Christ’s Holy Sufferings
by Martin Luther (1483-1546)
The following sermon is taken from volume II of The
Sermons of Martin Luther, published by Baker Book House (Grand Rapids,
MI). It was originally published in 1906 in English by Lutherans In
All Lands (Minneapolis, MN), in a series titled The Precious and Sacred
Writings of Martin Luther, vol. 11. The original title of this sermon
appears below (preached by Luther approx. 1519-1521). This e-text was
scanned and edited by Shane Rosenthal; it is in the public domain and
it may be copied and distributed without restriction.
THE FALSE VIEWS OF CHRIST’S SUFFERINGS.
1. In the first place, some reflect upon the sufferings
of Christ in a way that they become angry at the Jews, sing and lament
about poor Judas, and are then satisfied; just like by habit they complain
of other persons, and condemn and spend their time with their enemies.
Such an exercise may truly be called a meditation not on the sufferings
of Christ, but on the wickedness of Judas and the Jews.
2. In the second place, others have pointed out the
different benefits and fruits springing from a consideration of Christ’s
Passion. Here the saying ascribed to Albertus is misleading, that to
think once superficially on the sufferings of Christ is better than
to fast a whole year or to pray the Psalter every day, etc. The people
thus blindly follow him and act contrary to the true fruits of Christ’s
Passion; for they seek therein their own selfish interests. Therefore
they decorate themselves with pictures and booklets, with letters and
crucifixes, and some go so far as to imagine that they thus protect
themselves against the perils of water, of fire, and of the sword, and
all other dangers. In this way the suffering of Christ is to work in
them an absence of suffering, which is contrary to its nature and character.
3. A third class so, sympathize with Christ as to weep
and lament for him because he was so innocent, like the women who followed
Christ from Jerusalem, whom he rebuked, in that they should better weep
for themselves and for their children. Such are they who run far away
in the midst of the Passion season, and are greatly benefited by the
departure of Christ from Bethany and by the pains and sorrows of the
Virgin Mary, but they never get farther. Hence they postpone the Passion
many hours, and God only knows whether it is devised more for sleeping
than for watching. And among these fanatics are those who taught what
great blessings come from the holy mass, and in their simple way they
think it is enough if they attend mass. To this we are led through the
sayings of certain teachers, that the mass opere operati, non opere
operantis, is acceptable of itself, even without our merit and worthiness,
just as if that were enough. Nevertheless the mass was not instituted
for the sake of its own worthiness but to prove us, especially for the
purpose of meditating upon the sufferings of Christ. For where this
is not done, we make a temporal, unfruitful work out of the mass, however
good it may be in itself. For what help is it to you, that God is God,
if he is not God to you? What benefit is it that eating and drinking
are in themselves healthful and good, if they are not healthful for
you, and there is fear that we never grow better by reason of our many
masses, if we fail to seek the true fruit in them?
4. Fourthly, they meditate on the Passion of Christ
aright, who so view Christ that they become terror-stricken in heart
at the sight, and their conscience at once sinks in despair. This terror-stricken
feeling should spring forth, so that you see the severe wrath and the
unchangeable earnestness of God in regard to sin and sinners, in that
he was unwilling that his only and dearly beloved Son should set sinners
free unless he paid the costly ransom for them as is mentioned in Is
53:8: “For the transgression of my people was he stricken.”
What happens to the sinner, when the dear child is thus stricken? An
earnestness must be present that is inexpressible and unbearable, which
a person so immeasurably great goes to meet, and suffers and dies for
it; and if you reflect upon it real deeply, that God’s Son, the
eternal wisdom of the Father, himself suffers, you will indeed be terror-stricken;
and the more you reflect the deeper will be the impression.
5. Fifthly, that you deeply believe and never doubt
the least, that you are the one who thus martyred Christ. For your sins
most surely did it. Thus St. Peter struck and terrified the Jews as
with a thunderbolt in Acts 2:36-37, when he spoke to them all in common:
“Him have ye crucified,” so that three thousand were terror-stricken
the same day and tremblingly cried to the apostles: “O beloved
brethren what shall we do?” Therefore, when you view the nails
piercing through his hands, firmly believe it is your work. Do you behold
his crown of thorns, believe the thorns are your wicked thoughts, etc.
6. Sixthly, now see, where one thorn pierces Christ,
there more than a thousand thorns should pierce thee, yea, eternally
should they thus and even more painfully pierce thee. Where one nail
is driven through his hands and feet, thou shouldest eternally suffer
such and even more painful nails; as will be also visited upon those
who, let Christ’s sufferings be lost and fruitless as far as they
are concerned. For this earnest mirror, Christ, will neither lie nor
mock; whatever he says must be fully realized.
