Commentary on the Epistle to the GalatiansLuther, Martin
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Commentary on the Epistle to the Galatians
Luther, Martin
Bible. Galatians -- Commentaries
Man’s folly, however, is so prodigious that instead of embracing the
message of grace with its guarantee of the forgiveness of sin for
Christ’s sake, man finds himself more laws to satisfy his conscience.
“If I live,” says he, “I will mend my life. I will do this, I will do
that.” Man, if you don’t do the very opposite, if you don’t send Moses
with the Law back to Mount Sinai and take the hand of Christ, pierced
for your sins, you will never be saved.
When the Law drives you to the point of despair, let it drive you a
little farther, let it drive you straight into the arms of Jesus who
says: “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will
give you rest.”
VERSE 19. Till the seed should come to whom the promise was made.
The Law is not to have its say indefinitely. We must know how long the
Law is to put in its licks. If it hammers away too long, no person would
and could be saved. The Law has a boundary beyond which it must not go.
How long ought the Law to hold sway? “Till the seed should come to whom
the promise was made.” That may be taken literally to mean until the
time of the Gospel. “From the days of John the Baptist,” says Jesus,
“until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent
take it by force. For all the prophets and the law prophesied until
John.” (Matthew 11:12, 13.) When Christ came the Law and the ceremonies
of Moses ceased.
Spiritually, it means that the Law is not to operate on a person after
he has been humbled and frightened by the exposure of his sins and the
wrath of God. We must then say to the Law: “Mister Law, lay off him. He
has had enough. You scared him good and proper.” Now it is the Gospel’s
turn. Now let Christ with His gracious lips talk to him of better
things, grace, peace, forgiveness of sins, and eternal life.
VERSE 19. And it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator.
The Apostle digresses a little from his immediate theme. Something
occurred to him and he throws it in by the way. It occurred to him
that the Law differs from the Gospel in another respect, in respect to
authorship. The Law was delivered by the angels, but the Gospel by the
Lord Himself. Hence, the Gospel is superior to the Law, as the word of a
lord is superior to the word of his servant.
The Law was handed down by a being even inferior to the angels, by a
middleman named Moses. Paul wants us to understand that Christ is the
mediator of a better testament than mediator Moses of the Law. Moses led
the people out of their tents to meet God. But they ran away. That is
how good a mediator Moses was.
Paul says: “How can the Law justify when that whole sanctified people of
Israel and even mediator Moses trembled at the voice of God? What kind
of righteousness do you call that when people run away from it and hate
it the worst way? If the Law could justify, people would love the Law.
But look at the children of Israel running away from it.”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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