Eighteenth Sunday after Trinity (1879)

Matthew 22:34-46 The Lord Christ once asked His disciples, "Who do the people say that the Son of Man is?" The disciples answered, "Some say you are John the Baptist; others, you are Elijah; others, you are Jeremiah, or one of the prophets." People by and large thus previously considered Christ as a mere man, even though as one sent by God. After that, He asked His disciples, "But who do you say that I am?" Then Simon Peter answered, "You are Christ, Son of the Living God." Peter thus confesses: You are not a mere man, like John, Elijah and the prophets; no, You are also the true, eternal God from heaven. On account of this confession of Peter the Lord is glorified and also says that this is the stone foundation upon which He intended to build His Church. Consequently: with the confession of Christ as the true God the true Church stands or falls, the salvation of men also stands or falls. Our Gospel invites us to speak more thereof. We make the object of our consideration:
1

How everyone who would be saved necessarily must believe that Jesus Christ is true God. We see: 1. that Christ bears witness to this in our text; a. knowledge of the Law is not enough for salvation,2 . not a superficial knowledge, . but also not a right knowledge (the Pharisees believed the Law was fulfilled by outward actions.3 From this superficial opinion of the Law logically followed their question about the greatest commandment. Because they had not grasped the spiritual meaning of the commandment, they made all sorts of differences in terms of the importance of the individual commandments. They then promised heaven for an external keeping of the Law. However, Christ says, "Unless your righteousness is better than the scribes and Pharisees, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven."4 But even those who have grasped the spiritual meaning of the law by no means has salvation because of that. Although Christ answered the question according to the greatest commandment, while He names the commandments from which the holding of all other commandments spontaneously follow; but He does not wish that a man who asks for his salvation remains standing here. He puts to those whom He will bless the greatest commandment. Reason for this: No one can accomplish what it demands);
1 2

Matthew 16:13ff. Matthew 22:34-42. 3 Matthew 5:21ff. Luke 18:19ff. 4 Matthew 5:20.

b. it is not enough to hold that Christ is a mere man (the Pharisees held Christ to be a mere man when they respond to Christ's question: "What do you think about Christ? Whose Son is He?" with a mere, "David's." In our time the socalled free Protestants, Universalists, and lodge members give much the same answer, provided that they are still speaking about Christ. But Christ would reject this answer as inadequate5)' c. it is instead necessary to salvation that Christ will also be recognized as the true God in faith (the Pharisees had not recognized Christ as true God; Christ wants to bring them to this understanding by quoting from Psalm 1106); 2. What a more necessary basis of hope of salvation this doctrine is. Only a Savior who is also true God can a. accomplish the work of redemption; . The demand of the greatest commandment, "You shall love", etc., stands still and speaks to all people of condemnation who do not comply with His demand (Christ responds to the question about the greatest commandment not as: Do not ask about the commandments, they are abolished: but He expresses in His answer the eternal blinding of them7), . only a Savior who also is true God could be a substitute of mankind in the fulfillment of the Law (Christ = God = Lord of the Law, was guilty of no obedience to the Law as a man) and indeed a substitute whose obedience was sufficient for all mankind8, and whose suffering and death was a ransom for the sins of all mankind9; b. let the purchased redemption for us come to good.10 Christ sits at the right hand of God, that is, rules and reigns "with unending and eternal majesty and power over all creatures and works of the hand of God". Despite the resistance of hell and the world He brings us to faith and keeps us in the same.11 Franz Pieper

5 6

Matthew 22:43-45. cf. Jeremiah 23:5-6; Psalm 2, etc. 7 cf. Matthew 5:17ff. 8 Romans 5:18. 9 Cf. Psalm 49:8-9; 1 John 1:9; Acts 20:28. 10 Matthew 24:44. 11 Cf. Ephesians 1:20-22.