Comentarios de Martin Lutero sobre Genesis:
And God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because on it
He had rested from all His work which God created, so that He
made it.
In Matt. 12 Christ says that the Sabbath was made for man, not
man for the Sabbath.8 But Moses says nothing here about man;
he does not say in so many words that the Sabbath was commanded
to man; he says that God blessed the Sabbath and that He sanctified
it for Himself. Moreover, He did not do this to any other creature.
He did not sanctify for Himself the heaven, the earth, or any other
creature; but the seventh day He did sanctify for Himself. This
has the special purpose of making us understand that the seventh day
in particular should be devoted to divine worship. For "holy" is that
which has been set aside for God and has been removed from all
secular uses. Hence to sanctify means to set aside for sacred purposes,
or for the worship of God. In this manner Moses rather
frequently employs the expression, also of sacred vessels.6
It follows, therefore, from this passage that if Adam had remained
in the state of innocence, he nevertheless would have held the seventh
day sacred. That is, on this day he would have given his descendants
instructions about the will and worship of God; he would have praised
God; he would have given thanks; he would have sacrificed, etc.
On the other days he would have tilled his fields and tended his
cattle. Indeed, even after the Fall he kept this seventh day sacred;
that is, on this day he instructed his family, of which the sacrifices
5 This passage is not from Matt. 12, as the text has it, but from Mark 2:27.
6Apparently a reference to the usage in passages like Ex. 40:9.
80 LUTHER'S WORKS 2:3
[W, XLII, 60, 61]
of his sons Cain and Abel give the proof. Therefore from the beginning
of the world the Sabbath was intended for the worship of God.
Unspoiled human nature would have proclaimed the glory and
the kindnesses of God in this way: on the Sabbath day men would
have conversed about the immeasurable goodness of the Creator; they
would have sacrificed; they would have prayed, etc. For this is the
meaning of the verb "to sanctify."
Moreover, this also implies the immortality of the human race,
as the Letter to the Hebrews (3:11) learnedly expounds concerning
God's rest on the basis of Ps. 95:11: "They shall not enter into My
rest." For God's rest is eternal. Adam would have lived for a definite
time in Paradise, according to God's pleasure; then he would have
been carried off to that rest of God which God, through the sanctifying
of the Sabbath, wished not only to symbolize for men but also to grant
to them. Thus the physical life would have been blissful and holy,
spiritual and eternal. Now we wretched men have lost that bliss of
our physical life through sin, and while we live we are in the midst
of death.7 And yet, because the Sabbath command remains for the
church, it denotes that spiritual life is to be restored to us through
Christ. And so the prophets have carefully searched those passages
in which Moses intimates the resurrection of the flesh and life
immortal.
Then it is also shown here that man was especially created for
the knowledge and worship of God, for the Sabbath was not ordained
for sheep and cows but for men, that in them the knowledge of God
might be developed and might increase. Therefore although man
lost his knowledge of God, nevertheless God wanted this command
about sanctifying the Sabbath to remain in force. On the seventh
day He wanted men to busy themselves both with His Word and
with the other forms of worship established by Him, so that we might
give first thought to the fact that this nature was created chiefly for
acknowledging and glorifying God.
Moreover, this is also written that we might preserve in our minds
a sure hope of the future and eternal life. All the things God wants
done on the Sabbath are clear signs of another life after this life.
Why is it necessary for God to speak with us through His Word if
we are not to live in a future and eternal life? If we are not to hope
for a future life, why do we not live like people with whom God does
7 See also Luther's Works, 13, p. 83, note 16. 2:3 GENESIS 81
[W.XLn,61]
not speak and who do not know God? But because the Divine Majesty
speaks to man alone and man alone knows and apprehends God, it
necessarily follows that there is another life after this life; to attain
it we need the Word and the knowledge of God. For this temporal
and present life is a physical life, such as all the beasts live that
do not know God and the Word.
This is what the Sabbath, or the rest of God, means, on which
God speaks with us through His Word and we, in turn, speak with
Him through prayer and faith. The beasts, such as dogs, horses, sheep,
and cows, indeed also learn to hear and understand the voice of man;
they are also kept by man and fed. But our state is better. We hear
God, know His will, and are called into a sure hope of immortality.
This is the testimony of the clear promises concerning eternal life
which God has revealed to us through His Word after giving those
dark indications, like this one concerning the rest of God and the
sanctifying of the Sabbath. And yet this one dealing with the Sabbath
is rather clear. Suppose that there is no life after this life; does it
not follow that we have no need of God or of His Word? What we
need or do in this life we can have even without the Word. The
beasts graze, live, and grow fat, although they do not have the Word
of God or hear it. What need is there of the Word to get food and
drink that has already been created?
Therefore that God gives His Word, that He commands us to
occupy ourselves with the Word, that He issues orders for sanctifying
the Sabbath and for His worship all this clearly proves that there
remains a life after this life and that man was created not for this
physical life only, like the other animals, but for eternal life, just
as God, who has ordered and ordained these practices, is eternal.
