remission of sin; much less did God ask you to atone for your sins with your own efforts. Believe in Him!
If you do not, you are lost, since the Father has put all things into His hands. In the face of this fact the pope and all idolatry, abominations, and false worship must topple; for the only Lord we have is He of whom the children confess: "I believe in Jesus Christ; I want none other." If you believe in Him, you need have no fear; for eternal life is yours. But if you do not, then go barefoot, make a pilgrimage to St. James, or be burned at the stake—but only to discover that all will avail you nothing. If you are eager to afflict and hurt yourself, first take hold of the Son of God, so that the Father will love you. Then, I am sure, scourgings will follow aplenty, together with the fiery darts of the devil (Eph. 6:16). You will become troubled in your spirit. Only with difficulty will you overcome the temptations that beset you when you see that He delivers the world into the hands of pope and devil and thrusts the Christians into untold affliction and distress of heart. If you remain loyal to Christ in such circumstances, the devil will scourge you enough and will give you hair shirts enough to wear. Then you will have all you can do to overcome death. When you see how forsaken you are in that hour, it will be hard to say: "I believe in Christ." This calls for a spiritual struggle in which a Christian must engage to his end. And if poverty, illness, grief, and other afflictions are added to these, you will discover how difficult it really is to persevere in faith in the Son of God as Lord over all.
The end of Dr. M. Luther's sermons on the third chapter of John.
THESE words recorded by John are plain, yet they are not very easy to grasp.1 At the end of the third chapter he had said: "The Father loves the Son. And he who believes in the Son has eternal life." Now
John tells that Jesus fled from Judea and returned to Galilee when He learned that the Pharisees knew that "He was making and baptizing more disciples than John." John deliberately chooses the words "When the Lord learned." Well, we might think that He should not have resorted to flight but should have stood His ground. But we have to understand this and judge it correctly. He who really knows this Man has the Holy
Spirit and can judge everything (1 Cor. 2:15). But he who does not know Christ, be he ever so learned, remains ungodly and condemned, as was said earlier in chapter three: "He who believes in the Son has eternal life" (John 3:36). Here we find it said that He fled from the Pharisees. Where is the man in Him?
He claims to be Lord, and yet He is afraid of the Pharisees and flees into Galilee.
John purposely described this with great diligence so that we might see how differently Christ acts according to each of His two natures. He is life Himself, and yet He dies. He is all, and simultaneously He is nothing. Since He is all, however, He is surely deserving of worship. Thus these words refer to Christ's sovereign majesty: "He who believes in the Son has eternal life." If He can confer life, He must surely be
God; for no creature or angel is entitled to this power, but only the Son of God, who shares equal might with the Father. Therefore whoever believes in the Son and worships Him has eternal life. Yet He is also
Mary's Son. More than this: here He takes flight, and later He lets Himself be killed. Thus St. John always places the eternal omnipotence of Christ in juxtaposition with His immense frailty. Faith in Christ, the Son of God, saves; and yet it is true, as we read here, that this same Lord Christ flees. Our Christian Creed professes this. Now it is a matter of "take it or leave it" for us, of "believe it or do not believe it."
Human reason would prefer to have it otherwise. Yet what else would you want our God to do? What sort of ways and means would you suggest to Him? The one might reply: "I shah enter a cloister." The other might declare: "I will don armor and go on a pilgrimage to St. James." But God says: "I have a uniform plan for you. I will issue My Ten Commandments to you; you people resort to such diverse methods. I will tell you what you must do (Ex. 20:3, 7): 'You shall not have any other gods. You shall not take the name of the Lord in vain.' " How do we react to this? Alas, we could not bear to hear it; for the voice was one of angelic majesty. What now? "If I do not speak to you," God says, "you will all go astray, each following his own way." Therefore God directs us all to follow the same path, yes, a highway, as He promulgates the Ten Commandments. Whatever we may choose and whatever our own wisdom may dictate lacks validity with Him, just as we refuse to accede to His decrees. Thus the Children of Israel say to Moses (Ex. 20:19): "You speak to God, and whatever He commands us we shall do; just that we do not have to hear God ourselves." Moses also says to God: "They cannot bear to hear Thee; for when Thou speakest Mt. Sinai emits clouds of smoke." God replies: "Since they cannot endure My voice, I will change My method. Henceforth I will no longer address them from heaven with thunder and lightning and in My majesty. I will select one of their brethren, who will speak to them gently and sweetly. On the - 230 mountain you asked Me to communicate with you in a different way. Now God has fulfilled your request.
He will grant you a Prophet in whose mouth He will put His words. And God Himself will take him to task who ignores this Prophet." These are the two ways in which God conversed with us. Our own choice, which is so multiform, is worthless. Now we also reject both of God's methods. We cannot endure it when
God addresses us in His majesty, surrounded by myriads of angels. It would be best, of course, to abandon our own ideas and simply listen to God in His majesty. But we cannot bear that language. Now God declares: "Well and good, then I shall utterly submerge My majesty; I shall let My Son become man; I shall let Him be born of a virgin; I shall have Him do good to men and preach remission of sin to them.
My Son shall speak most affably to you. Nevertheless, I want you to remember that this Man is the same as He who spoke to the Children of Israel at Mr. Sinai in the wilderness. Therefore believe that it is God whom you are hearing." His majesty is concealed in humanity. He does not appear on the scene amid lightning and thunder and in the company of angels but as the Son of a poor virgin; He speaks to men of the forgiveness of sin. But this infuriates men, so that they crucify Him. What are we to do? If God were to come with His angels, no one would be able to stand the sound. But now that He says: "I will appear in plain and humble form, in human form; therefore you must now believe Me," we are still less disposed to hear Him; now we despise Him. Now we insist that He come in His majesty, although we cannot bear this.
The one we cannot endure, and the other we refuse to accept! When He appears as the Son of a poor virgin, we say: "Bah, the man who does not even have a place to lay His head (Matt. 8:20) is supposed to be the Messiah!" Thus He is despised in His poverty and humility, although it was foretold of Him that He would not come in majesty but in humbleness, that He would become a helpless infant. If Christ the Lord were to appear with only half of an angers wing, pope, Turk and everybody would fall prostrate at His feet. But since He lets it be known that He was born of a virgin and that He is God and man, people sneer:
"Why should pope and Turk humble themselves before such a Person?"
Therefore let the world drift toward the pit of hell; but as we read of His preaching and of His miracles in the Gospel, we should remember that He is a Lord invested with divine majesty. When the Jews heard
Him and beheld His miracles, they should have fallen down before Him and recognized in Him the God who had spoken to them in His majesty at Mt. Sinai. Even today Baptism and the proclamation of the Divine Word are not mine but God's. When we hear this Word, we must bear in mind that it is God
Himself who is addressing us. When kings hear the Word and see the administration of the Sacraments, they should place their crowns and scepters at His feet and say: "It is God who has His being here, who speaks here, and who is active here." You will perhaps be tempted to interpose: "Why, it is just a plain priest standing there and administering the Lord's Supper!" If that is your viewpoint, you are no Christian.
