Anhalt, Preached in Dessau, April 2, 1540

Hence it is again to be diligently noted how Christ described his church for us; for this description is a strong thunderbolt against the miserable pope and his decretals by which he has made of the church of God a filthy privy.10

If anybody wants to teach human precepts, let him do so in secular and domestic affairs and leave the church alone. After all, the papists are really empty spewers and talkers, since Christ himself here says: He who hears my Word and keeps it, to him will I and my Father come and make our home with him. This is the end of Jerusalem and Moses; here there is to be a little band of Christ, [Heufflein Christi], who hear

God's Word and keep the same and rely upon it in every misfortune. This is my church. This Lord we shall believe, even though the pope blow his top over it.

But in these words Christ was also answering the apostle Judas, who also allowed himself to imagine that Christ would become a great secular emperor and that they, the apostles, would become great lords in the nations when he should manifest himself. But how wrong he was! Here Christ tells them straight out that his kingdom is not of this world, but that they and all believers should be that kingdom of heaven in which God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit himself dwells. He does not install angels, emperors, kings, princes, and lords in that church. He himself wants to be the householder and be the only one to speak and act; there I will dwell, he says, and with me all believers from everlasting to everlasting.

But Judas, the good man, still cannot understand this and therefore the Holy Spirit must come and teach it to him. Of this future and this ministry, dear Christians, you will hear tomorrow, God willing. If I cannot do it, then it will be done by others who can do it better than I, though they will not admit it.11 Let this today serve as an introduction or the morning sermon. May the Lord help us, I cannot go on further now.

Anhalt, Preached in Dessau, April 2, 1540 Luther preached three sermons in Dessau at Easter, 1540, at the invitation of the princes of Anhalt with whom he enjoyed warm personal relations. The occasion for the invitation was the baptism of Prince

Bernhard, the three-week-old son of Prince John of Anhalt. Luther stood sponsor for the child at the baptism on Thursday, April 1, and preached on repentance, John the Baptist, and the baptism of Jesus,

Matt. 3:12; and on the next day preached this sermon on baptism, continuing his exposition of Matthew 3.

These two sermons, along with the Easter sermon on John 20:19–31 preached on Sunday, were printed in Wittenberg in 1540. Who the transcriber was is not known, though the third sermon is preserved in Poach's copy of Rörer's notes.

Text in German; WA 49, 124–135.

Yesterday we began to speak about the baptism of Christ and said that he accepted it from John for the reason that he was entering into our stead, indeed, our person, that is, becoming a sinner for us, taking upon himself the sins which he had not committed, and wiping them out and drowning them in his holy baptism. And that he did this in accord with the will of God, the heavenly Father, who cast all our sins upon him that he might bear them and not only cleanse us from them through his baptism and make satisfaction for them on the Cross, but also clothe as in his holiness and adorn us with his innocence.

Is not this a beautiful, glorious exchange, by which Christ, who is wholly innocent and holy, not only takes upon himself another's sin, that is, my sin and guilt, but also clothes and adorns me, who am nothing but sin, with his own innocence and purity? And then besides dies the shameful death of the Cross for the sake of my sins, through which I have deserved death and condemnation, and grants to me his righteousness, in order that I may live with him eternally in glorious and unspeakable joy. Through this blessed exchange, in which Christ changes places with us (something the heart can grasp only in faith), and through nothing else, are we freed from sin and death and given his righteousness and life as our own.

Now, wherever this is preached and known one can most certainly judge and conclude that all, no matter who they are or what they are called, who teach or do otherwise than what is here said in order to - 126 be rid of sin and gain God's grace, are wrong, and that they are lost and condemned with all their devotions, good intentions, rigorous living, onerous and great works, even if they performed more of them. For they insist that they can propitiate God's wrath and acquire grace and salvation through their own righteousness and merit, which adequately shows that they know nothing at all of this blessed exchange. On the contrary, what they think is: Even though I am a sinner, there is no need to worry, I can take care of the matter; I will do this or that to the praise of God and he will accept it, and so on.

What it means, however, is that which is our own, no matter how good and holy it may seem, is nothing in the sight of God; it must become nothing and be utterly dead. For if we could atone for sin and drive out death by human powers, it would not have been necessary for Christ to become man and be baptized and die for our sins. Therefore if you would not fail and be lost, believe the Scriptures, which testify that all men are sinners, that before God no man living is righteous [Ps. 143:2; Rom. 3:20]. But if they are to become righteous, this must come to pass through Christ, the blessed Seed of whom it was promised to Adam, Abraham, etc., that he would crush the serpent's head and redeem the whole world from its curse. This he did; he took the sin of the whole world upon himself; he became a curse for us, and thus redeemed from the curse all those who believe in him (Gal. 3 [:13]).

Such knowledge and faith produces a joyful heart, which is certain and can say: I know of no more sins, for they are all lying on Christ s back. Now, they can never lie both upon him and upon us. Therefore no one can say that he makes satisfaction for sin through his own righteousness or discipline; for atonement and redemption of sin belongs to Christ alone. But Christ is neither my work nor yours nor any man's works. Nor are they his body and blood, which he sacrificed for our sins; he is true God, true man, who bears the sins of the whole world. But he takes them and drowns and smothers them in baptism and the Cross, and lets you proclaim that he has given his body for you and poured out his blood for the forgiveness of your sins. And if you believe this, then they are forgiven, you are good and righteous, you receive the Holy Spirit, in order that henceforth you may be able to resist sin. And when through weakness you are overtaken by it, it shall not be imputed to you, as long as you otherwise remain in this faith.

This is the forgiveness of sins; it does not occur without payment or satisfaction; but this payment is not yours. It cost Christ his body, life, and blood. It will be of no use even if you, indeed, the whole world, were to offer up your body and blood, for no offering is acceptable to God to pay for sin, says the Scripture, except the one sacrifice of Christ. It is his sacrifice of himself for your sin and the whole world's sin and his giving to you his innocence and righteousness that comes to your help and drowns your sin and death. And when you are baptized in this faith you are putting on Christ, who washes away your sins in baptism and gives you the Holy Spirit, etc. So you see, do you not, that this forgiveness is not brought about through your penance, but rather that Christ bears the sins of us all and kills them in his body, and that we take hold of this by faith and let ourselves be baptized according to his command.

This is what John also means when he says to the Lord, "I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?" It is as if he were saying: I am a sinner, so I should rightly be receiving baptism from you,

Lord, and thus be cleansed and absolved of sins by you. For he well knew that Christ had no sin and yet it was He who was bearing the sins of the whole world, the only one to bring forgiveness and impart the Holy Spirit. That's why he says: I need to be baptized by you.

But Christ says, "Let it be so now; for thus it is fitting for us to fulfil all righteousness" [Matt. 3:15]; as much as to say: The purpose of my baptism is to wash away and drown the sins of all the world, that through it all righteousness and salvation may be accomplished. Therefore baptism was instituted by God primarily for Christ's sake and then afterwards also for the sake of all men. For first he must sanctify baptism through his own body and thereby take away the sin, in order that afterwards those who believe in him may have the forgiveness of sins. Therefore baptism is not a useless, empty thing, as the sectarians blasphemously say, but in it all righteousness is fulfilled.

Then repentance, as John preaches it for the forgiveness of sins, consists mostly in your acknowledging that God is right and confessing that his judgment is true when he says that we are all sinners and all condemned. When you do this from the heart, then repentance has begun. What more must

I do then? Bow down and be baptized. For, says Christ, by my baptism I have accomplished it, that whoever believes in me and accepts this baptism receives the forgiveness of sins, and my Father and I and the Holy Spirit will dwell in him.