But here another question arises, on which we touched above,
namely, about the time of Adam's fall. When did he fall, on the
seventh day or on another? Although nothing certain can be proposed,
still I can readily imagine that he fell on the seventh day.
On the sixth day he was created; Eve likewise was created toward
evening or near the end of the sixth day, while Adam was sleeping.
Early in the morning of the seventh day, which had been sanctified
by the Lord, God speaks with Adam, gives him directions concerning
His worship, and forbids him to eat the fruit of the tree of the
knowledge of good and evil. This is the real purpose of the seventh
day: that the Word of God be preached and heard. Henceforth both
in the Scripture and in common usage the practice remained that
82 LUTHER'S WORKS 2:3
[W, XLn, 61, 62]
the morning time was set aside for prayer and preaching, as Fs. 5:3
says: "In the morning I shall stand before Thee, and I shall see."
Thus early on the seventh day Adam appears to have heard the
Lord charge him with the management of household and world
affairs, and at the same time forbid him to eat the fruit. Satan was
intolerant of this most magnificent creation and arrangement. He also
envied man such great bliss, that an overflowing supply of everything
was at hand for him on the earth and that after so blissful
a physical life he had the sure hope of eternal life, which Satan
himself had lost. And so, perhaps about noon, after God's conversation,
he also converses with Eve. So it is wont to be to this day.
Where the Word of God is, there Satan also makes it his business
to spread falsehood and false teaching; for it grieves him that through
the Word we, like Adam in Paradise, become citizens of heaven. And
so he successfully incites Eve to sin. Moreover, the text states plainly
that when the heat of the day had ended, the Lord came and condemned
Adam, together with all his descendants, to death. I am
easily convinced that all these events took place on the very Sabbath
and that one not complete! on which Adam lived in Paradise
and enjoyed its fruits.
And so through sin man lost this bliss. But Adam would not have
spent his life in Paradise in idleness if he had remained in the state
of innocence. On the Sabbath day he would have taught his children;
through public preaching he would have bestowed honor on God
with the praises which He deserved; and through reflection on the
works of God he would have incited himself and others to expressions
of thanks. On the other days he would have worked, either tilling
his field or hunting. But this would have been far different from the
way it is done now. For to us work is something burdensome; but
for Adam it would have been a supreme joy, more welcome than
any leisure. Therefore just as the other misfortunes of this life remind
us of sin and of the wrath of God, so work, too, and the well-known
hardship of providing sustenance should remind us of sin and rouse
us to repentance.
And God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because on it
He had rested from all His work which God created, so that He
made it.
In Matt. 12 Christ says that the Sabbath was made for man, not
man for the Sabbath.8 But Moses says nothing here about man;
he does not say in so many words that the Sabbath was commanded
to man; he says that God blessed the Sabbath and that He sanctified
it for Himself. Moreover, He did not do this to any other creature.
He did not sanctify for Himself the heaven, the earth, or any other
creature; but the seventh day He did sanctify for Himself. This
has the special purpose of making us understand that the seventh day
in particular should be devoted to divine worship. For "holy" is that
which has been set aside for God and has been removed from all
secular uses. Hence to sanctify means to set aside for sacred purposes,
or for the worship of God. In this manner Moses rather
frequently employs the expression, also of sacred vessels.6
It follows, therefore, from this passage that if Adam had remained
in the state of innocence, he nevertheless would have held the seventh
day sacred. That is, on this day he would have given his descendants
instructions about the will and worship of God; he would have praised
God; he would have given thanks; he would have sacrificed, etc.
On the other days he would have tilled his fields and tended his
cattle. Indeed, even after the Fall he kept this seventh day sacred;
that is, on this day he instructed his family, of which the sacrifices
5 This passage is not from Matt. 12, as the text has it, but from Mark 2:27.
6Apparently a reference to the usage in passages like Ex. 40:9.
80 LUTHER'S WORKS 2:3
[W, XLII, 60, 61]
of his sons Cain and Abel give the proof. Therefore from the beginning
of the world the Sabbath was intended for the worship of God.
Unspoiled human nature would have proclaimed the glory and
the kindnesses of God in this way: on the Sabbath day men would
have conversed about the immeasurable goodness of the Creator; they
would have sacrificed; they would have prayed, etc. For this is the
meaning of the verb "to sanctify."
Moreover, this also implies the immortality of the human race,
as the Letter to the Hebrews (3:11) learnedly expounds concerning
God's rest on the basis of Ps. 95:11: "They shall not enter into My
rest." For God's rest is eternal. Adam would have lived for a definite
time in Paradise, according to God's pleasure; then he would have
been carried off to that rest of God which God, through the sanctifying
of the Sabbath, wished not only to symbolize for men but also to grant
to them. Thus the physical life would have been blissful and holy,
spiritual and eternal. Now we wretched men have lost that bliss of
our physical life through sin, and while we live we are in the midst
of death.7 And yet, because the Sabbath command remains for the
church, it denotes that spiritual life is to be restored to us through
Christ. And so the prophets have carefully searched those passages
in which Moses intimates the resurrection of the flesh and life
immortal.