If I were to hear none but you preach, I would not care a straw about it; but it is God who is speaking there. It is He who is baptizing; it is He who is active. He Himself is present here. Thus the preacher does not speak for himself; he is the spokesman of God, the heavenly Father. Therefore you ought to say: "I saw God Himself baptizing and administering the Sacrament of the Altar, and I heard God preaching the Word." When will we ever convince the people of this? But we do believe that God in His mercy deals with us through the agency of man. What is it that prevents Him from speaking to us in His majesty and revealing Himself to us in His glory? Yes, it would be different if we could see Him in His majesty! But if He were to appear to us this way, it would be impossible for us to lift our eyes toward heaven. At the same time Baptism seems insignificant to us because it is administered by a human being. How else might it be done? It is indeed necessary that we surrender our own zeal and preference in divine matters; wherever we make room for these, we do not permit God to appear in His majesty, much less in His humility. We persist in resorting to our own devising and contriving. Thus it happens that the one prays to Juno, and another becomes a monk. We Christians must learn to know that God does not speak to us in His majesty, and that He rejects our own way of worshiping Him. He says: "Give ear to Me; I humbled Myself, and now I address you in My Word." If one stands in awe of the Turkish sultans majesty, how much more would we be awed if God were to speak to us in His majesty, surrounded by His angels! Therefore God decided upon a most pleasing and appealing plan; none other could show such tender solicitude. It certainly reflects great kindness that Christ, God's Son, does not appear in His majesty, lest everyone flee from Him! He even permits Himself to be crucified. I always assumed that He was a God who came striding and strutting along so majestically that heaven and earth trembled before Him.
- 231 Now you must learn that Christ does both. On occasion He conducts Himself as God and manifests His glory when He begins to speak; and this same God submits to crucifixion and death for us, so that we may not be terrified by Him. But what do I do? Now I go and despise Him!
Now what does this great Lord do—the Lord who saves all who believe in Him and helps them to attain eternal life, without whom the wrath of God cannot be allayed? He flees from Judea! You will say:
"Well, am I to believe in a fugitive? Is He not able to defend Himself against the Pharisees?" Yes, the evangelist does relate that this Lord, who is God and who has all things in His power, resorts to flight and acts as though He were afraid of them. We must remember that He is both very God, who bestows all, and also true and natural man, who behaves like other men. When men observe that the opposition is too great, they give way and flee. According to His majesty, Christ might have said: "Hie yourselves out of Jerusalem, and let Me be God in the temple!" This would have been just as easy as it was for Him to say:
"Depart, devil, hell, and sin!" My faith beholds Him in His majesty. There He possesses wonderful power and glory; there Pharisees, sin, death, and devil must be silent before Him. But here He shows Himself as lowly as any other human being. He who otherwise tramples hell underfoot, who ousts the devil and all earthly powers, before whom all men are mere bubbles, and before whom death and hell tremble—here
He quits the country and flees before the Pharisees! Proof of His deity lies in the fact that He imparts life; proof that He is not a phantasm or a sham human being lies in this, that He assumes worry, weakness, and fear. He acts like a real man. Thus St. Paul declares in the second chapter of Philippians: "He took the form of a servant. He became frail, He ate and drank, so that it was evident that He was a true and natural man" (2:6–8). All this He did for the purpose of drawing us to Himself. He wants us to recognize that this poor, weak, and humble Man is the almighty and eternal God. Therefore since we could not bear to hear
God in His majesty, He humbly adopted flesh and blood, assuming not only our nature, that is, flesh and blood, but also all the frailties with which body and soul are afflicted, as, for example, fear, sadness, anger, and hatred. This is really burying and concealing His divine majesty! Now this is preached to us.
We are told that He was weak, that He was like any other man in body and soul, that He made Himself subject to all human infirmities, that He hungered and thirsted, that He experienced all the wants of flesh and blood. In this weakness the true and eternal God shows Himself. For me He humbles Himself; and for me He is finally crucified, although He is at the same time very God, who redeems me from sin and death.
Thus the evangelist has a twofold message regarding Christ: first of all, he proclaims His glory and informs us that He comes to us in splendor and divine majesty that we might know that He is truly God; then he tells us that He also comes to us clad in weakness and in the greatest humility. When He died, he tore hell to shreds and removed sin, which is a divine work and reflects sheer deity. Then He also demonstrates that He is true man, when He decides to leave Judea and takes flight before those great prelates, the Pharisees, whom He, of course, could have felled with a breath.
In the Christian Church His Word, Baptism, Holy Communion, and absolution have this humble aspect. Therefore we say: "It does indeed appear insignificant. It is water, wine, and bread. We hear the plain words of the preacher. All this is unimpressive." But you must learn to believe that a glorious majesty is there. The Lord Christ also manifests a great weakness, and yet He is the divine Majesty
Himself. Thus God Himself, speaks with us through simple and ignoble means. We, however, imitate the Jews with our contempt for the majesty because of its seeming humbleness and insignificance. Now we say: "May God visit the parsons with hell-fire!" It would not be so if we bore in mind that it is not the pastor who is addressing us, but He who has thunder and lightning and hell-fire in His hands is speaking to us. Since we do not believe this, we regard the pastors as dolts and as children, and we say: "Lo, they should not chide us!" This is what I am doing now. But when I take you to task, I do not ask you to comply with my words. And when I absolve you and console you with Holy Scripture, it is the devil who is doing this!2 Therefore do not regard the person, but give ear to what is said. Pay no attention to the speaker. See whether it is God who is speaking and acting through this person. If it is God who is speaking, then submit to Him. When burgher or peasant hears a pastor, he must say: "I do indeed hear and recognize the voice of the pastor. But the words which he utters are not his. No, he would be incapable of them. It is the sublime majesty of God that is speaking through him." Likewise, when a lowly pastor comforts me, then I must be discerning enough to say: "It is not you who is speaking to me. The voice is yours indeed, but it is really God who is speaking through you."
Thus I could rejoice and say: "God, who created heaven and earth, who is the Divine Majesty, has conversed with me!" In what way? Through one of my brethren. Impelled by His friendship and love for - 232 us, God does this with our welfare at heart. But as a matter of fact, when we look at a pastor, we reflect:
"He is a poor, humble human being," and we are blinded to the divine majesty concealed there. No, an angel must fill the heavens with fire; lightning and thunder must flash and crash; earth and heaven must be shrouded in darkness, so that everything reels and topples. Why do you refuse to listen to God, who comes in the guise of a humble human being, who conceals Himself and resembles His beloved apostles? The word that you hear is not that of a pastor; it is God's Word. And since it is God's Word, you should be excited and happy over it. But people will not do this. They think that they know better.
Thus we find both in Christ: the terrifying and sublime majesty, which can save; and the frail humanity, which enables us to approach Him and cling to Him. The knowledge that Christ is God and man cannot be attained by mental processes. All the wisdom in heaven and earth is embodied in this
Person. Yet as long as we tell ourselves that a poor village pastor is preaching, we will never attain to it.
