Luther's Notes on the Sunday Gospel: Trinity 14-Thanksgiving

The Ten Lepers

Luke 17:11-19

New King James Version

¹¹ Now it happened as He went to Jerusalem that He passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee. ¹² Then as He entered a certain village, there met Him ten men who were lepers, who stood afar off. ¹³ And they lifted up their voices and said, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!”
¹⁴ So when He saw them, He said to them, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And so it was that as they went, they were cleansed.
¹⁵ And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned, and with a loud voice glorified God, ¹⁶ and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks. And he was a Samaritan.
¹⁷ So Jesus answered and said, “Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine? ¹⁸ Were there not any found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?” ¹⁹ And He said to him, “Arise, go your way. Your faith has made you well.”

 

 

 Luther's Explanatory Notes:

The ten lepers. Just as simple as this story is, so great is the example presented to us therein. In the leper it teaches us faith; in Christ it teaches us love. The ways and order of Christ's journeys. St. Luke, more than the other Evangelists, has given us not only the works and teachings of Christ, as the others did, but describes also the order and ways of his journeys.

Luther's Notes on the Sunday Gospel: Trinity 13-Charity

The Good Samaritan

Luke 10:23-37

New King James Version 

²³ Then He turned to His disciples and said privately, “Blessed are the eyes which see the things you see; ²⁴ for I tell you that many prophets and kings have desired to see what you see, and have not seen it, and to hear what you hear, and have not heard it.”
²⁵ And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tested Him, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”
²⁶ He said to him, “What is written in the law? What is your reading of it?”
²⁷ So he answered and said, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,’ and ‘your neighbor as yourself.’”
²⁸ And He said to him, “You have answered rightly; do this and you will live.”
²⁹ But he, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
³⁰ Then Jesus answered and said: “A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. ³¹ Now by chance a certain priest came down that road. And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. ³² Likewise a Levite, when he arrived at the place, came and looked, and passed by on the other side. ³³ But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion. ³⁴ So he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. ³⁵ On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you.’ ³⁶ So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?”
³⁷ And he said, “He who showed mercy on him.”
Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”

 Luther's Explanatory Notes:

23 If And he turned him unto his disciples, and said privately, Blessed are the eyes which see the things that ye see:
24 For I tell you, that many prophets and kings have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.

This passage embraces principally three parts: First, that the Lord praises the time of the revelation and proclamation of the Gospel, verses 23. 24.

Luther's Notes on the Gospel: St. Bartholomew's Day

August 24th

Luke 22:24-30
New King James Version

The Disciples Argue About Greatness

24 Now there was also a dispute among them, as to which of them should be considered the greatest. 25 And He said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those who exercise authority over them are called ‘benefactors.’ 26 But not so among you; on the contrary, he who is greatest among you, let him be as the younger, and he who governs as he who serves. 27 For who is greater, he who sits at the table, or he who serves? Is it not he who sits at the table? Yet I am among you as the One who serves.

28 “But you are those who have continued with Me in My trials. 29 And I bestow upon you a kingdom, just as My Father bestowed one upon Me, 30 that you may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.”

 Luther's Explanatory Notes:

24 If And there was also a strife among them, which of them should be accounted the greatest. 

There arose a strife among them, etc. The same kind of strife had also arisen among the apostles before, (as in Matt.18:1. and 20: 20 f.); but here, when the hour had come, that the Lord Christ was about to go to his sufferings and was to be taken by the Jews, the strife arose again. And it looks almost as if this strife gave occasion for Christ to wash the disciples' feet, of which John speaks in the thirteenth chapter of his Gospel. For just as the Lord says in John 13:13 f. and 16, so also he says here in verse 26 f . There was a fearful storm in the sky; namely, the great offense, that Christ their Lord and Master, should on the next day die the shameful death of the cross. But here they are secure, see not the offense, and in the meantime begin the strife, in which no one would yield to the other, and one always wanted to be better than the other. Therefore the Lord gave them an earnest lecture, and told them that such things can not be allowed in his kingdom.

Luther's Notes on the Sunday Gospel: Trinity 12

Jesus Heals the Sick

Mark 7:31-37New King James Version

³¹ Again, departing from the region of Tyre and Sidon, He came through the midst of the region of Decapolis to the Sea of Galilee. ³² Then they brought to Him one who was deaf and had an impediment in his speech, and they begged Him to put His hand on him. ³³ And He took him aside from the multitude, and put His fingers in his ears, and He spat and touched his tongue. ³⁴ Then, looking up to heaven, He sighed, and said to him, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened.”
³⁵ Immediately his ears were opened, and the impediment of his tongue was loosed, and he spoke plainly. ³⁶ Then He commanded them that they should tell no one; but the more He commanded them, the more widely they proclaimed it. ³⁷ And they were astonished beyond measure, saying, “He has done all things well. He makes both the deaf to hear and the mute to speak.”

 Luther's Explanatory Notes:

This gospel of the healing of the deaf and dumb man, presents our Lord Christ as a merciful, gracious man.

Luther's Notes on the Sunday Gospel: Trinity 11-Humility

Luke 18:9-14
The Pharisee and the Tax-Collector

⁹ Also He spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: ¹⁰ “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. ¹¹ The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other men—extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. ¹² I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.’ ¹³ And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner!’ ¹⁴ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

 Luther's Explanatory Notes

The Pharisee and the publican. Two kinds of righteousness are portrayed to us in this gospel, which are found among men on earth: The one has a great semblance before the eyes of men of the world; yet it is nothing before God and is condemned by him. The other, though not recognized by men, yet is regarded as righteous before God, and pleasing to him. The one is the righteousness of the beautiful, proud saint, the Pharisee; the other, that of the humble sinner, the publican. 

Luther's Notes on the Sunday Gospel: Trinity 10-Renewed Obedience

Luke 19:41-48
Jesus Cleanses the Temple

⁴¹ Now as He drew near, He saw the city and wept over it, ⁴² saying, “If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. ⁴³ For days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment around you, surround you and close you in on every side, ⁴⁴ and level you, and your children within you, to the ground; and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not know the time of your visitation.”
⁴⁵ Then He went into the temple and began to drive out those who bought and sold in it, ⁴⁶ saying to them, “It is written, ‘My house is a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a ‘den of thieves.’”
⁴⁷ And He was teaching daily in the temple. But the chief priests, the scribes, and the leaders of the people sought to destroy Him, ⁴⁸ and were unable to do anything; for all the people were very attentive to hear Him.

 Luther's Explanatory Notes

41 If And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it, 
42 Saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes. 

Jesus wept over Jerusalem. As the Lord drew near to the city, the people preceded and followed him, singing with great joy, and saying, "Hosannah to the Son of David." In the midst of the rejoicing he begins to weep; he lets all the world be joyful, but he weeps when he sees the city.