- 127 For here you see, as we said yesterday, that after he was baptized from that hour the heavens were opened above Christ (something never seen before at St. John's baptisms) and later the earth, the graves, hell, and everything were opened, and the Holy Spirit was seen in the form of a dove, and the Father's voice was heard above this baptism, saying that he was deeply pleased with it. For this Son, who stood there and allowed himself to be baptized by John, pleased him so well that even though he were bearing the sins of a thousand worlds, they would all be drowned and destroyed in his baptism. But because he is well pleased with him, he is also well pleased with those who believe in him and suffer themselves to be baptized according to his command.

Hence, not only are sins forgiven in baptism, but we are also made sure and certain that God is so well pleased with it that he, together with Christ and his Holy Spirit, proposes to be present when it is administered and he himself will be the baptizer; although this glorious revelation of the divine majesty does not now occur visibly, as it did at that time on the Jordan, since it is sufficient that it occurred once as a witness and a sign.

Therefore we should diligently accustom ourselves to look upon these things with eyes of faith and to interpret this glorious revelation and divine radiance and splendor which shone forth above the baptism of Christ as happening to us; for all this did not happen and all this was not recorded for Christ's sake, for he himself did not baptize [John 4:2], but rather for our comfort and the strengthening of our faith, for the sake of which he also accepted baptism. Therefore wherever anybody is being baptized according to Christ's command we should be confidently convinced that God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is present there, and that there is pure delight, pleasure, and joy in heaven over the fact that sin is forgiven, the heavens opened forever, and that now there is no more wrath but only grace unalloyed.

Not that we can gain this by our penitence or satisfaction, but rather we receive this grace on account of this Son, who bears the sins of us all upon his back and of whom the Father declares, "This is my beloved Son, etc." He is exceedingly pleased because he allowed himself to be baptized and thus drowned sin in the water and then afterwards allowed himself to be killed upon the cross. Then sin, death, damnation must needs perish and cease on account of him, and righteousness, life, and salvation break forth in their place. And that which in us was previously condemned in the sight of God is now altogether pleasing in Christ, and because of him, even the faults and failings which remain can not hurt us.

Then there is something else which should be noted, and that is that here above the baptism of Christ no such terrifying spectacle was to be seen as that which occurred on Mount Sinai when the people of Israel received the Law, when there was a great, thick, black cloud and terrible thunder and lightning and a ghastly, loud blast of a trumpet. The whole mountain smoked and flamed up to the heavens, so that the people retreated and thus could not hear God's voice speaking out of the fire. Here, by contrast, everything was lovely, comforting, and joyful; the Father most kindly allows his voice to be heard, saying that he is well pleased with the Son, the Son standing there in his manhood and allowing himself to be baptized for our benefit, and the Holy Spirit descending like a dove. Here no terrifying or majestic figure is to be seen, nor was there heard any stern, unbearable proclamation in which God showed himself and made himself heard. Rather everything was lovely and comforting to behold. Now let us speak a bit also about our baptism.

First, we should learn from God's Word in order that every Christian may know what baptism is; for hitherto there have been many sectarians and heretics, and they will always be present, who attack holy baptism. This comes from the fact that they view baptism as being only water, as our eyes tell us it is.

With such a stupid view a man can never judge any differently of baptism or know any more about it than a cow. Therefore a Christian must be differently and better instructed in this matter.

Now, as I have often said, God's Word teaches us that the sacrament of baptism has three parts. The first is just natural water, which is the only thing the sectarians look at and then say: Water cannot wash the soul. Then they proceed to make of it only a sign, in the same way that we brand sheep, etc. But this is far too little to say about holy baptism, since it is only one part and the least part of it. We too say that it is water, but there is something more which is added to it, which makes this water glorious and holy, makes it in fact the real baptism, namely:

The second part, God's Word beside and with the water, which is not something we have invented or dreamed up, but is rather the Word of Christ, who said, "Go into all the world and baptize them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit" [Matt. 28:19]. When these words are added to - 128 the water, then it is no longer simple water like other water, but a holy, divine, blessed water. For where the Word of God, by which he created heaven and earth and all things, is present, there God himself is present with his power and might. What this Word with the water creates and effects, however, we shall hear about later.

And this must be noted above all things—we must not look upon the water as simply water without the Word, but rather know that the Word with and beside the water constitutes the substance of baptism, as St. Paul says clearly in Eph. 5 [:26] that Christ washed and cleansed his bride, the church, by the washing of water with the Word, which is quite a different bath and washing than that which occurs through natural water or human washing and bathing in a tub. For here, says St. Paul, is the Word of the living God which says, I baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit; in other words, here not a man, but God himself is baptizing. For when it is done in his name it is done indeed by the holy Trinity.

Then there is a third part which is necessary to make it a sacrament, namely, institution or the Word which institutes and ordains baptism; for two kinds of Word must be present in order that it be a baptism.

One which is spoken with the water or baptizing, the second that which orders and commands us to baptize in this way, that is, to immerse in water and to speak these words. When these two come together, namely, the command and institution to do this and the Word with the water, which is used in accord with the institution and practices and administers the same, then this is called a baptism and is a baptism.

This is the principal part, which we must see and be concerned with here, namely, Who is the Founder who has ordained and commanded such baptism? For it makes a great difference between this baptism and all others which are invented by men and then considered to be a baptism which counts for something before God. For example, the magicians, witches, and weather prophets also employ a sign or creature, such as a root or herb, and speak over it the Lord's Prayer or some other holy word and name of God.

This, they say, is not an evil thing but rather both: a creation of God and precious words and holy names; therefore it should possess power and accomplish what it is used for; just as the pope also juggles and conjures with his chrism, holy water, and salt.

But here one must look to the third part and ask: My friend, where and who is the Founder who commanded this? Do you too have a word and command of God which says you should do this, that you should consecrate salt or water and speak such words over them? When there is no such command, then it is nothing and it stands for nothing, no matter what sign or word is used. Even baptism would not be a sacrament without this word of command, even though water and the Word spoken over it were present, as the papacy plays the fool with such fake, lying baptisms as blessing and baptizing inanimate bells in which both water and Word are used as in proper baptism. What is lacking in this? Nothing else but this part, that there is no divine institution and command which has commanded and ordered such a thing, but rather men have introduced such practice on their own discretion; just as the whole papacy is purely human doctrine and nothing but their own junk. Therefore such baptizing is not a sacrament, but just a pure perversion, indeed, a mockery and blasphemy of baptism.

You see, then, that this is the most necessary thing which we must learn and know about baptism— that here we have the Founder from heaven, who gives us both the command to baptize and also the form and the manner of baptism. In the first place God himself must command it. Then afterwards he must himself name the creature or element, and then also prescribe the words which are to be used with it, in order that all may be done according to his command, not according to human choice or devotion, which everywhere in the Scriptures the Holy Spirit condemns and calls idolatry and magic. He speaks of this in the prophet Jer. 7 [:31], Quod non praecepi, neque ascendit in cor meum, that is, "Which I did not command, nor did it come into my mind." Therefore he does not want us to adopt anything except that which he himself institutes and orders, which, of course, is also the best and most profitable for us, since then we do not need to waver and hover in doubt, but can say with certainty: I know that the baptism which I have received is not man's, but God's work and baptism, even though it is administered by a man, for it is His own institution and ordinance.

Now, when we have this understanding of what baptism is, we can guard and defend ourselves against the sectarians, who consider baptism to be simply water and a human thing, and also against all the conjuring and abomination of the pope, who misuses both the creatures and God's Word without having a command of God. For when God institutes and ordains something, this will not be merely a human sign,

- 129 which one can recognize and distinguish from others, but a salutary, holy, godly thing, which is powerful and conducive to salvation. Where there is water along with God's Word and God's command, there our hearts can be certain that this is a real, divine baptism, even though we are not confronted by any great, external spectacle, for this, even though it were the most glorious imaginable, would still not make it a baptism.