The prophets, however, pondered this question thoroughly; therefore they can also speak and write about it. He who does not understand it will not be able to speak about it; nor will he be able to emulate the prophets in this respect. Here we find the greatest omnipotence and also the height of impotence side by side in the Person of Christ. Since we cannot endure Christ's divine majesty, He withdrew it and concealed it. At the same time we refuse and despise His humanity and His weakness. What do we want, after all? Behold, pope and devil must invent and present something novel; this we are quick to pounce upon and accept.3
The Lord appeared weak, and He fled. He returned home to Galilee, and yet this was not home. John infers that the Jews had become angry because the Lord made more disciples than John the Baptist and that He baptized many of these, although John also says that the Lord Christ Himself did not baptize. John wants to inform us that the Lord preached and assailed their authority. This was poison to them. To take such liberty was an abomination to them; therefore they also dispatched a delegation to John with the inquiry: "Are you Elijah (John 1:21)? Are you enticing the people away from us, so that they forsake the temple and our worship? Are you introducing an innovation?" It is admittedly not right to alienate people from an established rule, especially to estrange them from God and from obedience and service to God. It is disorderly to disrupt established authority, and not first to approach respectfully those who administer this rule but to interfere with it underhandedly and attract the people to oneself. That is intolerable both in secular and in ecclesiastical government. In domestic life you cannot permit anyone to alienate your son from you, for it is written (Ex. 20:12): "Honor father and mother." A robber who exacts an oath from his victims not to betray their plunderer and captor violates both the divine and the human order. The schismatic spirits do the same when they teach otherwise than God's Word teaches. If a heretic does not tell his tale to the pastor first, he should be informed that he is disrupting and splitting the congregation. In this way we have checked the rebels to date. John, however, simply delivers a sermon. He does not ask
Messrs. Pharisees for permission. No, he trounces them soundly and calls them a brood of vipers. He attacks their ministry and tramples it underfoot. This is what the Lord Christ does too. He establishes a new church, institutes a new Baptism and divine worship, saying: "The old worship is no longer valid."
This is initiating a new order and demolishing the old order which God had ordained. It all has the marks of rebellion and in fact cannot be viewed otherwise by the Jews. Such a carnal viewpoint drove them to behead John and to kill Christ and His apostles as betrayers of the country and seducers of the people.
Now was it proper that Christ and John did not first approach the chief priests, the Pharisees, and others in office, take counsel with them, and seek their permission? John, and later Christ, introduced a new order. Were they and the people who followed them in the right? Or was Caiaphas justified in killing them? Here it is necessary to note the distinction. The Jewish rule was constituted by Moses himself and subsequently by all the prophets with a view to the promised Messiah. The people were to await His coming. In the eighteenth chapter of Deuteronomy God had enjoined the people to heed Him (v. 15). This is the text that was diligently preached to the people; this text stared them in the face. This explains why they accosted John with the query: "Are you the Christ? Or Elijah? Or a prophet?" They knew that the Christ was to come and that John was to precede Him and preach in the power of Elijah (Luke 1:17). They knew that they were to listen to the Messiah. Therefore they had no excuse for their claim: "We are occupying the seat of Moses, and the people owe us allegiance; Moses founded our order." Of course, this was true; but they ignored that part of the message which told them to look to another Prophet, to one superior to Moses and all the other prophets. Should the thought not have occurred to them: "Is it not possible that this is He of whose advent we read in all the prophets?" Other kingdoms of this world were
- 233 never given a prophecy regarding a new doctrine for them; but the Jews did have such a promise and prophecy, given by Moses, of the true Prophet for whom they were to hope. Therefore the priests and the Jewish people were without excuse, for even the lowliest Jew in the country knew what God had spoken through the mouth of Moses: "I will put My words in His mouth" (Deut. 18:18). Here the Person and His office are mentioned. He was to appear at a time when they no longer had their own secular kings. In the Book of Daniel the weeks of His advent are computed (9:24–27). Micah states that Bethlehem was to be the place of His birth (5:2). Furthermore, Judah was to be the tribe from which He was to descend, and David was to be His ancestor. But all this meant nothing to them. They declared: "Caiaphas is high priest here." Do you presume to change a temporal government, which runs its course, into an eternal one? It was also stated that He was to come from the tribe of Judah at a time when Jewish kings had disappeared from the scene (Gen. 49:10). They should have reasoned: "To be sure, Caiaphas rules here. And that foreign king, Herod, sits enthroned here But, after all, where does Herod come from? Not from the tribe of Judah." Consequently, they were well enough informed, but they Closed their minds to it. No, Christ the Lord cannot be counted a rebel; for His commission to rule is not dated as of today; it antedates the establishment of Moses' rule, both secular and ecclesiastical.
At Mt. Sinai the Children of Israel said to Moses: "Speak to us, and also speak to God on our behalf"
(Ex. 20:19). The Lord replied to Moses: "They have rightly said all that they have spoken. I will raise up for them a Prophet from among their brethren" (Deut. 18:17–18). So He was promised before Moses' rule was really established, and His commission was issued to Him long before the days of the constitution which Moses gave to the Jews as a royal and priestly nation. Therefore Christ is vindicated and in the right. God the Father, Moses, and the prophets opened doors and windows for Him. Before Moses established his rule, before he gave them their laws and statues, their own books on which they so defiantly rely, He took the rule out of their hands; for later on all the prophets foretold that the Messiah's coming would coincide with the extinction of the kingdom of Judah. Now the Jews should have said: "The time has come. We now have a foreign king, Herod. And John is preparing the way for the Messiah, proclaiming: 'He is present now.' He is not parading about accoutered in armor; no, He is healing the lepers, He is manifesting Himself as a Lord over all creatures." Of Him God the Father declared at the Jordan: "This is My beloved Son; listen to Him."4 But the ungodly people close eyes and ears and refuse to hear this. John and Christ say: "Whoever does not believe and is not baptized is eternally damned
(Mark 16:16). Your priesthood and your divine worship will end. If you do not accept this Man and are not baptized for the remission of sins, you stand condemned."
This cannot be construed as rebellion. No, it is nothing other than entering upon His office in accordance with God's command and earlier prophecy. If the Elector of Saxony5 were to hand you a sealed document authorizing you to become Mayor of Wittenberg at a designated time—let us say, when the Elbe ran dry—who could hinder or stay the enforcement of his words? Here we have a parallel situation. I am pointing this out because the Jews assumed they had cause for prohibiting His attacks on their rule. Things are different today. In our time we have no other command than: "Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations" (Matt. 28:19). This is in force until the end of time and is bound to neither person nor to place. The pope appropriated these words for himself alone, assuming that he alone was to teach and baptize. This he based on the words "You are Peter" (Matt. 16:18). But we are drawing the pope's people away from him; we are preaching against him and condemning him. Now, of course, we are branded as rebels. Now they cry: "Everything used to be tranquil and peaceful; now Christendom is rent asunder. To alienate anyone from the pope is tantamount to alienating him from the Christian Church."
