this those astronomers are again silenced who say that the star
had no special significance in Christ's birth or life. It was
probably not as large as the stars in the heavens, although
it appeared larger on account of its nearness. In short, it was
a servant of Christ and had no power or authority over Christ's
birth.

91. It seems strange, however, that the star reappears to
them now when they do not need it any more, when they know
the town of Christ's birth, while it was hidden before, when
they needed it and knew not the town. But this was done to
strengthen their faith, as the law of Moses says, that in the
mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.
The wise men first heard the word of the prophet in Jerusalem,
as a witness of Christ's birth ; with this the second witness, the
star, agrees and announces the same birth, so that they may be
sure of their ground. The prophet speaks only of the Child
at Bethlehem ; in like manner the star does not go any further
than where the child is, to Bethlehem, and remains over him.
And they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.

''And they came into the house and saw the young child
with Mary his mother; and they fell down and worshipped
him; and opening their treasures they offered unto him gifts
of gold and frankincense and myrrh/'

92. It was diligently prevented that the wise men should
find Christ through themselves, or men. On the contrary, they
found him alone through the Scriptures of the prophet and by
the aid of the stars of heaven that there might be put to
naught all natural ability, all human reason, all light outside
of the spirit and of grace, which now boasts and pretends to
teach the truth and lead people aright, as was said above is
done in the universities. Here it is concluded that Christ, the
knowledge of salvation, is not taught or acquired by human



J^PIPHANY. ^(yi

teaching or assistance, but the Scriptures and divine Hght must
reveal him. as he says, Math. 16, 17 : "Blessed art thou, Simon
Bar- Jonall : for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee,
but my Father who is in heaven." With this Christ distinctly
casts aside flesh and blood with its revelation, i. e., man and all
human wisdom, which, being nothing but darkness, cannot
reveal Christ.

Christ says, John 6, 44 : "No man can come to me, except
the Father that hath sent me draw him." By this all boasting
of human reason is condemned, since it cannot giiide aright
and all who follow it must go astray. So strongly does God
everywhere resist our natural haughtiness and will, that we may
know we are blind, despair of our own light, put ourselves
into his hands and be led by him into the ways which reason
cannot know nor follow.

Of The Faith Of The Wise Men.

93. The wise men here teach us the true faith. After they
heard the sermon and the word of the prophet they were not
slow to believe, in spite of obstacles and difficulties. First they
came to Jerusalem, the capital, and did not find him, the star
also disappearing. Do you not think they would have said
within themselves, if they had followed human reason alone :
Alas, we have traveled so far in vain, the star has misled us,
it was a phantom. If a king were born he should of course be
found in the capital and lie in the royal chamber. But when
we arrived the star disappeared and no one knew anything
about him. We strangers are the first to speak of him in his
own country and royal city ! Indeed, it must be all false !

94. Besides, his own people are troubled and do not care
to hear of him, and direct us from the royal city to a little
village. Who knows what we shall find? The people act so
coldly and strangely, no one accompanies us to show us the
child; they do not believe themselves that a king is born to
them, and we come from afar and expect to find him. O how
odd and unusual everything appears at the birth of a king!
If a young pup were born, there would be a little noise. A
king is born here, and there is no stir. Should not the people



36^ luthkr's church postiu

sing and dance, light candles and torches and pave the streets
with branches and roses? O the poor king whom we seek!
Fools we are to permit ourselves to be deceived so shamefully.

95. Having been flesh and blood, doubtless they were not
free from such thoughts and views, and they had to battle
for their faith. Natural reason could here not have held its
own; if they had not found the king as they had expected,
they would have murmured and complained and said : The
devil must have led us here. A king cannot have been born
since everything is so quiet and nothing is going on. There is
more noise when a child is born to our shepherd, and a calving
cow is more talked about than this king.

96. Reason and nature never proceed any farther than they
can see and feel. When they cease to feel they at once deny
God's existence and say as Ps. 14, 1 says. ''There is no God,"
therefore the devil must be here. This is the light of the uni-
versities which is to lead men to God, but rather leads to the
abyss of hell. The light of nature and the light of grace cannot
be friends. Nature wants to feel and be certain before she
believes, grace believes before she perceives. For this reason,
nature does not go further than her own light. Grace joyfully
steps out into the darkness, follows the mere word of Scripture,
no matter how it appears. Whether nature holds it true or
false, she clings to the Word.