For a person is brought here completely stripped and naked, and nothing happens except that by God's command he is immersed in water or water is poured over him and these words spoken: "I baptize you, etc." And when this happens you should have no doubt that this is a right, perfect baptism, nor ask whether he who administers the baptism is devout and believing or not. Let him be godless and unbelieving, for what he is in his person does not affect the baptism, nor will it harm you; as long as he adheres to the institution of Christ and does not add wine, beer, lye, or any other thing, but uses water with the Word of God added to it, it is a holy baptism. For then everything is here that belongs to the essence of baptism, namely, natural water, with the Word, by God's institution and command.

Therefore it must inevitably effect and accomplish that for which it was instituted, namely, as St. Paul teaches in Titus 3 [:5], "regeneration and renewal in the Holy Spirit." For as we are born of Adam and Eve for this life, so the same old man, born before in sin and unto death, must be born again and anew to righteousness and eternal life by the power of the Holy Spirit. And yet outwardly, nothing more is there and nothing more is perceived than water and the Word, which is all that is seen with the eyes and heard with the ears. Nevertheless it has such power that the man who was so conceived and born in sin is now born anew in the sight of God and he who before was condemned to death is verily a child of God. Who can ever grasp this glory and power of holy baptism with human senses or understanding?

Therefore in baptism do not look to the minister's hand, which takes simple water, and his mouth, which speaks a few words over it, which is a trivial act that only fills the eyes and ears and otherwise accomplishes nothing, as blind reason permits itself to think. But rather look to the Word and act of God, by whose command baptism was instituted, indeed, who is himself the baptizer. That's why it has such power. As the Holy Spirit declares through St. Paul, it is a "washing of regeneration and renewal in the Holy Spirit" [Titus 3:5], which changes, cleanses, and removes the inherited disease of our impure and condemned birth from Adam, in which we are all born in sin and therefore are so full of filth and leprosy that our hearts and the highest faculties of reason resist God's command and will, and of which we cannot cleanse ourselves. And then it makes us innocent, so that, without sin and without death, we shall rise on the last day, more beautiful and pure than the sun, righteous in body and soul, and live to all eternity.

Therefore one must not hold baptism in low esteem, as do the devil's sectarians, who make of it simply a sign, but rather highly honor and exalt it as our highest and most precious treasure. And this despite the fact that we see nothing of it but the water and hear no more than the words spoken by the baptizer, of whom we cannot know whether he himself believes or not, which, as has been said, neither takes anything from baptism nor harms you. For I should not and will not stake it all upon what the minister is or believes. Rather, if I am to be certain of my baptism, I must look to the Founder and listen to what his Word and command say. True, the minister must be there, he must lend his hand and mouth; but I must not allow my attention to be fixed upon the visible baptizer, but rather upon the unseen Baptizer, who instituted and ordained the baptism; to him I must look, no matter who the minister may be.

Then I also hear that these words which are spoken do not read: I baptize you in my name or in the name of St. Peter, St. Paul, or the name of any other man; but rather "in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit." In addition to this I see that the child is immersed in water or sprinkled with it. Accordingly,

I know that this is a true baptism, for the Scriptures clearly testify that when these three parts are present, it is a true baptism, which creates a new man, and if he remains a new man, he is holy in body and soul.

Therefore I say that we should both speak and think highly of holy baptism, in order that it may be completely distinguished from all other washing and bathing; for here it is God himself, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, who is baptizing and bathing. Therefore this act must be so powerful that it makes a man altogether new. This is why St. John the evangelist is fond of speaking of this dear baptism as water mingled with the blood of Christ, as in John 19 [:34], when Christ was crucified and dead and one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, he says, "at once there carne out blood and water." And then he goes on to confirm this with this strong statement: "He who saw it has borne witness—his testimony is true, and he knows that he tells the truth—that you also may believe" [v. 35].

- 130 Likewise in the last chapter of his epistle he says of Christ, "This is he who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ, not with the water only but with the water and the blood" [I John 5:6]. Thus he is always wanting to mingle the blood in the baptism in order that we may see in it the innocent, rosy-red blood of Christ. For human eyes, it is true, there appears to be nothing there but pure white water, but St. John wants us to open the inward and spiritual eyes of faith in order that we may see, not only water, but also the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Why? Because this holy baptism was purchased for us through this same blood, which he shed for us and with which he paid for sin. This blood and its merit and power he put into baptism, in order that in baptism we might receive it. For whenever a person receives baptism in faith this is the same as if he were visibly washed and cleansed of sin with the blood of Christ. For we do not attain the forgiveness of sins through our work, but rather through the death and the shedding of the blood of the Son of God. But he takes this forgiveness of sin and tucks it into baptism.

This is what St. John was looking to when he mingled water and blood together, for, after all, it has in it that which was gained through the blood. And thus St. John deems the person who is baptized as having been washed in the blood of Christ. His blood is not that of a sinful man or the blood of a dead goat or ox; it is innocent, just, and holy, it is a blood of life. Therefore it also contains such strong salt and soap that, wherever it touches sin and uncleanness, it bites and washes it all away, eats and destroys both sin and death in an instant.

Thus St. John pictures our dear baptism for us in this way, so that we shall not regard and look only at the clear Water, for, he says, Christ comes "not with water only (as the Anabaptists blaspheme, saying it is nothing but water) "but with the water and the blood" [I John 5:6]. Through such words he desires to admonish us to see with spiritual eyes and see in baptism the beautiful, rosy-red blood of Christ, which flowed and poured from his holy side. And therefore he calls those who have been baptized none other than those who have been bathed and cleansed in this same rosy-red blood of Christ.

So St. Peter, too, says in I Pet. 1 [:2], that those who have been baptized have been sprinkled with the innocent blood of Christ. How were they sprinkled? Who has ever seen anybody sprinkled in this way?

True, in the Old Testament there was much sprinkling, since in Num. 19 [:2–10] there was a commandment concerning the water for impurity made of the ashes of a burned red heifer by which those who were unclean were to have their sin removed. But the sprinkling of which St. Peter is speaking (and which is signified by this sprinkling) is none other than preaching. Holy water or water for impurity is the Holy Scriptures.1 The tongue of the preacher or Christian is the aspergillum.2 He dips it into the rosy-red blood of Christ and sprinkles the people with it, that is, he preaches to them the gospel, which declares that Christ has purchased the forgiveness of sins with his precious blood, that he has poured out his blood on the Cross for the whole world, and that he who believes this has been sprinkled with this blood.

Therefore this preaching and the baptizing that follows it is the equivalent of being sprinkled with the blood of Christ himself, except that here it is done spiritually (for physical sprinkling will not do it), in that we believe and declare: I have been washed of sin and death by the blood of my Lord Christ. How? By the preaching of the gospel. There I hear that Christ died and shed his blood in order that all who believe in him might have forgiveness of sins and be justified and saved.

It is the same as in absolution; we believe that through absolution the sins of those who have fallen are forgiven, not because of the laying on of hands, for my laying on of hands does nothing of itself, but rather because Christ has commanded and said, "Whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven" [Matt.

18:18], and again: "If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven" [John 20:23]. It is upon these words that I accept absolution as that which God himself has instituted and commanded, and I know that in this too I am sprinkled with the innocent blood of Christ, with which he has stained the absolution, baptism, and the sacrament.

Thus St. John wanted to show us in this passage, in which he says that Christ "came by water and blood" [I John 5:6], that baptism is such a glorious and powerful thing that it washes away sin, drowns and destroys death, and heals and cleanses all disease. It is true that we do not see this with our eyes, but Christians are the kind of people who should not insist upon seeing, but rather hold fast to the Word and believe.