This is illogical. We ask: What became of all those Christians who lived and died after the apostolic era and before the rise of the papacy? No teacher of the church taught better than Augustine. We ask: Was he subject to the pope? It would be too bad if we did not have Augustine; then the other church fathers would leave us in the lurch terribly. Augustine taught and guided us better than the pope with all his decretals. He leads me to Christ, not away from Him. The pope did not know a word about this when Augustine was
Bishop of Hippo. The pope estranges the dear people from Christ, the Head of the church, saying:
"Baptism, absolution, Holy Communion, and Gospel will not benefit you unless you receive it from me."
How do you suppose Augustine will react to this? He will reply: "I and the other bishops administered Holy Communion, and we preached without the pope's permission and authorization." Then why do you, pope, raise the hue and the cry that we are alienating Christendom from you, or that we do not consult you with regard to the administration of the Sacraments? If your claims are granted, then all would be viewed
- 234 as rebels—Ambrose and Augustine, also the bishops in Greece and all others in the world who did not direct the people to the pope but to Christ, saying: "Christ baptizes you; He teaches you the Gospel and also remits your sin." This is still our proclamation today. Consequently, we are not schismatics. The fact that we ignore the pope has no bearing on the question. No one but that scarlet whore, the synagog of Satan in Rome (Rev. 2:9), is being dismembered, all their howling to the contrary notwithstanding.
If I follow in the footsteps of the holy bishops and martyrs, I am content; for they followed the dear apostles.6 The pope knows very well that Baptism is not his monopoly; for the words of institution read:
"Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them" (Matt. 28:19). Christ does not say: "Go to the pope and have him commission you." Why, then, are they trying to force us to go to Rome? It is wrong, of course, to lure and entice people away from their proper government—we are not guilty of this
—and one must oppose and resist those who try it. Thus we read in Acts 20:29–30: "I know that fierce wolves will come in among you to draw away the disciples after them" to the bishops of Rome. "Resist them," St. Paul says. Therefore, we have the duty to resist the pope. We are not snatching you listeners from the kingdom of Christ but from the jaws of the devil. Paul applauds you for opposing and worsting the pope; even if you were to tear him to bits, it matters not, because he is a wolf. The pope is indifferent to Baptism and to the people's eternal welfare and salvation; he does not care about these as long as he acquires money and goods. The Lord Christ did not shed His blood that I might become submissive to the pope but that I might obtain remission of sin and eternal life through Him. This is why I am baptized and receive Holy Communion. Such was the view espoused by the apostles and by Augustine. Hence the pope has no just cause to complain that we are disrupting his order. We are not rebels; we are shepherds whose duty it is to shout at the wolf and to treat him roughly. He himself admits that we are proclaiming the truth.7 If I teach and acknowledge the Savior and believe in Him and then am asked to surrender all this and worship that filth instead, I staunchly refuse. If we do as the upright bishops Hilary 8 and others did, and as Christ and Holy Scripture command, we are doing right. We recognize no other church than the one that heeds the voice of Christ and is baptized. We know nothing of that church which orders pilgrimages and the wearing of cowls. The Gospel demands that we believe in Christ and then love one another. Therefore the pope's accusation that we are estranging the people from him does us an injustice.
It is he who alienated the people from Christ; he is a veritable werewolf and Turk.
Christ now begins to preach, to baptize, and to establish His order; He has both the authority and the power to do so. Thus we, too, teach today as Augustine once did; and our church is far better than theirs.
Even if all the popes were to be thoroughly disgraced and discredited, I would not care. In my estimation they do not weigh as much as a small fraction of an ounce. St. Augustine is a centner by comparison.9 He must be esteemed far more than they. Augustine served only a small parish. But he did not preach only to his small church; no, since his death he has been teaching the entire Christian Church for approximately
1,100 years. If we teach the truth as he did and live as he did, our church will also grow and increase. At Augustine's time, the pope in Rome was merely a bishop. At that time they absolved and administered the Sacraments as we do. Today we have the same Holy Scripture they had. Hilary and Ambrose knew nothing of the present practice of the popes regarding monks and nuns. Thus we are not rebels; we follow in the footsteps of the holy fathers, and we oppose the new wolf, who has drawn us away from Christ. I am resolved to take my stand with Augustine, chiefly however, with Christ the Lord, who has the Word of truth.
2. Although Jesus Himself did not baptize, but only His disciples.
Why did Jesus not baptize? The Jews might have closed an eye and tolerated Jesus' preaching; but that He should introduce an innovation and baptize—that seemed too much for them. Today many princes act the same way. They have the doctrine of Communion in both kinds proclaimed as Scriptural; at the same time they do not lift a finger to abolish vigils and Masses for the dead. So the Jews might have been persuaded to be indulgent toward Christ's preaching; but that He should change and abolish something which they themselves had established—that was insufferable. We ourselves abolished nothing; we merely brought to light again what had been dimmed and obscured. We polished the lamps so that the true meaning of Baptism, of Holy Communion, of the Office of the Keys, and of absolution could be recognized again. But the pope does not want things changed; he wants us to remain in the cowl and to read Mass. Thus the Pharisees could tolerate Jesus' preaching; but it irritated them that He baptized, that He attracted disciples to His Person, and that John the Baptist declared: "He must increase" (John 3:30).
- 235 Why does the evangelist say that Christ did not baptize? And why did St. Paul not baptize? (1 Cor.
1:17). Does this imply that Baptism means little or nothing after all? Indeed not! Baptism is something very important, although it is a new measure. Here we find an intimation that people are inclined to pay more heed to externals than to doctrine. That is the way Baptism, Holy Communion, and absolution were lost. The world wants to have the Gospel preached, that is, the message that the Jews tortured Christ. But Christ instituted the Sacrament of the Altar10 that we might observe both the water and the Word in it. If we surrender the Word, Baptism is nothing but water, and Holy Communion is nothing but bread; for the Word is the real core of the Sacraments. Neither the saintliness of St. Peter nor the elements constitute a Sacrament, but solely the words "I baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy
Spirit." When the Word is joined to the elements, then a Sacrament comes into being;11 then Baptism becomes a "washing of regeneration" (Titus 3:5). If the Word is not present, bread remains bread, and water is water. However, when the Word is added: "This bread is My body; the cup is My blood. This do in remembrance of Me," then it is a Sacrament. When you go to confession, do not focus your thoughts on your confession and contrition but on the words spoken by the pastor: "I announce the forgiveness of sins to you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." Then you may know that your confession is based solidly on the Word of God.
The pope debates the question how bread can be transformed into flesh, and how the pastor can forgive sins. He pushes the Word far into the background in Holy Communion and in Baptism. But I want you to know that God's Word plays the chief role in the Sacraments. We find an analogy in man. He consists of two parts: body and soul. The soul is the chief part; without it the body is nothing but a foul and stinking carcass. Thus Holy Communion is nothing without the divine Word; only by virtue of the Word does the water in Baptism have the power to wash away sin.
