Luke 7:11 And it came to pass the day after, that he went into a city called Nain; and many of his disciples went with him, and much people. 12 Now when he came nigh to the gate of the city, behold, there was a dead man carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow: and much people of the city was with her. 13 And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her, and said unto her, Weep not. 14 And he came and touched the bier: and they that bare him stood still. And he said, Young man, I say unto thee, Arise. 15 And he that was dead sat up, and began to speak. And he delivered him to his mother. 16 And there came a fear on all: and they glorified God, saying, That a great prophet is risen up among us; and, That God hath visited his people. 17 And this rumour of him went forth throughout all Judaea, and throughout all the region round about.
SUMMARY OF THIS GOSPEL
Love is of such a nature that it forgets itself, and takes upon itself the
distress and need of its neighbor. Thus Christ also does here, he winds
himself into the distress of the widow and looks upon her misery as his
own.
THE SPIRITUAL INTERPRETATION.
The lust we have inherited from Adam carries us on hour by hour to the
grave and constantly holds us in the grip of death. There is no help or
counsel for us, except in the mercy of Christ. When he, however, stirs our
hearts the violence of lust is allayed. For by his voice, that is, by the
preaching of his Word, which moves the heart so powerfully, we who were
dead are made alive again to his praise and glory.
I. THE MIRACLE ITSELF.
1. In this Gospel you see how the Evangelist again presents to us a divine
miracle, by which he desires to move us to lift our hearts to God, in which
is the same state of things as at the time existed in this woman; for to-day’s
lesson was not written for the sake of this widow, but for the instruction
and help of all who should hear this Gospel until the end of the world,
among whom we also have been reckoned.
2. In the first place notice what lovingkindness and grace were shown to
this woman by Christ. We must truly confess she did not merit them; for
she is going out of the city with her friends, where there is nothing but
crying and weeping. The good woman thought of nothing as little as that
she should again lead back her son into the city alive, and for this reason
she does not desire it, nor does she ask it, much less has she deserved it.
She never thought of such a thing that Christ should come hither; yea, she
did not at the time know Christ nor did she know anything of his helping
the people. Here all merit and preparations for meeting him are out of the
question.
3. Now all this has been written to the end that just as here this deed of
mercy befell this widow freely and entirely of grace, only because it
solicited Christ’s sympathy, so from this we can draw the general rule that
applies to all the merciful deeds of God, that they all overtake us without
our merits, even before we seek them. He lays the foundation and makes
the beginning. But why does he pity us? In this way it continues to be the
grace of God. Otherwise, if we deserved it, it would not be grace. And if it
be of grace, then we can say to him: Thou art a gracious God, thou doest
good also to them who deserve it not.
4. This sermon seems easy to us, but where are they who mean it with their
heart? If we believed that everything comes to us from God’s grace and
mercy, we would daily run and rejoice, our hearts would continually rise
and dwell in heaven. When we once get to heaven we will see that this is
true. Now no one believes it. The god of this world, the devil, has such
great power on earth that we do not see the work of God nor know it. 2 Corinthians 4:4 Therefore we do not appreciate it, we misuse God’s
mercies, and are entirely unthankful to him.
5. If I only kept in mind that he gave me eyes, truly a very great treasure, it
would be no wonder if shame caused my death, because of my ingratitude
in that I never yet thanked him for the blessing of sight. But we do not see
his noble treasures and gifts; they are too common. But when a blind babe
happens to be born, then we see what a painful thing the lack of sight is,
and what a precious thing even one eye is, and what a divine blessing a
healthy, bright countenance is: it serves us during our whole life, and
without it one would rather be dead; and yet no one thanks God for it.
Examine the entire body, and you will everywhere see traces of God’s
grace and goodness.