97. For the sake of this very strife and struggle, by which
the wise men accepted the word of the prophet and followed
it into such wild, unnatural appearance of a royal birth, God
comforted and strengthened them by this star which went
before them more friendly than before. Now they see it near,
it is their guide, and they have an assurance which needs no
further question. Before it was far from them, and they were
not certain where they would find the king.

98. So it is always with the Christian, after affliction has
been endured God becomes more dear to him and is so near and
so distinctly seen that man not only forgets anxiety and afflic-
tion, but has a desire for greater affliction. He gradually be-
comes so strong that he does not take offense at the insignifi-
cant, unattractive life of Christ. For now he experiences and



EPIPHANY. 368

realizes that to find Christ it must appear as though he found
nothing but disgrace.

99. Even so the wise men must have been ashamed of them-
selves if they had doubted and had said, as perhaps they did
say secretly in their hearts : We were so successful, let us travel
a little farther on and seek new kings.

I call this buffoonery, as Dame Gay, i. e. nature, conducts
herself in the presence of divine words and works. For from
the fact that the wise men were so much rejoiced when they
saw the star we can infer that they were in such temptation and
were heavyminded when everything appeared so inconsistent.
Their joy indicates that they were perhaps despondent and
tempted with unbelief. There was cause enough if you look
at nature alone. Hence Christ says, Math. 11,6: "Blessed is he
whosoever shall find no occasion of stumbling in me." Blessed
indeed, but how difiicult since appearances were against Christ's
presence.

100. When the wise men had overcome their temptation
and were born again by the great joy they were strong and took
no offense at Christ, they had overcome in the trial. For
although they enter a lowly hut and find a poor young wife with
a poor little child, and find less of royal appearance than the
homes of their own servants presented, they are not led astray.
But in a great, strong, living faith they remove from their eyes
and their minds whatever might attract and influence human
nature with its pretense, follow the word of the prophet and
the sign of the star in all simplicity, treat the child as a king,
fall down before him, worship him, and offer gifts. This
was a strong faith indeed, for it casts aside many things w^hich
impress human nature. Perhaps there were some people pres-
ent who thought : \Miat great fools are these men to worship
such a poor child. They must indeed be in a trance to make
of him a king.

101. This is the kernel of the Gospel, in which the nature
and character of faith is explained as an assurance of things
not seen. It clings alone to the words of God and follows the
things that are not seen, as alone conveyed in the word of God,
and looks askance at many things which urge it to disbelieve



:jG i luthe:r's church posxil.

the Word. What nature calls playing the fool faith calls the
true way. Nature may be wise and clever, faith remains
nature's fool and idiot, and thus comes to Christ and finds
him. St. Paul's words, 1 Cor. 1 , 25 apply here : *'The foolish-
ness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is
stronger than men." For feeling and believing do not get to-
gether.

102. When they give three presents and worship him it
does not imply that each gave a separate gift, but, as mentioned
above, it was a common gift of the goods of their country,
with which they honored him as a king. Nor was the worship
like that due to God, for, in my opinion, they did not yet
recognize him as God, but after the usags of the Scriptures,
kings and dignitaries were worshipped, i. e. honored and re-
spected, by the bending of the knee as we do today.

103. What conversation they had with Mary and Joseph
I leave to the imagination of idle minds. The languages in the
orient are not so foreign to the Hebrew, so that they may
easily have understood each other. They had spoken with
Herod and the priests and the citizens of Jerusalem, hence they
no doubt spoke with Mary and Joseph. If they had a different
language, the Jews still had such business connections and were
so well known at the Red Sea that in both countries both
languages were no doubt known, as in German lands you find
French and in France German. The Red Sea country is on
one side exclusively Arabic, and from there the wise men
came.

IV. HOW THE WISE MEN BY THE COMMAND OF
GOD RETURNED TO THEIR FATHERLAND.

"And being warned of God in a dream that they shoidd not
return to Herod they departed into their ozun country another
zvay."