Here St. John wishes to erase, as it were, the saying of St. Augustine that he who dishonors the Sacrament commits a greater sin than he who despises the Word.12 Augustine Was a young theologian; consequently, he esteemed the Sacraments more highly than the Word. Therefore John says: "Christ did not baptize; that is, Christ instituted Baptism and let HIS disciples administer it." He Himself discharged the ministry of the Word and did not baptize; for much depends on a proper understanding of the Word.
By means of the Word the people must first be instructed in a proper comprehension of Baptism and of the Sacrament of the Altar. Therefore it is John's purpose to exalt the Word and to lessen the regard for the holy form of externals.13
6. Jesus, wearied as He was with His journey, sat down beside the well. It was about the Sixth hour.
7. Then came a woman of Samaria to draw water. Jesus said to her: Give Me a drink.
We have heard that the Lord Christ went to Galilee from Judea. This journey fatigued Him, and thus at twelve o'clock noon He sat down at a well while the disciples went to town to shop for food. Now a young woman of Samaria came out to fetch water, and the Lord and she engaged in lengthy conversation on the subject of drinking. It was natural that He thirsted for water, because the journey had left Him tired, hungry, and thirsty, though more thirsty than hungry. Christ entered into the conversation with the woman because it afforded Him an opportunity to quench her thirst with living water. It is surely strange that this
Man had to sojourn here on earth and beg for a drink of cold water, that He did not own enough to acquire food or a drink of cold water but was constrained to beg this woman for it. But this is recorded as a warning, for all who are willing to be warned, that during His earthly sojourn Christ was hungry and thirsty, that He was wretched and destitute, and that He finally died on the cross. Why did He not remain in heaven, where He was Lord over all and where He would not have suffered want and hunger? As soon as He entered the world, as soon as He sets foot in this realm of the devil and of his children, He lacks even a drink of cold water. He is also parched with thirst on the cross, where He was given vinegar mixed with myrrh to allay His thirst (Matt. 27:34).
Here Christ says to the woman: "Give Me a drink." Apparently she was not a bad woman. Still she is reluctant to give Him water. She says: "How is it that You, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?" (John 4:9). But this is the point: Christ must hunger and thirst. This is a common experience.
Christ Himself foretold it when He said: "Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves" (Matt.
10:16). And: "He who receives a prophet receives Me, and whoever gives a drink of water to the least of My brethren, gave this to Me. Truly, I say to you, he shall not lose his reward" (Matt. 10:41–42). Well, why should this be necessary? Is He not a great Lord and Prophet? Why should He be concerned that a drink of refreshing water be given to His followers? Why should He offer to reward this so generously? It
- 236 would seem to me that pantry and cellar should be readily opened for Him and that He should be welcomed with joyous song as He was on Palm Sunday. Of course, Christians put food and drink at Christ's disposal. They delight in Christ and stand ready to do their duty. Among His own Christ would not suffer want, although they themselves are often distressed and hungry in the world. But from the unbelievers He cannot expect a drink of cold water; yes, they nail Christ to the cross, kill Him, and do away with Him. They are such shameless misers that they begrudge Him a morsel of bread. If we did not have the foundations of the church at our disposal—bequeathed by our ancestors for the maintenance of churches, schools, and hospitals—every pastor would go unsupported.14 Yes, even neighbors now leave one another in the lurch. In brief, we would all have to starve. No pastor, preacher, or schoolteacher would be supported. Today burghers, peasants, noblemen, and princes are unconcerned about this. We still live on the foundations which our forefathers, now long buried, once donated to the glory of God.
In general, the fact recorded here applies: Christ must go begging in the world and say: "Give Me a drink," or, "Hand Me a drink of refreshing water." Christians would be quick to comply, but greed and usury have taken such a firm hold of people that such pleas go unheeded. It would be strange if this remained unpunished. To date our prayers have stayed the hand of God. May God grant that His punishment be confined to pestilence and famine and that no war be visited on us! It is a great calamity that people are so steeped in greed. The Christians indeed realize the wickedness of usury; the others, however, regard it their joy and delight. At the same time it betokens the mercy of God and is a genuine
Christian benefaction to maintain churches and schools with one's money. On the other hand, consider the greedy belly15 who impoverishes a city, yea, a whole country, with his usury. It is his plague to possess
10,000, 20,000, or 30,000 gulden. God does not think that such misers deserve the honor of giving one drink of cold water to the church. This indeed reflects an awful punishment of God, that such a miser amasses and piles up money and goods and is at the same time so unmerciful that he will not donate even a gulden annually for the poor. In times of famine his purse will be filled with money and his granaries with grain, and yet he will not give the poor Christians a single bushel. Thus it happens that the usurers are not only misers but also murderers, for they are not worthy of giving one bushel for the preservation of human life. They do not deserve this honor. Nevertheless, they will be able to dress up, whitewash their actions, and say: "I give tithes of all that I get (Luke 18:12). Furthermore, I provide for my wife, my children, and my servants; and I pay my laborers. I would be happy to support the pastor if he were not such a heretic, but what he preaches is not in conformity with philosophy. Furthermore, I would be glad to give to my neighbor, but he refuses to do my bidding. Otherwise I'd glut his heart and his body with gifts." Meanwhile they scrape and hoard and let Christ and His disciples die of hunger and thirst. Is this not a devilish plague, to receive 10,000 or 20,000 gulden from God and then not to be accounted worthy of returning a single bushel of grain to the God who gave all? Such a person will also permit poor Lazarus to sit before his gate pleading and begging for a piece of bread from him (Luke 16:20–21). And I suppose that at the same time he will say: "I would be willing to give him something if I were not angry with him."
This was written as a warning to us, lest we fall into avarice and the practice of usury. Such misers will be the losers in the end. They will be severely punished for not giving a penny to anyone. When they die, they will go to the devil and leave their ill-gotten gains to others, who will show no gratitude but will squander the money on carousing. But this is what they want. I call it a plague on body and soul, honor and goods, wife and child. There is no more damnable person on earth than a rich miser who is not considered worthy of serving God and man with his goods. The poorest beggar, the most wretched person, is not so sorely afflicted; his misery is nothing compared with that of the skinflint who struts about in a coat of marten skins but lacks the grace to give God so much as a penny. And, as Christ foretold, on the Last Day the words will be heard: "I was hungry and you gave Me no food" (Matt. 25:42). Then such people will think: "Who would refuse to feed the hungry? It is indeed remarkable that He should say: 'I was hungry.' Did I not feed my wife, children, and neighbors?" This, however, does not include Christ, but only your good friends. And Christ will say: "As a consequence, I had to die of hunger and thirst."