Hence Psalm 33: says: “The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.” He
had pure eyes and could see far, that the whole world was full of the
goodness and loving-kindness of God. From whom, however, has this
goodness come? Have we deserved it? No, but it pleased God to cast his
gifts thus promiscuously into the world, which the unthankful receive
almost as freely as the thankful. We are grieved when we are obliged to
throw away one or two dollars, or less, or even to give them to the poor;
how much does God daily cast away of his goods into the world and no
one thanks him for anything? Yes, who even acknowledges their receipt?
6. Thus we may observe all creatures and become convinced of God’s
goodness in them. Christ says in Matthew 5:5: “He maketh his sun to
rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the
unjust.” As though he would say: I give it to the whole crowd; but who
thanks me a single time for it? He enlightens my and your eyes, but no one
acknowledges that it is God’s blessing. If some morning the sun should not
rise, or rise three hours late, what distress and loss would that cause? How
we would open our mouths and eyes? Then everyone would say: God be
praised and thanked, who has given us such a light! But since it occurs daily, that the sun rises and shines at the appointed time, no one considers
it a blessing.
So it is with the rain from heaven, with the grain in the field and with all
God’s creatures. They exist in such abundance, and we are daily so
overwhelmed by their abundance that we fail to see them.
7. At times God permits some man to fall into anxiety and need, into pain
and distress, so that the world seems as though it had no God, and it makes
a person blind, lame, dropsical, and lets anyone die, as here the widow’s
son; for they are his creatures, he can do with them what he will. Now,
why does he do this? He does it in such an abundance only that we may
continually experience his lovingkindness.
Therefore as the disciples in John 9:2 asked the Lord concerning the man
blind from his birth, whether he or his parents sinned, the Lord answered
and said: “Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents; but that the works
of God should be made manifest in him.” As though he would say: God
desires to be praised in this blind person, for he sees that the treasures of
the whole world do not move us, wherefore he floods us with his goodness
out of pure grace, that he may present a blind person before our eyes, for
us to see what a costly treasure we have in the blessing of our sight,
although we cannot recognize his grace and kindness in our fortune, that
we at least might know and identify them then in our misfortune. Therefore
this man had to be blind in order that the others might know themselves,
and say: Alas thou good God, what a precious gift I have, what a good
thing a healthy body is and a bright countenance! But no one takes it to
heart! Yea, it is true we say: have not the cows eyes also! Now, if you
were blind you would of course feel the loss, which you do not now feel,
because you are well and overshowered with God’s blessings.
8. So it was in the case of this widow, in whom God lets himself be known,
as to what kind of a God he is, what he thinks of us, and what we must
think of him. This woman has two misfortunes around her neck. First, she
is a widow. This is misfortune enough for one woman, that she is forsaken
and alone, and has no one to whom she dare look for comfort. And
therefore God in the Scriptures is often mentioned as the Father of the
widow and orphans, as in Psalm 68:6 and Psalm 146:9: “God setteth
the solitary in families. The Lord preserveth the strangers and orphans, he
delivers the widow.” Again: she has an only son about to die, who should
have been her comfort. Now, God comes and takes away her husband and son. She had much better have lost house and home, yes, her own life, than
her son and husband. But the Lord turns it around. While the husband lived
the woman did not appreciate what a blessing a husband was; but when he
died she first became aware of it. When he lived, she thought: O, other
women have husbands, too! And thought her husband was like other
husbands. But afterwards when he was dead, she became aware what kind
of a man she had lost.
So, too, when her son was bright and well, she did not appreciate the
blessing of God, but as soon as he died, she then first saw what a treasure
she had lost. Before she did not desire to spend on him; but now, since he
is dead, she spends all she has and even herself upon him. And thus it is
also with us. There are many of you who do not expend ten dollars that
your child may be reared better; if the child dies the parents wish and say:
O would to God he were alive, I would give many hundred dollars! Why
did you not give something before that he might have learned a little? What
is the reason you do not appreciate the grace and blessings of God? In
short, the world remains world, and it will not change into anything else.