Nevertheless, at the same time the dear God is so concerned for us that we do not go astray and grope for him in vain, that he has given us outward, visible signs upon which we are to fix our eyes and ears.

- 131 Otherwise we might object that we did not know how or where to find him, or go wandering and fluttering hither and yon after our own thoughts, as was done in time past in the papacy, some running to St. James,3 others to Rome, and so on.

Therefore he well provides us with such signs, so that we do not need to search hither and yon. He says: Look to the Word, baptism, the sacrament, the keys [absolution]. True enough, he says, all this is external, but it is necessary and helpful to you, in order that you may have a definite image by which you can take hold of me, for you will never reach me in naked majesty; therefore I must present myself to you in these external images, in order that you may grasp me.

And we should stick to these images and signs which he himself has given us. Otherwise the same thing will happen to you as with the whole rabble of monks, who forgot their baptism, went into the cloister, put on a cowl, and thus contrived for themselves a sign in which they proposed to find and meet

God, and then claimed that this is the right way to serve God and attain to heaven. Then they went on to feed the laity with hopes of getting their surplus merit and attributed as much power to their trumped up consecrated salt and water as to holy baptism itself. All this is to fail God, yea, to tempt God, and to dish up idolatry for true service of God; for what is lacking here is the Word which institutes and commands these things.

Therefore let us magnify and value our precious holy baptism. First, because it is a true and sure image and sign, erected by God himself, in which we surely find and meet with his grace. Secondly, in order that we may learn to avoid all other images and signs which have been invented and erected by men, no matter how fine and holy they may seem, and know with certainty that we shall never find nor meet God in them, but that they only lead us farther away from him.

But you may say: I do not see such great and glorious things in baptism as you have been talking about. I said a while ago that Christians are people who should believe and not see. Even though God were to reveal visibly how the Holy Spirit and the whole Trinity works in baptism, as was said above, and how all the angels are present, you still would not be able to stand it, you could not endure such majesty for an instant.

Therefore he must so cover and veil himself that you may be able to endure it and say: True, I see nothing in baptism except water, into which the baptizer dips the child or which he pours upon it, and I hear nothing but the words which he speaks over it, "I baptize you in the name, etc." This my eyes and ears tell me. But the Word and faith tell me that God himself is present, doing the work. Therefore it is such a potent fountain of youth that it causes a man to be born again, washes away and drowns every sin within him.

Therefore you should take it as a very special grace that he should deal so kindly with you, so kindly that none could ever be more kindly. For he simply presents a man; he does not put a sword, a gun, or any kind of weapon in his hand, but simply commands him to take a little water with his bare, empty hand and say these words, "I baptize you in the name, etc." Thus he lays nothing hard or unbearable upon us, nor does he burden us with any expenditure, as with the Jews, who were obliged to be circumcised, to slaughter and make sacrifices; but, as we said, simply commands us to take a little water, which is familiar to everyone and so necessary that we cannot get along without it for an hour, and then say the words, "I baptize you, etc." In the Lord's Supper also he bids us eat and drink and to do this in remembrance of him, etc.

Now he who has this understanding of holy baptism which we have indicated, who knows what it is, what it does, what its benefits are, and who the Founder and real baptizer is, will also experience the power of it in his heart and be bettered by it. He will thank and praise God for his great grace, that he has liberated him from the false kingdom of the Antichrist in which this teaching concerning baptism is kept silent and, indeed, is unknown; and he will know how to judge with certainty all kinds of doctrines as to whether they are right or wrong. He will extort nothing from his neighbor or be hard on him in any way, but rather treat him with all kindness, counsel and help him whenever he can, and gladly suffer and bear the holy cross. Such fruits will surely follow. If not, then this is a sure sign that he has no understanding either of faith or of baptism, no matter how much he may talk about it.4

We shall leave it at that now and earnestly entreat Christ our Lord to preserve us in pure understanding of the Word and the holy sacrament and defend us from all error, and to this end may he grant us his grace. Amen.

14:1–11, October 5, 1544 This sermon has classical significance because of its thoroughly evangelical definition of worship, a salutary antidote for muddled liturgical thinking. The text is the Gospel for the Seventeenth Sunday after Trinity (Luther rarely chose special texts for special occasions) and the occasion was the dedication of the first new church to be built in Saxony since the Reformation. This sermon was preached in the morning and Luther preached again in the afternoon on Eph. 4:1–10. The Weimar edition prints two versions:

Rörer's notes and Caspar Cruciger's version based on Rörer's notes. The present translation is based on Cruciger's version and compared with Rörer's notes.

Text in German; WA 49, 588–615.

My dear friends, we are now to bless and consecrate this new house to our Lord Jesus Christ. This devolves not only upon me; you, too, should take hold of the aspergillum1 and the censer, in order that the purpose of this new house may be such that nothing else may ever happen in it except that our dear Lord himself may speak to us through his holy Word and we respond to him through prayer and praise.2

Therefore, in order that it may be rightly and Christianly consecrated and blessed, not like the papists' churches with their bishop's chrism and censing, but according to God's command and will, we shall begin by hearing and expounding God's Word, and then, in order that this may be done fruitfully, following his command and gracious promise, call upon him together and say the Lord's Prayer.

The Gospel: Luke 14 [:1–11] On the Dropsical Man Healed on the Sabbath "One sabbath when he went to dine at the house of a ruler who belonged to the Pharisees, they were watching him. And behold, there was a man before him who had dropsy. And Jesus spoke to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, 'Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath, or not?' But they were silent. Then he took him and healed him, and let him go. And he said to them, 'Which of you, having an ass or an ox that has fallen into a well, will not immediately pull him out on a sabbath day?' And they could not reply to this.

"Now he told a parable to those who were invited, when he marked how they chose the places of honor, saying to them, 'When you are invited by any one to a marriage feast, do not sit down in a place of honor, lest a more eminent man than you be invited by him; and he who invited you both will come and say to you, 'Give place to this man,' and then you will begin with shame to take the lowest place. But when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place, so that when your host comes he may say to you,

'Friend, go up higher'; then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at table with you. For every one who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."

This Gospel presents us with a disputation concerning the sabbath which Christ was obliged to enter into with the Jews; for they were especially troubled by their sabbath. So here the Lord also troubled them with it and right gladly too, and also quite rightly. On the sabbath when the people assembled, as we do on Sunday, the Lord usually preached and after the sermon, performed a miracle to help the poor people, and particularly to substantiate his teaching. Now the Jews could tolerate the preaching, when he did not revile them; but that he should deal with the sick and perform miracles on the sabbath displeased them and they called it breaking the sabbath.

Now this part concerning the sabbath belongs in the preaching of the catechism, when one deals with the [third] commandment: You shall keep the sabbath, or day of rest, holy [Exod. 20:8]. This, being the third commandment in the first table, was for the Jews a particularly serious one, and they were obliged to observe it on the particular, appointed day, namely, the seventh. Therefore, for them the sabbath was no joke, and so they were much annoyed that Christ should heal the sick on the sabbath, of all days, and accused him of not keeping the sabbath [Matt. 12:10]. Thus wisdom was obliged to allow herself to be justified by her children [Luke 7:35], just as they revile us Christians to this day, saying that we preach the - 133 Ten Commandments and the sabbath and yet do not keep them in their way. But what they gain from their reviling and blaspheming of Christ and his church we can see in this Gospel also; they had to swallow their own words and were publicly shamed by having their own example compared with oxen and asses.

But by God's grace we know how the sabbath is to be kept, for we have learned it from this our Lord, the Son of God. It is true that at that time the particular day of the sabbath was fixed for the Jewish people, and also a specified place, a special tribe or [group of] persons, and a particular priesthood or service of worship was appointed. For all this must take place only in their country and in the temple at Jerusalem, conducted by the Levites, who belonged to the priestly tribe, from which tribe alone the ministers of the church were drawn.