Even the dogs are better provided for than the Christians. These people do not even open their homes to Christ. "Yes," they say, "if Thou, Lord Christ, hadst come in person, we would surely have given Thee in full measure. I did not care to give to the pastors and other servants of the church, who were ill-disposed and hostile to me. But if Thou hadst come Thyself, we would have brought Thee wine, grain, and every necessity by the wagonload." Thus they will excuse themselves on the Day of Judgment. Today it is still our wont to say: "Why should I give that rascal anything? I bear him a grudge. I ignore the neighbor and - 237 the schoolteacher." Yes, you would refuse him a drink of cold water. Nevertheless, God says: "I do not choose to come to you in My majesty and in the company of angels but in the guise of a poor beggar asking for bread." You may ask: "How do you know this?" Christ replies: "I have revealed to you in My
Word what form I would assume and to whom you should give. You do not ascend into heaven, where I am seated at the right hand of My heavenly Father, to give Me something; no, I come down to you in humility. I place flesh and blood before your door with the plea: Give Me a drink! Instead, you want to erect a convent for Me. I give life to all men and to the angels in heaven; I do not need food in heaven. I have come all the way from Judea. Give Me a drink! I have had it announced to all the world that whatever is done to the least of My brethren is done to Me" (Matt. 25:40).
"I was hungry." Do you want to know the meaning of the word "I"? God disguises Himself in the form of a Christian and says: "My poor destitute apostle and Christian is coming to you. This apostle and Christian bears the name 'I.' Now, My dear man, you pay Me court in heaven and are willing to give something to Me there. Rather do that here on earth, because up in heaven I want for nothing. Do not let your pastor and chaplain suffer privation; help to advance My kingdom; look to your destitute neighbor and brother; supply him, lest he suffer hunger and thirst. With the 10,000 gulden you possess you could feed six persons without impairing your fortunes, and yet you permit them to starve to death." No excuse will avail; it will not do for you to say: "I do not care to help him." Christ says: "If I suffer hunger or thirst in the person of My apostle or of any Christian, yes, of a Christian child or of any person poor and in want, and you are aware of this situation, you are truly an archmiser if you close your eyes to this. I want you to know that I am the one who is suffering hunger and thirst. If you feed this person, you are feeding
Me; if you let him thirst, it is I whom you are permitting to perish of thirst." It will profit you nothing to say: "If Christ Himself came, I would hand Him my keys and say: 'Take everything!' " It is a confounded and accursed disgrace that we fail to heed Christ's plea even though we know of it and hear it preached to us. A heathen does not realize that he is giving to God Himself when he remembers the poor with his alms. What greater inducement to give alms and to render aid to our neighbor can our God offer us than to say that it is all being given to Him? Though we realize that we are giving to God Himself and not to man, we still keep our pantries and cellars locked to Him. Christ speaks harshly enough about money. And it must be an accursed possession that He should designate it as "unrighteous mammon" (Luke 16:9). It is fraught with wrongdoing. Man will refuse to give a single bushel of grain to his God, but he will sit there and amass money as if he were bent on scraping it all to himself. These greedy bellies utterly disregard
Christ's warning. However, we must give ear to it and receive this lesson with thanksgiving, knowing that whatever we give to the cause of the church we give to God. I believe that it will soon be brought home to peasants, burghers, and noblemen that they are doing nothing, that they are giving nothing, and that they are scraping and hoarding everything for themselves. For it is too grievous a sin that they let Christ famish, that is, do all in their power that the pulpit, the ministry, and the schools may become extinct.
Thus Christ is constrained to beg for a drink of water.
But the Christians who really recognize the mercy of Christ the Lord are ready to share their food and drink as the good Samaritan woman did. At first, to be sure, she appeared obdurate; but when Christ preached so eloquently, she was converted, together with the whole city. The people opened the city gates to Him, received Him with joy, and showed Him every kindness. He remained with them for two days, and they would gladly have kept Him longer in their midst. Christians emulate their example. But the others will say, in conformity with their acts: "I must keep all this to myself; see to it that you also acquire something for yourself." And they add: "One must deprive the pastors, maliciously lame the horses, and deliver half chaff and half cockle in payment of the tax." They try to scrape everything into their own sacks, finally constraining God to send a torrent of brimstone and hell-fire upon them and to have Brother
Lansquenet16 come, put his spear to their heart, and wrest their thalers from them. The example of the Samaritans who conducted Christ into their city should put us to shame. Our text informs us that their city was under the interdict. This was an obstacle for them which we do not have to cope with. The Lord praises them highly, and the Gospel tells us that He sojourned there two days, not just one day.
The Samaritans also worshiped God, the Creator of heaven and earth. But they failed by not journeying to Jerusalem, by having no regard for the temple and the divine service in that place, and by not sacrificing. Instead, they erected their own church on Mt. Gerizim and pointed to the fact that Jacob's well had been located there and that Jacob had dwelt here. In all probability, their preachers made much of this fact and said: "There is nothing significant about Jerusalem. But here was the abode of the patriarch
- 238 Jacob. Very likely he delivered many a fine sermon here and also spoke many a good prayer." From this fact they concluded: "The church was here." Christ, however, ignores all this. He asks for alms, for food and drink. And here is where we shall conclude for the present.17
Recently we heard that Christ had to travel through Samaria on the way from Judea to Galilee. When He stopped at Jacob's well, a young woman happened to come along to draw water there, and the Lord converted her to the Christian faith. The text continues:
9. How is it that You ask a drink of me?
The Jews and the Samaritans were hostile to each other; they damned each other. The Samaritans insisted that they were in the right, and the people of Jerusalem did the same thing. But the Lord settles their dispute here; He supports neither the Samaritans nor the people of Jerusalem. The Samaritans were mistaken because they merely cited the example of the fathers and patriarchs but not the commandment of God. Mr. Gerizim had been selected at the time of Israel's migration from Egypt for the pronouncement of the blessing on the people, as the other mountain had been chosen for the curse (Deut. 11:29). From this time on this mountain was revered, and people streamed to it as the people in the papacy went to hill and dale on pilgrimages. There they slaughtered and sacrificed, ignoring the temple at Jerusalem. They always glorified this mountain, referring to the fathers, for example, to Joshua and others, who worshiped God and blessed the people there (Josh. 8:33). This led them to believe that this mountain was as sacred as Jerusalem itself. The world has always had this tendency of walking in the path of the fathers and the church. Even the Scriptures are twisted, and we are admonished to observe the decrees of the fathers and of the councils and to copy our ancestors and fathers. Thus our salvation is bound to places and persons.