104. Here it appears that those who believe in God enjoy
his special protection. He has an eye upon these wise men so
that he keeps watch over their return and directs them in a
dream.

105. And whv does he not allow them to return to Herod



KPIPHANY. 365

since he could have shielded the child from all the world even
if Herod had known and found him ? It is done for the purpose
of teaching us not to tempt God. Whatever can be accom-
plished by ordinary means should be done. We should not
presume upon faith and say in idleness : I trust in God every-
thing w411 grow that is to grow. His creatures have no purpose
if we make use of them. In Gen. 1 he created and ordained all
creatures with their works, and indicated the use man shall
make of them. This will he never recall and ordain something-
special for you.

106. Here the question arises : How can I strike the golden
mean to believe and yet not tempt God, for you preach and
praise faith alone and can not extol it enough ? Answer : You
should not believe save where you have a word of God. It is
the character and natiu-e of faith to be built and to rely on the
Word of God. Where there is no Word of God there cannot
and shall not be any faith. Is this not stated clearly and posi-
tively enough ? Hence the W^ord of God is called in Scripture :
testament, testimonia, pacta, foedera, testimonies, agreements,
covenants, as these postulate faith ; nor did God ever command
us to believe any of his works without his Word.

107. Again, he has confirmed his works and wonders, as
Christ says, John 10, 38 : "Though ye believe not me believe
the works." If you have not God's Word you should continue
to make use of your power, of your goods, of your friends, and
of all that God has given you, and thus abide in the dispensa-
tion, established by God, Gen. 1. For he did not give it to you
in vain, he will not, for your sake, turn water into wine or stone
into bread, but you should use according to his order whatever
he has created until he forces you by word or work to use it
differently.

108. But when the hour comes that the creature cannot
help you any more and all your strength fails, behold then
God's Word begins. For then he has commanded us to acknow-
ledge him as God, i. e. expect everything that is good from him.
This word, thoug-h in force all the time, will yet be only under-
stood and made use of in need, when nothing else avails. Of this
he speaks, Ps. 50, 15 : *'Call upon me in the day of trouble : I will



366 * Luther's church postil.

deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me." From this it is clea,r
that we cannct make trial of God in need, for all his words
and promises point to the time of trouble, when no one but he
is able to help. Hence we read. Math. 4, 7, that when the devil
tempted Christ to cast himself down from the temple, Christ
said, no, for It is written: ''Thou shalt not make trial of the
Lord thy God," as if to say : I can go down by the steps, it is
not necessary to do signs and wonders.

Again we read in the legends of the fathers that two
brothers journeyed and one of them died of hunger for God's
sake ; that is, he went to hell ; for they came amongst wicked
people, who offered them something to eat, and the one said,
he would not take bread from these people, but expect his
food from heaven. The other took and ate and lived. That
fool did nothing else but set aside God's order and tempted
him. However sinful people may be thev are still God's crea-
tures as well as thorns and thistles. You make use of a thorn
to open a boil or for some other purpose; will you look con-
temptuously upon it, because it is a prickly brush? Thus we
read that Abraham and Isaac gave up their own wives and
had them taken from them in order not to tempt God. There-
fore God preserved them so that no harm was done to them
or to their wives, while great kings were punished. From thia
it is clear that to tempt God is mere wickedness and frivolity
except in time of trouble.

109. There is another temptation also in the time of trouble
which was punished severely among the people of Israel and
which alas is common as compared to the other temptation and
equally irrational. That temptation occurs before God's Word
is heard ; this after we hear the Word, namely thus : when we
know that God has promised help in the time of any trouble,
but are not content with it, go forward and will not abide his
promise, but prescribe time, place, and manner for his help;
and then if he does not come as we expect and desire, faith
vanishes. There faith is too long, here it is too short ; there it
is too early, here it is too late. In both cases men fall from the
Word. Those have faith without Word, these have Word with-
out faith, both of whicn are of no avail. Middle ground is



EPIPHANY. 867

blessed, both Word and faith united in one, äs God and man are
one in Christ.

