, and using his apostleship, says, "Where shall we go?" looking around, as if to say, "I find no other teaching that gives life; but we have learned that you have words of life, and are a true teacher of this people. There also shalt thou come, that it may be said, All doctrines purely abolished that are on earth; Moses and his law shall not help us; so also all wisdom on earth shall not apply here, and all doctrines which may otherwise be preached and raised up shall be condemned, we will not have it.
509 So we also say to the pope and his followers, "We have nowhere else to go, and we do not know how to walk your roads, for you want to lead us apart from the one word which the Lord Christ taught, which word is life and spirit; and if you want to persuade us of something else, we cannot get there. For no doctrine is kept herewith without this; they are all condemned, that one may be pointed to the one man Christ alone, and to his doctrine. Therefore can a Christian thus say, How may ye wolves and devils speak, that ye have the Holy Ghost, and may change the words of Christ by the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, and that what ye ordain must be kept, and obeyed? Will you say more than Christ himself taught, except that the Lord's Supper should be used in the same form?
the priests do not have wives, and other things, that these things are ordered by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and then one must follow the church? But the Christian Church does as St. Peter says in this place, "Where shall we go?" What shall we teach or hear? I know nothing but you, Lord; I know of no sermon, but you have words of life. This sermon that sounds and sticks, that has marrow in legs, and helps from eternal death, sins and all misery.
(510) And St. Peter preaches here with great delicacy, that he first of all abolishes and rejects all doctrines which are not the words of Christ. For when we speak of eternal life and salvation, St. Peter and all the godly abandon all other doctrines, and know of none but those of the one man, Christ, of whom St. Peter says, "You have words of life," on which word I will be satisfied. It is finely spoken. He does not want to be attached to the physical person of Christ, but to his word. We want to stay with that, because these words give eternal life. That is right; and such people, who hold this about Christ and his word, are found forever, and let themselves be bound to his word.
511 And though the seventy-two fall away, yet St. Peter and the other apostles remain, saying, "We know no other way to go, or to remain, but by your word. So, if the sects, as the Anabaptists and Sacramentarians, still fall away, let such people always fall away, and let the pope cry out against us for such apostasy; it does no harm, for we are sure that we have the words of life and the true doctrine. Therefore, one must close one's eyes when the papists make a scandal out of it, and cry out about the apostasy; for it is said: Disunity here and apostasy there, one must plug one's ears, and go through in such a way that one alone looks here, and says: These are words of life; as St. Peter also says:
V. 69, 70, 71 We believe and have known that you are the Christ, the Son of the living God. Jesus answered them: Have I not mentioned you twelve? and your one
is a 1) devil. He spoke of Simon Iscarioth of Judah, who then betrayed him and was one of the twelve.
In the words there are three pieces. First, he rejects and cuts off all other teachings. Second, he says that there is no better teaching than that of the Lord Christ. Third, what does it give? What is this doctrine? He answers that it is about this: "You are Christ, the Son of the living God. We are to stay with this and accept such a doctrine, for it is a doctrine that gives eternal life; and it calls the one man "Christ, a son of the living God. What then is "Christ," or what is called "the Son of the living God," you hear daily, that he is called Christ, and is truly born of man, that he might be the Savior of the world, as the prophets and the holy Scriptures prophesied of him.
513 So St. Peter baptizes him here, gives him his right name, that he may be the right man and the Savior of the world. He first describes him according to humanity, that he is the one of whom all the prophets have preached. Then he calls him a "son of the living God"; not the son of a dead God, or of an idol, as the Gentiles had, but of the true, living God. Now our article of Christian faith is based on the fact that we believe Christ to be God and man, and that he should be "Christ", that is, our mediator, priest and minister, who should sacrifice for us and make atonement for us, as his priestly office entails; then also our king, who can protect us mightily against the devil, sin and death.
514. He is a priest against God, and a king against death and the devil, and all calamities. For as the holy scripture says, he is a high priest, who sacrificed himself on the cross; thus he fulfilled his office, taking upon himself the sins of us all. And now Christ is called our Messiah, that he should deliver us out of the jaws of death, as a mighty Lord, that we should be saved from the devil.