9. Now, the woman went ahead and did not know what God had given her;
but she was soon obliged to experience it. For before she turns around, and
she thinks she is the safest, God comes, tries the wife a little and teaches
her certain things, takes her husband and her son. This all has been written
for us that we might have an example and learn to acknowledge God when
he blesses us with a healthy body, a bright countenance, and bestows upon
us other blessings. He does not give them to the end that you should
rejoice in them; but that you may know what to think of him. When he
takes a member out of your family, permits your wife to die, or destroys
one of your eyes, all this is done that you may see what you have enjoyed
from him.
10. And this is now the common teaching through all the Gospels, that we
may see what kind of a God we have. It is also shown us here in this
Gospel that God will forsake no one; therefore he permits the wife to see in
a new light what kind of a God she has. For when she was forsaken and
had neither son nor husband, then Christ manifests himself to her and says:
Learn to believe, trust God, know him to whom death and life are alike:
have a good heart, be of good courage, weep not, there is no need of it. He
then goes and awakens the dead, and gives him again to his mother.
11. This and like miracles God does that the heart may learn how it should
be disposed to him and what it may expect from him. As now this wife was
fully convinced that there was no hope for her son, that it was impossible
for her to receive him back alive again; yea, if one had said to her: Before
an hour your son will be alive again, she would have regarded it as
impossible and said: It is more possible for the heavens to fall than for my
son to live again. Behold, here comes God before she looks around, and
does what she never dared to ask of him, as it is impossible, and he restores
her son alive to her again.
But why does God do this? He permits man to fall so deeply into danger
and anxiety, until no help or advice is within reach, and still he desires that
we should not doubt, but trust in him who out of an impossible thing can
make something possible, and make something out of nothing. If you are
so deep in sin that your heart denies you all grace and the mercy of God
and makes you think there is no hope for you, as many consciences are
ensnared by such anxiety and distress; then turn about and look here how
friendly and graciously God allows himself to be pictured by Christ in this
Gospel; that you may observe that he means it well with you from his
heart; and that he is not here either to condemn or excommunicate you, but
to preserve your soul forever. For this purpose such miracles and
wonderful works are held before our eyes, and they also serve to the end,
that we may see. As God here helps this widow in a temporal way through
Christ, so he will help us not only bodily, but much more spiritually, and
our soul forever, if we only put our hope in him.
12. But all miracles and works of God are considered impossible in our
eyes, and they are also impossible for the natural man to grasp; and this is
to the end that God may be confessed to be an almighty Creator, who from
something impossible can create something possible, and can make
something out of nothing. It is impossible after I am dead that I should live
again; and even if I should pray to all the angels and all the saints for it;
nothing will result from such prayers; what then can the free will
accomplish? Nevertheless in death I should say: I shall live, not through
myself, but because I know that my God is so skillful that he can make
something, not out of wood that lies before my eyes, but it is his nature and
way to make a thing possible here from something impossible; and create
something out of nothing; otherwise he were not the true and real God.
13. Therefore, if death be present and I can no longer live, I must still
know enough to say: Yet I live, and will live; so that death, that is all about
me, is like a spark of fire, and life is as great as the sea. Now reason cannot
grasp how this takes place. But whoever believes, knows for a certainty
that to him death will be like a spark of fire in the midst of the ocean, that
is extinguished in a moment. God is almighty, he who believes is in God,
therefore he is in life, and though he were in the midst of death. So too a
poor person who believes, thinks like this one here in death: O! poverty is a
spark of fire, and wealth is as abundant as water in the sea; now a moment
only is needed for poverty to sink, and I will be rich; for by faith God has
entirely changed him who now has all things in his power. So also with
shame; when one’s good name and reputation go down, people think they
will never again be regained; if you believe and hold to God, it is a matter
only of a moment, and you are again in great honor. For our God knows
the art that from invincible poverty he can create great riches, from great
shame inexpressable honor. So it is also with sin, if you believe. Thus sin
compared with righteousness, is as a spark of fire compared with the whole
sea of water.