But we, who are in the kingdom of our Lord Christ, are not thus bound to a tribe or place, so that we must adhere to one place alone and have only one race or one particular, separate kind of persons. Rather we are all priests, as is written in I Pet. 2 [:9]; so that all of us should proclaim God's Word and works at every time and in every place, and persons from all ranks, races, and stations may be specially called to the ministry, if they have the grace and the understanding of the Scriptures to teach others. So we, too, are lords of the sabbath with Christ and through Christ, as he himself says in Matt. 12 [:8], "The sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath; so the Son of man is lord even of the sabbath" [Mark 2:27–28].

Accordingly, all those who believe in him are likewise lords of the sabbath.

There, in the Jewish nation, it had to be so, that they observed a particular, separate, definite day, and adhered to a particular tribe, persons, and place, until the coming of Christ, in order that they might be distinguished from the heathen in this external way which was appointed and commanded by God himself, and also that they might possess an external evidence that they were God's people among whom God's

Son was to be born. But now that this Christ, our Lord, has come and a new kingdom has been inaugurated throughout the whole world, we Christians are no longer bound to such external, particular conduct, but rather have the freedom, if the sabbath or Sunday does not please us, to take Monday or any other day of the week and make a Sunday of it; though this must be done in an orderly way. And it should be a day or a time which is convenient for all, and not left to the choice of each individual to make something special for himself in matters which concern the whole congregation or even the whole church, or to change appointed times or days unless it is required by an unusual common need. Likewise, the one who is called to the office and commissioned to preach should not preach to himself alone, but to the whole congregation. Therefore it should also be arranged in such a way that they may all assemble at a definite and convenient time, when the ordinary man can be away from his trade or work, and at a definite place where they may know and hear their preacher. However, in case the circumstance should arise that it were impossible to preach or to assemble today, which is the appointed day, then one might well do so tomorrow or some other day.

However, since Sunday is now universally accepted as our sabbath or day of rest, let it remain so, provided, however, that we remain lord over it, and not it over us. For if every one were to start something new as he pleased, changing days, hours, and places, this would not be right either. Rather every one should agree in these things, make themselves ready, and come together to hear God's Word and to respond to him by calling upon him together, praying for every kind of need, and thanking him for benefits received. If this cannot be done under roof or in the church, then let it be done out of doors or wherever there is room. St. Paul preached at the riverside in Philippi (Acts 16 [:13]), and in a hall at Troas

(Acts 20 [:8–12]). Just so that it be an orderly, public, reverent assembly, since one cannot and should not appoint a special place and location for each individual, and one should not seek out secret corners to hide away, as the Anabaptists do.3

We Christians receive this freedom through the teaching of today's Gospel and we should insist that we are the lords of the sabbath and of other days and places and not attribute special holiness or service of God to a particular day, as the Jews or our papists do.

Therefore this house shall be built and appointed according to this freedom for those who dwell here in this castle and court or any others who desire to come in. Not that we are making a special church of it, as if it were better than other houses where the Word of God is preached. If the occasion should arise that people did not want to or could not assemble, one could just as well preach outside by the fountain4 or somewhere else. For neither did the prophets have such great regard for the temple in Jerusalem

(particularly because they could not stand the high priests there), nor did they always preach there, but in - 134 various places, wherever it suited them, as may be seen in their writings. Nevertheless they often wished to be with the multitude and in the place where people assembled publicly, as Ps. 42 [:4], "I went with the throng, and led them in procession to the house of God, with glad shouts and songs of thanksgiving, a multitude keeping festival." Now this multitude must have some kind of a room and its days or hours, which will be convenient for the listeners. Therefore God very wisely arranged and appointed things, and instituted the holy sacrament to be administered in the congregation at a place where we can come together, pray, and give thanks to God. Just as is done in worldly affairs when something which concerns the community must be dealt with, so much the more should this be done where we are to hear the Word of God.

And here the advantage is that when Christians thus come together their prayers are twice as strong as otherwise. One can and one really should pray in every place and every hour; but prayer is nowhere so mighty and strong5 as when the whole multitude prays together. Thus the dear patriarchs gathered with their families, and anybody else who happened to be with them, under a tree, or put up a tent, and erected an altar, and this was their temple and house of God, where they talked about Christ, the coming seed who was promised to them, sacrificed together, called upon God, and gave thanks to him. And thus they were always glad to be with the multitude whenever they could, even though they also meditated upon God's

Word and promise and prayed by themselves in private.

How often we read in Holy Scriptures that even the prayer of a single man has been very effectual, as in Gen. 18 [:23–33], where Abraham prays to God for the people of Sodom and the adjacent cities and prevails upon him and wins him over to such a degree that he was willing to spare them even if only ten righteous persons were to be found in them; and Christ makes another and even stronger promise in Matt.

18 [:20, 19], that where only two or three are gathered in his name, he would be in the midst of them, and what they agreed upon to pray for together would be done for them by his heavenly Father. How much more, then, should not this assurance comfort a whole congregations of Christians when they pray together in unity for something in Christ's name? And even if no other fruit came of it, it would still be altogether sufficient that, if two or three or a whole multitude of you were together, Christ himself would be present among you. And there, most certainly, God the Father and the Holy Spirit, too, would not be absent, and the holy angels would not be far away, but the devil and his hellish troops would not willingly be anywhere near.

Let this be said with regard to the beginning of this Gospel concerning the sabbath and how and why and to what extent we Christians should make use of it, namely, that we are to come together at a time and place which we are agreed upon, deal with and listen to God's Word, bring to God our ordinary and unusual needs and those of others and thus launch up to heaven a strong, effectual prayer, and also together laud and praise God's goodness with thanksgiving. And of this we know that it is the right service and worship of God, a service which is well-pleasing to him and in which he himself is present. We know that we need not build any special church or temple at great cost or burden and that we are not necessarily bound to any place or time, but have been granted liberty to do this whenever, wherever, and as often as we are able and are agreed together. We know that, just as we are always obliged in our whole Christian life to use our liberty in these external things in love and for the service of our neighbor, so in this matter also we should be in harmony and conformity with others.

Secondly, we see how Christ rebukes the Jews for their blindness and puts to shame those who would censure and cavil at him, and demonstrates to them by their own example how the sabbath may be used in freedom according to our own and our neighbor's need. For here is where they began to argue with him about his healing the dropsical man, accusing him of breaking the sabbath, imagining that now they had really hit home. Just as before, in the thirteenth chapter of Luke [13:11–17], when Christ healed in the synagogue on the sabbath a poor woman who for eighteen years had walked bent over, the ruler of the synagogue, or, as we would say, the parson, rose up and spoke to the congregation, "Where are six days on which work ought to be done; come on those days and be healed, and not on the sabbath day," when one should rest and not do any work. With that speech he felt he had administered a severe rebuke to Christ, whom, however, he did not dare to address to his face.

But he gave him a proper answer, which made his and his adherents' faces red and put them to silence:

"You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the sabbath untie his ox or his ass from the manger, and lead it away to water it? And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen

- 135 years, be loosed from this bond on the sabbath day?" [Luke 13:15–16]. And here again he says the same thing: "Which of you, having an ass or an ox that has fallen into a well, will not immediately pull him out on the sabbath day?" What he really wanted to say to them in our plain German was: You are just plain oxen and asses yourselves and even more stupid than those you untie, and it may well be that the ass can read better than you can, and the ox might lead you to school, for he can well teach you to untie him when he is thirsty and to water him on the sabbath, or to pull him out of the well if he has fallen into it, so that he will not perish. Can't you understand or learn how much more necessary it is to help a person when he needs help? No, you are such utter blockheads that you even forbid anybody to help a person when he is in distress, even though you yourselves would not allow your cattle to go unhelped in even less distress. For your ox or cow would not die of thirst so quickly, even though you did not water them on the sabbath, but yet you think that you must not let them suffer thirst for the sabbath's sake. You therefore have far more regard for the need of a dumb animal than that of a man, who is your neighbor, created alter God's image, and Whom you have been commanded by God to love, since he says, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself" [Luke 10:27].