The Samaritans, however, should have declared: "We know that our forefathers worshiped God in that place, and the people in Jerusalem are also aware of it. But we are mistaken if we insist on transferring our divine worship there merely because our fathers served God and prayed to Him there." Another question that belongs here is: Did God order and command this to you in His Word? And is God's Word being preached there? This is the way to cope with the arguments of the papists when they praise the fathers and the councils. You must tell them: "I concede that the fathers were holy men; their holiness, however, does not help me. Instead, I must have God's Word to address me and tell me to my face what He wants me to do. I am not in the least interested in the fathers and the councils. It is incumbent on me to ascertain how I stand with God, so that I can always say: 'This is what God commanded me to do.' " For instance, God ordained circumcision for Abraham; but circumcision does not concern me today. I must see to it that my
Me and station please God. The papists raise the hue and cry: "The fathers! The fathers!" But we Christians are informed and instructed that our Baptism is not bound to Rome, No, here I have the church, the ministry, Baptism, and the Lord's Supper, my home with wife and children as well as my neighbors; here I must find what serves my salvation. The pope taught the opposite. Therefore it is necessary for everyone to be informed of God's will regarding himself that he may know what God wants to tell him and may remove Mt. Gerizim from his sight. This is the message which God recorded for all the world, which He also spoke into your ear and put into your heart: "He who believes and is baptized will be saved" (Mark 16:16). You will never find this stated more aptly in Rome. You will find it in your church and at home in your books. Whenever you feel depressed, you have your pastor or brother to absolve you and to speak to you in behalf of God. Thus God runs after you. If you have princes and government, be obedient to them. It is unnecessary for you to run hither and yon; all that God demands of you is that you read, write, and attend to your office. A woman must look to her position and calling and bring up her children in the fear of the Lord. The pope, however, directed us to certain places and persons, saying:
"Attending to one's calling and keeping house is the proper occupation for the laity; it is your duty to learn what the fathers taught and what the councils decreed." Not at all; it is your duty to listen to what God has commanded you to do! Forget about this woman with her Mt. Gerizim. The quarrel between the Samaritans and the people of Jerusalem revolved about that mountain. The people of Jerusalem fared better in this than the Samaritans. They might have adduced the fact that God founded the church in Jerusalem, that He had spoken but once on Mt. Gerizim, and that later on He transferred the divine worship to Jerusalem.
This contention and argument between the true and the false church dates back to the beginning, and it will never cease. The sects and the heretics have always assailed the true church, as this woman does when she says: "Do You, an excommunicated Jew, ask me, a holy Samaritan, to give you a drink?" The Samaritans firmly believed that they would be saved because they worshiped God on Mt. Gerizim. This
- 239 young woman is not obdurate, however, not headstrong and incorrigible. This is how we should like to see many of those who are enveloped in the darkness of the papacy and cannot find their way out of the gloom by themselves. Would that they were led out and converted by Christ! They would belong in the category of this Samaritan woman. Otherwise the devil will take possession of the schismatic spirits, leaving them bereft of all five senses. All the prophets experienced—and so do we in our day—that a fanatic is an unmitigated fool. He will accept nothing but what he thinks in his heart is true and what is uppermost in his mind. He is like the wolf which cries incessantly: "Bring the lamb here!"18 Thus they and theirs go to their doom. No matter what Münzer was told, he would not admit his error.19 He was possessed; he was intoxicated like a drunkard. When such people do wake up, they realize how they are faring. St. Paul says that one must plead with them in the hope that they may become sober again (2 Tim. 2:25). While they are in a stupor, they hear nothing but what they like. It is difficult to regain such people. Take, for example, the Sacramentarians, who assail the positive truth. God forbid that we should be like them! This woman is not yet possessed by the devil to such an extent that she cleaves and clings to error and cannot be torn away from it, although she is, of course, caught in the web of error and is not a true believer. We find many of her kind today. It is still possible to help such people. For their sake we must preach, as the Lord
Himself here preaches to this young woman. She tries to defend herself, asserting that she is holy and that Christ the Lord is not. Her conscience has been taken captive by idle babblers; she says: "I would be happy to give You a drink if You were a Samaritan. But You are a Jew, and the Jews have placed us under the ban and have condemned us as heretics." Thus her conscience feared that she might be contaminated by association with the Jews.
But look how gently the Lord deals with her! He does not break off talking to her but continues: "Dear daughter, it is true that I want you to give Me a drink; for I am physically fatigued. However, I am not merely interested in a drink for My body; I am looking for something else. I am seeking you Samaritans that you may hear Me." Now He begins to deliver an excellent sermon, saying:
10. If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you: Give Me a drink! you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.
"I would be happier to reverse the order and give you a drink. In fact, this is the reason for My presence here. I am asking for a drink to quench My physical thirst that I might have occasion to give you a drink. If you only realized what a gift is now to be found on earth, you would ask Me for it, and I would give you a drink that would taste better than this water. It is of the utmost importance to recognize this gift and to know Him who gives it. But neither the gift nor the Giver is known." This is also our lament—and it will eternally remain so—that the schismatic spirits do not recognize the gift even when exhorted to do so; and the great multitude also despises this ineffably precious treasure and fails to recognize the Giver of this gift. In fact, we too, who claim to be saints, pay it no heed and do not fully appreciate the value of this treasure offered to us through the Gospel. My dear friend, how few there are among us who esteem this as a genuine treasure, as an eternal gem, as everlasting life! There must be some, however, who will hazard life and limb for it. In Matt. 13 we read of a man who found a pearl in a field. He sold all his possessions in order to buy pearl and field (Matt. 13:45–46). Thus we find many who are willing to endure tortures because of it; they, too, will receive the drink. But the other crowd says flippantly: "What do I care about it?" You will find a hundred thousand people who regard silver mined from the earth as a real treasure.
They will not shrink from laboring night and day to acquire such a perishable treasure.
Would to God that we could gradually train our hearts to believe that the preacher's words are God's Word and that the man addressing us is a scholar and a king.20 As a matter of fact, it is not an angel or a hundred thousand angels but the Divine Majesty Himself that is preaching there. To be sure, I do not hear this with my ears or see it with my eyes; all I hear is the voice of the preacher, or of my brother or father, and I behold only a man before me. But I view the picture correctly if I add that the voice and words of father or pastor are not his own words and doctrine but those of our Lord and God. It is not a prince, a king, or an archangel whom I hear; it is He who declares that He is able to dispense the water of eternal life. If we could believe this, we would be content indeed. However, a fault which is manifest throughout the world and also in us is that we fail to recognize the gift and its Giver. I, too, am not at all perfect in this respect; my faith is not as profound and strong as I should like to have it. Flesh and blood are an impediment. They merely behold the person of the pastor and brother and hear only the voice of the father. They cannot be induced to say: "When I hear the Word, I hear a peal of thunder, and I see the whole world filled with lightning." No, we cannot be brought to do that, and this is most deplorable. Flesh
- 240 and blood are at fault. They refuse to regard the oral Word and the ministry as a treasure costlier and better than heaven and earth. People generally think: "If I had an opportunity to hear God speak in person, I would run my feet bloody." This is why people in times past flocked to the Oak, to Aachen, and to the Grym Valley.21 Because the people believed that Mary would help them in these places, they all hurried there. If someone at that time had announced: "I know of a place in the world where God speaks and anyone can hear God there"; if I had gone there and seen and heard a poor pastor baptizing and preaching, and if I had been assured: "This is the place; here God is speaking through the voice of the preacher who brings God's Word"—I would have said: "Well, I have been duped! I see only a pastor." We should like to have God speak to us in His majesty. But I advise you not to run hither and yon for this. I suppose we could learn how people would run if God addressed them in His majesty. This is what happened on Mt.