1) "you twelve" and "a devil" put by us according to the Bible instead of "twelve" and "the devil" in the Erlanger.
We are not afraid of sins, we overcome the devil, we find grace in the sight of God, and we are His dear brothers, who should not be afraid of anything anywhere; and even if the world persecutes us so that we have to suffer much, even if death and the devil open their jaws against us, they shall not win anything against us.
515 This is our doctrine, and these are his words, that Christ is the Son of God. In this word is contained the whole sermon which we preach about the Christian faith, or teach about faith in Christ. And whoever has this word, this main part of Christian doctrine, has everything and nothing. Behold, Christ, the Son of God, is hidden in our eyes; he is not seen, but we shall see him at the last day; but we have the words of life, the faith, and know that Jesus is Christ, the Son of God, the priest and king, who shall be your Lord.
516 For thou shalt say, If Christ be a priest and king that bringeth me to grace, I know nothing of the pope, priests, and monks. All my merits are also nothing. Then fall down all the rites and doctrines of the pope, the Turk, and the Jew, and what men may devise. For if Christ reconciles me to God the Father, bears my sins and brings me to grace, my merits cannot do it. All the pretensions of the papacy, the Jews and the Turks are not called Christ, how much they strive and how much they want to do to obtain a gracious God. For thus they have been taught that they may earn the grace of God. That is, to take the office of Christ upon oneself, and to take hold of him according to his works, that I may take away the wrath of God, to strike down death and the devil with it, that I may become a priest or a monk, wearing caps and plates, that I may do what Christ should do; such words have the devil taught, and are words of eternal death and damnation. But this text and word teach me much else, that thou sayest, I know not how to comfort myself of this, but I believe in the words of life, that Jesus is the Christ, my High Priest and King, who sacrifices his blood for me, and reconciles me to God, speaking the best for me. If
sins accuse me, he shows his suffering to the Father and says: Father, forgive him. Here in the world, among men, where there is death and the devil, he leaves me among the enemies; but there he is also with me, strengthening my heart, and giving me such a mind that I do not ask that kings, emperors, princes, popes and bishops be angry; so go through, and do not turn from it; for in this way he will guide his rule. Now these are living words, and not the words of the law.
517 Judas also hears these words, yet he does not ask anything about them, nothing improves him, he falls away; therefore the Lord also calls him "a devil. And this is a great word of the Lord, so that he is angry with Judas, that he calls him so. He is inflamed with grief and wants to say, "I must have a devil who does me all my harm. It must have pained him greatly to say, "I must have a devil who tramples me underfoot.
518. "Devil" is a Greek name, calumniator, a criminal, blasphemer or defiler, that is his office in the Scriptures, who speaks the worst of me and you [Eph. 4:27]. St. Paul to Timotheo in the first .epistle, Cap. 3, 11., writes of the wives of preachers or deacons that they should not be dia- bolae, blasphemers, 1) that is, who always speak the worst of others, and spread and carry out evil of others, or who interpret good things evil. For the devil is not content to reprove evil; but what is good he also defiles and makes evil. That is what a devil really means, that even if I do something good, he is after me and makes it evil, disgraces and destroys the good, and he blows up the worst and makes it stink, frightening me so that my heart becomes stupid and despondent before our Lord God. Often he does it in small sins, when one has drunk a little too much, that one speaks evil of people. Therefore one is called an evil, devilish mouth, which can call out the infirmities of men so miserably, and bring to nought that which is good; blaspheme.
1) Erlanger: Blasphemers.
and defile the people. Such a shameful blasphemer blasphemes everything about man, be it good or evil. So the devil also blasphemes everything, and the devil also does this before God, he does not let our good be good, he does not let our sin be a small sin in our conscience, and he also makes the good into sins, and he makes the sin most grievous, so that one despairs.
519 Thus we have heard and understood this glorious sermon, that we should accept no other doctrine which ministers to our eternal life, but the word of the Lord Christ; for he alone has words of life, whereas other doctrines of men are and bring death and damnation.
(To be continued in the eighth volume.)