7. Seventhly, St. Bernard was so terror-stricken by
Christ’s sufferings that he said: I imagined I was secure and
I knew nothing of the eternal judgment passed upon me in heaven, until
I saw that the eternal Son of God took mercy upon me, stepped forward
and offered himself on my behalf in the same judgment. Ah, it does not
become me still to play and remain secure when such earnestness, is
behind those sufferings. Hence he commanded the women: “Weep not
for me, but weep for yourselves, and for your children.” Lk. 23:28;
and gives in the 31st verse the reason: “For if they do these
things in the green tree, what shall be done in the dry?” As if
to say: Learn from my martyrdom what you have merited and how you should
be rewarded. For here it is true that a little dog was slain in order
to terrorize a big one. Likewise the prophet also said: “All generations
shall lament and bewail themselves more than him”; it is not said
they shall lament him, but themselves rather than him. Likewise were
also the apostles terror-stricken in Acts 2:27, as mentioned before,
so that they said to the apostles: “O, brethren, what shall we
do?” So the church also sings: I will diligently meditate thereon,
and thus my soul in me will exhaust itself.
8. Eighthly, one must skilfully exercise himself in
this point, for the benefit of Christ’s sufferings depends almost
entirely upon man coming to a true knowledge of himself, and becoming
terror-stricken and slain before himself. And where man does not come
to this point, the sufferings of Christ have become of no true benefit
to him. For the characteristic, natural work of Christ’s sufferings
is that they make all men equal and alike, so that as Christ was horribly
martyred as to body and soul in our sins, we must also like him be martyred
in our consciences by our sins. This does not take place by means of
many words, but by means of deep thoughts and a profound realization
of our sins. Take an illustration: If an evil-doer were judged because
he had slain the child of a prince or king, and you were in safety,
and sang and played, as if you were entirely innocent, until one seized
you in a horrible manner and convinced you that you had enabled the
wicked person to do the act; behold, then you would be in the greatest
straits, especially if your conscience also revolted against you. Thus
much more anxious you should be, when you consider Christ’s sufferings.
For the evil doers, the Jews, although they have now judged and banished
God, they have still been the servants of your sins, and you are truly
the one who strangled and crucified the Son of God through your sins,
as has been said.
9. Ninthly, whoever perceives himself to be so hard
and sterile that he is not terror-stricken by Christ’s sufferings
and led to a knowledge of him, he should fear and tremble. For it cannot
be otherwise; you must become like the picture and sufferings of Christ,
be it realized in life or in hell; you must at the time of death, if
not sooner, fall into terror, tremble, quake and experience all Christ
suffered on the cross. It is truly terrible to attend to this on your
deathbed; therefore you should pray God to soften your heart and permit
you fruitfully to meditate upon Christ’s Passion. For it is impossible
for us profoundly to meditate upon the sufferings of Christ of ourselves,
unless God sink them into our hearts. Further, neither this meditation
nor any other doctrine is given to you to the end that you should fall
fresh upon it of yourself, to accomplish the same; but you are first
to seek and long for the grace of God, that you may accomplish it through
God’s grace and not through your own power. For in this way it
happens that those referred to above never treat the sufferings of Christ
aright; for they never call upon God to that end, but devise out of
their own ability their own way, and treat those sufferings entirely
in a human and an unfruitful manner.
10 Tenthly, whoever meditates thus upon God’s
sufferings for a day, an hour, yea, for a quarter of an hour, we wish
to say freely and publicly, that it is better than if he fasts a whole
year, prays the Psalter every day, yea, than if he hears a hundred masses.
For such a meditation changes a man’s character and almost as
in baptism he is born again, anew. Then Christ’s suffering accomplishes
its true, natural and noble work, it slays the old Adam, banishes all
lust, pleasure and security that one may obtain from God’s creatures;
just like Christ was forsaken by all, even by God.
11. Eleventhly, since then such a work is not in our
hands, it happens that sometimes we pray and do not receive it at the
time; in spite of this one should not despair nor cease to pray. At
times it comes when we are not praying for it, as God knows and wills;
for it will be free and unbound: then man is distressed in conscience
and is wickedly displeased with his own life, and it may easily happen
that he does not know that Christ’s Passion is working this very
thing in him, of which perhaps he was not aware, just like the others
so exclusively meditated on Christ’s Passion that in their knowledge
of self they could not extricate themselves out of that state of meditation.
Among the first the sufferings of Christ are quite and true, among the
others a show and false, and according to its nature God often turns
the leaf, so that those who do not meditate on the Passion, really do,
meditate on it; and those who bear the mass, do not hear it; and those
who hear it not, do hear it.
THE COMFORT OF CHRIST’S SUFFERINGS.
12. Until the present we have been in the Passion week and have celebrated
Good Friday in the right way: now we come to Easter and Christ’s
resurrection. When man perceives his sins in this light and is completely
terror-stricken in his conscience, he must be on his guard that his
sins do not thus remain in his conscience, and nothing but pure doubt
certainly come out of it; but just as the sins flowed out of Christ
and we became conscious of them, so should we pour them again upon him
and set our conscience free. Therefore see well to it that you act not
like perverted people, who bite and devour themselves with their sins
in their heart, and run here and there with their good works or their
own satisfaction, or even work themselves out of this condition by means
of indulgences and become rid of their sins; which is impossible, and,
alas, such a false refuge of satisfaction and pilgrimages has spread
far and wide.