Beloved, put it on the scales and weigh it according to God's Word. You consider that it would be a great lack of mercy not to lead your cattle to water when they are thirsty; and yet you are the kind of devil who leaves in a lurch a man, to whom, according to God's commandment, you owe love and kindness and even your own life, and still you insist you are right in the bargain and want to punish me for helping a sick person. Yet you would want somebody to help you on the sabbath if you were in need, and you would not like it or consider it good if your neighbor let you stick and then started debating about the sabbath, as you are doing now against your neighbor, and then wanted to be considered a great saint, imagining that you have kept the sabbath well. You don't understand what the sabbath is or how it is to be kept; even your cow and your ass is wiser here than you, you scribes, who teach you what you should do to them in need, when they ought to be teaching you what you should do toward your neighbor.

But that's the way these hypocrites are, who neither know nor want to hear anything of the gospel and allow themselves to think that they are the masters and teachers of all the world, whereas they are the blindest and the most ignorant. It looks to me as if these fellows who had this argument with Christ were the same persons as the priest and the Levite (or their followers), of whom Christ spoke in Luke 10 [:30–

37], who passed by the wounded man who lay half-dead on the road and let him lie there and, as far as they were concerned, perish in his need.

That certainly must have happened on a sabbath day, when they were going to worship and wanted a good excuse for letting the wounded man lie. They doubtless said: Ah, God preserve me from touching this man today; I must not make myself unclean now and I must not miss the service, and so on. Just as the remainder of the dregs, their children of harlotry,6 are doing to this day; they dare not bake an apple on their sabbath, much less lend a hand to a poor man in his need (especially a Christian); they would much rather help to strike all Christians dead. But when it comes to hatred and jealousy and also their usury and skinning and scraping the Christians, they have no conscience at all, regard neither the sabbath nor God's commandment, but wherever it is a question of their own advantage they will not allow a chicken or a goose to be killed, on account of the sabbath, which they nevertheless pretend to keep so strictly. In short, they are still the same pious, holy children (though as far as blood is concerned they themselves do not know where they come from) whom the prophet Isaiah rebukes concerning their sabbath in Isa. 58 [:4], telling them that on the sabbath they do only what they want to do, observing forbidden worship, and despising or oppressing their neighbors; except that these are much worse; who are forever eager to shed the blood of Christ and his Christians and yet with great seriousness pretend to serve God by observing the sabbath, even though they themselves see that it's all up with their worship, priesthood, temple, and sabbath, and nothing is left of it.

Therefore it serves these hypocrites right to have to blush before Christ and be publicly put to shame.

This is what should happen to those who want to lecture and censure Christ, the Son of God; they themselves are befouled and shown up to be more crazy and foolish than an ox or an ass, because they hold these dumb animals in more and higher regard than a man. Therefore they are quite properly paid back with interest by Christ, so that instead of gaining honor and respect for their mastery, which they tried to get by exposing him, they publicly exposed themselves to shame before everyone.

- 136 Therefore, learn here from Christ what is the right understanding of the sabbath, and how one should maintain the distinction between the outward use of the sabbath, with regard to time, hour, or place, and the necessary works of love, which God requires at all times and hours and all places wherever there is need; so that we may know, as he says elsewhere [Mark 2:27], that the sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath; and that therefore man is the lord of the sabbath and should use it according to his and his neighbor's need, in such a way that he may keep this and other commandments of God without let or hindrance. For the real meaning of the third commandment is that we should use the sabbath to hear

God's Word and learn that we are to keep all the other commandments, both toward God and our neighbor, and also serve and help others in love.

The hypocrites know nothing of this distinction, nor can they know anything of it, because they see in this commandment only the external work of observing the day and consider that this is the only thing necessary, and yet when it is profitable or necessary to them they do not keep it themselves. They will not allow their ox or ass to go unwatered, but they have no regard at all for their neighbor's need. Here they want to keep the commandment so strictly that they will not move a hand when they see he needs their help. Here the ox or the ass must have preference before the neighbor, and whatever they do, the sabbath must not be said to be broken; but if they were to serve or help their neighbor in his need or if they see others doing this, this would be to desecrate and break the sabbath. As they say about Christ elsewhere in the gospel, "This man is not from God, for he does not keep the sabbath" [John 9:16].

But by the grace of God we know how this commandment concerning the sabbath is to be understood, for it reads thus: You shall keep the sabbath or day of rest holy. Here pay attention to the words. What does it mean to "keep holy" or "sanctify" a day, an hour, or a week? Obviously it does not mean, as the Jews and our false saints dream, to sit in idleness and do nothing. It means rather, in the first place, to do something on that day which is a holy work, which is owing only to God, namely, that above all other things one preaches God's Word purely and holily, not as these scribes and Pharisees who falsify and pervert God's commandment because they have more regard for an ox or animal than a man. And likewise, that the others hear and learn God's Word and help to see to it that it is purely preached and kept.

This is what it means rightly to observe the day of rest and to "consecrate" or "sanctify" the place or the church: as we, praise God, are consecrating this house! Yes, this preaching of the Word is the aspergillum, which all of us together should grasp and with it bless and sanctify ourselves and others.

Secondly, it means that we receive the Word of God, which we have heard in our hearts and with which we have thus been sprinkled, in order that it may bring forth power and fruit in us, and that we may publicly confess it and intend to hold on to it through life and through death.

Thirdly, it means that when we have heard God's Word we also lift up to God our common, united incense, that is, that we call upon him and pray to him together (which we know is certainly pleasing and acceptable to him, particularly in common assembly), and also praise and thank God together with joy for all his benefits, temporal and eternal, and all the wonderful works he does in his church. Thus everything that is done in such an assembly of the whole congregation or church is nothing but holy, godly business and work and is a holy sabbath, in order both that God may be rightly and holily served and all men be helped.

For when I preach, when we come together as a congregation, this is not my word or my doing; but is done for the sake of all of you and for the sake of the whole church. It is only that it is necessary that there be one who speaks and is the spokesman by the commission and consent of the others, who, by reason of the fact that they listen to the preaching, all accept and confess the Word and thus also teach others. Thus, when a child is baptized, this is done not only by the pastor, but also the sponsors, who are witnesses, indeed, the whole church. For baptism, just like the Word and Christ himself, is the common possession of all Christians. So also they all pray and sing and give thanks together; here there is nothing that one possesses or does for himself alone; but what each one has also belongs to the other.

You see, then, that this is the way the sabbath is rightly hallowed and God rightly served to our salvation, and in this way our neighbor is also served through preaching and prayer, which is the highest service and benefit, through which he is helped eternally. Then afterwards you come down to the second table,7 which deals particularly with our neighbor, and tells you to help him in physical need and wherever you see that he needs your help. For God has commanded this too, and his commandment should be kept not only outside the sabbath but in every time and hour, and yet in such a way that the ministry of the - 137 church, God's Word, and prayer are not neglected. For in the commandment, "You shall keep the day of rest holy," and in the other commandments, the works of love are neither forbidden nor curbed, but only those works which hinder the ministry of preaching God's Word and prayer.