110. He who holds fast to the Word alone, trusts and
abides in it, does not doubt that what the Word says will come
to pass ; he who does not dictate aim or time or means and ways,
but resigns all freely to God's will and pleasure as to when,
how, where, and by whom he will fulfil his Word; he, I say,
has a true living faith which does not nor can not tempt God.

111. Learn then what it means to tempt God; it is easily
understood; it is a deficiency of true faith. To faith belongs
above all the Word of God, as the foundation and rock of
faith.

Hence to tempt God is nothing else than to deal with him
aside from his Word, i. e. to believe when he did not command
fai'th and gave us no Word, or to disbelieve when he bids believe
and gives us his Word. He did not give orders to believe that he
would feed you when you have food before you or can find it
without a miracle. But where you cannot find it, he has com-
manded that you firmly believe he will not forsake you. But you
should not set time or measure for him, for he deserves to be
free, which is becoming, and will not forsake you, which is
divine ; what more could you desire ?

112. Such was the lot of Christ. God could have rescued
him from the power of Herod. But since without apparent
necessity of a miracle all could be adjusted, he used for our
example ordinary means, and led the wise men into their own
country by another way. It would have required an unneces-
sary exhibition of miracles if they had returned to Herod and
made known the house wherein the child was to be found.
But even this has its meaning, as we shall see later.

n. THE SPIRITUAL SIGNIFICANCE OF THIS
GOSPEL.

113. Christ's natural birth always signifies his spiritual
birth, since he is born in us and we in him, as St. Paul says
in Gal. 4, 19 : "My little children, of whoiii I am again in travail
until Christ be formed in you." Now in order to complete this
birth God's Word and faith are necessary, because only through



368 LUTHER S CHURCH POSTIL.

these can Christ's spiritual birth be wrought in us. Therefore
this Gospel signifies spiritually nothing more than the nature
of the divine Word and of faith ; also, how they fare who are
born spiritually ; what temptations and conflicts faith must en-
counter.

114. First: God used the circumstance that Herod, a
stranger, reigned over his people to signify thereby the kind
of reign existing within the soul. They had rejected God, so
that he could no more govern them by faith. The Jews had
become nothing but a Pharisaical, Sadusaical, hypocritical and
selfish people, who wanted to save themselves by human doc-
trines and outward works. They have no faith, w^hich the entire
Gospel and the life of Christ prove. As they, unbelieving in
spirit, made for themselves a Herod in the place of Christ:
they had to submit bodily and spiritually to a Herod instead
of one who descended from the royal line of David, and
therefore in both relations there was purely a kingdom of
Herod. In the Greek language we are accustomed to call
those who are noted for great clamor and deeds heroes, as
were Hercules, Hector, Achilles, and the like, who in German
are called giants» but in Saxon a fellozi* (Kerl), hence the
name Carolus or Carl means among us what hero or Herod
does in Greek. Herod comes from hero, because he w^as like
a fellow, like a giant, a boaster, a Dieterich from Bern, a
Hildebrand, a Roland, or by whatever other name you may
call these great murderers and devourers of the people, who
were also before the flood and whom Moses calls in Hebrew
Ni'phlim (giants). Gen. 6, 4, which means that the people who
fall upon others and with force suppress them will themselves
fall. The people of Israel destroyed many of them in the land
of Canaan, as the Anakims, Raphaims and Emims. Anak is
called a golden chain; hence the Anakims (Deut. 2, 11) were
called giants in the land and wore golden chains. The Rephaims
were called rescuers, because they rescued the land and the
people. The Emims were called terrible and frightful because
the people were afraid of them.

115. Thus there always have been Herods, only in a
(Hfferent way and under other names; and thus th^re always



EPIPHANY. 369

will be Herods until the day of judgment, whom Christ at
his coming will destroy. They are now called pope, cardinal,
bishop, priest, monks, spiritual lords and holy fathers, who are
very unjustly called shepherds and sheep of Christ, but who
are in reality ravenous wolves that flay and devour Christ's
people in body, soul and property. They are in these last days
the mighty fellows, giants, devourers of the people and Herods,
whom none but Christ from heaven can destroy.