13. Thirteenthly. Then cast your sins from yourself
upon Christ, believe with a festive spirit that your sins are his wounds
and sufferings, that he carries them and makes satisfaction for them,
as Is 53:6 says: “Jehovah hath laid on him the iniquity of us
all;” and St. Peter in his first Epistle 2:24: “Who his
own self bare our sins in his body upon the tree” of the cross;
and St. Paul in 2 Cor. 5:21: “Him who knew no sin was made to
be sin on our behalf; that we might become the righteousness of God
in him.” Upon these and like passages you must rely with all your
weight, and so much the more the harder your conscience martyrs you.
For if you do not take this course, but miss the opportunity of stilling
your heart, then you will never secure peace, and must yet finally despair
in doubt. For if we deal with our sins in our conscience and let them
continue within us and be cherished in our hearts, they become much
too strong for us to manage and they will live forever. But when we
see that they are laid on Christ and he has triumphed over them by his
resurrection and we fearlessly believe it, then they are dead and have
become as nothing. For upon Christ they cannot rest, there they are
swallowed up by his resurrection, and you see now no wound, no pain,
in him, that is, no sign of sin. Thus St. Paul speaks in Rom. 4:25,
that he was delivered up for our trespasses and was raised for our justification;
that is, in his sufferings he made known our sins and also crucified
them; but by his resurrection he makes us righteous and free from all
sin, even if we believe the same differently.
14. Fourteenthly. Now if you are not able to believe,
then, as I said before, you should pray to God for faith. For this is
a matter in the hands of God that is entirely free, and is also bestowed
alike at times knowingly, at times secretly, as was just said on the
subject of suffering.
15. But now bestir yourself to the end: first, not
to behold Christ’s sufferings any longer; for they have already
done their work and terrified you; but press through all difficulties
and behold his friendly heart, how full of love it is toward you, which
love constrained him to bear the heavy load of your conscience and your
sin. Thus will your heart be loving and sweet toward him, and the assurance
of your faith be strengthened. Then ascend higher through the heart
of Christ to the heart of God, and see that Christ would not have been
able to love you if God had not willed it in eternal love, to which
Christ is obedient in his love toward you; there you will find the divine,
good father heart, and, as Christ says, be thus drawn to the Father
through Christ. Then will you understand the saying of Christ in Jn.
3:16: “God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son,”
etc. That means to know God aright, if we apprehend him not by his power
and wisdom, which terrify us, but by his goodness and love; there our
faith and confidence can then stand unmovable and man is truly thus
born anew in God.
16. Sixteenthly. When your heart is thus established
in Christ, and you are an enemy of sin, out of love and not out of fear
of punishment, Christ’s sufferings should also be an example for
your whole life, and you should meditate on the same in a different
way. For hitherto we have considered Christ’s Passion as a sacrament
that works in us and we suffer; now we consider it, that we also work,
namely thus: if a day of sorrow or sickness weighs you down, think,
how trifling that is, compared with the thorns and nails of Christ.
If you must do or leave undone what is distasteful to you: think, how
Christ was led hither and thither, bound and a captive. Does pride attack
you: behold, how your Lord was mocked and disgraced with murderers.
Do unchastity and lust thrust themselves against you: think, how bitter
it was for Christ to have his tender flesh torn, pierced and beaten
again and again. Do hatred and envy war against you, or do you seek
vengeance: remember how Christ with many tears and cries prayed for
you and all his enemies, who indeed had more reason to seek revenge.
If trouble or whatever adversity of body or soul afflict you, strengthen
your heart and say: Ah, why then should I not also suffer a little since
my Lord sweat blood in the garden because of anxiety and grief? That
would be a lazy, disgraceful servant who would wish to lie in his bed
while his lord was compelled to battle with the pangs of death.
17. Behold, one can thus find in Christ strength
and comfort against all vice and bad habits. That is the right observance
of Christ’s Passion, and that is the fruit of his suffering, and
he who exercises himself thus in the same does better than by hearing
the whole Passion or reading all masses. And they are called true Christians
who incorporate the life and name of Christ into their own life, as
St. Paul says in Gal 5:24: “And they that are of Christ Jesus
have crucified the flesh with the passions and the lusts thereof.”
For Christ’s Passion must be dealt with not in words and a show,
but in our lives and in truth. Thus St. Paul admonishes us in Heb. 12:3:
“For consider him that hath endured such gainsaying of sinners
against himself, that ye wax not weary, fainting in your souls;”
and St. Peter in his 1st Epistle 4:1: “As Christ suffered in the
flesh, arm ye yourselves also with the same mind.” But this kind
of meditation is now out of use and very rare, although the Epistles
of St. Paul and St. Peter are full of it. We have changed the essence
into a mere show, and painted the meditation of Christ’s sufferings
only in letters and on walls.