Thus this commandment concerning the sabbath includes the whole law, so that the other commandments are not made null and void through it. For example, when I see my neighbor in need and in danger of life and limb, that I do not pass him by, like the priest and the Levite, and let him lie there and perish [Luke 10:31–37], so that in my very pretension of keeping the sabbath pure I become a murderer of my brother, but rather serve and help him, like the Samaritan, who bound up the wounded man, set him on his beast, and brought him to an inn.

So we also see what our Lord Christ himself did and taught us to do by his example. For as the story of the gospel shows it was his custom to go regularly on the sabbath to the synagogues, which among them were like our parish churches, and there preached a sermon to the congregation which was gathered to pray and sing psalms. There, after the sermon was over, or later at table, if he was invited by someone, he healed the sick who were present or were brought to him. These were his good works and alms, which he scattered about him along with the lovely gifts of saving teaching and alms of health, besides granting the forgiveness of sins and God's grace to all who sought it from him; as he still does to this day in his church through the same ministry of the Word which he himself carried on.

On the other hand, there is nothing to be seen in these hypocrites, who were censuring and rebuking Christ as one who did not keep the sabbath, except the very opposite of this and the other commandments, both in their teaching and their life. For in the first place they did not teach rightly, they distorted God's commandment and did not teach men either to pray or to give thanks to God. In fact, they taught men to neglect the right works of love toward one's neighbor, helping him both spiritually to come into the kingdom of God, and physically in his need. And yet they themselves perform the kind of works on the sabbath (and insist that they are justified in doing so) which minister to their own need and serve their own bellies, such as not letting their oxen and asses suffer when they are thirsty or have fallen into a pit. Or again, as Christ says elsewhere [Matt. 12:5], they slaughter oxen, calves, and sheep and prepare them for sacrifice on the sabbath day and they teach the people this only in order to get them to bring many such sacrifices to them [Num. 28:9–10]. Isn't that, too, working with one's hands? Ask any butcher about it.

And they do this, not for God's sake, as they claim, but rather for the sake of their belly and their enjoyment; as they themselves proved by the fact that at the great festivals they brought sheep, oxen, and doves to be sold in the temple in order that people might bring them as many sacrifices as possible.

Otherwise they, too, could well have said to the people what the ruler of the synagogue said: There are six days in the week, bring and prepare your sacrifices on those days, and not on the sabbath day [Luke

We did the same thing in the past under the papacy. I may very well use myself as an example; for I lived for more than fifteen years in pure idolatry and blasphemy, in unbelief in God and false trust in the dead saints whom I invoked and in my masses and monastic life. And so I would have helped (as they are now doing in their impenitence), to condemn, persecute, and kill devout, innocent Christians, who will not laud such idolatry, and I would have thought I was doing God a great service, all the while continuing to observe my daily offices and celebrations in the church with great reverence and devotion.

But now God has mercifully liberated me from this and given me to see that this is pure perversion and godlessness and that the whole papacy is nothing else and nothing better than simply a pack of these crude teachers and pupils who belong in a school for oxen and asses. Indeed, they are not even worthy to be compared with them; for they are not even as good as the Jews, who kept their sabbath because, after all, it was commanded by God. But these have nothing on their side except their own fabricated human trash and self-chosen works and life, which they elevate far above God's commandment.

Then, besides the fact that they desecrate and blaspheme God every day with their idolatry and godless doctrine, they also have no regard for any work of love toward their neighbor. Indeed, they would rather let a man die and perish in his need rather than lend him a hand. And in this they are so scrupulous that they dare not move a hairbreadth contrary to their human regulations, rules, and ordinances. Just as the Jews were not allowed to pour a little wine or mustard on the Sabbath, and though they would be doing wrong if they were to put off or omit the works of their self-invented service of God for the sake of their neighbor; but meanwhile they had no qualms of conscience, not only about leaving their neighbor

- 138 unhelped, but also misleading him with false doctrine and diddling him out of money and goods besides, in order to fill their bellies, to have enough of everything for themselves, and not to stint themselves for anything. They claim that they must guard these things as church property and not allow them to be impaired in any way, no matter what happens in the meantime to God or one's neighbor.

Such false, foolish saints, yes, more foolish than oxen and asses, are also Mohammed's crowd, the Turks, and whatever else those who do not hear and accept Christ are called. Therefore we should really praise and thank God that we hear and have his Word purely preached, that we know how we are to act both toward God and our neighbor, to practice true service of God, and lead our whole life aright in all things. And we should also earnestly call upon God and beseech him to preserve us that we may remain in his Word, in right faith, and the true hallowing of the sabbath.

Let this be sufficient for the first part of this Gospel concerning the sabbath, which teaches us how it is to be kept holy; that we are not bound to a particular time, place, house, or persons, but rather that we are to accept it and use it according to our opportunity and need to hear God's Word together and pray and give thanks with one another. All of which is done best in the assembly, when people come together solely for this purpose and hearts and thoughts are less distracted than when each one is dealing with himself or with others. In this way and for this purpose may this house too be now consecrated, not for its sake, but for our sakes, that we ourselves may be and remain consecrated through God's Word, so that we, too, may help to keep and to spread that which God has so graciously given to us.

Then comes the second part.

The second part of this Gospel is a lecture which Christ delivered against those who chose to sit at the head of the table, etc. Thus this may not appear to be any very remarkable teaching, nevertheless it was necessary in order to rebuke the hypocrisy and false ideas of the Jews who thought the only thing that mattered was their holiness and services to God so that they might be proud and have prestige and honor above that of others. And just as they perverted the commandment concerning the sabbath, which they observed solely in order to be considered holy, and thus served, not God according to his commandment, but themselves, so they also did the same thing in their outward station and conduct before the world. This they used, not to serve God or their neighbor, but only to elevate themselves. They read the Scriptures and Moses with blind eyes, as if it were not commanded that they were to befriend the poor and the lowly and serve and help them, but only in order that they might sit at the head of the table on the sabbath and be lords on earth. Just as they imagine even now that their law implies that they should be lords over the Gentiles and we should be their servants. Just as the Turks, too, believe and hold that they must be the lords of the world, strutting around like lords and noblemen with their Mohammedans and Mamelukes clothed in gold and silk; but we must go barefoot like their lowest cowherds and bow down to them. They think that they are offering a great service to God when they do this [John 16:2], and when they are successful they consider this a sign that God is their friend and on their side, just as our Antichrist, the pope, also sought after this and taught it.

So this hypocritical preaching and acting was likewise all directed toward their being considered great and noble by everyone, toward being free to be unmerciful and proud with their neighbors; and, what is more, they insisted that this was right. Thus they fabricated another Moses and another law, just as they made of the sabbath something different from what God had commanded them. Therefore the Lord had much trouble with them on this point also, as he cries woe upon them in Matt. 23 [:13–15] and tells his disciples to beware of the Pharisees and scribes, who love the best seats in the synagogues and the salutations in the market places [vv. 6–7].

Now, how can these two things be reconciled: to sit in the place of honor is not right and yet it is right?

For, after all, it is not prohibited, and Christ himself says in the text, "When you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place, so that when your host comes he may say to you, 'Friend, go up higher.' " How can he say one should not sit in the place of honor and yet at the same time say that he who sits in the lowest place shall be placed at the head of the table?

This is the answer. Here the emphasis is upon the word, "chose," as the text says, "When he marked how they chose the places of honor" [Luke 14:7]; just as in the preceding section, in which they are rebuked concerning the sabbath, it says that "they were watching him" [Luke 14:1]. There must be those who sit higher and those who sit lower; for, as I said above, one cannot set aside a special place, time, temple, or chapel in the congregation for each individual. Likewise, we cannot all be princes, counts,

- 139 preachers, noblemen, citizens, men, women, and servants. Rather, there must be many stations, and each one has enough to do in his own station. So all of us should not and cannot sit above or below at the same time. There must be the destination, ordained by God, that he who is in the higher station should also sit higher than the others; a count should not seat himself higher than the princes and the servant should not sit higher than the master. Thus there must also be a distinction among other stations, citizens, peasants, etc.