Then it is also shown here that man was especially created for
the knowledge and worship of God, for the Sabbath was not ordained
for sheep and cows but for men, that in them the knowledge of God
might be developed and might increase. Therefore although man
lost his knowledge of God, nevertheless God wanted this command
about sanctifying the Sabbath to remain in force. On the seventh
day He wanted men to busy themselves both with His Word and
with the other forms of worship established by Him, so that we might
give first thought to the fact that this nature was created chiefly for
acknowledging and glorifying God.
Moreover, this is also written that we might preserve in our minds
a sure hope of the future and eternal life. All the things God wants
done on the Sabbath are clear signs of another life after this life.
Why is it necessary for God to speak with us through His Word if
we are not to live in a future and eternal life? If we are not to hope
for a future life, why do we not live like people with whom God does
7 See also Luther's Works, 13, p. 83, note 16. 2:3 GENESIS 81
[W.XLn,61]
not speak and who do not know God? But because the Divine Majesty
speaks to man alone and man alone knows and apprehends God, it
necessarily follows that there is another life after this life; to attain
it we need the Word and the knowledge of God. For this temporal
and present life is a physical life, such as all the beasts live that
do not know God and the Word.
This is what the Sabbath, or the rest of God, means, on which
God speaks with us through His Word and we, in turn, speak with
Him through prayer and faith. The beasts, such as dogs, horses, sheep,
and cows, indeed also learn to hear and understand the voice of man;
they are also kept by man and fed. But our state is better. We hear
God, know His will, and are called into a sure hope of immortality.
This is the testimony of the clear promises concerning eternal life
which God has revealed to us through His Word after giving those
dark indications, like this one concerning the rest of God and the
sanctifying of the Sabbath. And yet this one dealing with the Sabbath
is rather clear. Suppose that there is no life after this life; does it
not follow that we have no need of God or of His Word? What we
need or do in this life we can have even without the Word. The
beasts graze, live, and grow fat, although they do not have the Word
of God or hear it. What need is there of the Word to get food and
drink that has already been created?
Therefore that God gives His Word, that He commands us to
occupy ourselves with the Word, that He issues orders for sanctifying
the Sabbath and for His worship all this clearly proves that there
remains a life after this life and that man was created not for this
physical life only, like the other animals, but for eternal life, just
as God, who has ordered and ordained these practices, is eternal.
But here another question arises, on which we touched above,
namely, about the time of Adam's fall. When did he fall, on the
seventh day or on another? Although nothing certain can be proposed,
still I can readily imagine that he fell on the seventh day.
On the sixth day he was created; Eve likewise was created toward
evening or near the end of the sixth day, while Adam was sleeping.
Early in the morning of the seventh day, which had been sanctified
by the Lord, God speaks with Adam, gives him directions concerning
His worship, and forbids him to eat the fruit of the tree of the
knowledge of good and evil. This is the real purpose of the seventh
day: that the Word of God be preached and heard. Henceforth both
in the Scripture and in common usage the practice remained that
82 LUTHER'S WORKS 2:3
[W, XLn, 61, 62]
the morning time was set aside for prayer and preaching, as Fs. 5:3
says: "In the morning I shall stand before Thee, and I shall see."
Thus early on the seventh day Adam appears to have heard the
Lord charge him with the management of household and world
affairs, and at the same time forbid him to eat the fruit. Satan was
intolerant of this most magnificent creation and arrangement. He also
envied man such great bliss, that an overflowing supply of everything
was at hand for him on the earth and that after so blissful
a physical life he had the sure hope of eternal life, which Satan
himself had lost. And so, perhaps about noon, after God's conversation,
he also converses with Eve. So it is wont to be to this day.
Where the Word of God is, there Satan also makes it his business
to spread falsehood and false teaching; for it grieves him that through
the Word we, like Adam in Paradise, become citizens of heaven. And
so he successfully incites Eve to sin. Moreover, the text states plainly
that when the heat of the day had ended, the Lord came and condemned
Adam, together with all his descendants, to death. I am
easily convinced that all these events took place on the very Sabbath
and that one not complete! on which Adam lived in Paradise
and enjoyed its fruits.
And so through sin man lost this bliss. But Adam would not have
spent his life in Paradise in idleness if he had remained in the state
of innocence. On the Sabbath day he would have taught his children;
through public preaching he would have bestowed honor on God
with the praises which He deserved; and through reflection on the
works of God he would have incited himself and others to expressions
of thanks. On the other days he would have worked, either tilling
his field or hunting. But this would have been far different from the
way it is done now. For to us work is something burdensome; but
for Adam it would have been a supreme joy, more welcome than
any leisure. Therefore just as the other misfortunes of this life remind
us of sin and of the wrath of God, so work, too, and the well-known
hardship of providing sustenance should remind us of sin and rouse
us to repentance.