14. This you see beautifully illustrated in the case of this woman. She is
overwhelmed by exceedingly great pain and anguish, so that she thinks
God, heaven, earth and all things are opposed to her. And since she looks
into this with the eyes of sense, sees it as it is before her natural eyes, she
must conclude it is impossible for her to be delivered from her great
anxiety. But when her son was raised from the dead for her, she was as
though the whole heaven and earth, wood and stone, and everything
laughed and rejoiced with her; then she forgot all pain and suffering, this
wholly disappeared just like a spark of fire is extinguished when it falls into
the sea. Therefore it is written in the prophet Isaiah 54:6-8: “For
Jehovah hath called thee as a wife forsaken and grieved in spirit, even a
wife of youth when she is cast off, saith thy God. For a small moment have
I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee. In overflowing
wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting
lovingkindness will I have mercy on thee, saith Jehovah thy Redeemer.”
But this I do not see, I think this moment is an eternal something before
God; but it is in truth only a moment; and much joy follows as Psalm
8:5 also says: “For thou hast made him but little lower than God, and
crownest him with glory and honor.” But this is still all hid from us, and we
do not see it as this wife does. Her departed son is in the midst of life, for God has him in his bosom, and intends to wake him. There is a spark of
death there that surrounds him, which no one saw. But now when he
became alive that was revealed which before was hidden from the whole
world.
15. Thus God certainly deals also with us. Here we should learn the kind of
God we have, namely, he who surrounds us and is about us in our very
greatest dangers and troubles. Therefore, if one is poor, sticks deep in sin,
lies in death, is in sorrows and other afflictions, he thinks: it is a transition
state, it is a drop and a spark; for God has surrounded him on all sides with
pure wealth, righteousness, life and joy, only he does not permit him to see
it. But it is a matter of only a little time when we shall see and enjoy it.
Thus you have here an example, not of faith, but of the pure grace and
lovingkindness of God. Now we must also say a little on the spiritual
understanding or the allegorical interpretation of to-day’s Gospel.
II. THE SPIRITUAL INTERPRETATION OF THIS MIRACLE.
16. All works and miracles that Christ does visibly and publicly should be
interpreted to the end that they may show forth the works which he does
among men unseen and spiritually or within them. Therefore this bodily
death signifies the spiritual death of the soul, which man must believe. For
no one can see into the soul of another while we live; but when we are
dead, we then have other eyes, then we see that the whole world is dead.
Therefore the Lord spoke to a Pharisee, Matthew 8:22, who first
wanted to go and bury his father: “Follow me, and leave the dead to bury
their own dead.”
17. This youth who is here being borne to his grave is bodily dead. But
there are also some inwardly dead before God who still live here in the
body. The soul is dead that does not believe in God and cleave to him. And
even though he be in the midst of death, yet he lives, as I said above.
18. This spiritual death occurs in a twofold manner: some are dead in their
soul, but no one sees that death as we see bodily death, and this woman
herself neither sees nor feels it. So the whole world is dead, but it realizes it
not. Therefore some are also spiritually dead, who feel it well enough, as
those whom the law has terribly punished. We do not here speak of those
who care nothing for spiritual death; but of those who feel that they are
dead and that their heart trembles, and who feel in their conscience that
they have an unbelieving heart. He is dead quite otherwise than he who does not feel it, and yet always lives in wantonness. Now the one who does
not experience their unbelief cannot be helped, for he does not know his
sickness, and lives on, cares nothing for God nor the world. But he who
feels this death, suffers misery and distress, there is struggling and despair,
the world becomes too confined for him, he seeks assistance and advice, he
despises neither stone nor wood, when they can afford him counsel, not to
say that he should hear anything of man, even of the most insignificant
person.