116. Now Christ and Herod are entirely different and
diametrically opposed one to the other. Christ's merit consists
not in a great clamor and in pretensions deeds. With him there
are no doings such as the giants and the fellows boast of, but
only pure humanity that thinks not of self, is despised and
content to let God be all in all and to do all and also to give
him all the glory. Herod's ambition is to do great things, to
possess every ability, to make a loud clamor, to be everything
and to lack nothing.

117. Since the Jews were inwardly veritable Herods, boast-
ing much of themselves and of their deeds, commanding great
respect on account of their ostentatious lives, Christ's humble
demeanor amounted to nothing with them ; therefore God sent
them a king, Herod, who dealt with them in temporal things
as they dealt with souls in spiritual things. They rejected
Christ and God; therefore he rejected their royal family.
Since he could not reign in their souls, he did not allow their
own flesh and blood to reign over their bodies and property;
and as they destroyed and suppressed the people spiritually
with their government and with human doctrines, therefore he
permitted them to be destroyed, suppressed and tormented
through Herod. The physical Herod was a chastisement and
a sign of their spiritual Herod.

118. As in all sin, one "feels and hates the punishment, but
loves the sin without being conscious of it ; so it was with the
Jews. They indeed felt the physical Herod and hated him, but
the spiritual Herod, their unbelief, spiritual tyranny, they con-
sidered excellent, arrogantly claiming, through their Pharisa-
ical, sectarian conduct in human doctrines and works of the
law, to have earned much before God, and they could not dis-



370 LUTHERS CHURCH POSTIL.

cern that they had thereby earned the kingdom of Herod, from
which they were not able to free themselves however much
they desired it, and they considered themselves worthy on
account of their spiritual and holy conduct.

119. Thus we now also keenly feel our Herod, who is
flaying and devouring us in body and estate ; and since we are
not sincere Christians and do not permit Christ to be our
king in a pure and free faith, but are satisfied with the spiritual
affairs now existing and with our own works, we are unable
to rid "ourselves of this Herod and there is no hope of relief.
We must suffer ourselves to be devoured and ruined, there
is no help, he must be our bodily and spiritual Herod.

120. Let this be an established truth, that in the first place
Herod signifies a kingdom ; not simply a kingdom such as
worldly lords rule, but a spiritual kingdom. Therefore the
kingdom does not include only the temporal possessions of
people but also their spiritual possessions ; that is, their con-
sciences and the affairs belonging to salvation, such as good
works, a pious life, the sacraments and the Word of God.

121. Furthermore, this spiritual kingdom may be governed
in a twofold manner : first, in a blessed way, when Christ alone
governs in the true faith and the pure Gospel; secondly, in a
pernicious way, when man governs with works and human
doctrines. Just as the people of Israel were governed at one
time by one of their own kindred, by their own king, and then
again by Herod, a foreign king. Therefore Herod signifies
nothing else than such a spiritual kingdom, in which people
are governed, not through faith and the Gospel, but through
works and doctrines of men. It has the name, indeed, and the
appearance of being the true way to heaven and of teaching
the people right, but in reality it is nothing else than the broad
road to hell. The sum of it all is that Herod is the pope with
his spiritual kingdom. There we see no faith, no Gospel, but
simply human doctrines and works, and he has an enormous
Herod-like power and makes a loud clamor in the world. The
consciences of men should be guided, fed and preserved
through God's Word alone, but he leads and feeds them only
with his own swivel and slabber, with indulgences, orders,



KPIPHANY. 371

masses, prayers, fasts and the like, and in this respect is a
mighty giant, a Roland and a fellow, a Kerl.

122. They say that if the Christian church were not sus-
tained by the state she would founder, when the truth is that
faith in Christ alone should govern her. Hence it is in this
respect as the peasants say: Kuntz Hildebrand, the great
whale, carries the world on his tail ; that is, if it were not
for what the pope did with his kingdom, God would be entirely
too weak, the apple of the world would certainly fall out of
his hand and neither faith nor Gospel could avail anything.
But now since the pope comes to his assistance and lays the
foundation for him with his many tonsures, caps, robes, wooden