Sinai, where only the angels spoke and yet the mountain was wrapped in smoke and quaked. But you now have the Word of God in church, in books, in your home; and this is God's Word as surely as if God
Himself were speaking to you.
Christ says: "You do not know the gift." We recognize neither the Word nor the Person of Christ, but we take offense at His humble and weak humanity. When God wants to speak and deal with us, He does not avail Himself of an angel but of parents, of the pastor, or of my neighbor. This puzzles and blinds me so that I fail to recognize God, who is conversing with me through the person of the pastor or father. This prompts the Lord Christ to say in the text: "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you,
'Give Me a drink,' then I would not be obliged to run after you and beg for a drink. You would run after Me and ask Me for the living water. But since you do not know the gift and do not recognize Him who is speaking with you, you despise Me." Even if Christ did no more than greet us, it would be a treasure above all treasures; it would be honor and treasure enough. He has another treasure in store for us, however, which He reveals when He brings us forgiveness of sin and redemption from death, devil, and hell, when He transforms us into heavenly people and illumines our hearts. We can never express the value of this treasure adequately. We shall always fall short of recognizing it fully and of esteeming it as we really and truly should.
We should mark well that this is spoken to us too. If we recognized this gift, we would receive water in which the Holy Spirit is given to us. By God's grace we have at least begun to recognize God's gift and the Teacher. If we had not, I would not be able to teach you. Then you would fare as you did in the papacy, where you were told: "Run hither and yon!" However, thus far we have received only the first fruits and not the tithe.22 It is just beginning to dawn on us that God's speaking to us is an inexpressibly precious gift and that we are honored to be God's pupils and disciples. This is what is meant by knowing the nature of the gift and the person of the Doctor and Teacher. We and our hearers are just beginning to recognize that it is not a man we are listening to, but that it is God who is telling us things that contain an everlasting treasure. Therefore we are told again and again that we cannot speak about this subject enough; we must be like a stammering child. We cannot fathom what an incomprehensibly great treasure we possess in the divine Word. Nor do we really understand who this Person addressing us is or how excellent and exalted this Person is. If we did, it would impel us to boast of being followers, not of a king or of an emperor but of God. People in the world are proud if they have a gracious lord, or if they are privileged to see a prince; it means much to them to stand in his presence and hear him speak. Now it is true that it is a treasure to have a gracious lord or to be a prince's counselor. But look at the glory of the man who can say: "I am God's pupil; I hear Him speak —not an angel, not a pastor or a prince, but God
Himself. I am His counselor." For God says: "My message is an excellent gift, and by comparison the world's riches and glory are nothing but filth."
My dear friend, regard it as a real treasure that God speaks into your physical ear.23 The only thing that detracts from this gift is our deficient knowledge of it. To be sure, I do hear the sermon; however, I am wont to ask: "Who is speaking?" The pastor? By no means! You do not hear the pastor. Of course, the voice is his, but the words he employs are really spoken by my God. Therefore I must hold the Word of God in high esteem that I may become an apt pupil of the Word. If we looked upon it as the Word of God, we would be glad to go to church, to listen to the sermon, and to pay attention to the precious Word. There we would hear Christ say: "Give Me a drink!" But since we do not honor the Word of God or show any interest in our own salvation, we do not hear the Word. In fact, we do not enjoy listening to any preacher unless he is gifted with a good and clear voice. If you look more at the pastor than at God; if you do not see God's person but merely gape to see whether the pastor is learned and skilled, whether he has good
- 241 diction and articulates distinctly—then you have already become half a Jacob.24 For a poor speaker may speak the Word of God just as well as he who is endowed with eloquence. A father speaks the Word of God as well as God does, and your neighbor speaks it as well as the angel Gabriel. There is no difference between the Word when uttered by a schoolboy and when uttered by the angel Gabriel; they vary only in rhetorical ability. It matters not that dishes are made of different material—some of silver, others of tin— or whether they are enameled earthen dishes. The same food may be prepared in silver as in dishes of tin.
Venison, properly seasoned and prepared, tastes just as good in a wooden dish as in one of silver. We must also make this application to Baptism and absolution. This ought to be a comfort to us. People, however, do not recognize the person of God but only stare at the person of man. This is like a tired and hungry man who would refuse to eat unless the food is served on a silver platter. Such is the attitude that motivates the choice of many preachers today. Many, on the other hand, are forced to quit their office, are driven out and expelled. That is done by those who do not know this gift, who assume that it is a mere man speaking to them, although, as a matter of fact, it is even more than an angel, namely, your dear God, who creates body and soul. This does not imply that we should despise and reject the gifts which God has distributed according to His own measure, more to the one and fewer to the other; for gifts are manifold.
However, there is but one God who works through this multiplicity of gifts (1 Cor. 12:6). One dare not despise the treasure because of the person. Our God wishes to impress this on us all, not only on this young woman. Christ wishes to say: "I am not so much concerned that you give Me a drink as that I supply you with living water." It is a disgrace that Christ must go begging on earth, even among His own followers. It is a shame that He must cry: "For the sake of God, give Me bread!"25 He wants to rouse us to give gladly to those who serve in the ministry. But although Christ pleads and cries: "For the sake of God, give Me bread!" His plea is not fulfilled; for people assume that it is a poor pastor speaking. Verily, Christ does not stand in need of heaven and earth; He could eat and also satisfy His own with food. But He wants to say: "I am begging that you may obtain food and drink. I use your help to feed Me and My own. In this way you might recognize Him who dispenses the true, eternal drink of water and learn what sort of Word
He possesses. After you know that it is I and that the Word is Mine, you will say: 'After all, everything belongs to Thee; we will gladly return all to Thee. Dear Lord, give us who are truly hungry the real bread and drink.' This is the reason why I beg and say: 'For the sake of God, give Me bread!'—that you may recognize Him who is speaking to the young woman." (If He were to ask her for a drink, then she, in turn, would ask Him; and He would give her the water of everlasting life, and she would never die.) This is also what Christ wishes to do to us. But first we must learn to know the gift and the Teacher. Then we should be ready not only to give all but also to say: "Oh, dear Lord, give me some of the eternal water too!
Without it I must die of eternal thirst and hunger!" Christ says: "I am asking you to give Me bread for the sake of God because I want to give you the everlasting bread."
This marks the conclusion of Dr. Martin Luther's sermons on the first four chapters of the Gospel of St. John. He discontinued preaching here because Dr. Pomeranus had returned home from Denmark.
1Luther, M. (1999, c1957). Vol. 22: Luther's works, vol. 22 : Sermons on the Gospel of St. John: Chapters 1-4 (J. J. Pelikan, H. C. Oswald & H. T. Lehmann, Ed.). Luther's Works. Saint Louis: Concordia