19. Who now gives him this feeling. The law does it, in that it reveals sin.
The law says: “Thou shalt have no other gods.” When I hear this, I must
and should do it, but I cannot. Then I quickly conclude that I am
condemned. When I act thus, death comes immediately and there is such a
struggle in my heart, that if I should receive no help I would have to remain
forever in this death and struggle. This then is the death of the only son,
who lies in the bier, the pallbearers are continually carrying him into hell.
20. The pallbearers are the preachers of the law, who do nothing else than
plunge mankind ever deeper and deeper into death; as those here hasten to
the grave with the dead they are the more terrified and driven the deeper
into perdition. It never becomes better with mankind, yea, it is ever
growing worse.
21. This we have thoroughly experienced under the Pope, in our confession
of and in our making satisfaction for sin. We allowed ourselves to think we
would atone for our sins by good works; but it was only an anxiety of the
conscience. Thus we ever sank deeper toward hell. Hence, when you have
people, who fear sin and condemnation, they are already dead, you dare
not preach to these much more of the law, you must show them the way of
salvation and preach to them the Gospel. When our Papists meet such
troubled souls, they refer them to rosaries, to pilgrimages, to this and that
work; but one helps like the other.
22. The pallbearers would have still moved on and laid the deceased in his
grave and buried him, had Christ not come, so Christ must come also here
with his Word and grace. And this now is that other office of the Gospel,
which does not teach what you are to do; but whence you are to receive
help, that you may do it; as Christ does here. He asks not, what is here? or
how do you do this? do you wish to have the youth restored to life again,
and the like? He asks none of these things; but he has mercy on the mother,
goes to her, touches the bier, and the bearers soon stand still. That is, when man preaches the goodness of God, and when Christ presents us with his
merits and works, then the hand is laid upon the coffin, and the bearers
stand still, that is, you no longer hear the preachers of the law, you no
longer believe them; but you say: preach works here, preach works there,
we have a different sermon. While our hands are on the coffin they
accomplished nothing; the dead does not come to life again; but when
Christ’s hand touches the coffin the mighty work is done. For when men
hear that Christ’s work does it, and that his works are presented to us, he
says: What need we to do beside? For here our doing is useless and in vain.
23. But the dead will not be raised to life so quickly. The Word of God is
of course preached to us, the goodness of God and whatever is given us
through Christ; but this is not yet sufficient, this is only first touching the
coffin. The voice of Christ in the heart must also be added, that we may
believe the Word, that it is really as we preach. The youth does not
immediately arise after he is touched, but when the Lord spoke: “Young
man, I say unto thee, Arise!” This voice stirred the heart and caused the
dead to rise to life. When I in like manner hear the Word, and allow human
traditions to move me, men still bear me ever on and I ever remain in
distress, it helps me little. I must besides the external sermon also hear this
voice in the heart: “Young man, I say unto thee, Arise:” that is, I must
believe this sermon, cleave to it with my heart, trust in it, and let neither
sin, death, devil, nor hell draw me from it.
24. Thus we have two sermons. One lays the hand on the bier. This does
not yet accomplish anything. But the other, when the hand is laid on the
coffin and the voice follows in the heart, this accomplishes all. The first
proclaims to us the works of Christ, how they are done for us and given to
us. But when the voice is heard in the heart, then the one who was before
dead begins to speak and to confess the faith with his mouth which he
believes and feels in his heart. That is, when the heart believes, the work of
love follows, namely, that you speak, that is, preach to others and thank
God for the blessing and faith he has shown and given unto you.
25. From this follows great joy and thanksgiving, by which God is praised
and exalted; just as here a great report about Christ went over the entire
land of the Jews and into all the neighboring countries. Thus a Christian
can lead many unto faith. Therefore man should not make a work of
jugglery out of miracles and wonders, as the Papists have done.
26. This is said on to-day’s Gospel, in which we see how God helps and
saves us, moved by pure grace and loving-kindness, without any merit or
worthiness whatever on our part, yea, before we seek or request help from
him. God grant that we may believe this!