But what is important is that you rightly understand what Christ means by these words and realize that, if you are of a higher rank or are in some way above others, this is something that has been given to you by God, but not in order that you may put on airs on account of this gift and ride roughshod over everybody else, as if you were better than others in the sight of God because of it. On the contrary, he has commanded that you be humble and serve your neighbor with it. For example, I am a preacher because

God has given me the grace to be one, but he has also commanded me not to pride myself on this gift but rather to go down and serve every man that he may be saved, as Paul says in Rom. 15 [:2–3], "Let each of us please (not himself, but) his neighbor for his good, to edify him. For Christ did not please himself, etc."

Thus he made others princes, lords, noblemen, regents, scholars and to this end gave them sovereignty, power, honor, great understanding, etc. And he wills that they should be held in honor and sit at the head of the table, but in such a way that they do not exalt themselves above everybody because of this. But most of them sin by their pride and arrogance, especially in these days when there is altogether too much insolence and presumption among the upper classes and also gross peasant's pride among others.

Therefore, if you have received this gift from God of being more powerful, higher, more learned, nobler than others, then remember that he has commanded you to take this gift and serve your neighbor with it. If you do not, then you should know that even a poor shepherd boy, who, compared with you, has no gifts or standing whatsoever in the world, is far greater and far closer to heaven in the sight of God and the angels. You, however, with your fine, high dignity and your trappings, will be cast into hell. For God did not create only princes, counts, noblemen, and scholars nor invite only them into his kingdom, and to him one man is as good as another as long as he is a Christian; as our Creed says: I believe in God,

Creator of heaven and earth. So do not think that you alone must sit at the head of the table or that you must not give way to anybody. For the God who made you a lord, a regent, a doctor, or a teacher, is just as much the God of the poor beggar at your door, and his eyes look just as straight at him as at the greatest lords or princes on earth. In short, whether you are at the top or the middle or at the bottom, all are made equal by faith, which says: "We all believe in one God, Creator of heaven and earth, etc."8 Therefore, nobody has any reason for being proud toward others. Rather the one who is highest should take this lesson of Christ to heart and not exalt himself above others and thus be sent down in shame; but rather consider: The God who has made me a prince has also made my subject, and I have nothing more nor better than does the humblest peasant in the field. Indeed, if you propose to be proud and arrogant in your lordly rank, despising others; then perhaps God will take some peasant's servant who walks in humility and esteem and elevate him above all emperors and kings, as he did with Joseph, David, Daniel, and others.

Well, you say, if that's the case, then I must not be a king, prince, lord, doctor, or be something above others, or sit at the head? No, that's not the way it is. Be and remain what you are, and do what is commanded you and your station demands, but see to it that you are not proud and that you do not exalt yourself before this Lord who has invited you and others. For He will not suffer anybody to exalt himself; but he whom He exalts and sets in the high place is exalted in good conscience and honor. And even though one may be placed in a higher station and estate, before him all alike are his beloved guests, so long as they keep his Word and command, so that here every maidservant has the same dignity as the noblest empress or queen; for she can say: I believe in the same God, I have been baptized in his name, I call upon my Lord Christ. If I am not a noblewoman or rich freewoman, what does that matter to me? I still have just as much before God as they. And as I am believing and humble, let me be satisfied with my modest station, for I know that God respects me and I can well let the great empress sit where she is.

Therefore, among Christians, nobody need complain that he is too poor or in too humble a station.

Beloved, do you not have as much as a king or sovereign prince-a golden crown, power, goods, honor?

After all, you have the same God, Creator of heaven and earth, the same Christ, the same baptism, and his whole heavenly kingdom; as St. Paul says of the Christians, they have nothing and yet possess everything

[II Cor. 6:10], for, as he says in I Cor. 3 [:22–23], "all things are yours; and you are Christ's; and Christ is God's." Therefore, under this Lord you are rich and blessed enough, so that even an emperor cannot have more than you. But remain in your station and be content, whether you sit above or below, and guard against this scrambling up higher, so that you will not think: Because I am a prince, because I am noble, learned, powerful, I alone must be respected and elevated; but rather say: Defend me, heavenly Father, from pride, for I know that the humblest plowman can be better in thy sight than I.

So you see that God creates one and the same standing within the great inequalities of many different stations and persons as he himself ordains how they must live in this life, and yet in such a way that each one perform his office and do the work of that office as his station requires in the humility which renders all stations and persons equal in the sight of God, since he has created them all alike and to him one is as good as the other. Therefore, no one should vaunt himself before God and put himself above his neighbor because he is in a higher station, but realize that, if he does not remain humble in his high station, he is sinning abominably and will be far more severely condemned than the others.

On the other hand, even though all persons, both in high station and low, are equal and have all things in common before God, as the Epistle for today says (Eph. 4 [:4–5]), "One body and one Spirit … one

Lord, one faith, one baptism, etc.," it does not say and it will not do that a servant behind the plow or a maidservant in the house should walk up to masters and mistresses and say: I am just as noble and good as you are in the sight of God; therefore I cannot be subject to you or obedient to you, and so on.

Unfortunately, it is all too common and widespread these days that even the lower stations want to outswagger the upper classes; just as the Junkers do to their princes and lords, and even the servants and maidservants to their masters and mistresses, quite wantonly, especially when they see that one needs them. This does not befit any Christian, for it, too, is contrary to this rule and teaching of Christ. For while it is forbidden to anybody in a higher station to show pride and arrogance to those in the lower station,

God would have this forbidden even more among persons of a lower and subject class.

This humility belongs to being a Christian as one of the primary and most necessary virtues, and it is also the greatest bond of Christian love and unity; as St. Paul says, again in the Epistle for today [Eph.

4:2], he does not puff himself up in his office or station and exalt himself above others, even though he is more than others, but rather knows that, like others, he should in his office serve his Lord, who has given to each his office and work and will draw him into his kingdom as a beloved guest and seat him at his table, if he serves him faithfully in that office. For he has need of many and various offices and stations and therefore he bestows many different kinds of gifts, so contriving things that one always needs the other and none can do without the other. What would princes, nobles, and regents be if there were not others, such as pastors, preachers, teachers, farmers, craftsmen, etc.? They would not and could not learn or do everything alone and by themselves.

Therefore none should look to himself alone, but rather each should look up to heaven and say: God has created all stations and before him none is the lowest, except those who are arrogant and proud, and none is better, except those who cast themselves down to the lowest place. You may well be of high rank and in high office, but if you were required to give an accounting of the gifts which you have received, you would be worse off than a poor cowherd. I myself have known several great doctors who were considered to be great lights in the world and had high standing among lords and princes, but when the hour came for them to die they said: Oh, Lord God, if I had only been a swineherd, and so on. Yes, if you had said this from your heart before, when you were living amidst great honor and dignity, and thus humbled yourself, God would have said to you too: Friend, you are sitting in the lowest place; come up higher.

For he appoints many different offices, and Christ, the Son of God who sits at the right hand of the Father, bestows many gifts, in order that he may test us and see whether we fear him and are willing to serve him therein and thus humble ourselves. For, as we said, he demands this humility of us and it is also his due. If we do not do so in this life, we shall nevertheless be grievously cast down in the end when we die. He wants all to have stations and persons alike, to care for them as his guests and seat them and honor them, so that none may complain; except that each must be satisfied with his own place and not exalt himself above others, even though he may be higher and greater than others in the eyes of the world.

Christ, the Son of God, was also high and noble, and yet he made himself equal to us poor men, indeed, he humbled himself beneath everybody. A woman must be a woman and cannot be a man. She,